Jonathan Wold & Luke Carbis

Crossword

Perspectives on WordPress and the Open Web.

Author

Jonathan Wold & Luke Carbis

Category

Technology

Podcast website

crossword.fm

Latest episode

Jul 10, 2026

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Episodes

More Acquisitions 17.08.2021

We're back, baby! Luke and Jonathan discuss the recent Yoast acquisition, and compare it with ACF's new home.

Tavern Buffet 06.05.2021

Luke and Jonathan catch up after an unplanned hiatus and jump right into enjoying the WP Tavern buffet.

The WordPress Guy 13.04.2021

Kicking off with Season 4, Jonathan and Luke chat about the new Wix ad campaign. Then, they disagree about the future of comments in WordPress.

Perspectives with Andrea Middleton 05.02.2021

Andrea Middleton is a Community Organizer for the WordPress project. She shares how she first got involved with WordPress and how she ended up working with Community. We cover WordCamps, Meetups, COVID-19, and what it all might mean for the future of WordPress and the WordPress Community.

Singing a Different Tune 04.02.2021

We wrap up Season #3 with some poignant reflections, then jump into our favorite topic for the moment: Full Site Editing. Luke changes his mind and Jonathan is looking forward to Season #4.

Full Site Editing? 27.01.2021

Jonathan and Luke discuss the recently published timeline for Full Site Editing, and compare it to the rollout of Gutenberg. Also in this episode: GameStonk and Clubhouse.

An American Web 15.01.2021

Recent events have called into question our Open Web idealism. Should we have an outlet valve for some of the worst of the web? How should the Web be legislated and policed? Should it be possible to access illegal content? And importantly… what role does Open Source have in all of this?

Motivations 07.01.2021

We discuss WordPress.com and their recent announcement of a "website building service." Luke thinks it's a bad idea and questions Automattic's intentions. Jonathan tries to take his Automattic hat off and share his perspective.

Perspectives with Kent Bye 22.12.2020

Kent is a philosopher, oral historian, experiential journalist, and the host of the Voices of VR podcast. He joins Luke and Jonathan to chat about WordPress and what the web might look like 10 years from now, reimagining the 2D browser window as a 3D canvas. You can find Kent Bye on: VoicesOfVR.com Twitter Patreon

Themes Again 17.12.2020

It seems we just can't get away from talking about Full Site Editing. In this episode, Luke and Jonathan announce the first Crossword livestream, as well as theme quirks in Twenty Twenty One and the Customizer.

WordPress in Space 08.12.2020

Live coverage of the WordPress 5.6 launch! Luke and Jonathan discuss their willingness to press that Update button, then shift track to explore what it might be like to apply the constraints of time and space to the Web.

Themes in Twenty Twenty 02.12.2020

We talk about weather and wine, then jump into themes. Why is it still so hard to choose a theme? What are we using for our own projects now? What might themes look like in a year?

Perspectives with Francesca Marano 30.11.2020

Francesca leads the WordPress Core Team at Yoast, and is serving as an advisor for the all women / non-binary all-star team behind WordPress 5.6. Francesca shares her WordPress journey thus far, especially in the realm of contributing to core, and we dive into topics such as open-source organizational structures, selfish vs. selfless contributions, gatekeeping or siloing in the project, and her vi...

Jam Session 24.11.2020

We talk about our recent experiences with the Plugin Review Team and postulate about the next 10 years of WordPress and the web.

Full Site Editing 18.11.2020

We discuss the current state of full site editing and our uncertainty about what happens next. We bring up headless, brainless, and the opportunity for more vertically focused businesses built on WordPress.

What if Gutenberg never happened? 10.11.2020

Someplace, in an alternate timeline, our beloved WordPress editor never received its most controversial update. In a parallel universe Gutenberg never happened, and the WordPress editor is still "Word in a box". In this episode, Jonathan and Luke consider what life would be like for the poor souls who live there.

Virtually Virtual 06.11.2020

What happens to the WordPress community without in-person WordCamps? Jonathan and Luke reflect on their virtual event experiences to-date, and imagine what that experience might look like a year from now.

Warm Up 28.10.2020

In a frazzled restart to the show, Luke and Jonathan lament the complexities of podcasting setups, discuss the state of virtual WordCamps and meetups, then discuss the WordPress 5.6 release.

Perspectives with Peter Saint-Andre 10.09.2020

Peter Saint-Andre works on Strategic Partnerships at Mozilla. He shares his perspective on WordPress and what "Open Web" means. We talk about creativity and accessibility, risks and opportunities for both WordPress and the Open Web, the importance of democratizing commerce, and the role of community. Also, Peter shares a personal story about Matt.

Acquisitions and Ecosystems 07.09.2020

We discuss the acquisition of Restrict Content Pro by iThemes, the ecosystems being built by WP Engine, GoDaddy, and Liquid Web, and our sense that no one is doing it well - yet.

Blank Canvas 01.09.2020

WordPress is our go-to tool for building new sites, in part because it doesn't restrict creative expression. Even if that means we can publish horrid designs. In this episode, we discuss the idea of an ugly web, and whether the future of WordPress will make the web more self-same, or even uglier?

Perspectives with Marieke van de Rakt 28.08.2020

Marieke van de Rakt, CEO of Yoast joins the discussion. We talk about Yoast, advertising mistakes, growing a plugin business, and the opportunity for a WordPress "App Store".

WordPress™ 24.08.2020

We talk about the recent controversy over the WordPress app in iOS. Luke expresses his frustration about Automattic's ownership of the app and we discuss the challenges of contributing to funded "Open Source" projects.

Enforcing Directory “Guidelines” 17.08.2020

episo

Perspectives with Ryan Singer 13.08.2020

Ryan Singer, Head of Strategy at Basecamp, joins us to talk about his book, Shape Up . Luke loves the book. Jonathan, apparently, has a "problem" with it. Ryan shares his perspective on WordPress and we discuss how the concept of shaping could work for the WordPress project.

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