
Whiskey Web and Whatnot: Web Development, Neat
Veteran web developers RobbieTheWagner and Charles William Carpenter III host this informal, whiskey-fueled fireside chat with your favorite web devs. They discuss all things web development including JavaScript, TypeScript, EmberJS, React, Astro, SolidJS, CSS, HTML, Web3, and more. They take a unique approach and focus on getting to know the human side of developers and their hobbies outside of work, all while sampling a new whiskey that they rate on their unique tentacle scale.
Latest episodes

Jun 12, 2025 • 60min
Will AI Kill the Joy of Coding?
The hosts taste Barrell Craft Spirits' Cranky Kong while diving into the exciting AI boom. They discuss the impact of AI on coding joy and the shifting landscape of software jobs. The conversation touches on the rise of celebrity developers and the dynamics of parenting twins, blending professional insights with personal anecdotes. Plus, they explore tech's role in real estate and the challenges of keeping balance in work and family life. It's a captivating mix of humor and tech talk that keeps listeners engaged!

Jun 5, 2025 • 1h 5min
Stop Fixing Things That Aren't Broken
This week, Robbie and Chuck talk about the unintended chaos of “move fast and break things” in both software and startups. From Riverside glitches to Tesla’s overengineered wipers, they explore how updates can derail otherwise stable experiences. They unpack the economics of getting laid off, the pressure to build a personal brand in tech, and the strange fate of dev tools. Plus, Robbie shares his latest app ideas.In this episode:(00:00) - Intro(02:27) - Whiskey rating and review: Old Grand-Dad 16 Year Straight Bourbon Whiskey(13:27) - When updates break what worked(20:21) - Are devs prioritizing personal brands?(23:13) - The strange economics of getting laid off(28:39) - Is GitLab trash?(30:25) - Robbie’s ADHD app and vibe coding plans(34:05) - Debt, 401k, and emergency funds(35:30) - Prepping for Big Sky Dev Con(38:26) - UPS shipping woes(44:10) - React Miami and difficulties taking a podcast on the road(48:58) - Whiskey + Girl Scout cookies (and other pairings)(54:05) - Should open source have a franchise model?(55:28) - Work, paternity leave, and the IBM acquisition(57:15) - Tesla shopping for a family of five(61:08) - Movies and TVLinksOld Grand-Dad: https://www.beamdistilling.com/our-brands/old-grand-dad-bourbonWild Turkey: https://www.wildturkeybourbon.com/Riverside: https://riverside.fm/Tesla: https://www.tesla.com/Arc: https://arc.net/Silicon Valley: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Valley_(TV_series)Chrome: https://www.google.com/chrome/Shark Tank: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_TankGitHub: https://github.comMicrosoft: https://www.microsoft.com/Typescript: https://www.typescriptlang.org/Rust: https://www.rust-lang.org/VS Code: https://code.visualstudio.com/OpenAI: https://openai.comCursor: https://www.cursor.com/Windsurf: https://windsurf.ai/Copilot: https://github.com/features/copilotDeno: https://deno.com/Node: https://nodejs.org/GitLab: https://gitlab.com/Bitbucket: https://bitbucket.org/Fresca: https://www.coca-cola.com/us/en/brands/fresca-sparkling-sodaShepherd: https://www.shepherdjs.dev/ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/Claude: https://claude.aiWarp: https://www.warp.dev/Big Sky Dev Con: https://bigskydevcon.com/Adam Argyle: https://x.com/argyleink/HTMX: https://htmx.org/Carson Gross: https://x.com/htmx_org/Ruby: https://www.ruby-lang.org/UPS: https://www.ups.comAmazon: https://amazon.comReact Miami: https://www.reactmiami.com/Typecraft: https://typecraft.dev/Jason Lengstorf: https://x.com/jlengstorfWeb Dev Challenge: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz8Iz-Fnk_eTkZvSNWXW_TKZ2UwVirT2MMux: https://www.mux.com/Aaron Francis: https://x.com/aarondfrancisTerminal Coffee: https://www.terminal.shop/Syntax: https://syntax.fmSentry: https://Sentry.io/David Cramer: https://x.com/zeegGirl Scouts: https://www.girlscouts.org/Carlyle House: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlyle_HouseKen Wheeler: https://x.com/ken_wheeler/Whiskey Library: https://mwlpdx.com/Jack Rose: https://www.jackrosediningsaloon.com/Gumroad: https://gumroad.comSupabase: https://supabase.com/McDonald's: https://www.mcdonalds.com/HashiCorp: https://www.hashicorp.com/IBM: https://www.ibm.com/Model X: https://www.tesla.com/modelxElon Musk: https://x.com/elonmuskRivian: https://rivian.com/Why Women Kill: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Women_KillLucy Liu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_LiuAmerican Psycho: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Psycho_(film)Paramount Plus: https://www.paramountplus.com/Yellowstone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_(American_TV_series)1883: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1883_(TV_series)Faith Hill: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_HillTim McGraw: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_McGrawGame of Thrones: https://www.hbo.com/game-of-thronesConnect with Chuck and RobbieRobbie Wagner: https://x.com/RobbieTheWagnerChuck Carpenter: https://x.com/CharlesWthe3rdSubscribe and stay in touchWebsite: https://whiskey.fmApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whiskey-web-and-whatnot/id1552776603Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19jiuHAqzeKnkleQUpZxDfOvercast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1552776603YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhiskeyWebAndWhatnotWhiskey Web and Whatnot MerchEnjoying the podcast and want us to make more? Help support us by picking up some of our fresh merch at https://whiskey.fund.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

May 29, 2025 • 53min
The Myth of Perfect Code w/ Marc Backes
Marc Backes, a software engineer and tech lead from Luxembourg, dives into the intriguing world of web development, comparing Vue.js and React. He shares insights on the messiness of real code versus the ideal and emphasizes the importance of work-life balance. The conversation spans unique topics like his passion for coffee roasting and adventures in pilot training. Plus, they discuss strategies for achieving inbox zero, making the technical seem refreshingly accessible and personable.

May 22, 2025 • 55min
Should You Learn Tailwind Before CSS? w/ Bree Hall
Bree Hall, a developer advocate known for her passion in simplifying tech concepts, joins co-host Aaron Francis live from React Miami. They dive into whether learning CSS is essential before delving into Tailwind, with Bree arguing that it can be context-dependent. The duo discusses the evolution of Next.js, how to maintain developer momentum, and shares insights on breaking into tech today. Bree also reflects on her personal journey in the industry, her thoughts on the strengths of React, and navigating tech as a parent.

28 snips
May 15, 2025 • 1h 8min
Static, Dynamic, Generative: What’s Next for the Web? w/ Guillermo Rauch
Guillermo Rauch, the founder of Vercel and creator of Next.js, shares his inspiring journey from the early days at Zeit to shaping the future of web development. He discusses how AI is revolutionizing the web and emphasizes the importance of thoughtful product expansion. Guillermo also dives into cybersecurity challenges faced by startups, the significance of transparency in threat management, and the shift from static to interactive web technologies. His insights on balancing innovation with customer demand highlight the transformative nature of modern software.

May 8, 2025 • 57min
Why You Can’t Skip the Fundamentals w/ Henri Helvetica
Henri Helvetica, a web performance advocate and independent consultant, joins co-host Aaron Francis, a web developer, live from React Miami. They delve into the significance of mastering web performance and the pitfalls of shortcut learning in an AI-driven world. Henri emphasizes the importance of foundational skills and research, while sharing insights from his talk. The duo also discusses the intersection of fitness with tech, advocating for a healthy lifestyle among developers and building a community for those who run.

May 1, 2025 • 45min
Are Frameworks Still Worth the Tradeoffs? w/ Adam Rackis
This week, Chuck talks with Adam Rackis live from React Miami. Along with special guest-host Aaron Francis, they dig into React Server Components, the quirks of modern JavaScript frameworks, and why TanStack might be the future. Sipping an Appleton Estate Rum, they swap hot takes, get candid about developer trends, tech philosophies, and share some unexpected guilty pleasures.In this episode:(00:00) - Intro(02:37) - Rum tasting and review: Appleton Estate(11:27) - Hot Take: Why Adam is cooling off on React Server Components(14:56) - What makes TanStack the most exciting tool in frontend?(16:52) - Are we still chasing SSR for the right reasons?(21:26) - Comparing frameworks: Laravel, Next.js, Redwood & more(24:34) - Should you pay for Auth or build it yourself?(25:13) - Why does the JS community resist “batteries-included” frameworks?(27:54) - A look at Adam’s React Miami talk: From PHP to RSC(30:45) - Hot Take: classes vs hooks(33:31) - Adam’s military background(35:08) - Milestones: Spotify, marriage, and careers(36:56) - Has Disney ruined Star Wars?(38:17) - Guilty pleasures: Jackass, Fast & Furious, and more(43:29) - If not tech, what would Adam do instead?(44:05) - PlugsLinksAppleton Estate Rum: https://appletonestate.com/React Miami: https://www.reactmiami.com/Spotify: https://spotify.com/Riot Games: https://www.riotgames.com/Ron Zacapa 23: https://www.zacaparum.com/Laravel: https://laravel.com/Postgres: https://www.postgresql.org/Ken Wheeler: https://x.com/ken_wheeler/Disney: https://www.disney.com/Vercel: https://vercel.com/Next.js: https://nextjs.org/Django: https://www.djangoproject.com/Rails: https://rubyonrails.org/TanStack: https://tanstack.com/Remix: https://remix.run/Svelte: https://svelte.dev/HTMX: https://htmx.org/Vue: https://vuejs.org/Dan Abramov: https://github.com/gaearonInertia: https://inertiajs.com/Sam Selikoff: https://x.com/samselikoffRyan Florence: https://x.com/ryanflorenceBig Sky Dev Con: https://bigskydevcon.com/Drizzle: https://orm.drizzle.team/RedwoodJS: https://redwoodjs.com/Tom Preston-Werner: https://x.com/mojomboClerk: https://clerk.com/Auth0: https://auth0.com/NextAuth.js: https://next-auth.js.org/Better-Auth: https://www.better-auth.com/OpenAuth: https://openauth.js.org/Prisma: https://www.prisma.io/WorkOS: https://workos.com/Ember: https://emberjs.com/Backbonejs: https://backbonejs.org/Air Force Academy: https://www.usafa.edu/Star Wars: https://www.starwars.com/The Mandalorian: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_MandalorianFast & Furious: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_%26_FuriousJackass: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackass_(franchise)Laravel Cloud: https://cloud.laravel.com/TanStack Router: https://tanstack.com/router/latestScreencasting.com: https://screencasting.com/Connect with AdamWebsite: https://adamrackis.dev/X / Twitter: https://x.com/AdamRackisConnect with Chuck and RobbieRobbie Wagner: https://x.com/RobbieTheWagnerChuck Carpenter: https://x.com/CharlesWthe3rdSubscribe and stay in touchWebsite: https://whiskey.fmApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whiskey-web-and-whatnot/id1552776603Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19jiuHAqzeKnkleQUpZxDfOvercast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1552776603YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhiskeyWebAndWhatnotWhiskey Web and Whatnot MerchEnjoying the podcast and want us to make more? Help support us by picking up some of our fresh merch at https://whiskey.fund.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apr 24, 2025 • 56min
WTF is MCP? w/ David Cramer
Dive into the innovative world of microservices for language models with insights from a special guest. Discover how AI agents are shaping the future of development and why job security isn't a concern with emerging tools. The hosts share their whiskey tasting experiences while engaging in playful debates over frameworks like Rails and Laravel. Expect captivating anecdotes about life, tech, and even the challenges of driving in hilly cities, sprinkled with humor and expert insights.

10 snips
Apr 17, 2025 • 54min
Vibe Podcasting: App Rewrites, AI Assistants, PB&Js, and more!
Dive into a playful mix of whiskey tasting and sandwich debates, featuring hot takes on buttered PB&Js! The hosts share challenges developers face with AI coding tools, balancing tech efficiency with human touch. Personal stories about navigating life in Italy add humor, while TV show and game recommendations keep the vibe light and engaging. From whiskey reviews to password management woes, this chat is a fun blend of food, tech, and life's quirks!

Apr 10, 2025 • 55min
Your Terminal Is Getting Smarter with Ben Holmes
Ben Holmes, a former member of the Astro core team and now at Warp, shares insights on the evolution of developer tools and terminal UX. He discusses the quirks of AI coding tools like Cursor and debates the merits of inferred versus explicit types. The conversation also dives into the pros and cons of version control strategies like rebasing versus merging, and offers a humorous take on keyboard setups and ergonomics. Holmes emphasizes the balance between specialization and generalization in development, all while enjoying some rye whiskey.