

General Musings with Kevin Powell
Kevin Powell
I have a newsletter where I usually start things off with pretty long general musings before I share the content I've created in the previous week, as well as any interesting articles I've stumbled across in the last week. Not everyone likes reading or having more emails in their inbox, though, so this podcast is an audio version of my newsletters. They aren't tutorials or technical explorations like my regular videos are, but instead tend to talk about a wide range of different topics, though they're generally at least somewhat related to front-end development in some way.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 28, 2025 β’ 24min
Navigating Workloads and Priorities
This one has nothing to do with front-end! Rather, I ramble a lot about how I might be doing too much, and spend quite a bit of time talking about what I wanted to do, and what I might be doing with my HTML & CSS Tip of the Week.π Linksβ
HTML & CSS Tip of the Week: https://html-css-tip-of-the-week.netlify.app/β
DevTools for Beginners: https://devtoolsforbeginners.kevinpowell.co/β
CSS Demystified: https://cssdemystified.com/

Aug 24, 2025 β’ 23min
Is it time to scrap CSS and start over?
Why is CSS so weird? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHUtMbJw8iA HTML & CSS Tip of the Week: https://html-css-tip-of-the-week.netlify.app/ The Ben Schwarz post on Bluesky I mentioned: https://bsky.app/profile/benschwarz.bsky.social/post/3lulxryudjs2t My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell β The written version of my newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter π¬ Come hang out with other dev's in my Discord Community: https://discord.gg/nTYCvrK Help support my channel π¨βπ Get a course: https://www.kevinpowell.co/courses π Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kevinpowell

Jun 26, 2025 β’ 15min
It's been a bit of a grind lately
Been having a hard time getting anything done the last few weeks, and as I pull out of it, I talk about some of the issues around productivity culture in general, and how sometimes it seems like we are less productive than we might have realized.

Jun 11, 2025 β’ 29min
CSS features I wish we had right now
The livestream I mentioned: https://youtube.com/live/r7m3Ka2LmPMState of CSS Survey: https://survey.devographics.com/en-US/survey/state-of-css/2025?source=kevin_powellThe gap decoration demos by Edge: https://microsoftedge.github.io/Demos/css-gap-decorations/In this episode I discuss CSS features I wish existed, like custom media queries, gap in block elements, and the color contrast function.

Jun 5, 2025 β’ 43min
Are we losing our craft?
Dive into a critical examination of AI in software development, where skepticism meets statistics on productivity and creativity. Explore how 76% of developers are using AI tools yet grappling with the balance between human insight and machine efficiency. The discussion highlights the risks of de-skilling workers and prioritizing busy work over genuine innovation. With thought-provoking insights on environmental impacts and big tech dynamics, the conversation encourages a more responsible, human-centered approach to technology's role in our workflows.

May 30, 2025 β’ 14min
Flexbox is NOT easier than Grid
Today I'm tackling a topic that's been on my mind: the perception that Flexbox is easier than Grid. I share my frustrations and insights while revamping my CSS Demystified course.

May 23, 2025 β’ 26min
We Need to Rethink Teaching CSS
My upcoming in-person workshop: https://smashingconf.com/workshops/workshops/ny/kevin-j-powell-css/My courses can all be found here: https://kevinpowell.co/coursesIn this episode of General Musings, I dive deep into learning and teaching frontend development. I share my personal experiences, why teaching is the best way to learn, and the importance of addressing roadblocks in learning. I also get into the cognitive overload beginners face and my evolving approach to teaching complex subjects. Plus, I'll touch on why beginners should teach and why it's essential to explain things in a way that makes sense to them.

May 16, 2025 β’ 16min
Keeping it simple to overcome procrastination
Welcome to this week's episode of General Musings, where I talk about how, when I'm struggling to do something, I try to find the easiest path to getting started. It can be hard just diving in, and if something is hard, even if you start, you might not want to continue!

May 9, 2025 β’ 14min
Is shipping broken products the new normal?
My upcoming workshop: https://smashingconf.com/workshops/workshops/ny/kevin-j-powell-css/My video on Figma Sites: https://youtu.be/ZsFIvULxkHIThe full live stream: https://youtube.com/live/JBz68wD9dU8?feature=shareNobody Saves the World: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1432050/Nobody_Saves_the_World/Teja's talk from Smashing Conf last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiZ6dwmVtYUIn this week's episode of General Musings, I discuss the frustrating trend of shipping broken products, with a focus on Figma Sites and their current shortcomings. I also dive into the topic of AI and the hype surrounding it, as well as the challenges faced in the gaming industry. Plus, I share some exciting updates about my upcoming live workshop in NYC and a major revamp of my advanced CSS courses, as well as a few recommendations if you have kids.

May 1, 2025 β’ 21min
Should We Stop Teaching Width and Height to CSS Beginners?
The survey link (I lied, it's 3 questions, but they're all super short!): https://3g5kprf8905.typeform.com/to/laWyvkB6In this episode, I talk about why I think we should appreciate browser defaults more when writing CSS, and ended up having a mini lightbulb moment about teaching CSS - maybe we shouldn't introduce width and height properties right away to beginners? It seems like that just creates habits we have to unlearn later.I talk about how block elements naturally want to take up the full width but only be as tall as they need to be, and why working with these behaviors (instead of fighting them) makes for better responsive designs. I go on a bit of a tangent about setting constraints with min/max values rather than forcing exact dimensions.Along the way, I point out some common mistakes I see a lot - like using that universal reset with the star selector (please don't do that!) or declaring the same font-family fifteen times when you could just put it on the body once.