Work Through Conversations

A compact set of interview sequences that reflect how technical work, community stewardship, and long-horizon engineering practice overlap.

Architecture and Resilience

Conversations about system shape, operational boundaries, and decisions that hold under change.

Thumbnail for Robert Martin
Interviewee: Robert Martin
Duration: 9 min · Uploaded: Nov 26, 2012
Conference: SCNA 2012
Thumbnail for Interview with Rich Hickey creator of Clojure at GOTO Chicago 2013
Interviewee: Rich Hickey creator of Clojure
Uploaded: Dec 18, 2022
Conference: GOTO Conference 2013
Video description: Rich Hickey is the creator of the Clojure programming language, a dialect of Lisp that runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). He released Clojure to the Lisp mailing list and it gained popularity through word of mouth and online communities. Hickey believes that the fact that Clojure runs on the stable and well-established JVM has contributed to its success, as it allows users to try something new while still maintaining a connection to the technologies they are familiar with. Hickey also discusses the importance of simplicity and concision in programming languages and the role of language design in enabling programmers to solve problems more effectively.
Thumbnail for Dave Thomas
★ Transcript Available
Interviewee: Dave Thomas
Duration: 27 min · Uploaded: Mar 31, 2014
Conference: SCNA 2013

Community as a Technical System

Interviews that treat user groups and conferences as feedback systems for shared practice.

Thumbnail for Ray Hightower — ChicagoRuby
★ Transcript Available
Interviewee: Ray Hightower
Topic: ChicagoRuby
Duration: 8 min · Uploaded: Nov 20, 2011
Conference: SCNA 2011
windycityrails chicagoruby illinois chicago ruby
Thumbnail for Brian Ray — ChiPy
★ Transcript Available
Interviewee: Brian Ray
Topic: ChiPy
Duration: 9 min · Uploaded: Apr 13, 2012
Community: ChiPy
chicago python
Video description: Brian Ray (@brianray) took the time to sit down before the April 2012 ChiPy (pronounced Chippy) and chat about the Chicago Python community.
Thumbnail for Scott Seely — Lake County .NET User Group (LCNUG)
Interviewee: Scott Seely
Topic: Lake County .NET User Group (LCNUG)
Duration: 5 min · Uploaded: Mar 18, 2012
Community: Lake County .NET User Group (LCNUG)
interview illinois grayslake chicago lcnug microsoft
Video description: Scott Seely runs a .NET users' group up in Grayslake, IL. He's also extremely active in the Chicago-land Microsoft Developer community that Microsoft recognized him as a Regional Director. He explains why he founded LCNUG and what exactly is a "Regional Director".

Craft and Mentorship

Discussions on apprenticeship, deliberate practice, and how experience is transmitted across teams.

Thumbnail for Adewale Oshineye
★ Transcript Available
Interviewee: Adewale Oshineye
Duration: 26 min · Uploaded: Mar 31, 2014
Conference: SCNA 2013
ugtastic interview adewale-oshineye scna software-craftsmanship-north-america developer-advocacy apprenticeship-patterns community knowledge-sharing
Video description: Interview with Adewale Oshineye at Software Craftsmanship North America (SCNA) on developer advocacy, documenting and sharing learning, and finding the right communities where technical contribution adds value.
Thumbnail for Cory Foy
★ Transcript Available
Interviewee: Cory Foy
Duration: 13 min · Uploaded: Nov 26, 2012
Conference: SCNA 2012
Thumbnail for Culley Smith
★ Transcript Available
Interviewee: Culley Smith
Duration: 6 min · Uploaded: Nov 26, 2012
Conference: SCNA 2012