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Greater Than Code — Software How-To
Greater Than Code

For a long time, tech culture has focused too narrowly on technical skills; this has resulted in a tech community that too often puts companies and code over people. Greater Than Code is a podcast that invites the voices of people who are not heard from enough in tech: women, people of color, trans and/or queer folks, to talk about the human side of software development and technology. Greater Than Code is providing a vital platform for these conversations, and developing new ideas of what it means to be a technologist beyond just the code.
Featuring an ongoing panel of racially and gender diverse tech panelists, the majority of podcast guests so far have been women in tech! We’ve covered topics including imposter syndrome, mental illness, sexuality, unconscious bias and social justice. We also have a major focus on skill sets that tech too often devalues, like team-building, hiring, community organizing, mentorship and empathy. Each episode also includes a transcript.
We have an active Slack community that members can join by pledging as little as $1 per month via Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/greaterthancode)

Latest Episodes:

111: Thermodynamics of Emotion with Thomas Perry Jan 02, 2019

Show notes

01:30 – Tom’s Superpower: Hot Toddies, Eccentricity, and Talking to Animals!

04:42 – Observing Animal vs Humans Behavior and Organizational Restructuring

Participant Observation

10:25 – Looking For Genuine Change, Empowering Workers, and the Conflation of the terms Boss and Manager

Adrian Bejan: The Constructal Law

Your Dog Is Your Mirror: The Emotional Capacity of Our Dogs and Ourselves by Kevin Behan

Brandt Stickley

23:20 – Flow and How it Moves Through Systems

Design in Nature: How the Constructal Law Governs Evolution in Biology, Physics, Technology, and Social Organizations by Adrian Bejan

33:45 – Predictive and Explanatory Power

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas S. Kuhn

37:40 – Breaking Things Down

43:37 – Alignment in Appetite and Emotion

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values

52:08 – Defining Quality

01:02:21 – Emotional Metaphors and Sensory Inputs

DevOpsDays Boston 2017- Your Emotional API by John Sawers

Reflections:

Jessica: When the language gets woo-ey, the ideas might be new-y.

Rein: Quality is individual and personal. It is subjective and intersubjective.

Thomas: The best ideas are often found in uncomfortable places.

John: Systems of living things are living systems.

Janelle: Don’t assume you understand anything immediately when you walk into a room. Let that understanding be emergent through the process of observation.

This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep of DevReps, LLC. To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode.

To make a one-time donation so that we can continue to bring you more content and transcripts like this, please do so at paypal.me/devreps. You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well.

Amazon links may be affiliate links, which means you’re supporting the show when you purchase our recommendations. Thanks!

Special Guest: Thomas Perry.

Support Greater Than Code

110: Human Incident Response with Courtney Eckhardt Dec 19, 2018

Show notes

RubyConf 2018 - Retrospectives for Humans by Courtney Eckhardt

01:16 – Courtney’s Superpower: Explaining things.

06:50 – Incident Response: How we talk to people how are are affected by incidents

Other Great Incident Response GTC Episodes!

13:52 – Disabilities in the Workplace and Professional Spaces

20:25 – The Tension Between Accessibility and Security

23:20 – Developing Coping Skills in Response to a Troubled Childhood / Combatting the Feeling of Being Othered

29:16 – Incident Retrospectives and Defensiveness as a Natural Instinct to Feedback

35:29 – Showing Vulnerability

"In order to understand what another person is saying, you must assume it is true and try to imagine what it could be true of." - George Armitage Miller

43:56 – Emotional Response

Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence--From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror

Mental Health First Aid

Reflections:

John: Trauma doesn’t stay in the past. Trauma has a continuous effect on our lives.

Coraline: Thinking about therapy and frame it as a blameless retrospective.

Sam: Referring to “post mortems” as “retrospectives” and buying the book Agile Retrospectives. (Future book club episode?!)

Jamey: Even if you’re not changing things in a higher level, you can still help on a direct level.

Courtney: Group therapy and handling retrospectives.

This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep of DevReps, LLC. To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode.

To make a one-time donation so that we can continue to bring you more content and transcripts like this, please do so at paypal.me/devreps. You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well.

Amazon links may be affiliate links, which means you’re supporting the show when you purchase our recommendations. Thanks!

Special Guest: Courtney Eckhardt.

Sponsored By:

The Local Maximum: Check out this new podcast called The Local Maximum. It's hosted by Max Sklar who is a Machine Learning Engineer at Foursquare. He covers a lot of fascinating topics: AI, building better products, and the latest technology news from his unique perspective. Max interviews a wide diversity of guests, including Engineers, Entrepreneurs, and Creators of all types. You can see their bios at localmaxradio.com, and subscribe to The Local Maximum podcast wherever you listen!

Support Greater Than Code

109: Tech Fashion Part 2 with Jaya Iyer of Svaha Dec 12, 2018

Show notes

01:11 – Jaya’s Superpower: Changing situations for the better.

02:54 – What does it take to change things?

99 Percent Invisible - Pockets: Articles of Interest #3

06:37 – The Lack of Science and Technology-Themed Clothing (Especially for Children)

08:30 – How Personal of a Choice Clothing Is -- The Importance of Expressing Yourself and Shattering Stereotypes and Social Norms

25:07 – Breaking Existing Customer Feedback Systems in Order to Expand

30:06 – Starting a Business like Svaha

Svaha Kickstarter Campaign

39:03 – Coming in 2019....

41:34 – Business Challenges

Reflections:

John: How important it is to have clothing that can really express who you are and validate the parts of your identity that you want socially validated.

Rein: All opportunities are unique to everyone.

Jaya: The first time you fail does not mean you will fail every time. Never give up.

This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep of DevReps, LLC. To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode.

To make a one-time donation so that we can continue to bring you more content and transcripts like this, please do so at paypal.me/devreps. You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well.

Amazon links may be affiliate links, which means you’re supporting the show when you purchase our recommendations. Thanks!

Special Guest: Jaya Iyer.

Sponsored By:

Crickstart: This episode is sponsored by Crickstart. They make organic cricket protein bars, gourmet crackers, and fruit smoothie mixes made with organically farmed crickets and other delicious wholesome ingredients. Visit crickstart.com and get 20% off with promo code GREATERTHANCODE! Promo Code: GREATERTHANCODE

Support Greater Than Code

108: Tech Fashion Part 1 with Kayte Malik of Dress Code Dec 05, 2018

Show notes

00:57 – Kayte’s Superpower: Taking Something That Doesn’t Exist & Making It Real

02:12 – Having Confidence

06:45 – Paying Closer Attention to Your Accomplishments

08:30 – Dress Code at a Tactical Level

11:43 – The Intersection of Fashion and Coding

10 Cloverfield Lane

15:52 – Wearable Technology and Biotechnology

17:09 – Creation and Paving The Way For Women in Tech

23:17 – In-Home Coding Parties/Pop Up Shops

26:37 – Program and Course Feedback

29:57 – Debunking The Myth That Technology, Science, and STEM is For Boys

34:53 – Sign up to be find out about Holiday Promotions!

37:00 – The Gift of Innovation: Tech for Marginalized People and Communities

39:55 – Coming in 2019....

Reflections:

John: Framing coding as an in-home, fun, party activity vs a classroom activity.

Coraline: Focusing on your accomplishments and building confidence through positive self-talk.

Kayte: Fashion tech and retail tech is exciting!

This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep of DevReps, LLC. To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode.

To make a one-time donation so that we can continue to bring you more content and transcripts like this, please do so at paypal.me/devreps. You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well.

Amazon links may be affiliate links, which means you’re supporting the show when you purchase our recommendations. Thanks!

Special Guest: Kayte Malik.

Support Greater Than Code

Special Edition: Ruby Together – LIVE! from RubyConf 2018 Dec 03, 2018

Show notes

This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep of DevReps, LLC. To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode.

To make a one-time donation so that we can continue to bring you more content and transcripts like this, please do so at paypal.me/devreps. You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well.

Amazon links may be affiliate links, which means you’re supporting the show when you purchase our recommendations. Thanks!

Special Guests: Adarsh Pandit, André Arko, Jonan Scheffler, and Valerie Woolard Srinivasan.

Support Greater Than Code

107: The Ruby Central Opportunity Scholarship Program Nov 28, 2018

Show notes

The Ruby Central Opportunity Scholarship/Guide Program

02:13 – Superpowers: Flying, Changing Diapers, and Empathy!

03:21 – Scholars’ Favorite Parts of the Conference

06:58 – Conferencing as an Introvert: Having Conference Buddies!

08:06 – Meeting New People

10:15 – Challenges of Conferencing

11:55 – Navigating Conference Parties and the General Hubbub

17:35 – Overcoming Pressure

21:09 – Lightning Talks

26:31 – Live Mob Programming Event

30:07 – Advice For Future Scholars

34:50 – Coming to Tech From Different Backgrounds and All Walks of Life

This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep of DevReps, LLC. To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode.

To make a one-time donation so that we can continue to bring you more content and transcripts like this, please do so at paypal.me/devreps. You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well.

Amazon links may be affiliate links, which means you’re supporting the show when you purchase our recommendations. Thanks!

Special Guests: Christine Seeman, Jennifer Tran, and Jeremy Schuurmans.

Sponsored By:

The Local Maximum: Check out this new podcast called The Local Maximum. It's hosted by Max Sklar who is a Machine Learning Engineer at Foursquare. He covers a lot of fascinating topics: AI, building better products, and the latest technology news from his unique perspective. Max interviews a wide diversity of guests, including Engineers, Entrepreneurs, and Creators of all types. You can see their bios at localmaxradio.com, and subscribe to The Local Maximum podcast wherever you listen!

Support Greater Than Code

106: Taking Up Space with Laurie Barth Nov 21, 2018

Show notes

01:20 – Laurie’s Superpower: Being a Timesuck

Impostor Syndrome

08:44 – Interviewing and Hiring Developers Effectively

12:24 – Creating False Negatives: Turning Down Candidates Prematurely

18:11 – Interviewing: Working With Existing Codebases and Asking Questions About Values

RailsConf 2018: The Code-Free Developer Interview by Pete Holiday

22:59 – How ^{^} Advice Pertains to Different Sized Companies

25:54 – Getting the Entire Team Involved in Hiring Processes: People First, Technology Second

29:05 – YOU CAN USE GOOGLE!!! (It’s Not Cheating!)

33:55 – Coding: Smartness vs Patience; Coming From Non-Coding Backgrounds (and why it’s a good thing!)

Set Design: Putting the "Art" in "Architecture" by Betsy Haibel

45:14 – Learning: Skill or Mindset? / Overcoming Demoralization and Overwhelm

Everything Is Broken, and It's OK - John Sawers

49:43 – Keeping a Developer Journal and Dealing with Past Development Baggage

Reflections:

Laurie: Check out the talks we’ve linked to! Also, working together to make our industry not just accessible, but livable, enjoyable, and exciting.

Jamey: Refining the interviewing and hiring process and thinking about how we evaluate the people we talk to.

John: Take up space and demand the attention that you need.

This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep of DevReps, LLC. To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode.

To make a one-time donation so that we can continue to bring you more content and transcripts like this, please do so at paypal.me/devreps. You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well.

Amazon links may be affiliate links, which means you’re supporting the show when you purchase our recommendations. Thanks!

Sponsored By:

Crickstart: This episode is sponsored by Crickstart. They make organic cricket protein bars, gourmet crackers, and fruit smoothie mixes made with organically farmed crickets and other delicious wholesome ingredients. Visit crickstart.com and get 20% off with promo code GREATERTHANCODE! Promo Code: GREATERTHANCODE

Support Greater Than Code

105: Code Switching with Maurice Cherry Nov 14, 2018

Show notes

01:49 – Maurice’s Superpower: Extreme Empathy

Function Podcast w/ Anil Dash

04:06 – Code Switching

13:21 – Creating and Fostering Safe Conference Environments

19:34 – Overcoming Feelings of Discomfort

22:16 – Human Decisions in Software: Why We Should Care

31:57 – Trust: How We’ve Lost It and How Should We Re-establish It?

A Developer Relations Bill of Rights

41:24 – Establishing Trust in a Company From the Ground Up: Glitch

47:03 – Diversity in Design and Shifting Your Mindset From a Creator to a Chronicler

Reflections:

John: It’s useful to think about code switching in context of my own behavior and using it as a practice for increasing empathy by trying to determine if other people are code switching in a certain situation.

Janelle: Putting myself in an outsider situation.

Jess: Storytelling and experience creating.

Astrid: Parents encouraging young creators.

Maurice: We all have more work to do and we all have privileges we are blind to.
Are you Greater Than Code?

This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep of DevReps, LLC. To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode.

To make a one-time donation so that we can continue to bring you more content and transcripts like this, please do so at paypal.me/devreps. You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well.

Amazon links may be affiliate links, which means you’re supporting the show when you purchase our recommendations. Thanks!

Special Guest: Maurice Cherry.

Support Greater Than Code

104: Jellyfish Signaling with Sam Livingston-Gray Nov 07, 2018

Show notes

01:33 – Is Sam a Jellyfish?

03:14 – Sam’s Superpower: Making Connections Between Weird Things

05:17 – Driving Evolution

08:19 – “Fitness Landscape” and “Fitness Function”

aiweirdness.com

21:17 – How Humans Make Decisions

Sam Livingston-Gray: Cognitive Shortcuts: Models, Visualizations, Metaphors, and Other Lies

Blindsight by Peter Watts

33:43 – Completion Bias

40:52 – The Importance of Clarity of Communication in Code

45:49 – Mimicry and The Theory of Mind

52:18 – Scaling, Optimizing, and Thriving as Individuals and Communities

57:38 – Rhetoric and Interacting with People

Everything's an Argument

This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep of DevReps, LLC. To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode.

To make a one-time donation so that we can continue to bring you more content and transcripts like this, please do so at paypal.me/devreps. You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well.

Amazon links may be affiliate links, which means you’re supporting the show when you purchase our recommendations. Thanks!

Sponsored By:

The Local Maximum: Check out this new podcast called The Local Maximum. It's hosted by Max Sklar who is a Machine Learning Engineer at Foursquare. He covers a lot of fascinating topics: AI, building better products, and the latest technology news from his unique perspective. Max interviews a wide diversity of guests, including Engineers, Entrepreneurs, and Creators of all types. You can see their bios at localmaxradio.com, and subscribe to The Local Maximum podcast wherever you listen!

Support Greater Than Code

103: The Org You Were Born Into with Marcus Blankenship Oct 31, 2018

Show notes

01:12 – Marcus’ Superpower: Helping Engineers Become Good Bosses

02:30 – Bosses Who Don’t Wanna Boss: Ending Up in Management

The Peter Principle

10:37 – Are there people who just aren’t cut out for management or leadership?

14:20 – Applying Rationality to Organizations

20:23 – Alignment Not Agreement

24:52 – Is there a safe way to try and fail at management? Trying on Hats

31:16 – What does “BOSS” mean?

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

36:03 – The Up/Down of the Hierarchy

Metaphors We Live By

Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling by Edgar H. Schein

36:03 – What are the skills that good managers have? How do you know if you’re doing a good job?

Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager by Michael Lopp

Managing the Unmanageable: Rules, Tools, and Insights for Managing Software People and Teams by Mickey W. Mantle and Ron Lichty

53:26 – Giving and Receiving Feedback and Support, Reinforcing Behavior, and Focusing Attention

Reflections:

Jamey: Management vs. leadership.

Sam: “I need this from you,” vs. “Why didn’t you do this?”

Jess: When we react to something, it’s rarely about the thing we think we’re reacting to.

Career narratives by Will Larson

Additionally, management is like being on stage and you can be uncomfortable in your own role.

Marcus: Listening to others is critical and impactful. Also, letting people taste and see what it’s like to be in management and leadership without the commitment.

This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep of DevReps, LLC. To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode.

To make a one-time donation so that we can continue to bring you more content and transcripts like this, please do so at paypal.me/devreps. You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well.

Amazon links may be affiliate links, which means you’re supporting the show when you purchase our recommendations. Thanks!

Special Guest: Marcus Blankenship.

Support Greater Than Code

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