The End of Coding Interviews As We Know Them
The whiteboard puzzle always tested the one mode the job never uses - alone, from memory, no help. We look at why AI finally makes that impo...
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The Cynical Developer
Why should I even care about this!?
Episodes
20 of 196 episodes
Prompt Engineering Is Dead - Long Live Specification Engineering
We argue prompt engineering is already on its way out - and what’s replacing it is one of the oldest skills in software. When generating cod...
AI Is Creating Two Kinds of Developers
A quiet split is forming in software teams - not junior versus senior, but developers who’ve learned to work with AI and those who’ve decide...
Why Your Team Doesn’t Own Anything
We dig into the gap between responsibility and ownership - why so many teams are accountable for outcomes they were never given the authorit...
Remote Work Didn’t Kill Productivity - Bad Management Did
We take on the tidy story that remote work killed productivity. It didn’t - it removed the things that were hiding weak management. We look...
The Real Cost of Context Switching
We look at a cost that never shows up on any report: the wreckage an interruption leaves behind. Not the thirty-second question, but the twe...
Why Promotions Rarely Go to the Best Engineers
We pull apart a quiet truth most teams can see but rarely say: the strongest engineer often isn’t the one who gets promoted. We look at why...
Psychological Safety Is Not Being Nice
“Psychological safety” has quietly become a synonym for “being nice”, and in this episode we explain why that’s a problem. We look at what i...
Episode 27 - Performance Reviews Are Broken
Why do performance reviews reward visibility over impact, and why do so many developers leave them feeling misunderstood? In this episode, J...
Episode 26 - Why Developers Quit (And Don't Tell You Why)
Developers leave jobs all the time, but rarely share the real reasons. James explores why developers quit and what companies miss.
Episode 25 - What Managers Need to Stop Doing
James takes aim at management practices that are hurting developer productivity and morale. What do managers need to stop doing?
Episode 24 - Spec-Driven Development: How You Actually Work With AI
James explores spec-driven development and how it changes the way developers actually work with AI tools to build better software.
Episode 23 - When AI Makes Your Codebase Worse
AI can help write code, but it can also make your codebase worse. James explores the pitfalls of AI-generated code and how to avoid them.
Episode 22 - The Ethics of AI in Software Teams
As AI becomes embedded in software development, ethical questions arise. James discusses the moral considerations teams should be thinking a...
Episode 21 - Why "No-Code" Keeps Failing
No-code platforms promise to democratize development, but they keep falling short. James examines why no-code struggles to deliver on its pr...
Episode 20 - The Coming Divide: AI-Augmented vs Non-Augmented Teams
A gap is forming between teams that embrace AI tools and those that don't. James explores what this divide means for the industry.
Episode 19 - Why AI Code Still Needs Senior Review
AI can generate code quickly, but that code still needs experienced eyes. James explains why senior review remains critical.
Episode 18 - Your LLM Is Not a Junior Developer
LLMs are powerful tools, but they're not junior developers you can just hand tasks to. James discusses how to think about AI assistants corr...
Episode 17 - AI Won't Replace Developers — But It Will Replace Some Jobs
The AI replacement debate continues. James provides a nuanced take on which jobs are safe and which might be at risk.
Episode 16 - Observability Is Not Optional Anymore
In modern systems, observability is essential. James discusses why you can't afford to skip proper monitoring and tracing.