PodRocket

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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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.

Devin, INP, and the diminishing frontend dev

March 27th, 2024  |  Season 4  |  39 mins 45 secs

panel

On this month’s panel episode, PodRocket hosts Paige, Chris, Noel, and Paul talk about the introduction of Devin, the first AI engineer, Google’s rollout of INP, and if the frontend dev is being diminished.