Paige Niedringhaus

State of CSS in 2025 with Adam Argyle and Kevin Powell

October 1st, 2025  |  43 mins 26 secs

css

In this episode of PodRocket, Adam Argyle and Kevin Powell discuss the results of the latest State of CSS survey and share how new capabilities like functions, mixins, nesting, and container queries are changing the way developers approach styling. We dive into the ongoing conversation around Tailwind and pre-processors, and look at the practical impact of features such as scroll driven animations, view transitions, and cascade layers. Adam and Kevin also explain how advances like relative color syntax and app property are making CSS variables more dynamic and reliable. Along the way, we touch on browser interoperability and imagine what’s ahead for CSS, from motion blur to fit text and beyond.

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.

Rolldown and VoidZero's vision for the future of JavaScript tooling with Alexander Lichter

September 9th, 2025  |  39 mins 2 secs

rolldown

Alexander Lichter joins the podcast to talk about Rolldown, a bundler built in Rust by Void Zero that aims to replace Rollup and ESBuild with faster builds and better enterprise scalability. He dives into the power of OXC and Oxlint, the push toward a unified JavaScript toolchain, and previews what to expect at ViteConf 2024.

The useless useCallback: React performance myths unpacked, with Dominik Dorfmeister

September 4th, 2025  |  22 mins 55 secs

react, react hook, react usecallback

Dominik Dorfmeister unpacks the pitfalls of React’s useCallback and useMemo, revealing how these hooks often introduce more complexity than performance gains. He explores the promise of the React Compiler, the practical power of the “latest ref” pattern, and strategies to boost code readability and maintainability at scale.

Learn why overusing useEffect and manual memoization can do more harm than good, and how teams can level up their PR reviews and performance practices using tools like the ESLint React Compiler plugin.

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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React beyond the DOM: exploring custom renderers with Erik Rasmussen

August 26th, 2025  |  Season 4  |  18 mins 33 secs

react

Erik Rasmussen, principal product engineer at Attio, joins PodRocket to discuss how React can be used far beyond the web. From custom React renderers for IoT and hardware to a secure plugin architecture using iframes and JSON rendering, Erik dives into platform agnostic rendering, React reconciler, xState, and how Adio empowers developers to build third-party apps with React. A must-listen for anyone curious about React's future outside the DOM.

Node 24 with Rafael Gonzaga

June 26th, 2025  |  Season 4  |  26 mins 7 secs

nodejs

Rafael Gonzaga, a Node.js TSC member, joins us to unpack the key features and updates in Node.js 24. We explore major changes like the new permission model, async local storage improvements, V8 engine updates, and the future of built-in HTTP capabilities. Rafael also shares insights on security trends, the evolution of the Node ecosystem, and how developers can get involved.

Server functions don't exist with Jack Herrington

June 5th, 2025  |  Season 4  |  21 mins 20 secs

server functions

Jack Herrington, podcaster, software engineer, writer and YouTuber, joins the pod to uncover the truth behind server functions and why they don’t actually exist in the web platform. We dive into the magic behind frameworks like Next.js, TanStack Start, and Remix, breaking down how server functions work, what they simplify, what they hide, and what developers need to know to build smarter, faster, and more secure web apps.

Relatively new things you should know about HTML with Chris Coyier (Repeat)

May 29th, 2025  |  Season 4  |  40 mins 6 secs

html

In this repeat episode, Chris Coyier, co-founder of CodePen, talks about the evolving landscape of HTML heading into 2025. He delves into topics like the slow evolution of HTML compared to CSS and JavaScript, the importance of backwards compatibility, new HTML elements and pseudo-elements, and the potential of declarative shadow DOM for server-side rendering in web components.

JSX over the wire with Dan Abramov

May 8th, 2025  |  Season 4  |  44 mins 1 sec

react

React Core team member Dan Abramov joins us to explore "JSX over the wire" and the evolving architecture of React Server Components. We dive into the shift from traditional REST APIs to screen-specific data shaping, the concept of Backend for Frontend (BFF), and why centering UI around the user experience—not server/client boundaries—matters more than ever.

HTMX in 2025 with Carson Gross

May 1st, 2025  |  Season 4  |  36 mins 42 secs

htmx

Carson Gross, creator of HTMX, talks about its evolution from intercooler.js, its viral rise on social media, and its philosophy of simplicity and stability. They dive into how HTMX fits into the modern web dev ecosystem, the idea of building 100-year web services, and why older technologies like jQuery and server-side rendering still have staying power.
Carson also shares insights on open-source marketing, progressive enhancement, and the future of web development.

A guide to functional programming By Jemima Abu

April 24th, 2025  |  Season 4  |  15 mins 47 secs

functional programming

Jemima Abu, Senior Product Engineer at CAIS, joins the podcast to unpack her no-fluff approach to functional programming in JavaScript. From why predictable code matters to how higher-order functions like map and reduce can save your sanity, Jemima breaks down real-world lessons on purity, immutability, and when it's okay to not be a functional purist.

Put your database in the browser with Ben Holmes

April 3rd, 2025  |  Season 4  |  32 mins 25 secs

local first

Ben Holmes, product engineer at Warp, joins PodRocket to talk about local-first web apps and what it takes to run a database directly in the browser. He breaks down how moving data closer to the user can reduce latency, improve performance, and simplify frontend development.

Learn about SQLite in the browser, syncing challenges, handling conflicts, and tools like WebAssembly, IndexedDB, and CRDTs. Plus, Ben shares insights from building his own SimpleSyncEngine and where local-first development is headed!

Relatively New Things You Should Know about HTML with Chris Coyier

January 30th, 2025  |  Season 4  |  40 mins 26 secs

html

Chris Coyier, co-founder of CodePen, talks about the evolving landscape of HTML heading into 2025. He delves into topics like the slow evolution of HTML compared to CSS and JavaScript, the importance of backwards compatibility, new HTML elements and pseudo-elements, and the potential of declarative shadow DOM for server-side rendering in web components.

Universal React with Mo Khazali

January 23rd, 2025  |  Season 4  |  36 mins 9 secs

react

Mo Khazali, head of mobile and tech lead at Theodo UK, talks about the novel concept of Universal React. He discusses cross-platform development, overcoming performance challenges, and its impact on empowering small development teams to compete with big tech.

Rocket Surgery 2024: Year in review

December 19th, 2024  |  Season 4  |  38 mins 12 secs

rocket surgery

Join us on PodRocket's yearly wrap-up episode as Emily and our hosts— Paige, Noel, Josh, and Paul—discuss significant tech trends of 2024 and predictions for 2025. Topics include AI advancements, React development, the potential impact of Void0, and the controversy surrounding Oracle's JavaScript trademark.