PodRocket

Amazon's AI outage, the engineer retention crisis, autonomous agents and the future of senior engineers

March 26th, 2026  |  52 mins 58 secs

ai, panel

The Amazon AI coding outage reignited a debate the industry can't ignore: is this an AI failure or a process failure, and does that distinction even matter anymore? Paige, Jack, Paul, and Noel dig into vibe coding culture, the engineer retention crisis, and the rise of harness engineering as a discipline in this month's panel. They also tackle autonomous agents running while you sleep, zero-touch engineering, what a senior engineer even means now, and whether open source can survive the agentic era.

Yes, and... programming still matters in the age of AI, with Carson Gross

March 12th, 2026  |  38 mins 21 secs

ai

Carson Gross, computer science professor at Montana State and creator of htmx, joins the show to cut through the noise around AI and programming. He explains why the jump from high-level languages to LLMs is fundamentally different from past transitions, why junior developers who skip writing code risk being at the mercy of a stochastic system, and why systems architecture and managing code complexity are the skills that will matter most. A grounded, rational take on the future of software development jobs.

Tailwind Layoffs, Cloudflare Buys Astro | Panel

January 29th, 2026  |  39 mins 27 secs

ai, astro, cloudflare, panel

In this mini-panel, Jack, Paige, Paul, and Noel discuss how AI reshaping developer tooling is impacting open source monetization, including the recent Tailwind layoffs and the collapse of Tailwind documentation traffic caused by AI. The conversation expands into broader developer tooling business models and reacts to claims like Ryan Dahl stating that the era of humans writing code is over.

They also cover the Astro Cloudflare acquisition, what it means for the Cloudflare developer platform, and how this shapes the frontend frameworks future. Hot takes include light mode vs dark mode SaaS, shifting developer aesthetics, and why AI productivity for developers may now come down to workflow design rather than raw coding skill.

Anthropic buys Bun, GitHub friction, and AI economics

January 1st, 2026  |  40 mins 7 secs

ai, panel

In this panel episode, the crew discusses AI platform consolidation, open-source sustainability, and the future of web development. We break down Anthropic’s acquisition of Bun, what it means for the JavaScript ecosystem, and whether open-source projects can remain independent as AI companies invest heavily in infrastructure.

We also discuss Zig leaving GitHub, growing concerns around AI-first developer tools, npm security vulnerabilities, and supply-chain risk in modern software. The episode wraps with hot takes on AI infrastructure costs, developer productivity, and practical advice for engineers navigating today’s rapidly changing tech landscape.

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

December 25th, 2025  |  37 mins 15 secs

ai

In this repeat episode, Kent C. Dodds came back on to the podcast 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.

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.

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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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.

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.

SSR performance, Remix and ChatGPT, and favorite new tools

September 26th, 2024  |  Season 4  |  37 mins 34 secs

ai, remix, ssr performance

In this panel episode, our hosts dive into the latest tools and frameworks, AI integration, the performance bottlenecks of server-side rendering, and more. Tune in to hear hot takes and insights from our industry experts.