Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

153: Auld Lang Syne (Chad Pytel)

July 6th, 2015  |  Season 3  |  54 mins 34 secs

As Giant Robots nears its 3 year anniversary, Ben welcomes back Chad Pytel to reflect on the highs and lows of the previous year at thoughtbot.

This episode of Giant Robots is sponsored by Digital Ocean. Simple and fast cloud hosting, built for developers. Use the code GiantRobots for a $10 credit towards your new account.

152: Providing Positive Change (Denise Yu & Rosa Fox)

June 29th, 2015  |  Season 3  |  29 mins 45 secs

Ben welcomes Denise Yu and Rosa Fox of Codebar to discuss the importance of fostering community, mentoring tips, and more.

151: Open By Default (Aidan Feldman)

June 15th, 2015  |  Season 3  |  28 mins 57 secs

Ben discusses consulting and open source from within the government, as well as choosing the right clients, and the value of mentorship, with Aidan Feldman of 18F.

150: Don't Screw it Up (Derek Prior)

June 8th, 2015  |  Season 3  |  33 mins 28 secs

Ben talks with fellow thoughtbotter Derek Prior on conference speaking, code review, and podcasting.

149: Try to Stand Out (Chris Toomey)

June 1st, 2015  |  Season 3  |  32 mins 47 secs

Ben talks with fellow thoughtbotter Chris Toomey on networking, mentorship, React.js, and sustainable pace.

148: We All Want to be Heard (Rebecca Miller-Webster)

May 25th, 2015  |  Season 3  |  32 mins 10 secs

Ben talks with Rebecca Miller-Webster, Managing Director of thoughtbot Chicago, on beginners contributing to open-source, organizing conferences, and cultivating a more inclusive culture.

This episode of Giant Robots is sponsored by Digital Ocean. Simple and fast cloud hosting, built for developers. Use the code GiantRobots for a $10 credit towards your new account.

147: Cry Through it, and Keep Typing (Saron Yitbarek)

May 18th, 2015  |  Season 3  |  33 mins 9 secs

Ben welcomes on Saron Yitbarek to talk about creating communities that foster learning and niceness; as well as getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, and how confronting that discomfort can ultimately lead to success.

This episode of Giant Robots is sponsored by Digital Ocean. Simple and fast cloud hosting, built for developers. Use the code GiantRobots for a $10 credit towards your new account.

146: Ready For the Real World (Shelby Kelly)

May 11th, 2015  |  Season 3  |  28 mins 53 secs

Ben and Shelby Kelly discuss teaching at a coding bootcamp and the future of junior-developer programs. Stick around till the end to catch a sample of her Rocky Mountain Ruby rap!

This episode of Giant Robots is sponsored by Digital Ocean. Simple and fast cloud hosting, built for developers. Use the code GiantRobots for a $10 credit towards your new account.

145: YOLO! _push to master_ (Sam Phippen)

May 4th, 2015  |  Season 3  |  43 mins 40 secs

Ben talks to Sam Phippen on working on the RSpec core team, new features in 3.3, tips for contributing to open-source, and his favorite parts of Rails.

This episode of Giant Robots is sponsored by Digital Ocean. Simple and fast cloud hosting, built for developers. Use the code GiantRobots for a $10 credit towards your new account.

144: Finding a New Way (Pam Selle)

April 27th, 2015  |  Season 3  |  34 mins 19 secs

Ben talks to Pam Selle on the importance of self-imposed structure, voice coding, and living with RSI.

143: Keep an Open Mind (Carin Meier)

April 20th, 2015  |  Season 3  |  29 mins 2 secs

Ben talks with Carin Meier on the writer's process, how programming relates to the arts, and the importance of a graduated and immersive approach to learning.

142: The Power of Play (Justin Gitlin)

April 13th, 2015  |  Season 3  |  28 mins 23 secs

Ben talks with Justin Gitlin on changing the experience of a social media platform, as well as shaping game dev to art (and vice versa).

141: Don't Say No to Anything (Georgia Dow)

April 6th, 2015  |  Season 3  |  29 mins 35 secs

Ben sits down with therapist/writer/podcaster/speaker/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion Georgia Dow to discuss the value of new experiences, the advantages of private mentorship, and living life to it's fullest.

140: Don't Believe Everything That You Think (Sir John Hargrave)

March 30th, 2015  |  Season 3  |  31 mins 1 sec

Ben talks to Sir John Hargrave, CEO of Media Shower, about his new book Mind Hacking on the power of reprogramming one's thoughts to maintain new habits, and innovations to the traditional publishing model.

139: Learning Oriented Culture (Mike Brittain)

March 23rd, 2015  |  Season 3  |  38 mins 27 secs

Ben talks to Mike Brittain, VP of Engineering at Etsy, on interacting with the development community, strides in diversity practices, the pros/cons of an open office, and the difficulties in transitioning from engineering to management.

138: Overloading the Home Row (Craig Andera)

March 16th, 2015  |  Season 3  |  44 mins 35 secs

Ben talks to Craig Andera, developer at Cognitect, on his latest 20% time project, Clojure as open source, and reimagining database structures.