The ReadME Podcast

The ReadME Podcast is your portal into the open source community. We'll introduce you to the people building the projects you use every day, answer your questions about tech, and guide you through the ever-changing open source landscape. We take deep dives into the trends shaping the future of technology, the culture and craft of software development, look back at the milestones that made open source what it is today, and learn from community experts. No matter where you are in your developer journey, there's something here for you.Check out more episodes, stories, and guides at The ReadME Project.  

For the final ReadME Podcast episode of Season 2 our hosts Brian and Neha turn the spotlight around and interview each other. The conversation covers everything from Nintendos at Christmas and university computer hand-me-downs to Encarta, Ask Jeeves, and Netscape. They also dive down the rabbit hole of their tech journeys—starting from the beginning. Learn how they got into open source and who gave them the nudges they needed to really find their stride. They also share their approaches to imposter syndrome, what keyboard shortcuts they love, and whether they prefer coffee or tea. There's a little serendipity, a lot of OSS love, and a few surprises along the way. Check out The ReadME Project for more episodes, stories and features: https://github.com/readmeign-up And sign-up for our monthly newsletter: https://github.com/readme/#newsletter

As a school director, Quincy dabbled with code to automate some of his colleagues' more administrative tasks—and it changed everything. Computers tackled the tedious work, and teachers could focus on teaching. This led Quincy to pursue programming more seriously, but his transition to work as a software engineer was a bit rocky. Inspired to find a better way, he merged his love of education with coding to create FreeCodeCamp in 2014. Quincy opens up about his life pre-programming, the lightbulb moment behind FreeCodeCamp, and why it's important that it stays accessible. Quincy on GitHub: https://github.com/QuincyLarson Check out FreeCodeCamp: https://www.freeCodeCamp.org Be sure to check-out The ReadME Project for more episodes, stories and features: https://github.com/readme and sign-up for our monthly newsletter: https://github.com/readme/#newsletter

Jani Eväkallio discovered programming when he was stuck inside with a broken leg as a teenager. He fell in and out of programming afterwards and took an OSS hiatus at 16. He has since dove back in and maintained countless projects over the years—but quickly recognized his own limitations and didn't hesitate to hand over the reins to those looking for the responsibility. Jani discusses his relationship with open source, why he turned down millions of dollars for FOAM, and where he's currently channeling his creativity. Jani on GitHub: https://github.com/jevakallio Jani on the web: https://jevakallio.dev/ Be sure to check-out The ReadME Project for more episodes, stories and features: https://github.com/readme and sign-up for our monthly newsletter: https://github.com/readme/#newsletter

Salma Alam-Naylor, aka White Panther, discovered programming at a young age but focused on music and comedy into her twenties. Though her path to developing wasn't obvious or linear, she wouldn't change it for anything. Today, she's a positive force in open source, making an impact on Twitch, Discord, and via her vocal commitment to accessibility and inclusivity in tech. In our conversation, she shares her journey to open source, where music and code meet, and how becoming a parent changed her perspective on the future of work. Salma on GitHub: https://github.com/whitep4nth3r Salma on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/whitep4nth3r Salma on Discord: https://discord.com/invite/theclaw Be sure to check-out The ReadME Project for more episodes, stories and features https://github.com/readme, and sign-up for our monthly newsletter: https://github.com/readme/#newsletter

Liyas Thomas is the founder of Hoppscotch, an open source API development ecosystem that's seen exponential growth. Encouraged by his own mentors, Liyas now maintains Hoppscotch full time. Whether he's programming or pursuing his passion for art, he always puts beauty at the core of his work. During this conversation, he shares his path to Hoppscotch, the importance of community, and a preview of his newest endeavor: a book. Liyas on GitHub: https://github.com/liyasthomas Liyas' website: https://liyasthomas.com/ Be sure to check-out The ReadME Project for more episodes, stories and features: https://github.com/readme

Fred Schott's love for programming started early, and he worked hard during his 20s at companies like Box and Google. As his own side projects experienced open source success, Fred took the plunge in 2021 and started Astro, a JavaScript-based static site builder full time. In this conversation, he speaks about his introduction to open source, his path to Astro, and the role luck plays in success. Fred on GitHub: https://github.com/fredkschott Astro on the web: https://astro.build/blog/introducing-astro/ Be sure to check-out The ReadME Project for more episodes, stories and features: https://github.com/readme

While earning her Master's degree in Piano, Helen Hou-Sandí worked in the computer lab, where her skills caught the attention of her music conservatory. Implored to make a website, she discovered the instant gratification of WordPress and was hooked. A decade later, she's a leading WordPress developer who's passionate about open source. Helen shares her journey from pianist to programmer, how the disciplines inform each other, and the ways in which she hopes to make WordPress relevant to a new generation of developers. Helen's blog: https://helen.blog/ Helen on GitHub: https://github.com/helen Be sure to check out The ReadME Project for more episodes, stories and features: https://github.com/readme.

Anthony Sottile started college as a biochemistry major, but pivoted to programming two years in. After his first coding class, the school was so impressed they invited Anthony to teach the following semester. He loved helping others realize the potential of programming, which eventually led him to Twitch, where he codes, shares stories, and builds community in real time. Hear more about his journey, and why he thinks better communication is essential for open source. Anthony on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/codewithanthony Anthony on GitHub: https://github.com/asottile Be sure to check out The ReadME Project for more episodes, stories and features: https://github.com/readme

Season 2 of The ReadME Podcast is on the way with our hosts Brian Douglas and Neha Batra! New episodes will be dropping every Tuesday starting October 26th...

Segun Adebayo's approach to computers and technology is driven by a belief that how we communicate is just as important as what we communicate. With this in mind, he created Chakra UI, a modular and accessible React library that has a quarter million downloads a month. Originally from Nigeria and now based in Dubai, Segun sat down with us to share his open source origin story, his passion for design, and what the future holds for both himself and Chakra UI, now on The ReadME Podcast.

Based in Lagos, Nigeria, Ada Nduka Oyom initially studied microbiology at university, but quickly fell in love with programming. Witnessing the huge disparity of women to men in technology, she started She Code Africa so women could learn to code and be properly recognized for their work. In this episode, Ada shares her inspiration for She Code Africa, what she's learned during her journey to becoming a global thought leader, and what she hopes to pass on to the next generation of female developers, now on The ReadME Podcast.

While procrastinating at MIT in 2005, Limor Fried built her own MP3 player and shared it online, immediately inspiring others to create their own hardware. What started as a small side hustle on PayPal is now Adafruit, a wildly successful business with 100 employees and a 50,000 square-foot factory in New York. Limor, otherwise known as “Ladyada,” empowers users with the tools they need to bring their ideas to life, from mini arcade games to light-up cosplay accessories to humidity-detecting clocks. She shares her journey to Adafruit, how open source plays into the business, and why electronics engineering should be taught from the top down, now on The ReadME Podcast.

Rachel Nabors grew up in rural Virginia and knew that if they could just get a laptop and the internet, they could bring the world to them. Currently balancing documentation, demos, and community engagement on Facebook's React Core team, it's safe to say Rachel was right. An illustrator, developer, author, speaker, and teacher, Rachel shares how they discovered programming via Sailor Moon, what open source and the React Core team means to them, and what's next, now on The ReadME Podcast.

Almost 25 years ago, in 1997, Daniel Stenburg created cURL, a command line tool for transferring data. The name stands for “client URL,” works on any platform, and is used in billions of installations. Despite maintaining cURL for a quarter of a century, Daniel couldn't be happier where he is, and wouldn't want to be doing anything else. We recently sat down with him to hear how he first discovered open source, why he wants to lower the barrier of entry for newcomers, and how he sees cURL evolving in the future, now on The ReadME Podcast.

In this episode, we talk with Henry Zhu, full-time maintainer of Babel, the Javascript compiler. We'll discover how Henry first got into programming, and what convinced him to leave a stable job at Adobe to take the leap into open source. Henry digs into the challenges and rewards of building a community, and how he finds balance. Hear it all straight from Henry, now on The ReadME Podcast.

While working on his master's thesis for web applications, Tobias Koppers created an optimizer out of necessity, which he called webpack. His thesis complete, Tobias realized how fun it was to iterate with users and bring code splitting and bundling to the masses. Driven by the continuous innovation of the open source community, a few choice partners (like Sean Larkin) and Open Collective sponsorships, Tobias was able to become a full-time maintainer—and webpack is now used by millions of developers around the world. Tobias shares his story and why he recently took a new role at Vercel, now on The ReadME Podcast.

Originally from the Netherlands and now based in California, Paulus Schoutsen has always been fascinated by data, and how it could be used to optimize people's lives. Seven years ago, he open sourced a simple way to remotely turn his house lights on at sunset. Today, Home Assistant has grown to an entire home automation framework with a worldwide community. Hear Paulus share his path to programming, including his early experiments and a deep-rooted love for open source, now on The ReadME Podcast.

When Mariatta Wijaya arrived in Canada from Indonesia, she got a job as a software developer, and the first language she learned was Python. Now a Python core developer, she creates GitHub bots that are not just functional, but friendly. She's also the co-organizer of Vancouver PyLadies and the PyCascades conference, was nominated twice for the Google Open Source Peer Bonus Program, and has received the Python Software Foundation (PSF) community service award. Hear how it all unfolded on Mariatta's episode, available now.

In this episode, we sit down with Scott Hanselman and Mark Downie, maintainers of Das Blog. Developed in the C# programming language, Das Blog is a robust blogging application that supports languages across the globe and doesn't require a database. Scott and Mark share how they met, and how they're ushering 20 years of code into the future. We'll dig into their partnership, the responsibility of taking over heritage code, and the value of blogging. Hear it all, now on The ReadME Podcast.

Evan You came to the U.S. from China when he was 18, and ended up at Parsons for a Master's of Fine Arts in design and coding. He landed his dream job at Google Creative Lab, where he would become drawn to his side project, which would become what we now know as Vue. The core library has since evolved into an entire ecosystem and progressive framework that anyone can incrementally adopt. It's seen organic and exponential growth, and in 2020, its users doubled. Hear from Evan what sparked the idea for Vue, how he turned his passion into the Vue ecosystem, and what advice he has for maintainers, now on The ReadME Podcast.

When she was young, Gina Häußge's dad showed her how to make her first computer commands, and she was hooked on watching code come to life. Fast forward to 2012, when she got her first 3D printer, which she loved. What she didn't love were the noises and fumes it spat out during prints. So she put it in the spare bathroom, built a monitor that she could control from her office, and open sourced it on GitHub. Octoprint exploded in popularity, and Gina quickly learned there was much more to being a maintainer than writing code. Hear how she figured it all out, and what she's doing now, on The ReadME Podcast.

On The ReadME Podcast, we take a look behind the scenes of the most impactful open source projects and the developers who make them happen. Our guests are coding in public, creating firmware, designing hardware, researching security vulnerabilities, creating art and music, and making phenomenal scientific discoveries. They're also working on the periphery of open source, taking time to consider how we think about technology. In sharing these stories, we hope to provide a spotlight on what you don't always see in the lines of code, and what it takes to build the technology that inspires us all.