Mostly Technical

Episodet

• 138: Back In The Game 01.07.2026 1h 13min

  Ian and Aaron discuss Ian's misadventures with poker, a huge update for Solo (Windows!), why Aaron thinks languages don't matter but frameworks & ecosystems do, and so much more.Sponsored by Laracon AU, Honeybadger, Bento, Vask, and DropInBlog.Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.Going to Laracon?  Sign up for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party!(00:00) - Mostly Poker (10:55) - Poker Town? (13:34) - Outro Update (20:46) - Solo for Windows (!) (30:50) - Pricing Advice (33:52) - Laravel Live UK (42:58) - Languages Don't Matter (56:09) - LaraProm Update (01:04:46) - World Cup Links:World Series of PokerResorts World Las VegasOutroSolo
• 137: You Do Have To Care w/ John Drexler & Daniel Coulbourne 23.06.2026 1h 28min

  Aaron is joined by John & Daniel of Thunk to talk about why you should think like a PM, what they want to see from Solo, trash cans in New York, "footy", and a whole lot more.Sponsored by Laracon AU, Honeybadger, Bento, Vask, and DropInBlog.Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.Going to Laracon?  Sign up for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party!(00:00) - Introduction to the Thunk Boys (04:13) - Working on Laravel Forge (09:22) - What does Daniel do? (14:30) - Big week for New York (22:34) - World Cup Social Media (29:13) - Laravel Live (36:33) - AI Code Responsibilities (41:52) - Think Like A PM (51:08) - Do Old Best Practices Still Apply? (58:12) - Daniel's Solo Gripes & Asks (01:20:34) - Tidy (01:24:02) - Where Is Ian? Links:ThunkTalking BusinesslyTightenLaravel ForgeLaravel Live UKLaravel Live JapanLaravel Live DenmarkSoloTidy
• 136: Big, Audacious Goals 16.06.2026 1h 15min

  Ian and Aaron discuss why HelpSpot raised prices, what Aaron's building for teams with Solo, the short-lived reign of Fable 5, pros & cons of DJ's, and so much more.Sponsored by Laracon AU, Honeybadger, Bento, Vask, and DropInBlog.Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.Going to Laracon?  Sign up for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party!(00:00) - The Great DJ Debate (07:58) - Aaron's Going To Laravel Live UK (14:22) - Ian Raised Prices (27:26) - Teams & New Solo Pricing (42:45) - New Frontiers (56:51) - RIP Fable 5 (01:09:43) - Outro's Sponsorship System Links:"Forever Young"Laravel Live UKHelpSpot PricingRIP Fable 5
• 135: Ian's Over AI Coding?! 09.06.2026 1h 16min

  Ian and Aaron discuss hiring new employees, Ian claiming he's over AI coding, huge updates to Outro, going big or going home on Token Town, and more.Sponsored by Laracon AU, Honeybadger, Bento, Vask, and DropInBlog.Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.Going to Laracon?  Sign up for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party!(00:00) - Down to the River (05:33) - Ian's Over AI Coding?! (13:45) - Aaron's Employee's First Week (21:42) - Marketing & Content (27:27) - Ian's Been Busy With Outro (37:41) - Slash Brag Update (41:06) - Ian Finally Hired Somebody! (47:00) - Token Town Update (55:28) - Horse Business (01:04:14) - Aaron Went Fishing (01:13:16) - Kids Sports Links:Texas Hill CountryToken Town w/ Josh PigfordKristen FoxenSEP IRACorey Haines Marketing Skills on GitHubBlockNoteIan's tweet about AI & coding fasterJoe Masilotti's post about deleting WebSockets
• 134: The Edge of Safety 02.06.2026 1h 10min

  Ian and Aaron discuss Aaron's new employee, the latest on Outro, a surprise trip to Portland, and more.Sponsored by Laracon AU, Honeybadger, Bento, Vask, and DropInBlog.Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.Going to Laracon?  Sign up for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party!(00:00) - Where Was Ian? (02:26) - Outro Update (12:32) - Kelsey Is Gone (22:11) - Is Cloudflare Up? (24:53) - Aaron's New Employee (40:10) - LaraProm Update (42:14) - A Little Technical (54:35) - Aaron Went To Portland (01:06:35) - Slash Brag Links:Brett AdcockManaged Queues on Laravel CloudOutro.fmTinySeedJason LengstorfWeb Dev ChallengeKelsey Hightower
• 133: Do The Hardest Thing with Jesse Hanley 26.05.2026 1h 21min

  Aaron is joined this week by Jesse Hanley, founder of Bento, to talk about building a seven figure business, why he feels less stress now than he did when he started, migrating from Heroku to Planetscale, and more.Sponsored by InterNACHI, Honeybadger, Bento, Vask, and NativePHP UltraInterested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.Going to Laracon?  Sign up for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party!(00:00) - 5 TB of Data (11:12) - Laravel Live Japan (15:46) - Seven Figure Business (24:32) - Advice for Indie Hackers (28:57) - Pick Better Problems (32:50) - Friends of Bento (42:33) - Heroku to Planetscale (01:15:02) - What's Next Links:Jesse HanleySpeedshopJesse's Database School episodeTatamiDragonflyRedisShakeLaravel Live JapanDaniel Coulbourne
• 132: Ian Shipped Outro! 19.05.2026 1h 18min

  Ian and Aaron discuss finally recording Token Town, Ian finally shipping Outro, the benefits of working in public, what's coming next to Solo, and more.Sponsored by InterNACHI, Honeybadger, Bento, Vask, and NativePHP UltraInterested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.Going to Laracon?  Sign up for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party!(00:00) - We Finally Recorded Token Town (07:43) - Outro Is Live! (21:43) - Working In Public Is Required (27:54) - What's Next For Outro (30:22) - What's New With Solo (43:59) - Free vs. Paid (55:20) - First Actual Resume (01:04:41) - Starting A Movement (01:12:36) - Everybody Loves Discord Links:Token TownOutroSyntaxSoloFasterAaron's page for TupleDerek Sivers's "Now" page
• Token Town 001: What is Anthropic Doing?! 15.05.2026 39min

  In the first-ever episode of Token Town Aaron & Ian break down pricing changes for Claude -p and the Agent SDK, a temporary 50% increase to Claude's limits, leaps in hacking ability, and more.Sponsored by Bento.Links:Claude pricing changes'Anthropic beats OpenAI on business adoption'Claude Code weekly limits are 50% higherSoloAmpSuperpowersMythos & cybersecurity
• 131: Crush My Competitors 12.05.2026 1h 6min

  Ian and Aaron talk about what's cooking with Solo, why Aaron's hiring his first full-time employee, Ian's frustrations with moving the team to Codex, and a feel good AI story.Sponsored by InterNACHI, Honeybadger, Bento, Vask, and NativePHP UltraInterested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.Going to Laracon?  Sign up for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party!(00:00) - Follow Up (04:20) - Solo Update (11:52) - Business Dad Pushback (19:15) - Raising Money (24:39) - Aaron's First Full-Time Employee (31:30) - Ian's Hiring Troubles (39:26) - A Laravel New 👀 (43:27) - Moving to Codex (48:57) - Where's Outro? (59:34) - A Feel Good AI Story Links:SoloTinySeedHelpSpotCodexOutroToken TownMia's Horse Name Generator
• 130: Two Grandmas Roll Up 05.05.2026 1h 1min

  Ian and Aaron discuss the most harrowing experience of Aaron's life (complete with the funniest ad transition in Mostly Technical history), talk about Ian's trip to the Laravel Roadshow in NYC, and dive into what's cooking with Solo.Sponsored by InterNACHI, Honeybadger, Bento, Vask, and NativePHP UltraInterested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.Going to Laracon?  Sign up for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party!(00:00) - The Birthday Party Incident (10:45) - He Starts Doing The Slip & Slide (21:01) - The Stuff of Legends (26:57) - More Kids = More Productive? (32:58) - Solo Is A Meta Harness (48:13) - It's Video Week! (55:06) - Laravel Roadshow Links:Native PHP: The VibesSoloSoak TestingFasterVehiklLaravel Roadshow: Dallas
• 129: The Bounds of My Pettiness 28.04.2026 56min

  Ian and Aaron discuss how Aaron wants to destroy (?) Solo's competitors (!), using AI to find security holes in your app, delaying Token Town until May, and more.Sponsored by SavvyCal Appointments, Bento, & Laravel Private Cloud.Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.(00:00) - The AI Apocalypse (11:18) - Delayed (Again) (15:04) - Let's Talk About Solo (29:24) - Number Go Up (42:13) - Sell More Solo (48:17) - Wrap It Up Links:Nicholas Carlini - Black Hat LLMsCodex SecurityToken TownLaravel Roadshow: New York CityWarpConductorSolo's DiscordDeath of a Salesman on Broadway
• 128: LaraProm 21.04.2026 1h 24min

  Ian and Aaron discuss Solo finally being ready & why its MCP capabilities are so intriguing, LaraProm (?!) at Laracon US (!), Ian's conundrum corner, and more.Sponsored by SavvyCal Appointments, Bento, & Laravel Private Cloud.Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.(00:00) - Vacation Is Awesome (11:40) - Thunk Boys Follow Up (14:12) - Ian's Conundrum Corner (22:43) - Prom?! (36:14) - Solo Is Ready (52:58) - Solo's MCP Server (01:16:02) - Token Town Debuts This Week Links:Southwest Airlines Assigned SeatingEpisode 127LaraProm at Laracon USSoloOutroCloudflare MeshToken TownIan's hiring!
• 127: Charge It To The Game w/ John Drexler & Daniel Coulbourne 14.04.2026 1h 24min

  Ian is joined by John Drexler & Daniel Coulbourne of Thunk to talk about their new app Tidy, what constitutes a moat in the age of AI, why phone spam is the absolute worst, and so much more.Sponsored by SavvyCal Appointments, Bento, & Laravel Private Cloud.Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.(00:00) - Bottomless Pits (03:05) - Tidyup.agency (15:30) - Zero Risk Agency (23:23) - The Schtick Is The Moat (37:52) - You Might Need To Pay Some Professionals (44:53) - Everyone's Playing Their Hands (52:39) - Business Dad Thoughts (01:22:03) - The Hard Pitch Links:ThunkDaniel CoulbourneJohn DrexlerTidyTalking Businessly Ep 89 w/ Justin JacksonLaravel Road Show: New York CitySilicon Valley clip 'Why would you go after revenue?'Laravel PartnersArango
• 126: Scope Explosion 07.04.2026 1h 35min

  Ian and Aaron talk about why neither of them shipped this past week, how to surface features in an application, tweets going viral....oh, and they're starting a new podcast.  Welcome to Token Town.Sponsored by SavvyCal Appointments, Bento, & Laravel Private Cloud.Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.(00:00) - Ian Didn't Ship (06:33) - Aaron Didn't Ship (11:48) - Solo & MCP (21:16) - Surfacing Features (32:45) - Is AI Hype Dying Down? (37:42) - Viral Tweets (50:29) - Filter Out vs. Filter In (01:01:07) - Claude vs. OpenClaw (01:15:29) - Durable Objects & Databases (01:27:04) - Welcome to Token Town Links:Aaron's tweet about getting to 120fpsAaron's viral tweet about the astronautNate Silver vs. Nikita Bier on TwitterIan's viral tweet about Claude & OpenClawOpenAI acquires TBPNAaron's course on durable objectsLaravel Cloud MySQLToken Town
• 125: No Turning Back 31.03.2026 1h 12min

  Ian and Aaron talk about setting a release date (!) for Outro, huge updates to Solo, a new Cloudflare course, exciting news on the real estate front, and so much more.Sponsored by SavvyCal Appointments, Bento, Laravel Private Cloud, IttyBit, and Ray by Spatie.Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.(00:00) - It's Shill Season (04:02) - Ian's Gotta Ship Outro (15:00) - Superpowers Are So Good (20:15) - Cloudflare Durable Objects Course (31:32) - Cloud Pricing (36:41) - MCP Servers (47:23) - Solo Updates (01:00:18) - Aaron Francis Empire Update Links:ModalSlingshotSuperpowersUConn vs. Duke - Final two minutesProducer DaveCloudflare Durable ObjectsVoid
• 124: Old Man Yells At Cloud 24.03.2026 1h 15min

  Ian and Aaron talk about choosing between Faster.dev & Solo (which one is more likely to pay off?), the pros and cons of using AI to build bespoke internal apps, youth sports, Project Hail Mary, and so much more.Sponsored by SavvyCal Appointments, Bento, Laravel Private Cloud, IttyBit, and Ray by Spatie.Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.(00:00) - Kids Sports (05:19) - Building Internal Tools (17:23) - Empire of Scripts (24:41) - Everybody Wants CLI & MCP (29:46) - Solo Will Never Be Done (45:46) - Faster.dev vs. Solo (59:36) - Vibe Coding An App To $10k (01:06:11) - Project Hail Mary Links:Aaron on the baseball fieldProject Hail MaryJason Fried on TwitterLaravel AI SDKLaravel MCPSoloWill KingAaron's video on YouTubeEric Barnes' new venture
• 123: Isolate The Claude 18.03.2026 1h 11min

  Ian and Aaron talk about more poker adventures, transcoding videos at scale, escaping the permanent underclass, worktrees vs. copy on write, and so much more.Sponsored by SavvyCal Appointments, Bento, Laravel Private Cloud, Laravel Live DK, IttyBit, and Ray by Spatie.Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.(00:00) - Ian Keeps Winning (10:00) - Transcoding Videos (25:33) - Superpowers (39:40) - A Parade In Boston (47:36) - Run Dangerously (55:20) - Ire of the Worktree Maxi's (01:02:56) - Escape the Permanent Underclass Links:Daniel CoulbourneChris MorrellModalMuxHTTP Live StreamingSuperpowersJason BeggsFast User SwitchingWorktrees
• 122: I Just YOLO'd It 10.03.2026 1h 37min

  Ian and Aaron discuss their trip to Laracon EU, the all-new Solo, using the AI SDK for Outro, "poker propaganda", Gen-Z Abby's 2004 camera, and so much more.Sponsored by SavvyCal Appointments, Bento, Laravel Private Cloud, IttyBit, and Ray by Spatie.Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.(00:00) - Europe Can't Contain Us (07:04) - Poker Propaganda (12:34) - Laracon EU Recap (17:42) - Good Feedback (23:07) - Big Solo Update (42:03) - What's Next for Solo (01:01:20) - The Worktrees Question (01:10:57) - The Finalized Skill (01:17:28) - Outro & Gopher (01:26:43) - New Deadlines Are Coming (01:31:25) - 2004 Camera Links:SinnersJetBlue MintEncore Boston HarborDaniel CoulbournePete HeslopSoloXtermTyporaFasterOutro
• 121: Let Ian Cook 24.02.2026 1h 22min

  Ian and Aaron discuss Ian shipping (!) the HelpSpot website and cooking on Outro, Aaron's complete overhaul of Solo, why it's nice to have a wife, and so much more.Register today for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party at Laracon EU.Sponsored by SavvyCal Appointments, Bento, Laravel Private Cloud, IttyBit, Ray by Spatie, and Redberry.Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.(00:00) - Hell Week 3 (12:01) - The Haters Were Right (22:09) - Ian Shipped! (27:09) - Does Aaron Know Who Snoop Is? (32:29) - Cooking On Outro (46:17) - Counselors Update (01:05:28) - The Learning Skill (01:16:47) - It's Nice To Have A Wife (01:19:23) - Gamification of Software Links:OpenCodeXterm.jsWill KingJason BeggsHelpSpotOutroSoloCounselors
• 120: The Counselors 17.02.2026 1h 15min

  Ian and Aaron discuss Aaron's new AI tool Counselors, something called "Hell Week", what's new with Solo and Outro, and so much more.Register today for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party at Laracon EU.Sponsored by SavvyCal Appointments, Bento, Laravel Private Cloud, IttyBit, Ray by Spatie, and Redberry.Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.(00:00) - Achieving The Impossible (11:26) - Making Things Easy For Humans (19:53) - Ian's Hyperkey Setup (28:59) - Aaron's Hell Week (44:42) - The Future (51:38) - Outro Is Cooking (58:36) - Valentine's Day & Other Updates (01:09:26) - OpenClaw Links:CounselorsHyperkeyRaycastSpace Cadet KeyboardSoloFaster.devOutro.fmAaron's cardboard box saw