Podcast
Picture Me Coding
Hosted by Erik Aker and Mike Mull · EN
Picture Me Coding is a music podcast about software. Each week your hosts Erik Aker and Mike Mull take on topics in the software world and they are sometimes joined by guests from other fields who arrive with their own burning questions about technology.
Email us at: podcast@picturemecoding.com
Patreon: https://patreon.com/PictureMeCoding
You can also pick up a Picture Me Coding shirt, mug, or stickers at our Threadless shop: https://picturemecoding.threadless.com/designs
Logo and artwork by Jon Whitmire - https://www.whitmirejon.com/
21episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Talking Murderbot with Amy Salley
Mar 601:32:05Tap to summarizeIn this episode we're joined again by Amy Salley, cohost of the Hugo, Girl! podcast, to help us discuss the Murderbot series of books by Martha Wells. We discuss our favorite characters and plots, but also how these books touch on AI, consciousness, and neurodivergence. Galaxy’s Edge Interviews Martha Wells | Author Interview | Sci Fi BlogI didn’t know how non-neurotypical I was until MurderbotWe’re Light-Years Away from True Artificial Intelligence, Says Murderbot Author Martha Wells | Scientific AmericanMartha Wells' next 'Murderbot Diaries' book is 'the family roadtrip from hell on Ringworld' (interview) | SpaceSend us Fan Mail
Transcribe →The History of NGINX
Feb 2000:57:02Tap to summarizeThis episode we look into the history of the web server NGINX and of web servers more generally. We play myth buster and try to investigate the widespread story that NGINX arose from a need to scale porn sites.Igor Sysoev - WikipediaFree Software Interview with SysoevHistory of ApacheHow Sysoev Ended Up at RamblerSend us Fan Mail
Transcribe →Recreational Programming
Feb 601:00:16Tap to summarizeDoes anyone program just for fun anymore? This episode we're talking about recreational programming, with a focus on A.K. Dewdney's Computer Recreations column from the 1980s. Also, taco shops.https://cs.stanford.edu/~knuth/recreational-cs.pdfFUN 2026The New Turing OmnibusSend us Fan Mail
Transcribe →Functional Programming: Are We There Yet?
Jan 2300:52:54Tap to summarizeTo celebrate the 50th anniversary of Scheme, we decided to talk about functional programming: what it is, how's it going these days, and does it still matter in the era of AI. Although there's been 70 years of research into FP it still hasn't become mainstream. Will AI reverse or accelerate that trend?TIOBE IndexThe Next 700 Programming LanguagesAn Introduction to Functional Programming Through Lambda CalculusSend us Fan Mail
Transcribe →The Infinite Drive: S3 and Cloud Object Storage
Jan 901:04:02Tap to summarizeFor our first episode of 2026 (and Season 4), we're talking about Amazon's Simple Storage Service (S3). S3 is probably the biggest cloud service, or at least we think it is, because it is super freakin' huge. We talk about how it's built, how it works, and how people use it.Building and operating a pretty big storage system called S3How AWS S3 Achieves 1 Petabyte Per Second on Hard Disk DrivesUsing Lightweight Formal Methods to Validate a Key-Value Storage Node in Amazon S3Picture Me Coding 2025 Spotify PlaylistSend us Fan Mail
Transcribe →Salesforce and Low-Code with Kyle Willcox
Dec 1101:11:31Tap to summarizeIn this episode we discuss working in the Salesforce environment, and low-code platforms generally, with software engineer Kyle Willcox. Kyle's dev journey from a CS degree at UNC Wilmington to Salesforce dev to web app developer reveals a lot about both the benefits and pitfalls of working in isolated environments like Salesforce. Kyle is also a sponsored skimboarder and came to California to ride the surf, so he and Erik nerd out on weather and waves.Low CodeExile SkimboardsSend us Fan Mail
Transcribe →Tech News Roundup: Fighting Robots with Poetry
Nov 2701:04:02Tap to summarizeFor the holiday we're doing another news roundup, although it's mostly about data centers and AI to be honest. Inside the Data Centers...Korean Data CenterOracle Data Center DebtCloudflare OutageRust Adoption Drives Android Memory Safety Bugs Below 20%Adversarial PoetrySend us Fan Mail
Transcribe →Conflict-Free Replicated Data Types (CRDTs): How To Survive the Zombie Apocalypse
Nov 1300:56:38Tap to summarizeErik became fascinated with CRDTs while working on a project, so we're talking about how they work, how they simplify some distributed systems, and how they might protect you from zombies.Conflict-Free Replicated Data TypesA Comprehensive Study of Convergent and Commutative Replicated Data TypesCounters - Aviral GoelSend us Fan Mail
Transcribe →The Turing Test
Oct 2900:58:33Tap to summarizeThis episode is about the Turing Test, and Alan Turing's original description of the test in Computing Machinery and Intelligence. We also discuss a recent work by two UCSD researchers that claims that current LLMs pass the Turing Test.Computing Machinery and IntelligenceLarge Language Models Pass the Turing Test Pragmatic Engineer Podcast with Armin RonacherSend us Fan Mail
Transcribe →Ubiquitous Computing
Oct 1501:00:45Tap to summarizeIn 1988 Mark Weiser of Xerox PARC coined the term "ubiquitous computing", and in 1991 he spelled out the particulars of this concept in a Scientific American article called "The Computer for the 21st Century". We discuss whether or not Weiser's vision was achieved. It's hard to argue that computers are now all around us, but it doesn't seem like they've faded into the background as Weiser hoped.The Computer for the 21st CenturyDesigning Calm TechnologyToward Ubiquitous Operating Systems: Lessons from the FieldAmbient Computing Has Arrived: Here's What It Looks Like in My HouseSend us Fan Mail
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