Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots
Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots is a podcast from the software consultancy thoughtbot about the design, development, and business of building great software. Each week the hosts talk with the people who create, maintain, and nurture the digital products we use every day. Episodes cover topics like product design, engineering practices, team culture, and running a software business. The conversations are aimed at developers, designers, and founders who care about craft and sustainable product work.
Episodes
626: “Working Side By Side With AI” with Lord Tim Clement-Jones
This guest has been a long time coming, Sami is joined on the thoughtbot couch this week by the one and only Lord Tim Clement-Jones, LibDeb Lord Spokesperson for AI and Digital.
Following on from the conversation Sami started with Lord Holmes around AI regulation; Lord Clement-Jones discusses how the AI landscape has changed since the founding of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arti
625: Sorting Through The Noise with Brandon Swalve
Chad is joined on the thoughbot couch this week by Brandon Swalve, CEO of AppSignal (when Chad is a big fan, you know it’s an app you’ve got to check out).
In this episode, they discuss what the application performance monitoring business market is like, more is always better vs simple is always better, joining AppSignal as the CEO and the surprises and shifts over the last year and a ha
624: Using AI to the MAX with Ed Woodcock
Sami is joined on the thoughbot couch this week by Ed Woodcock, Director and Consultant Developer at Bannermedia Ltd.
They discuss lowdown.today, an AI-Driven Open Intelligence platform that Ed originally developed to break down the day’s news, having now expanded to include topics from across the world.
They also explore how Ed’s programmes are designed to empower people with the intel
623: The AI Paradox: Why Consultants Are Busier Than Ever with Nate Berkopec
Sami talks with Nate Berkopec, owner of Speedshop, about a recent post he made on X and how his business manages to stay ahead of AI and LLMs.
Nate stresses the importance of prioritising quality in code in the age of AI, why your knowledge still matters if you want to get the best results from your LLM, how code review has drastically changed over the last three years, and the pair disc
622: Six Opinions Wrapped in Code with Kelli Lucas
Will is back in the host seat this week to chat to the one and only Kelli Lucas, Co-Founder & Chief Design Officer at LunarLab.
In this episode, Will and Kelli discuss, amongst many things; the push and pull relationship between designers and developers, alignment in the workplace, the love/hate relationship with Figma, how AI has affected the process of design projects, and why you
621: My twin brother responds… with Doron Birnbaum
Would you ever go into business with your family? As a follow up to last week’s episode, we’ve brought on the one and only Doron Birnbaum (twin brother of our dear Sami) to get both sides of the story about their latest business venture.
Doron takes Will and Chad through how the idea to build a tech platform that helps charities understand their data better to improve fundraising campaig
620: My Twin Brother Forced Me To Be His CTO
Would you ever go into business with your family? In this week’s episode, our hosts take on Sami’s tale of becoming the CTO of his brother’s business venture.
After the trio get into some excellent running advice, Sami reminds us of the importance of validating the product to make sure the market will actually use what you’ve built. Will reflects on the importance of a Document of Expect
619: Inside Modern Software Engineering with Homebrew’s Mike McQuaid
Sami is back this week with Mike McQuaid, CTPO and Homebrew Project Leader, as they take a deep dive into the importance of open source maintainers in modern software engineering.
With 18 years of experience reducing developer friction and scaling open source software, Mike discusses the commonalities and differences between open source and proprietary software audiences, impact of large
618: 22 Years of Bootstrapping with Jesse Mecham
Will is joined this week by personal finance expert, speaker, business leader Jesse Mecham, founder of You Need A Budget (or YNAB if you are very busy and important).
In this episode, to celebrate the release of his new book ‘Never Worry About Money Again’, Jesse dives into how YNAB came to be, from spreadsheet to the interface it is today, the trials and tribulations the business went t
617: Lexxy, Basecamp, and the Joy of Building with Jorge Marubia
Will is back in the host seat this week to chat to Jorge Marubia, Principal Programmer at 37signals, about his previous experience using Lexxy and Basecamp.
In this episode, Jorge goes into depth about BaseCamp 5, how his team got through a memory leaking situation after its launch, and Lexxy being open source, before diving into the question on everyone’s lips recently - what his though
616: What’s Really Going On with AI Data Centres with Dr. Victoria Plutshack
Sami is back this week with Gender, Climate and Energy Specialist Dr. Victoria Plutshack, as they dive into what’s really going on with AI Data Centres in Scotland and the UK.
Make sure you’ve popped your kettles on as Victoria discusses the impact of large data centres on both the environment and women in the workplace, whether it’s possible to use AI and have the data centres source th
615: Harvey AI and the Future of Law
Our host Sami is joined this week by Joe Cohen, Legal Innovation Partner at Harvey AI, to discuss the use of AI within the legal and professional services, and how it could impact the speed, quality and efficiency of lawyers doing legal work.
Joe dives into his career journey, Harvey AI’s adoption rate success within law firms, what the future career growth could look like for Junior Par
614: AI Code Audits
Our hosts Chad and Sami team up this week to discuss AI code bases and whether they can be built to be developer friendly and with best practices in mind.
After a brief chat about the World Cup (and how it may affect the June thoughtbot event in London!) Sami dives into a recent code audit he did on a base that was built with AI using Spec Driven Development. Chad covers security concern
613: Preserving Companies and Design with Andy Budd
Chad talks with guest Andy Budd, Design Leadership Coach & Venture Partner at Seedcamp, as they look back over Andy’s time at Clearleft, the company he co-founded back in 2005.
Andy discusses employee trust ownership, how it both benefits and protects your employees, and has the potential to keep your business going for generations to come rather than living and dying by the founders
612: Do fish drink?
Chad shares a recent pivot in ReadySetGo’s development, where they see the app entering a founder’s development and what they’re doing to ensure a wide set of features for all users.
Our hosts also pick apart the impact of AI on developers, how valuable is speed when working with AI, is it still a good measure of success when coding, and Sami takes a moment to ask the all knowing ChadGP
611: Magic is the right word, with Brennan Dunn
Chad talks with a returning guest from the early days of the show, Brennan Dunn, founder of RightMessage. Featuring nearly 600 episodes ago on episode 18 of Giant Robots, Brennan is back to talk about how things have changed for him since his first appearance in 2012.
Brennan reflects on working as a contractor and growing to become a company of one, why the scaling size of a business do
610: It’s Okay Not to Use AI
Sami swims against the tide of AI with Emma Barnes, CEO of Consonance, as they examine the more controversial idea of being anti-AI.
Emma explains why her publishing business is anti-AI and the benefits of coding for yourself, how AI is having a negative impact on different aspects of our daily lives, why big corporations are hyping it up so much, and Sami asks what is it about AI that
609: Pennylane is in my ears
Sami talks with Quentin de Metz, Co-Founder and CTO of Pennylane, about the journey of building a startup into an established company.
Quentin provides his unique perspective of what it’s like to be a founder with an engineering background, the rapid growth he experienced with Pennylane and the lessons that shape how he now runs the company, and their cautious approach to incorporating
608: Project Updates with Will, Chad and Sami
Our hosts provide a peek behind the scenes as they discuss their work on recent thoughtbot projects.
Chad covers the progress being made on thoughtbot’s new “Ready Set Go” app, the hurdles they’ve encountered so far in development, and the things it needs to achieve in order to compete in it’s field effectively.
Will reflects on a week long project with a non-technical founder and exam
607: Applying the Efficiency of Credit Cards to the Healthcare Industry with Raja Rajamannar
Chad talks with Raja Rajamannar about how he reimagined marketing and strategy at Mastercard.
Raja explains how he connected the dots between credit cards and healthcare, convincing the board to take a risk on something new in the process, how Mastercard leverages AI with their clients and marketing to stay on top of their brand and competitors, as well as highlighting the mistakes bi
606: AI layoffs are BS
Chad, Sami and Will bring a growing issue to the forefront as they discuss whether AI really is to blame for recent industry layoffs.
Our trio examine how AI is being used as a smokescreen for layoffs, how larger companies view AI and their increasing over reliance on it, and Sami provides a real world example of vibe coding to highlight the issues and unreliability of AI code.
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You
605: AI: It doesn't have to be this way with Lord Chris Holmes
Sami talks with Lord Chris Holmes, Peer of the UK House of Lords, about the increasing need for AI legislation in the UK.
Lord Holmes discusses his efforts to pass his AI Regulation Bill, why it’s taking longer than expected, what we could expect to see happen if we continue to leave AI unchecked, and what differences we can expect to see in AI moving forward.
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If you live in the UK a
604: Driving change and delivery with British Business Bank
Sami talks with Taylor Spencer, Investment Delivery Director, Change & Innovation for British Business Bank, about driving change within a business.
Taylor breaks down the best ways of handling change fatigue and resistance within a business, how and why it impacts his work with British Business Bank, the unique challenges of growth and development they face as a result and the solut
603: The product we are going to build
Sami makes his triumphant return to the Giant Robots Smashing into other Giant Robots Podcast as he and his fellow hosts discuss a brand new tool currently in pre-production at thoughtbot.
Chad lays out his idea for the tool, how he thinks it will differ from other similar products currently available, who it’s for and the considerations needed going in to make it as accessible as possib
602: Understanding the Impact with Jason Stadther
Chad talks with Jason Stadther, director of engineering at TrueCar, about striking the right balance with AI in programming and its overall impact on the industry now and in the future.
Together they discuss the impact AI is currently having on junior developers and the potential impact it’s having on their career prospects, what happens to AI when it doesn’t have a reference for newl
601: The thing that makes us human
Chad and Will examine the ever expanding AI bubble and ponder on what we can expect it to see evolve in the coming years.
Our hosts discuss how they strike a balance with AI as they break down their current stacks and workflows, what will be left in the wake of the bubble’s collapse, and just where do Chad and Will draw the line with AI as they debate the ethics around it’s use.
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You
600: The Special One
Celebrate Giant Robots’ 600th episode in style as Sami pulls together thoughtbot staff old and new to celebrate this monumental milestone.
Sami shines a light on his colleagues at thoughtbot and the history of the show, reflecting on how far they’ve all come and what makes thoughtbot feel so special, before putting his guests in the hot seat with some hard hitting trivia that only ano
599: Be Bold
Chad and Will start the new year off right by discussing their aspirations for 2026.
Chad discusses this year’s theme for the company of being bold and how having a clear vision keeps thoughtbot on track, the pair discuss how they plan to rise up to the challenge of being bold in their work, and Will seeks some advice on a project he’s been looking to pursue.
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Once you’re done wi
598: Animals and AI Accounting with Sam Landsberg
Sami talks with Sam Landsberg, head of sales at Light, about the wide world of fintech and how they’re working to simplify accounting software for businesses big and small.
Sam lays out his journey into the world of fintech and how he came to work with Light, the way they utilise AI with clients to condense the human element of accounting, and Sami challenges Sam’s knowledge of animals w
597: Say Yes with Nick Merwin
Chad talks with developer and guitarist Nick Merwin about the challenges of balancing his career in development with his life as a musician.
Nick tells of his time delivering code on the road as a guitarist with the band Capital Cities, the pros and cons of working as a solo programmer, what he’s learnt from saying yes for so many years, and Chad asks whether AI is diluting the art of
596: Building Bridges Between Brands and Creators: The Story of Sheer
Sami revisits his time on a recent project for Sheer as he talks with it’s CTO and founder Mads Ulrik Svendsen about the ever evolving and creative world of influencers.
Mads talks about the story of Sheer, how they’re helping influencers maximise their potential and creativity, where they expect to see change in the industry over the coming years, the desire for authenticity in a world
595: Projects in Progress and Nature’s Ultimate Sacrifice
Sami, Chad and Will share the projects they’ve been working on at thoughtbot recently and how they adapt to new systems they’re unfamiliar with.
Sami shares his recent horror at the animal kingdom and how he might be getting into crypto, Chad reveals how he invests his time into thoughtbot whilst also managing to stay on top trending tech, and the group discuss best practices for deali
594: AI is Draining with Pablo Curell
Sami assesses the long term viability of AI with Pablo Curell, software developer at Recovr, as they break down the hype and logistics that surround the popular tool.
The pair examine why it’s still important you learn to code, what AI’s best use cases are now and what they could be in the future, what a successful AI product actually looks like on the back end, as well as the ever grow
593: Recent Discoveries: From MCP servers to video game heartbreak
Chad and Sami share some learning moments with one another as they discuss the recent projects they’ve been working on at thoughtbot.
The pair question how much time and effort we should be investing into a problem with AI vs the outcome we receive, their work and experimentation with MCP servers, Sami shares his big bid on AI to save some time, while Chad tells the tragic tale of why he
592: Utopia or Dystopia: Why the Future of AI and XR Is Still Ours to Shape with Don Shin
Sami talks with Don Shin, CEO of CrossComm, about which direction humanity is heading as the landscape of AI technology continues to shift and evolve.
Together they assess the correlation between language and intelligence, the importance of human connection, as well as the growing responsibility we have in managing AI to prevent a potential dystopia.
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You can connect with Don on Link
591: Redefining Women's Health: Beyond the Traditional View with Amani Bright and Julia Lasater
Will talks with Amani Bright, senior program manager at Springboard, and Julia Lasater, consulting senior at Accenture, about the state of women’s health and their efforts to increase visibility for all women who enter the health care system.
They cover their recent work on the state of women’s health report, shining a light on the neglected areas within women’s health, the barriers wome
590: Making AI work for users with Louis Gutierrez
Chad talks with Louis Gutierrez, Director of AI at Constant Contact, about the various challenges of implementing AI into a product or business.
Louis discusses his strategy to improve AI integration upon joining Constant Contact, how they address the issue of ethics and AI, as well as providing a technical look at how they evaluate the quality of their products without violating user
589: Behind the Scenes at thoughtbot - Our work setups
The Giant Robots trio are back as they sit down at their desks to discuss their home setups for thoughtbot.
Together they break down each core aspect of their office environment and why they chose the things they did, why future proofing and getting your setup just right is important, Sami learns all about teleprompters, while Chad spills the beans on a guilty secret he’s kept for far to
588: When a designer meets a developer with Jeremy Blaze
Sami faces his fear of program designers by talking with Jeremy Blaze, Founder & Design Lead at Never Before Seen.
Together they ask the question of whether their roles as developer and designer are slowly become one, how to rediscover the challenge of working on code when AI can do so much heavy lifting, as well as grappling with the idea of a therapeutic AI.
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Connect with Jerem
587: How to go viral with Michael Praetorius
Sami looks to go viral as he discusses digital marketing with Michael Praetorius, Founder of Praetorius.
Together they examine the roots of marketing and how it’s focus and tactics have shifted over time, the secrets social media analytics hold and how the information is used, and Sami takes notes as Michael relives his personal experience of creating a viral video.
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Connect with Mi
586: What is your self-age? with Leanne Clark-Shirley
Chad discusses the changing world of AgeTech with Leanne Clark-Shirley, President and CEO of the American Society on Aging, as they break down how age really has just become a number.
They discuss the growing irrelevancy of the “AgeTech” label and how it’s use case is shifting to benefit everyone, how generational boundaries mean less when it comes to tech knowledge, and the unrealised
585: Teachable Moments
The host of Giant Robots are back to impart some wisdom as they share some notable failures from their careers and the teachable moments that emerged from them.
Discover what went wrong for Sami when he put his trust in AI, the survey that shifted the way Will thinks about others, Chad’s mistake with thoughtbot’s first major client and the lessons they all learnt along the way.
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584: When AI Meets Healthcare and Buddhism with Jan Kroschinski
Sami assesses the way AI is driving change within the global healthcare system and big pharma with Jan Kroschinski, founder of Singularity Ventures.
Jan touches on the changes we can expect to see to the delivery of healthcare over the next few decades, what it’s like to work as a freelancer within the sector, as well as discussing the wider implications of AI’s growth and development b
583: Solid Queue with Rosa Gutierrez from 37Signals
Sami goes behind the scenes of Ruby on Rails with Rosa Gutierrez, principle programer at 37Signals, to discover what its like to work on one of the most widely used frameworks out there.
Rosa breaks down how the team at 37Signals work and implement new tools for Ruby, the challenges of working remotely, as well as the current practical use of AI within the development space and how we ca
582: Product market fit is the hardest thing with Jon Gamble
Chad dives into a different kind of development with Jon Gamble, CTO of Fordje, as they talk all things city code and construction.
Jon breakdowns the different types of construction Fordje covers and the clients they aim to serve, the reality of building a new starter business with a such a small team, the value of trust and communication when developing such a business, and how being t
581: Crafting Community & Code: Henrique Cardoso on Euruko 2025 & BSPK
Sami talks with Henrique Cardoso about his unified commerce platform BSPK and the challenges of organising a large scale developer conference.
Henrique talks in depth about the bespoke nature of BSPK and how it differs from other CRM tools, how they went about unifying all the major commerce platforms to fit under one platform, as well as the hurdles he faced when tasked with re-enga
580: Taking the complexity out of toddler's nutrition with Kay Lim
Will gets to grips with nutrition as he talks with Kay Lim, founder of Heartful Sprout, about the importance of feeding our kids right.
Kay relives her journey of moving to the US, learning a whole new language from scratch and how becoming a new mom far from home sparked the idea for Heartful Sprout.
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Interested in giving your children the best start to food? Why not check out Heart
579: Products you don't want to build with Sami and Chad
Chad and Sami get creative as they discuss the product ideas they would potentially like to develop.
Sami lays out his plan to rejuvenate the queuing system at theme parks, Chad has a bone to pick with his CRM tool, and the pair breakdown why success for a new business is not always as black and white as it might seem.
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You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel and Sami throu
578: We need to understand how it works with Luisa Herrmann
Chad and Luisa Herrmann, founder of AINovva, sit down and attempt to demystify the “magic” of AI.
Luisa lays out the ramifications of working with AI on a daily basis, why it’s a tool that shouldn't be utilised just because you can, the bias built into every AI system, as well as the ever expanding AI bubble and what the final outcome of its rapid growth could look like down the road.
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577: Driving Innovation: Jack Burrows on Cars, Tech, and the Future of Carwow
It’s time to start your engines as Sami talks with Jack Burrows, product director at CarWow, about the tricky world of buying and selling cars.
Jack covers the significant change CarWow has seen since he started with the company, the challenges they faced in order to keep up with the competition, and the importance of developing a platform that serves everyone in the buying and selling
576: I never get bored with John Nunemaker
Chad catches up with John Nunemaker, self-employed programer on a plethora of products, about all things technical to gain insight into life as a self-employed developer.
The pair share their experiences as rail devs and what keeps them using Ruby, John’s journey to success, his recent acquisition of Fireside (the podcast platform that hosts this very podcast!) and the lessons he learnt
575: I might have to get dressed for these with Chad, Sami and Will
The Giant Robots hosts are back together for more off the wall discussion about construction, movies and a special announcement!
Find out what big purchase Sami made through the company during the last UK heatwave, why Chad has a listing on IMDB, and our three hosts turn film critics as they share thoughts on their favourite films.
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If you haven’t already, be sure to check out thought
574: Developer Life After Design Systems with Kathryn Grayson Nanz
Will talks with Kathryn Grayson Nanz, Senior Designer and Developer Advocate at Progress, about the influence and power design can have when developing new software.
Kathryn breaks down what it means to be a designer advocate and the role it plays within software development, the importance of design systems, designing for accessibility and knowing when to ask the right questions at th
573: Mocking the Future: Tom Akehurst on WireMock and API Testing
Sami talks with Tom Akehurst, Co-Founder of WireMock, about the delay and disconnect between front and back end development and how WireMock set out to bridge the two together.
Tom explains how his time working for Disney paved the way for WireMock, the different processes of mocking and testing APIs, and provides some useful advice on how to improve your testing process as a whole.
Sa
572: Close To Your Customers with Sarah Merlin
Chad talks with Sarah Merlin of IndiMade about what goes into revitalising an e-commerce platform and how they’re staying true to their customers.
Discover the challenges involved with such a big migration and the efforts needed to bring it into the modern day, the importance of communication with your team at all times, as well as well as the core values they work to in order to deliv
571: Space, Software, and Surprises with Rémy Hannequin
Sami and fellow thoughtboter Rémy look to the stars as they talk all things astronomical.
Learn about Rémy’s new open source gem Astonoby that plots the coordinates of objects in space, the hidden inventions developed as humans looked to the stars and listen as the pair theorise whether there truly is other life in the universe.
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If you’re enthusiastic about space and want to try out
570: Rolling for Initiative with Chad, Will and Sami
Chad, Will and Sami discuss life outside of thoughtbot and the hobbies that occupy them in their down time.
Sami talks about taking the cold plunge, Will about his recent efforts with running, before Chad takes his co-hosts down the rabbit hole that is Dungeons and Dragons.
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Watch the trailer for Chad’s upcoming production Thresher, a collaboration between his production company 12
569: Automation is king with Karen King
Chad talks with Karen King, Found of Gold Star Pro, and her drive to help small business owners reach their full potential.
Karen talks about the all-inclusive space Gold Star Pro offers for solopreneurs, the automation behind it all, as well as balancing a life of world travel with running a successful business.
Since this episode was recorded, Karen's business platform Gold Star
568: What does Carbon even mean? With Polly and Otto from True
Sami goes back to school as he asks Otto Terrell and Polly Gupta, head of sustainability and sustainability strategist at True, the key questions around the environmental buzz words of 2025.
Sami finds out the differences between carbon neutral and net zero, why the big corporations have been so slow to adopt a sustainable model, and how true is working with companies to forge a clear pa
567: The Future of Digital Health: Where Are We Headed with Steven Wardell
Sami talks with Steven Wardell, managing partner of Wardell Advisors LLC, about the lacking tech developments within the healthcare sector.
Together they assess why digital health products have failed to maintain the same pace as other consumer technology, the difficulties and regulations involved when develop technology for the health sector and whether AI could finally bridge the gap
566: Staying Grounded and Product Innovation with Tanu Chellam
Sami chats with Tanu Chellam, Senior Vice President of Product at Seldon and Chairperson of the Board at Atlas Rosetta, about her journey and career in the world of products.
Tanu covers her journey from start to finish, from building websites as a teenager and her dreams of travelling, all the way through to her time at AutoDesk where she was instrumental in scaling one of their large
565: Coding Journeys with Will and Sami
Ever wondered how our Giant Robots hosts got into programming in the first place? In today’s episode Sami and Will take some time to dive into their coding journeys and the lessons they learnt along the way.
Hear about their ambitions growing up and where they thought they were headed, the motivation, drive and hurdles they overcame to get to where they are today and how impostor syndr
564: Making humans more valuable, not less with Andrei Oprisan
Chad talks with Andrei Oprisan, head of engineering at Agent.AI, about his new approach to making AI tools and agents accessible to everyone.
Hear how the community are helping to shape and build on Agent.AI in ways the team never thought of, the road blocks of developing such an accessible market place, and the desire to make every AI agent as easy to use for as many people as possi
563: Next-Gen Aging: The Venture Capital Perspective with James Hueston
Sami is joined by James Hueston, venture investor at Primetime Partners, as they discuss technology’s failure to connect with the older generation.
James explains how technology aimed at older people is often not fit for purpose, how the investment process for new startups is currently swamped with the same AI ideas, and Sami explores the idea of how AI can help improve loneliness in our
562: The evolution of design sprints with Dawn Delatte and Elaina Natario
Chad talks with fellow thoughtboters Dawn Delatte and Elaina Natario about the evolution of design sprints within the company.
Listen to how design sprints helped shape and streamline the discovery stage of work with clients, how it helps route out what should and shouldn’t be done in a project, as well as the way thoughtbot has tweaked the formula over the years to build their own playb
561: The One with Chad, Will, and Sami
thoughtbot hosts Chad, Will and Sami shoot the breeze in this laid back episode of Giant Robots as they discuss the ins and outs of being a parent and growing up with tech.
The trio discuss how they manage screen-time with their kids as well as themselves, Sami’s internal HTTP coding for his children’s temper tantrums, and other challenges of bringing up their kids in the digital age.
560: Simplifying the Immigration Journey with Matt Gale
Chad is joined by Matt Gale, Chief Strategy Officer for Lawfully, as they talk about the immigration process in the US and how Lawfully is helping both individuals and businesses track applications on the road to becoming US citizens.
Matt explains the challenges of having an app that sees users leave once their the immigration application is complete, how they’ve expanded to help more
559: The European Accessibility Act: Are You Ready for 2025?
Sami and Rémy are back as your hots as they talk with fellow thoughtbot colleague Caro Sotillo Silva about new EU accessibility laws coming into effect later this year.
Together they discuss the importance of keeping accessibility at the forefront of every project you work on, why you should be testing your code on a wide range of systems and not just the major OS, as well as a few tips
558: Using AI to Bring Transparency to City Government with Vikram Oberoi
Chad talks with NYC local Vikram Oberoi about how he used AI to breakdown local city meetings into accessible bitesize chunks.
Learn how Vikram tamed New York’s public records with AI, the lengthy review process involved to make it all and why his model is so well suited to NYC council proceedings in particular.
Vikram also discusses the project’s path to sustainability and the diffi
557: AI from Automation to Transformation with Andrew Rashbass
Sami talks with Andrew Rashbass, Chairman and Co-Founder of ScultureAI, about the uses of LLMs and where AI is taking us as a society.
Learn about Andrew’s 35 year long journey with AI (yes that long), the differing views and reliability Sami and Andrew have of LLMs and wade into the discussion with them over whether AI is creating a more fulfilling life for humans, or a disaster waiting
556: Connecting Generations with Kinsome
Chad talks with Eben Pingree and Mike Gerbush, Co-Founders of Kinsome, about the struggles of family connection in the modern world and how they’re bringing generations together again.
They discuss the importance of having a close family unit, the difficulties families often face with having relatives being spread out state to state, and how Kinsome works to facilitate daily connections
555: AI Meets LEGO® Creativity with Keira Czarnota
Chad is joined for a special interview by Keira Czarnota, founder of Emagineer, as they talk all about their recent collaboration on a new AI powered LEGO® app.
Listen to Keira’s incredible journey, the challenges they faced with early AI models, why LEGO® was so keen to support their project and how thoughtbot was brought in to help.
This episode is a unique crossover event between
554: Founding a Life Saving Business from your dorm room with Luká Yancopoulos
Luká Yancopoulos, Co-Founder and CEO of Grapevine, reveals to Chad how he and his team are working to revolutionise the hospital supply chain system. Luká discusses the difficulties of building such a service and the pushback they’ve received by entering such a large and established sector that’s so resistant to change.
Learn how Luká’s concern for his mom’s health at work during the pa
553: The One with Sami and Chad
After 10 years and 550 episodes of Giant Robots, Chad and Sami are ready to discuss what’s next for the podcast. The pair dive into some podcast role-play as they test out some ideas for iterating the show’s formula.
Peek behind the curtain as they discuss the inner workings of the show, the challenges of working on a mature codebase, how thoughtbot tackles impostor syndrome when onboard
552: Scaling an Online Telehealth Experience with Aakash Shah
Chad talks with Aakash Shah, Founder and CEO of Wyndly, about how he built a new online telehealth experience to expand convenient access to allergy immunotherapy. The pair discuss the mechanics of building an online healthcare operation from scratch, the challenges that arise as you begin to scale your business, and how Aakash utilised his past experience as a software engineer to suppor
551: System Design is a Team Sport with Tom Johnson
If system design is a team sport, then you need to make sure that your team has the tools they need to work together. In this episode, entrepreneur, CTO, and co-founder Tom Johnson joins us to discuss Multiplayer, a collaborative tool streamlining system design and documentation for developers. Multiplayer is often likened to “Figma for developers,” as it allows teams to map, document, an
550: Disrupting and Democratizing Private Chefs with Iyabo Bello
What if booking a private chef was as easy as ordering an Uber? Iyabo Bello is a serial founder and entrepreneur, best known for iKooK, an app connecting private chefs to their target audience. Join us as she shares the unlikely story of how she came up with the idea to start iKooK after working in fashion design and food science. We get into the weeds with the premise of the app, how it
549: Scaling Startups and AI-Powered Real Estate with Chris Fellows
How do you build a tool that redefines the real estate game for agents and brokers? Today on the show, host Chad Pytel sits down with Chris Fellows, founder and CEO of Bold Street, to explore how his AI-powered platform is reshaping residential investment for real estate professionals. Originally focused on data analytics for big investors, Bold Street pivoted after the Great Recession to
548: Product Management vs Project Management with Bethan Ashley
What if, instead of asking how to integrate AI into your product, the question was, should you? During this episode, Jared Turner and Sami Birnbaum interview Senior Product Manager at thoughtbot and Founderland Startup Mentor, Bethan Ashley, who shares her insights and advice on how and when to leverage AI tooling. Sharing her career journey leading up to this point, Bethan makes the key
547: Fight better using AI with CJ Tayeh
Could our inability to agree be holding us back from achieving meaningful social progress? What if AI could help us "fight better,” not by winning arguments but by resolving conflicts in ways that benefit our communities, businesses, and relationships? Flank’s innovative technology offers just that: a smarter, more empathetic approach to conflict resolution that could transform how we eng
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