Explicit Measures Podcast

Mike & Tommy dive into Liquid Clustering in Microsoft Fabric, breaking down why Runtime 2.0 changes it from an experimental feature into the default table layout strategy for Lakehouse workloads.
They explore how incremental clustering solves the write amplification problems that plagued Runtime 1.3, why file skipping matters for Direct Lake and Power BI report performance, and how teams should think about choosing clustering columns, running OPTIMIZE, and trusting Auto Reclustering without blowing their F-SKU capacity.
Resources: https://milescole.dev/data-engineering/2026/07/24/Incremental-Liquid-Clustering-Fabric-Runtime-2.html, https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Fabric-Updates-Blog/Fabric-Runtime-2-0-Generally-Available/ba-p/5326359, https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/data-engineering/runtime-2-0, https://workingondata.wordpress.com/2026/08/14/fabric-runtime-2-0-is-general-available/
News:
https://www.meetup.com/chicagolandpowerbi/events/315787998/?eventOrigin=group_upcoming_events
https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Fabric-Updates-Blog/Fabric-August-2026-Feature-Summary/ba-p/5325824
Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/

Mike & Tommy dive into whether medallion architecture has truly evolved in the Fabric era or whether teams are just re-labeling Bronze, Silver, and Gold with new icons, using this Microsoft Fabric community article as a jumping-off point.
They break down when an all-in-one Warehouse pattern makes sense versus a hybrid Lakehouse approach, and walk away with a practical take on how much Spark you actually need before complicating your design.
Read the article: Choosing your medallion pattern in Fabric Data Warehouse
Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/

Mike & Tommy dive into what data visualization can teach us about critically evaluating LLMs, exploring why fluent, polished AI output can be just as misleading as a beautiful but inaccurate chart. They break down the tension between AI speed and data quality, tackling how BI teams can build a practical framework around accuracy, security, and sovereignty to use these tools without lowering their standards.
Read the article that inspired this episode: https://nightingaledvs.com/critically-evaluating-llms/
News links from this episode:
https://www.meetup.com/chicagolandpowerbi/events/315787998/?eventOrigin=group_upcoming_events
https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/blog/fbc_pbiupdatesblog/power-bi-august-2026-feature-summary/5348434
https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Fabric-Updates-Blog/Bringing-agentic-warehouse-development-to-Fabric-Data-Warehouse/ba-p/5360190
https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/blog/fbc_pbiupdatesblog/the-ai-semantic-layer-you-probably-already-have/5360197
Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/

Mike & Tommy dive into Power BI Desktop Bridge, breaking down what it actually solves, where it fits in your stack alongside Desktop, Service, Fabric, Git, and deployment pipelines, and what it really takes to make it run like a Ferrari for your team.
They tackle the hard questions — whether Desktop Bridge exposes weak development habits faster than it fixes them, how to keep speed from turning into chaos, and what governance guardrails every BI lead should have in place before rolling it out broadly.
Read more: https://promptingbi.com/2026/08/19/design-the-report-from-the-meeting-you-already-had/
News:
Enhanced Data Agent Visualizations with Fabric Visuals (Preview)
Connectivity Patterns in Microsoft Fabric: A Guide for Data Integration Workloads
Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/

Mike & Tommy dive into anonymous data access in Fabric Apps, exploring how the new capability lets builders deliver public-facing BI experiences without requiring users to sign in — and whether that's a governance breakthrough or a disaster waiting to happen.
They break down which items support it, what tenant admins need to know, and how Rayfin fits into the story of Fabric becoming a true application platform.
Learn more: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/apps/anonymous-data-access
News this episode:
https://www.meetup.com/chicagolandpowerbi/events/315711136/?eventOrigin=group_upcoming_events
https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/blog/fbc_fabricupdatesblogs/fabric-runtime-2-0-generally-available/5326359
https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/blog/fbc_fabricupdatesblogs/build-end-to-end-fabric-solutions-with-sql-database-skills-preview/5357234
Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/