Code with Jason

In this episode, I chat with Paul Hammond about effective testing strategies, the joy of working with well-designed TDD systems, and how synchronous collaboration improves code quality. We examine what true agility means and how technical excellence enables fearless releases and sustainable development. Feedback-Driven DevelopmentPaul Hammond on LinkedInNonsense Monthly

In this episode I talk with Dan Moore from FusionAuth about authentication solutions, testing strategies, and when to skip tests based on risk and cost factors, then dive into philosophical discussions about experience versus knowledge, objective versus subjective programming practices, and imperative versus declarative coding approaches. FusionAuthDownload FusionAuthFusionAuth articlesUse managed services

In this episode I talk with Gayle Laakmann McDowell, author of Cracking the Coding Interview. We discuss coding interviews as well as the current state of the job market and economy. Cracking the Coding Interviewgayle.comNonsense Monthly

In this episode I talk with Michael Lubas, founder of Paraxial, a software security product for Ruby on Rails applications. We discuss his background in both development and penetration testing, and his recent creation of GemShop - a deliberately vulnerable Rails 8 e-commerce application designed to teach developers about web security through hands-on experience. Michael explains common attack vectors like credential stuffing, the legal complexities around security research, and why developer...

In this episode I talk with Adam McCrea, founder of Judoscale, an autoscaler for Heroku and other platforms. Adam built Judoscale as a side project in 2016 and ran it part-time for five years before going full-time. We discuss developer marketing challenges, the difficulty of measuring marketing attribution, and building sustainable businesses. We also compare notes on our respective developer tools.

In this episode I discuss abstraction and emergence with Jorge Manrubia from 37signals. We explore how abstractions should hide distracting details while showing essential information, debate whether programming guidelines are subjective or objective, and examine how good explanations distinguish useful abstractions from poor ones. The conversation touches on service objects, domain modeling, and the importance of showing actual code when discussing software design principles.

In this episode I talk with Chris Chilek and John Cunningham of LegiPlex about their AI-enhanced legislative monitoring platform. We discuss how they identified the market opportunity, the technical challenges of processing government data, and their approach to building beyond simple AI prompts. LegiPlex

In this episode, I talk with Errol Schmidt from Reinteractive about community involvement and sales strategies. Errol shares how he targets Salesforce by teaching their account executives about Heroku, positioning himself as the go-to expert. We discuss how developers are in sales whether they realize it or not, and the importance of relationship building. reinteractive

In this episode, Colleen Schnettler discusses her startup HelloQuery, which allows non-technical people to query databases using natural language. She explains her marketing approach for growing the business, including her LinkedIn outreach system and focus on finding the right niche in the crowded AI space. Colleen also shares insights about her new venture, SaaS Marketing Gym, which helps technical founders develop and implement marketing plans.

In this episode I talk with Dave Farley about how good software engineering prioritizes making code easy to change, since we inevitably need to revise our systems as requirements evolve. Dave also shares stories from building ultra-fast financial trading systems, where his team had to repeatedly rethink their architecture to meet performance demands. We also discuss how key concepts like abstraction and modularity connect to scientific thinking, with both requiring a healthy skepticism toward...

In this episode I talk with Yegor Denisov-Blanch and Simon Obstbaum about their Stanford research on developer productivity. They share findings about "ghost engineers" (9.5% of developers who do minimal work), discuss challenges in measuring engineering output versus productivity, and explain their data-driven approach to software engineering assessment. The conversation explores how different developers contribute varying value, how life circumstances impact work motivation, and their metho...

In this episode, Amanda Perino, Executive Director of The Rails Foundation, discusses the foundation's mission to promote Rails through events like Rails World, focusing on finding unique venues that create special conference experiences. She shares insights about venue selection, sponsor negotiations, and the foundation's efforts to showcase Rails amid challenging job market conditions.

In this podcast episode I talk with Dave Thomas, co-author of The Pragmatic Programmer and Sin City Ruby 2025 keynote speaker, who discusses his upcoming book Simplicity and how software development has become unnecessarily complex. Dave and I explore how developers can regain control by questioning established practices, trusting their intuition when code feels overly complicated, and experimenting with simpler approaches rather than blindly following industry trends. SimplicitySin City Ruby...

In this episode, I talk with Jared Gallinger about what makes good code. We agree that code must first work correctly, but real quality comes from being understandable and maintainable. We discuss how different code requires different quality standards - throwaway scripts can be messy while core systems need careful design. We explore how UI design limits code quality and why creating good software, like art, requires both discipline and comfort with necessary waste. A practical look at a con...

In this episode of Code with Jason, host Jason Swett interviews Prarthana Shiva, a senior software engineer at NexHealth, who shares how her team is handling massive database scaling challenges. Prarthana explains their PostgreSQL database's growth to 24 terabytes (with projections to triple within a year) and details their innovative solutions including read replicas, Elasticsearch implementation, Redis caching, external write-ahead logs, and optimized vacuuming processes. The conversation a...