Better Stack Podcast

14: Warp Oz, AI Agents & Why Benchmarks Don't Matter Anymore - Ben Holmes

In this episode, Ben from Warp joins us to discuss the rapidly evolving landscape of AI-powered development tools. We explore his journey from creating whiteboard programming shorts to working on Astro, his honest take on React Server Components, and how the rise of coding agents is reshaping what matters in API design. Ben also dives deep into Warp's vision for the future of terminals, transforming them into agent-ready workspaces with built-in diff views, file explorers, and code review features that work with any CLI agent like Claude Code or Codex. Whether you're curious about the future of frameworks, how to work effectively with AI agents, or why terminals are becoming IDE-like, this conversation covers the cutting edge of developer tooling.

13: From Adobe Flash to CEO of Pencil - an AI Agent Driven Design Tool

In this episode, we dive deep with Tom Krcha, former Adobe Flash evangelist and creator of Pencil.dev, about the evolution of design tools and the future of AI-powered design. From his early days building Flash games and Adobe XD to creating a visual design interface that bridges the gap between human creativity and LLMs, Tom shares insights on multi-agent orchestration, model benchmarking with Opus 4.6, and why parallel agents are unlocking new workflows. We explore the human touch in AI design, future frontiers like animation and 3D, and how new interfaces beyond chat, from eye tracking to visual cursors are making AI feel more creative and alive.

12: How AI Will Transform DevOps and SRE Practices

In this episode, Amin Astaneh shares his journey from open source enthusiast to SRE expert, discusses the impact of AI on DevOps, and offers insights on building reliable, fast-moving teams. He also talks about his nomadic lifestyle and adventures on the road, providing a holistic view of technology and life. Show notes: Certomodo.io: https://certomodo.io/The Field Guide to Understanding Human Error: https://sidneydekker.com/the-field-guide-to-understanding-human-errorThe Phoenix Project: https://itrevolution.com/product/the-phoenix-project/The DevOps Handbook, Second Edition: https://itrevolution.com/product/the-devops-handbook-second-edition/Practice of Cloud System Administration, The: DevOps and SRE Practices for Web Services, Volume 2: https://www.amazon.com/Practice-Cloud-System-Administration-Practices/dp/032194318XToyota Kata: Managing People for Improvement, Adaptiveness and Superior Results: https://www.amazon.com/Toyota-Kata-Managing-Improvement-Adaptiveness/dp/0071635238Leading Change: https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Change-New-Preface-Author/dp/1422186431

11: Vite, Rust & The Future of JavaScript Tooling - Evan You

In this episode, Evan You, creator of Vue.js and Vite, shares his journey from building Vite to founding VoidZero and developing a complete Rust-based JavaScript toolchain. He discusses the evolution from Vite's ESBuild+Rollup hybrid to Rolldown, the 50-100x performance gains with OXC (linter, formatter, parser), and how Vite Plus aims to simplify the entire JavaScript onboarding experience. Evan also shares his thoughts on the future of bundling vs no-build approaches, why his team chose Rust over Go, how they're using AI to ship features faster while maintaining code quality, and offers a candid take on React Server Components as a long-time skeptic who believes the trade-offs often outweigh the benefits.Link:Do we need bundlers - https://rolldown.rs/in-depth/why-bundlers

10: AI, Terminal Tools & Building a Supportive Developer Community - Bashbunni

In this episode, Bashbunni shares her journey from mastering terminal tools to joining (and leaving) Charm, to building inclusive coding communities. She discusses her transition from Vim to Doom Emacs, the impact of AI on coding education, and why balancing shortcuts with hands-on learning is crucial for developer growth. Bash also loves to coding in public and she regularly streams to encourage more people to code along with her and also to give her tips on what she can do to improve her Linux setup. Link: Bashbunni - https://www.bashbunni.dev/Charm - https://charm.land/VScode vim plugin - https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=vscodevim.vimSeven Languages in Seven Weeks - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seven-Languages-Weeks-Programming-Programmers/dp/193435659XDoom Emacs - https://github.com/doomemacs/doomemacsLearn X in Y minutes - https://learnxinyminutes.com/The Pragmatic Programmer - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pragmatic-Programmer-Andrew-Hunt/dp/020161622X