
Modern Web
The modern web is changing fast. Front-end frameworks evolve quickly, standards are emerging and old ones are fading out of favor. There are a lot of things to learn, but knowing the right thing is more critical than learning them all. Modern Web Podcast is an interview-style show where we learn about modern web development from industry experts. We’re committed to making it easy to digest lots of useful information!
Latest episodes

Jan 16, 2024 • 48min
ChatGPT Can't Solve These Problems! with Chris Gardner
Ever been curious about neural networks? Chris Gardner talks neural networks, covering fundamental concepts, historical development, and practical applications. What’s the difference between AI (artificial intelligence) and machine learning? Learn about the practical application of neural networks in solving complex problems with large datasets and the importance of understanding underlying concepts. The episode also explores the challenges of training neural networks and the ethical considerations and biases inherent in machine learning models.
Sponsored by This Dot LabsWatch this episode on YouTubeRead more on our blog

Jan 11, 2024 • 49min
Astro: Do You Even Need JavaScript? with James Quick
In this episode, James Quick has an in depth discussion with Dustin Goodman about Astro, a static site generator, and its features. The two go deep into the future of Astro, how it competes with the current web landscape, and Astro’s features such as the View Transition API support, the image optimization component, Astro v3. They also discuss island architectures and Astro pulling in other frameworks and the excitement around the new Qwik integration and what it means for developers.
Sponsored by This Dot Labs
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Jan 5, 2024 • 41min
Does Replay Fix All Debugging Issues? - Jason Laster, Co-Founder at Replay.io
Rob Ocel and Adam Barrett interview Jason Laster, Co-Founder of Replay, and learn about time travel debugging and how Replay's browser development tool makes debugging easier and faster. One of the hardest issues in debugging is collecting enough information about an issue that you can reliably reproduce it and then validate the fix. In this podcast, Jason discusses how Replay helps capture information and gives you the ability to not only revisit bugged behavior, but add additional breakpoints, and even test fixes as if they were present in the system at the time.
Sponsored by This Dot Labs: http://thisdotlabs.com/
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6 snips
Dec 22, 2023 • 33min
Remix vs Next.js: Who Will Win the Framework War? + Is React Over? with Ben Lesh & Adam Rackis
Debate over Remix vs Next.js, the future of React, Tailwind CSS, e-commerce frameworks, internal vs consumer apps. Also explores web development evolution, performance challenges with AG Grid, custom solutions, and casual chat on AG Grid technology.

Dec 13, 2023 • 1h
All About TresJS: Vue.js, Open Source, and 3D Magic with Alvaro Saburido
On this episode of Modern Web Podcast, host Simone Cuomo interviews Alvaro Saburido, a DevRel engineer and open-source developer. Alvaro talks about his project TresJS, a declarative way to create 3D experiences in Vue.js, and the importance of community-driven projects. He also discusses CentOS, Vitepress, the potential for innovation in virtual and augmented reality and the power of open-source.
Sponsored by This Dot Labs

Dec 6, 2023 • 50min
Unlock the Power of DivOps Engineering with Ben Ilegbodu and Jonathan Creamer
On this episode of the Modern Web Podcast, Dustin Goodman is joined by Ben Ilegbodu and Jonathan Creamer to discuss the role of DivOps engineering. They discuss the “back-end” of front-end development and the complexities of shipping modern front-ends to the web. They discuss the transition from backend engineering to DevOps, explore insights from Jonathan Creamer on managing a fork of Yarn, emphasize the ongoing need for DivOps engineering for innovation, delve into the concept of sublinear scaling, and highlight the importance of documenting decisions to enable scaling businesses.
Sponsored by This Dot Labs

Nov 29, 2023 • 58min
The Evolving Ecosystem of Open Source with Daniel Roe, Nuxt Team Lead
On this episode of the Modern Web Podcast, Rob Ocel interviews Daniel Roe, a framework lead at Nuxt, Google GDE, and Microsoft MVP. They discuss Daniel's journey into open source, the role of hype and venture capital in the open source ecosystem, and ways to contribute to open source projects. Finally, they discuss the challenges the open source ecosystem faces and why this is an issue that more companies and developers should be paying attention to.
Sponsored by This Dot Labs

Nov 15, 2023 • 46min
What is a Product Manager? with Andrea Griffiths of GitHub
On this episode of Modern Web Podcast, Rob Ocel interviews Andrea Griffiths, a Senior Product Manager at GitHub. Andrea shares her story of transitioning into tech and product management from a nontraditional path, and how paid internships and open source contributions helped her along the way. They discuss the role of product manager, what they do, and how product managers need to have empathy and bridge the gap between stakeholders, users, and engineering teams. They also talk about how to build truly global tech communities and reach out to developers across the world who speak every language.
[00:00:00] Tech career journey: GitHub via Latin America[00:03:56] Non-traditional career success through open source.[00:08:59] Gain experience, open source, support dreams.[00:13:15] Innovate, share, learn [00:18:01] Product management: Global expansion, execution, feedback, accessibility, localization, KPI.[00:21:33] Product managers bridge teams, stakeholders, users. [00:26:21] Product manager: glue, communicate, empathize.[00:31:06] Empower global tech communities [00:35:56] Global expansion for all developers.[00:40:39] Grow global developer communities: GitHub’s mission.
Sponsored by This Dot Labs.

Nov 8, 2023 • 1h
Why Does Publishing React JavaScript Packages Have to be so Hard? with Mark Erikson, Redux Maintainer
On this episode of Modern Web Podcast, Rob Ocel interviews Mark Erikson, the Redux maintainer and senior front end engineer at Replay.io. They discuss the arcane complexities of publishing JavaScript packages to NPM today, the balance between developer experience and user experience when it comes to open source libraries, the unique troubles for React/Next library authors, and the responses to Mark’s wildly successful blog about upgrading Redux to use ESM.
00:00:01] Ecosystem evolves, nobody at the wheel.[00:07:02] Open source library complexity: Dev exp. vs user exp.[00:13:11] ESM vs CJS: Technical merits, tree shaking, syntax.[00:18:35] Lazy-load files with CJS/ESM.[00:23:37] Publish libraries in multiple formats, React server components.[00:30:38] React team locks out valid code paths.[00:35:26] Open source maintainer responsibility: Maximally compatible, widely respected.[00:42:25] Competing philosophies on web evolution.[00:47:54] Unifying competing standards for developers.[00:53:19] Expertise gained through unexpected challenges.
Sponsored by This Dot Labs.

Nov 1, 2023 • 50min
Exploring Million.js: A Revolutionary Virtual DOM Replacement with Aiden Bai, Creator of Million.js
In this episode of the Modern Web podcast, hosts Rob Ocel and Tracy Lee interview Aiden Bai, the creator of the Million.js library, a replacement for the Virtual DOM implementation in ReactJS. They talk about the process of creating Million.js as a high schooler, how the library speeds up React applications using blocks and the Million Compiler, and what the future of the library looks like. The conversation also touches on the alternative experience and education paths to becoming a developer, as well as the future of open source libraries, venture funded libraries, and indie hacked frameworks.
Sponsored by This Dot Labs.