North Meets South Web Podcast

In this episode, Jake and Michael catch up on the final preparations for Laracon AU, using AI to build and rehearse conference presentations, and the tools and workflows making their lives easier.Michael shares how smooth his custom-built conference ops tool has made organising Laracon and walks through his AI-assisted presentation workflow, using Claude, Keynote, and recorded rehearsals to refine his script, animations, delivery, and timing.Jake shares his own approach to preparing presentations by recording stream-of-consciousness voice memos, turning them into structured outlines, and iterating with AI while preserving his natural speaking style.The conversation also explores smart home technology, the challenges of mentoring junior developers, and how experience shapes the decisions developers make when planning and delivering projects.Show linksLaracon AURoad to LaraconClaudeStagetimerRundown StudioLemonnade

In this episode, Jake and Michael discuss the value of consistency, the final preparations for Laracon AU, and how AI is changing the economics of building software.Michael shares how his custom-built conference operations platform is simplifying everything from attendee registration and dietary requirements to merchandise, QR codes, and venue deliveries. This leads to a broader conversation about highly specialised software, declining costs of building apps, and whether traditional SaaS subscriptions still make sense.The conversation turns to AI-generated tests, where Michael explains how he's using lessons from Mostly Technical to identify and remove unnecessary tests in his Laravel projects. Jake shares his experience using an AI agent to monitor Facebook Marketplace for a car, and the pair discuss the benefits and privacy implications of increasingly autonomous AI tools.Show linksLaracon AUQuiz MeistersTuplePaperformTypeformSignUpGeniusCloudflare WorkersPuzzle PartyMostly Technical: Feel the AGIMeta Muse

Michael and Jake celebrate episode 200 in the most outlandish way possible: with no special plan whatsoever.Michael shares an update on his home renovation, including construction progress, verandah engineering, outdoor kitchen plans, landscaping, structured cabling, smoke alarms, CCTV, and the ever-growing list of "small" additions that come with a major building project.They then discuss home networking, with Michael planning a mostly Ubiquiti, while Jake compares notes on his own home network, including reusing old whole-house vacuum pipes as ethernet conduit and planning better Wi-Fi coverage throughout the house.Later, the conversation shifts to software development and AI-assisted coding. Michael describes what he calls - rightly or wrongly - a "software factory" that uses Amp as an orchestrator, GLM 5.3 agents for implementation, spec-driven development, automated code review, browser testing, and overnight agent workflows.The episode wraps with a broader discussion about what AI means for software development, how it enables software for an audience of one, and whether Michael should buy the 24-port PoE switch after all.

Jake and Michael are joined by TJ Miller, David Hemphill, and Chris Gmyr to talk about the realities of working with non-technical stakeholders that are now empowered to deliver software through AI.Show linksTJ MillerDavid HemphillChris GmyrKFC's Picklecore MenuLuma Brighter LearningZillowRula HealthLaravel NovaLovableLaravel AIRefactoring to CollectionsRectorPHPStan

In this episode, Michael and Jake recap Laracon US Boston, from Malaysian food and an undefeated dodgeball run to Laraprom, the great nachos-with-rice debate, conference logistics, Aaron Francis stepping into Laravel’s VP of Marketing and Community role, and a reminder to make room for silly software.Jake shares his work rebuilding Boom Party, the fast-paced Bomberman clone his team used to play after stand-up, along with hosting decisions and a creative workflow involving Claude, Gemini, and Suno.Michael closes things out with what was supposed to be an easy Pest 5 upgrade but turned into a much bigger test-suite adventure: converting old PHPUnit-style tests, untangling inheritance, tracking down mysterious parallel test failures, discovering the pain of stray exit statements, and ultimately getting repeat runs across an approximately 18,000-test suite down to just eight seconds.Show linksPomplamooseSpindriftIZZELaracon USAaron FrancisSidecarWhimsy-driven development by Christina MartinezBoom PartyFly.io