In this episode of The ReadME Podcast, hosts Neha Batra and Martin Woodward look back on their growth and learnings from the past season, from pronunciation struggles to hosting highs. Next, they share a fun story about the world's first webcam at the University of Cambridge in 1991 and its coffee-related origins. The hosts then dive into the Digital Public Goods Alliance with Ricardo Mirón Torres, who highlights the success of open-source solutions like DHIS 2 in addressing global challenges, including its role in COVID-19 tracking in Sri Lanka.

The conversation then shifts to the Laravel PHP framework with Senior Editor Klint Finley, examining its popularity, ease of use, and the vibrant community surrounding it. Klint turns the interview around on Neha and Martin and asks about their favorite moments from the season to close out the episode.

• 00:00 - Martin and Neha reflect on their experiences and growth throughout the past season of The ReadME Podcast. They announce an end-of-season hiatus but promise new content in the future.
• 01:29 - First Commit: How necessity (and a little laziness) is the mother of invention.
• 03:50 - The Interview: The hosts interview Ricardo Mirón Torres, the technical coordinator and community manager for the Digital Public Goods Alliance, a UN initiative aiming to unlock the potential of open source to create a more equitable world.
• 18:20 - Feature Release: GitHub Senior Editor Klint Finley is back to discuss Laravel and why it has become a "secret weapon" for many developers.
• 29:20 - #askRMP: The tables are turned in this edition of #askRMP, and the hosts take the hot seat to share the lessons they’ve learned this season.

Looking for more stories and advice from the open source community? To learn more from the authors and experts featured on this episode, check out:

• Is Laravel the happiest developer community on the planet? By Klint Finley
• Realizing potential with AI by Anton Mirhorodchenko
• Accessibility barriers are bugs, not feature requests by Mike Gifford
• Digital Public Goods Alliance

Tell us what you want to hear more about next season! Send us an email to: thereadmeproject@github.com with your ideas and feedback.

And, we hope to see you at GitHub Universe 2023 November 8-9! Subscribe for updates.

Special thanks to Ricardo Mirón Torres for talking with us about the Digital Public Goods Alliance and how more people can get involved. To Mohammed Said for sharing his experience with Laravel, and to Senior Editor Klint Finley for his reporting on the Laravel community—and for turning the mic on our hosts for this episode!

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