Thanksgiving Special: "What is my actual impact on society?" Legendary technologist Kelsey Hightower on the power we all have

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Nov 28, 2025

Kelsey Hightower, a legendary technologist and Kubernetes pioneer, shares his journey from sleeping in his car to becoming a distinguished engineer at Google and retiring at 42 to focus on societal impact. He emphasizes the power of small acts of recognition, discussing how simple gestures can restore dignity. Kelsey highlights the importance of speaking engagements to inspire others and the role of open source in leveling the playing field. He advocates for turning technical skills into business impact and balancing awe of AI with a focus on human intelligence.

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Small Acts Have Big Ripples

Kelsey describes smiling at an invisible airport worker and the profound ripple effect it created.
A brief human connection changed the worker's mood and possibly improved his relationship with his child that night.

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Learning In Prison Led To A Job

Kelsey recounts meeting a developer who learned Kubernetes in jail and then joined a startup.
That person's demo led the CEO to say the hire materially boosted product and revenue.

00:00 / 00:00

Open Source Multiplies Opportunity

Open source uniquely shares both software and the knowledge to create more software.
That knowledge multiplier lets one person build tools used by millions without traditional gatekeepers.

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** I'd be so grateful if you'd take five minutes and answer our annual survey. It'll help me make the show better for you! **

Hey folks, it's Thanksgiving weekend here in the US and it's the time of year when we think about what we're grateful for, so today I'm re-sharing some words from perhaps the most grateful person I've ever had on the show.

Kelsey Hightower is a legendary developer. And he has an incredible story. He went from sleeping in his car to becoming a pioneer in the Kubernetes world, a distinguished engineer at Google, and then... he retired. At the age of 42. Because he wanted to have more impact on the world than he thought he could have by advancing up the career ladder.

So here are 15 minutes of my original interview with him, because some of the things he said — not about tech, but about humanity, gratitude, and prioritizing what matters — have really stuck with me.

Here’s the full interview, originally released in July 2024. We cover a lot, including how he became so good at live demos, why emotion is the key to great software — and storytelling — and how it’s those “boring innovations” and mindset shifts you need to make as a technologist that will take you from “hello, world” to “hello, revenue.”
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Featured voices:

Kelsey Hightower: "Retired, not tired" former distinguished engineer at Google and Kubernetes Pioneer
Me (Dan Blumberg) — I’m the host of CRAFTED. and the founder of Modern Product Minds. HMU if you want to build something great. I love building from zero to one.

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