Gil Feig, co-founder and CTO of Merge, joins the show to explore Merge’s approach for reducing third-party APIs to a single call, the complexities of and need for data normalization, and the role that AI and MCP plays in the future of API functionality. Episode notes: Merge connects you to any third-party system for fast, secure integrations for your products and agents.Connect with Gil on LinkedIn and X. Shoutout to user Abhijit for winning a Lifeboat badge on their answer for Complex numbers in python.TRANSCRIPTSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Building AI-ready teams: Why documentation and culture matter more than tools
In the second part of this two-part Leaders of Code episode, Peter O'Connor, Director of Platform Engineering, and Ryan J. Salva, Senior Director of Product at Google Developer Experiences, dive beyond AI hype to explore the shifts reshaping how engineering teams operate and scale. From the critical role of documentation quality in AI workflows to the cultural transformations needed for successful adoption, Peter and Ryan discuss the deeper implications of integrating AI into modern software development practices.The discussion also:Explores how poor documentation creates problems as AI systems learn and repeat mistakes, making high-quality documentation essential for successful AI integrations.Covers how consistent tools and processes become more important when using AI, and why leaders should prioritize helping teams learn and experiment with AI tools instead of just measuring productivity.Offers practical advice for leaders on how to create environments where developers can learn and build confidence with AI tools.Notes:Listen to Part 1 of the conversation here.Connect with Peter O’Connor and Ryan J Salva.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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As your AI gets smarter, so must your API
Ryan sits down with Marco Palladino, CTO of Kong, to talk about the rise of AI agents and their impact on API consumption, the MCP protocol as a new standard for agents, the importance of observability and security in AI systems, and the importance for businesses and entrepreneurs to leverage opportunities in the agentic AI space now. Episode notes: Kong is an all-in-one API platform for AI and agentic workflows.Marco previously joined the podcast in 2024. Connect with Marco on Twitter.Congratulations to user Mark for receiving a Lifeboat badge for their answer to Visual Studio Code: Expand the horizontal bar for scrolling tabs.TRANSCRIPTSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Getting Backstage in front of a shifting dev experience
Ryan welcomes Pia Nilsson, GM for Backstage and head of developer experience at Spotify, to discuss the evolution and adoption of Backstage, the impact of AI on dev experience, and how Spotify approaches platform engineering and standardization to help teams solve for specific needs. Episode notes: Backstage is an open-source IDP by Spotify that reduces everyday friction, cognitive overhead, and operational toil for developers.We previously talked to the Backstage team in 2022.Poor Ryan. If only he had Backstage at his last job. You know what makes Backstage even better? Our Stack Overflow for Teams integration. Connect with Pia on LinkedIn.Markus Pscheidt gets today’s shoutout for winning the Populist badge with their answer to Dynamic tag values for the Counter metric in Micrometer.TRANSCRIPTSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Democratizing your data access with AI agents
Jeff Hollan, director of product at Snowflake, joins Ryan to discuss the role that data plays in making AI and AI agents better. Along the way, they discuss how a database leads to an AI platform, Snowflake’s new data marketplace, and the role data will play in AI agents. Episode notes:Snowflake provides a fully-managed data platform that developers can build AI apps on. We’re happy to have Stack Exchange data available on the Snowflake Marketplace. Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn and Twitter. Congrats to Timeless for throwing a Lifejacket to Using pandas to read HTML.TRANSCRIPTSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
For more than a dozen years, the Stack Overflow Podcast has been exploring what it means to be a developer and how the art and practice of software programming is changing our world. From Rails to React, from Java to Node.js, we host important conversations and fascinating guests that will help you understand how technology is made and where it’s headed. Hosted by Ben Popper, Cassidy Williams, and Ceora Ford, the Stack Overflow Podcast is your home for all things code.
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