Ep#7 The quiet innovator: the building blocks of structured documents with James Clark
Ever wonder how websites and apps are built to look organized and work the way they do? In the latest episode of Rule-breakers, Sean talks to James Clark, a true pioneer who helped create the hidden rules and structure that make the modern web possible. James talks about his incredible journey from the early days of computers and typesetting to becoming a central figure in shaping foundational technologies like XML. He shares how he helped simplify complex coding languages to create a common 'blueprint' that everyone could use, influencing everything from how you browse articles to how data is shared across the internet. This is the story of a quiet innovator, whose work laid the groundwork for the web's biggest breakthroughs — even those you don't see.
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Ep#6: Tim Bray: How did the internet learn to 'read' and organize information?
Sean talks to Tim Bray, a true pioneer in the world of digital documents and computing. Tim talks about his early work, including the groundbreaking Oxford English Dictionary (OED) project at the University of Waterloo. Tim went on to co-create the foundational XML standard that powers so much of the web today. Exploring the surprising prevalence of XML in places like WhatsApp, Tim offers his perspective on the growing importance of Markdown in an AI-driven world and its bright future for entry-level text styling.
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EP#5: Thomas Bruce: the Renaissance man behind the Cello browser and Legal Information Institute
In this episode of Rule-breakers, Sean talks to Thomas Bruce about his remarkable career. From his days as a master electrician for the Yale Rep to touring with music legends, Thomas developed the Cello web browser, one of the internet's first graphical web browsers for Windows. He also co-founded the Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell in the early nineties when only fragments of legal information could be found on the internet. Discover Thomas' unique insights into early web development, the evolution of legal tech, and the surprising connections he finds between all his passions.
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Ep#4: Designing for knowledge complexity: DITA, AI, and next-generation delivery with Eliot Kimber
In this episode, content engineering pioneer Eliot Kimber shares key lessons from his career on managing complexity in content systems. Author of DITA for Practitioners Volume 1: Architecture and Technology, Eliot explores the value of structured content, the challenges of legacy systems, and preparing for an AI-powered future. This conversation offers a look at what it takes to build intelligent knowledge frameworks that are ready for the next generation of delivery.
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Ep#3 Before AI, there was DocBook: Simon St.Laurent on the tech foundations that still matter
Simon St.Laurent offers an insider's perspective on the evolution of structured content and markup technologies at O'Reilly and throughout his career, emphasizing how tools like DocBook, Framemaker, and SGML laid the groundwork for today's componentized publishing models. In this podcast, Simon discusses the enduring value of structured data formats and how early practices are proving essential in the age of AI.
Rule-breakers: the podcast about disruption in digital publishing.Every month, Rule-breakers host, Sean McGrath dives into the fascinating world of digital publishing, exploring how technology is reshaping a very important part of modern life: the way we create and access laws, standards, and guidance.If you’re curious about the forces affecting change in this space, you’re in the right place.
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