Pybites Podcast

Marimo is redefining what a Python notebook can do—bringing structure, version control, and interactivity together. In this episode, we chat with Akshay Agrawal, co-founder and CEO of Marimo, about how their reactive Python notebook fixes hidden state, keeps outputs in sync, and makes reproducible, reviewable code the norm.Akshay shares Marimo’s origin story, how its reactive DAG turns notebooks into clean, Git-friendly tools, and why teams are ditching Jupyter-to-Streamlit pipelines for simpler, reactive workflows. We also dive into performance, data handling with pandas/Polars via Narwhals, and SQL reactivity with DuckDB.Join us in this insightful episode as we talk with Akshay about reproducibility, data workflows, and turning prototypes into shareable apps.For more info on Marimo, reach out to Akshay:Website: https://www.akshayagrawal.com/Github: https://github.com/akshaykaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akshayka/X: https://x.com/akshaykagrawal______If you found this podcast helpful, please consider following us!Start Here with Pybites: https://pybit.esDeveloper Mindset Newsletter: https://pybit.es/newsletter 💡Pybites Books: https://pybitesbooks.com/Bob LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbelderbos/Julian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliansequeira/Twitter: https://x.com/pybitesApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pybites-podcast/id1545551340Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1sJnriPKKVgPIX7UU9PIN1

What if the most valuable part of your research isn’t the paper, but the package that made it possible? In this episode, we talk with Leah Wasser, Executive Director and Founder of pyOpenSci, a nonprofit working to make scientific Python more inclusive, reproducible, and discoverable.We explore what “open science” really means in practice: transparent workflows that others can rerun, review, and extend. Leah explains how pyOpenSci’s peer review process helps turn lab scripts into reliable, citable Python packages with better documentation, testing, and credit through the Journal of Open Source Software (JOSS).We also unpack how AI is reshaping scientific coding—its potential to speed up work, and the need for careful human oversight to maintain accuracy and trust.Connect with Leah on the following platforms:Github: https://github.com/lwasserLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahawasser/Slack: https://www.pyopensci.org/handbook/community/slack.html___If you found this podcast helpful, please consider following us!Start Here with Pybites: https://pybit.esDeveloper Mindset Newsletter: https://pybit.es/newsletter 💡Pybites Books: https://pybitesbooks.com/Bob LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbelderbos/Julian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliansequeira/Twitter: https://x.com/pybitesApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pybites-podcast/id1545551340Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1sJnriPKKVgPIX7UU9PIN1

If you’ve ever stayed up late churning out API docs when you’d rather be anywhere else, you’ll relate to this week’s guest. Nick Park felt that same pain as a server engineer, which pushed him to build Zylo-docs, an AI tool that takes the grunt work out of documentation.Nick’s journey has been anything but linear—from AWS trainer to experimenting with generative AI in the fashion world, before realising his real passion was helping developers. In this episode, we talk about following your passion, finding product-market fit, and being open to pivots along the way.Check out Zylo-docs on PyPI or their site to find out more.Website: https://zylo-docs.devLibrary: https://pypi.org/project/zylo-docs/Nick's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/searchingstar/___If you found this podcast helpful, please consider following us!Start Here with Pybites: https://pybit.esDeveloper Mindset Newsletter: https://pybit.es/newsletter 💡Pybites Books: https://pybitesbooks.com/Bob LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbelderbos/Julian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliansequeira/Twitter: https://x.com/pybitesApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pybites-podcast/id1545551340Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1sJnriPKKVgPIX7UU9PIN1

In this episode we share some of the exciting things happening behind the scenes at Pybites. From our new partnership in South Africa to coaching success stories that showcase real-world career transformations, we reflect on how far we've come in making Python accessible, building community, and helping developers grow. We also talk about our expanding cohorts in Rust, AI, and Django, the power of our accountability sessions, and why we’ve chosen to keep our platform AI-free. Join us as we look at how Pybites is continuing to grow globally while building the community we all know and trust.Books we're reading:The Three-Body Problem Series - https://pybitesbooks.com/books/95gQDgAAQBAJHow to Solve it - https://pybitesbooks.com/books/z_hsbu9kyQQCWhy Machines Learn - https://pybitesbooks.com/books/yLfPEAAAQBAJPosts mentioned:Numpy refactoring post: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7368938151802736640/___If you found this podcast helpful, please consider following us!Start Here with Pybites: https://pybit.esDeveloper Mindset Newsletter: https://pybit.es/newsletter 💡Pybites Books: https://pybitesbooks.com/Bob LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbelderbos/Julian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliansequeira/Twitter: https://x.com/pybitesApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pybites-podcast/id1545551340Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1sJnriPKKVgPIX7UU9PIN1

Christina Lang’s journey from nearly two decades in the military to becoming a DevOps architect shows how discipline, persistence, and a growth mindset can drive career transitions. She shares how the Pybites PDI course helped her rapidly level up her Python skills, the importance of being “humble but hungry” when learning, and how mentorship and structured practice make tackling new challenges achievable. Christina also discusses the unique hurdles veterans face when moving into civilian tech, from cultural adjustments to communication styles, and how their dedication and resilience make them valuable team members once they adapt.Today, Christina applies Python to networking automation, building modules for specific tasks and exploring cloud deployments with OpenTofu, AWS, and Kubernetes. For anyone hesitating to take the next step in Python, Christina encourages: “If you don’t feel ready… you probably are. Just pull the trigger, just do it.”Christina's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-lang25Pybites Developer Initialization Program for Veterans: https://pybit.es/veterans/Pybites Podcast 118 - Veterans in the workplace, challenges and tipshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swg0hj6BPJE ___If you found this podcast helpful, please consider following us!Start Here with Pybites: https://pybit.esDeveloper Mindset Newsletter: https://pybit.es/newsletter 💡Pybites Books: https://pybitesbooks.com/Bob LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbelderbos/Julian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliansequeira/Twitter: https://x.com/pybitesApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pybites-podcast/id1545551340Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1sJnriPKKVgPIX7UU9PIN1

What started as a simple idea to “chat more” became Pybites — a global Python learning platform transforming how developers build skills. In this special 200th episode, co-founders Bob and Julian share their journey from corporate life to creating a build-focused, mindset-driven approach that’s helped thousands worldwide.In this episode we hear inspiring stories of schoolkids in Florida, developers in Pakistan, and countless others who’ve grown their skills — and their confidence — through Pybites. Bob and Julian reveal why “people come for the Python and stay for the mindset,” their thoughts on Python’s future, and the secret to lasting success: perseverance, small wins, and mastering the fundamentals.___If you found this podcast helpful, please consider following us!Start Here with Pybites: https://pybit.esDeveloper Mindset Newsletter: https://pybit.es/newsletter 💡Pybites Books: https://pybitesbooks.com/Bob LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbelderbos/Julian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliansequeira/Twitter: https://x.com/pybitesApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pybites-podcast/id1545551340Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1sJnriPKKVgPIX7UU9PIN1

Charlie Marsh, who builds high-performance Python tooling at Astral, discusses the innovative ty tool that transforms Python type checking. He shares insights into ty's lightning-fast incremental analysis and improved diagnostics, drawing inspiration from Rust. Marsh also talks about Astral's collaboration with Meta and NVIDIA to tackle broader ecosystem challenges. He highlights the importance of user-friendly design in tooling and the evolution from Ruff to ty, aiming to enhance developer experience while minimizing false positives in coding.

Tim Hopper, a machine learning engineer at Spotify and author of the Python Developer Tooling Handbook, shares his insights on modern Python development tools. He highlights the impact of UV, a fast package manager, on enhancing user experience. The conversation also covers the importance of open-source contributions and the challenges of job searching in tech. Tim links programming to his passion for wildlife photography, emphasizing practice and iteration. It's a fantastic blend of practical advice and inspiration for any Python enthusiast!

In this engaging discussion, Jeroen Janssens, a developer relations engineer at Posit, and Thijs Nieuwdorp, a data scientist at Xomnia, explore the revolutionary power of the Polars library in Python data processing. They share insights on its impressive speed boosts, thanks to GPU collaboration, and why it outperforms traditional tools like Pandas. The duo also discusses their journey co-authoring 'Python Polars: The Definitive Guide,' including the challenges of technical writing and the significance of understanding user needs.

Robin Quintero, creator of Complexipy, shares insights from his journey in developing an ultra-fast cognitive complexity analyzer for Python, built in Rust. He discusses how his frustrations with slow tools inspired the project and the positive feedback from teams using it for quicker, clearer code reviews. The conversation also touches on future enhancements like multi-language support and AI-driven features, along with the challenges and benefits of integrating Rust with Python. Robin emphasizes the importance of maintainable code and community collaboration.