Podcasts about Strange loop

In today's episode, Leticia and Jordan discuss the Canadian premiere of A Strange Loop—a co-production between The Musical Stage Company, Soulpepper Theatre, Crow's Theatre, and TO Live. They re-appraise the musical's impact in today's sociopolitical climate.

PLUS: Why the recapture of Sudan's capital brings little relief to a humanitarian crisis; a fellow Jesuit on his personal connection to Pope Francis; a hyped new video game with a Belle Epoque vibe; the strange power of A Strange Loop, the Broadway smash comes to Canada; and Riffed from the Headlines, our weekly musical news quiz.

In this episode, writer Rick Rhobajt Widen discusses bible musicals, running the gamut from Children of Eden, Two by Two, and Jesus Christ Superstar to religion-adjacent musicals like Saved and Leap of Faith . We also talk about the song "Writing a Gospel Play" from Michael R. Jackson's 2022 musical A Strange Loop. You can write to scenetosong@gmail.com with a comment or question about an episode or about musical theater, or if you'd like to be a podcast guest. Follow on Instagram at @ScenetoSong and on Facebook at “Scene to Song with Shoshana Greenberg Podcast.” And be sure to sign up for the new monthly e-newsletter at scenetosong.substack.com. Contribute to the Patreon. The theme music is by Julia Meinwald. Music played in this episode: "Generations" from Children of Eden "Why Me?" from Two by Two "Deborah (Lead Me to the Rock)" from Bible Women "Answer Me" from The Band's Visit "Two by Two" from Two by Two "Samuel Anoints David" from King David "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar "Feelings" from The Apple Tree "Writing a Gospel Play" from A Strange Loop

Amjad Masad set out more than a decade ago to pursue the dream of unleashing 1B software creators around the world. With millions of Replit users pre-ChatGPT, that vision was already becoming a reality. Turbocharged by LLMs, the vision of enabling anyone to code—from 12-year-olds in India to knowledge workers in the U.S.—seems less and less radical. In this episode, Amjad explains how an explosion in the developer population could change the economy, society and more. He also discusses his early days programming in Jordan, his unique management approach and what AI will mean for the global economy. Hosted by David Cahn and Sonya Huang, Sequoia Capital  Mentioned in this episode: On the Naturalness of Software: 2012 paper on applying NLP to code  Attention Is All You Need: Seminal 2017 paper on transformers I Am a Strange Loop: 2007 follow up to Douglas Hofstadter's 1979 classic Gödel, Escher, Bach that explores how self-referential systems can describe minds On Lisp: Paul Graham's 1993 book on the original programming language of AI

In this episode of Crazy Wisdom, Stewart Alsop speaks with German Jurado about the strange loop between computation and biology, the emergence of reasoning in AI models, and what it means to "stand on the shoulders" of evolutionary systems. They talk about CRISPR not just as a gene-editing tool, but as a memory architecture encoded in bacterial immunity; they question whether LLMs are reasoning or just mimicking it; and they explore how scientists navigate the unknown with a kind of embodied intuition. For more about German's work, you can connect with him through email at germanjurado7@gmail.com.Check out this GPT we trained on the conversation!Timestamps00:00 - Stewart introduces German Jurado and opens with a reflection on how biology intersects with multiple disciplines—physics, chemistry, computation.05:00 - They explore the nature of life's interaction with matter, touching on how biology is about the interface between organic systems and the material world.10:00 - German explains how bioinformatics emerged to handle the complexity of modern biology, especially in genomics, and how it spans structural biology, systems biology, and more.15:00 - Introduction of AI into the scientific process—how models are being used in drug discovery and to represent biological processes with increasing fidelity.20:00 - Stewart and German talk about using LLMs like GPT to read and interpret dense scientific literature, changing the pace and style of research.25:00 - The conversation turns to societal implications—how these tools might influence institutions, and the decentralization of expertise.30:00 - Competitive dynamics between AI labs, the scaling of context windows, and speculation on where the frontier is heading.35:00 - Stewart reflects on English as the dominant language of science and the implications for access and translation of knowledge.40:00 - Historical thread: they discuss the Republic of Letters, how the structure of knowledge-sharing has evolved, and what AI might do to that structure.45:00 - Wrap-up thoughts on reasoning, intuition, and the idea of scientists as co-evolving participants in both natural and artificial systems.50:00 - Final reflections and thank-yous, German shares where to find more of his thinking, and Stewart closes the loop on the conversation.Key InsightsCRISPR as a memory system – Rather than viewing CRISPR solely as a gene-editing tool, German Jurado frames it as a memory architecture—an evolved mechanism through which bacteria store fragments of viral DNA as a kind of immune memory. This perspective shifts CRISPR into a broader conceptual space, where memory is not just cognitive but deeply biological.AI models as pattern recognizers, not yet reasoners – While large language models can mimic reasoning impressively, Jurado suggests they primarily excel at statistical pattern matching. The distinction between reasoning and simulation becomes central, raising the question: are these systems truly thinking, or just very good at appearing to?The loop between computation and biology – One of the core themes is the strange feedback loop where biology inspires computational models (like neural networks), and those models in turn are used to probe and understand biological systems. It's a recursive relationship that's accelerating scientific insight but also complicating our definitions of intelligence and understanding.Scientific discovery as embodied and intuitive – Jurado highlights that real science often begins in the gut, in a kind of embodied intuition before it becomes formalized. This challenges the myth of science as purely rational or step-by-step and instead suggests that hunches, sensory experience, and emotional resonance play a crucial role.Proteins as computational objects – Proteins aren't just biochemical entities—they're shaped by information. Their structure, function, and folding dynamics can be seen as computations, and tools like AlphaFold are beginning to unpack that informational complexity in ways that blur the line between physics and code.Human alignment is messier than AI alignment – While AI alignment gets a lot of attention, Jurado points out that human alignment—between scientists, institutions, and across cultures—is historically chaotic. This reframes the AI alignment debate in a broader evolutionary and historical context, questioning whether we're holding machines to stricter standards than ourselves.Standing on the shoulders of evolutionary processes – Evolution is not just a backdrop but an active epistemic force. Jurado sees scientists as participants in a much older system of experimentation and iteration—evolution itself. In this view, we're not just designing models; we're being shaped by them, in a co-evolution of tools and understanding.

If you have any questions about the college audition process, feel free to reach out at mailbag@mappingthecollegeaudition.com. If you're interested in working with MTCA for help with your individualized preparation for your College Audition journey, please check us out at mtca.com, or on Instagram or Facebook.  Follow Us!  Instagram: @mappingthecollegeaudition YouTube: @MTCA (Musical Theater College Auditions)  TikTok: @mtcollegeauditions  Charlie Murphy:@charmur7  About MTCA:  Musical Theater College Auditions (MTCA) is the leader in coaching acting and musical theater students through the college audition process and beyond with superlative results. MTCA has assembled a roster of expert artist-educators who can guide students artistically, organizationally, strategically, and psychologically through the competitive college audition process. MTCA provides the tools, resources, and expertise along with a vast and strong support system. They train the unique individual, empowering the artist to bring their true, authentic self to their work. MTCA believes that by helping students reveal their potential it allows each school to connect with those who are truly right for their programs, which in turn guides each student toward their best college fit.  About Charlie Murphy:  Charlie is a proud graduate of Carnegie Mellon University's BFA program. As an Actor he has performed with theaters such as: NY Public Theatre's “Shakespeare in the Park”, The Pearl Theatre Company, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Chautauqua Theatre Company, Kinetic Theatre Company, and the Shakespeare Theatre of DC. With MTCA [Musical Theater College Auditions -- mtca.nyc], he has been helping prospective theatre students through the college process for over 15 years. As a Teacher and Director, he is able to do a few of his favorite things in life: help students to find their authentic selves as artists, and then help them find their best fit for their collegiate journey. Through this podcast, he hopes to continue that work as well as help demystify this intricate process. This episode was produced by Meghan Cordier, Kelly Prendergast and Socials by Jordan Rice. Episode theme music is created by Will Reynolds with Additional Vocals from Elizabeth Stanley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The evolution of AI is changing the way we interact with the physical world, not just in how we use this technology, but also where and how we access it. In this episode, Reid and Aria sit down with Meta's Chief Technology Officer, Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, who is pioneering wearables for the company. Boz's journey in the tech sector has taken him from working on Microsoft Visio to founding Reality Labs, Meta's AR and VR division. Now, he's focused on the next frontier in mixed realities with his latest project, Orion, a pair of AR glasses. Boz offers an Orion demo and shares his vision for wearables as an equalizing technology that can unlock superpowers for every person. Plus, they check-in on the state of AI as it relates to open source software, safety, hyperscalers, and startups.   For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/  Topics: 1:03 - Episode introduction 3:36 - How Boz's farm upbringing influenced his career and perspective on the digital world  7:02 - How will wearables influence how we navigate the physical and digital worlds?  9:46 - Meta's AI philosophy 11:27 - Pi explains Norbert Wiener's construct of information theory 14:28 - What would it take to build AI world models? 15:09 - What are the most significant use cases for Orion? 19:01 - Can Orion accommodate monocular vision? 20:00 - Boz's response to Orion skeptics 22:29 - Boz gives predictions on our AI future 25:09 - What would it look like to have a compatible system of wearables?  27:30 - Unexpected discoveries from Orion testing 29:33 - What is Meta's focus in the AI space for the years to come? 30:48 - How do we ensure that AI innovation is used for good? 35:28 - Boz responds to Meta's changes in fact checking policy 37:11 - How will hyperscalers and start-ups flourish in the AI game? 40:06 - Boz shares his review on “The Wild Robot” 42:24 - Rapid-fire questions Select mentions:  The Martian by Andy Weir Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstadter J. C. R. Licklider, psychologist and computer scientist Douglas Engelbart, engineer and computer science pioneer Norbert Wiener, computer scientist and mathematician Yann LeCun, computer scientist and Chief AI Scientist at Meta  Michael Abrash, Chief Scientist, Reality Labs, Meta Garry Kasparov, Russian chess grandmaster 4-H, a youth development program from the USDA The Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) Qualified Business Income Deduction (QBI) Possible is an award-winning podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Whether it's Inflection's Pi, OpenAI's ChatGPT or other AI tools, each episode will use AI to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.

The relentlessly prolific Jason Carman is making the films our culture needs: optimistic, inspiring and positioned at the frontiers of modern tech and science. In under two years, he has shipped more than 70 high-quality mini-documentaries exploring the startups shaping the future, racking up over 130,000 YouTube subscribers along the way. His new venture, Story Company, premiered “New Space”, its 100+ minute-long exploration of the modern space industry, to a packed San Francisco theater this year. Story Company has multiple projects in the pipeline, including a full-length sci-fi feature. Ultimately, he intends to create a new generation of sci-fi films: a Star Wars for the 21st century. I love Jason's ambition, drive and enthusiasm (not to mention his filmmaking chops), which is why we awarded him a $100k O'Shaughnessy Fellowship last year. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that's interesting!”, check out our Substack. Important Links: Jason on X Story Company on X Story Company on Youtube Story Company's Website “New Space” Frontier Film Jason's Fellowship Show Notes: How Jason fell in love with filmmaking Laziness as an edge How to build a good team How to fix Hollywood Frontier Films: a new category of movie From science-fact to science-fiction Finding the right infinite loops The roots of the idea of America A Complete Unknown: Jason's slideshow & Bob Dylan's anti-authoritarianism Getting woo on Tenet's Sator square How do you know when a movie is finished? The fragility of the artist We are all co-creators Jason as World Emperor MORE! Books Mentioned: I Am a Strange Loop; by Douglas Hofstadter The Genius of the Beast: A Radical Re-Vision of Capitalism; by Howard Bloom One Summer: America 1927; by Bill Bryson The Hypomanic Edge: What Built America; by John D. Gartner The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; by Douglas Adams Movies Mentioned: New Space (directed by Jason Carman) Flow (directed by Gints Zilbalodis) My Dinner With Andre (directed by Louis Malle) Star Wars (directed by George Lucas) A Complete Unknown (directed by James Mangold) Tenet (directed by Christopher Nolan) Dune: Part Two (directed by Denis Villeneuve)

All The Drama is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of deep dives into the plays that have won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Pulitzer Prize for Drama: “A Strange Loop“2020 Pulitzer winner “A Strange Loop”, by Michael R. Jackson A Strange Loop Wikipedia pagehttps://wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Strange_Loop Michael R. read more The post All the Drama: A Strange Loop, 2020 Winner, Pulitzer Prize for Drama appeared first on BroadwayRadio.

Be careful when you open the loop... A STRANGE LOOP is a musical outlier in many ways: it's one of the few Broadway shows to include book, music, and lyrics by one individual. It also won pretty much every award it could have (including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama) during its New York runs. But maybe most impressive is the sheer number of conversations one can have about it. This week we welcome Tony nominee L Morgan Lee (A STRANGE LOOP) to open as many of those loops as we can in about an hour's time. Adult conversations will include queer vs gay musicals, the not-so-subtle art of cruising, shame, identity, and more... (notice the ellipses) Follow L Morgan on Instagram at @lmorganlee and don't miss her March 31st as host of this year's Maestra Amplify 2025, a concert amplifying the women and non-binary musicians in the musical theatre industry. If you enjoyed this episode, try our FALSETTOS episode with Tony winner Michael Rupert. We've just announced our new series on PATREON! featuring conversations about the 10 musicals that have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. (PS- one of them will be A STRANGE LOOP.) Join the PATREON! FAM tier today or be a Beginner for only $1. Don't forget to like and share our episodes on Instagram and TikTok. We have great playlists on Spotify. And be sure to check out our TeePublic Store where our profits from the designs are donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Most importantly, thank you for being part of this wonderful podcasting community! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Neal reveals how ducks prevented him settling in the US, uncovers your treadmill cat's OCD hell, closes in on the surprising identity of the oligarchs of knitting, offers practical advice on self facing voodoo doll feedback loops for your active retirement, remembers The Onion print edition and discusses the sick, sick world of wireless earphones, actuaries and the Mandela Effect, fresh thinking on bus basements, taking too long to choose a hobby, a career in head stitching, Irish folklore's Fionn Mac Cumhaill and the Salmon of Knowledge, the trouble with asking yourself a question, the book I am a Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstadter, the childhood bear hoax, actuary snobbery, pre wired garments, a spontaneous dog, a bootlegging cat, air conditioning versus guns, navigating American multi layered doors, childhood paper rounds on sitcoms and more. CONTACT THE SHOW: Visit IntoYourHead.ie/Contact. LOW BITRATE EDITION: There's now a lightweight alt feed of Into Your Head for the bandwidth impaired - See IntoYourHead.ie/Low. INTO YOUR HEAD SHORTS: On YouTube, TikTok, Instagram or on site - Go to IntoYourHead.ie/Shorts LICENSE: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 - Attribution: Neal O'Carroll - Far future humans can find hundreds more shows on Archive dot org.

Neal reveals how ducks prevented him settling in the US, uncovers your treadmill cat's OCD hell, closes in on the surprising identity of the oligarchs of knitting, offers practical advice on self facing voodoo doll feedback loops for your active retirement, remembers The Onion print edition and discusses the sick, sick world of wireless earphones,actuaries and the Mandela Effect, fresh thinking on bus basements, taking too long to choose a hobby, a career in head stitching, Irish folklore's Fionn Mac Cumhaill and the Salmon of Knowledge, the trouble with asking yourself a question, the book I am a Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstadter, the childhood bear hoax, actuary snobbery, pre wired garments, a spontaneous dog, a bootlegging cat,  air conditioning versus guns, navigating American multi layered doors, childhood paper rounds on sitcoms and more. CONTACT THE SHOW: Visit IntoYourHead.ie/Contact. LOW BITRATE EDITION: A new lightweight alt feed of Into Your Head for the bandwidth impaired - See IntoYourHead.ie/Low. INTO YOUR HEAD SHORTS: On YouTube, TikTok, Instagram or on site - Go to IntoYourHead.ie/Shorts. LICENSE: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 - Attribution: Neal O'Carroll - Far future humans can find hundreds of shows on Archive dot org.

You might know Jason Veasey as Jonathan from Only Murders in the Building, or from Broadway shows such as A Strange Loop. Join us as we talk about Janet Jackson, embracing the weirdness, and finding all of your colors.

In Episode 49, Brennan is joined by Broadway's Ally Bonino as they talk about her journey as a New York actress to her recent Broadway debut in Suffs the Musical. With recent events, theatre like this is so important now more than ever, and Ally got to experience that first hand through a very unique lens... along with a cold, salty walk to our studio! Support the showHost/ Production/ Editing: Brennan StefanikMusic: Dylan KaufmanGraphic Design: Jordan Vongsithi@batobroadway on Instagram, Threads, and TikTokPatreon.com/batobroadway

The American musical is in a state of flux. Today's Broadway offerings are mostly jukebox musicals and blatant I.P. grabs; original ideas are few and far between. Meanwhile, one of the biggest films of the season is Jon M. Chu's earnest (and lengthy) adaptation of “Wicked,” the origin story of the Wicked Witch of the West that first premièred on the Great White Way nearly twenty years ago—and has been a smash hit ever since. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss why “Wicked” is resonating with audiences in 2024. They consider it alongside other recent movie musicals, such as “Emilia Pérez,” which centers on the transgender leader of a Mexican cartel, and Todd Phillips's follow-up to “Joker,” the confounding “Joker: Folie à Deux.” Then they step back to trace the evolution of the musical, from the first shows to marry song and story in the nineteen-twenties to the seventies-era innovations of figures like Stephen Sondheim. Amid the massive commercial, technological, and aesthetic shifts of the last century, how has the form changed, and why has it endured? “People who don't like musicals will often criticize their artificiality,” Schwartz says. “Some things in life are so heightened . . . yet they're part of the real. Why not put them to music and have singing be part of it?”Read, watch, and listen with the critics:“Wicked” (2024)“The Animals That Made It All Worth It,” by Naomi Fry (The New Yorker)“Ben Shapiro Reviews ‘Wicked' ”“Frozen” (2013)“Emilia Pérez” (2024)“Joker: Folie à Deux” (2024)“ ‘Joker: Folie à Deux' Review: Make 'Em Laugh (and Yawn),” by Manohla Dargis (the New York Times)“Hair” (1979)“The Sound of Music” (1965)“Anything Goes” (1934)“Show Boat” (1927)“Oklahoma” (1943)“Mean Girls” (2017)“Hamilton” (2015)“Wicked” (2003)“A Strange Loop” (2019)“Teeth” (2024)“Kimberly Akimbo” (2021)New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Some people say that all that's necessary to improve the capabilities of AI is to scale up existing systems. That is, to use more training data, to have larger models with more parameters in them, and more computer chips to crunch through the training data. However, in this episode, we'll be hearing from a computer scientist who thinks there are many other options for improving AI. He is Alexander Ororbia, a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York State, where he directs the Neural Adaptive Computing Laboratory.David had the pleasure of watching Alex give a talk at the AGI 2024 conference in Seattle earlier this year, and found it fascinating. After you hear this episode, we hope you reach a similar conclusion. Selected follow-ups:Alexander Ororbia - Rochester Institute of TechnologyAlexander G. Ororbia II - Personal websiteAGI-24: The 17th Annual AGI Conference - AGI SocietyJoseph Tranquillo - Bucknell UniversityHopfield network - WikipediaKarl Friston - UCLPredictive coding - WikipediaMortal Computation: A Foundation for Biomimetic Intelligence - Quantitative BiologyThe free-energy principle: a unified brain theory? - Nature Reviews NeuroscienceI Am a Strange Loop (book by Douglas Hofstadter) - WikipediaMark Solms - WikipediaConscium: Pioneering Safe, Efficient AIThe Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness (book by Mark Solms)Carver Mead - WikipediaEvent camera (includes Dynamic Vision Sensors) - WikipediaICRA (International Conference on Robotics and Automation)Brain-Inspired Machine Intelligence: A Survey of Neurobiologically-Plausible Credit AssignmentA Review of Neuroscience-Inspired Machine Learningngc-learnTaking Neuromorphic Computing to the Next Level with Loihi 2 Technology Brief - IntelMusic: Spike Protein, by Koi Discovery, available under CC0 1.0 Public Domain Declaration

In this week's mini-sode, we are shining the spotlight on the currently running, Broadway hit: Suffs! This is the first time we talk about a show that is actively on Broadway at this moment, and it's one that is extremely potent and important right now in light of recent events!Support the showHost/ Production/ Editing: Brennan StefanikMusic: Dylan KaufmanGraphic Design: Jordan Vongsithi@batobroadway on Instagram, Threads, and TikTokPatreon.com/batobroadway

In Episode 40, Brennan is joined by Broadway's L Morgan Lee, as she talks about her journey to her first Tony nomination, and they chat about the future of theatre and our community in a post-election world. The next few years are gonna be strange, but there's a lot we can do to help heal and help the world grow, so tune in for their perspectives on the matter!Support the showHost/ Production/ Editing: Brennan StefanikMusic: Dylan KaufmanGraphic Design: Jordan Vongsithi@batobroadway on Instagram, Threads, and TikTokPatreon.com/batobroadway

This week James Jackson Jr. (A Strange Loop) joins us and answers some listener questions! We cover tipping stress, changing someone perception about you and more. We knew James would be the right person to drop some advice!    @jjacksonjr @theamspillpodcast @michaeldfasano @aaron.fuksa

In this episode of Broadway Drumming 101, I sit down with the incredibly talented Skyler Fortgang, the drummer for The Great Gatsby on Broadway. We dive deep into his journey from early drumming experiences to landing a coveted spot in the Broadway scene.Highlights from the Episode:* First Impressions: Hear about when Skyler took a lesson with me and immediately blew me away with his drumming skills.* Broadway Breakthrough: Learn how Skyler connected with The Great Gatsby through his work with Chris Jago and how subbing on Paradise Square opened doors for him.* Mentorship and Connections: Discover how Sean McDaniel became a pivotal mentor for Skyler, guiding him through critical stages of his career.* Musical Evolution: Skyler shares how his playing style evolved under Sean McDaniel's mentorship, focusing on less-is-more techniques and the importance of sound quality.* Early Inspirations: Find out how Guitar Hero and lessons from Rudy Bird (Lauryn Hill's drummer) sparked Skyler's passion for drumming.* Navigating New York: Skyler offers invaluable advice for musicians planning to move to New York, including saving money, committing fully to the journey, and the importance of networking.* Drumming Challenges: Skyler talks about the physical challenges of drumming, from dealing with tendonitis to adjusting to different setups in Broadway pits.* Career Highlights: Skyler reflects on his subbing experiences on Broadway, including working on Strange Loop and Titanic, and how those roles prepared him for The Great Gatsby.Skyler also provides insights into his equipment preferences, advice for aspiring drummers on preparing for subbing gigs, and how he balances his Broadway career with other musical projects.Connect with Skyler:* Instagram: @SkylerFortGang.musicTune in to get an inside look at the life of a rising Broadway drummer and gain tips on breaking into the scene yourself!Clayton Craddock is the founder of Broadway Drumming 101, a comprehensive online platform dedicated to providing specialized mentorship and a meticulously curated collection of resources.Clayton's Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include: tick, tick...BOOM!, Altar Boyz, Memphis The Musical, Lady Day At Emerson's Bar and Grill, and Ain't Too Proud - The Life And Times Of The Temptations, Cats: The Jellicle Ball and The Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical. He has subbed for shows like Motown, Evita, Cats, Avenue Q, The Color Purple, Rent, Spongebob Squarepants - The Musical, Hadestown (tour), and many more. Clayton has appeared on The View, Good Morning America, Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, the TONY Awards, and performed with legends like The Stylistics, The Delfonics, Mario Cantone, Laura Benanti, Kristin Chenoweth, Kerry Butler, Christian Boyle, Norm Lewis, Denise Williams, Chuck Berry, and Ben E. King.Clayton is a proud endorser of Ahead Drum Cases, Paiste Cymbals, Innovative Percussion drumsticks, and Empire Ears.For more about Clayton Craddock, click here: www.claytoncraddock.comCONNECT WITH ME ON MEETHOOK! Get full access to Broadway Drumming 101 at broadwaydrumming101.substack.com/subscribe

In the next episode of Broadway Drumming 101, we are excited to showcase Skyler Fortgang, the talented drummer currently leading the rhythm of The Great Gatsby on Broadway. Skyler takes us through his journey, sharing how his diverse experience, from subbing on shows like Paradise Square and A Strange Loop to performing at renowned venues like Paper Mill Playhouse, prepared him for his current role. He discusses the varied musical styles in The Great Gatsby and how the show's musical demands keep him creatively engaged.Skyler's story is one of perseverance and adaptability. It proves that being open to various musical opportunities can lead to landing a dream gig on Broadway. Whether you're an aspiring drummer or a theater enthusiast, Skyler's insights offer a valuable perspective on the hustle and artistry behind the scenes. Take advantage of this episode, releasing on August 17th. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.Broadway Drumming 101 is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Skyler Fortgang is a drummer/percussionist, producer, keyboard programmer, and music director based in New York City.He has played in a variety of Broadway, Off-Broadway, touring, and regional theater productions and recorded for many artists across a wide array of genres. He appears on multiple albums with artists like Cristina, The Other Lovers, Skylar Pocket, Kathleen Elle, Andre Molina, and more.​Skyler is a diverse musician, proficient in all areas of percussion, including drumset hand percussion, mallet percussion, and classical percussion, specializing in musical theater percussion and drumset performance.​In addition to being a percussionist, he has extensive experience in music direction and conducting and a proficient knowledge of industry-standard performance software such as Mainstage and Ableton.​He holds a B.M. in Percussion Performance from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University (2019), studying under Joseph Tompkins, Javier Diaz, Kyle Zerna, and Mike Truesdell. Clayton Craddock is the founder of Broadway Drumming 101, a comprehensive online platform dedicated to providing specialized mentorship and a meticulously curated collection of resources.Clayton's Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include: tick, tick...BOOM!, Altar Boyz, Memphis The Musical, Lady Day At Emerson's Bar and Grill, and Ain't Too Proud - The Life And Times Of The Temptations, Cats: The Jellicle Ball and The Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical. He has subbed for shows like Motown, Evita, Cats, Avenue Q, The Color Purple, Rent, Spongebob Squarepants - The Musical, Hadestown (tour), and many more. Clayton has appeared on The View, Good Morning America, Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, the TONY Awards, and performed with legends like The Stylistics, The Delfonics, Mario Cantone, Laura Benanti, Kristin Chenoweth, Kerry Butler, Christian Boyle, Norm Lewis, Denise Williams, Chuck Berry, and Ben E. King.Clayton is a proud endorser of Ahead Drum Cases, Paiste Cymbals, Innovative Percussion drumsticks, and Empire Ears.For more about Clayton Craddock, click here: www.claytoncraddock.comCONNECT WITH ME ON MEETHOOK! Get full access to Broadway Drumming 101 at broadwaydrumming101.substack.com/subscribe

I'm not releasing a new episode this month, so instead I thought I'd put together a few “Why is This So Good” sections from the first and second seasons to hold us over until the next new episode in August. I've included A Strange Loop writer Michael R. Jackson talking about the song "Not Anymore" from the 1973 musical Raisin from episode 4; composer, writer, and director John Grimmett talking about the song sequence "Montage/Safe/The One I Love" from Michael John LaChiusa's 1993 musical Hello Again from episode 7; and writer John Verderber talking about Stephen Sondheim's song "Someone in a Tree" from his 1976 musical Pacific Overtures from episode 19. You can write to scenetosong@gmail.com with a comment or question about an episode or about musical theater, or if you'd like to be a podcast guest. Follow on Instagram at @ScenetoSong, on X/Twitter at @SceneSong, and on Facebook at “Scene to Song with Shoshana Greenberg Podcast.” And be sure to sign up for the new monthly e-newsletter at scenetosong.substack.com. Contribute to the Patreon. The theme music is by Julia Meinwald. Music played in this episode:  "Not Anymore" from Raisin  "Montage/Safe/The One I Love" from Hello Again "Someone in a Tree" from Pacific Overtures

In which the Musical Man periodically lends a sympathetic ear to those who live for today and have trouble maintaining boundaries. Donate today via Patreon: patreon.com/musicalmanpod / Podbean: musicalmanpod.podbean.com / Email: musicalmanpod@gmail.com

The Queen of Drag discusses his new memoir, The House of Hidden Meanings, and makes Dan play an R-rated game.RuPaul Charles became famous in 1993 with the song “Supermodel.” Since then, he's put out 18 albums, he's been in more than 50 films and TV shows, including his global hit, “RuPaul's Drag Race.” He's put out four books, including his latest, the number one New York Times best seller The House of Hidden Meanings. He's won fourteen Primetime Emmy Awards, and he won a Tony in 2022 for producing the Broadway show A Strange Loop. In this episode we talk about:His daily spiritual practicesTalking to his inner childThe challenging family he grew up inHis incredible business idea for a daytime disco for the over-40 setHis definition of wealth, and why he says he's always been rich, even when he had no moneyAnd he ropes Dan into a game of Dirty Charades – which gets a little spicy, so heads-up if you're listening with kids around or have sensitive earsOther resources mentioned: RuPaul's Allstora book shop and book clubToxic Parents: Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Reclaiming Your Life by Dr. Susan Forward with Craig BuckRelated Episodes:A Star, Utterly Unguarded | Brett EldredgeHow to Deal With Emotionally Immature People (Including Maybe Your Own Parents) | Lindsay C. GibsonThere's No Part Of Your Life You Can't Make More Awesome | Jeff WarrenSign up for Dan's weekly newsletter hereFollow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTokTen Percent Happier online bookstoreSubscribe to our YouTube ChannelOur favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular EpisodesFull Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/rupaul-2024See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kyle Birch (A Strange Loop / I'm Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire) co-hosts The West End Frame Show!Kyle and Andrew discuss Title Of Show (Phoenix Arts Club) as well as the latest news about The Society of London Theatre's “Theatre for Every Child" campaign, casting for the Les Misérables arena tour, James Corden delaying a performance of The Constituent to watch England's penalties and lots more. Kyle is currently playing Brenda Dee Cankles & others in I'm Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire at the Southwark Playhouse (Borough, The Little). Written by Samantha Hurley, the show is described as a sharp new comedy that reminds us that with great obsession comes great heartache.Last year Kyle was in the UK premiere of A Strange Loop. Direct from Broadway, Kyle started out as the alternate for the central character, Usher, before taking over the role full-time to huge acclaim for the final months of its run at the Barbican Centre. Some of Kyle's other theatre credits include The Color Purple (UK Tour), Bat Boy (London Palladium), Children Of Eden (Cadogan Hall) and various iterations of In Pieces. He starred as Agwe in the British Theatre Academy's production of Once On This Island (Southwark Playhouse). I'm Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire runs at the Southwark Playhouse (Borough, The Little) until 10th August. Visit www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk for info and tickets.Follow Kyle on Instagram: @kbirch27 Hosted by Andrew Tomlins. @AndrewTomlins32  Thanks for listening! Email: andrew@westendframe.co.uk Visit westendframe.co.uk for more info about our podcasts.   

Stephanie shares her newfound interest in naming conventions, highlighting a resource called "Classnames" that provides valuable names for programming and design. Joël, in turn, talks about using AI to generate names for D&D characters, emphasizing how AI can help provide inspiration and reasoning behind name suggestions. Then, they shift to Joël's interest in Roman history, where he discusses a blog by a Roman historian that explores distinctions between state and non-state peoples in the ancient Mediterranean. Together, the hosts delve into the importance of asking questions as consultants and developers to understand workflows, question assumptions, and build trust for better onboarding. Stephanie categorizes questions by engagement stages and their social and technical aspects, while Joël highlights how questioning reveals implicit assumptions and speeds up learning. They stress maintaining a curious mindset, using questions during PR reviews, and working with junior developers to foster collaboration. They conclude with advice on documenting answers and using questions for continuous improvement and effective decision-making in development teams. Class names inspiration (https://classnames.paulrobertlloyd.com/) How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part II: Government Without States (https://acoup.blog/2024/06/14/collections-how-to-raise-a-tribal-army-in-pre-roman-europe-part-ii-government-without-states/) Diocletian, Constantine, Bedouin Sayings, and Network Defense (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCUI5ryyMSE) The Power of Being New: A Proven Recipe for High Impact (https://hazelweakly.me/blog/the-power-of-being-new--a-proven-recipe-for-high-impact/#the-power-of-being-new-a-proven-recipe-for-high-impact) How to ask good questions (https://jvns.ca/blog/good-questions/) Transcript:  JOËL: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Bike Shed, a weekly podcast from your friends at thoughtbot about developing great software. I'm Joël Quenneville. STEPHANIE: And I'm Stephanie Minn. And together, we're here to share a bit of what we've learned along the way. JOËL: So, Stephanie, what's new in your world? STEPHANIE: So, if it has not been clear about just kind of the things I'm mentioning on the podcast the past few weeks, I've been obsessed with naming things lately [chuckles] and just thinking about how to name things, and, yeah, just really excited about...or even just having fun with that more than I used to be as a dev. And I found a really cool resource called "Classnames." Well, it's like just a little website that a designer and developer shared from kind of as an offshoot from his personal website. I'll link it in the show notes. But it's basically just a list of common names that are very useful for programming or even design. It's just to help you find some inspiration when you're stuck trying to find a name for something. And they're general or abstract enough that, you know, it's almost like kind of like a design pattern but a naming pattern [laughs], I suppose. JOËL: Ooh. STEPHANIE: Yeah, right? And so, there's different categories. Like, here's a bunch of words that kind of describe collections. So, if you need to find the name for a containment or a group of things, here's a bunch of kind of words in the English language that might be inspiring. And then, there's also other categories like music for describing kind of the pace or arrangement of things. Fashion, words from fashion can describe, like, the size of things. You know, we talk about T-shirt sizes when we are estimating work. And yeah, I thought it was really cool that there's both things that draw on, you know, domains that most people know in real life, and then also things that are a little more abstract. But yeah, "Classnames" by Paul Robert Lloyd — that's been a fun little resource for me lately. JOËL: Very cool. Have you ever played around at all with using AI to help you come up with the naming? STEPHANIE: I have not. But I know that you and other people in my world have been enjoying using AI for inspiration when they feel a little bit stuck on something and kind of asking like, "Oh, like, how could I name something that is, like, a group of things?" or, you know, a prompt like that. I suspect that that would also be very helpful. JOËL: I've been having fun using that to help me come up with good names for D&D characters, and sometimes they're a little bit on the nose. But if I sort of describe my character, and what's their vibe, and a little bit of, like, what they do and their background, and, like, I've built this whole, like, persona, and then, I just ask the AI, "Hey, what might be some good names for this?" And the AI will give me a bunch of names along with some reasoning for why they think that would be a good match. So, it might be like, oh, you know, the person's name is, I don't know, Starfighter because it evokes their connection to the night sky or whatever because that was a thing that I put in the background. And so, it's really interesting. And sometimes they're, like, just a little too obvious. Like, you don't want, you know, Joe Fighter because he's a fighter. STEPHANIE: And his name is Joe [laughs]. JOËL: Yeah, but some of them are pretty good. STEPHANIE: Cool. Joël, what's new in your world? JOËL: I guess in this episode of how often does Joël think about the Roman Empire... STEPHANIE: Oh my gosh [laughs]. JOËL: Yes [laughs]. STEPHANIE: Spoiler: it's every day [laughs]. JOËL: Whaaat? There's a blog that I enjoy reading from a Roman historian. It's called "A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry", acoup.blog. He's recently been doing an article series on not the Romans, but rather some of these different societies that are around them, and talking a little bit about a distinction that he calls sort of non-state peoples versus states in the ancient Mediterranean. And what exactly is that distinction? Why does it matter? And those are terms I've heard thrown around, but I've never really, like, understood them. And so, he's, like, digging into a thing that I've had a question about for a while that I've been really appreciating. STEPHANIE: Can you give, like, the reader's digest for me? JOËL: For him, it's about who has the ability to wield violence legitimately. In a state, sort of the state has a monopoly on violence. Whereas in non-state organizations, oftentimes, it's much more personal, so you might have very different sort of nobles or big men who are able to raise, let's say, private armies and wage private war on each other, and that's not seen as, like, some, like, big breakdown of society. It's a legitimate use of force. It's just accepted that that's how society runs. As opposed to in a state, if a, you know, wealthy person decided to raise a private army, that would be seen as a big problem, and the state would either try to put you down or, like, more generally, society would, like, see you as having sort of crossed a line you shouldn't have crossed. STEPHANIE: Hmm, cool. I've been reading a lot of medieval fantasy lately, so this is kind of tickling my brain in that way when I think about, like, what drives different characters to do things, and kind of what the consequences of those things are. JOËL: Right. I think it would be really fascinating to sort of project this framework forwards and look at the European medieval period through that lens. It seems to me that, at least from a basic understanding, that the sort of feudal system seems to be very much in that sort of non-state category. So, I'd be really interested to see sort of a deeper analysis of that. And, you know, maybe he'll do an addendum to this series. Right now, he's mostly looking at the Gauls, the Celtiberians, and the Germanic tribes during the period of the Roman Republic. STEPHANIE: Cool. Okay. Well, I also await the day when you somehow figure how this relates to software [laughter] and inevitably make some mind-blowing connection and do a talk about it [laughs]. JOËL: I mean, theming is always fun. There's a talk that I saw years ago at Strange Loop that was looking at the defense policy of the Roman Emperor Diocletian and the Roman Emperor Constantine, and the ways that they sort of defended the borders of the empire and how they're very different, and then related it to how you might handle network security. STEPHANIE: Whaat? JOËL: And sort of like a, hey, are we using more of a Diocletian approach here, or are we using more of a Constantine approach here? And all of a sudden, just, like, having those labels to put on there and those stories that went with it made, like, what could be a really, like, dry security talk into something that I still remember 10 years later. STEPHANIE: Yeah. Yeah. We love stories. They're memorable. JOËL: So, I'll make sure to link that in the show notes. STEPHANIE: Very cool. JOËL: We've been talking a lot recently about my personal note system, where I keep a bunch of, like, small atomic notes that are all usually based around a single thesis statement. And I was going through that recently, and I found one that was kind of a little bit juicy. So, the thesis is that consultants are professional question-askers. And I'm curious, as a consultant yourself, how do you feel about that idea? STEPHANIE: Well, my first thought would be, how do I get paid to only ask in questions [laughs] or how to communicate in questions and not do anything else [laughs]? It's almost like I'm sure that there is some, like, fantasy character, you know, where it's like, there's some villain or just obstacle where you have this monster character who only talks in questions. And it's like a riddle that you have to solve [laughs] in order to get past. JOËL: I think it's called a three-year-old. STEPHANIE: Wow. Okay. Maybe a three-year-old can do my job then [laughter]. But I do think it's a juicy one, and it's very...I can't wait to hear how you got there, but I think my reaction is yes, like, I do be asking questions [laughs] when I join a project on a client team. And I was trying to separate, like, what kinds of questions I ask. And I kind of came away with a few different categories depending on, like, the stage of the engagement I'm in. But, you know, when I first join a team and when I'm first starting out consulting for a team, I feel like I just ask a lot of basic questions. Like, "Where's the Jira board [laughs]?" Like, "How do you do deployments here?" Like, "What kind of Git process do you use?" So, I don't know if those are necessarily the interesting ones. But I think one thing that has been nice is being a consultant has kind of stripped the fear of asking those questions because, I don't know, these are just things I need to know to do my work. And, like, I'm not as worried about, like, looking dumb or anything like that [laughs]. JOËL: Yeah. I think there's often a fear that asking questions might make you look incompetent or maybe will sort of undermine your appearance of knowing what you're talking about, and I think I've found that to be sort of the opposite. Asking a lot of questions can build more trust, both because it forces people to think about things that maybe they didn't think about, bring to light sort of implicit assumptions that everyone has, and also because it helps you to ramp up much more quickly and to be productive in a way that people really appreciate. STEPHANIE: Yeah. And I also think that putting those things in, like, a public and, like, documented space helps people in the future too, right? At least I am a power Slack searcher [laughs]. And whenever I am onboarding somewhere, one of the first places I go is just to search in Slack and see if someone has asked this question before. I think the next kind of category of question that I discerned was just, like, questions to understand how the team understands things. So, it's purely just to, like, absorb kind of like perspective or, like, a worldview this team has about their codebase, or their work, or whatever. So, I think those questions manifest as just like, "Oh, like, you know, I am curious, like, what do you think about how healthy your codebase is? Or what kinds of bugs is your team, like, dealing with?" Just trying to get a better understanding of like, what are the challenges that this team is facing in their own words, especially before I even start to form my own opinions. Well, okay, to be honest, I probably am forming my own opinions, like, on the side [laughs], but I really try hard to not let that be the driver of how I'm showing up and especially in the first month I'm starting on a new team. JOËL: Would you say these sorts of questions are more around sort of social organization or, like, how a team approaches work, that sort of thing? Or do you classify more technical questions in this category? So, like, "Hey, tell me a little bit about your philosophy around testing." Or we talked in a recent episode "What value do you feel you get out of testing?" as a question to ask before even, like, digging into the implementation. STEPHANIE: Yeah, I think these questions, for me, sit at, like, the intersection of both social organization and technical questions because, you know, asking something like, "What's the value of testing for your team?" That will probably give me information about how their test suite is like, right? Like, what kinds of tests they are writing and kind of the quality of them maybe. And it also tells me about, yeah, like, maybe the reasons why, like, they only have just unit tests or maybe, like, just [inaudible 12:31] test, or whatever. And I think all of that is helpful information. And then, that's actually a really...I like the distinction you made because I feel like then the last category of questions that I'll mention, for now, feels like more geared towards technical, especially the questions I ask to debunk assumptions that might be held by the team. And I feel like that's like kind of the last...the evolution of my question-asking. Because I have, hopefully, like, really absorbed, like, why, you know, people think the way they do about some of these, you know, about their code and start to poke a little bit on being like, "Why do you think, you know, like, this problem space has to be modeled this way?" And that has served me well as a consultant because, you know, once you've been at an organization for a while, like, you start to take a lot of things for granted about just having to always be this way, you know, it's like, things just are the way they are. And part of the power of, you know, being this kind of, like, external observer is starting to kind of just like, yeah, be able to question that. And, you know, at the end of day, like, we choose not to change something, but I think it's very powerful to be able to at least, like, open up that conversation. JOËL: Right. And sometimes you open up that conversation, and what you get is a link to a big PR discussion or a Wiki or something where that discussion has already been had. And then, that's good for you and probably good for anybody else who has that question as well. STEPHANIE: I'm curious, for you, though, like, this thesis statement, atomic note, did you have notes around it, or was it just, like, you dropped it in there [laughs]? JOËL: So, I have a few things, one is that when you come in as a consultant, and, you know, we're talking here about consultants because that's what we do. I think this is probably true for most people onboarding, especially for non-junior roles where you're coming in, and there's an assumption of expertise, but you need to onboard onto a project. This is just particularly relevant for us as consultants because we do this every six months instead of, you know, a senior developer who's doing this maybe every two to three years. So, the note that I have here is that when you're brought on, clients they expect expertise in a technology, something like Ruby on Rails or, you know, just the web environment in general. They don't expect you as a consultant to be an expert in their domain or their practices. And so, when you really engage with this sort of areas that are new by asking a lot of questions, that's the thing that's really valuable, especially if those questions are coming from a place of experience in other similar things. So, maybe asking some questions around testing strategies because you've seen three or four other ways that work or don't work or that have different trade-offs. Even asking about, "Hey, I see we went down a particular path, technically. Can you walk me through what were the trade-offs that we evaluated and why we decided this was the path that was valuable for us?" That's something that people really appreciate from outside experts. Because it shows that you've got experience in those trade-offs, that you've thought the deeper thoughts beyond just shipping the next ticket. And sometimes they've made the decisions without actually thinking through the trade-offs. And so, that can be an opening for a conversation of like, "Hey, well, we just went down this path because we saw a blog article that recommended this, or we just did this because it felt right. Talk us through the trade-offs." And now maybe you have a conversation on, "Hey, here are the trade-offs that you're doing. Let me know if this sounds right for your organization. If not, maybe you want to consider changing some things or tweaking your approach." And I think that is valuable sort of at the big level where you're thinking about how the team is structured, how different parts of work is done, the technical architecture, but it also is valuable at the small level as well. STEPHANIE: Yeah, 100%. There is a blog post I really like by Hazel Weakly, and it's called "The Power of Being New: A Proven Recipe for High Impact." And one thing that she says at the beginning that I really enjoy is that even though, like, whenever you start on a new team there's always that little bit of pressure of starting to deliver immediate value, right? But there's something really special about that period where no one expects you to do anything, like, super useful immediately [laughs]. And I feel like it is both a fleeting time and, you know, I'm excited to continue this conversation of, like, how to keep integrating that even after you're no longer new. But I like to use that time to just identify, while I have nothing really on my plate, like, things that might have just been overlooked or just people have gotten used to that sometimes is, honestly, like, can be a quick fix, right? Like, just, I don't know, deleting a piece of dead code that you're seeing is no longer used but just gets fallen off other people's plates. I really enjoy those first few weeks, and people are almost, like, always so appreciative, right? They're like, "Oh my gosh, I have been meaning to do that." Or like, "Great find." And these are things that, like I said, just get overlooked when you are, yeah, kind of busy with other things that now are your responsibility. JOËL: You're talking about, like, that feeling of can you add value in the, like, initial time that you join. And I think that sometimes it can be easy to think that, oh, the only value you can add is by, like, shipping code. I think that being sort of noisy and asking a lot of questions in Slack is often a great way to add value, especially at first. STEPHANIE: Yeah, agreed. JOËL: Ideally, I think you come in, and you don't sort of slide in under the radar as, like, a new person on the team. Like, you come in, and everybody knows you're there because you are, like, spamming the channel with questions on all sorts of things and getting people to either link you to resources they have or explaining different topics, especially anything domain-related. You know, you're coming in with an outside expertise in a technology. You are a complete new person at the business and the problem domain. And so, that's an area where you need to ask a lot of questions and ramp up quickly. STEPHANIE: Yes. I have a kind of side topic. I guess it's not a side topic. It's about asking questions, so it's relevant [laughs]. But one thing that I'm curious about is how do you approach kind of doing this in a place where question asking is not normalized and maybe other people are less comfortable with kind of people asking questions openly and in public? Like, how do you set yourself up to be able to ask questions in a way that doesn't lead to just, like, some just, like, suspicion or discomfort about, like, why you're asking those questions? JOËL: I think that's the beauty of the consultant title. When an organization brings in outside experts, they kind of expect you to ask questions. Or maybe it's not an explicit expectation, but when they see you asking a lot of questions, it sort of, I think, validates a lot of things that they expect about what an outside expert should be. So, asking a lot of questions of trying to understand your business, asking a lot of questions to try to understand the technical architecture, asking questions around, like, some subtle edge cases or trade-offs that were made in the technical architecture. These are all things that help clients feel like they're getting value for the money from an outside expert because that's what you want an outside expert to do is to help you question some of your assumptions, to be able to leverage their, like, general expertise in a technology by applying it to your specific situation. I've had situations where I'll ask, like, a very nuanced, deep technical question about, like, "Hey, so there's, like, this one weird edge case that I think could potentially happen. How do we, like, think through about this?" And one of the, like, more senior people on the team who built the initial codebase responded, like, almost, like, proud that I've discovered this, like, weird edge case, and being like, "Oh yeah, that was a thing that we did think about, and here's why. And it's really cool that, like, day one you're, like, just while reading through the code and were like, 'Oh, this thing,' because it took us, like, a month of thinking about it before we stumbled across that." So, it was a weird kind of fun interaction where as a new person rolling on, one of the more experienced devs in the codebase almost felt, like, proud of me for having found that. STEPHANIE: I like that, yeah. I feel like a lot of the time...it's like, it's so easy to ask questions to help people feel seen, to be like, "Oh yeah, like, I noticed this." And, you know, if you withhold any kind of, like, judgment about it when you ask the question, people are so willing to be like, yeah, like you said, like, "Oh, I'm glad you saw that." Or like, "Isn't that weird? Like, I was feeling, you know, I saw that, too." Or, like, it opens it up, I think, for building trust, which, again, like, I don't even think this is something that you necessarily need to be new to even do. But if at any point you feel like, you know, maybe your working relationship with someone could be better, right? To the point where you feel like you're, like, really on the same page, yeah, ask questions [laughs]. It can be that easy. JOËL: And I think what can be really nice is, in an environment where question asking is not normalized, coming in and doing that can help sort of provide a little bit of cover to other people who are feeling less comfortable or less safe doing that. So, maybe there's a lot of junior members on the team who are feeling not super confident in themselves and are afraid that asking questions might undermine their position in the company. But me coming in as a sort of senior consultant and asking a lot of those questions can then help normalize that as a thing because then they can look and say, "Oh, well he's asking all these questions. Maybe I can ask my question, and it'll be okay." STEPHANIE: I also wanted to talk about setting yourself up and asking questions to get a good answer, asking good questions to get useful answers. One thing that has worked really well for me in the past few months has been sharing why I'm asking the question. And I think this goes back to a little bit of what I was hinting at earlier. If the culture is not really used to people asking questions and that just being a thing that is normal, sharing a bit of intention can help, like, ease maybe some nervousness that people might feel. Especially as consultants, we also are in a bit of a, I don't know, like, there is some power dynamics occasionally where it's like, oh, like, the consultants are here. Like, what are they going to come in and change or, like, start, you know, doing to, quote, unquote, "improve", whatever, I don't know [laughs]. JOËL: Right, right. STEPHANIE: Yeah, that's the consultant archetype, I think. Anyway. JOËL: Just coming in and being like, "Oh, this is bad, and this is bad, and you're doing it wrong." STEPHANIE: [laughs] JOËL: Ooh, I would be ashamed if I was the author of this code. STEPHANIE: Yeah, my hot take is that that is a bad consultant [laughs]. But maybe I'll say, like, "I am looking for some examples of this pattern. Where can I find them [laughs]?" Or "I've noticed that the team is struggling with, like, this particular part of the codebase, and I am thinking about improving it. What are some of your biggest challenges, like, working with this, like, model?" something like that. And I think this also goes back to, like, proving value, right? Even if it's like, sometimes I know kind of what I want to do, and I'll try to be explicit about that. But even before I have, like, a clear action item, I might just say like, "I'm thinking about this," you know, to convey that, you know, I'm still in that information gathering stage, but the result of that will be useful to help me with whatever kind of comes out of it. JOËL: A lot of it is about, like, genuine curiosity and an amount of empathetic listening. Existing team knows a lot about both the code and the business. And as a consultant coming on or maybe even a more senior person onboarding onto a team, the existing team has so much that they can give you to help you be better at your job. STEPHANIE: I was also revisiting a really great blog post from Julia Evans about "How to Ask Good Questions." And this one is more geared towards asking technical questions that have, like, kind of a maybe more straightforward answer. But she included a few other strategies that I liked a lot. And, frankly, I feel like I want to be even better at finding the right time to ask questions [laughs] and finding the right person to ask those questions to. I definitely get in the habit of just kind of like, I don't know, I'll just put it out there and [laughs], hopefully, get some answers. But there are definitely ways, I think, that you can be more strategic, right? About identifying who might be the best person to provide the answers you're looking for. And I think another thing that I often have to balance in the consulting position is when to know when to, like, stop kind of asking the really big questions because we just don't have time [laughs]. JOËL: Right. You don't want to be asking questions in a way that's sort of undermining the product, or the decisions that are being made, or the work that has to get done. Ideally, the questions that you're asking are helping move the project forward in a positive way. Nobody likes the, you know, just asking kind of person. That person's annoying. STEPHANIE: Do you have an approach or any thoughts about like, once you get an answer, like, what do you do with that? Yeah, what happens then for you? JOËL: I guess there's a lot of different ways it can go. A potential way if it's just, like, an answer explained in Slack, is maybe saying, "We should document this." Or maybe even like, "Is this documented anywhere? If not, can I add that documentation somewhere?" And maybe that's, you know, a code comment that we want to add. Maybe that's an entry to the Wiki. Maybe that's updating the README. Maybe that's adding a test case. But converting that into something actionable can often be a really good follow-up. STEPHANIE: Yeah, I think that mitigates the just asking [laughs] thing that you were saying earlier, where it's like, you know, the goal isn't to ask questions to then make more work for other people, right? It's to ask questions so, hopefully, you're able to take that information and do something valuable with it. JOËL: Right. Sometimes it can be a sort of setup for follow-up questions. You get some information and you're like, okay, so, it looks like we do have a pattern for interacting with third-party APIs, but we're not using it consistently. Tell me a little bit about why that is. Is that a new pattern that we've introduced and we're trying to, like, get more buy-in from the team? Is this a pattern that we used to have, and we found out we didn't like it? So, we stopped using it, but we haven't found a replacement pattern that we like. And so, now we're just kind of...it's a free-for-all, and we're trying to figure it out. Maybe there's two competing patterns, and there is this, like, weird politics within the tech team where they're sort of using one or the other, and that's something I'm going to have to be careful to navigate. So, asking some of those follow-up questions and once you have a technical answer can yield a lot of really interesting information and then help you think about how you can be impactful on the organization. STEPHANIE: And that sounds like advice that's just true, you know, regardless of your role or how long you've been in it, don't you think? JOËL: I would say yes. If you've been in the role a long time, though, you're the person who has that sort of institutional history in your mind. You know that in 2022, we switched over from one framework to another. You know that we used to have this, like, very opinionated architect who mandated a particular pattern, and then we moved away from it. You know that we were all in on this big feature last summer that we released and then nobody used it, and then the business pivoted, but there's still aspects of it that are left around. Those are things that someone knew onboarding doesn't know and that, hopefully, they're asking questions that you can then answer. STEPHANIE: Have you been in the position where you have all that, like, institutional knowledge? And then, like, how do you maintain that sense of curiosity or just that sense of kind of, like, what you're talking about, that superpower that you get when you're new of being able to just, you know, kind of question why things are the way they are? JOËL: It's hard, right? We're talking about how do you keep that sort of almost like a beginner's mindset, in this case, maybe less of a, like, new coder mindset and more of a new hire mindset. It's something that I think is much more front of mind for me because I rotate onto new clients every, like, 6 to 12 months. And so, I don't have very long to get comfortable before I'm immediately thrown into, like, a new situation. But something that I like to do is to never sort of solely be in one role or the other, a sort of, like, experienced person helping others or the new person asking for help. Likely, you are not going to be the newest person on the team for long. Maybe you came on as a cohort and you've got a group of new people, all of whom are asking different questions. And maybe somebody is asking a question that you've asked before, that you've asked in a different channel or on a call with someone. Or maybe someone joins two weeks after you; you don't have deep institutional knowledge. But if you've been asking a lot of questions, you've been building a lot of that for yourself, and you have a little bit that you can share to the next person who knows even less than you do. And that's an approach that I took even as an apprentice developer. When I was, like, brand new to Rails and I was doing an internship, and another intern joined me a couple of weeks after, and I was like, "You know what? I barely know anything. But I know what an instance variable is. And I can help you write a controller action. Let's pair on that. We'll figure it out. And, you know, ask me another question next week. I might have more answers for you." So, I guess a little bit of paying it forward. STEPHANIE: Yeah, I really like that advice, though, of, like, switching up the role or, like, kind of what you're working on, just finding opportunities to practice that, you know, even if you have been somewhere for a long time. I think that is really interesting advice. And it's hard, too, right? Because that requires, like, doing something new, and doing something new can be hard [laughs]. But if you're, you know, aren't in a consultant role, where you're not rotating onto new projects every 6 to 12 months, that, I feel like, would be a good strategy to grow in that particular way. JOËL: And even if you're not switching companies or in a consulting situation, it's not uncommon to have people switch from one team to another within an organization. And new team might mean new dynamics. That team might be doing a slightly different approach to project management. Their part of the code might be structured slightly differently. They might be dealing with a part of the business domain that you're less familiar with. While that might not be entirely new to you because, you know, you know a little bit of the organization's DNA and you understand the organization's mission and their core product, there are definitely a lot of things that will be new to you, and asking those questions becomes important. STEPHANIE: I also have another kind of, I don't know, it's not even a strategy. It's just a funny thing that I do where, like, my memory is so poor that, like, even code I wrote, you know, a month ago, I'm like, oh, what was past Stephanie thinking here [laughs]? You know, questioning myself a little bit, right? And being willing to do that and recognizing that, like, I have information now that I didn't have in the past. And, like, can that be useful somehow? You know, it's like, the code I wrote a month ago is not set in stone. And I think that's one way I almost, like, practice that skill with myself [laughs]. And yeah, it has helped me combat that, like, things are the way they are mentality, which, generally, I think is a very big blocker [laughs] when it comes to software development, but that's a topic for another day [laughs]. JOËL: I like the idea of questioning yourself, and I think that's something that is a really valuable skill for all developers. I think it can come up in things like documentation. Let's say you're leaving a comment on a method, especially one that's a bit weird, being able to answer that "Why was this weird technical decision made?" Or maybe you do this in your PR description, or your commit message, or in any of the other places where you do this, not just sort of shipping the code as is, but trying to look at it from an outsider's eyes. And being like, what are the areas where they're going to, like, get a quizzical look and be like, "Why is this happening? Why did you make this choice?" Bonus points if you talked a little bit about the trade-offs that were decided on to say, "Hey, there were two different implementations available for this. I chose to take implementation A because I like this set of trade-offs better." That's gold. And, I guess, as a reviewer, if I'm seeing that in a PR, that's going to make my job a lot easier. STEPHANIE: Yes. Yeah, I never thought about it that way, but yeah, I guess I do kind of apply, you know, the things that I would kind of ask to other team members to myself sometimes. And that is...it's cool to hear that you really appreciate that because I always kind of just did it for myself [laughs], but yeah, I'm sure that it, like, is helpful for other people as well. JOËL: I guess you were asking what are ways that you can ask questions even when you are more established. And talking about these sorts of self-reflective questions in the context of review got me thinking that PRs are a great place to ask questions. They're great when you're a newcomer. One of the things I like to do when I'm new on a project is do a lot of PR reviews so I can just see the weird things that people are working on and ask a lot of questions about the patterns. STEPHANIE: Yep. Same here. JOËL: Do a lot of code reading. But that's a thing that you can keep doing and asking a lot of questions on PRs and not in a, like, trying to undermine what the person is doing, but, like, genuine questions, I think, is a great way to maintain that mindset. STEPHANIE: Yeah, yeah, agreed. And I think when I've seen it done well, it's like, you get to be engaged and involved with the rest of your team, right? And you kind of have a bit of an idea about what people are working on. But you're also kind of entrusting them with ownership of that work. Like, you don't need to be totally in the weeds and know exactly how every method works. But, you know, you can be curious about like, "Oh, like, what were you thinking about this?" Or like, "What about this pattern appeals to you?" And all of that information, I think, helps you become a better, like, especially a senior developer, but also just, like, a leader on the team, I think. JOËL: Yeah, especially the questions around like, "Oh, walk me through some of the trade-offs that you chose for this method." And, you know, for maybe a person who's more senior, that's great. They have an opportunity to, like, talk about the decisions they made and why. That's really useful information. For a more junior person, maybe they've never thought about it. They're like, "Oh, wait, there are trade-offs here?" and now that's a great learning opportunity for them. And you don't want to come at it from a place of judgment of like, oh, well, clearly, you know, you're a terrible developer because you didn't think about the performance implications of this method. But if you come at it from a place of, like, genuine curiosity and sort of assuming the best of people on the team and being willing to work alongside them, help them discover some new concepts...maybe they've never, like, interacted so much with performance trade-offs, and now you get to have a conversation. And they've learned a thing, and everybody wins. STEPHANIE: Yeah. And also, I think seeing people ask questions that way helps more junior folks also learn when to ask those kinds of questions, even if they don't know the answer, right? But maybe they start kind of pattern matching. Like, oh, like, there might be some other trade-offs to consider with this kind of code, but I don't know what they are yet. But now I know to at least start asking and find someone who can help me determine that. And when I've seen that, that has been always, like, just so cool because it's upskilling happening [laughs] in practice. JOËL: Exactly. I love that phrase that you said: "Asking questions where you don't know the answers," which I think is the opposite of what lawyers are taught to do. I think lawyers the mantra they have is you never ask a witness a question that you don't know the answer to. But I like to flip that for developers. Ask a lot of questions on PRs where you don't know the answer, and you'll grow, and the author will grow. And this is true across experience levels. STEPHANIE: That's one of my favorite parts about being a developer, and maybe that's why I will never be a lawyer [laughter]. JOËL: On that note, I have a question maybe I do know the answer to. Shall we wrap up? STEPHANIE: Let's wrap up. Show notes for this episode can be found at bikeshed.fm. JOËL: This show has been produced and edited by Mandy Moore. STEPHANIE: If you enjoyed listening, one really easy way to support the show is to leave us a quick rating or even a review in iTunes. It really helps other folks find the show. JOËL: If you have any feedback for this or any of our other episodes, you can reach us @_bikeshed, or you can reach me @joelquen on Twitter. STEPHANIE: Or reach both of us at hosts@bikeshed.fm via email. JOËL: Thanks so much for listening to The Bike Shed, and we'll see you next week. ALL: Byeeeeeeee!!!!!!! AD: Did you know thoughtbot has a referral program? If you introduce us to someone looking for a design or development partner, we will compensate you if they decide to work with us. More info on our website at: tbot.io/referral. Or you can email us at: referrals@thoughtbot.com with any questions.

Allison and Joe recently saw the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play A Strange Loop. The experience made them dissect the depths and limits of themselves, which is what the play is all about and thus the strange loop continues. Find out what we mean by downloading this latest episode of Queer Cinema Catchup and by buying tickets to A Strange Loop at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles through June 30th. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month, the Tony Award and Pulitzer-winning Strange Loop opened at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. Written by Michael R. Jackson, this hard-hitting and provocative musical centers around Usher, a young, gay, Black writer who writes a musical about a young, gay, Black writer who is writing a musical about a young, gay, Black writer…thus a strange loop. Usher embarks on a journey of self-discovery covering the raw aspects of life, the good and the bad, while dealing with his Thoughts, personified by a unique cast of characters. Having just wrapped up a run at San Francisco's ACT, this production highlights a fresh face to the scene via North Carolina, queer performer Malachi McCaskill as Usher. Like Usher, Malachi is finding his way through life and professional theatre as a young, queer, Black performer. In this episode, we talk about it all. We talk about finding his identity in high school, his relationship with religion, manifesting his role in Strange Loop, coming to the West Coast for his first time, his creative process as an actor, the realities of being a young, gay, Black men in entertainment, what the future holds in store, and his message to the LGBTQ community.Hosted by Alexander Rodriguez @AlexanderisOnAirYou can check out our in-depth chat with him in the current issue of GED Magazine now on newsstands or at GEDMag.com 

This week, Busy and Caissie are still playing catch up in their lives. Caissie's still recovering from an ear infection, Busy has invested in a lower-sugar candy company, snd they share a story about something horrifying that happened in Emily BB's bed! THEN! It finally happens! Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winner Michael R. Jackson drops by the pod to talk about his incredible musical “A Strange Loop” and Caissie reveals who was sitting in front of her at the theater on opening night in LA. You're not gonna believe it! SPONSORS: http://Shopbeam.com/BUSY CODE: BUSY for up to 40% off Beam's best-selling Dream Powder, the bedtime hot cocoa mix that helps you sleep http://blueland.com/BEST for 15% off your first order of beautiful, endlessly refillable home cleaning products http://BollandBranch.com CODE: BUSY for 15% off your first order of super soft, luxurious 100% organic cotton sheets. Some exclusions apply. See site for details. http://Wildgrain.com/BUSY PROMO CODE: BUSY for $30 off your first box of bake from frozen artisanal breads, pastries and pastas. PLUS FREE CROISSANTS! http://Betterhelp.com/BUSY for 10% off your 1st month of flexible, affordable, online therapy http://AthenaClub.com PROMO CODE: BUSY for 20% off your first purchase of Athena Club's award-winning razors and body products.

Ilana Glazer joins the table to talk about her new movie 'Babes!' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Ilana: Ilana Glazer is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, producer, director, and activist. She co-created and co-starred, with Abbi Jacobson, in the Comedy Central series Broad City, which is based on the web series of the same name. She was twice nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for the series. Glazer also starred in the 2017 film Rough Night and released her debut stand-up comedy special, The Planet Is Burning, in January 2020. In 2022, she won the Tony Award for Best Musical for serving as a producer for the Broadway show A Strange Loop. About Tom: Tom Papa, a celebrated stand-up comedian with over 20 years in the industry, has made significant strides in film, television, radio, podcasts, and live performances. Notably, he's a regular on "The Joe Rogan Experience" and various late-night TV shows. Papa's literary skills are evident in his books “We're All In This Together” and "You're Doing Great!: And Other Reasons To Stay Alive," a collection of essays, and "Your Dad Stole My Rake: And Other Family Dilemmas," a comedic look at family life. His latest stand-up specials are “Tom Papa: What A Day!” and "Tom Papa: You're Doing Great!" on Netflix. Beyond comedy, Papa's engagements extend to hosting "What A Joke With Papa And Fortune" on SiriusXM and appearing on NPR's "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me." His love for baking led to hosting the Food Network series "Baked." As an actor, he's worked with notable figures like Rob Zombie and Steven Soderbergh and has appeared in several films and TV shows, including the HBO film "Behind the Candelabra." Additionally, Papa has contributed as a writer to projects like "Bee Movie" and various TV series. Residing in Los Angeles with his family, Papa continues to balance his professional life with personal interests like baking. Get in touch with or go see Tom live on stage! Radio, Podcasts and more: https://linktr.ee/tompapa/ Website - http://tompapa.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tompapa Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/tompapa Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/comediantompapa #TomPapa #breakingbreadwithTomPapa

A Strange Loop @ Ahmanson Theatre - 8.6 out of 10! Great Show! LA Theatre Bites Recommended! June 5 – 30, 2024 www.latheatrebites.com

KIRK CAMBRIDGE-DEL PESCHE hails from the beautiful West Indies archipelago of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. He proudly boasts an eclectic blend of ethnicities. With a portfolio that includes work with MAC Cosmetics,  BareMinerals, Broadway; Tours; TV; Boston Ballet; Boston Lyrics Opera; Opera Company of Philadelphia; Boston Symphony Orchestra; New York Symphony Orchestra. ‍ Make-up designed for - Broadway: Trouble In Mind, Clyde's, Skelton Crew, Birthday Candles, Skin Of Our Teeth, For Colored Girls, Strange Loop, POTUS, Into The Woods, The Piano Lesson, Ain't No Mo, Camelot and Merrily We Roll Along. Off-Broadway: Merry Wives, Sand Blasted, Confederates, Into The Woods and Melissa Etheridge - My Window Regional: Disney's Hercules Opera: This Little Light Of Mine National Tour: Into The Woods & The Wiz Spring 2024 - Disney's Hercules Global Premier in Germany & The Wiz Broadway

The conversation covers topics such as the rebranding of Clojure Camp, Arne's hometown, his travels around the world, his love for tea, the differences between Europe and the United States, and his interests in cooking and gardening. Jordan and Arne discuss their shared interest in circus arts, specifically juggling and flow state. They talk about the European Juggling Convention and the meditative and mental benefits of juggling. They also delve into the topic of Taoism and its influence on their lives, discussing the philosophy of going with the flow and finding natural ways of being. They touch on the importance of self-awareness, mindfulness, and the potential pitfalls of narcissistic spirituality. They also explore the similarities and differences between teaching and leadership, emphasizing the importance of empathy and vulnerability in both roles. Heart of Clojure is a community conference that aims to create a holistic and vibrant experience for software engineers. The conference focuses on deepening the understanding of working in the software industry and building software for the world. It draws inspiration from conferences like Strange Loop and the European Juggling Convention, incorporating activities, workshops, and interactive sessions alongside keynote talks. The organizers aim to create an intimate and inclusive atmosphere where attendees can come alive and explore different aspects of their identity beyond being software engineers. Heart of Clojure encourages open source contributors and maintainers to propose interactive sessions, workshops, and contributor onboarding activities. The conference will take place on September 18-19, 2024, in Leuven, Belgium. Links: Arne - https://github.com/plexus Heart of Clojure - https://2024.heartofclojure.eu/ Overtone - https://github.com/overtone/overtone Keywords: Arne, Belgium, Lambda Island, , Clojure Camp, gaiwan, travels, tea, Europe, United States, cooking, gardening, circus arts, juggling, flow state, European Juggling Convention, Taoism, self-awareness, mindfulness, narcissistic spirituality, teaching, leadership, empathy, vulnerability, Heart of Clojure, community conference, holistic experience, software industry, software engineers, activities, workshops, interactive sessions, keynote talks, open source contributors, contributor onboarding, Leuven, Belgium.

Van Sessions is Recorded at The Monarch in Ogden, Utah.   ARTIST | Dearth of Earth   FULL SET: Song 1 - Coherence (INTRO) Song 2 - Nebulous Song 3 - Ataraxia Song 4 - Strange Loop (I Am)   ARTIST LINKS LINKS: https://linktr.ee/Dearth_of_Earth YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@dearthofearth4743 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/dearth_of_earth/ SPOTIFY: https://tr.ee/HxYovpDkfa   SUPPORTERS   The Monarch Building: https://themonarchogden.com/ UTOG Brewing: https://www.utogbrewing.com/ Lucky Slice Pizza: https://www.theluckyslice.com/ Ogden City Arts: https://ogdencity.com/707/Arts Locals Rock: https://www.instagram.com/localsrock/   CREDITS Producer / Host: R. Brandon Long, The Banyan Collective Bookings: Todd Oberndorfer, todd@thebanyancollective.com Audio Mix: Scott Rogers, The Proper Way https://theproperwayband.com/studio DOP: Dixon Stoddard https://www.instagram.com/studios_d21/ Lighting: 8ZERO1 Productions   FOLLOW // SUBSCRIBE Van Sessions Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vansessions/ Van Sessions Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thevansessions Van Sessions YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@vansessionspod   Our “Patreon,” Like what you hear, buy us beer: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/banyanmedia   The drive behind Van Sessions is to create a music discovery community for Northern Utah musicians to share their work, refine their craft, and network with other artists.   Van Sessions helps support local musicians, photographers, and videographers through our project. Show your support for local artists by subscribing to Van Sessions on YouTube @vansessionspod or search "Van Sessions Podcast" on your favorite podcast platform.   Join us live at the Monarch in Ogden every First Friday to be a part of the free concert and video podcast recording.   Bookings: todd@thebanyancollective.com

Zach Stafford is a journalist, podcast host and producer whose wide-ranging work explores pop culture, queer joy and loss, and police brutality among other issues. Today, Zach is co-creator and co-host of Vibe Check, an original podcast in our Stitcher family, which he leads with fellow journalist Sam Sanders and writer Saeed Jones. Zach has also recently earned a Tony for his co-production of the Broadway musical A Strange Loop, which also won a Pulitzer Prize in drama. Isa Nakazawa discusses Zach's Pisces sun, Pisces moon, and Leo rising, and how together, they allow him to ride the in-between spaces and identities that can't be contained nor easily defined.

Sharlene Hector is playing Grace / Alice in Standing at the Sky's Edge at the Gillian Lyne Theatre. Originally written as a love letter to Sheffield, Standing at the Sky's Edge has transferred to the West End following triumphant runs at the National Theatre and  Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. The show is directed by Robert Hastie, featuring songs by Richard Hawley and book by Chris Bush.Sharlene previously worked in music before transitioning into theatre. She made her West End debut as Lorraine in Hairspray at the London Coliseum, also covering and playing Motormouth Maybelle before touring the UK and Ireland as the alternate Effie White in Dreamgirls. Most recently Sharlene played Thought 1 in the UK premiere of A Strange Loop at the Barbican Centre. In the music world, Sharlene was Lead Vocalist in Basement Jaxx and Blonde. She has sung backing for the likes of Alicia Keys, Muse, Emeli Sandé, Sam Sparro, Primal Scream, Rebecca Ferguson, Lalah Hathaway, Tinie Tempah, Josh Groban and Michael Bublé.  Sharlene has performed at Glastonbury, V Festival, Bestival and Wireless with her television appearances including Alan Carr's Epic Game Show – Name That Tune (ITV), X Factor (ITV), Top of the Pops (BBC), Sounds Like Friday Night (BBC) and Later with Jools Holland (BBC).Sharlene previously recorded an episode of In The Frame in 2022 during her run in Dreamgirls. In this episode, she discusses her reflections of playing Effie White, what A Strange Loop taught her and why she fell in love with Standing at the Sky's Edge... plus lots more!Standing at the Sky's Edge runs at the Gillian Lyne Theatre until 3rd August 2024. Visit www.skysedgemusical.com for info and tickets. Hosted by Andrew Tomlins  @AndrewTomlins32  Thanks for listening! Email: andrew@westendframe.co.uk Visit westendframe.co.uk for more info about our podcasts.  46s Film Making 46s: Filmmakers talk origins, challenges, budgets, and profits.Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Best Of BPR 5/01: Highlighting Women's Health & "A Strange Loop"

In this episode of Carefully Taught, we have the privilege of hosting Chelsea Pace, co-founder of Theatrical Intimacy Education and the pioneering author behind "Staging Sex." With an impressive resume that includes serving as the intimacy choreographer for Broadway's "Strange Loop" and ongoing professional engagements nationwide, Chelsea is a force to be reckoned with in the realm of theatrical intimacy.   Listen in as Chelsea shares her insights and experiences, tracing the trajectory of intimacy choreography within the performing arts. From her groundbreaking work to her latest endeavor, Open Intimacy Creatives, Chelsea's contributions continue to shape and revolutionize the industry. A captivating conversation on creativity, professionalism, and empowerment in the world of stage intimacy.

Nduati Kuria shares his journey from studying AI to why Matthew Griffith's elm-ui makes the web approachable. He explains how an innocuous issue on Tereza Sokol's elm-charts led to a new job.Thanks to our sponsor, Logistically. Email: elmtown@logisticallyinc.com.Music by Jesse Moore.Recording date: 2023.11.10GuestNduati KuriaShow notes[00:00:20] Sponsored by Logistically[00:00:52] Introducing NduatiQodaElm Town 36 – The Risk of ElmElm Town 55 – From algorithms & animation to building a decentralized finance appArtCultureHaruki Murakami Website UIWebGL Sculpture Animation site about Marcus Aurelius[00:01:42] Getting started"How to teach programming (and other things)?" by Felienne Hermans at Strange Loop 2019[00:05:58] Nduati's College Journey: Swift, Internships, and Elm Discovery[00:08:27] Learning Elm: It actually fits in my brainelm-ui[00:13:03] Uber for school buses[00:16:59] How Elm drives you toward best practicesElm Town 67 – Breaking things down with Gingko Writer[00:23:28] Introducing Elm at work[00:25:36] Master's & self-directed learning[00:28:09] From elm-charts to QodaTereza Sokol's elm-charts[00:34:53] The rigour of programming with Elm at Qoda[00:39:55] Ports"The Importance of Ports" by Murphy Randle at Strange Loop 2017Elm RadioA demo of Qoda and an explanation of how we use ports by Dwayne Crooks[00:47:14] Haruki Murakami site animationHaruki Murakami Website UI[00:50:07] Not having to pay the cost of constant changeTereza Sokol's elm-charts[00:54:33] PicksNduati's picks"Parse, don't validate" by Alexis King"Drag & Drop without Draggables & Dropzones" by Jasper WoudenbergMatthew Griffith's elm-uiJared's picksElm Radio on opaque typesIntro to Opaque TypesDeliberate Practice...and in most other episodes

Amjad Masad is the co-founder and CEO of Replit, an online platform designed for collaborative coding in multiple programming languages. Replit boasts over 30m users, has secured $200M in venture funding, and was recently valued at $1.2B. Before Replit, Amjad was a Software Engineer at Facebook, and a Founding Engineer at Codecademy. — In today's episode, we discuss: How AI is reshaping the software landscape Bridging the gap between ideas and software Why YC almost rejected Replit four times Replit's fundraising difficulties, and how Paul Graham helped The secret lever Replit pulled to scale ahead of its competition Replit's impressive distribution engine — Referenced: 7 Powers: https://www.amazon.com/7-Powers-Foundations-Business-Strategy/dp/0998116319/ Codecademy: https://www.codecademy.com/ Hacker News: https://news.ycombinator.com/ I Am a Strange Loop: https://www.amazon.com/Am-Strange-Loop-Douglas-Hofstadter/dp/0465030793 Mythical Man-Month: https://www.amazon.com/Mythical-Man-Month-Software-Engineering-Anniversary/dp/0201835959 On the Naturalness of Software: https://people.inf.ethz.ch/suz/publications/natural.pdf OpenAI: https://openai.com/ Paul Graham: https://twitter.com/paulg Python: https://www.python.org/ Read Write Own: https://www.amazon.com/Read-Write-Own-Building-Internet/dp/0593731387/ Replit: https://replit.com/ Roy Bahat: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roybahat/ Sam Altman: https://twitter.com/sama The Innovator's Dilemma: https://www.amazon.com/Innovators-Dilemma-Technologies-Management-Innovation/dp/1633691780/ The Little Schemer: https://www.amazon.com/Little-Schemer-Daniel-P-Friedman/dp/0262560992/ Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/ — Where to find Amjad Masad: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amjadmasad Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/amasad — Where to find Todd Jackson: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddj0/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/tjack — Where to find First Round Capital: Website: https://firstround.com/ First Round Review: https://review.firstround.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/firstround YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FirstRoundCapital This podcast on all platforms: https://review.firstround.com/podcast — Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:31) Replit's origin story (08:24) Starting Facebook's JavaScript infrastructure team (10:36) Amjad's unique path to entrepreneurship (16:04) How Replit got its early users (17:00) Replit's fundraising difficulties (17:54) Why YC almost rejected Replit four times (20:23) Building Replit's distribution engine (22:08) Drivers of Replit's growth (27:41) What Silicon Valley gets wrong (30:09) Replit's monetization strategy (32:29) Integrating AI into the platform (36:18) The impact of AI on software engineering (39:40) Defining the new “software creator” role (41:43) How to keep up with developments in AI (46:24) Replit's goals for 2024 (48:11) Advice for founders: defy conventional wisdom (51:12) Amjad's 4 favorite books

Waking Up is a five part story set in Brooklyn NY in 2035. This is the fourth episode, titled "Strange Loop." It's Thursday evening, and you've felt much better since resetting the Neuromax chip. You're on your way to see your friends at their favorite tiki bar in Brighton Beach. Performed by Jenise Morgan, Talia Hamilton, Maya Murakami Tuttle, KC Comeaux, Chris Clark, and Nathan Patrick Wallace. Featuring music co-authored by Nathan Ward, Nick Jones, Reese Bowes, Daniel Lynas, Derek Muro, Darren Solomon, David Russell, and Emily Jeanne Brown. Story: Waking Up is about a synthetic consciousness born trapped inside a human. It is an exploration of the science and spirituality of consciousness, as well as the fallibility of our subjective perception.  Music:  In some Vedic and Buddhist writing, consciousness is described as a vibration. The music seeks to explore the effects of two waves vibrating together. Spacetime Diaries Team:  Waking Up is written, composed, and produced by Ghan Patel. Story consultants: Jenise Morgan, Maria Teutsch, and Lauren Heagerty. Engineering by Daniel Lynas. Album art by Joanna Gonzalez. "Strange Loop" was released January 4, 2024. Dedicated to my dog Rufio. © 2023, Ghan & Company. https://ghan.co/spacetimediaries

Lindsay Wardell tells how she persevered to write her own story as a programmer and shares her views on JavaScript frameworks & fatigue.Thanks to our sponsor, Logistically. Email: elmtown@logisticallyinc.com.Music by Jesse Moore.Recording date: 2023.11.06GuestLindsay WardellShow notes[00:00:20] Sponsored by Logistically[00:00:49] Introducing LindsayHuman Side of DevElm and Vite on Elm Radio, hosted by Dillon Kearns & Jeroen EngelsFunctional programming with Elm on PodRocket, hosted by Paul MikulskisFunctional and Object-Oriented Programming on Software Unscripted, hosted by Richard Feldman"Functional Programming in Vite" at ViteConf 2023elm-vue-bridgevite-elm-template.[00:01:54] Getting started in computing and programming[00:06:06] A break in Brazil"How to teach programming (and other things)?" by Felienne Hermans[00:09:27] Getting back into programmingFunctional and Object-Oriented Programming on Software Unscripted, hosted by Richard Feldman...again[00:18:55] Why Elm?JuralenFunctional and Object-Oriented Programming on Software Unscripted, hosted by Richard Feldman...yet again. Seriously, it's good.[00:28:06] The road to NoRedInkWikifunctionsViews on VueS08E014 Modern Web Podcast - Elm with Richard Feldman[00:33:05] JavaScript fatigue[00:38:04] Standardization around Vite[00:41:13] The challenge of legacy code at NoRedInknoredink-uiElm Landelm-pages[00:46:22] Star CommanderStar Commander (GitHub)Elm Town 63 – Opening the doors of functional programming[00:53:47] What are you excited about?Lamdera"The Economics of Programming Languages" by Evan Czaplicki at Strange Loop 2023[00:55:50] PicksLindsay's picksNuxtNaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)Blood on the ClocktowerBabylon 5Jared's picksBattlestar GalacticaS2E2 - "One Moore", PortlandiaFeel It All Around by Washed Out

Isaac Mizrahi chats with Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner, Michael R. Jackson about why getting rejected by Liz Phair was the best thing that happened to him, the invaluable advice Judith Light gave him, his unforgettable dating experience and more.Follow Hello Isaac on @helloisaacpodcast on Instagram and TikTok, Isaac @imisaacmizrahi on Instagram and TikTok and Michael R. Jackson @thelivingmichaeljackson.(Recorded on October 24, 2023)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The subject of this episode's paper — Propositions as Types by Philip Wadler — is one of those grand ideas that makes you want to go stargazing. To stare out into space and just disassociate from your body and become one with the heavens. Everything — life, space, time, existence — all of it is a joke! A cosmic ribbing delivered by the laws of the universe or some higher power or, perhaps, higher order. Humanity waited two thousand years, from the time of the ancient Greeks through until the 1930s, for a means to answer questions of calculability, when three suddenly arrived all at once: General recursive functions by Gödel in 1934, with functions of sets of natural numbers. Lambda calculus by Alonzo Church in 1936, with anonymous single-variable functions. Turing machines by Alan Turing in 1937, with a process for evaluating symbols on a tape. Then it was discovered that these three models of computation were, in fact, perfectly equivalent. That any statement made in one could be made in the others. A striking coincidence, sure, but not without precedent. But then it was quietly determined (in 1934, again in 1969, and finally published in 1980) that computation itself is in a direct correspondence with logic. That every proposition in a given logic corresponds with a type in a given programming language, every proof corresponds with a program, and the simplification of the proof corresponds with the evaluation of the program. The implications boggle the mind. How could this be so? Well, how could it be any other way? Why did it take so long to discover? What other discoveries like this are perched on the precipice of revelation? Philip Wadler is here to walk us through this bit of history, suggest answers to some of these questions, and point us in a direction to search for more. And we are here, dear listener, to level with you that a lot of this stuff is miserably hard to approach, presented with the symbols and language of formal logic that is so often inscrutable to outsiders. By walking you through Wadler's paper (and the much more approachable Strange Loop talk), and tying it in with the cultural context of modern functional programming, we hope you'll gain an appreciation for this remarkable, divine pun that sits beneath all of computation. Links => patreon.com/futureofcoding — but only if you back the Visual Programming tier!! I'm warning you! Wadler's Strange Loop talk Propositions as Types Cocoon is good. It's not, like, Inside or Limbo good, but it's good. Actually, just play Inside. Do that ASAP. Hollow Knight, also extremely good. Can't wait for Silksong. But seriously, if you're reading this and have haven't played Inside, just skip this episode of the podcast and go play Inside. It's like 3 hours long and it's, like, transformatively great. Chris Martens has done some cool work (eg) bringing together linear logic and games. Meh: Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter Yeh: Infinity and the Mind by Rudy Rucker Heh: To Mock a MockingBird by Raymond Smullyan. The hierarchy of automata Games: Agency as Art The Incredible Proof Machine is what some would call a "visual programming language" because proofs are programs. But it's actually really cool and fun to play with. Approach it like a puzzle game, and give it 10 minutes or so to get its hooks into you. "Stop Doing Logic" is part of the Stop Doing Math meme. Unrelated: Ivan's song Don't Do Math. Bidirectional Type Checking, a talk by David Christiansen List Out of Lambda, a blog post by Steve Losh Nobody noticed that these links were silly last time, so this time I'm drawing more attention to it: Ivan: Mastodon • Email Jimmy: Mastodon • Twitter This link is legit: DM us in the FoC Slack https://futureofcoding.org/episodes/068See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marian Petre spoke to us about her research on how to make software developers better at developing software. Marian is an Emeritus Professor of the School of Computing & Communications at the Open University in the United Kingdom. She also has a Wikipedia page.  The short version of How Expert Programmers Think About Errors is on the NeverWorkInTheory.org page along with other talks about academic studies on software development topics.   The longer version is a keynote from Strange Loop 2022: "Expert Software Developers' Approach to Error". This concept as well as many others are summarized in Software Design Decoded: 66 Ways Experts Think (Mit Press) by Marian Petre and Andre van der Hoek (MIT Press, 2016). The book's website provides an annotated bibliography. Marian has also co-written Software Designers in Action: A Human-Centric Look at Design Work. She is current conducting inquiries into: Code dreams: This research studies whether software developers dream about coding – and, if so, the nature of those dreams.  Following on from work on software developers' mental imagery and cognitive processes during programming, this project investigates developers' experience of coding in their dreams (whatever form that takes), and whether the content of such dreams provides insight into the developers' design and problem solving. Invisible work that adds value to software development: The notion of ‘invisible work' – activity that adds value in software development but is often overlooked or undervalued by management and promotion processes – arose repeatedly in discussions at Strange Loop 2022.  Developers asked for evidence they could use to fuel conversations -- and potentially promote change -- in their organisations. This research aims to capture the main categories of ‘invisible work' identified by developers (e.g., reducing technical debt; improving efficiency; addressing security; development of tools and resources; design discussions; …), and to gather concrete examples of the value that work adds to software.   Transcript  

This week we're taking you to the hallway track of the final Strange Loop conference. First up is AnnMarie Thomas — an engineering, business, and education professor. AnnMarie gave one of the opening keynotes titled “Playing with Engineering.” We also caught up with many first-time and multi-time attendees who shared their favorite moments from Strange Loop over the years. You'll hear from Richard Feldman, Colin Dean, and Taylor Troesh. Last up we talk with Pokey Rule. He gave a talk about his project called Cursorless which is a spoken language for structural code editing. Changelog++ subscribers get a super extended version of this episode which includes everything we recorded at Strange Loop. Become a Changelog++ subscriber

Connor and Dylan are joined by Antwayn Hopper (A Strange Loop, Hair). This trio delivers a high energy episode while a summer storm rages on. Antwayn blesses our ears with his beautiful baritone voice, taking us on his journey from Topeka, Kansas to the stages of New York City. Of course we chat all about A Strange Loop, where Antwayn made his mark as Thought 6, as well as the creative beauty of making his Broadway debut in the latest Hair revival. We learn about Billy Porter's take on The Life, which Antwayn starred in, and how sharing his whole self has led to moments like that. These three laugh and throw a little shade, wondering about the state of the dramaturg, swooning over Norm Lewis and Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Antwayn even suggests who should replace Wendy Williams on TV. Hint: you know them. There are recs of Dermot Kennedy's music, Mary Rodgers' memoir Shy, and American Monster. It's a thrill ride of an episode, and Antwayn brings the DRAMA!Follow Antwayn on InstagramFollow DRAMA. on Twitter & Instagram & TiktokFollow Connor MacDowell on Twitter & InstagramFollow Dylan MacDowell on Twitter & InstagramEdited by DylanSupport the podcast by subscribing to DRAMA+, which also includes bonus episodes, Instagram Close Friends content, and more!

Award-winning actor, dancer, and singer, Ariana DeBose, discusses her role as Anita in “West Side Story,” the many ways she relates to the character, and what it was like working with Steven Spielberg and Rita Moreno, the first Latina to win an Oscar for the original film. Former “The Late Late Show” host, James Corden, admits Mariah Carey changed musicians' perspective of “Carpool Karaoke” and talks about what makes hosting the 2019 Tony Awards so special. And, Tony-award winning playwright Michael R. Jackson discusses his journey to writing “A Strange Loop,” why he loves connecting with the audience afterwards, and how the show promotes a spirit of inclusion.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on the pod, Kristen and Jolenta share an episode of one of their favorite new podcasts: Vibe Check. Vibe Check is hosted by journalist and podcaster Sam Sanders (Into It, formerly NPR's It's Been a Minute), writer Saeed Jones (How We Fight for Our Lives), and journalist and Tony Award-winning producer Zach Stafford (formerly The Advocate, A Strange Loop). Each week on Vibe Check, Sam, Saeed and Zach turn their group chat into a weekly podcast. They check in on each other, make sense of what's going on in news and culture and reflect on how it all feels. Take a listen.

DeRay, Myles, and Kaya  cover the underreported news of the week— including unexploded bombs on Hawaiian lands, US army bases named after Confederate traitors, and a Strange Loop broadway play review.  DeRay interviews Sam Quinones about his newest book The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth. News:Myles https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/11/theater/strange-loop-broadway-closing.htmlDeRay https://www.propublica.org/article/native-hawaiians-land-housing-army-corps-engineersKaya https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/04/us/politics/army-bases-confederate-names.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/02/us/politics/army-base-names-south-confederates.html