This week, Robbie and Adam talk about JavaScript trends, from the overuse of hooks to frameworks chasing sameness, and why Cracker Barrel’s rebrand feels like a frontend metaphor. They dive into tech nostalgia, from retro consoles to old-school LAN parties, and debate AI’s role in therapy and modern workflows.
In this episode:
(00:00) - Intro
(01:09) - Whiskey rating & review: WhistlePig Small Batch Rye
(05:48) - Growing plants and bottom watering
(09:43) - Robbie’s dog dental woes
(11:40) - Pet insurance frustrations
(16:59) - Is Cracker Barrel a JavaScript framework?
(19:09) - Do people create negative attention on purpose?
(20:59) - Fashion flashbacks: JNCOs, scene kids, and pajamas
(23:38) - Retro gaming consoles and analog nostalgia
(27:17) - Evergreen updates vs. LAN party days
(30:18) - Hot Take: Can ChatGPT be your therapist?
(34:24) - What Robbie and Adam are watching
(39:05) - Parenting in the digital age
(40:58) - Framework overload, naming struggles, and AI tools
(45:35) - What's exciting about fall this year
(49:10) - Football and the stock market
(54:03) - Gardening and plant hacks
(56:12) - Halloween plans
Links
WhistlePig Small Batch Rye: https://www.whistlepigwhiskey.com/
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/
Norlan: https://norlanglass.com/
Sagamore Spirit: https://sagamorespirit.com/
Cracker Barrel: https://www.crackerbarrel.com/
JavaScript: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript
Otis Spunkmeyer: https://www.otisspunkmeyer.com/
Donald Trump: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump
JNCO: https://jnco.com/
Target: https://www.target.com/
Stussy: https://www.stussy.com/
Wu Wear: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu-Tang_Clan#Clothing_line
Hot Topic: https://www.hottopic.com/
Commodore 64: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64
Nintendo: https://www.nintendo.com/
Mini NES: https://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-Entertainment-NES-Classic-Controller-Included/dp/B07P875QTN
Mini SNES: https://www.amazon.com/SNES-Nintendo-Classic-Mini-Entertainment-System/dp/B073BVHY3F
Mini Sega Genesis: https://asia.sega.com/genesismini/
Analogue: https://www.analogue.co/
Nintendo: https://www.nintendo.com/
Mario Kart World: https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/mario-kart-world-switch-2/?srsltid=AfmBOopTg6wc7TCfLihURMUgYx554jK-li2JTJ33ocBEGS9nEEcnO_Ev
8BitDo: https://www.8bitdo.com/
Playstation: https://www.playstation.com/
Switch 2: https://www.nintendo.com/us/gaming-systems/switch-2/
Super Mario Odyssey: https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/super-mario-odyssey-switch/
Halo: https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/halo/
South Park: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Park
ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/
Today: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Today_(American_TV_program)
The Last of Us: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_of_Us_(TV_series)
Bluey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluey_(TV_series)
AFV: https://www.afv.com/
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Mouse_Clubhouse
Rolie Polie Olie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolie_Polie_Olie
Toy Story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy_Story
Star Wars: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars
Jurassic Park: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Park
The Force Awakens: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Force_Awakens
The Mandalorian: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mandalorian
The Book of Boba Fett: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Boba_Fett
Andor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andor_(TV_series)
Lego Star Wars: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego_Star_Wars
Skeleton Crew: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Skeleton_Crew
Jude Law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jude_Law
CSS: https://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/
Qoder: https://qoder.com/
Kiro: https://kiro.dev/
Amazon: https://amazon.com
Shopify: https://www.shopify.com/
Saquon Barkley: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saquon_Barkley
Chipotle: https://www.chipotle.com/
Sum 41: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sum_41
Clues by Sam: https://cluesbysam.com/
Connect with Adam
Website: https://nerdy.dev/
X / Twitter: https://x.com/argyleink
Connect with Chuck and Robbie
Robbie Wagner: https://x.com/RobbieTheWagner
Chuck Carpenter: https://x.com/CharlesWthe3rd
Subscribe and stay in touch
Website: https://whiskey.fm
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whiskey-web-and-whatnot/id1552776603
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19jiuHAqzeKnkleQUpZxDf
Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1552776603
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhiskeyWebAndWhatnot
Whiskey Web and Whatnot Merch
Enjoying the podcast and want us to make more? Help support us by picking up some of our fresh merch at https://whiskey.fund.
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1:02:56
Dial-Up Is Dead, Long Live Adam Argyle
This week, Robbie and Adam talk about CascadiaJS, Adam’s new role at Shopify, and why tech interviews are so broken. They explore accessibility in front-end dev, the sameness of modern frameworks, and whether AI is the future of engineering or just another hype cycle.
In this episode:
(00:00) - Intro
(02:46) - Whiskey rating & review: Jim Beam Pineapple
(07:00) - CascadiaJS preview + speaker lineup
(13:27) - Adam's new role at Shopify
(20:47) - Are React hooks officially dead?
(21:41) - The dev interview process is broken + interview tips
(31:01) - Gradient.style
(35:09) - Hot Take: no more React clones
(36:53) - Adam's OpenAI interview and NPM nightmares
(40:03) - AI and the future of web development
(52:06) - Dial-up is dead
(53:39) - Physical vs. digital media
(1:00:39) - Cracker Barrel’s makeover
Links
Jim Beam Pineapple: https://www.jimbeam.com/en-us/bourbons/jim-beam-pineapple
Taylor Swift: https://www.taylorswift.com/
Travis Kelce: https://x.com/tkelce
New Heights: https://www.youtube.com/@newheightshow
Jim Beam Pineapple: https://www.jimbeam.com/en-us/bourbons/jim-beam-pineapple
CascadiaJS: https://cascadiajs.com/
Vue.js: https://vuejs.org/
Carter Rabasa: https://carter.rabasa.com/
IBM: https://www.ibm.com/
Slack: https://www.slack.com/
Kent C. Dodds: https://kentcdodds.com/
CSS: https://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/
Kevin Whinnery: https://www.kevin.mn/
Deno: https://deno.com/
OpenAI: https://openai.com/
ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/
Charlie Gerard: https://charliegerard.dev/
Annie Sexton: https://bsky.app/profile/anniesexton.com
Shruti Kapoor: https://shrutikapoor.dev/
React: https://react.dev/
Big Sky Dev Con: https://bigskydevcon.com/
All Things Open: https://allthingsopen.org/
Shopify: https://www.shopify.com/
Vercel: https://vercel.com/
Ep 194: Static, Dynamic, Generative: What’s Next for the Web? w/ Guillermo Rauch: https://whiskey.fm/static-dynamic-generative-whats-next-for-the-web-w-guillermo-rauch
LeetCode: https://leetcode.com/
Michael Jackson: https://x.com/mjackson
Remix: https://remix.run/
React: https://react.dev/
Knockout: https://knockoutjs.com/
Discord: https://discord.com
HTML: https://www.w3schools.com/html/
Adam's resume: https://nerdy.dev/resume
Gradient.style: https://gradient.style/
Colorzilla: https://www.colorzilla.com/
Svelte: https://svelte.dev/
Wes Bos: https://wesbos.com/
Kiro: https://kiro.dev/
Windsurf: https://windsurf.ai/
Cursor: https://www.cursor.com/
Claude: https://claude.ai
Warp: https://www.warp.dev/
Zed: https://zed.dev/
Fireship: https://www.youtube.com/@fireship
Shepherd: https://www.shepherdjs.dev/
Tailwind CSS: https://tailwindcss.com/
Adam's LLM chat prototype: https://nerdy.dev/llm-chat-prototype
NPM: https://www.npmjs.com/
Alanis Morissette: https://alanis.com
Lex Fridman: https://lexfridman.com/
ASAP Rocky: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASAP_Rocky
Ken Wheeler: https://x.com/ken_wheeler/
Lincoln Park: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linkin_Park
Austin Powers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Powers
Sonos: https://www.sonos.com/
Google Home: https://home.google.com/welcome/
Beyond Tellerrand: https://beyondtellerrand.com/
Teenage Engineering K.O. II: https://teenage.engineering/store/ep-133
Elvis Presley: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley
Final Fantasy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy
Cracker Barrel: https://www.crackerbarrel.com/
Logan's Roadhouse: https://logansroadhouse.com/
Connect with Adam
Website: https://nerdy.dev/
X / Twitter: https://x.com/argyleink
Connect with Chuck and Robbie
Robbie Wagner: https://x.com/RobbieTheWagner
Chuck Carpenter: https://x.com/CharlesWthe3rd
Subscribe and stay in touch
Website: https://whiskey.fm
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whiskey-web-and-whatnot/id1552776603
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19jiuHAqzeKnkleQUpZxDf
Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1552776603
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhiskeyWebAndWhatnot
Whiskey Web and Whatnot Merch
Enjoying the podcast and want us to make more? Help support us by picking up some of our fresh merch at https://whiskey.fund.
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1:04:36
Will Frameworks Survive? Web Development in an AI-Driven World w/ Typecraft and Robert Jackson
This week, Robbie and Chuck talk with Typecraft and Robert Jackson about everything from Japanese rice whiskey to the future of software engineering. They dig into Robert’s open source journey, his insights on MCP and AI, and whether frameworks will remain relevant in an LLM-driven world. They also explore how AI changes the way new developers learn, the importance of systems thinking, and why open source sharpens both technical and soft skills.
In this episode:
(00:00) - Intro
(02:19) - Whiskey rating & review: Ohishi Whisky Ex Brandy Cask
(14:09) - Hot take: GPT-5 vs Claude Sonnet 4
(22:34) - Framework computers and modular desktops
(29:37) - How open source shapes careers
(36:25) - Will frameworks survive the rise of AI code?
(46:53) - Kids and tech
(47:51) - The great Buffalo Wild Wings detour
(49:16) - How Robert turned fitness into a priority
Links
Ohishi Whisky Ex Brandy Cask: https://ohishiwhisky.com/
Ember: https://emberjs.com/
MCP: https://modelcontextprotocol.io/
30 Rock: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30_Rock
Alec Baldwin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alec_Baldwin
ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/
Claude: https://claude.ai/
Opus: https://www.anthropic.com/claude/opus
Cursor: https://www.cursor.com/
GitHub: https://github.com/
Neovim: https://neovim.io/
Arch Linux: https://archlinux.org/
Apple: https://apple.com
Ollama: https://ollama.com/
DHH: https://x.com/dhh/
Ruby on Rails: https://rubyonrails.org/
Minecraft: https://www.minecraft.net/
Buffalo Wild Wings: https://www.buffalowildwings.com/
Hot Ones: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Ones
McDonald's: https://www.mcdonalds.com/
MyFitnessPal: https://www.myfitnesspal.com/
MacroFactor: https://macrofactorapp.com/
Connect with Typecraft
Website: https://typecraft.dev/
X / Twitter: https://x.com/typecraft_dev
Connect with Robert
Website: https://www.rwjblue.com/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rwjblue.com
Connect with Chuck and Robbie
Robbie Wagner: https://x.com/RobbieTheWagner
Chuck Carpenter: https://x.com/CharlesWthe3rd
Subscribe and stay in touch
Website: https://whiskey.fm
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whiskey-web-and-whatnot/id1552776603
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19jiuHAqzeKnkleQUpZxDf
Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1552776603
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhiskeyWebAndWhatnot
Whiskey Web and Whatnot Merch
Enjoying the podcast and want us to make more? Help support us by picking up some of our fresh merch at https://whiskey.fund.
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1:01:26
Live from Big Sky Dev Con: Code Debates, Content Insights, and What's Next for Web Development
Live from Big Sky Dev Con, Robbie is joined by Aaron Francis, Ken Wheeler, and Typecraft to discuss HTML and CSS programming status, React’s future, app security failures, NPM’s weak spots, content creation hooks, survival tech fantasies, and balancing big tech ambitions with family life.In this episode:(00:00) - Intro(00:55) - Whiskey rating and review: Undammed Distilling Co. Shields River - Single (Malt ) -Whiskey(03:52) - Is HTML a programming language?(05:30) - Is CSS a programming language?(06:34) - Will classes make a comeback in React?(10:02) - The Tea app fiasco(15:10) - When NPM flags critical code as malicious(20:36) - Turning technical know-how into content people actually want(26:32) - One piece of tech to survive in the Montana wilderness(29:37) - Balancing family life, content creation, and work(35:06) - The pros and cons of working from home(38:49) - Predicting the tech debates of 2030(45:59) - One piece of advice you wish you’d been givenLinksAaron Francis: https://x.com/aarondfrancisKen Wheeler: https://x.com/ken_wheeler/Typecraft: https://typecraft.dev/Undammed Distilling Co.: https://undammedspirits.com/HTML: https://www.w3schools.com/html/JavaScript: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScriptCSS: https://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/HTMX: https://htmx.org/Minecraft: https://www.minecraft.net/React: https://react.dev/Michael Jackson's tweet about React Hooks: https://x.com/mjackson/status/1937979887815692465PHP: https://www.php.net/Vercel: https://vercel.com/Remix: https://remix.run/Firebase: https://firebase.google.com/Stripe: https://stripe.com/Twilio: https://www.twilio.com/Stylus: https://www.npmjs.com/package/stylusNPM: https://www.npmjs.com/MIT: https://www.mit.eduTea: https://www.teaforwomen.com/Numerical Recipes: https://numerical.recipes/Numerical Recipes: https://numerical.recipes/Google: https://www.google.com/Linux: https://www.linux.org/Rails: https://rubyonrails.org/Mark Twain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_TwainSQLite: https://www.sqlite.org/Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/WeChat: https://www.wechat.com/iPhone: https://www.apple.com/iphone/MapQuest: https://www.mapquest.com/Verizon: https://www.verizon.com/Apple Maps: https://www.apple.com/maps/Google Maps: https://translate.google.com/Meta Quest 3: https://www.meta.com/quest/quest-3/Replit: https://replit.com/Adam Wathan: https://x.com/adamwathan/DHH: https://x.com/dhh/Taylor Otwell: https://x.com/taylorotwellTailwind CSS: https://tailwindcss.com/The Go-Giver by Bob Burg: https://www.amazon.com/Go-Giver-Expanded-Little-Powerful-Business/dp/1591848288Connect with Chuck and RobbieRobbie Wagner: https://x.com/RobbieTheWagnerChuck Carpenter: https://x.com/CharlesWthe3rdSubscribe and stay in touchWebsite: https://whiskey.fmApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whiskey-web-and-whatnot/id1552776603Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19jiuHAqzeKnkleQUpZxDfOvercast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1552776603YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhiskeyWebAndWhatnotWhiskey Web and Whatnot MerchEnjoying the podcast and want us to make more? Help support us by picking up some of our fresh merch at https://whiskey.fund.
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50:55
Error 500: Our Lives
This week, Robbie and Chuck talk about whiskey on Mondays, parenting chaos, and Chuck’s hot-water disaster. They dive into open-source dependency drama, including the Stylus package getting flagged as malicious, and the TEA app’s massive data leak. They question the stability of NPM, the illusion of software licensing security, and the ethics of data deletion. They also explore how AI is transforming development workflows—sometimes usefully, sometimes hilariously wrong.In this episode:(00:00) - Intro(01:07) - Whiskey review & rating: Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye Whiskey(08:15) - Robbie’s domestic chaos & Chuck’s plumbing nightmare(13:55) - The Stylus debacle and the fragility of NPM(19:05) - Insurance headaches, contractor woes, and house stress(25:16) - Mac Minis, podcast metrics, and behind-the-scenes(29:09) - Europe drinks better than we do(30:37) - Tea's data breach(35:33) - Using AI for real-world dev problems (and plumbing fixes)(43:01) - Your data is never really deleted(46:23) - Why podcast metrics are kind of a scam(47:44) - Big Sky Dev Con live episode(49:28) - Chuck’s moving to Italy(50:09) - Jedi Survivor, Destiny 2, and gaming on the road(55:37) - PlugsLinksCatoctin Creek Roundstone Rye Whiskey: https://catoctincreekdistilling.com/roundstoneRittenhouse: http://heavenhilldistillery.com/rittenhouse-rye.phpCopper Fox Distillery: https://www.copperfoxdistillery.comDax: https://x.com/thdxr/AWS: https://aws.amazon.com/HashiCorp: https://www.hashicorp.com/IBM: https://www.ibm.com/Sagamore Spirit: https://sagamorespirit.com/Stylus: https://www.npmjs.com/package/stylusnpm 'accidentally' removes Stylus package, breaks builds and pipelines: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/npm-accidentally-removes-stylus-package-breaks-builds-and-pipelines/Tea: https://www.teaforwomen.com/Tea encouraged its users to spill. Then the app's data got leaked: https://www.npr.org/2025/08/02/nx-s1-5483886/tea-app-breach-hacked-whisper-networksNPM: https://www.npmjs.com/Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/CSS: https://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/JavaScript: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScriptnpm left-pad incident: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Npm_left-pad_incidentFakerJS: https://fakerjs.dev/David Cramer: https://x.com/zeegMIT: https://www.mit.eduGranted insurance: https://www.grantinsurance.com/7-Eleven: https://www.7-eleven.com/Accenture: https://www.accenture.com/Opera Mini: https://www.opera.com/miniDHH: https://x.com/dhh/Lex Fridman Podcast: https://lexfridman.com/podcast/Mac Mini: https://www.apple.com/mac-mini/Ember: https://emberjs.com/Big Sky Dev Con: https://bigskydevcon.com/HTMX: https://htmx.org/Adam Argyle: https://x.com/argyleink/Typecraft: https://typecraft.dev/iPhone: https://www.apple.com/iphone/Firebase: https://firebase.google.com/SQL: https://www.mysql.com/Supabase: https://supabase.com/Postgres: https://www.postgresql.org/Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Claude: https://claude.ai/Windsurf: https://windsurf.ai/TypeScript: https://www.typescriptlang.org/Vercel: https://vercel.com/Shepherd: https://www.shepherdjs.dev/Cypress: https://www.cypress.io/Playwright: https://playwright.dev/React: https://react.dev/ART19: https://art19.com/Malort: https://malort.com/Primeagen: https://x.com/ThePrimeagenKen Wheeler: https://x.com/ken_wheeler/Jedi Survivor: https://www.ea.com/games/starwars/jedi-survivorJedi: Fallen Order: https://www.ea.com/games/starwars/jedi-fallen-orderSwitch 2: https://www.nintendo.com/us/gaming-systems/switch-2/Destiny 2: https://www.bungie.net/7/en/destinyIndiana Jones and the Great Circle: https://indianajones.bethesda.net/en-USTears of the Kingdom: https://zelda.nintendo.com/tears-of-the-kingdom/FIFA: https://www.fifa.com/Breath of the Wild: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Breath_of_the_WildMario Kart World: https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/mario-kart-world-switch-2/?srsltid=AfmBOopTg6wc7TCfLihURMUgYx554jK-li2JTJ33ocBEGS9nEEcnO_EvDonkey Kong: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donkey_KongOcarina of Time: https://www.zeldadungeon.net/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Ocarina_of_TimeAnagram: https://danabra.mov/George Clooney: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_ClooneyElon Musk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_MuskConnect with Chuck and RobbieRobbie Wagner: https://x.com/RobbieTheWagnerChuck Carpenter: https://x.com/CharlesWthe3rdSubscribe and stay in touchWebsite: https://whiskey.fmApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whiskey-web-and-whatnot/id1552776603Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19jiuHAqzeKnkleQUpZxDfOvercast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1552776603YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhiskeyWebAndWhatnotWhiskey Web and Whatnot MerchEnjoying the podcast and want us to make more? Help support us by picking up some of our fresh merch at https://whiskey.fund.
About Whiskey Web and Whatnot: Web Development, Neat
Veteran web developers RobbieTheWagner and Charles William Carpenter III host this informal, whiskey-fueled fireside chat with your favorite web devs. They discuss all things web development including JavaScript, TypeScript, EmberJS, React, Astro, SolidJS, CSS, HTML, Web3, and more. They take a unique approach and focus on getting to know the human side of developers and their hobbies outside of work, all while sampling a new whiskey that they rate on their unique tentacle scale.