Chats with Kent C. Dodds

Shruti Kapoor, a frontend engineer at Slack and an Epic Web instructor, joins Kent to dive into the intricacies of accessibility in web development. With over a decade of experience, Shruti has dedicated herself to educating developers on building accessible and inclusive applications. Her Epic WebConf talk, "Building Accessible Web Apps," will focus on real-world accessibility challenges, showcas...

Eva Ferreira, a frontend engineer, educator, and design systems expert, shares insights into what makes or breaks a design system. As a tech lead at Mable and a long-time web development instructor, Eva brings years of experience building UI components, optimizing accessibility, and implementing robust frontend architectures. Her talk at Epic WebConf, "Bulletproof Design Systems," dives into the b...

Eve Porcello, an experienced educator and speaker, shares her insights on AI-powered presentation tools and communication skills for developers. With years of experience teaching JavaScript, React, and GraphQL, Eve now focuses on how AI can assist in learning, teaching, and public speaking. Her Epic WebConf talk, co-presented with Kira Corbett, explores the development of an AI assistant to enhanc...

Jared Forsyth, a front-end infrastructure engineer at Khan Academy, shares insights into type inference and programming language design. With nearly a decade of experience working with React and React Native, Jared has a deep appreciation for tooling and developer experience. His Epic WebConf talk, "Hindley and Milner Walk Into a Bar," will break down type inference algorithms and how they improve...

Madison Kanna, a full-stack developer and community builder, shares her insights on the importance of learning out loud and building an authentic personal brand. In her Epic WebConf talk, “Why You Should Learn Out Loud in 2025,” Madison emphasizes the growing need to differentiate yourself in an AI-driven world by sharing your work and building genuine connections. She discusses her experiences as...

Leah Thompson, known online as LeahTCodes, shares her experience as a career switcher and how live streaming on Twitch became a vital part of her career journey. Leah explains how streaming not only helped her connect with others in tech but also directly led to job opportunities. Her talk at Epic WebConf will explore the unique value of Twitch for building professional relationships and standing...

Dax Raad, known for his work on SST and the creator of OpenAuth, shares his passion for improving the developer experience with authentication and infrastructure. OpenAuth offers developers an alternative to AWS Cognito, enabling self-owned, spec-compliant OAuth systems that are easy to deploy and maintain. In this episode, Dax talks about: The problems with AWS Cognito and the motivation behind O...

Brooks Lybrand, Developer Relations Manager for Remix at Shopify, joins Kent to explore the impact of React 19 on React Router and modern web development. In his talk "What React 19 Means for React Router," Brooks will highlight React 19's integration with server components, web component support, and simplified APIs for meta tags, links, and more. These updates promise to enhance developer experi...

Alex Anderson, a local Salt Lake City developer and creator of the spaceship simulation game Thorium Nova, shares his passion for pushing the limits of web technologies. Alex previews his Epic WebConf talk, "The Weird Web," which showcases creative uses of web APIs such as the GamePad API, Web Serial API, and Web Audio API. These tools allow developers to build interactive, user-friendly, and imme...

Devon Neill, a software developer and solopreneur from Cape Town, South Africa, shares his experience navigating solopreneurship, including learning the ropes of marketing, user engagement, and copywriting. Devon highlights the importance of streamlining development workflows with AI tools and introduces his Epic WebConf talk. His talk explores diving into the AI hype, comparing various tools, and...

Joel Hooks, a seasoned software developer and co-organizer of Epic WebConf, delves into his experience building personalized AI workflows. Joel introduces his talk on constructing a “hoard of AI minions” to enhance productivity and automation, using his app JoelFit.app as a case study. The app integrates AI routers and workflows for managing health and fitness goals, demonstrating how developers c...

Bree Hall, a frontend software engineer and developer advocate at HubSpot, emphasizes the role of creativity in coding and professional growth. Bree discusses how personal projects like CSS art, including her recreation of a Nintendo Switch, help her stay inspired and improve her technical skills. She and Kent reflect on the unique value of in-person conferences for building professional and perso...

Kent introduces a new season of the "Chats with Kent" podcast, which will feature interviews with speakers for the upcoming Epic Web Comp 2025 conference in Salt Lake City. The host, Kent C. Dodds, expresses excitement about the lineup of speakers and encourages listeners to attend the conference in March 2025. He also mentions that the talks will be available on the EpicWeb.dev platform for those...

In this final episode of season five, Kent C. Dodds recaps the enriching conversations with the speakers of Epic WebConf 2024, expressing gratitude and excitement for the upcoming event in April. He encourages listeners, whether planning to attend the conference or not, to revisit the season's episodes for timeless web development advice. While season six remains unplanned, Kent thanks his audienc...

In this episode, Kent C. Dodds interviews Dan Farrelly, the CTO and co-founder of Jest, about his journey from front-end engineer to CTO, the challenges of scaling a tech company, and the importance of staying small to maintain agility and innovation. Farrelly shares insights into the evolving challenges of a tech team, from infrastructure to front-end development, and emphasizes the value of a ge...

In this podcast, Zeno Rocha, open-source advocate and founder of Resend, joins host Kent to discuss the dynamic world of web development and the shift towards SDK-first strategies. They reflect on the evolution of developer tools and the significance of user experience in product development. Rocha and Kent stress the necessity of high standards to stand out in web development, and they also touch...

In the podcast, Simon, an advocate for Tailwind CSS, shares his insights on its impact on web development and design. Tailwind CSS serves as a facilitator between design and development teams, streamlining collaborations and enabling quick translation of design concepts into code. He highlights how it enhances learning, boosts efficiency, and, despite some tradeoffs, provides significant workflow...

In this episode, host Kent and Madison Kanna, the upcoming MC for Epic WebConf, discuss the benefits of attending conferences like Epic WebConf beyond just the informational content. They delve into how conferences can be a goldmine for networking, transforming online contacts into real-world connections. Madison explains her path and how initiatives such as her Sunday book club can cultivate comm...

In this episode, Tyler Benfield, a staff software engineer at Prisma, joins Kent to explore the world of databases and their critical role in full-stack development. Tyler shares insights from his journey from front-end development to mastering database performance and optimization, while also touching on the trend of front-end developers upskilling to become full-stack, leveraging languages like...

In the podcast episode featuring Sunil Pai, a former member of the React.js core team and developer at Cloudflare, the focus is on PartyKit, his new project set to transform real-time application development. PartyKit introduces features like real-time updates and server-rendering, aimed at facilitating the creation of dynamic, chat-GPT-like AI experiences. Sunil intends to showcase real-time apps...

In a conversation with Kent, Una, an expert in UI and a presenter at the upcoming EpicWebConf, delves into the dynamic world of modern web development. She underscores the importance of keeping up with the advances in UI capabilities and CSS, the shift towards more declarative techniques, and the necessity of adapting to new web standards. Una champions the vital role of community input in shaping...

In the latest podcast, Glauber Costa, CEO of Turso and an ex-Red Hat contributor, speaks with Kent about the often overlooked yet robust SQLite database technology. Sharing their personal experiences with SQLite, they discuss its functionality, suitability in production, and the importance of version control in document evolution. Costa encourages developers to recognize SQLite's potential and loo...

In the podcast hosted by Kent C. Dodds, Michael Chan, celebrated as Chantastic, shares his insights on the evolution of web development and the critical role of design systems. He discusses how design systems should evolve with product development, the importance of documentation, and the dynamic nature of design systems contrary to the belief that they are static. Michael advocates for the empowe...

In a conversation with Kent, Ryan Florence, co-creator of Remix and React Router, discusses how web development and user experience intersect, and the impact of personal interaction at events like the upcoming Epic WebConf. He updates listeners on the Remix singles project, which integrates extensive open-source work with his business ventures, and tackles the complexities developers face when mer...

In a thought-provoking dialogue, Front-end Engineer Sandrina Pereira explores the importance of web accessibility and how remote work is shaping the future of the tech industry. She discusses her role in crafting server-side validations for forms and her company's initiative to formalize a web accessibility statement, underscoring Remote.com's commitment to standards and improvement. Pereira also...