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Chad talks with Eric Ries, Co-Founder and Director at Virgil, about his recent book “Incorruptible”, why good companies go bad, and how great companies stay great. Eric flips business on it’s head as he examines why best practices could actually be harmful to your business’ longevity, how the motivations of corporations have changed over the last century, why employee ownership is often more beneficial than you might think, and Chad talks about his own experience with thoughtbot’s ownership. — If you’re interested in learning more from today’s episode or want to keep up to date with Eric’s work, check out incorruptible.co where you can purchase his latest book, “Incorruptible”, and sign up to his newsletter. Alternatively, you can always connect with him on LinkedIn. Your host for this episode has been Chad Pytel. You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel, or over on LinkedIn. Don't forget you can now also watch the show over on our YouTube channel! If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast

Will is back in the host seat this week to chat with Mike Perham, the creator of Sidekiq - a full-featured background job framework for all Ruby applications. In this episode, Will and Mike discuss, amongst many things; the sustainability of open source projects, synchronous vs asynchronous execution models, the concept of killing your dependencies, before diving into the ethical implications of AI and its impact on the world’s carbon footprint. — Our guest for this episode has been Mike Perham. If you'd like to get in touch with Mike, or learn more about Sidekiq, you can visit his website. Your host for this episode has been Will Larry, you can find and connect with Will over on LinkedIn. Don't forget you can now also watch the show over on our YouTube channel! If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast

This guest has been a long time coming, Sami is joined on the thoughtbot couch this week by the one and only Lord Tim Clement-Jones, LibDeb Lord Spokesperson for AI and Digital. Following on from the conversation Sami started with Lord Holmes around AI regulation; Lord Clement-Jones discusses how the AI landscape has changed since the founding of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence, the widening gap between where the government and technology is, and the fundamental aspect of building trust in this technology. — As mentioned in this episode: Giant Robots 605: AI, It Doesn't Have To Be This Way with Lord Chris Holmes Giant Robots 616: What’s Really Going On with AI Data Centres with Dr. Victoria Plutshack Our guest for this episode has been Lord Tim Clement-Jones. If you'd like to get in touch with Lord Clement-Jones you can do so through the Artificial Intelligent APPG website, or connect via LinkedIn. Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn. Don't forget you can now also watch the show over on our YouTube channel! If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast

Chad is joined on the thoughbot couch this week by Brandon Swalve, CEO of AppSignal (when Chad is a big fan, you know it’s an app you’ve got to check out). In this episode, they discuss what the application performance monitoring business market is like, more is always better vs simple is always better, joining AppSignal as the CEO and the surprises and shifts over the last year and a half that Brandon has experienced in the role. — As mentioned in the episode: Catch up with all the Railsworld 2026 conference talks Our guest for this episode has been Brandon Swalve. Connect with Brandon through LinkedIn, or get in touch through the AppSignal website. Your host for this episode has been Chad Pytel. You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel, or over on LinkedIn. Don't forget you can now also watch the show over on our YouTube channel! If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast

Sami is joined on the thoughbot couch this week by Ed Woodcock, Director and Consultant Developer at Bannermedia Ltd. They discuss lowdown.today, an AI-Driven Open Intelligence platform that Ed originally developed to break down the day’s news, having now expanded to include topics from across the world. They also explore how Ed’s programmes are designed to empower people with the intelligence that AI brings, the Wigan House Fiasco, spending money to use Claude vs the ROI, and how AI programmes can be used to help with genealogy research. — As mentioned in this episode: AI’s effects on climate change - 616: What’s Really Going On with AI Data Centres with Dr.Victoria Plutshack Plotbeacon - https://plotbeacon.com/ Our guest for this episode has been Ed Woodcock. If you'd like to get in touch with Ed you can do so through his website, or connecting via LinkedIn. Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn. Don't forget you can now also watch the show over on our YouTube channel! If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast

Sami talks with Nate Berkopec, owner of Speedshop, about a recent post he made on X and how his business manages to stay ahead of AI and LLMs. Nate stresses the importance of prioritising quality in code in the age of AI, why your knowledge still matters if you want to get the best results from your LLM, how code review has drastically changed over the last three years, and the pair discuss why it’s so tough for junior developers to stand out in the industry at the moment and the lengths they have to go to to be noticed. — If you want more out of your project why not get in touch with Nate through his business Speedshop. You can also check out his X post that inspired this episode or connect with him via Linkedin. Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast

Will is back in the host seat this week to chat to the one and only Kelli Lucas, Co-Founder & Chief Design Officer at LunarLab. In this episode, Will and Kelli discuss, amongst many things; the push and pull relationship between designers and developers, alignment in the workplace, the love/hate relationship with Figma, how AI has affected the process of design projects, and why you shouldn’t rely on AI to build your business plan. — Our guest for this episode has been Kelli Lucas. If you'd like to get in touch with Kelli, or chat about working together on your next UX/UI Design project, you can visit the Lunar Lab website. or connect with them via LinkedIn. Your host for this episode has been Will Larry, you can find and connect with Will over on LinkedIn. Don't forget you can now also watch the show over on our YouTube channel! If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast

Would you ever go into business with your family? As a follow up to last week’s episode, we’ve brought on the one and only Doron Birnbaum (twin brother of our dear Sami) to get both sides of the story about their latest business venture. Doron takes Will and Chad through how the idea to build a tech platform that helps charities understand their data better to improve fundraising campaigns came to be, where the Birnbaum’s are currently at in terms of getting it into the hands of their target audience, and the roadblocks they’ve hit along the way. Have our hosts now been hired as the software’s new advisory board? Which brother will Chad and Will side with? And who is technically the oldest twin?! — Our guest for this episode has been Doron Birnbaum. If you'd like to get in touch with Doron you can do so through his website, or by email. You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel and Sami through his website. You can also connect with the trio via their LinkedIn pages - Chad - Will - Sami. Don't forget you can now also watch the show over on our YouTube channel! If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast

Would you ever go into business with your family? In this week’s episode, our hosts take on Sami’s tale of becoming the CTO of his brother’s business venture. After the trio get into some excellent running advice, Sami reminds us of the importance of validating the product to make sure the market will actually use what you’ve built. Will reflects on the importance of a Document of Expectations to weed out potential clients that aren’t going to put effort into the development of their ideas (especially if you’re doing the work for free), and Chad explains why an idea fizzling out before completion isn’t necessarily a bad thing. And make sure to tune in next week, as the team brings in Sami’s brother, Doron, to answer some of the questions brought up this episode. — You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel and Sami through his website. You can also connect with the trio via their LinkedIn pages - Chad - Will - Sami. Don't forget you can now also watch the show over on our YouTube channel! If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast

Sami is back this week with Mike McQuaid, CTPO and Homebrew Project Leader, as they take a deep dive into the importance of open source maintainers in modern software engineering. With 18 years of experience reducing developer friction and scaling open source software, Mike discusses the commonalities and differences between open source and proprietary software audiences, impact of large data centres on both the environment and women in the workplace, revealing what drove him to create Homebrew and where they are now, before taking Sami through burnout and why it’s important to not be rude to your open source maintainers - you’ll be surprised which national entities would fall apart if it weren’t for their hard work and time. — Our guest for this episode has been Mike McQuaid. If you'd like to get in touch with Mike, or to keep up to date with his work, you can do so through his website. Also mentioned in today’s episode: ‘Open Source Maintainers Owe You Nothing’ blog post. Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast

Will is joined this week by personal finance expert, speaker, business leader Jesse Mecham, founder of You Need A Budget (or YNAB if you are very busy and important). In this episode, to celebrate the release of his new book ‘Never Worry About Money Again’, Jesse dives into how YNAB came to be, from spreadsheet to the interface it is today, the trials and tribulations the business went through over the years, before going into depth about why people are so scared of money. — Mentioned in the episode: Jesse’s brand new book, 'Never Worry About Money Again' out now! Visit the YNAB website Jason Fried’s ‘Getting Real’ Richard A. Lanham’s ‘Revising Prose’ Eugene Schwartz’s ‘Breakthrough Advertising’ Donald A. Norman’s ‘The Design of Everyday Things’ Clayton Christiansen’s ‘Jobs to be Done’ Framework Our guest for this episode has been Jesse Mecham. If you'd like to get in touch with Jesse, or to keep up to date with his work, you can visit his website. Your host for this episode has been Will Larry, you can find and connect with Will over on LinkedIn. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast

Will is back in the host seat this week to chat to Jorge Marubia, Principal Programmer at 37signals, about his previous experience using Lexxy and Basecamp. In this episode, Jorge goes into depth about BaseCamp 5, how his team got through a memory leaking situation after its launch, and Lexxy being open source, before diving into the question on everyone’s lips recently - what his thoughts are on AI and how it will affect Junior Developers. — Our guest for this episode has been Jorge Marubia. If you'd like to get in touch with Jorge, or to keep up to date with his work, you can find him via LinkedIn - X - or through his website. Your host for this episode has been Will Larry, you can find and connect with Will over on LinkedIn. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast

Sami is back this week with Gender, Climate and Energy Specialist Dr. Victoria Plutshack, as they dive into what’s really going on with AI Data Centres in Scotland and the UK. Make sure you’ve popped your kettles on as Victoria discusses the impact of large data centres on both the environment and women in the workplace, whether it’s possible to use AI and have the data centres source their energy responsibly, before taking Sami through how they are going to cause problems with the National Grid. — Our guest for this episode has been Dr. Victoria Plutshack. If you'd like to get in touch with Victoria, or to keep up to date with her work, you can do so through LinkedIn or through her website Also mentioned in today’s episode: APRS Data Centres Campaign Opinionated thoughtbotter episode ‘AI Does More Harm Than Good’ Giant Robots Episode 605 with Lord Chris Holmes Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast

Our host Sami is joined this week by Joe Cohen, Legal Innovation Partner at Harvey AI, to discuss the use of AI within the legal and professional services, and how it could impact the speed, quality and efficiency of lawyers doing legal work. Joe dives into his career journey, Harvey AI’s adoption rate success within law firms, what the future career growth could look like for Junior Partners being taught by AI, and the comparison between AI use in the modern age vs the introduction of email in the 80’s. — Our guest for this episode has been Joe Cohen. If you'd like to get in touch with Joe, or to keep up to date with his work, you can do so through LinkedIn Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast

Our hosts Chad and Sami team up this week to discuss AI code bases and whether they can be built to be developer friendly and with best practices in mind. After a brief chat about the World Cup (and how it may affect the June thoughtbot event in London!) Sami dives into a recent code audit he did on a base that was built with AI using Spec Driven Development. Chad covers security concerns and why it’s important to have human oversight when generating codes.  — You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel and Sami through his website. You can also connect with our duo via their LinkedIn pages - Chad - Sami. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast.  Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast