In this episode of the Leanpub podcast, Len Epp interviews Chris Pinnock, an IT professional with 25 years of experience in IT, telecommunications, and blockchain, and the author of the Leanpub book Learning Russian Verbs. Chris shares his fascinating career journey, his experience learning Russian, and the unique technical approach he took to create his book.

Chris began his career with a PhD in Mathematics before transitioning into IT. He worked in telecommunications for several years. Eventually, Chris joined the Tezos Foundation in Switzerland. At Tezos, he manages blockchain infrastructure, focusing on the stability and evolution of the proof-of-stake blockchain. Chris explains the nuances of blockchain technology, including key concepts like proof-of-stake, baking, and smart contracts, while comparing Tezos’ energy-efficient approach to that of other blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Chris’ passion for learning languages stems from a personal connection: his wife is Russian, and he decided to learn her language to communicate with her family. Drawing on his background in mathematics and computing, Chris took a structured, systematic approach to learning Russian, which inspired him to create Learning Russian Verbs. The book organizes verbs by topic, includes conjugation tables, and is designed to help learners grasp complex grammatical concepts like imperfective and perfective verb forms.

A unique aspect of Chris’ book is its programmatic development. He wrote a custom Go program to generate the conjugation tables automatically. This method allowed him to efficiently format complex content using Leanpub’s Markdown-based publishing platform, streamlining the creation of tables and examples for each verb. Chris shares how this technical approach has saved time and made updates to the book easier.

The interview also highlights Chris’ publishing journey on Leanpub. He appreciates the platform’s flexibility, which lets him publish updates as he progresses. Chris’ story is a testament to how technical skills can be leveraged to create high-quality, practical resources for learners.

Chris’ other project, Learning Russian Handwriting, explores the Cyrillic alphabet and its applications, offering learners a foundation for reading and writing in Russian. Both books are excellent resources for those starting their journey into the Russian language.

Watch the full episode and subscribe here.

This interview was recorded on December 12, 2024.

The full audio for the interview is here: https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/leanpub_podcasts/FM307-Chris-Pinnock-2024-12-12.mp3. The Frontmatter podcast is available on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/leanpub, in Apple Podcasts here https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/frontmatter/id517117137, and almost everywhere else people listen to podcasts.