Best Semantic Web Podcasts (2025)

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153: DHH – Omarchy and Designing Your Own OS on Arch Linux 1:16:25

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22d ago1:16:25

1:16:25

I talk to DHH about Omarchy, the carefully curated distribution of Arch Linux he's been refining for the last few months. We talk about stuff like: How did he discover Arch + Hyprland in the first place? What even is Arch, what even is Hyprland, and how the fuck do you make the mouse show up in Linux? Should you really be afraid of trying to mainta…

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Casey Hart: The Philosophical Foundations of Ontology Practice – Episode 38 39:06

20d ago39:06

39:06

Casey HartOntology engineering has its roots in the idea of ontology as defined by classical philosophers.Casey Hart sees many other connections between professional ontology practice and the academic discipline of philosophy and shows how concepts like epistemology, metaphysics, and rhetoric are relevant to both knowledge graphs and AI technology …

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Adapting to Complexity in the Telco Space - Discussion with Alicia Miller 46:33

28d ago46:33

46:33

In this episode, Alicia Miller returns to share exciting insights about her new role as Head of Growth Strategy at Aduna Global.The discussion explores Aduna's mission to accelerate the telco network API market by reducing friction and commercializing APIs that are difficult for individual telcos to manage due to antitrust concerns and technical co…

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Chris Mungall: Collaborative Knowledge Graphs in the Life Sciences – Episode 37 32:52

1M ago32:52

32:52

Chris MungallCapturing knowledge in the life sciences is a huge undertaking. The scope of the field extends from the atomic level up to planetary-scale ecosystems, and a wide variety of disciplines collaborate on the research.Chris Mungall and his colleagues at the Berkeley Lab tackle this knowledge-management challenge with well-honed collaborativ…

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45: New Projects and AI Detox 1:23:21

1M ago1:23:21

1:23:21

Send us a text Collin and Joel both have new projects to talk about. Collin has become skeptical on LLM assisted coding and is taking a break from it. Ruby Schema Rezy (resume generator) Join the Discord Follow us on Mastodon: Rooftop Ruby Collin Joel Show art created by JD Davis.By Collin Donnell, Joel Drapper

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APIs in the Age of Agents: Standards, Security & Scale - Discussion with Erik Wilde 1:09:11

2M ago1:09:11

1:09:11

OAI ambassador Erik Wilde explores how new specs like Arazzo and MCP are shaping AI-driven workflows, and why APIs may soon be your last line of defense.

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Emeka Okoye: Exploring the Semantic Web with the Model Context Protocol – Episode 36 34:51

2M ago34:51

34:51

Emeka OkoyeSemantic technologies permit powerful connections across a variety of linked data resources across the web. Until recently, developers had to learn the RDF language to discover and use these resources.Leveraging the new Model Context Protocol (MCP) and LLM-powered natural-language interfaces, Emeka Okoye has created the RDF Explorer, an …

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Tom Plasterer: The Origins of FAIR Data Practices – Episode 35 32:13

2M ago32:13

32:13

Tom PlastererShortly after the semantic web was introduced, the demand for discoverable and shareable data arose in both research and industry.Tom Plasterer was instrumental in the early conception and creation of the FAIR data principle, the idea that data should be findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable.From its origins in the semantic…

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44: Hanami and Chippy Buddies with Tim Riley 1:22:34

3M ago1:22:34

1:22:34

Send us a text Tim Riley joins to discuss Hanami and it’s new fundraising drive. Support if you can so Hanami can continue getting the support it needs. Sponsor Hanami We also discuss the Chippy Butty (aka Chippy Buddy) and California Burritos. Honestly, it's a little offensive the two were even compared, but Rooftop Ruby is all about teaching the …

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Mara Inglezakis Owens: A People-Loving Enterprise Architect – Episode 34 30:57

3M ago30:57

30:57

Mara Inglezakis OwensMara Inglezakis Owens brings a human-centered focus to her work as an enterprise architect at a major US airline.Drawing on her background in the humanities and her pragmatic approach to business, she has developed a practice that embodies both "digital anthropology" and product thinking.The result is a knowledge architecture t…

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API Productization and Governance - Discussion with Michaela Halliwell 46:31

3M ago46:31

46:31

In this episode, our guest is Michaela Halliwell, Senior Platform Product Manager at HCSS, a key player in the heavy civil construction industry. The discussion emphasizes applying a product management approach to APIs, focusing on solving customer problems and making them consumable. She also discusses the importance of governance starting from da…

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What Makes Conversational AI Trustworthy? - Discussion with Ronald Ashri 1:15:28

3M ago1:15:28

1:15:28

In this episode, Kristof speaks with Ronald Ashri, co-founder of OpenDialog, to unpack the realities behind the AI hype. Drawing from his background in multi-agent systems and his journey through academia, startups, and the semantic web, Ronald shares why truly resilient AI isn't about building one model to rule them all—it’s about constraining pow…

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Frank van Harmelen: Hybrid Human-Machine Intelligence for the AI Age – Episode 33 29:31

4M ago29:31

29:31

Frank van HarmelenMuch of the conversation around AI architectures lately is about neuro-symbolic systems that combine neural-network learning tech like LLMs and symbolic AI like knowledge graphs.Frank van Harmelen's research has followed this path, but he puts all of his AI research in the larger context of how these technical systems can best sup…

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43: I Think I Saw a Ghost 52:28

4M ago52:28

52:28

Send us a text Collin recounts his 3,000 mile roadtrip, where he definitely met a wild horse, and possibly a ghost. Joel has a new gem that makes working with raw instance variables in Ruby nicer. Zed is getting a debugger. Join the Discord Follow us on Mastodon: Rooftop Ruby Collin Joel Show art created by JD Davis.…

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Denny Vrandečić: Connecting the World’s Knowledge with Abstract Wikipedia – Episode 32 32:34

4M ago32:34

32:34

Denny VrandečićAs the founder of Wikidata, Denny Vrandečić has thought a lot about how to better connect the world's knowledge.His current project is Abstract Wikipedia, an initiative that aims to let anyone anywhere on the planet contribute to, and benefit from, the world's collective knowledge, in their native language.It's an ambitious goal, b…

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Charles Ivie: The Rousing Success of the Semantic Web “Failure” – Episode 31 33:49

4M ago33:49

33:49

Charles IvieSince the semantic web was introduced almost 25 years ago, many have dismissed it as a failure.Charles Ivie shows that the RDF standard and the knowledge-representation technology built on it have actually been quite successful.More than half of the world's web pages now share semantic annotations and the widespread adoption of knowledg…

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Andrea Gioia: Human-Centered Modeling for Data Products – Episode 30 32:48

5M ago32:48

32:48

Andrea GioiaIn recent years, data products have emerged as a solution to the enterprise problem of siloed data and knowledge.Andrea Gioia helps his clients build composable, reusable data products so they can capitalize on the value in their data assets.Built around collaboratively developed ontologies, these data products evolve into something tha…

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42: You Can Go Any Speed You Want 51:15

5M ago51:15

51:15

Send us a text Joel and Collin discuss a variety of topics ranging from road trips and procrastination to coding tools and AI advancements. They share personal experiences from recent travels, delve into the challenges of productivity, and reflect on their conference experiences. The discussion also touches on the evolution of coding tools, the fut…

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Patterns in Documentation - Conversation with Daniel Beck 51:49

5M ago51:49

51:49

In our conversation with Daniel Beck, we discuss creating documentation project archetypes to aid open source and enterprise projects in structuring their documentation efforts. The episode also delves into the evolving role of technical writers in the age of AI and the increasing importance of documentation for API usability. Further resources:Pat…

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Dave McComb: Semantic Modeling for the Data-Centric Enterprise – Episode 29 34:01

5M ago34:01

34:01

Dave McCombDuring the course of his 25-year consulting career, Dave McComb has discovered both a foundational problem in enterprise architectures and the solution to it.The problem lies in application-focused software engineering that results in an inefficient explosion of redundant solutions that draw on overlapping data sources.The solution that …

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41: There's no "R" in Naur 31:13

5M ago31:13

31:13

Send us a text We follow-up with an audio based piece of feedback on the Australian pronunciation of "Pinnochio." Collin is sick with shingles 🥺 Testing and security MVVM in Ruby desktop app development Performance in server design And of course, talk about British and American food. Join the Discord Follow us on Mastodon: Rooftop Ruby Collin Joel …

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The Future of Content Management - Discussion with Jeff Eaton (Part 2) 57:57

6M ago57:57

57:57

In the second part of this thought-provoking exploration, the discussion turns towards dissecting the capabilities and limitations of AI, particularly Large Language Models. The episode highlights comparisons between human and artificial intelligence, as well as LLMs functioning as sophisticated indexing or caching mechanisms for information.…

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Pattern languages and semantic caching - Discussion with Jeff Eaton (Part 1) 1:40:40

6M ago1:40:40

1:40:40

How do constraints increase opportunities by introducing boundaries? What challenges do Content Management Systems face in the age of AI? In this episode, Jeff Eaton (Partner at Autogram) discusses the complexities of building and managing digital systems, drawing on a wide range of theoretical frameworks to understand underlying patterns. The epis…

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40: Brought to You by McVities 1:34:58

7M ago1:34:58

1:34:58

Send us a text Joel explains why he loves Svelte 5 so much and Collin talks about an iOS app he put on GitHub. Collin realizes relating everything back to how it's like Swift might only be a useful comparison for himself. Links: Svelte Turbo Mount Inertia Rails Join the Discord Follow us on Mastodon: Rooftop Ruby Collin Joel Show art created by JD …

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39: I Just Want Some Structure 1:14:07

7M ago1:14:07

1:14:07

Send us a text Exciting News! We're both unemployed! Someone hire us 🥺 You could even hire both of us—a dream team for hire, you might say. This week, Collin accidentally deletes his Application Support folder on his Mac, and we talk Xcode, text editors, and Difftastic. Joel goes in-depth on Tree-sitter and writing a SQLite parser. Plus, we discuss…

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From Documentation to Interaction: Building a More Resilient Web - Discussion with Jeff Eaton 1:43:03

8M ago1:43:03

1:43:03

How has the concept of structured content evolved, and how does it relate to APIs? How is the internet shifting from a focus on publishing content to enabling interactions? In this special episode, Kristof Van Tomme (Co-founder and CEO of Pronovix) and Christoph Weber (Solutions Architect at Pronovix) invited Jeff Eaton (Partner at Autogram) to dis…

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Semantic and Other Versioning Systems 38:57

9M ago38:57

38:57

Send us a text Thanksgiving, mince pies, and Joel is giving up on semantic versioning. Versioning systems on Wikipedia Join the Discord Follow us on Mastodon: Rooftop Ruby Collin Joel Show art created by JD Davis.By Collin Donnell, Joel Drapper

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Literal 1.0 and Where We’ve Been 59:16

10M ago59:16

59:16

Send us a text Collin and Joel discuss where they’ve been, Collin’s broken wrist, getting into film photography, and the release Literal 1.0. Join the Discord Follow us on Mastodon: Rooftop Ruby Collin Joel Show art created by JD Davis.By Collin Donnell, Joel Drapper

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Developer productivity and emerging personas - Discussion with Praneet Singh 56:28

10M ago56:28

56:28

If information is scattered across all the different sections of a developer portal, how can you make it easy for developers to find exactly what they are looking for? Is AI really the answer to challenges in data exploration? In this episode, Praneet Singh (Product Manager at Intuit) shares valuable insights about improving findability, as well as…

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What are your business incentives? Shifts and Effects in the API world - Discussion with Zdenek Nemec 1:14:23

11M ago1:14:23

1:14:23

Are there negative values when opening up API programs? Can an AI agent be more than a virtual co-worker that works under supervision? In this episode, Zdenek Nemec (Founder and CTO at Superface) and Kristof Van Tomme explore the attention economy and the effects of shutting down successful social networks for profit. They also delve into the role …

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Monetization and global markets - Discussion with David O’Neill 1:13:43

1y ago1:13:43

1:13:43

In this episode, David O’Neill (APIContext) reflects on the current API landscape through the lens of global market trends and recurring cycles in the tech space. Commenting on the current AI boom, David shares some cautionary advice about AI hallucinations and the importance of an internal source of truth.…

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When You See It, You Know It 33:26

1y ago33:26

33:26

Send us a text Join the Rooftop Ruby Discord! Fahrenheit versus celsius? How many degrees fast is a race car? The new "it" in Ruby, and why do unnamed block parameters start with _1? We're going to be at Madison Ruby! Join the Discord Follow us on Mastodon: Rooftop Ruby Collin Joel Show art created by JD Davis.…

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The role of documentation in a niche field - Conversation with Daria Lutchenko 1:12:13

1y ago1:12:13

1:12:13

A research-heavy field can be difficult to navigate for the layperson. In this case, documentation is an invaluable bridge connecting services and customers. In this episode, Daria Lutchenko (UP42) explains the value of concise and coherent documentation that allows providers to keep up their end of the “social contract”.…

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‘A system is more than a sum of its parts’ - discussion with Stefan Verstraeten 58:04

1y ago58:04

58:04

How can one ensure that their business remains sustainable? What are the key principles of value-based selling? Is it possible to create a fair distribution of value? In this episode, Stefan Verstraeten (Head of Value at TomTom) discusses these questions, and explains how complexity science as a mental model can help to better understand the way th…

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APIs as Utilities - Conversation with Alicia Miller and Joshua Markham 50:53

1+ y ago50:53

50:53

APIs are undergoing a transformative shift, and the mindset surrounding APIs is also evolving. In this episode, Kristof Van Tomme is joined by Alicia Miller and Joshua Markham (Verizon), and they explore the concept of APIs as utilities, what it means to approach APIs with a utility mindset, as well as the future of applications in the age of LLMs.…

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Constructive criticality: the intersection of residuality theory and business strategy - Discussion with Barry O’Reilly 1:11:04

1+ y ago1:11:04

1:11:04

The key to successful architecture isn’t the beautiful design with the perfect abstractions; it is more about knowing what can go wrong and where the fragile areas are. In this episode, Barry O’Reilly (Founder at Black Tulip Technology) shares his experience as an architect with Kristof Van Tomme and points out how residuality theory can help us be…

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The technical and social contracts of APIs - Discussion with Marsh Gardiner 1:02:56

1+ y ago1:02:56

1:02:56

The way we think about the future of APIs can take many different forms. In this episode, Marsh Gardiner and Kristof Van Tomme approach the subject from several angles. They discuss questions like: Why can we say that APIs are interface utilities? How does the network effect work? Can we call APIs infrastructure? Marsh's #APIFutures post: https://s…

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Boundaries and interfaces - Conversation with Koichi Shiroma 52:03

1+ y ago52:03

52:03

In this episode, Koichi Shiroma (Principal Consultant) narrates his journey of how his team implemented an interface portal. With Kristof Van Tomme, they discuss what can be the business drivers for interface portals and what obstacles one has to overcome during the implementation. Resources: https://pronovix.com/articles/apis-are-interface-utiliti…

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35: Kind of Cool and Interesting 38:58

1+ y ago38:58

38:58

Send us a text Quickdraw (Joel's testing library) QuickDraw (2d graphics library for classic Mac OS) Russian doll caching N+1 queries and how to solve it Join the Discord Follow us on Mastodon: Rooftop Ruby Collin Joel Show art created by JD Davis.By Collin Donnell, Joel Drapper

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34: They Do Communicate to a Degree 40:27

1+ y ago40:27

40:27

Send us a text Joel and Collin are back and better than ever! We talk about what and when to outsource, what we've both been up to, Collin's drivers license finasco, TypeScript, and more. Join the Discord Follow us on Mastodon: Rooftop Ruby Collin Joel Show art created by JD Davis.By Collin Donnell, Joel Drapper

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Complex systems, generative AI and affordance-centric APIs - Conversation with Michael Hibay and Mike Amundsen 1:42:45

1+ y ago1:42:45

1:42:45

In this episode, Michael Hibay (API Platform Architect at WSFS Bank) and Mike Amundsen (Amundsen,com, Inc.) deep dive into the topic of hypermedia, complex systems, Domain Driven Design, and generative AI. They explore the questions of what hypermedia API is, what an API affordance catalog can be, and how language models can be applied on the clien…

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The world of Kubernetes and APIs - Conversation with Viktor Farcic 1:10:34

1+ y ago1:10:34

1:10:34

Why can we treat Kubernetes as an open standard that enables computing to become a utility? In this episode, Viktor Farcic (Developer Advocate at Upbound) explains why we can say that Kubernetes is an extensible API, and highlights that an API has no tangible usefulness by itself. With Kristof Van Tomme, they also deep dive into the fundamentals of…

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33: You Had Me at Battlesnake With ChaelCodes 54:22

1+ y ago54:22

54:22

Send us a text Rachael Wright-Munn (ChaelCodes) joins to talk everything from coding games to RubyConf to App Store policies. chael.codes (all Rachael's links) Rachael on Mastodon Battlesnake ChaelCodes on Twitch Join the Discord Follow us on Mastodon: Rooftop Ruby Collin Joel Show art created by JD Davis.…

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What does “good” look like to you? - Conversation with Chris McDermott, Part 2 1:02:34

2y ago1:02:34

1:02:34

The final installment of the Complexity series ends this collection of interviews on a high note. In this episode, we dive deeper into the practical application of social practice theory, the optimization of transformative processes, and the value of maturity with the help of our guest, Chris McDermott (Lean Agile Coach & Principal Consultant at Co…

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How can social sciences benefit software developers? - Conversation with Chris McDermott Part 1 46:16

2y ago46:16

46:16

In the first part of the finale of the Complexity series, hosts Kristof Van Tomme (CEO and co-founder at Pronovix) and Marc Burgauer (Principal Consultant and Co-founder at Contextualise) interview Lean Agile coach and Contextualise co-founder, Chris McDermott who explains how he helps leaders navigate uncertainty through honest conversations, how …

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Live at RubyConf 2023! 39:26

2y ago39:26

39:26

Send us a text Collin and Joel are joined by friend of the show Roman to talk about the conference, before being joined by special guest Catherine Ricafort McCreary to discuss Artists Who Code. Artists Who Code in the LA Times Join the Discord Follow us on Mastodon: Rooftop Ruby Collin Joel Show art created by JD Davis.…

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31: An Accordion of Complexity 46:58

2y ago46:58

46:58

Send us a text Collin and Joel discuss creating the router and ORM for Yipee! (Joel's new web framework) and how to think about using resourceful versus custom routes. Join the Discord Follow us on Mastodon: Rooftop Ruby Collin Joel Show art created by JD Davis.By Collin Donnell, Joel Drapper

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30: Robot First Graders 1:04:56

2y ago1:04:56

1:04:56

Send us a text Collin and Joel catch up and talk the Rooftop Ruby RubyConf party, becoming a morning person, tricking AI, making a web framework, and time travel. Joel's testing library BBEdit Dall•E in ChatGPT Join the Discord Follow us on Mastodon: Rooftop Ruby Collin Joel Show art created by JD Davis.…

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29: Ruby Central’s Adarsh Pandit and Allison McMillan 40:04

2y ago40:04

40:04

Send us a text Ruby Central’s Adarsh Pandit and Allison McMillan join the show to discuss Ruby Central, how organizing conferences has changed in the past few years, and more. Ruby Central RubyConf — Buy your ticket now. Join the Discord Follow us on Mastodon: Rooftop Ruby Collin Joel Show art created by JD Davis.…

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28: SQLite in Production With Stephen Margheim 1:15:51

2y ago1:15:51

1:15:51

Send us a text Stephen Margheim talks about SQLite in production Rails and more. Stephen’s website Litestream Join the Discord Follow us on Mastodon: Rooftop Ruby Collin Joel Show art created by JD Davis.By Collin Donnell, Joel Drapper