The Programming Podcast

• How We Cut 80% of Dev Time with AI: Our Ultimate Tool Stack

  Join hosts Danny Thompson (Director of Technology at This Dot Labs) and Leon Noel (Managing Director of Engineering at Resilient Coders) on The Programming Podcast as they dive into the AI-powered tools transforming their daily workflows—everything from productivity boosters and prompt engineering to hands-free coding and customizable models. They reflect on why "strong opinions held weakly" is a winning mindset, the integration of tools like Whisper Flow, Superhuman, Claude Code, Cursor, Warp, and more, each tailored to their distinct working styles and unique needs. Stay tuned as they unpack how AI is not here to replace developers, but to accelerate them, and demystify which tools offer real ROI versus mere hype. Plus, hear insightful advice on re-entering front-end development, guided by real-world experience from the Dallas tech landscape. Whether you’re an entry-level coder or a seasoned engineer, you’ll walk away ready to rethink your toolbox and workflow in today’s AI-infused environment.⏱️ Chapters & TimestampsTime Segment0:00 Intro: expectations & mindset of “strong opinions held weekly”0:51 Hosts’ intros: Danny & Leon—what they do3:34 Why healthy debate matters—on the podcast and in teams4:27 AI adoption: evolve when evidence shows a better way5:21 Overview: today’s topic — their AI stacks6:08 Leon: AI saving him from legacy code headaches7:39 Tools Leon uses: Whisper Flow, prompts, local LLMs10:06 Leon’s AI-enhanced code stack: Canva, Remove BG, Cursor12:54 Danny: voice-to-text workflows, prompt strategy14:00 AI for communication tone-checking18:18 Superhuman: email automation and sponsorship workflow21:51 Concerns & control: bring-your-own AI models at work24:00 Danny’s model breakdown: strengths of GPT, Anthropic30:58 Claude Code: top performer for coding31:59 DIY dev experience: VS Code + Root Code extension34:45 Copilot resurgence: Microsoft’s comeback36:26 Cursor Web wins: background agents & ADHD workflow40:27 Warp terminal: infrastructure that keeps tasks running43:45 How they evaluate AI tools—time savings, not perfection46:56 Context & prompt engineering: build better templates first48:51 Q&A: returning to front-end—React + Next.js advice50:31 Market demand: full-stack vs. front-end only roles51:50 Learn by doing: tutorials + personal projects52:40 Outro & farewell🔗 Resources Mentioned in This Episode:Whisper FlowSuperhuman (via Grammarly)Claude Code (Anthropic)Cursor & Cursor WebRoot Code extension (VS Code)GitHub CopilotWarp terminal & AI agentsPrompt templates and AI Dev Task repo👍 If you found this discussion helpful:Hit LikeSubscribe for weekly episodesDrop your thoughts or questions in the commentsFollow us on [Twitter X] for updates & bonus content🎧 Available on: Spotify • Apple Podcasts • Google Podcasts • YouTube

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• Windsurf vs. Tech Giants: OpenAI, Microsoft & Google Showdown

  In this special three-act deep dive of The Programming Podcast, hosts Danny Thompson (Director of Technology at This Dot Labs) and Leon Noel (Managing Director of Engineering at Resilient Coders) unpack the roller-coaster saga of Windsurf’s attempted acquisition.- Act I covers the OpenAI offer, a jaw-dropping $3 billion deal that promised to supercharge OpenAI’s IDE ambitions, only to be derailed by Microsoft’s pre-existing IP clause granting co-ownership of any new code.- Act II explores Google’s strategic “halo hire”, where Verun Moan sidestepped a full buyout in favor of a $2.4 billion non-exclusive licensing deal that bolsters Gemini without triggering antitrust alarms. - Finally, in Act III, we analyze Cognition.ai’s employee-first acquisition, where key Windsurf engineers joined the Devon team under an ownership-stake model, keeping Windsurf alive and profitable.Stick around for our “Ask Danny & Leon” segment, where we lay out an actionable AI roadmap from advanced prompting techniques and RAG/vector database strategies to core programming principles to help you stay relevant in today’s AI-driven dev landscape.Stay in Touch:📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business?Email us at [email protected]!Danny Thompsonhttps://x.com/DThompsonDevhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/DThompsonDevwww.DThompsonDev.comLeon Noelhttps://x.com/leonnoelhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/leonnoel/https://100devs.org/📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business?Email us at [email protected]!📖 Chapters / Timestamps0:00 Intro & Three-Act Structure Overview 1:04 Act I Meet Windsurf (What & Why It Matters) 3:47 OpenAI’s \$3 B Acquisition Talks & Market Context 6:01 Windsurf’s \$100 M ARR & IDE Wars Dynamics 8:38 Microsoft’s Hidden IP Co-Ownership Clause Explained 11:40 Deal Collapse: 48 Hours to Ruin 12:05 Act II Google’s “Halo Hire” Strategy 13:27 Licensing vs. Acquisition: Financials & Antitrust 19:03 Google’s Non-Exclusive License & Gemini Integration 23:04 Impact on Enterprise Adoption & Customer Base 24:09 Act III Cognition.ai Acquires Key Talent 26:00 “Aqua Hire” vs. Full Buyout: Talent Over IP 29:03 Employee-First Ownership Model & Vesting 30:52 Meta & the Broader AI Talent Arms Race 33:43 What This Means for AI Tooling Market 36:52 “Ask Danny & Leon” Building Your AI Roadmap 44:03 Deep Dive: Prompting, RAG, Caching & Pre-Fetching 49:08 Core Dev Principles for Effective AI Use 53:12 Sneak Peek: *Practical Developer’s Guide to AI* 54:01 Outro, Viewer Giveaway & Next Episode Teaser

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• Can You Really Work 4 Tech Jobs at Once?

  Is it WRONG to work at 4 different tech companies at the exact same time!? This is a very spicy episode, Danny Thompson and Leon Noel dive into the viral story of Soham Parekh—the engineer who somehow landed four tech jobs at the same time., multiple times. We unpack:Ethics & Overemployment: Is it right or wrong to juggle multiple full-time roles?Viral Playbook: How Soham’s informal outreach email and Harvard-style resume “gamed” early-stage startups.Interview as a Game: Why knowing the rules—and playing them—is your biggest advantage.Networking Secrets: Low-noise, high-signal tactics that beat out 60,000 applicants.Audience Q&A: Your burning questions on representing yourself vs. outright lying in interviews.💡 Want more insider tips? Hit Subscribe, smash that Like button, and drop your questions in the comments below!00:00 Intro & Episode Overview 02:27 Meet Your Hosts: Danny & Leon 04:04 Who Is Soham Par? 05:07 Viral Mixpanel Tweet Breakdown 09:36 Anatomy of the Outreach Email 13:40 Why Early-Stage Startups? 17:05 Can You Really Juggle Four Tech Jobs? 19:28 The Interview Process as a Game 23:50 Deep Dive: Soham’s Resume 29:11 Power of Referrals vs. 60,000 Applicants 32:09 Low-Noise, High-Signal Networking 35:04 Authenticity & Human Connection 46:26 Leading Cohort Teams: Tips & Tactics 55:34 Ask Danny & Leon: Your Questions 56:05 Q&A: Representing Yourself vs. Lying 59:48 Q&A: Humble Bragging & Self-Promotion 1:00:42 Outro & Closing Remarks

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• 6 Game-Changers from Vercel Ship 2025: AI Gateway, Rolling Releases & More

  In this episode, Danny and Leon are joined by James Quick, Head of Developer Experience at BigCommerce, to unpack all the major announcements from Vercel Ship 2025. We cover:NEW SITE https://www.programmingpodcast.com/Stay in Touch:📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business?Email us at [email protected]!💡 Sponsor: Level Up Financial PlanningChanging careers or increasing your income? Get financial clarity with Level Up Financial Planning—helping early and mid-career tech professionals secure their financial future. Visit LevelUpFinancialPlanning.com for a free consultation!https://www.levelupfinancialplanning.com/Danny Thompsonhttps://x.com/DThompsonDevhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/DThompsonDevwww.DThompsonDev.comLeon Noelhttps://x.com/leonnoelhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/leonnoel/https://100devs.org/📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business?Email us at [email protected]!- The new AI Gateway and what “no vendor lock-in” really means- Active CPU pricing and how it can save you real money at scale- Rolling Releases vs. A/B testing for safer, incremental deployments- Bot ID: Vercel’s AI-powered bot protection for logins, checkouts, and expensive LLM endpoints- Micro-frontends and how they fit into your Next.js apps- Sandboxes for isolated testing of AI agents and prototypes- Plus, stick around for our Ask Danny & Leon Q&A on building a stand-out portfolio and getting your first software role👍 If you enjoyed this deep dive, hit Like, Subscribe, and ring the 🔔 to never miss an episode!💬 Drop your questions for the next Ask segment in the comments.🌐 Follow us on Twitter: @DThompsonDev | @LeonNoelTimestamps00:00 – Welcome & Host Introductions01:42 – Overview of Vercel Ship 202507:08 – AI Gateway: One Endpoint for Every Model10:22 – Active CPU Pricing: Pay Only for What You Use14:46 – Rolling Releases: Safer, Incremental Deployments20:52 – Rolling Releases vs. A/B Testing Explained24:47 – Bot ID: Invisible AI-Powered Bot Protection30:03 – Sponsor Break: Level Up Financial Planning33:07 – UX & Partnership: Why Vercel’s Strategy Matters36:05 – Sandboxes: Isolated AI & Code Testing40:03 – The Shift to AI Cloud & Future Workflows44:47 – Ask Danny & Leon: Portfolio, LinkedIn & Landing Jobs53:30 – Wrap-Up & What’s NextEnjoy the show!

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• JavaScript Map(), Vercel, CSS Tricks, & Dev Advice to get you where you need to be!

  In this episode of The Programming Podcast, Danny Thompson and Leon Noel dive deep into three key topics that every developer should know right now:Vercel’s Fluid Compute — What it is, why it matters, and how a single toggle can slash your cloud costs.JavaScript .map() explained — Not just for beginners! Real-world enterprise use cases and how it protects your original data.New CSS features — Danny brings in a fresh concept that blew his mind over the weekend.They also share powerful insights on how to build momentum after a tech conference, including actionable tips to turn casual conversations into long-term relationships.Finally, Danny shares his AI prompting technique that radically improves the quality of responses from ChatGPT and other tools — and you’ll want to steal this trick.💡 Whether you're junior or senior, working on side projects or leading enterprise teams, this episode packs in practical advice, strategy, and laughs.👇 Chapters below — don’t forget to like, subscribe, and leave a review (or hit dislike twice 😉)!⏱️ Timestamps / Chapters:0:00 – Intro and janky apps vs. enterprise hacks1:00 – Podcast kickoff & thank you for 219 5-star reviews2:30 – Vercel Fluid Compute: Why this one toggle changes everything4:45 – Multi-threading explained with real examples7:00 – Impact on React apps, cost savings, and AI workloads10:00 – Enterprise-scale architecture shifts11:00 – JavaScript .map() – Real-world usage breakdown13:40 – Map vs. original data: what juniors often miss15:00 – Data protection and use cases with sensitive info16:50 – Why .map() is like let for arrays17:30 – React, enterprise component architecture, and separation of concerns19:00 – CSS concept teaser (covered later or in next episode)37:00 – How to improve your AI prompts dramatically38:10 – Danny’s exact prompt to get better ChatGPT responses39:30 – Ask Danny & Leon: How to keep momentum after a tech conference41:00 – Leon’s tips: Thank-yous, Twitter lists, and coffee chats42:00 – Danny’s pre-conference strategy and post-event follow-up44:00 – Junior vs. senior approaches to networking46:00 – Funny origin story: How this podcast started from a conference joke47:00 – Building genuine relationships with thoughtful follow-ups49:00 – Outro – Thanks for tuning in!

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