Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots
A podcast about the design, development, and business of great software. Each week thoughtbot is joined by the people who build and nurture the products we love.
Episodes
August 28, 2025 • 46 mins
The Giant Robots trio are back as they sit down at their desks to discuss their home setups for thoughtbot.
Together they break down each core aspect of their office environment and why they chose the things they did, why future proofing and getting your setup just right is important, Sami learns all about teleprompters, while Chad spills the beans on a guilty secret he’s kept for far too long.
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You can see pictures of each host’s...
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August 21, 2025 • 44 mins
Sami faces his fear of program designers by talking with Jeremy Blaze, Founder & Design Lead at Never Before Seen (https://neverbeforeseen.co).
Together they ask the question of whether their roles as developer and designer are slowly become one, how to rediscover the challenge of working on code when AI can do so much heavy lifting, as well as grappling with the idea of a therapeutic AI.
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Connect with Jeremy over on LinkedIn (ht...
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August 14, 2025 • 49 mins
Sami looks to go viral as he discusses digital marketing with Michael Praetorius, Founder of Praetorius (https://www.praetorius.com/).
Together they examine the roots of marketing and how it’s focus and tactics have shifted over time, the secrets social media analytics hold and how the information is used, and Sami takes notes as Michael relives his personal experience of creating a viral video.
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Connect with Michael over on Lin...
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August 7, 2025 • 34 mins
Chad discusses the changing world of AgeTech with Leanne Clark-Shirley, President and CEO of the American Society on Aging (https://asaging.org/), as they break down how age really has just become a number.
They discuss the growing irrelevancy of the “AgeTech” label and how it’s use case is shifting to benefit everyone, how generational boundaries mean less when it comes to tech knowledge, and the unrealised opportunities aging ca...
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July 31, 2025 • 31 mins
The host of Giant Robots are back to impart some wisdom as they share some notable failures from their careers and the teachable moments that emerged from them.
Discover what went wrong for Sami when he put his trust in AI, the survey that shifted the way Will thinks about others, Chad’s mistake with thoughtbot’s first major client and the lessons they all learnt along the way.
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You can find Chad all over social media as @cpy...
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July 24, 2025 • 46 mins
Sami assesses the way AI is driving change within the global healthcare system and big pharma with Jan Kroschinski, founder of Singularity Ventures (https://singularity-ventures.com/).
Jan touches on the changes we can expect to see to the delivery of healthcare over the next few decades, what it’s like to work as a freelancer within the sector, as well as discussing the wider implications of AI’s growth and development between no...
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July 17, 2025 • 41 mins
Sami goes behind the scenes of Ruby on Rails (https://rubyonrails.org/) with Rosa Gutierrez, principle programer at 37Signals (https://37signals.com/), to discover what its like to work on one of the most widely used frameworks out there.
Rosa breaks down how the team at 37Signals work and implement new tools for Ruby, the challenges of working remotely, as well as the current practical use of AI within the development space and ho...
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July 10, 2025 • 28 mins
Chad dives into a different kind of development with Jon Gamble, CTO of Fordje (https://www.fordje.com/), as they talk all things city code and construction.
Jon breakdowns the different types of construction Fordje (https://www.fordje.com/) covers and the clients they aim to serve, the reality of building a new starter business with a such a small team, the value of trust and communication when developing such a business, and how ...
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July 3, 2025 • 40 mins
Sami talks with Henrique Cardoso about his unified commerce platform BSPK (https://www.bspk.com) and the challenges of organising a large scale developer conference.
Henrique talks in depth about the bespoke nature of BSPK and how it differs from other CRM tools, how they went about unifying all the major commerce platforms to fit under one platform, as well as the hurdles he faced when tasked with re-engaging a community of de...
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June 26, 2025 • 35 mins
Will gets to grips with nutrition as he talks with Kay Lim, founder of Heartful Sprout (https://www.heartfulsprout.com/), about the importance of feeding our kids right.
Kay relives her journey of moving to the US, learning a whole new language from scratch and how becoming a new mom far from home sparked the idea for Heartful Sprout.
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Interested in giving your children the best start to food? Why not check out Heartful Sprout (h...
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June 19, 2025 • 47 mins
Chad and Sami get creative as they discuss the product ideas they would potentially like to develop.
Sami lays out his plan to rejuvenate the queuing system at theme parks, Chad has a bone to pick with his CRM tool, and the pair breakdown why success for a new business is not always as black and white as it might seem.
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You can find Chad all over social media as @cpytel and Sami through his website (https://samibirnbaum.com). You ...
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June 12, 2025 • 32 mins
Chad and Luisa Herrmann, founder of AINovva (https://ainovva.com/), sit down and attempt to demystify the “magic” of AI.
Luisa lays out the ramifications of working with AI on a daily basis, why it’s a tool that shouldn't be utilised just because you can, the bias built into every AI system, as well as the ever expanding AI bubble and what the final outcome of its rapid growth could look like down the road.
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If you’re interested i...
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June 5, 2025 • 40 mins
It’s time to start your engines as Sami talks with Jack Burrows, product director at CarWow (https://www.carwow.co.uk/), about the tricky world of buying and selling cars.
Jack covers the significant change CarWow has seen since he started with the company, the challenges they faced in order to keep up with the competition, and the importance of developing a platform that serves everyone in the buying and selling process.
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If yo...
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May 29, 2025 • 43 mins
Chad catches up with John Nunemaker, self-employed programer on a plethora of products, about all things technical to gain insight into life as a self-employed developer.
The pair share their experiences as rail devs and what keeps them using Ruby, John’s journey to success, his recent acquisition of Fireside (the podcast platform that hosts this very podcast!) and the lessons he learnt along the way.
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If you’re interested in a...
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May 22, 2025 • 39 mins
The Giant Robots hosts are back together for more off the wall discussion about construction, movies and a special announcement!
Find out what big purchase Sami made through the company during the last UK heatwave, why Chad has a listing on IMDB, and our three hosts turn film critics as they share thoughts on their favourite films.
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If you haven’t already, be sure to check out thoughtbot’s YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/...
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May 15, 2025 • 36 mins
Will talks with Kathryn Grayson Nanz, Senior Designer and Developer Advocate at Progress (https://www.progress.com/), about the influence and power design can have when developing new software.
Kathryn breaks down what it means to be a designer advocate and the role it plays within software development, the importance of design systems, designing for accessibility and knowing when to ask the right questions at the just the right ...
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May 8, 2025 • 39 mins
Sami talks with Tom Akehurst, Co-Founder of WireMock (https://www.wiremock.io/), about the delay and disconnect between front and back end development and how WireMock set out to bridge the two together.
Tom explains how his time working for Disney paved the way for WireMock, the different processes of mocking and testing APIs, and provides some useful advice on how to improve your testing process as a whole.
Sami also puts Tom’s ...
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May 1, 2025 • 35 mins
Chad talks with Sarah Merlin of IndiMade (https://www.indimadebrands.com) about what goes into revitalising an e-commerce platform and how they’re staying true to their customers.
Discover the challenges involved with such a big migration and the efforts needed to bring it into the modern day, the importance of communication with your team at all times, as well as well as the core values they work to in order to deliver the best ...
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April 24, 2025 • 43 mins
Sami and fellow thoughtboter Rémy look to the stars as they talk all things astronomical.
Learn about Rémy’s new open source gem Astonoby (https://github.com/rhannequin/astronoby) that plots the coordinates of objects in space, the hidden inventions developed as humans looked to the stars and listen as the pair theorise whether there truly is other life in the universe.
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If you’re enthusiastic about space and want to try out Rémy...
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April 17, 2025 • 50 mins
Chad, Will and Sami discuss life outside of thoughtbot and the hobbies that occupy them in their down time.
Sami talks about taking the cold plunge, Will about his recent efforts with running, before Chad takes his co-hosts down the rabbit hole that is Dungeons and Dragons.
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Watch the trailer for Chad’s upcoming production Thresher (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQs51JGy0iQ), a collaboration between his production company 12 S...
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