Best Tim Hopper Podcasts (2025)

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#59 Tim Sargent: Can Economics Save Canada? Does Economics Serve Politics or Should Economics Rule? 58:12

Play Pause

4d ago58:12

58:12

What guides politics? What matters most in political decision making? Since the 1980s, conservatives have looked to economics for guidance: economic growth, tax cuts, and decreased government spending capture the heart of political thought in North American Conservative political parties. This sparks two questions. 1) How well did this approach per…

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#58 Ross Upshur: AI in Medicine, Limits of Evidence Based Medicine, & What Does It Mean to be Human? 1:00:00

9d ago1:00:00

1:00:00

This episode is (ostensibly) about medicine, not politics. What does human-centred care mean in a world of AI? Are doctors becoming obsolete, when it comes to decision making? When should we hand over our clinical judgement to AI? I asked Ross Upshur for his thoughts on logical positivism. Are most doctors positivists? "Despite it being... as a p…

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#57 Grant Havers: Understanding Marshall McLuhan's Relevance: AI, Social Media, and Conservative Thought 1:20:49

16d ago1:20:49

1:20:49

By Shawn Whatley

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#203: Automating API Documentation with Zylosystems 49:39

21d ago49:39

49:39

If you’ve ever stayed up late churning out API docs when you’d rather be anywhere else, you’ll relate to this week’s guest. Nick Park felt that same pain as a server engineer, which pushed him to build Zylo-docs, an AI tool that takes the grunt work out of documentation. Nick’s journey has been anything but linear—from AWS trainer to experimenting …

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#56 Calum Nicholson: Boomers are Frozen in Fortune & Society is Blinded by Science 1:21:38

25d ago1:21:38

1:21:38

Boomers have a worldview "frozen by fortune, not forged in fire." Through no fault of their own, the boomer generation remains blind to aspects of current reality from their experiences growing up in the post-WWII era. That era has ended. For more on this, check out Dr. Nicholson's guest post on Peter Boghossian: The Boomerang Our discussion tackle…

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#55 Paige MacPherson: Smartphones, Canadian Education Performance, and School Choice 1:06:48

28d ago1:06:48

1:06:48

Canada is libertarian on student cell phones in classrooms and statist on school choice (in most provinces). We get a poor return on investment when it comes to education in Canada. Our math and reading scores are several years behind (even before Covid). Students are distracted by over 100 messages on their cellphones each day. And teachers cannot…

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#54 Étienne-Alexander Beauregard - Gen-Z Conservatism & Anti Civilization: Why Our Societies Collapse From Within 57:41

1M ago57:41

57:41

Gen Z sits at the cusp of major change in conservatism. Young people do not feel a warmth and longing for Reagan or Thatcher. Sure, they value freedom, but they also what to know where the guardrails stand. Étienne-Alexandre speaks clearly for a new generation of non-left thinkers. He asks what might be the role of conservatism in the near future. …

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#53 Tristin Hopper: Extremism in Canadian Universities and review of his book, "Don't be Canada" 48:17

1M ago48:17

48:17

Once again, Canadian university professors show their extremism in response to Charlie Kirk, a mirror of their praise for Oct 7. Professors shape opinion; they shape culture. Do we want the kind of culture they promote? Turning to his book, Tristin argues that Canada's world-famous policy failures are self-inflicted. He believes we could recover, i…

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#52 Josh Lewis: Conservatism, Saving Elephants, Populism, Donald Trump, and Economic Morality 1:09:50

1M ago1:09:50

1:09:50

Josh Lewis is a traditional conservative who has worked in 'government' in America, has served in retail politics, and has interviewed hundreds of leading thinkers in American conservatism. Josh has a unique ability to bridge the gap between politics and life, philosophy and culture. His developed his skill comes from a deep discomfort with what he…

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#202: Behind the scenes at Pybites with Bob and Julian 38:33

1M ago38:33

38:33

In this episode we share some of the exciting things happening behind the scenes at Pybites. From our new partnership in South Africa to coaching success stories that showcase real-world career transformations, we reflect on how far we've come in making Python accessible, building community, and helping developers grow. We also talk about our expan…

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#51 Reflecting on Charlie Kirk. Are we tired of being bullied? 22:53

1M ago22:53

22:53

I couldn't stay silent and sane. Once again, the AI summary is scarily accurate, so I will let is stand. Let me know what you think. Shawn AI Summary: Responding to Tragedy: Honouring Charlie Kirk & Challenging Silence In this deeply reflective episode of Concepts, host Shawn Whatley breaks from his usual avoidance of current events to address a tu…

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#50 George Nash: The Conservative Intellectual Movement 1:09:54

1M ago1:09:54

1:09:54

If you find conservatism confusing, you are not alone! Dr. George Nash has spent 50 years explaining all the strands that weave together into the collection of ideas we call conservatism. The AI summary is surprisingly good, so I will simply point out the book links below: The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America since 1945 Russel Kirk's C…

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#49 Yuval Levin: Unity, Citizenship, and American Constitutionalism 1:03:00

2M ago1:03:00

1:03:00

How can we live together when we don't t all think alike? Are there nothing but power struggles, or is there a better way? Dr. Yuval Levin explains that we don't need to disagree less; we need to learn to disagree better. Unity does not mean unanimity. We should be hopeful, not simply optimistic. Yuval has spent several decades trying to persuade c…

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#48 Nico Lagan: Political Orphans, Masculinity, and Faith 1:08:01

2M ago1:08:01

1:08:01

The non-left in Canada includes an interesting and often overlooked group. They promote a mix of exercise, martial arts, masculinity, self defence, freedom, self sufficiency, honour, Christianity, and more. This group baffles academics and exasperates leftists. Both left and right seeks to dismiss and minimize their impact. But they represent a lar…

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#201: Transforming military discipline into Python skills with PDI 34:03

2M ago34:03

34:03

Christina Lang’s journey from nearly two decades in the military to becoming a DevOps architect shows how discipline, persistence, and a growth mindset can drive career transitions. She shares how the Pybites PDI course helped her rapidly level up her Python skills, the importance of being “humble but hungry” when learning, and how mentorship and s…

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#47 Andy Crooks: Moral Courage and the Heart of Conservatism 1:10:51

2M ago1:10:51

1:10:51

Andy captures the heart of conservatism unlike anything I've found elsewhere. He has lived it. He embodies it. And he welcomes others to enjoy it. Andy Crooks spelled out what's at stake for Canada, and he explained what we must do to save it. Stark, fun, inspirational, and tragic. I can't think of a better embodiment of the heart an soul of conser…

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#200: Celebrating 200 episodes of our Pybites journey 🎉 48:57

2M ago48:57

48:57

What started as a simple idea to “chat more” became Pybites — a global Python learning platform transforming how developers build skills. In this special 200th episode, co-founders Bob and Julian share their journey from corporate life to creating a build-focused, mindset-driven approach that’s helped thousands worldwide. In this episode we hear in…

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#46 Marco Navarro-Genie: Red Toryism, Canadian Identity, and the Role of Conservatism 1:08:19

2M ago1:08:19

1:08:19

Marco packages powerful barbs in (slightly) softened academic polish. It makes his writing and speaking fun to consume and hard to forget. Do check out his Substack https://substack.com/@navarrogenie Looking forward to hearing what you think! Thanks again! AI summary: Special guest Dr. Marco Navarro-Genie, VP of Research at Frontier Center for Publ…

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#199: Charlie Marsh on ty, uv, and the Python tooling renaissance 53:28

3M ago53:28

53:28

Charlie Marsh returns to Pybites to introduce ty —Astral’s bold new take on Python type checking. Built from the ground up for speed and developer experience, ty is both a command-line tool and language server, powered by Rust's Salsa framework. We dive into how it enables lightning-fast incremental analysis, smarter diagnostics inspired by Rust, a…

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#45 Sean Walsh: The Hard Problem of Consciousness, AI, and Conservatism 53:48

3M ago53:48

53:48

Sean has a PhD in the philosophy of artificial intelligence. He writes well and thinks deeply. He's also experienced more grit than the average academic. This was not a light discussion, but I think you will find it well worth your time. Articles mentioned: Wandering Thoughts Artificial, human and angelic intelligence Sean is Associate Editor of Co…

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#198: Tim Hopper on UV and smarter Python development 40:49

3M ago40:49

40:49

Python development has changed a lot over the years, and Tim Hopper has been right there with it. In this episode, we chat about the tools that are shaping modern Python workflows—like UV, a fast package manager aiming to improve the developer experience. Tim also tells us about creating the Python Developer Tooling Handbook, a practical resource f…

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#44 Tristan Rogers: Conservatism Past and Present--A Philosophical Introduction 1:06:32

3M ago1:06:32

1:06:32

Tristan and I discuss his new book on conservatism. It is fun and deep and convoluted...you will love it. The AI summary (below) chunks out the main sections. Books and articles mentioned: Conservatism Past and Present: A philosophical introduction, by Tristan Rogers https://amzn.to/4lYHPbC England: An Elegy, by Roger Scruton https://amzn.to/4lMKkO…

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#197: Polars with Jeroen Janssens and Thijs Nieuwdorp 50:28

3M ago50:28

50:28

Polars is changing the game in Python data processing – and fast. In this episode, we chat with Jeroen Janssens and Thijs Nieuwdorp, authors of Python Polars: The Definitive Guide, about how this DataFrame library is revolutionising workflows. From its origins at Dutch firm Xomnia to GPU-powered speed boosts and a behind-the-scenes look at writing …

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#43 Brian Day: The Fight for Canadian Healthcare | A 30-Year Battle for Patient Rights 1:07:55

3M ago1:07:55

1:07:55

Dr. Brian Day has spent decades fighting for patients' rights. He trained during an era of no wait times and doctors competing to provide care for patients. People find this hard to believe, and system planners find it horrifying. Canadian medicare was once the envy of the world. Today, countries try to avoid creating 'Canada-like' results. Dr. Day…

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#196: Robin Quintero on Complexipy 36:19

3M ago36:19

36:19

In this episode, we talk with Robin Quintero, creator of Complexipy —an ultra-fast cognitive complexity analyzer for Python code, powered by Rust. Robin shares how frustration with slow tooling led him to build Complexipy in Rust, how it's helping Python devs write clearer code, and why teams are loving it for faster, cleaner pull requests. We also…

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#42 Nathan Pinkoski: Actually Existing Postliberalism 1:01:22

3M ago1:01:22

1:01:22

A quiet revolution occurred in the 1990s. Our institutions shifted. The global war on terror solidified the shift and obliterated the distinction between public and private, which was once a feature of liberalism. The fusion of public and private represents a new era of actually existing postliberalism. https://firstthings.com/actually-existing-pos…

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#195: Patterns, paradigms, and pythonic thinking with Rodrigo Girão Serrão 51:00

4M ago51:00

51:00

In this ep, we chat with Rodrigo Girão Serrão about his journey from mathematician to Pythonista. What started as a colleague’s tip turned into 11 years of Python exploration. Rodrigo shares how his background in APL reshaped the way he writes Python, helping him embrace list comprehensions and functional patterns more intuitively. We dig into his …

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#41 Rebecca Vachon: Canada's Rapid Expansion of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD)/Euthanasia 50:44

4M ago50:44

50:44

Canada has the fastest growing assisted dying program in the world. Medical Assistance in Dying (passive and active euthanasia) is now tied as Canada's 5th leading cause of death. We tackle loneliness and social isolation, individualism, and (briefly) social response to suffering. Not a light episode, but a crucial topic to discuss. Thanks for chec…

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#40 Happy Canada Day! What is Canada? What are we celebrating? 6:19

4M ago6:19

6:19

Short recording for Canada Day. I hope you find (or found) time to enjoy the day and reflect on what we are celebrating. Canada is young: many Canadians alive now are more than 1/2 as old as Canada itself. Given its youth, what exactly is Canada? What aspects do we hope to pass on to our children and grandchildren? Whatever Canada is it must be "pl…

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#194: Evolution, not extinction: why developers still matter in the age of AI 39:09

4M ago39:09

39:09

In this episode, we dive into AI’s impact on software development with Matt Makai, VP of Developer Relations at DigitalOcean and creator of Full Stack Python. We explore how AI tools are changing coding workflows—from elite devs like Miguel Grinberg and Armin Ronacher to Matt’s own work on the AI-powered PlushCap app. While some see friction, other…

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#39 Adam Swart: CEO Crowds on Demand. Paid Protesters a Moral and Political Dilemma? 54:10

4M ago54:10

54:10

I had a friendly debate with Adam Swart, CEO of Crowds on Demand, the largest protest company in America. He ran circles around me having clearly argued almost all my points many times before. He called out my hypocrisy at being intolerant of paying protesters while being ok with all the other money that flows around inside politics. Adam forced me…

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#38 Ryan Alford: Seven Absolute Rights and necessary limits on government 1:00:29

4M ago1:00:29

1:00:29

Our legal history will shock you. It has more tradition than libertarians can stomach and more anti-government sentiment than conservatives can tolerate. Dr. Alford explains why we need both more history and more enthusiasm to put government in its place. He ends with a message of hope for rescuing Canada. Seven Absolute Rights: Recovering the Hist…

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#193: Why coding alone sucks! 20:29

4M ago20:29

20:29

In this episode, we share our own experiences of what it’s like to code in isolation — and why it held us back more than we realised at the time. When you're working solo, it’s easy to miss out on learning opportunities, fall into unhelpful habits, or lose momentum altogether. But when you start coding alongside others, everything shifts. We talk a…

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#37 Daniel Pitt: The essence of conservatism from Burke to Scruton. 1:00:22

4M ago1:00:22

1:00:22

I got a chance to visit with Dr. Dan Pitt, co-author of Intellectual Conservatism: From Burke to Scruton. We focussed on a chapter he wrote which offers a brilliant rubric for understanding conservatism -- one of the best I've seen. Dr. Pitt offers an attractive view beyond the status-quo liberalism in which all political parties operate, for the m…

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#36 Ferenc Hörcher (Hungary) on Intellectual Conservatism from Burke to Scruton 53:21

5M ago53:21

53:21

Conservatives are often suspicious of intellectuals and for good reason. Novel ideas dreamt up by radical intellectuals have caused enormous suffering over the past 200 years. But Conservative parties cannot survive without intellectual substance. European conservatism doesn't suffer from the North American tendency to confuse conservatism with cla…

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#35 Peter Copeland: The politics of Pope Leo XIV. What can we expect from the new pope? 51:27

5M ago51:27

51:27

Pope Leo's election garnered far more interest than usual. We are in a time of great change. People are paying attention. The Pope shapes public opinion, and people are eager to know what Pope Leo might say. I asked Peter all the most provocative political questions I could imagine. What might the Pope think about resource development, immigration,…

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#192: Coding smarter not harder - 5 key ways to succeed as a developer 33:42

5M ago33:42

33:42

Are you ready to level up your Python skills? In this episode we share the five common mistakes that hold learners back, and how to avoid them. From setting clear goals to building simple, impactful projects, we’ll show you how to turn scattered effort into strategic growth. Learn to stay focused in a world full of distractions, seek mentorship con…

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#34 David Livingstone: Radical Conservatives, postmodernism, and D'Arcy McGee on Canada's Founding 1:03:35

5M ago1:03:35

1:03:35

Dr. Livingstone worries about postmodernism destroying Truth. I worry about about postmodernism destroying history as a way to understand the present. David says we need universals to resist postmoderns. I say we should fear universals lest the postmoderns inflict us with their 'values'. In this episode we resolve the debate (sort of). Thanks for w…

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#191: Code, click, cloud - how Sebastián Ramírez is taking FastAPI to the next level 45:16

5M ago45:16

45:16

Sebastián Ramírez returns in this episode to share the evolution of his journey from open-source developer to company founder, with the launch of FastAPI Cloud. After creating tools used by developers worldwide, Sebastián explains how he found a critical gap in the app creation process - the painful transition from local development to production d…

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#33 John von Heyking on political friendship, pro-Hamas protests, and the future of Canada. 53:27

5M ago53:27

53:27

Can a country survive if we aren't united about common fundamental matters? Pro-Hamas protests block streets in Toronto. They have even forced ambulances to turn around. This has really bothered me. Aside from basic procedural solutions -- keeping a lane open for emergency vehicles or having police enforce the law -- can we solve the deeper, existe…

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#32 Mark Carney and Justin Trudeau are universalists. Donald Trump is not. What is universalism? 19:12

5M ago19:12

19:12

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Justin Trudeau are universalists. Donald Trump is a (rare) politician who, for the most part, doesn't seem to be a universalist. Universalism is an essential concept to help us understand modern politics. It's a core pillar of liberalism, but many 'conservatives' are universalists also. AI Summary Understanding Univer…

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#190: The power shift - Flexa’s data-driven energy revolution 33:02

5M ago33:02

33:02

What if you could tap into a more affordable and efficient energy system, all while supporting grid stability? Tune in to our fascinating conversation with Robin Beer, energy data scientist at Flexa, a startup revolutionising the way we consume electricity. Robin shares the process of creating a virtual power plant that enables consumers to utilise…

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#31 Simplifying liberalism. Start with individuals. 17:24

5M ago17:24

17:24

Go ask a professor for a simple definition of liberalism or conservatism. If they are honest, they won't give you a short answer. These terms are super complex. But we need somewhere to start. In this short segment, I offer a place to start talking about liberalism: a theory with 4 pillars. The first pillar we discuss is individualism. We will disc…

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#30 Geoff Russ -- Hope for Canada vs progressive internationalism 46:27

6M ago46:27

46:27

Geoff stands out as a new kind of writer on the non-left. He offers hope that embraces Canada's past without repudiation -- truly rare these days Thanks for listening! AI Summary Shawn interviews Geoff Russ, a Vancouver-based writer, about the evolving concept of Canadian nationalism and identity. They discuss the need for newcomers to understand t…

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#189: The Year of Oui: Huy Nguyen on Connection, Community and Showing Up 49:06

6M ago49:06

49:06

This episode is a bit special. Julian is joined by one of his closest friends and former AWS colleagues, Huy Nguyen, to talk about something we often overlook in our careers and lives — the power of genuine human connection. In 2024, Huy made an unusual choice. He chose to get off the hamster wheel and take a career break to focus the entire year o…

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#29 Grant Havers on Leo Strauss, Conservatism, and Modern Political Issues 1:02:08

6M ago1:02:08

1:02:08

This episode goes deep into the philosophy of Leo Strauss and the modern Conservative movement by looking at Professor Haver's book on Strauss and Ango-American democracy. I got too excited with the discussion and stopped paying attention to the recording quality. It's less than I would have hoped, but the content Grant shares is excellent. I offer…

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#28 Jodi Bruhn: Political Myths, the non-left voter, and COVID fallout 1:06:40

6M ago1:06:40

1:06:40

Professor Bruhn is a unique thinker. She calls herself someone of the 'non-left'. Her advocacy on indigenous issues does not rest on the more common progressive principles. I hope you enjoy the episode! AI summary: In this episode, Shawn dives into Canadian political thought with Dr. Jodi Bruhn. They explore topics such as the conservatism of Pierr…

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#188: Career crossroads - navigating the path to job fulfillment 36:28

6M ago36:28

36:28

In this episode, Andrea Gosselink, career coach and former HR executive, joins us to unpack the complicated feelings that arise when we find ourselves at a career crossroad. Drawing from both her personal journey and client experiences, Andrea shares why so many successful people still feel unfulfilled despite achieving traditional markers of caree…

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#27 Ted Morton: The Charter Revolution & Conservative Politics 54:57

6M ago54:57

54:57

Ted Morton offers a perspective you cannot find anywhere else in Canada. He's an academic, turned politician, returned academic from Alberta. If you want to understand Canadian politics, you simply have to spend time digging into Alberta. Ted has a great sense of humour and seems to love chatting about the thorniest political issues. He jokes that …

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#26 Another short introduction. Why would an MD bother with politics? 4:36

6M ago4:36

4:36

Our lives are shaped by the political systems in which we live. When our country starts to struggle, we need to revisit the ideas that animate the programs and structures around us. In just under 5 minutes, I explain why we need to focus on political ideas now, and why philosophical conservatism offers a (paradoxically) new and fresh way to think. …