Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Latest Episodes:

597: Say Yes with Nick Merwin Nov 20, 2025

Show notes

Chad talks with developer and guitarist Nick Merwin about the challenges of balancing his career in development with his life as a musician.

Nick tells of his time delivering code on the road as a guitarist with the band Capital Cities, the pros and cons of working as a solo programmer, what he’s learnt from saying yes for so many years, and Chad asks whether AI is diluting the art of coding.

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Nick can be heard playing with his band Capital Cities, alternatively you can follow him on X or connect with him on LinkedIn.

Your host for this episode has been Chad Pytel. You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel, or over on LinkedIn.

If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.

Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@giantrobots.fm

This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky

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596: Building Bridges Between Brands and Creators: The Story of Sheer Nov 13, 2025

Show notes

Sami revisits his time on a recent project for Sheer as he talks with it’s CTO and founder Mads Ulrik Svendsen about the ever evolving and creative world of influencers.

Mads talks about the story of Sheer, how they’re helping influencers maximise their potential and creativity, where they expect to see change in the industry over the coming years, the desire for authenticity in a world of AI content, and Sami is determined to discover just what it would take to become an influencer in 2025.

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If you want to get in touch with Mads about anything you’ve heard on todays show you can connect with him through LinkedIn or directly via email - mads@sheer.dk

Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn.

If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.

Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@giantrobots.fm

This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky

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595: Projects in Progress and Nature’s Ultimate Sacrifice Oct 23, 2025

Show notes

Sami, Chad and Will share the projects they’ve been working on at thoughtbot recently and how they adapt to new systems they’re unfamiliar with.

Sami shares his recent horror at the animal kingdom and how he might be getting into crypto, Chad reveals how he invests his time into thoughtbot whilst also managing to stay on top trending tech, and the group discuss best practices for dealing with clients.

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Against Chad’s wishes you can watch Sami’s spider video here, but we don’t recommend it!

You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel and Sami through his website. You can also connect with the trio via their LinkedIn pages - Chad - Will - Sami.

If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.

Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@giantrobots.fm

This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky

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594: AI is Draining with Pablo Curell Oct 09, 2025

Show notes

Sami assesses the long term viability of AI with Pablo Curell, software developer at Recovr, as they break down the hype and logistics that surround the popular tool.

The pair examine why it’s still important you learn to code, what AI’s best use cases are now and what they could be in the future, what a successful AI product actually looks like on the back end, as well as the ever growing and unsustainable economics behind AI tokens.

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Read the article mentioned in this week’s episode - The Case Against Generative AI

Check out Pablo’s podcast A Junior, A Senior and I for similar discussions and perspectives on the world of tech, or follow him on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - Website

Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn.

If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.

Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@giantrobots.fm

This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky

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593: Recent Discoveries: From MCP servers to video game heartbreak Sep 25, 2025

Show notes

Chad and Sami share some learning moments with one another as they discuss the recent projects they’ve been working on at thoughtbot.

The pair question how much time and effort we should be investing into a problem with AI vs the outcome we receive, their work and experimentation with MCP servers, Sami shares his big bid on AI to save some time, while Chad tells the tragic tale of why he stopped playing Diablo IV.

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Don’t forget we have a YouTube channel where you can watch all the streams mentioned in this episode along with video versions of the show.

You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel and Sami through his website. You can also connect with the duo via their LinkedIn pages - Chad - Sami.

If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.

Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@giantrobots.fm

This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky

Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

592: Utopia or Dystopia: Why the Future of AI and XR Is Still Ours to Shape with Don Shin Sep 18, 2025

Show notes

Sami talks with Don Shin, CEO of CrossComm, about which direction humanity is heading as the landscape of AI technology continues to shift and evolve.

Together they assess the correlation between language and intelligence, the importance of human connection, as well as the growing responsibility we have in managing AI to prevent a potential dystopia.

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You can connect with Don on LinkedIn or stay up to date with the work his does with CrossComm over on his website.

Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn.

If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.

Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@giantrobots.fm

This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky

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591: Redefining Women's Health: Beyond the Traditional View with Amani Bright and Julia Lasater Sep 11, 2025

Show notes

Will talks with Amani Bright, senior program manager at Springboard, and Julia Lasater, consulting senior at Accenture, about the state of women’s health and their efforts to increase visibility for all women who enter the health care system.

They cover their recent work on the state of women’s health report, shining a light on the neglected areas within women’s health, the barriers women face when seeking basic medical advice, and the gender bias that persists within medical studies and general healthcare.

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Your guests for this episode have been Amani Bright (amani.bright@springboardenterprises.org) and Julia Lasater (julia.lasater@accenture.com). Be sure to check out the other work they do for women across the nation through Springboard, or read some of the other reports they mentioned in this episode - Innovation in Women's Health - Women's Health Gap - WHAM Report

Your host for this episode has been Will Larry, you can find and connect with Will over on LinkedIn.

If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.

Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@giantrobots.fm

This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky

Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

590: Making AI work for users with Louis Gutierrez Sep 04, 2025

Show notes

Chad talks with Louis Gutierrez, Director of AI at Constant Contact, about the various challenges of implementing AI into a product or business.

Louis discusses his strategy to improve AI integration upon joining Constant Contact, how they address the issue of ethics and AI, as well as providing a technical look at how they evaluate the quality of their products without violating user privacy.

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You can connect with Louis over on LinkedIn, or try out Constant Contact’s AI marketing tools for yourself to see how they could help you and your business.

Your host for this episode has been Chad Pytel. You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel, or over on LinkedIn.

If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.

Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@giantrobots.fm

This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky

Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

589: Behind the Scenes at thoughtbot - Our work setups Aug 28, 2025

Show notes

The Giant Robots trio are back as they sit down at their desks to discuss their home setups for thoughtbot.

Together they break down each core aspect of their office environment and why they chose the things they did, why future proofing and getting your setup just right is important, Sami learns all about teleprompters, while Chad spills the beans on a guilty secret he’s kept for far too long.

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You can see pictures of each host’s setup here - Chad - Chad’s Teleprompter - Sami - Will - and be sure to check out the YouTube version of this episode to get the full visual experience from today’s episode.

You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel and Sami through his website. You can also connect with the trio via their LinkedIn pages - Chad - Will - Sami.

If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.

Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@giantrobots.fm

This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky

Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

588: When a designer meets a developer with Jeremy Blaze Aug 21, 2025

Show notes

Sami faces his fear of program designers by talking with Jeremy Blaze, Founder & Design Lead at Never Before Seen.

Together they ask the question of whether their roles as developer and designer are slowly become one, how to rediscover the challenge of working on code when AI can do so much heavy lifting, as well as grappling with the idea of a therapeutic AI.

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Connect with Jeremy over on LinkedIn or through his website to stay up to date with the projects he’s working on. If you’re interested in trying out his new app you can sign up to the early access program here.

Your host for this episode has been Sami Birnbaum. Sami can be found through his website or via LinkedIn.

If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.

Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@giantrobots.fm

This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - YouTube - Bluesky

Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

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