All Compiler episodes,
in one place

Episode 61 | 4.4.24 | 24:22 mins | Career

Finding one’s way in the tech industry can leave a person with more than a few bumps and bruises. How easy is it to adapt and overcome?

Episode 60 | 3.20.24 | 23:39 mins | Career

Bad bosses can stall your career. We hear stories about managers who stood in the way—and how those workers found a way to thrive in spite of those bad bosses.

Episode 59 | 3.7.24 | 28:17 mins | Career

We all start somewhere. For these two IT professionals, the ground floor is where they found their way into the industry.

Episode 58 | 2.22.24 | 24:19 mins | Career

The advice we get isn’t always the most helpful. What do you do when you can’t tell the good from the bad?

Episode 57 | 2.8.24 | 32:52 mins | Career

Big mistakes. Colossal setbacks. Bad days. We’ve all been there. But how do we find a way forward?

Episode 56 | 1.25.24 | 33:23 mins | Career

People react differently when they hear the word “risk”. Is a big bet ever safe to take? When does the situation call for a leap of faith?

Episode 55 | 1.11.24 | 26:26 mins | Career, development

They say wisdom comes from experience. We hear stories from people who learned the hard way how to spot potential red flags, and what can happen when they’re missed.

Episode 54 | 12.21.23 | 37:38 mins | Career, development

The Compiler team looks back at their favorite moments from the year.

Episode 53 | 12.7.23 | 39:44 mins | training, career

Learning never stops. But neither do our workloads. What do we do about it?

Episode 52 | 11.9.23 | 30:39 mins | Programming, mainframes, career

People maintaining older systems can feel frustrated, isolated, and stuck in the past while the world moves on. We spoke to technologists on how they reconcile the old with the new to advance their understanding of their discipline.

Episode 51 | 10.26.23 | 32:32 mins | API, legacy, healthcare, digital transformation

APIs are a large part of the efforts to modernize healthcare IT infrastructure. But their use in IT modernization can present both unique challenges and unanswered questions.

Episode 50 | 10.12.23 | 27:42 mins | Operating systems, OS, legacy, career, POSIX

There are unsupported operating systems running everything from old machinery to everyday devices. Any change can have cascading effects.

Episode 49 | 09.28.23 | 30:33 mins | Programming, mainframes, career

COBOL has stood the test of time, but what is its place among newer generations of technologists?

Episode 48 | 09.14.23 | 29:21 mins | Storage, data science

Is Hadoop still important? Where is it most visible today? The Compiler team dives hard into the project, and how it forever changed the way we look at data.

Episode 47 | 08.31.23 | 27:40 mins | career

Hardware has a knack for sticking around. Knowing how to keep it running can help avoid catastrophe.

Episode 46 | 08.17.23 | 29:23 mins | career

The tech industry moves quickly, leaving tech classified as legacy. How can IT professionals starting out learn and grow working on older tech?

Episode 45 | 07.6.23 | 41:44 mins | career

Navigating market shifts can be tricky, stressful, and terrifying. When the going gets tough, what can help us grow?

Episode 44 | 06.22.23 | 36:52 mins | operations

Launch day is often a source of worry, and in the worst cases, scrambling panic. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Episode 43 | 06.08.23 | 35:01 mins | automation, operations

Repetitive tasks can be the worst part of a job. But what does it take to automate away the drudgery?

Episode 42 | 05.25.23 | 28:55 mins | datacenters, open source

How do we reconcile the value of datacenters with their rising environmental impacts?

Episode 41 | 05.11.23 | 35:02 mins | Career

Tech talks aren’t just for CEOs and high-profile prodigies. With a little work, anyone can speak at a conference. But how does one prepare for it?

Episode 40 | 04.27.23 | 38:56 mins | Career, Development

There are a lot of ways to get your product out there. But the tech industry is different. Developer advocates do the work of building bridges with users.?

Episode 39 | 04.13.23 | 35:21 mins | Career, Development

Working a help desk can seem mundane, stressful, and thankless. How can technical support staff stand out in their roles, and rise above negativity?

Episode 38 | 03.30.23 | 32:16 mins | Career, Development

Does a company’s digital strategy deserve as much attention as its product strategy? If so, what does that mean for a web developer?

Episode 37 | 03.16.23 | 32:35 mins | Career, Development

Maintenance is important, but development teams also want to add new features for customers. How can they decide what needs the most immediate attention?

Episode 36 | 03.02.23 | 37:22 mins | Career, Development

System(s) Administrators don’t get enough credit. How do they juggle their breadth of responsibilities?

Episode 35 | 02.16.23 | 28:32 mins | Career, Development

Design can be a powerful tool. But where, and how, does it start when building software? And how can it drive a company’s growth?

Episode 34 | 02.02.23 | 36:40 mins | Career, Development

There are many kinds of architects in tech. What does it take to build effective solutions to technical problems? And how do you learn those skills?

Episode 33 | 01.19.23 | 34:50 mins | Career, Development

Chief Technology Officers know their technology. But what does a CTO do? The CTO and the Vision kicks off Re:Role, Compiler’s series on tech careers.

Episode 32 | 12.08.22 | 35:38 mins | Development

From CodeNewbie: The New Wave of Front-end Developer Tools are on their Way

We shared an episode made by our friends at CodeNewbie that we think you'll like. Hear about the latest in front end development tools.

Episode 31 | 11.10.22 | 38:32 mins | Career, Development

Building software is technical, but it’s also human. In the final episode of Stack/Unstuck, we discuss how teams can build bridges across a software stack.

Episode 30 | 10.27.22 | 28:34 mins | Career, Development, Agile Testing

Testing doesn’t need to be saved for a curtain call. It can have a starring role when identifying problems within a software stack.

Episode 29 | 10.13.22 | 34:01 mins | Career, Development

The operating system provides the foundation for the software stack. Many argue there’s little left to do—but work on the OS is far from over.

Episode 28 | 09.29.22 | 29:05 mins | Career, Development

Writing data is easy. But how do you build a database that can quickly find that information when the rest of the stack needs it?

Episode 27 | 09.15.22 | 32:34 mins | Career, Development

While not a “layer” of a stack, frameworks can help developers build applications faster. But when things go wrong, it also helps to know the basics.

Episode 26 | 09.01.22 | 31:06 mins | Career, Development

There are many misconceptions about the front end, and the memes don’t help. How can front-end developers challenge those attitudes?

Episode 25 | 08.18.22 | 26:06 mins | Career, Development

The software stack is like an onion. Or a sheet cake. Or lasagna. Or is it? It’s often described as having layers that sit on top of each other. The reality is much more complicated—and learning about it can help any tech career.

Episode 24 | 07.07.22 | 29:06 mins | Operations, Career

Mistakes are part of growth. We fix the problem, learn to do better, and move on—but also to tell the story once the sting has passed. Last episode, we heard three stories of people blundering into trouble and coming out the other side a little bit wiser. This episode adds three more stories of mistakes being made—but the culprit isn’t always as clear.

Episode 23 | 06.23.22 | 33:10 mins | Operations, Career

We all make mistakes. Most of the time, they’re small enough no one notices. But every now and then, we do something that makes us break into a cold sweat. We hear three stories of people who wish they had an easy undo button. In the moment, they’re panic-inducing. But once the dust settles, are those big mistakes that big of a deal?

Episode 22 | 06.09.22 | 29:56 mins | Data, Machine learning

Data science and movies? The discussion can make the fantastic world of motion pictures seem devoid of creativity. We spoke to some who think otherwise, and they teach us how data and machine learning can inform filmmaking from conception to post-production.

Episode 21 | 05.26.22 | 30:25 mins | OPERATIONS, INFRASTRUCTURE

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” isn’t a good option for enterprise IT. Your system may keep running. But if you haven’t updated in awhile, you may be missing some stability and performance improvements—and probably some security patches too. Regularly updating is a good habit. How do we make it less annoying?

Episode 20 | 05.12.22 | 30:56 mins | DATA, GOVERNANCE

We have a finite time on earth. The mountains of data we generate can last much, much longer. How much should be preserved? For what purpose? And how should IT organizations ultimately handle that data?

Episode 19 | 04.28.22 | 28:16 mins | DEVELOPMENT, DEVOPS

What do we need to know to make a good prediction for where technology is headed? Alternatively, what do we need to know to avoid the wrong choice? We speak to experts in the DevOps space about betting wrong on the future, how development projects go awry, and what teams can do to get things back on track.

Episode 18 | 04.14.22 | 29:32 mins | TECH, CAREER

The immense pressure to be productive is challenging to balance with passion projects, personal responsibilities, or just with the need to rest. Our team spoke with tech-minded creators in the productivity space on how to achieve full focus, and how to make time for work, relaxation, and creativity.

Episode 17 | 03.31.22 | 29:48 mins | TECH, COMPILERS

We start to break down the compiler’s reputation for complexity by opening up the black box. What do compilers do? How do they work? And what can you gain by learning more about the inner workings of compilers?

Episode 16 | 03.17.22 | 28:02 mins | TECH, DATA

Turns out, the same technology keeping us constantly connected—the Internet of Things—can also improve how we move people and things from place to place. But what are the considerations for technologists? Smart road technology can make travel safer, easier, and more efficient. But how can it make travel enjoyable?

Episode 15 | 03.03.22 | 27:42 mins | IT, Education

There’s a difference between tech familiarity and actually knowing how technology works. We spoke to middle school, high school, and college educators about what it is their students are hoping to learn—and what skills they pick up on the way.

EPISODE 14 | 02.17.22 | 30:00 MINS | SECURITY

This episode, a couple of Red Hatters tackle an unusual security challenge. And while intentions were good, the memes they planted could have easily been something much more nefarious.

Episode 13 | 02.03.22 | 24:13 mins | Kubernetes, development, open source

Online dating apps navigate complex technical challenges while serving an ever-growing user base. Kubernetes can help them meet the demands of people looking for love in an always-online world.

Episode 12 | 01.20.22 | 28:58 mins | IT, CAREER, development

In this episode, we hear from guests as they explain how handling failure effectively can impact both individuals and teams.

Episode 11 | 01.6.22 | 26:51 mins | tech, IT, career

We revisit some of our most talked-about topics on the show and let others weigh in on what they liked, what they didn’t like, and what we may have missed on the first pass.

Episode 10 | 12.09.21 | 25:35 mins | open source, burnout

Burnout’s always going to be a problem. What factors could we identify that seem to bring it about?

Episode 09 | 11.25.21 | 31:06 mins | tech, IT, career

Traditionally, you had to move to a tech hub for that coveted IT career. But things are starting to change.

Episode 08 | 11.11.21 | 29:45 mins | documentation, open source

This episode explores who benefits from updated technical documentation. Spoiler alert: It’s everyone.

Episode 07 | 10.28.21 | 26:45 mins | career, IT

This episode discusses how mentorship addresses fears and challenges when venturing into a tech career.

Episode 06 | 10.14.21 | 32:57 mins | open source, licenses

The landscape of tech is changing. Developer culture isn’t what it used to be—and neither is how we consume software.

Episode 05 | 09.30.21 | 28:36 mins | tech, tech support

We ask a few people from tech support whether superstitions have a useful role in solving our technical difficulties.

Episode 04 | 09.16.21 | 19:41 mins | tech, devOps

We unpack the concept of technical debt, and wonder if there is a world where it doesn’t exist.

Episode 03 | 09.02.21 | 20:55 mins | career

Interviewing for a job is often a stressful process. Being prepared helps—but what exactly are you preparing for?

Episode 02 | 08.19.21 | 19:28 mins | edge computing

Edge computing could be a boon for areas of the world with poor internet connectivity. But how does it really work, and what are its possible uses and implications?

Episode 01 | 08.05.21 | 23:15 mins | career

It’s hard to let go of your creative side to make room for managing others. Should managers code?