Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots
thoughtbot
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Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots is a podcast from the software consultancy thoughtbot about the design, development, and business of building great software. Each week the hosts talk with the people who create, maintain, and nurture the digital products we use every day. Episodes cover topics like product design, engineering practices, team culture, and running a software business. The conversations are aimed at developers, designers, and founders who care about craft and sustainable product work.
Jaksot
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622: Six Opinions Wrapped in Code with Kelli Lucas 10.09.2026 35minWill is back in the host seat this week to chat to the one and only Kelli Lucas, Co-Founder & Chief Design Officer at LunarLab. In this episode, Will and Kelli discuss, amongst many things; the push and pull relationship between designers and developers, alignment in the workplace, the love/hate relationship with Figma, how AI has affected the process of design projects, and why you shouldn’t rely on AI to build your business plan. — Our guest for this episode has been Kelli Lucas. If you'd like to get in touch with Kelli, or chat about working together on your next UX/UI Design project, you can visit the Lunar Lab website. or connect with them via LinkedIn. Your host for this episode has been Will Larry, you can find and connect with Will over on LinkedIn. Don't forget you can now also watch the show over on our YouTube channel! If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots PodcastSupport Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots -
621: My twin brother responds… with Doron Birnbaum 03.09.2026 47minWould you ever go into business with your family? As a follow up to last week’s episode, we’ve brought on the one and only Doron Birnbaum (twin brother of our dear Sami) to get both sides of the story about their latest business venture. Doron takes Will and Chad through how the idea to build a tech platform that helps charities understand their data better to improve fundraising campaigns came to be, where the Birnbaum’s are currently at in terms of getting it into the hands of their target audience, and the roadblocks they’ve hit along the way. Have our hosts now been hired as the software’s new advisory board? Which brother will Chad and Will side with? And who is technically the oldest twin?! — Our guest for this episode has been Doron Birnbaum. If you'd like to get in touch with Doron you can do so through his website, or by email. You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel and Sami through his website. You can also connect with the trio via their LinkedIn pages - Chad - Will - Sami. Don't forget you can now also watch the show over on our YouTube channel! If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots PodcastSupport Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots -
620: My Twin Brother Forced Me To Be His CTO 27.08.2026 43minWould you ever go into business with your family? In this week’s episode, our hosts take on Sami’s tale of becoming the CTO of his brother’s business venture. After the trio get into some excellent running advice, Sami reminds us of the importance of validating the product to make sure the market will actually use what you’ve built. Will reflects on the importance of a Document of Expectations to weed out potential clients that aren’t going to put effort into the development of their ideas (especially if you’re doing the work for free), and Chad explains why an idea fizzling out before completion isn’t necessarily a bad thing. And make sure to tune in next week, as the team brings in Sami’s brother, Doron, to answer some of the questions brought up this episode. — You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel and Sami through his website. You can also connect with the trio via their LinkedIn pages - Chad - Will - Sami. Don't forget you can now also watch the show over on our YouTube channel! If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots PodcastSupport Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots -
619: Inside Modern Software Engineering with Homebrew’s Mike McQuaid 20.08.2026 50minSami is back this week with Mike McQuaid, CTPO and Homebrew Project Leader, as they take a deep dive into the importance of open source maintainers in modern software engineering. With 18 years of experience reducing developer friction and scaling open source software, Mike discusses the commonalities and differences between open source and proprietary software audiences, impact of large data centres on both the environment and women in the workplace, revealing what drove him to create Homebrew and where they are now, before taking Sami through burnout and why it’s important to not be rude to your open source maintainers - you’ll be surprised which national entities would fall apart if it weren’t for their hard work and time. — Our guest for this episode has been Mike McQuaid. If you'd like to get in touch with Mike, or to keep up to date with his work, you can do so through his website. Also mentioned in today’s episode: ‘Open Source Maintainers Owe You Nothing’ blog post. Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots PodcastSupport Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots -
618: 22 Years of Bootstrapping with Jesse Mecham 13.08.2026 56minWill is joined this week by personal finance expert, speaker, business leader Jesse Mecham, founder of You Need A Budget (or YNAB if you are very busy and important). In this episode, to celebrate the release of his new book ‘Never Worry About Money Again’, Jesse dives into how YNAB came to be, from spreadsheet to the interface it is today, the trials and tribulations the business went through over the years, before going into depth about why people are so scared of money. — Mentioned in the episode: Jesse’s brand new book, 'Never Worry About Money Again' out now! Visit the YNAB website Jason Fried’s ‘Getting Real’ Richard A. Lanham’s ‘Revising Prose’ Eugene Schwartz’s ‘Breakthrough Advertising’ Donald A. Norman’s ‘The Design of Everyday Things’ Clayton Christiansen’s ‘Jobs to be Done’ Framework Our guest for this episode has been Jesse Mecham. If you'd like to get in touch with Jesse, or to keep up to date with his work, you can visit his website. Your host for this episode has been Will Larry, you can find and connect with Will over on LinkedIn. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots PodcastSupport Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots -
617: Lexxy, Basecamp, and the Joy of Building with Jorge Marubia 06.08.2026 52minWill is back in the host seat this week to chat to Jorge Marubia, Principal Programmer at 37signals, about his previous experience using Lexxy and Basecamp. In this episode, Jorge goes into depth about BaseCamp 5, how his team got through a memory leaking situation after its launch, and Lexxy being open source, before diving into the question on everyone’s lips recently - what his thoughts are on AI and how it will affect Junior Developers. — Our guest for this episode has been Jorge Marubia. If you'd like to get in touch with Jorge, or to keep up to date with his work, you can find him via LinkedIn - X - or through his website. Your host for this episode has been Will Larry, you can find and connect with Will over on LinkedIn. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots PodcastSupport Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots -
616: What’s Really Going On with AI Data Centres with Dr. Victoria Plutshack 30.07.2026 42minSami is back this week with Gender, Climate and Energy Specialist Dr. Victoria Plutshack, as they dive into what’s really going on with AI Data Centres in Scotland and the UK. Make sure you’ve popped your kettles on as Victoria discusses the impact of large data centres on both the environment and women in the workplace, whether it’s possible to use AI and have the data centres source their energy responsibly, before taking Sami through how they are going to cause problems with the National Grid. — Our guest for this episode has been Dr. Victoria Plutshack. If you'd like to get in touch with Victoria, or to keep up to date with her work, you can do so through LinkedIn or through her website Also mentioned in today’s episode: APRS Data Centres Campaign Opinionated thoughtbotter episode ‘AI Does More Harm Than Good’ Giant Robots Episode 605 with Lord Chris Holmes Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots PodcastSupport Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots -
615: Harvey AI and the Future of Law 23.07.2026 40minOur host Sami is joined this week by Joe Cohen, Legal Innovation Partner at Harvey AI, to discuss the use of AI within the legal and professional services, and how it could impact the speed, quality and efficiency of lawyers doing legal work. Joe dives into his career journey, Harvey AI’s adoption rate success within law firms, what the future career growth could look like for Junior Partners being taught by AI, and the comparison between AI use in the modern age vs the introduction of email in the 80’s. — Our guest for this episode has been Joe Cohen. If you'd like to get in touch with Joe, or to keep up to date with his work, you can do so through LinkedIn Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots PodcastSupport Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots -
614: AI Code Audits 18.06.2026 48minOur hosts Chad and Sami team up this week to discuss AI code bases and whether they can be built to be developer friendly and with best practices in mind. After a brief chat about the World Cup (and how it may affect the June thoughtbot event in London!) Sami dives into a recent code audit he did on a base that was built with AI using Spec Driven Development. Chad covers security concerns and why it’s important to have human oversight when generating codes. — You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel and Sami through his website. You can also connect with our duo via their LinkedIn pages - Chad - Sami. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots PodcastSupport Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots -
613: Preserving Companies and Design with Andy Budd 11.06.2026 56minChad talks with guest Andy Budd, Design Leadership Coach & Venture Partner at Seedcamp, as they look back over Andy’s time at Clearleft, the company he co-founded back in 2005. Andy discusses employee trust ownership, how it both benefits and protects your employees, and has the potential to keep your business going for generations to come rather than living and dying by the founders interest. Chad also announces that thoughtbot is moving into a Purpose Trust model. — Our guest for this episode has been Andy Budd. If you'd like to get in touch with Andy, or to keep up to date with his work, you can do so through BlueSky, LinkedIn, or through his website. If you are a Medium user, you can also follow Andy at The Design VC See Andy’s panels at Evolve at the Brighton Centre, 26th June. Your host for this episode has been Chad Pytel. You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel, or over on LinkedIn. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 thoughtbot, inc.Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots -
612: Do fish drink? 28.05.2026 46minChad shares a recent pivot in ReadySetGo’s development, where they see the app entering a founder’s development and what they’re doing to ensure a wide set of features for all users. Our hosts also pick apart the impact of AI on developers, how valuable is speed when working with AI, is it still a good measure of success when coding, and Sami takes a moment to ask the all knowing ChadGPT about his excessive running and exercise regime. — If you’d like to meet some of our hosts in person, be sure to check the links below to secure your place at thoughtbot’s UK meet ups over the month of June. London Tech Leader Meetup - Tuesday June 23rd Brighton Tech Leader Meetup - Wednesday June 24th Brighton Ruby - Thursday June 25th Evolve - Friday June 26th You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel and Sami through his website. You can also connect with the trio via their LinkedIn pages - Chad - Will - Sami. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 thoughtbot, inc.Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots
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611: Magic is the right word, with Brennan Dunn 14.05.2026 50minChad talks with a returning guest from the early days of the show, Brennan Dunn, founder of RightMessage. Featuring nearly 600 episodes ago on episode 18 of Giant Robots, Brennan is back to talk about how things have changed for him since his first appearance in 2012. Brennan reflects on working as a contractor and growing to become a company of one, why the scaling size of a business doesn’t always equate to more productivity, and how he uses AI to keep operating costs down along with the minimal set up involved. — You can follow Brennan on LinkedIn to keep up to date with his work, or if you’re looking to improve the messaging of your business you can try out RightMessage for free right now. You can also take a quick step back in time and revisit Brennan’s original episode from 2012. Your host for this episode has been Chad Pytel. You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel, or over on LinkedIn. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 thoughtbot, inc.Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots -
610: It’s Okay Not to Use AI 07.05.2026 43minSami swims against the tide of AI with Emma Barnes, CEO of Consonance, as they examine the more controversial idea of being anti-AI. Emma explains why her publishing business is anti-AI and the benefits of coding for yourself, how AI is having a negative impact on different aspects of our daily lives, why big corporations are hyping it up so much, and Sami asks what is it about AI that keeps drawing people in. — Our guest for this episode has been Emma Barnes, if you’d like to get in touch with Emma you can do so through LinkedIn, or by emailing her directly - [email protected] If you’re interested in using Emma’s publishing services or wish to be a part of the team, check out her business Consonance, or check out her weekly live stream to stay up to date with the world of publishing. Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 thoughtbot, inc.Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots -
609: Pennylane is in my ears 30.04.2026 40minSami talks with Quentin de Metz, Co-Founder and CTO of Pennylane, about the journey of building a startup into an established company. Quentin provides his unique perspective of what it’s like to be a founder with an engineering background, the rapid growth he experienced with Pennylane and the lessons that shape how he now runs the company, and their cautious approach to incorporating AI. — Our guest for this episode has been Quentin de Metz, who you can connect with via LinkedIn, or check out Pennylane’s website if you’re interested in using their services. Pennylane are also hiring and have a whole host of open positions at the moment, if you'd like to apply, head to their recruitment page for more information. Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 thoughtbot, inc.Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots -
608: Project Updates with Will, Chad and Sami 16.04.2026 52minOur hosts provide a peek behind the scenes as they discuss their work on recent thoughtbot projects. Chad covers the progress being made on thoughtbot’s new “Ready Set Go” app, the hurdles they’ve encountered so far in development, and the things it needs to achieve in order to compete in it’s field effectively. Will reflects on a week long project with a non-technical founder and examines how clients’ exceptions have shifted because of AI, and Sami shares a brief update on his crypto project. — You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel and Sami through his website. You can also connect with the trio via their LinkedIn pages - Chad - Will - Sami. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 thoughtbot, inc.Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots
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607: Applying the Efficiency of Credit Cards to the Healthcare Industry with Raja Rajamannar 02.04.2026 47minChad talks with Raja Rajamannar about how he reimagined marketing and strategy at Mastercard. Raja explains how he connected the dots between credit cards and healthcare, convincing the board to take a risk on something new in the process, how Mastercard leverages AI with their clients and marketing to stay on top of their brand and competitors, as well as highlighting the mistakes big companies make when it comes to AI. — Stay up to date with Raja across social media on LinkedIn, X and Instagram. For more insight into Raja’s thoughts on marketing, check out his book, Quantum Marketing. Your host for this episode has been Chad Pytel. You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel, or over on LinkedIn. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 thoughtbot, inc.Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots -
606: AI layoffs are BS 26.03.2026 49minChad, Sami and Will bring a growing issue to the forefront as they discuss whether AI really is to blame for recent industry layoffs. Our trio examine how AI is being used as a smokescreen for layoffs, how larger companies view AI and their increasing over reliance on it, and Sami provides a real world example of vibe coding to highlight the issues and unreliability of AI code. — You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel and Sami through his website. You can also connect with the trio via their LinkedIn pages - Chad - Will - Sami. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 thoughtbot, inc.Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots
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605: AI: It doesn't have to be this way with Lord Chris Holmes 19.03.2026 43minSami talks with Lord Chris Holmes, Peer of the UK House of Lords, about the increasing need for AI legislation in the UK. Lord Holmes discusses his efforts to pass his AI Regulation Bill, why it’s taking longer than expected, what we could expect to see happen if we continue to leave AI unchecked, and what differences we can expect to see in AI moving forward. — If you live in the UK and would like to discuss the regulation of AI with Lord Holmes, you can connect with him via LinkedIn. If you’d like to dive deeper into today’s episode why not read through Lord Holmes’ proposed plans for AI legislation - AI Regulation Bill - The need for AI Legislation - [AI Regulation Report](lordchrisholmes.com/ai-regulation-report/) Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 thoughtbot, inc.Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots -
604: Driving change and delivery with British Business Bank 12.03.2026 31minSami talks with Taylor Spencer, Investment Delivery Director, Change & Innovation for British Business Bank, about driving change within a business. Taylor breaks down the best ways of handling change fatigue and resistance within a business, how and why it impacts his work with British Business Bank, the unique challenges of growth and development they face as a result and the solutions in place to overcome them. — You can connect with Taylor on LinkedIn, or you can reach out through Better Business Bank’s website if you own a small business that could benefit from financial assistance. Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 thoughtbot, inc.Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots -
603: The product we are going to build 19.02.2026 47minSami makes his triumphant return to the Giant Robots Smashing into other Giant Robots Podcast as he and his fellow hosts discuss a brand new tool currently in pre-production at thoughtbot. Chad lays out his idea for the tool, how he thinks it will differ from other similar products currently available, who it’s for and the considerations needed going in to make it as accessible as possible, and Sami plays devil’s advocate as he asks Chad the hard questions about his new project. — Follow the development of thoughtbot’s latest product through Chad’s live streams, AI in Focus over on our YouTube channel. And if you want to look as cool as our hosts do you can check out the thoughtbot merch store! You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel and Sami through his website. You can also connect with the trio via their LinkedIn pages - Chad - Will - Sami. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected] This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky © 2026 thoughtbot, inc.Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots
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