
The Stack Overflow Podcast
For more than a dozen years, the Stack Overflow Podcast has been exploring what it means to be a software developer and how the art and practice of programming is changing our world. From Rails to React, from Java to Node.js, join the Stack home team for conversations with fascinating guests to help you understand how technology is made and where it’s headed.
Latest episodes

Oct 6, 2023 • 18min
Subatomic speed, math misadventures, and the biggest fraud trial in history
California is trying to transform how math is taught. How’s that going?Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics for work that allows scientists to see how electrons move by mapping their positions in an atom. Learn more here and here.As Ben says, speaking of things that are difficult to observe and don’t make a lot of sense, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is on trial for a historically huge amount of fraud. Follow the live trial blog from Wired or check out their explainer.Starting next year, Unity is charging developer fees. We explore the back and forth as they try to find a solution that works for the company and the community.Shoutout to user vasco, who earned a Lifeboat badge by answering How to test abstract class in Java with JUnit?.

Oct 4, 2023 • 30min
How an algo raver stays in key(boards)
If you want to hear more of her work, check out Alexandra’s Instagram. She uses Tidal Cycles and Supercollider to make algorithms that get people to dance. Interested in algoraves? You may be able to find one near you or run your own. Check out Alexandra in her ad for Logitech, then check out her favorite keyboard.

Oct 3, 2023 • 18min
USB-C for all, PHP 4EVA, and what do LLMs actually know (if anything)?
Ben is watching AI Explained, a YouTube channel that covers the latest AI developments and their implications. Read Ryan’s article Do large language models know what they are talking about?.Is language really unique to humans? New research suggests maybe not.Not for the first time, Ryan recommends the work of Noam Chomsky: Why Only Us: Language and Evolution, an evolutionary account of language acquisition in humans written with Robert C. Berwick.OverflowAI search is now available for alpha testing. Learn more here.Good news for your cable clutter: Apple is switching to USB-C charging ports. Here’s when.The WGA (Writers Guild of America) strike ended with an agreement that “allows for artificial intelligence as a tool, not a replacement,” but the arguments about creativity, copyright, and AI are far from over.If you’re interested in working with PHP, head over to the PHP Collective and check out conversations like Most useful new PHP features for version 8?.

Sep 29, 2023 • 25min
How to write high-performance SQL for your Postgres database
pgnanalyze helps users deliver consistent PostgreSQL performance and availability at any scale. Get started with a free trial or explore their docs. You can also find them on YouTube, where Lukas posts a weekly show called 5mins of Postgres.Lukas was a founding engineer of Citus Data. Citus is an open-source extension to PostgreSQL that was eventually acquired by Microsoft. Find them on GitHub.If you’re new to the topic, SQL (Structured Query Language) is a language for querying databases, introduced in the 1970s. Find Lukas on LinkedIn, Twitter, or GitHub.

Sep 27, 2023 • 24min
Being creative with math: The immersive artist who traded a sketchpad for a keyboard
Check out Luyang’s work at his website or in this Youtube playlist. To make these animations, Luyang uses Processing, a 20-year-old language that started out as a visual way to teach programming but evolved into a professional development tool. Logitech selected Luyang as one of the ambassadors to show off what you can do with their MX Keys S Combo. Shout out to George Profenza for dropping a top answer on Position of a vector in coordinate system (Processing/p5.js).

Sep 26, 2023 • 17min
Like Python++ for AI developers
If you missed the first part of our conversation with Chris, listen to it here.Modular’s new programming language, Mojo, is built for AI developers. Check out their docs or find them on GitHub.Connect with Chris on LinkedIn. Shoutout to user DanielGibbs, who earned a Lifeboat badge by answering what is the difference between getType() and getClass() in java?.

Sep 22, 2023 • 20min
Mojo: The usability of Python with the performance of C
Modular built a new programming language, Mojo, for AI developers. Explore their docs or find them on GitHub.Chris is on LinkedIn. Congratulations to user Shengyuan Lu, whose answer to Priority queue ordering of elements merited a Lifeboat badge.

Sep 19, 2023 • 17min
Forget AGI. Let’s built ADI: Augmented Developer Intelligence
If you missed the first part of this conversation, listen to it here.Replit is a browser-based IDE (integrated development environment). Check out their blog or start coding.ICYMI: Stack Overflow recently implemented semantic search, allowing users to search using natural language.Explore Stack Overflow Labs to learn more about OverflowAI and other projects.Amjad Masad is on LinkedIn, Twitter, and GitHub.Congratulations to Stack Overflow user macxpat, whose answer to How to install Linux packages in Replit earned a Lifeboat badge.

Sep 15, 2023 • 23min
Multiplayer programming on mobile: a chat with Replit CEO Amjad Masad
Replit is a browser-based IDE (integrated development environment). See what they’re up to on their blog or just start coding.RIP Google Wave, one of the greats.Find Amjad on LinkedIn, Twitter, GitHub, or via his website.

Sep 12, 2023 • 25min
Founder vs Investor: What VCs are really looking for
After founding two companies, including StrongDM, a dynamic management access platform (explore their docs here), Elizabeth took a “break” by co-authoring a book. Founder vs Investor: The Honest Truth About Venture Capital from Startup to IPO is about what she learned as a founder and executive about the founder-investor relationship. Order it on Bookshop or Amazon.Elizabeth’s co-author is investor and advisor Jerry Neumann, managing director of Neu Venture Capital.One option for your next weekend outing: a ride and tie.Connect with Elizabeth on LinkedIn.Connect with Jerry Neumann on LinkedIn.Nice work: User Reap’s answer to Get String Name from Enum in C# earned them a Lifeboat badge.