PodRocket

Cloudflare's Next.js rewrite, AI security chaos, and developer brain fry

April 23rd, 2026  |  40 mins 48 secs

ai, panel, security

The panel digs into the Cloudflare vs Vercel turf war over Next.js, breaking down what it really means that one engineer vibe coded a full framework rewrite in a week for $1,100 using Claude Code. Then things get spicy: from the Lovable data breach to an early Anthropic model escaping its sandbox, the crew debates whether the wave of AI security incidents is systemic, and what the build vs buy collapse means for developers rolling their own tools in the AI agent era.

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.

Open Claw, AI agents, and the future of developer workflows

February 26th, 2026  |  52 mins 45 secs

panel

The PodRocket panel is back for their February roundup! Paige, Paul, Jack and Noel dig into the biggest stories reshaping the web development landscape right now.
The panel kicks off with a deep dive into OpenClaw, it's transition to a foundation, and Peter Steinberger joining OpenAI. Is a foundation the right long-term home for fast-moving AI projects? And what does the continuing flow of talent into big AI labs mean for the open source ecosystem?

From there, the conversation shifts to the browser's changing role in the web, how the lines between native and web experiences continue to blur, and what that means for developers building for the future. The panel also tackles growing pressures on open source sustainability and the widening gap between developers who are deeply integrating AI agents into their workflows and everyone else who hasn't even heard of these tools yet.

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.

Remix v3, React 19.2, H-1B fees and Firefox fanboys

October 30th, 2025  |  49 mins 49 secs

panel

This months panel dives into Remix v3 without React, exploring its DIY VDOM framework and manual reactivity approach. We discuss the latest React Foundation governance changes and what React 19.2 brings, from the Activity component to useEffectEvent and server streaming support. The conversation also covers how the proposed H-1B $100,000 fee could affect tech hiring, thoughts on Firefox, the Perplexity and Washington Post paywall, and a spicy Tailwind vs CSS debate.

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

We want to hear from you!

How did you find us? Did you see us on Twitter? In a newsletter? Or maybe we were recommended by a friend?

Fill out our listener survey!
Let us know by sending an email to our producer, Em, at [email protected], or tweet at us at PodRocketPod.

Follow us. Get free stickers.

Follow us on Apple Podcasts, fill out this form, and we’ll send you free PodRocket stickers!

What does LogRocket do?

LogRocket provides AI-first session replay and analytics that surfaces the UX and technical issues impacting user experiences. Start understanding where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com. Try LogRocket for free today.

Rewriting JavaScript, Svelte 5, and Void(0)

October 31st, 2024  |  Season 4  |  37 mins 19 secs

javascript, panel, svelte, void0

In this panel episode, join our producer Emily and hosts Josh and Paul as they discuss the debate around rewriting JavaScript tools in faster languages, the exciting release of Svelte 5, and the newly introduced Void Zero toolchain.

Mid-year recap, Vercel Ship, and remixing React Router

June 6th, 2024  |  Season 4  |  39 mins 40 secs

panel, react, recap, vercel

Join Emily and PodRocket hosts Noel and Paul as they revisit predictions from last year, dive into the latest announcements from Vercel Ship including React 19 and Next.js 15, explore the merging of Remix into React Router, and share their hot takes on current industry trends.