In our latest episode we go back to basics and discuss hash tables. Turned out we didn't understand them as well as we thought, so we look at their history and some recent interesting developments: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

We give our report on @socallinuxexpo.bsky.social 23x, where Erik worked as a volunteer this year. (Note: you might hear my dog whimpering toward the end-- she was fine she just wanted snacks) www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

Follow @picturemecoding.bsky.social and get an extra dose of Amy's opinions!

In our latest episode Amy Salley of @hugogirlpodcast.bsky.social returns to help us discuss Murderbot. We discuss the books (up to Network Effect) and how Martha Wells explores topics like AI, consciousness, and neurodivergence. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

Our latest episode is mostly Mike waxing nostalgic about the heyday of recreational programming, especially the late A.K. Dewdney's _Computer Recreations_ column. We also explain taco shops. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Scheme, we did an episode on functional programming. We trace the history of FP and discuss how FP will or won't fit in the AI programming world. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

Absolute banger of a @picturemecoding.bsky.social episode on 'local first': www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

...and we're back. For our first episode of 2026, we're talking about S3 and cloud object storage. Plus, we finally figure out what an exabyte is. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

For our last episode of 2025 (and Season 3) we welcome guest Kyle Willcox to talk about Salesforce and Low Code. Also, surf, waves, stingrays, and Plato. Multitudes, baby, multitudes. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

We did another tech news roundup for the holiday week, but it's mostly about data centers. We recommend you save it for after the Thanksgiving feast-- it should pair nicely with a food coma and a nice Pinot Noir www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

In this episode we talk about CRDTs. If you don't know what those are, you should listen. It might save you from zombies. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

In this episode we're talking about the Turing Test, thus possibly becoming the first people who've ever needed to study for it. The Turing Test (aka The Imitation Game) just turned 75. Has it been passed? www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

In the latest episode we discuss the late Mark Weiser's ideas about "ubiquitous computing". Did we achieve it, did we forget about it, or did it morph into something less friendly? www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

In our latest episode we talk about regular expressions. What are they, where did they come from, and most importantly: are they evil? www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

We're talking about Unix again, especially about what made it successful. Turns out it might be because the developers didn't start off with any particular objective in mind, they just wanted to make it easier to write programs: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

This week we're talking about the history of the Unix operating system, focusing on its origins at Bell Labs: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

Erik was a guest on the Hugo, Girl! podcast!. I think he's now officially a media celebrity.

For this episode we delve into computational complexity, attempting to build up to Ryan Williams's remarkable recent result regarding space complexity vs time complexity. We are undeterred by not knowing what the hell we're talking about: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

We're talking about databases again, this time the category of NoSQL databases. This type of database is now over 20 years old, but that wasn't enough time for us to figure them out: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

This week we talk to our friends Bobak Farzin and Kevin Fahey about their experiences building software with AI tools. While tech-savvy, neither are full-time developers, so they have an interesting perspective on the good and bad parts of vibe coding: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

This episode we're talking about databases again, specifically relational databases (or relational database management systems, we're not sure) www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

We kick off a series of episodes on database technology with a discussion of the late, great Jim Gray, winner of the 1998 Turing Prize and the person most responsible for the concept of database transactions. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

In our latest episode we have a great discussion with Matt Teichman, a lecturer in computer science at U. Chicago, an OCaml programmer, and host of the Elucidations podcast. We cover linguistics, philosophy, functional programming, libraries, and music: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

I don't have FOMO, i think i really _am_ missing out

This week we talk to UX expert Jonathan Whitmire about the scope and meaning of user experience and the relationship between designers and software engineers. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

This week we talk about Local-First software, an exciting new way to think about building software that puts more focus on local data without sacrificing collaboration. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

In this episode, Ed Zitron is joined by Steve Burke of GamersNexus to talk about how tariffs are throwing the PC gaming industry into disarray, and how the era of affordable computing is coming to an end. @edzitron.com @gamersnexus.bsky.social www.iheart.com/podcast/1119...

This week we survey the tech news again. It turns out that the world is still weird. The AIs are hallucinatin' but so are the people. Neo-Luddites oppose the robots, but it's just a matter of time until we can't outrun them. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

"The first thing we do is, let’s unplug all the lawyers". This week we talk to John Benson, a lawyer and hacker, about his use of LLMs and other technology in the legal profession. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

This week Erik and i talk about traitorous generals, gangsters, malicious agents, and faulty message sending. Surprisingly, it has almost nothing to do with politics. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

This week we talk to the one and only @dabeaz.com about why programming is fun. We talk about music, theater, async Python, Raft, open source, and conference talks as performance art. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

On spring break this week, but next week we have a special guest (hint: one of the few Python programmers with a Wikipedia page)

This week we talk about our last day at #Scale22x, covering software freedom and our successful attempt to give stickers to computer science legend Leslie Lamport. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

This week we talk about our first two days at #Scale22x. We cover earthquakes, AI, open source licenses, eBPF, research engineering, robots, coffee, donuts, Van Halen, and America's Got Talent: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

I'm not generally an open-letter person, but this is a good one, and I signed.

Hey look, it's me! I had so much fun doing this, and Mike and Erik are really lovely people. You should check out their show, and not just because I'm on it 😁😜

In this week's episode we interview @drmorr.appliedcomputing.io about simulating distributed systems, his SimKube project and, of course, Taylor Swift: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

This week we talk to Rob Hernandez about the secrets to a successful career in SysAdmin and DevOps. Two words: golf carts. www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

Are you heading to Pasadena and wondering where to eat and have fun around SCaLE 22x? We've got the blog post for you. Reply with your favorite spots. 🍔 🍺 www.socallinuxexpo.o...

"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened." - Douglas Adams

This week we finish Mike's origin story and discuss where all the old programmers went (without making any Logan's Run jokes) www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

We're going to Scale 22x. You should go too. It's cool and very inexpensive as conferences go: www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale/22x

This week we talk to Dr. Junade Ali, who published a controversial study last summer about high failure rates of projects using Agile methods. We discuss his background, the details of his study, and his ideas on psychological safety for development teams: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

This week we helpfully conclude that nobody really knows anything: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

My article for the ACM Queue just got published! Inside I talk about (shocking everyone) SimKube. Simulation: An Underutilized Tool in Distributed Systems dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1...

We wrap up our discussion on the CAP Theorem, in which we reveal we are mildly intolerant of partitions: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis... #distsys

Do you know the CAP Theorem? This week we start discussing its origins and meaning. Also blueberries! www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...

Python pro-tip: did you know that you can dynamically build an error thing and then call `exec("raise error from None")` and then catch any SyntaxErrors? They do it loads in the Azure SDK: github.com/search?q=rep...

This week Erik and i talk about "Propositions as Types", with the help of Dr. Nathan Mull from Boston University: www.picturemecoding.com/2222783/epis...