

Breaking Change
Justin Searls
A show in which Justin Searls talks with you from time to time. Programmer things. Apple stuff. Gaming news. Dispatches from Disney World. Each episode also entitles the listener to one (1) exclusive pun, care of of Aaron Patterson (aka @tenderlove). Submit questions and comments to podcast@searls.co
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 26, 2025 • 2h 59min
v45 - Developer Strap-on
 This may be the version 45 release of Breaking Change, but when you factor in its Hotfixes and Feature Release entries, this is somehow the 50th episode of the show!
Why? Why are we still doing this to ourselves? Write in your answer and how you feel about yourself as a result to podcast@searls.co. Seriously, I need some new material.
The web runs on links, so have some:
KnightCite's Wikipedia page
Whisprflow wasn't for me
The POSSE Party is still on and will come to you, eventually
Aaron's puns, ranked
This Cheap, Tiny Device May Reverse Memory Loss—And Even Prevent Alzheimer's (News+)
Why Western executives who visit China are coming back terrified (News+)
Plug-in hybrids pollute almost as much as petrol cars, report finds
Tele-conbini workers in Manilla
South Korea lost 858TB of government data without a backup
The AWS/Smart bed outage (News+)
Calendearing by Zach Holman
Detection firm finds 82% of herbal remedy books on Amazon 'likely written' by AI
Sora update #1
ChatGPT Is Blowing Up Marriages as Spouses Use AI to Attack Their Partners
Perverts on Sora
Sam Altman says ChatGPT will soon sext with verified adults
Don't let AI invent your next holiday destination
Apple notification forwarding API is a potential game changer for Meta glasses
John Ternus as Next CEO?
Apple released the M5 Vision Pro
And a new Vision Pro Developer Strap
Apple Readies High-End MacBook Pro With Touch, Hole-Punch Screen
You Only Need $750 to Pilfer Unencrypted Data From Satellites
They're making a new Star Trek Voyager game
That Wolverine game sure looks M-rated
Halo on PlayStation? In this economy?
The next Xbox console is a 'premium' system
Adam Driver says Disney nixed a Kylo Ren film he pitched with Steven Soderbergh
Microsoft Teams can now track attendance
Foundation
Alien: Earth
The Last of Us
Invasion
The Bear
PSVR2
Tears of the Kingdom
John writes: Why programming languages aren't going anywhere
 

18 snips
Oct 17, 2025 • 1h 39min
v44.0.2 - Mike McQuaid: If you don't like it, Quit
 In this conversation, Mike McQuaid, a long-time open source maintainer and Homebrew leader, dives into the recent RubyGems controversy. He discusses the importance of clear governance and funding in open source, emphasizing that treating it as a career comes with risks. The group also weighs the complex dynamics around monetization, the impact of AI on coding, and the necessity for personal joy in maintaining projects. Ultimately, Mike advocates for pursuing open source work on your own terms to avoid burnout and sustain enthusiasm. 

5 snips
Sep 29, 2025 • 1h 31min
v44.0.1 - José Valim: It's a time for builders
 José Valim, the creator of the Elixir programming language and founder of Dashbit, dives into the evolving landscape of AI coding agents. He raises concerns about their uncertain future and the challenges of integrating AI into coding workflows. Topics include the burden of code review, the effectiveness of small deliverables, and the risks of technical debt from unreviewed AI-generated code. Valim emphasizes the need for developers to adapt practices and engage with new tools like Tidewave, a full-stack coding agent designed to streamline feature development. 

Sep 22, 2025 • 2h 34min
v44 - Can't get it up
 Hey, look! Breaking Change now has chapter support for each segment! More on how I did that while still upholding my commitment to laziness later.
I didn't get a good job connecting this version's release to what I was referencing, so to be clear I was referring to my heart rate as opposed to any other bodily functions. The other ones are getting up just fine, thank you. Get your head out of the gutter.
Thanks for all the great e-mails the last couple weeks! Throw yours on the pile at podcast@searls.co. Hopefully Fastmail won't lose it.
For the folks who pronounce URLs like Earls:
Fallout comes to HHN
Apple's bullshit Watch Series 11 battery claims
Echofeed is like POSSE Party, kind of
Only POSSE Party is POSSE Party. Working on it.
Aaron's puns, ranked
Scuba-wearing restaurant robber swims away with cash at Disney Springs
India is fucked
H1-B's cost $100k now making India super fucked
Why tradwives aren't trad
Why Marriage Is Increasingly for the Affluent (News+)
Virtual Boy is coming to the Switch
Samsung brings ads to US fridges
Meta's bad demos and explanations
Steve Jobs smoking the good shit
Expedition 33
Super Mario Odyssey
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4
Paradise Season 1
The Last of Us Season 2
The Invincible
 

Sep 9, 2025 • 60min
v43.1 - iPhone 17 Event Review
 It's an emergency bonus edition of Breaking Change as I take the covers off yet another show-within-a-show. I call it Feature Release, and its job is to fill in that middle number in our semantically versioned series of conversations together. No pun, no news, just some timely content wrapped up in a name, logo, and jingle package that still has that new podcast smell.
It's a 1-hour review of the Airpods, Apple Watch, and iPhone updates Apple  announced today. You can see the full event video on YouTube. The Verge has a 17 minute abridged version if you just want the synopsis.
Please enjoy this episode of Feature Release! It may be the only one. Write into podcast@searls.co with your feedback! 

Sep 2, 2025 • 2h 35min
v43 - The Slop Economy
 Remember it is your civic duty to e-mail me at podcast@searls.co. As of this episode, that address is monitored by Fastmail, so there's a higher probability I'll actually get your e-mail!
Some links you won't click:
Why I-4 is the most dangerous highway in America
The Beak and the Barrel
Sign up for Fastmail. It is good.
The Gilroy Order
Making ChatGPT doubt itself
Why I wasn't cut out for management
How to comment on my blog
Aaron's puns, ranked
New Xcode beta adds GPT-5, Claude account support
Apple Responds to Accusations of Jay Blahnik Creating 'Toxic Workplace'
4chan Refuses To Pay UK Online Safety Act Fines
Americans' junk-filled garages are hurting EV adoption, study says
New Book Argues Hybrid Schedules 'Don't Work', Return-to-Office Brings Motivation and Learning
Shenmue 3 is getting an Enhanced edition
Raguelike game may portend AI disruption in the gaming industry
Making cash off 'AI slop': The surreal video business taking over the web (News+)
Stellantis shelves Level 3 driver-assistance program that totally works and has no problems
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says AI enabled him to cut 4,000 jobs
Timeline Japan: 1980
Perfect Days
Rental Family
Black Mirror Season 7
Yumtein Gummy Bears
Listener Björn made this Equaliteam app
 

Aug 27, 2025 • 1h 47min
v42.0.1 - Scott Werner: Ignore all previous instructions
 🔥Hotfix🔥 is back with a new guest! Scott Werner is the CEO of Sublayer, helps organize the Artificial Ruby meetup in NYC, and is the author of the extremely well-named (and well-written) Substack, Works on my Machine.
In this conversation, we jointly grapple with WTF is happening to programming as a career. Did the unprecedented peacetime the software industry experienced from 2005-2022 make us all soft? Is the era of code-writing agents fundamentally changing the nature of the job? Should we be less like DHH/Matz and more like why the lucky stiff?
We'd love to get your feedback to podcast@searls.co — I'll read it all and flag relevant questions and comments for the next Breaking Change.
You can follow Scott Werner online at:
Works on my Machine on Substack
@scottwernerd on Twitter/X
A handful of things we mentioned:
There's no AI in Team
The Goal book
Lean Thinking vs Fat Thinking (a newsletter that draws a different lesson from The Goal)
why the lucky stiff (aka "_why")
That fireside chat between Matz and DHH
Sublayer's product, APM (Actions Per Minute)
 

Aug 16, 2025 • 3h 14min
v42 - Free as in Remodel
 Thanks for writing so many lovely emails to podcast@searls.co. Hell, thanks even for the unlovely ones.
Be sure to look out for me showing up on Dead Code at some point after it records next Tuesday. I'm realizing not all podcasts have a 1-hour-or-less turnaround time like this one does.
As promised, some URLs follow:
Want a Japanese girlfriend? Better be the right Myers-Briggs type
Aaron's puns, ranked
Men sucking at chores is turning women gay! (News+)
Nightmares kill you (Archive)
This shiner from /r/overemployed
Hour of Code is now Hour of AI
Gary Marcus taking a few victory laps around GPT-5
OpenAI caves to 4o-pilled users
Meta's AI rules have let bots hold 'sensual' chats with children
Apple returns blood oxygen monitoring to the latest Apple Watches (sort of)
The Trump Trophy
My man Steve Wozniak has a 6-digit /. account
Enough
Andor
Alien: Earth
Sims 2 Legacy Collection
Foundation Season 3
Mariusz schools us on running Claude Code in a Docker container (sources)
Marick's ZIRP reply and my follow-up post
 

Aug 3, 2025 • 2h 16min
v41 - Liquid Glasshole
 I've made it! I'm over the hump! I'm actually writing* my language-learning app in Swift!
Send an email expressing how proud you are of me to podcast@searls.co. Or if there's any news worth following that isn't about AI. Too much AI stuff lately.
*And by "I'm writing", I admit Claude Code is doing a lot of the heavy lifting here.
Hyperlinks:
Girlfriend Reviews of Mario Kart World
Mario Paint 2 for Nintendo Switch 2
Ben publishes NSScreencast, not NSCoder 🤦♂️
claude-discord-bridge
Speeding up your Xcode tests
Upside-down development
There is no AI in Team
Aaron's puns, ranked
7/24 - WaPo: This app lets women review their dates. Men are worried. (Apple News+)
7/25 - 404 Media: Tea hack exposed. Women Dating Safety App 'Tea' Breached, Users' IDs Posted to 4chan
Security Breach at Tea Worsens, Revealing Users' DMs About Abortions and Cheating
Tokyo prostitution ring members who targeted foreigners arrested
Somebody's remaking Rebel Assault in UE5
Battlestar Galactica writer Ronald D Moore is showrunning God of War
AppleCare One is a good deal
Apple CEO Tim Cook Tells Staff AI Is 'Ours to Grab' in Pep Talk
Thanks for Your $1 Billion Job Offer, Mark Zuckerberg. I'm Gonna Pass (Apple News+)
Steve Krouse with a great tech debt analogy
Christina Wodtke on what it means that early-days web developers are pumped about AI
Orta: Six weeks of claude code
System prompt updates to Claude 4 Opus tries to ward off mania
Foundation Season 3
Halt and Catch Fire
Saw that Family Guy musical, Music Man
opencode.ai
 

Jul 19, 2025 • 2h 33min
v40 - Go home Claude, you're drunk
 Finally, a recommendation-heavy, full-mailbag show. Been a while.
New to the pod are achievements—watch your BreakingScore™ increase each time you write in to podcast@searls.co. The winner will receive nothing, probably.
Lynx:
Coke BlāK
My Full-breadth developers post
When I discovered Claude is working for the weekend
My latest newsletter that admits why I haven't started yet
Aaron's puns, ranked
Note taking AI is outnumbering participants on meetings
Arkane founder slams Xbox Game Pass
An unsubsidized Xbox could just do the special offers like Kindle, IMO
Eyeball Dynamic Range
FaceTime in iOS 26 will freeze your call if someone starts undressing
xOS 26 betas expected on July 23
'Vibe Coder' Who Doesn't Know How to Code Keeps Winning Hackathons in San Francisco
'Coding is dead': UW computer science program rethinks curriculum for the AI era
OpenAI's Windsurf deal is off — and Windsurf's CEO is going to Google
Anthropic tightens usage limits for Claude Code — without telling users
Honey, AI Capex is Eating the Economy
People with higher cognitive ability have weaker moral foundations
The Remarkable life of Ibelin
Halt and catch fire
Doom: The Dark Ages
As Dusk Falls
To The Moon
Superman (2025)
Expedition 33: Clair Obscur
The Yakult Swallow guy died
 


