In this final episode of season five, Kent C. Dodds recaps the enriching conversations with the speakers of Epic WebConf 2024, expressing gratitude and excitement for the upcoming event in April. He encourages listeners, whether planning to attend the conference or not, to revisit the season's episodes for timeless web development advice. While sea…

In this episode, Kent C. Dodds interviews Dan Farrelly, the CTO and co-founder of Jest, about his journey from front-end engineer to CTO, the challenges of scaling a tech company, and the importance of staying small to maintain agility and innovation. Farrelly shares insights into the evolving challenges of a tech team, from infrastructure to front…

In this podcast, Zeno Rocha, open-source advocate and founder of Resend, joins host Kent to discuss the dynamic world of web development and the shift towards SDK-first strategies. They reflect on the evolution of developer tools and the significance of user experience in product development. Rocha and Kent stress the necessity of high standards to…

In the podcast, Simon, an advocate for Tailwind CSS, shares his insights on its impact on web development and design. Tailwind CSS serves as a facilitator between design and development teams, streamlining collaborations and enabling quick translation of design concepts into code. He highlights how it enhances learning, boosts efficiency, and, desp…

In this episode, host Kent and Madison Kanna, the upcoming MC for Epic WebConf, discuss the benefits of attending conferences like Epic WebConf beyond just the informational content. They delve into how conferences can be a goldmine for networking, transforming online contacts into real-world connections. Madison explains her path and how initiativ…

In this episode, Tyler Benfield, a staff software engineer at Prisma, joins Kent to explore the world of databases and their critical role in full-stack development. Tyler shares insights from his journey from front-end development to mastering database performance and optimization, while also touching on the trend of front-end developers upskillin…

In the podcast episode featuring Sunil Pai, a former member of the React.js core team and developer at Cloudflare, the focus is on PartyKit, his new project set to transform real-time application development. PartyKit introduces features like real-time updates and server-rendering, aimed at facilitating the creation of dynamic, chat-GPT-like AI exp…

In a conversation with Kent, Una, an expert in UI and a presenter at the upcoming EpicWebConf, delves into the dynamic world of modern web development. She underscores the importance of keeping up with the advances in UI capabilities and CSS, the shift towards more declarative techniques, and the necessity of adapting to new web standards. Una cham…

In the latest podcast, Glauber Costa, CEO of Turso and an ex-Red Hat contributor, speaks with Kent about the often overlooked yet robust SQLite database technology. Sharing their personal experiences with SQLite, they discuss its functionality, suitability in production, and the importance of version control in document evolution. Costa encourages …

In the podcast hosted by Kent C. Dodds, Michael Chan, celebrated as Chantastic, shares his insights on the evolution of web development and the critical role of design systems. He discusses how design systems should evolve with product development, the importance of documentation, and the dynamic nature of design systems contrary to the belief that…

In a conversation with Kent, Ryan Florence, co-creator of Remix and React Router, discusses how web development and user experience intersect, and the impact of personal interaction at events like the upcoming Epic WebConf. He updates listeners on the Remix singles project, which integrates extensive open-source work with his business ventures, and…

In a thought-provoking dialogue, Front-end Engineer Sandrina Pereira explores the importance of web accessibility and how remote work is shaping the future of the tech industry. She discusses her role in crafting server-side validations for forms and her company's initiative to formalize a web accessibility statement, underscoring Remote.com's comm…

In this episode, Kent and Mark Techson, from Google's Angular team, traverse the expansive terrain of web development, drawing parallels between coding and music. Mark, blending his industry wisdom with musical passion, provides an intriguing perspective on the structural similarities between the two. He also explores the vital role of an MC in enr…

Developer and freelancer Jacob Paris delves into his personal evolution from game to web development, noting the core similarities like database interactions that tie different development fields together. He spotlights the efficacy of Remix in streamlining web development, particularly in UI and database interactivity, which he will explore furthe…

In this enlightening conversation, Kent C. Dodds shares his transition from a full-stack web developer to a renowned educator and community influencer within the web development sphere. He recounts his initial steps into public speaking, his experiences with rejection and eventual success in the conference circuit, and the pivotal role these platfo…

In the podcast, Michelle Bakels, a seasoned software developer and the Program Director for Developer Health at G2i, joins Kent to explore the necessity of balancing a tech career with personal life to ensure overall well-being. Drawing on her experience with health challenges stemming from work stress, Michelle underscores the importance of the De…

In a thought-provoking podcast with Kent, Barry McGee from Shopify shares insights on the integration of AI in web development and the evolving landscape of remote work. Having transitioned to remote working in 2016, Barry brings a wealth of experience from significant tech companies and discusses the future of web performance, AI's role in enhanci…

In this illuminating episode, Scott Hanselman, with over 30 years in the tech industry, including a significant tenure at Microsoft, delves into the impact of AI on web development. He reflects on his technological journey from the early days of the internet and explores AI's potential in automating routine development tasks. Scott advises on the e…

In the podcast, Saron Yitbarek, the founder of Code Newbie, shares insights into empowering developers through enhanced learning resources, financial opportunities, and community building. With Code Newbie evolving into a comprehensive media company and her successful venture into designing The Story Graph, Saron highlights the importance of newsle…

Lina Mahrouch, a software engineer, recounts her transition from professional gaming to web development and her subsequent mastery of Remix for full-stack applications. The podcast highlights Remix's strengths in data handling, caching, and SEO, while also pointing out common pitfalls in its use. Kent and Lina stress the importance of networking in…

Kent C. Dodds welcomes Ben Ilegbodu to discuss his work with front-end platforms and the coined term "DivOps," focusing on non-UI aspects like configurations and optimizations that enhance app performance and developer workflows. Ben shares insights into why JavaScript's ecosystem fosters a unique need for DivOps, emphasizing its role as a legitima…

Mandy Hartman, a front-end developer at Jenzabar, shares her insights on the importance of continuous learning in web development, drawing on her own transition from academia to tech. She discusses her hands-on learning experiences, including participation in the "#100DaysOfCode" challenge and creating personal projects for skill demonstration in j…

In the podcast, Artem Zakharchenko, a software engineer specializing in APIs, delves into his journey shifting from his job to focus on open-source contributions, notably the Mock Service Worker library. He emphasizes the importance of efficient testing in software development and his commitment to enhancing his knowledge and the tools he develops,…

Web developer Alex Anderson speaks with Kent about his side project, Thorium, an open-source spaceship bridge simulator game designed for science education, which also encapsulates the principles of Local First architecture. Anderson elaborates on the advantages of Local First design in ensuring direct data access and enhancing web syncing, all whi…

In this insightful conversation with Kent, Chrome team's CSS and UI expert Adam Argyle delves into the transformative power of CSS custom properties in web development. Likening them to a basil leaf that elevates a meal, Adam teases his upcoming talk at Epic WebConf, promising to elaborate further on the subject. He spotlights current innovations i…

Kent C. Dodds introduces Season 5 of "Chats with Kent," highlighting its unique focus on the speakers of the upcoming Epic WebConf 2024 on April 11th. This season aims to familiarize listeners with the conference speakers through 10-15 minute intros, offering insights into their backgrounds and what they'll be discussing. Kent encourages both atten…

The path of teaching yourself to code isn't for the faint of heart. It takes consistency, discipline, and the ability to recognize you're actually making progress. Tutorials are an excellent tool, but they are also a trap. If all you do are tutorials, retaining the skills you learn is going to be extremely difficult. Without applying those skills t…

It's easy to become entrenched in what you already know how to do. You might have a fun project idea that requires creating really awesome CSS animations, and it might seem out of reach if you haven't done anything like that before. But getting through that mental block is an extremely rewarding experience. You gain technical skills and improve you…

There is a diverse range of philosophies when it comes to CSS. Settling on something that fits the needs of your team and application can be a real challenge. Mark Dalgleish, the co-creator of CSS Modules, has been working on an option that might make that choice less of a challenge! Vanilla Extract is kind of like "CSS-modules in TypeScript", allo…

Scott Moss is a retired Navy Veteran who made the career change into software engineering after becoming a father. His journey wasn't an easy one, and as a dad, he had to learn many lessons in work-life balance. For us developers who have kids, his struggle is one that almost all of us can relate to. This industry has an extremely high ceiling, and…

Whether you know it or not, we all have a "personal brand". It's the summary of the part of yourself that you present to the public. And while there are negative connotations to the term, it doesn't have to be that way. Building a personal brand for yourself is a very useful tool for cultivating a community of like-minded people. But it's not a qui…

Constantly learning is something that we all have to do as developers. If you're a JavaScript developer then chances are CSS is something that hasn't been easy to learn for you. It doesn't have the error messages JS does and when things go wrong you can have no idea what's even happening. Well in this episode Josh Comeau gives us some effective str…

We have to remember that we are all human beings with social and emotional needs. Our career suffers when we fall into a pit of negativity or when we put up mental barriers that prevent us from interacting with people we might've wanted to talk to. In this episode, Tracy Lee chats about the importance of remembering that everyone, even the awesome …

Side projects are important in our line of work. They sharpen our skills and sometimes they can even take off and lead our career in a new direction. But seeing people create these amazing projects over a weekend can be demotivating as a junior developer. "How can they do that when I'm five days deep into a todo app? What do they have that I'm miss…

Building our apps to be accessible is absolutely necessary, but building a great a11y friendly experience is extremely challenging when we ourselves aren't in a situation that requires the use of a screenreader is keyboard-only navigation. We can't fully rely on tools to audit the a11y score of our apps. With the challenge being distinctly human, c…

Everything that developers do is DX (Developer Experience). But, it can be hard to know when it is appropriate to spend the time to improve the DX at your workplace. You also might be curious about what you can do to enhance the DX. Repetitive tasks are an easy one to look out for. If you find yourself doing something again and again it's probably …

"I should really get more involved in open-source" is something that's always on the back of our minds. You are fully aware of how rewarding it could be but that perfect opportunity to contribute never comes up. Ian Sutherland, a maintainer of Create React App and contributor to NodeJS, used to be in that position. He had always struggled with gett…

Vlad Magdalin is the founder of Webflow, a powerful visual development tool that enables people to create professional websites without writing code. Webflow is on a much lower level of abstraction than something like Squarespace, and users still need to understand the core fundamentals of web development. You might think that tools like these are …

Teaching what you know is a great way to give back to your community, grow your reputation as an expert, and to even make some extra income. But, just because you're an expert doesn't automatically mean you'll be able to effectively transfer your knowledge and skills to others. Taylor Bell works for egghead, and one of his main focuses is helping i…

Software development has always been a fast-paced sector. New and better technologies are constantly coming out and if companies don't keep up they'll soon be out of date. Daria has experience with multiple teams who were upgrading their stack, and through that has discovered joy in being a generalist who is capable of working with a variety of tec…

TypeScript has been taking over, and for good reason. Have you ever had good end-to-end or integration tests that ended up being invaluable during some refactoring? You can think of TypeScript in the same way. It's amazing when it's done well, but when done poorly it's misleading and a huge headache. Because of this, migrating to TypeScript is not …

Twitter and Instagram had a problem that would ordinarily be simple on smaller scales. They needed to be able to generate IDs on the order of millions per second. Twitter used a brute force method of having a triple-redundant service that generates the IDs. However, Instagram had the elegant solution of inserting a little script that could generate…

The JavaScript ecosystem is vast and solves a wide array of problems. Because of this, it is key that you have a foundational understanding of JavaScript if you want to be able to work across the JS spectrum. It is also helpful to know the layers of abstraction that are going on. Become familiar with what comes with the browser like the navigator A…

Titus Wormer does a lot of work with natural language processing. He is the creator of Retext, Remark, and many many more open-source projects. In this episode Titus chats about his extensive open-source work, and goes a bit deeper into his ecosystem of natural language processing tools and plugins. You'll also learn about abstract state trees and …

It's time to embrace ESM (ECMAScript Module). NodeJS is providing support for ESM out of the box. With ESM modules coming out of the experimental stage we're going to see a lot of packages begin to embrace it. ESM provides superior organization of your code by allowing you to more easily create smaller, reusable chunks of code. ESM gives you a "mod…

Will Johnson used to work for call centers and factories, but he managed to make the daunting career change into tech. This especially isn't easy when you're clocking in 12 hour days. To make time to grow Will was waking up early, staying up late, and doing stuff on weekends. "It was very, very time consuming, but it was one of those things where l…

Web development isn't as simple as it used to be. We can't view the source of any webpage and be able to recreate it anymore, it's all bundled and obfuscated. That increased complexity comes from the increasingly larger role that the internet is taking on in our society and the need for our websites to do more than display static information. The g…

Modern web development has given us a cornucopia of powerful abstractions. But as we've moved to higher levels of abstraction Ryan has noticed that we are reinventing the wheel in places, especially with what the browser provides by default. Remix aims to solve this problem. Remix is trying today's benefits of a highly dynamic page, but still have …

Landing your first developer job isn't easy. Companies don't want to take the risk of hiring a junior, they have no idea how competent you are. A traditional resume doesn't adequately prove your abilities. Why would they just take your word for it? In order to standout you need to show those hard-earned skills off! You need to publicly showcase you…

Almost everything we experience in the world we experience through metaphor. Even when we talk about abstract things that don't have physical form, we talk about them in terms of directionality and bodies. Stock markets go up, our moods are low, and past years are behind us. So what makes this useful to us on the internet? Strong visual metaphor is…