The Real Python Podcast

Python 3.14 is here! Christopher Trudeau returns to discuss the new version with Real Python team member Bartosz Zaczyński. This year, Bartosz coordinated the series of preview articles with members of the Real Python team and wrote the showcase tutorial, “Python 3.14: Cool New Features for You to Try.” Christopher’s video course, “What’s New in Python 3.14”, covers the topics from the article and shows the new features in action. Christopher and Bartosz dug into the new release to create code examples showcasing the new features for the tutorial and course. We look at the enhanced and more colorful REPL experience, better error messages, safer hooks for live debugging, and deferred annotation evaluation. We also discuss template strings, Zstandard compression, and multiple performance improvements. We share our thoughts on the updates and offer advice about incorporating them into your projects. We also discuss when you should start running Python 3.14. Course Spotlight: What’s New in Python 3.14 [https://realpython.com/courses/whats-new-python-314/] Covers Python 3.14’s key changes: free-threading, subinterpreters, t-strings, lazy annotations, new REPL features, and improved error messages. Topics: * 00:00:00 – Introduction * 00:02:03 – Cool New Features for You to Try - Tutorial * 00:02:20 – What’s New in Python 3.14 - Video Course * 00:02:54 – Even Friendlier Python REPL * 00:05:05 – Allow “json” instead of “json.tool” * 00:05:49 – Zstandard compression * 00:06:37 – Working With Numbers * 00:11:09 – Deferred Evaluation of Annotations * 00:17:35 – More Helpful Error Messages * 00:20:41 – Warnings in try…finally Blocks * 00:22:08 – Safer Live Process Debugging * 00:25:22 – Pathlib Improvements * 00:26:50 – Additional assert methods for unittest * 00:27:19 – Template Strings (T-strings) * 00:31:01 – Free-threaded Build Updates * 00:35:30 – Incremental Garbage Collector * 00:37:59 – functools partial & placeholder improvement * 00:40:13 – Video Course Spotlight * 00:41:12 – Experimental JIT Builds * 00:46:52 – Parallel Subinterpreters * 00:48:59 – Unicode Database Update * 00:49:47 – 𝜋thon - Easter Egg * 00:51:26 – Starting to use the new version * 00:55:26 – Thanks and goodbye Show Links: * Python 3.14: Cool New Features for You to Try – Real Python [https://realpython.com/python314-new-features/] * What’s New in Python 3.14 [https://realpython.com/courses/whats-new-python-314/] * Python 3.14 Preview: REPL Autocompletion and Highlighting – Real Python [https://realpython.com/python-repl-autocompletion-highlighting/] * Python 3.13 Preview: A Modern REPL – Real Python [https://realpython.com/python313-repl/] * Allow “-m json” instead of “-m json.tool” · Issue #122873 [https://github.com/python/cpython/issues/122873] * compression.zstd — Compression compatible with the Zstandard format — Python 3.14.0 documentation [https://docs.python.org/3.14/library/compression.zstd.html] * Python 3.14 Preview: Lazy Annotations – Real Python [https://realpython.com/python-annotations/] * Python 3.14 Preview: Better Syntax Error Messages – Real Python [https://realpython.com/python314-error-messages/] * PEP 765: Control flow in finally blocks — Python 3.14.0 documentation [https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.14.html#pep-765-control-flow-in-finally-blocks] * Remote debugging attachment protocol — Python 3.14.0 documentation [https://docs.python.org/3.14/howto/remote_debugging.html#remote-debugging] * Python 3.14 Preview: Template Strings (T-Strings) [https://realpython.com/python-t-strings/] * functools.partial placeholders · Issue #119127 [https://github.com/python/cpython/issues/119127] * garbage_collector Internal Docs at 3.14 [https://github.com/python/cpython/blob/3.14/InternalDocs/garbage_collector.md] * Python 3.13: Free Threading and a JIT Compiler [https://realpython.com/python313-free-threading-jit/] * Multiple interpreters in the standard library — Python 3.14.0 documentation [https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.14.html#pep-734-multiple-interpreters-in-the-standard-library] Additional Links: * PEP 784: Zstandard support in the standard library - Python 3.14.0 documentation [https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.14.html#pep-784-zstandard-support-in-the-standard-library] * Episode #262: Travis Oliphant: SciPy, NumPy, and Fostering Scientific Python [https://realpython.com/podcasts/rpp/262/] * Simplify Complex Numbers With Python – Real Python [https://realpython.com/python-complex-numbers/] * Using Python’s pathlib Module – Real Python [https://realpython.com/courses/pathlib-python/] * Exploring Python T-Strings – Video Course [https://realpython.com/courses/exploring-t-strings/] * Python 3.13 Preview: Free Threading and a JIT Compiler – Real Python [https://realpython.com/python313-free-threading-jit/] * Compatibility Status Tracking - Python Free-Threading Guide [https://py-free-threading.github.io/tracking/] * PyPy [https://pypy.org/] * functools Module (Video) – Real Python [https://realpython.com/lessons/functools-module/] * Python 3.12 Preview: Subinterpreters – Real Python [https://realpython.com/python312-subinterpreters/] Level up your Python skills with our expert-led courses: * What's New in Python 3.13 [https://realpython.com/courses/new-features-python-313/] * What's New in Python 3.14 [https://realpython.com/courses/whats-new-python-314/] * What's New in Python 3.12 [https://realpython.com/courses/new-features-python-312/] Support the podcast & join our community of Pythonistas [https://realpython.com/join]

What’s changed about learning Python over the last few years? What new techniques and updated advice should beginners have as they start their journey? This week on the show, Stephen Gruppetta and Martin Breuss return to discuss beginning to learn Python. We share techniques for finding motivation, building projects, and learning the fundamentals. We provide advice on installing Python and not obsessing over finding the perfect editor. We also examine incorporating LLMs into learning to code and practicing asking good questions. Stephen shares details about our upcoming eight-week live course, Python for Beginners: Code With Confidence [https://realpython.com/workshops/python-for-beginners/]. Check out realpython.com/live [https://realpython.com/live] to learn more and reserve your spot. Course Spotlight: 11 Beginner Tips for Learning Python [https://realpython.com/courses/python-beginner-tips/] In this course, you’ll see several learning strategies and tips that will help you jumpstart your journey towards becoming a successful Python programmer. Topics: * 00:00:00 – Introduction * 00:02:36 – Martin’s teaching background * 00:02:57 – Stephen’s teaching background * 00:04:07 – Having a vested interest in learning * 00:08:35 – No shortcut to learning the fundamentals * 00:09:21 – Parallels to learning a foreign language * 00:12:43 – What’s different about starting to learn Python now? * 00:15:03 – Stephen’s journey to coaching and using LLMs * 00:16:20 – Are LLMs helpful for learning? * 00:18:50 – Teaching what you’ve learned to someone else * 00:19:38 – Learning how to ask good questions * 00:22:11 – Improved error messages * 00:24:35 – REPL: Read Evaluate Print Loop * 00:26:33 – Video Course Spotlight * 00:27:48 – Installing Python and choosing an editor * 00:35:16 – Considering the scale of beginner projects * 00:37:39 – Should a beginner be concerned with making Pythonic code? * 00:40:55 – Using LLM tools and defining your level of skill * 00:42:39 – Python for Beginners: Code With Confidence - live course * 00:47:32 – Looking at projects - Awesome Python * 00:48:02 – Asking an LLM to explain the code generated * 00:50:46 – Debuggers and seeing code run * 00:51:23 – Thanks and goodbye Show Links: * Python for Beginners: Code With Confidence [https://realpython.com/workshops/python-for-beginners/]: Real Python’s intensive Python training program with live expert instruction * 11 Beginner Tips for Learning Python Programming – Tutorial [https://realpython.com/python-beginner-tips/] * Episode #4: Learning Python Through Errors [https://realpython.com/podcasts/rpp/4/] * Automate the Boring Stuff with Python [https://automatetheboringstuff.com/] * Download Python - Python.org [https://www.python.org/downloads/] * Visual Studio Code - Code Editing Redefined [https://code.visualstudio.com/] * Python 3.12 Preview: Ever Better Error Messages – Real Python [https://realpython.com/python312-error-messages/] * Claude Code - Claude [https://claude.com/product/claude-code] * Back on the Track - Stephen Gruppetta [https://backonthetrack.substack.com/] * Exploring Scopes and Closures in Python – Video Course [https://realpython.com/courses/exploring-scopes-and-closures-in-python/] * Writing Idiomatic Python – Video Course [https://realpython.com/courses/writing-idiomatic-python/] * Episode #71: Start Using a Debugger With Your Python Code [https://realpython.com/podcasts/rpp/71/] * awesome-python: An opinionated list of awesome Python frameworks, libraries, software and resources [https://github.com/vinta/awesome-python?tab=readme-ov-file] Level up your Python skills with our expert-led courses: * 11 Beginner Tips for Learning Python [https://realpython.com/courses/python-beginner-tips/] * Python Basics: Code Your First Python Program [https://realpython.com/courses/python-basics-first-program/] * Exploring Scopes and Closures in Python [https://realpython.com/courses/exploring-scopes-and-closures-in-python/] Support the podcast & join our community of Pythonistas [https://realpython.com/join]

What’s a good way to enable or disable code paths without redeploying the software? How can you use feature flags to toggle functionality for specific users of your application? Christopher Trudeau is back on the show this week, bringing another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. Christopher shares an article exploring the use of feature flags. The piece advises targeting specific users, storing schemas, and relying on well-worn code paths. He also discusses the danger of the exponential growth of functionality tests as feature flags are added. We dig into a comparison of six popular Python visualization libraries. The article provides code examples along with their respective visual output to highlight features and make selecting the optimal library for your work easier. We also share several other articles and projects from the Python community, including a news roundup, benchmarking MicroPython, simplifying IPs and networks in Python, a “scream” cipher, and a browser-based graphical viewer for the output of Python’s cProfile module. This episode is sponsored by InfluxData. Course Spotlight: Exploring Astrophysics in Python With pandas and Matplotlib [https://realpython.com/courses/astrophysics-pandas-matplotlib/] This course uses three problems often covered in introductory astrophysics courses to explore in Python. Along the way, you’ll learn some astronomy and how to use a variety of data science libraries like NumPy, Matplotlib, pandas, and pint. Topics: * 00:00:00 – Introduction * 00:03:04 – Python 3.14.0rc3 is go! * 00:03:14 – Django 6.0 alpha 1 released * 00:04:27 – PEP 782: Add PyBytesWriter C API * 00:05:06 – PEP 794: Import Name Metadata * 00:05:30 – PEP 803: Stable ABI for Free-Threaded Builds * 00:05:55 – Announcing the 2025 PSF Board Election Results! * 00:06:18 – Top 6 Python Libraries for Visualization: Which One to Use? * 00:18:34 – Sponsor: InfluxData * 00:19:24 – Feature Flags in Depth * 00:22:55 – Benchmarking MicroPython * 00:30:02 – Video Course Spotlight * 00:31:16 – Simplify IPs, Networks, and Subnets With the ipaddress * 00:34:52 – SCREAM CIPHER (“ǠĂȦẶAẦ ĂǍÄẴẶȦ” * 00:36:20 – SnakeViz: browser based graphical viewer for the output of Python’s cProfile module * 00:40:58 – Thanks and goodbye News: * Python Insider: Python 3.14.0rc3 is go! [https://pythoninsider.blogspot.com/2025/09/python-3140rc3-is-go.html] * Django 6.0 alpha 1 released - Django [https://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2025/sep/17/django-60-alpha-released/] * PEP 782: Add PyBytesWriter C API (Final) [https://peps.python.org/pep-0782/] * PEP 794: Import Name Metadata (Accepted) [https://peps.python.org/pep-0794/] * PEP 803: Stable ABI for Free-Threaded Builds (Added) [https://peps.python.org/pep-0803/] * Python Software Foundation News: Announcing the 2025 PSF Board Election Results! [https://pyfound.blogspot.com/2025/09/announcing-2025-psf-board-election.html] Show Links: * Top 6 Python Libraries for Visualization: Which One to Use? [https://codecut.ai/top-6-python-libraries-for-visualization-which-one-to-use/] – The vast number of Python visualization libraries can be overwhelming. This article shows you the pros and cons of some popular libraries, including Matplotlib, seaborn, Plotly, Bokeh, Altair, and Pygal. * Feature Flags in Depth [https://rtpg.co/2023/11/15/feature-flags-in-depth/] – Feature flags are a way to enable or disable blocks of code without needing to redeploy your software. This post shows you several different approaches to feature flags. * Benchmarking MicroPython [https://blog.miguelgrinberg.com/post/benchmarking-micropython] – This post compares the performance of running Python on several microcontroller boards. * Simplify IPs, Networks, and Subnets With the ipaddress [https://hazimed.com/2025/09/07/hidden-python-powers-master-ips-networks-and-subnets-efficiently/] – Python’s built-in ipaddress module makes handling IP addresses and networks clean and reliable. This article shows how to validate, iterate, and manage addresses and subnets while avoiding common pitfalls of string-based handling. Projects: * SCREAM CIPHER (“ǠĂȦẶAẦ ĂǍÄẴẶȦ”) [https://sethmlarson.dev/scream-cipher] – Seth discovered that Unicode has more accented “Latin capital letter A” characters than the 26 letters in the English alphabet. * SnakeViz: browser based graphical viewer for the output of Python’s cProfile module [https://jiffyclub.github.io/snakeviz/] Level up your Python skills with our expert-led courses: * Using Astropy for Astronomy With Python [https://realpython.com/courses/astropy-astronomy/] * Graph Your Data With Python and ggplot [https://realpython.com/courses/graph-data-with-python-and-ggplot/] * Exploring Astrophysics in Python With pandas and Matplotlib [https://realpython.com/courses/astrophysics-pandas-matplotlib/] Support the podcast & join our community of Pythonistas [https://realpython.com/join]

When converting an existing REST API to the Model Context Protocol, what should you consider? What anti-patterns should you avoid to keep an AI agent’s context clean? This week on the show, Kyle Stratis returns to discuss his upcoming book, “AI Agents with MCP”. Kyle has been busy since he last appeared on the show in 2020. He’s taken his experience working in machine learning startups and started his own consultancy, Stratis Data Labs. He’s been documenting his explorations working with LLMs and MCP on his blog, The Signal Path. Kyle is also writing a book about building MCP clients, services, and end-to-end agents. We discuss a recent article he wrote about the hazards of using an automated tool to convert a REST API into an MCP server. He shares his personal experiences with building MCP tools and provides additional resources for you to learn more about the topic. This episode is sponsored by InfluxData. Spotlight: Python for Beginners: Code With Confidence – Real Python [https://realpython.com/workshops/python-for-beginners/] Learn Programming Fundamentals and Pythonic Coding in Eight Weeks—With a Structured Course Topics: * 00:00:00 – Introduction * 00:02:41 – Updates on career * 00:04:36 – The Signal Path - newsletter * 00:07:15 – Moving into consulting * 00:12:35 – Recent projects * 00:14:51 – Need for data skills with MCP * 00:16:49 – Describing the differences between REST APIs and MCP * 00:19:59 – Interaction model differences * 00:27:29 – Sponsor: InfluxData * 00:28:21 – Agent stories * 00:32:58 – Going through a simple example of MCP server * 00:37:50 – Defining client and server * 00:40:19 – Examples of servers currently * 00:51:44 – Announcement: Python for Beginners: Code with Confidence * 01:02:07 – Resources for further study * 01:05:07 – Breaking down advice on moving an API to MCP * 01:08:04 – What are you excited about in the world of Python? * 01:18:20 – What do you want to learn next? * 01:21:35 – How can people follow your work online? * 01:22:46 – Thanks and goodbye Show Links: * AI Agents with MCP - Book [https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/ai-agents-with/9798341639546/] * Episode #10: Python Job Hunting in a Pandemic [https://realpython.com/podcasts/rpp/10/] * Stop Converting Your REST APIs to MCP [https://www.jlowin.dev/blog/stop-converting-rest-apis-to-mcp?ref=thesignalpath.xyz] * Stop Generating MCP Servers from REST APIs! [https://thesignalpath.xyz/stop-generating-mcp-servers-from-rest-apis/] * Context7 - Up-to-date documentation for LLMs and AI code editors [https://context7.com/] * Anthropic [https://www.anthropic.com/] * What is the Model Context Protocol (MCP)? - Model Context Protocol [https://modelcontextprotocol.io/docs/getting-started/intro] * github-mcp-server: GitHub’s official MCP Server [https://github.com/github/github-mcp-server] * Model Context Protocol (/MCP) - Reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/mcp/] * modelcontextprotocol/servers: Model Context Protocol Servers [https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers] * Browse All MCP Servers - MCP Market [https://mcpmarket.com/server] * Welcome to FastMCP 2.0! - FastMCP [https://gofastmcp.com/getting-started/welcome] * Agent Memory: How to Build Agents that Learn and Remember - Letta [https://www.letta.com/blog/agent-memory] * Kyle Stratis Personal Blog - The Edge Cases [https://kylestratis.com/] * The Signal Path [https://thesignalpath.xyz/] * Stratis Data Labs [https://stratisdatalabs.com/] * Kyle Stratis - LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylestratis/] * Kyle (@kylestratis.com) — Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/kylestratis.com] Level up your Python skills with our expert-led courses: * Using Pydantic to Simplify Python Data Validation [https://realpython.com/courses/pydantic-simplify-data-validation/] * A History of Python Versions and Features [https://realpython.com/courses/history-python-versions-features/] * Interacting With REST APIs and Python [https://realpython.com/courses/interacting-rest-apis-python/] Support the podcast & join our community of Pythonistas [https://realpython.com/join]

What are your options for hosting your Python application or scripts? What are the advantages of a platform as a service, container-based hosts, or setting up a virtual machine? Christopher Trudeau is back on the show this week, bringing another batch of PyCoder’s Weekly articles and projects. We discuss a recent article about hosting Python applications. The piece digs into the differences between using containers or platform-provided tools to automatically configure your project. We also cover an older article listing several free hosting options for smaller projects or Python scripts. The Python documentary premiered this past week, and we provide a synopsis and our thoughts. Following a similar theme, we cover our recent code conversation video course, which explores the history of Python versions and the features added across the releases. We also share several other articles and projects from the Python community, including a news roundup, regex affordances, four different ways to speed up your code, a Python-based music library manager, a tool to visualize the structure of your data in Python, and a project for exploring color science in Python. This episode is sponsored by InfluxData. Course Spotlight: A History of Python Versions and Features [https://realpython.com/courses/history-python-versions-features/] Explore Python’s evolution from the 1990s to today with a brief history and demos of key features added throughout its lifetime. Topics: * 00:00:00 – Introduction * 00:03:02 – PEP 728: TypedDict With Typed Extra Items * 00:04:09 – Django security releases issued: 5.2.6, 5.1.12, and 4.2.24 * 00:04:37 – Python Type System and Tooling Survey 2025 * 00:04:56 – Python: The Documentary - An Origin Story * 00:14:11 – A History of Python Versions and Features * 00:16:58 – Sponsor: InfluxData * 00:17:48 – Regex Affordances * 00:21:34 – Where to Host Your Python App * 00:26:48 – Best hosting platforms for Python applications and Python scripts * 00:30:18 – Video Course Spotlight * 00:31:59 – 330× Faster: Four Different Ways to Speed Up Your Code * 00:37:18 – beets: Music Library Manager * 00:39:12 – Memory Graph - GitHub * 00:40:49 – colour: Colour Science for Python * 00:42:35 – Thanks and goodbye News: * PEP 728: TypedDict With Typed Extra Items (Accepted) [https://peps.python.org/pep-0728/] * Django security releases issued: 5.2.6, 5.1.12, and 4.2.24 [https://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2025/sep/03/security-releases/] * Python Type System and Tooling Survey 2025 [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeOFkLutxMLqsU6GPe60OJFYVN699vqjXPtuvUoxbz108eDWQ/viewform?pli=1] Show Links: * Python: The Documentary - An Origin Story - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfH4QL4VqJ0] – “This is the story of the world’s most beloved programming language: Python. What began as a side project in Amsterdam during the 1990s became the software powering artificial intelligence, data science and some of the world’s biggest companies.” * A History of Python Versions and Features – Video Course [https://realpython.com/courses/history-python-versions-features/] * Regex Affordances [https://nedbatchelder.com/blog/202504/regex_affordances.html] – A tour of some real code showing little-used power features of the Python regular expression module, including verbose regex syntax, calling re.sub() with a function reference, and more. * Where to Host Your Python App [https://judoscale.com/blog/where-to-host-python-app] – Whether it’s Django, Flask, FastAPI, or some other Python web framework, your hosting options are plenty. This guide will show you how to choose. * Best hosting platforms for Python applications and Python scripts [https://www.python-engineer.com/posts/hosting-platforms-for-python/] * 330× Faster: Four Different Ways to Speed Up Your Code [https://pythonspeed.com/articles/different-ways-speed/] – There are many approaches to speeding up Python code; applying multiple approaches can make your code even faster. This post talks about four different ways you can achieve speed-up. Projects: * beets: Music Library Manager [https://github.com/beetbox/beets] * Memory Graph - GitHub [https://github.com/bterwijn/memory_graph] * colour: Colour Science for Python [https://github.com/colour-science/colour] Additional Links: * What’s in which Python - Ned Batchelder [https://nedbatchelder.com/text/which-py.html] * Anvil [https://anvil.works/] * Opalstack: Managed Hosting [https://www.opalstack.com/] Level up your Python skills with our expert-led courses: * Handling Missing Keys With the Python defaultdict Type [https://realpython.com/courses/python-defaultdict-type/] * Using Structural Pattern Matching in Python [https://realpython.com/courses/structural-pattern-matching/] * A History of Python Versions and Features [https://realpython.com/courses/history-python-versions-features/] Support the podcast & join our community of Pythonistas [https://realpython.com/join]