The Databased Podcast

On the third episode of this season of Databased, Jamie and James cover the unglamorous but critical topic of incident response. Incidents are inevitable and part of maturing as a company is creating systems that let you respond to them well and act quickly.2:13: The boring stuff: What are SEV levels, IMOCs, and TLOCs?12:51: The five stages of incident response17:30: AI's role in triage assist...

We believe that good design can only be learned through years of building systems at scale, so Jamie and James sat down to talk about what they've learned from their years of building infrastructure. In this episode, they cover six pieces of wisdom that seem counterintuitive at first because they go against basic things that you are taught, but reveal important nuance in systems design that wi...

Databased is back! In this episode Jamie Turner and James Cowling revisit “Convex sucks” and break down the biggest gaps in Convex today, what’s improved, and how the team is thinking about the road ahead. If you haven't watched the original Convex sucks episode, check it out here .

In this special episode of Databased, Jamie speaks with Web Dev Cody , a prominent technical content creator with almost 250,000 YouTube subscribers, about the evolving landscape of developer education and content creation.    They discuss the delicate balance between maintaining authenticity and managing sponsored content, the impact of AI tools on both development and teaching, and practical ins...

In this episode of Databased, James speaks with Andrew Pavlo , Associate Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University , about the dramatic shifts reshaping the database industry in 2024. The conversation explores how Redis's controversial licensing changes sparked unprecedented community backlash and the fierce battle between Snowflake and Databricks that culminated in a $2 billion...

In this episode of Databased, Jamie rounds up the team who gave us Google Photos, Dave Lieb , General Partner at Y Combinator ; Indy Khare , Head of Product at Convex ; and Christian “Dowski” Wyglendowski , an independent software developer, to explore their journey from Bump to the creation of Google Photos.  Dave, Indy, and Christian discuss the importance of a compelling vision in product devel...

In this episode of Databased, Tom Redman , welcomes two guests to the show: Johannes Schickling , Founder of Overtone and Co-founder of Prisma , and Sujay Jayakar , Co-founder & Chief Scientist at Convex . Together, Johannes and Sujay discuss how empowering client-side applications can enhance user experience by eliminating frustrating delays and fostering trust through data agency.    The con...

In this episode of Databased, Tom Redman speaks with Jamie Turner and James Cowling about the complexities of database isolation levels and their implications for application development. They discuss the differences between isolation levels such as read uncommitted, read committed, repeatable read, and serializable, emphasizing how these choices can impact data integrity and performance.    The c...

In this episode of Databased, Jamie Turner and James Cowling explore critical principles of systems design, emphasizing the importance of preparing for worst-case scenarios rather than best-case outcomes. They dive into the concept of congestion collapse, illustrating how systems can fail under pressure and the need for robust designs that maintain performance during peak loads.    Additionally, t...

In this episode of Databased, James Cowling and Tom Redman , are joined by Sujay Jayakar , Co-founder and Chief Scientist at Convex, to walk through the intricacies of asynchronous technologies and the "local-first" approach in application design. Together, they discuss the evolution of synchronization in distributed systems, highlighting the challenges of maintaining data consistency and the impo...

In this episode of Databased, Tom Redman engages Jamie Turner and James Cowling in exploring the transformative impact of AI on software development, particularly through tools like Cursor AI. They discuss the balance between efficiency and the essential understanding of coding principles, emphasizing the risks junior developers face when relying too heavily on AI.    Their conversation also dives...

In this episode of Databased, Jamie Turner and James Cowling grapple with some bad news… they think each other’s product sucks…? Jamie and James candidly discuss the challenges and misconceptions surrounding Convex. For example, they explore the learning curve for new users, emphasizing the balance between conceptual understanding and practical application. The conversation also touches on the pot...

In our first episode of the Fullstack Founder: Special Series, Tom chats with Edgar Haond , Founder of AI Reality TV . Together, they explore the intersection of artificial intelligence and storytelling, discussing how AI agents can create dynamic, unscripted interactions in virtual environments.    Edgar shares his journey from data science to entrepreneurship, highlighting his innovative approac...

In this episode of Databased, Tom Redman speaks with Jamie Turner and James Cowling about the historical context that necessitated the invention of SQL 1.0 and how these databases have scaled over time. They touch on the challenges of maintaining transactionality and consistency, the rise and limitations of NoSQL databases, and optimizing for developer velocity without compromising on foundational...

In the second episode of Databased, Tom Redman speaks with Jamie Turner and James Cowling about the evolution of single-page applications (SPAs) and their roller-coaster-like relevance in the industry. They weigh in on the debate between SPAs and multi-page applications (MPAs), and how server-side rendering (SSR) impacts SEO.  The trio also shares practical insights on optimizing web performance,...

In this inaugural episode of Databased, Tom Redman speaks with Jamie Turner and James Cowling as they dive deep into the world of edge computing and its impact on modern web development. Key Topics Discussed: What is "the edge" in computing and why has it become a buzzword? The evolution of edge computing from useful technology to overhyped solution Physical limitations of distributed systems, inc...