Best Unimportant Questions Podcasts (2026)

1
Storing Files in the Database w/ Bogdan Kharchenko and Skyler Katz 1:09:46

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3M ago1:09:46

1:09:46

Sometimes you have files or other large chunks of data that you need to associate with a record in your database. It might be convenient to just store that as base64-encoded data or HTML in a "longtext" column, but that can eventually cause issues—especially as the table grows. What other options are there? In this episode of Over Engineered, we go…

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Kilopixel Retro w/ Ben Holmen + Joe Tannenbaum 1:11:20

5M ago1:11:20

1:11:20

At the beginning of August, after six years of working on it on-and-off, Ben Holmen took his Kilopixel project live. It's a 1000 pixel display, where each pixel has to be manually toggled by a custom CNC rig, and it's whimsical and impractical and took the internet by storm. In today's episode, Chris chats with Ben and Joe about the whole project a…

1
(Actually good) browser testing w/ Nuno Maduro 1:54:19

5M ago1:54:19

1:54:19

Up until now, browser testing in Laravel has felt… bad. Dusk was a huge step over nothing, but it's been slow and flaky and just waiting to be replaced with something better. And with Pest 4, Nuno's cracked it! In today's episode of Over Engineered with dig into the technical details of what makes browser testing in Pest 4 both very fast and much m…

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Fostering Community w/ Alex Hillman 1:41:41

6M ago1:41:41

1:41:41

Alex Hillman has been thinking about and actively supporting communities for decades. In this episode, Chris and Alex talk about lessons he's learned along the way that can help meetup organizers tend their local tech communities, and brainstorm about ways that we can organize together to support meetups in general. Links: tiny.mba stackingthebrick…

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Why Do We Polish Our Nails? 1:13:08

8M ago1:13:08

1:13:08

Learn all about the art of the manicure with Teagan and Bekah as we investigate when we started painting our nails, why we paint our nails, and how manicures have changed over time! Check us out on insta @bemorespecificpod or at bemorespecific.org for show notes and photos to go along with the ep!

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Native PHP w/ Simon Hamp 2:18:45

9M ago2:18:45

2:18:45

Simon Hamp and Marcel Pociot have been working on NativePHP for a number of years, and Simon just surprised with world at Laracon EU with a NativePHP for Mobile announcement. In this episode, Simon and Chris get deep into the the NativePHP innards, explore sustainable open source, and generally just have a good time for <> over two ho…

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The next era of Larabelles w/ Zuzana Kunckova 1:20:17

9M ago1:20:17

1:20:17

Zuzana Kunckova started Larabelles five years ago, and over that time it has grown into an important part of the Laravel community. In today's episode, Zuzana and Chris talk about the future of Larabelles now that she has more time to dedicate to it. Links: Larabelles Sponsor Larabelles on GitHub Sponsor Larabelles on Patreon Other ways to support …

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PHP × NYC Chaos-Cast™ 1:11:21

9M ago1:11:21

1:11:21

What happens when you get a bunch of Laravel podcasters + a bunch of mics in a room? Chaos, apparently. Recorded live after PHP × NYC with Ben Holmen, John Drexler, Daniel Coulbourne, Chris Morrell, Ian Landsman, Dave Hicking, and Joe Tannenbaum.By Chris Morrell

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Why Do Waffles Have Shapes? 1:06:41

10M ago1:06:41

1:06:41

Why don’t Waffle Houses close? Why is there a waffle iron in every bargain hotel? And why do we care so much? Join Bekah and Teagan as they decide once and for all whether waffles emerge triumphant in an ancient debate. See www.bemorespecific.org for show notes, photos and more!

1
Running Small Teams w/ Dan Matthews & John Rudolph Drexler 1:34:57

10M ago1:34:57

1:34:57

There's lots of advice out there for running software teams, but much of it comes from large organizations with dozens or hundreds of developers. Smaller teams have different needs. On today's episode, we pick up from a question Dan asked on Bluesky and talk about how best to approach running a small development team. Links: Dan's Bluesky Post Thun…

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What's going on with Ping Pong? 1:07:28

11M ago1:07:28

1:07:28

When did we start playing Ping Pong? Why is it an Olympic sport? How did Ping Pong Diplomacy work? Answers to these questions and MORE in this episode of Be More Specific! Show notes, photos, and more on bemorespecific.org

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Event Sourcery w/ Shawn McCool 1:52:31

1y ago1:52:31

1:52:31

Shawn McCool has been talking about event sourcing for years, and recently started a new series of streams on the topic. In this episode, Chris and Shawn talk about event sourcing, Verbs, and community (among other things). Links: Shawn on Twitch Event Sourcery VerbsBy Chris Morrell

1
Design Patterns w/ Mary Perry 1:15:39

1y ago1:15:39

1:15:39

Design patterns can be very useful, but can also be weaponized as a way to "prove" that someone is doing something the "wrong" way. Mary has been thinking a lot about the good side of knowing design patterns, so we sat down to chat about them.By Chris Morrell

1
Why Do We Bond with Virtual Pets? 1:24:55

1+ y ago1:24:55

1:24:55

Virtual pets! Either you love them or you don't understand them. Join Teagan and Bekah as we explore the world of virtual companions, from early desktop buddies and Tamagotchis to modern apps like Neko Atsume and Pokémon Go, as well as investigating the psychology of bonding with pixels on a screen! Episode notes, references, and images can all be …

1
Side Projects w/ Joe Tannenbaum 56:21

1+ y ago56:21

56:21

Joe Tannenbaum is thinking about starting a podcast about side projects. So we took an afternoon to talk through what that might look like.By Chris Morrell

1
The Art of Pairing with Strangers w/ Ben Holmen 59:48

1+ y ago59:48

59:48

Ben Holmen started his Pair-amid scheme as an experiment in meeting new people and experiencing new code. He shared his calendar with the world, and booked pairing sessions with 15 complete strangers. The outcome? A bunch of new friends and new experiences. In this episode, Ben and Chris talk about pair programming, side projects, and how to find f…

1
ReactPHP + Event Loops w/ Len Woodward 1:15:18

1+ y ago1:15:18

1:15:18

ReactPHP is a low-level library for event-driven programming in PHP. It lets you write code that's much closer to the async/await style of JavaScript in PHP. In today's episode, Chris and Len talk about our experiments with ReactPHP. Links: ReactPHP Whiskey Community Prompts Conductor DawnBy Chris Morrell

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Code standards w/ Matt Stauffer 1:26:35

1+ y ago1:26:35

1:26:35

What set two developers on a quest to build custom tooling to enforce their code style preferences? Today's episode is a story that starts with two independent projects—Tighten's `tlint` and InterNACHI's `laralint`—but meanders to all the right places, including the future of PHP itself, the intersection of bikeshedding and art, and so much more.…

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Burnout w/ Ian Landsman 1:16:19

1+ y ago1:16:19

1:16:19

Today we take a break from over engineering to talk about burnout. Both Chris and Ian have been working on the same products for multiple decades. We sit down to talk about that and what to do about the kind of burnout that comes from working on the same thing for so long. Links: Brent is Leaving Twitter Join the RTSN.DEV mastodon instance…

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Let's talk APIs w/ Steve McDougall 1:42:06

1+ y ago1:42:06

1:42:06

Steve McDougall (aka JustSteveKing) is known as the "API guy" on Twitter. In today's episode we start with the question, "what if the best option is just a single page app with a good, RESTful API?" Links: HAL - Hypertext Application Language JSON:API Spec Laravel Sanctum API Versioning Blog Post Steve on Twitter (follow for updates on upcoming cou…

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Full Stack Javascript w/ Kelvin Omereshone 1:14:48

1+ y ago1:14:48

1:14:48

The internet has been talking (yelling?) about full-stack javascript a lot lately. In today's episode, we sit down and talk about what it means to be "full stack" and whether there are really any truly full-stack javascript frameworks out there (spoiler: there are, but maybe not Next.js or Remix). Links: Sails.js The Boring Javascript Stack AdonisJ…

1
Building prompts w/ Jess Archer 1:50:15

1+ y ago1:50:15

1:50:15

Jess Archer took something that was quite good—the Symfony console output features—and built something that was absolutely great: Laravel Prompts. In today's episode, we dig into some of the gnarly details around building prompts and working with ANSI escape sequences in the terminal.By Chris Morrell

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The Future of the Laravel Frontend w/ Taylor Otwell 1:18:23

1+ y ago1:18:23

1:18:23

Taylor Otwell has been finding ways to improve Laravel for over a decade, but has only more recently set his sights on the front-end side of things. In today's episode, we sit down and talk about the current state of building UIs in Laravel, and what the future might hold. Links: Laravel Volt Aire Form Builder Laravel “Context” Feature Hooks Packag…

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Building for the command line w/ Joe Tannenbaum 1:18:05

2y ago1:18:05

1:18:05

Joe Tannenbaum took the internet by storm with his incredible SSH CLI "experiments." In today's episode, Chris and Joe sit down to get into the messy details of parsing ANSI escape sequences and dealing with multibyte strings, but spend as much time talking about programming as art and life as an actor. Links: Joe Tannenbaum on Twitter Joe's "Lab" …

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What is a Rodeo? 1:04:05

2y ago1:04:05

1:04:05

Join Bekah and Teagan as they learn more about rodeos and think really critically about our relationships with horses! Show notes, resources, and pictures can be found at bemorespecific.org!

1
Do we really need sprints? w/ John Drexler, Bogdan Kharchenko, and Skyler Katz 1:20:21

2y ago1:20:21

1:20:21

What are the best processes for small software development teams with high trust? In today's episode the InterNACHI software development team sits down with John Rudolph Drexler to talk about whether or not we need to estimate tickets or even bother with sprints…By Chris Morrell

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Cache everything w/ Ian Landsman 1:55:26

2y ago1:55:26

1:55:26

As the saying goes: "There are only two hard things in Computer Science: cache invalidation and naming things." So in today's episode we dig into all the ways Ian is taking on one of the hardest parts of programming in his rewrite of their decades-running helpdesk software, HelpSpot. We talk about caching, a little bit of Laravel history, and about…

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How Many Types of Spiders Are There? 1:11:39

2y ago1:11:39

1:11:39

Ah, spiders. Either you love or hate them, and today Teagan will be trying her darndest to convince everyone they are deserving of our affection, while Bekah tries to recall every spider she's seen in a movie! Come to learn about spiders, stay for an unhinged Doctor Who rant! Episode notes, References, and Images all can be found on bemorespecificp…

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Handling complicated view logic w/ Skyler Katz & Bogdan Kharchenko 1:09:07

2y ago1:09:07

1:09:07

Complex view logic can be hard to get right—particularly in server-rendered templates like Blade. We recently had to decide just how much a Laravel Blade component should do, and decided to hash it out on the podcast.By Chris Morrell

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Modular Laravel Apps w/ Mateus Guimarães 1:31:59

2y ago1:31:59

1:31:59

When applications grow—in scope, sheer lines of code, or the number of team members—how you organize things starts to matter a whole lot more. In today's episode, we talk with Mateus Guimarães about modularization: breaking your application into smaller modules. We explore some of the topics in his new Laracasts course, and talk about the decisions…

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Building Forms (and Catalyst) w/ Adam Wathan 1:10:04

2y ago1:10:04

1:10:04

It's been said that web development is 99% forms and tables. Today we talk with Adam Wathan about all the decisions that go into creating a great form builder API. Adam and the rest of the team at Tailwind recently launched the developer preview of Catalyst—a React UI library with a robust form system. We take a deep-dive into the API decisions beh…

1
Static site generators & personal websites w/ Aaron Francis 1:03:06

2y ago1:03:06

1:03:06

We all use our personal websites as an excuse for trying something new or over engineering what's usually a simple, low traffic site. In today's episode, Chris and Aaron talk about how to build a great personal website with "just Laravel" and imagine ways that static site generation, markdown editing, open graph, caching, SEO, and more could be imp…

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What Makes Soda So Special? 59:32

2y ago59:32

59:32

Fizzy water, pop, lolly water, soda, coke, pepsi...when did this bubbly beverage come into our lives and our hearts? Show notes and more at bemorespecific.org! Pardon the volume differential between Bekah and Teagan, this is our first time with this new recording setup!

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Perfecting lifecycle hooks w/ Caleb Porzio 1:16:08

2y ago1:16:08

1:16:08

In today's episode, Chris and Caleb sit down and try to imagine what the perfect "hook" implementation might look like. Laravel, Livewire, and the upcoming Verbs package, all have to allow for hooking into logic at specific points, and each package has to handle this in its own unique way. What if there was a canonical way to hook into the lifecycl…

1
Why Do We Buy Bottled Water? 1:07:54

2+ y ago1:07:54

1:07:54

Ah, the water bottle. A staple of news anchors desks, comic-con panels, sports camps, the floor of your car, etc! When did water bottles get so popular? Why plastic? How many water bottles are out there??? Answers to all these questions and more in this months episode of Be More Specific! Show notes, sources and more can be found at bemorespecific.…

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Verbs vacation (part 1?) w/ Daniel Coulbourne 1:24:00

2+ y ago1:24:00

1:24:00

And now for something completely different… In this episode, Chris and Daniel sit down to talk about a new event sourcing package they're working on called Verbs.By Chris Morrell

1
What is Hair? 1:18:21

2+ y ago1:18:21

1:18:21

What is hair? What's it made of? Why do we have so much of it? Why don't chimps have as much? Why is some hair curly? All this and more are answered this month on Be More Specific! For full notes, photos, and extras, visit bemorespecific.org

1
What Is Shampoo? 1:04:57

2+ y ago1:04:57

1:04:57

We lather our scalps with it, but what IS shampoo? When did it come to be, and why is Teagan insistent she needs a special one? What makes this "poo" so special? Sources and more on www.bemorespecific.org

1
Customizing outgoing email 1:23:23

2+ y ago1:23:23

1:23:23

Most teams have encountered this basic scenario: Your application sends out a periodic report to a specific person in the company. Then, at some later point, either another team member wants to start receiving a copy of the report, or you need to remove the original recipient and add a new one. With a standard Laravel app, you're probably going to …

1
How Were Cats Domesticated? 1:06:22

2+ y ago1:06:22

1:06:22

How did humans domesticate cats...or did we? What's so great about these furry friends, and how long have they been man's best "animal that lives in my house I guess"? Find sources, photos, and more on bemorespecific.org

1
When Did Blacksmithing Begin? 1:13:33

2+ y ago1:13:33

1:13:33

When did humans start heating up and manipulating metal? Turns out it was a long time ago, and we're still doing it now! Join us as we learn all about blacksmithing and the art of metal work! Go to bemorespecific.org for notes, photos, and more fun!

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What about event sourcing? 1:31:06

2+ y ago1:31:06

1:31:06

In this episode we indulge in the purest form of Over Engineering—a 90 minute discussion of a completely different application paradigm/architecture. Our team has used event sourcing to some degree, and we're considering using it more heavily in the future. But before we do, we're going to step back and ask ourselves if it's worth it… Some useful l…

1
The dreaded status column w/ Daniel Coulbourne + Cheyne Rood 1:26:46

2+ y ago1:26:46

1:26:46

Over Engineered is all about those things that bug you but you never get a chance to "solve." Today's episode is about the dreaded "status" column. This is another topic that most developers will hit over and over. You have a model. You need to track the status. You add a status column, and then later a status timestamp "accepted_at", and then late…

1
Are You Liking Lichens? 1:02:49

3y ago1:02:49

1:02:49

Teagan and Bekah learn all about these fantastic symbiotic, pioneer, and super beautiful organisms! Come explore the wonderfully weird world of lichens! Lichen photos, full references, and more on bemorespecific.org! Follow us on instagram @bemorespecificpod and follow the Leavitt Lab Lichen Page @lichensirl for more fun facts and photos! Must Read…

1
Referencing specific database records in your code 1:00:45

3y ago1:00:45

1:00:45

Season 1 continues with a discussion of how to deal with special database records that need to be referenced directly in code. We've all been there before: you've got a specific vendor that you need to write a custom command for, or a certain category that needs special handling, so you either hard-code the ID or slug and shudder slightly before mo…

1
Over-engineering migrations even more w/ Tim MacDonald! 1:16:07

3y ago1:16:07

1:16:07

In the second episode of the podcast we talk with Tim MacDonald about a few other approaches to how you might manage other operations that happen before/during/after a database migration (or really any deploy step). Tim pitches a lower-level approach that spawns a whole new line of thinking. We also touch on some of the responses to episode one, in…

1
What is the History of Prosthetics? 1:15:04

3y ago1:15:04

1:15:04

Today, Bekah explains the history of prosthetics and how they've changed over time! Teagan listens, and is a bit of a class clown... To help with prosthetic access, consider donating to one of these charities: LIMBS International The Prosthetic Foundation Sources, photos, and more can be found on www.bemorespecific.org…

1
The line between migration and…? 1:06:15

3y ago1:06:15

1:06:15

In the first episode of the podcast we explore the boundary between database migrations and other operations that need to happen when the database is being migrated. How do you seed or manipulate data after new tables or columns have been added? In migrations? In one-off commands that you have to run manually? Running seeders in production? In tink…

1
Why Do People Wear Wigs? 1:08:54

3y ago1:08:54

1:08:54

Why do humans wear wigs, and when did this particular fashion trend come to be? Come with Teagan and Bekah as they go on a journey through the history of wigs and learn all about these odd hair hats! Images, Sources, and more on bemorespecific.org

1
Where Did Snowmen Come From? 1:07:55

3y ago1:07:55

1:07:55

Snowmen! They're everywhere, even if there isn't snow around! Join Teagan & Bekah as they talk about our snow friends and their origins! Also, a Winter Giveaway from now to January 30th 2023! Rate us on iTunes, follow us on Instagram or Facebook, post a photo of your favorite snowman (any material accepted) that you've ever made, and tag @bemorespe…