Paul Mikulskis

Semantic HTML still matters with Jono Alderson

October 9th, 2025  |  26 mins 52 secs

html

Jono Alderson joins the podcast to discuss why semantic HTML still matters today. He shares how thoughtful markup can improve accessibility and performance, from using the picture tag and responsive images to optimizing with content-visibility CSS. The conversation dives into common pitfalls like div soup, the shift toward more template-centric design, and techniques for improving the critical rendering path. Jono also discusses preloading, HTTP early hints, and the evolving role of structured data, LLMs, and Google’s trust signals in shaping a more meaningful and efficient web.

Google’s antitrust win, AI mandates, npm attacks and robots.txt

September 25th, 2025  |  41 mins 10 secs

ai, browsers, panel, security

Is the web breaking under the weight of AI crawlers, platform consolidation, and nonstop security breaches? We dive into the state of browsers, developer burnout, and whether tech regulation can actually keep up.

In this panel discussion:

• We debate if robots.txt and AI licensing standards like RSL can realistically control how AI scrapes the web.

• The fallout from DIA’s acquisition by Atlassian and what it means for indie browser innovation in a Chromium-dominated world.

• Why Google’s antitrust victory might embolden other tech giants, and what that means for competition.

• How supply chain attacks like the NPM malware and Shai Hulud worm are exploiting GitHub workflows and package vulnerabilities.

• The pushback against AI mandates at work, including Coinbase’s controversial policy requiring developers to use Copilot.

Modularizing the monolith with Jimmy Bogard

September 11th, 2025  |  32 mins 28 secs

modular architecture

Jimmy Bogard joins Pod Rocket to talk about making monoliths more modular, why boundaries matter, and how to avoid turning systems into distributed monoliths. From refactoring techniques and database migrations at scale to lessons from Stripe and WordPress, he shares practical ways to balance architecture choices. We also explore how tools like Claude and Lambda fit into modern development and what teams should watch for with latency, transactions, and growing complexity.

Navigating the AI bubble, the 10x AI engineer, and the Cloudflare vs. Perplexity data grab

August 28th, 2025  |  44 mins 26 secs

ai, panel

Is the AI industry an unsustainable bubble built on burning billions in cash? We break down the AI hype cycle, the tough job market for developers, and whether a crash is on the horizon.

In this panel discussion with Josh Goldberg, Paige Niedringhaus, Paul Mikulskis, and Noel Minchow, we tackle the biggest questions in tech today.

• We debate if AI is just another Web3-style hype cycle
• Why the "10x AI engineer" is a myth that ignores the reality of software development
• The ethical controversy around AI crawlers and data scraping, highlighted by Cloudflare's recent actions

Plus, we cover the latest industry news, including Vercel's powerful new AI SDK V5 and what GitHub's leadership shakeup means for the future of developers.

Resources

Anthropic Is Bleeding Out: https://www.wheresyoured.at/anthropic-is-bleeding-out
The Hater's Guide To The AI Bubble: https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-haters-gui
No, AI is not Making Engineers 10x as Productive: https://colton.dev/blog/curing-your-ai-10x-engineer-imposter-syndrome
Cloudflare Is Blocking AI Crawlers by Default: https://www.wired.com/story/cloudflare-blocks-ai-crawlers-default
Perplexity is using stealth, undeclared crawlers to evade website no-crawl directives: https://blog.cloudflare.com/perplexity-is-using-stealth-undeclared-crawlers-to-evade-website-no-crawl-directives
GitHub just got less independent at Microsoft after CEO resignation: https://www.theverge.com/news/757461/microsoft-github-thomas-dohmke-resignation-coreai-team-transition

Chapters

0:00 Is the AI Industry Burning Cash Unsustainably?
01:06 Anthropic and the "AI Bubble Euphoria"
04:42 How the AI Hype Cycle is Different from Web3 & VR
08:24 The Problem with "Slapping AI" on Every App
11:54 The "10x AI Engineer" is a Myth and Why
17:55 Real-World AI Success Stories
21:26 Cloudflare vs. AI Crawlers: The Ethics of Data Scraping
30:05 Vercel's New AI SDK V5: What's Changed?
33:45 GitHub's CEO Steps Down: What It Means for Developers
38:54 Hot Takes: The Future of AI Startups, the Job Market, and More

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NuxtLabs joins Vercel with Daniel Roe

August 7th, 2025  |  Season 4  |  23 mins 41 secs

nuxt, nuxt labs, vercel

In this episode of PodRocket, Daniel Roe, lead dev over at NuxtLabs, joins Paul to discuss the big news: NuxtLabs is joining Vercel. They dive into what this partnership means for Nuxt, the independence of the open-source framework, and how products like Nuxt UI Pro, Nuxt Studio, and Nuxt Hub are evolving. Daniel also shares insights on zero-config deployments, maintaining choice for developers, and the philosophy behind keeping Nuxt open and flexible.

Building Jarvis: MCP and the future of AI with Kent C Dodds

July 29th, 2025  |  Season 4  |  37 mins 15 secs

ai

Kent C. Dodds is back with bold ideas and a game-changing vision for the future of AI and web development. In this episode, we dive into the Model Context Protocol (MCP), the power behind Epic AI Pro, and how developers can start building Jarvis-like assistants today. From replacing websites with MCP servers to reimagining voice interfaces and AI security, Kent lays out the roadmap for what's next, and why it matters right now. Don’t miss this fast-paced conversation about the tools and tech reshaping everything.

Storybook 9 is leveling up UI testing with Michael Shilman

July 10th, 2025  |  Season 4  |  30 mins 5 secs

storybook

In this episode of PodRocket, Michael Shilman, product lead at Storybook, joins us to explore the major updates in Storybook 9. We dive into component testing, browser mode in Vitest, AI workflows, React Server Components, accessibility audits, and Storybook’s growing support for frameworks like Next.js, Svelte, and React Native. Michael also shares behind-the-scenes insights on Storybook’s evolution from a documentation tool to a full-fledged UI development and testing suite.

Prisma Postgres with Nikolas Burk (Repeat)

July 3rd, 2025  |  Season 4  |  28 mins 37 secs

prisma

In this repeat episode, Nikolas Burk, DevRel at Prisma, talks about Prisma Postgres, its unikernel architecture, and its seamless integration with cloud infrastructure. Discover how Prisma Postgres is revolutionizing database management with features like cold start elimination, real-time event handling and advanced caching strategies!

Gemini 2.5 with Logan Kilpatrick

June 19th, 2025  |  Season 4  |  30 mins 25 secs

gemini

Logan Kilpatrick from Google DeepMind talks about the latest developments in the Gemini 2.5 model family, including Gemini 2.5 Pro, Flash, and the newly introduced Flashlight. Logan also offers insight into AI development workflows, model performance, and the future of proactive AI assistants.

Vite, frontend tooling & the future with Evan You

April 17th, 2025  |  Season 4  |  33 mins 26 secs

frontend tooling

Vue creator Evan You joins us to talk about the evolution of JavaScript tooling, the success of Vite, and what's coming next with VitePlus — a unified toolchain aiming to simplify dev workflows. We also touch on Nitro, multi-runtime support, and where AI might (or might not) fit into the mix.

Ghostty with Mitchell Hashimoto

April 10th, 2025  |  Season 4  |  23 mins 17 secs

ghostty

Mitchell Hashimoto, founder of HashiCorp, joins us to talk about his latest project, Ghostty—a terminal that’s fast, feature-rich, and truly cross-platform. Mitchell shares the vision behind Ghostty, its architecture built around the libghosty core, how it's tackling long-standing limitations in terminal emulation, and why features like quake-style dropdowns matter more than you'd think.

We also explore how the community can get involved and the future potential of Ghosty as a platform for modern text-based applications. Tune in to explore the innovative features that make Ghosty a standout cross-platform terminal!

Debugging apps with Deno and OpenTelemetry with Luca Casonato

March 27th, 2025  |  Season 4  |  24 mins 55 secs

deno

Luca Casanato, member of the Deno core team, delves into the intricacies of debugging applications using Deno and OpenTelemetry. Discover how Deno's native integration with OpenTelemetry enhances application performance monitoring, simplifies instrumentation compared to Node.js, and unlocks new insights for developers!

Moving to ESM from CJS with Anthony Fu

March 20th, 2025  |  Season 4  |  25 mins 10 secs

esm

Anthony Fu, Framework Developer at Nuxt Labs, discusses the shift to ESM-only formats in JavaScript development. He covers the controversy surrounding ESM, the advantages of moving from CJS to ESM, and what this transition means for the future of web development. Tune in to learn why now is the ideal time for this change, and how it benefits developers!

Beyond the cache with Redis + Node.js with Guy Royse

March 13th, 2025  |  Season 4  |  30 mins 3 secs

redis

Guy Royse, dev advocate at Redis, discusses going beyond the cache with Redis and Node.js. He explores its capabilities as a memory-first database, session management, and even fun use cases like the Bigfoot Tracker API. He also shares insights on Redis OM for object mapping and its future in the JavaScript ecosystem.

LLMs for web developers with Roy Derks

March 6th, 2025  |  Season 4  |  28 mins 45 secs

llms

Roy Derks, Developer Experience at IBM, talks about the integration of Large Language Models (LLMs) in web development. We explore practical applications such as building agents, automating QA testing, and the evolving role of AI frameworks in software development.

Tldraw’s accidental AI play with Steve Ruiz

February 27th, 2025  |  Season 4  |  28 mins 10 secs

ai

Steve Ruiz, founder of TLDraw, discusses the revolutionary AI applications in TLDraw, the intricacies of infinite canvas editors, and the impact of AI on design and development.