Bits And Specs
Bits and Specs breaks down the internet's most important protocols, one RFC at a time. From TLS 1.3 to Oblivious HTTP, the show dives into the technical blueprints that power the modern web, AI systems, and secure communication. Each episode delivers practical insights, real-world examples, and the stories behind the specs, aiming for clarity and zero fluff. It's aimed at engineers, builders, and anyone who is protocol-curious.
Episodes
BGP: The Protocol That Routes the Internet (and Breaks It Too)
In this episode of Bits and Specs, we unpack BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) — the control plane of the internet. Using insights from RFC 4271, we explore how BGP connects thousands of autonomous systems (ASes) to make global routing possible. You'll learn how BGP works, what makes it different from internal routing protocols like OSPF, and how concepts like AS_PATH, route advertisements, and policy
gRPC: The High-Speed Backbone of Modern APIs
In this episode of Bits and Specs, we explore gRPC — Google’s high-performance, open-source RPC framework that’s powering everything from microservices to AI pipelines. We break down how gRPC works using Protocol Buffers, IDLs, and HTTP/2, and explain why it’s faster, leaner, and smarter than traditional REST APIs. With real-world examples from cloud systems, streaming platforms, and agent backend
MCP: The Protocol That Teaches AI How to Think with Tools
In this episode of Bits and Specs, we explore the Model Context Protocol (MCP) — an emerging open standard for how AI agents discover tools, patch memory, and evolve mid-conversation. Unlike traditional plugin systems or rigid APIs, MCP defines a modular, dynamic architecture for building composable, intelligent agents that can reason, route, and adapt in real time.
We break down MCP’s core compon
TCP: The Internet’s Original Control Freak
In this episode of Bits and Specs, we go back to the protocol that built the modern internet: TCP — Transmission Control Protocol. It’s the reason your messages arrive in order, your video streams don’t collapse, and your apps (mostly) behave. From three-way handshakes and flow control to congestion avoidance and port numbers, we unpack what makes TCP the backbone of reliable communication. Plus,
Naming the Net: The DNS Spec That Runs the Internet
In this episode of Bits and Specs, we break down RFC 1035, the foundational document that defines the Domain Name System (DNS) — the protocol that turns human-friendly names like google.com into machine-routable IP addresses. We explore how DNS queries and responses work, what recursion and caching really mean, and how this 1987 spec still powers the modern internet, APIs, AI agents, and everythin
QUIC Thinking: Reinventing the Internet’s Speed Layer
n this episode of Bits and Specs, we dive into RFC 9000 — the spec behind QUIC, the modern transport protocol powering HTTP/3. Say goodbye to slow handshakes and head-of-line blocking, and hello to lightning-fast, secure connections over UDP. We break down how QUIC works, why it matters for real-time apps, mobile performance, and even LLM-powered agents. If you’ve ever streamed a video, loaded a s
Ghost in the Request: Oblivious HTTP Explained
In this episode of Bits and Specs, we pull back the curtain on RFC 9311 — the spec behind Oblivious HTTP (OHTTP). Discover how this privacy-preserving protocol hides your identity from servers, secures your LLM queries, and challenges traditional ideas of client-server communication. From gateways and encrypted payloads to the future of AI agent privacy, we make OHTTP simple, practical, and surpri
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