Episodes
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On this Screaming in the Cloud Replay, Corey is joined by Emma Bostian, an Engineering Manager at Spotify in Stockholm. Emma is also an author, co-host of the Ladybug Podcast, and has a strong following on social media. She goes into the details on her podcast and the varied nature of her and her co-hosts, she also discusses her book Decoding the Technical Interview Process, in which she breaks down the seemingly esoteric nature of interviewing for these highly technical jobs—but her focus is on the frontend. She and Corey discuss the general banality of these interviews and the direction they can, and should, go in to improve. Emma also loves to teach, to add even more to her portfolio! She goes into the five w’s of her work with LinkedIn Learning and Frontend Masters. Emma also has some excellent insights into her sizable Twitter presence. Tune in for Emma’s variegated offerings!
Show Highlights(0:00) Intro
(0:58) The Duckbill Group sponsor read
(1:31) Hosting the Ladybug Podcast and teaching online courses
(3:13) Why Emma wrote Decoding the Technical Interview Process
(7:01) Corey’s qualms with how people interview in tech
(12:03) Why Corey appreciates Emma's guidance on how to interview
(14:50) Bizarre hiring practices that some interviewers use
(18:20) Passion, work/life balance, and seeking out new employees
(19:41) Turning side projects into revenue streams
(22:23) Seeking out sponsors instead of monetizing your audience
(26:06) The Duckbill Group sponsor read
(26:49) Balancing customer service with piracy
(29:35) Letting your online following become your resume
(36:01) Where you can find more from Emma
About Emma Bostian
Emma Bostian is an Engineering Manager at Spotify in Stockholm. She is also a co-host of the Ladybug Podcast, author of Decoding The Technical Interview Process, and an instructor at LinkedIn Learning and Frontend Masters.
Links
Ladybug Podcast: https://www.ladybug.devLinkedIn Learning: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/instructors/emma-bostianFrontend Masters: https://frontendmasters.com/teachers/emma-bostian/Decoding the Technical Interview Process: https://technicalinterviews.devEmma's Twitter: https://twitter.com/emmabostianOriginal Episode
https://www.lastweekinaws.com/podcast/screaming-in-the-cloud/changing-the-way-we-interview-with-emma-bostian/
Sponsor
The Duckbill Group: duckbillgroup.com
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Corey Quinn welcomes Adam Zimman back to Screaming in the Cloud for a sponsored episode featuring Heroku by Salesforce. As Head of Product Marketing, Adam discusses after years of stagnation following its Salesforce acquisition. Recent investments and a dedicated team signal a renewed focus on developer experience. The duo explores Heroku's impact on modern app development, its role in popularizing the 12-Factor App model, and the decision to retire its free tier. Adam highlights key updates, including Kubernetes replatforming, .NET support, and AI tools for managed inference and agents. He also teases his upcoming book, Progressive Delivery, set for release next year.
Show Highlights
(0:00) Intro
(1:01) Heroku sponsor read
(1:39) How Heroku became resurgent
(5:46) Heroku’s legacy
(9:53) Adam’s thoughts on people’s response to the free tier going away
(10:55) Heroku’s target customer(s)
(13:51) Heroku sponsor read
(14:19) How Heroku saves organizations money and developed over time
(20:08) Heroku’s re:Invent announcements
(24:53) How modern-day developers have reacted to Heroku’s resurgence
(27:47) Where people can learn more about Heroku
About Adam Zimman
Adam Zimman is Technologist and Author currently serving as the Head of Product Marketing at Heroku by SalesForce. Previously, he was a Venture Capital Advisor providing guidance on leadership, platform architecture, product marketing, and GTM strategy. He has over 20 years of experience working in a variety of roles from software engineering to technical sales. He has worked in both enterprise and consumer companies such as VMware, EMC, GitHub, and LaunchDarkly.
Adam is driven by a passion for inclusive leadership and solving problems with technology. He is a co-author of Progressive Delivery: Build the right thing, for the right people, at the right time. His perspective has been shaped by a degree (AB) from Bowdoin College with a dual-focus in Physics and Visual Art, an ongoing adventure as a husband and father, and a childhood career as a fire juggler.
Links
Heroku’s website: https://www.heroku.com/Adam’s Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/azimman.bsky.socialAdam’s Mastodon: https://hachyderm.io/@azAdam’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamzimman/Personal site: https://progressivedelivery.com/Sponsor
Heroku: http://heroku.com/ -
Episodes manquant?
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On this Screaming in the Cloud Replay, Corey is joined by accomplished tech journalist Daisuke Wakabayashi to explore the world of tech reporting. The pair discuss Dai’s 2019 article on AWS while touching on a number of topics, including how AWS evolved from a platform everyone built on top of to one that runs everything built on top of it. Both explore why it’s incredibly difficult to capture all the nuances of the world of open source in a single article, the collaborative nature of writing the news, and how a journalist can tell when they’ve written a story that doesn’t have mistakes. Dai and Corey also unpack why Amazon as a trillion-dollar company should expect more scrutiny, what it was like to try to get people to go on the record talking about AWS, and more.
Show Highlights
(0:00) Intro
(0:29) The Duckbill Group Sponsor read
(1:02) A brief look at Dai’s background as a journalist
(2:00) Dai’s article covering AWS’s business practices
(3:47) Unpacking the discussion around Dai’s article
(6:09) The careful thought and nuance that goes into writing an investigative news article
(8:59) How AWS insiders are responding to Dai’s article
(11:50) The importance of disclosures in journalism
(14:32) AWS’s blog post responding to Dai
(18:41) The Duckbill Group Sponsor read
(19:24) How criticism affects relationships with AWS
(23:36) Corey’s reaction to getting mentioned in Dai’s article and the NYT style guide
(27:18) Why it’s still important for journalists to speak truth to power
(32:22) Where you can find more from Dai
About Dai Wakabayashi
Daisuke Wakabayashi was born in Singapore, lived in Tokyo, and spent the bulk of his childhood in New Jersey. He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. Daisuke’s journalism career started at Reuters in Tokyo. He also worked for Reuters in Boston and Seattle, covering everything from industrial conglomerates to natural disasters. He returned to Japan with The Wall Street Journal covering technology and then returned to the United States to cover Apple. Wakabayashi joined The New York Times in 2016 and covered Google from the paper’s San Francisco bureau. In 2022, he moved with my family to Seoul to take his current job as an Asia business correspondent for The Times.Links
Dai’s 2019 article “Prime Leverage: How Amazon Wields Power in the Technology World”: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/15/technology/amazon-aws-cloud-competition.htmlTwitter: @daiwakaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwakabayashi/Personal site: https://www.nytimes.com/by/daisuke-wakabayashiCompany site: nytimes.comOriginal Episode
https://www.lastweekinaws.com/podcast/screaming-in-the-cloud/speaking-truth-to-power-in-tech-with-dai-wakabayashi/
Sponsor
The Duckbill Group: duckbillgroup.com
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On this Screaming in the Cloud Replay, Corey is joined by Rich Burroughs, a former Staff Developer Advocate at Loft Labs. Rich is a great resource for all things Kubernetes, and he even hosts his own podcast (link in the description below) where he interviews people in the community. Rich and Corey discuss learning to work well with ADHD, which he has launched into the Twitter-verse for the sake of advocacy. Rich offers his perspective on how to do so, and to do it well. Rich talks about working at large companies, versus small and the various responsibilities of working with the latter. Tune in for Rich’s take!
Show Highlights
(0:00) Intro
(0:50) The Duckbill Group Sponsor read
(1:23) Loft Labs’s work with Kubernetes
(3:15) Doing developer advocacy with Kubernetes
(7:01) Is developer advocacy repetitive for Rich?
(12:06) Going in-depth about Loft Labs
(16:40) The Duckbill Group Sponsor read
(17:22) The blessing (and curse) of being great at your job
(24:38) Learning to live with ADHD
(32:15) Where you can find more from Rich
About Rich Burroughs
Rich Burroughs is a tech professional focused on improving workflows for developers and platform engineers using Kubernetes. He's the creator and host of the Kube Cuddle podcast where he interviews members of the Kubernetes community. He is one of the founding organizers of DevOpsDays Portland, and he's helped organize other community events. Rich has a strong interest in how working in tech impacts mental health. He has ADHD and has documented his journey on Twitter since being diagnosed.
Kube Cuddle Podcast: https://kubecuddle.transistor.fmLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richburroughs/Twitter: https://twitter.com/richburroughsPolywork: https://www.polywork.com/richburroughs
LinksOriginal Episode
https://www.lastweekinaws.com/podcast/screaming-in-the-cloud/helping-avoid-the-kubernetes-hiccups-with-rich-burroughs/
Sponsor
The Duckbill Group: duckbillgroup.com
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On this Screaming in the Cloud Replay, we’re taking you back to our chat with Nick Frichette. He’s the maintainer of hackingthe.cloud, and holds security and solutions architect AWS certifications, and in his spare time, he conducts vulnerability research at Hacking the Cloud. Join Corey and Nick as they talk about the various kinds of cloud security researchers and touch upon offensive security, why Nick decided to create Hacking the Cloud, how AWS lets security researchers conduct penetration testing in good faith, some of the more interesting AWS exploits Nick has discovered, how it’s fun to play keep-away with incident response, why you need to get legal approval before conducting penetration testing, and more.
Show Highlights
(0:00) Intro
(0:42) The Duckbill Group sponsor read
(1:15) What is a Cloud Security Researcher?
(3:49) Nick’s work with Hacking the Cloud
(5:24) Building relationships with cloud providers
(7:34) Nick’s security findings through cloud logs
(13:05) How Nick finds security flaws
(15:31) Reporting vulnerabilities to AWS and “bug bounty” programs
(18:41) The Duckbill Group sponsor read
(19:24) How to report vulnerabilities ethically
(21:52) Good disclosure programs vs. bad ones
(28:23) What’s next for Nick
(31:27) Where you can find more from Nick
About Nick Frichette
Nick Frichette is a Staff Security Researcher at Datadog, specializing in offensive security within AWS environments. His focus is on discovering new attack vectors targeting AWS services, environments, and applications. From his research, Nick develops detection methods and preventive measures to secure these systems. Nick’s work often leads to the discovery of vulnerabilities within AWS itself, and he collaborates closely with Amazon to ensure they are remediated.
Nick has also presented his research at major industry conferences, including Black Hat USA, DEF CON, fwd:cloudsec, and others.
Links
Hacking the Cloud: https://hackingthe.cloud/Determine the account ID that owned an S3 bucket vulnerability: https://hackingthe.cloud/aws/enumeration/account_id_from_s3_bucket/Twitter: https://twitter.com/frichette_nPersonal website:https://frichetten.comOriginal Episode
https://www.lastweekinaws.com/podcast/screaming-in-the-cloud/hacking-aws-in-good-faith-with-nick-frichette/
Sponsor
The Duckbill Group: duckbillgroup.com
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On this Screaming in the Cloud Replay, Corey is joined by Nipun Agarwal, Senior Vice President of MySQL HeatWave Development at Oracle, to discuss the release of MySQL HeatWave and how it will benefit users among the sea of database offerings on AWS. Nipun reveals why Oracle decided to develop HeatWave, how HeatWave is providing meaningful cost savings to users, and how HeatWave has been optimized for the cloud. Nipun explains how they’ve lowered the barriers to entry for new users of HeatWave, and Oracle’s focus on implementing customer feedback when developing new offerings.
Show Highlights
(0:00) Intro
(0:55) The Duckbill Group sponsor read
(1:28) The significance of HeatWave coming to AWS
(2:20) What is MySQL HeatWave?
(5:13) What jumped out to Corey during his conversations with Nipun on Oracle
(8:40) What’s “under the hood” of MySQL HeatWave
(14:12) How Oracle built out its pricing for MySQL HeatWave
(16:41) Why MySQL HeatWave doesn’t show up on AWS bills
(21:27) The Duckbill Group sponsor read
(22:09) Oracle’s historical customer base and the company’s credit system
(24:30) The point behind MySQL HeatWave
(27:51) How MySQL HeatWave runs
(33:53) Where you can find more from Nipun and Oracle
About Nipun Agarwal
Nipun Agarwal is a Senior Vice President, MySQL HeatWave and Advanced Development, Oracle. His interests include distributed data processing, machine learning, cloud technologies and security. Nipun was part of the Oracle Database team where he introduced a number of new features. He has been awarded over 170 patents., Nipun Agarwal is Senior Vice President of MySQL Database & HeatWave Development. He leads a global engineering organization responsible for Oracle’s MySQL innovations that enable organizations to use a single database for both transactional and analytical workloads. His interests include data processing, distributed systems, machine learning, cloud computing and security. Prior to his current position, Nipun was with Oracle Labs and the Oracle Database team, where he introduced a number of new features. He has been awarded over 175 patents.
Links
Oracle: https://oracle.comMySQL HeatWave info: https://www.oracle.com/mysql/ MySQL Service on AWS and OCI login (Oracle account required): https://cloud.mysql.comOriginal Episode
https://www.lastweekinaws.com/podcast/screaming-in-the-cloud/heatwave-and-the-latest-evolution-of-mysql-with-nipun-agarwal/
Sponsor
The Duckbill Group: duckbillgroup.com
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The tech industry is getting long enough in the teeth that now there are some bonafide old fogeys. Nevertheless there, fortunately, are plenty of younger tech folks out there pushing the thought and mentality of the industry forward. Andrew Brown, Co-Founder and Cloud Instructor at ExamPro Training Inc certainly is, but his presence in the community is so much more! On this Screaming in the Cloud Replay, Andrew talks about the various internet platforms that he stays active on, and his mission to provide education on the cloud. Importantly so, Andrew does so with an immense amount of generosity. As he puts it, he couldn’t imagine taking money for the courses that he has created. Andrew and Corey discuss at length their thoughts on cloud certifications, the worth of multicloud, and much more!
Show Highlights(0:00) Intro
(0:41) The Duckbill Group sponsor read
(1:15) Why Corey struggles to keep up with Andrew’s impressive online presence
(2:47) Explaining ExamPro
(6:39) The troubles of online “experts”
(13:01) Andrew’s thoughts on using certifications as proxies
(18:14) The value of certification vs. your level of experience
(22:47) The Duckbill Group sponsor read
(23:30) Should engineers learn more than one cloud provider?
(27:10) Is multi-cloud actually the way to go?
(34:31) Where you can find more from Andrew
About Andrew Brown
Andrew Brown has been working in tech 15 years. Today, he creates free cloud certification courses where he teaches people Cloud, DevOps, Data, ML, Security, K8s and Serverless.
Links
ExamPro Training, Inc.: https://www.exampro.co/PolyWork: https://www.polywork.com/andrewbrownLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-wc-brownTwitter: https://twitter.com/andrewbrownOriginal Episode
https://www.lastweekinaws.com/podcast/screaming-in-the-cloud/learning-to-give-in-the-cloud-with-andrew-brown/
Sponsor
The Duckbill Group: duckbillgroup.com
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Corey Quinn is joined by Paulus Schoutsen, creator of Home Assistant and president of the Open Home Foundation. What started as a Python script to control Hue lights is now a leading open-source smart home platform with 1.6M users. Unlike ad-driven devices, Home Assistant prioritizes privacy, user control, and customization. Backed by the Open Home Foundation, it stays independent from corporate influence. Paulus highlights their community-driven approach, with users sharing automations online. By focusing on open standards, privacy, and user-first development, Home Assistant empowers smarter, more sustainable home automation.
Show Highlights
(0:00) Intro
(0:33) Duckbill Group sponsor read
(1:45) What inspired Paulus to create Home Assistant
(6:54) How Home Assistant developed from text files to its current incarnation
(12:02) Duckbill Group sponsor read
(13:42) How Home Assistant is able to detect different IoT devices
(16:06) Why not having investors is a strength for Home Assistant
(21:11) How Home Assistant acts as a unifier for communications protocols
(24:22) Why Big Tech doesn’t have a lot of interest in Home Assistant
(30:45) How to learn more about Home Assistant
About Paulus Schoutsen
Paulus Schoutsen is the creator of Home Assistant, the world’s most active open-source smart home platform, and president of the Open Home Foundation. What started as a Python script to control Philips Hue lights has grown into a global community of over 1.6 million users. Home Assistant stands out for its dedication to privacy, sustainability, and user control, offering a stable, customizable platform free from the ad-driven models of big tech. Paulus also leads Nabucasa, the commercial arm of Home Assistant, and champions the platform’s independence and community-driven ethos, ensuring long-term focus on open standards and user empowerment.
Home Assistant website https://www.home-assistant.io/
LinksSponsor
The Duckbill Group https://www.duckbillgroup.com/
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On this Screaming in the Cloud Replay, we’re revisiting our conversation with Tobi Knaup, the current VP & General Manager of Cloud Native at Nutanix. At the time this first aired, Tobi was the co-founder and CTO of D2iQ before the company was acquired by Nutanix. In this blast from the past, Corey and Tobi discuss why Mesosphere rebranded as D2iQ and why the Kubernetes community deserves the credit for the widespread adoption of the container orchestration platform. Many people assume Kubernetes is all they need, but that’s a mistake, and Tobi explains what other tools they end up having to use. We’ll also hear why Tobi thinks that multi-cloud is the future (it is the title of the episode after all).
Show Highlights
(0:00) Intro
(0:28) The Duckbill Group sponsor read
(1:01) Memosphere rebranding to D2iQ
(4:34) The strength of the Kubernetes community
(7:43) Is open-source a bad business model?
(10:19) Why you need more than just Kubernetes
(13:13) The Duckbill Group sponsor read
(13:55) Is multi-cloud the best practice?
(17:31) Creating a consistent experience between two providers
(19:05) Tobi’s background story
(24:24) Memories of the days of physical data centers
(28:00) How long will Kubernetes be relevant
(30:18) Where you can find more from Tobi
About Tobi Knaup
Tobi Knaup is the VP & General Manager of Cloud Native at Nunatix. Previously, he was the Co-Founder and CTO of D2iQ Kubernetes Platform before Nutanix acquired the company. Knaup is an experienced software engineer focusing on large scale systems and machine learning. Tobi’s research work is on Internet-scale sentiment analysis using online knowledge, linguistic analysis, and machine learning. Outside of his tech work, he enjoys making cocktails and has collected his favorite recipes on his cocktail website.
Links
Tobi’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/superguenterLinkedIn URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobiasknaup/Personal site: https://tobi.knaup.me/Original Episode
https://www.lastweekinaws.com/podcast/screaming-in-the-cloud/multi-cloud-is-the-future-with-tobi-knaup/
Sponsor
The Duckbill Group: duckbillgroup.com
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Spencer Kimball, CEO of Cockroach Labs, joins Corey Quinn to discuss the evolving challenges of database resilience in 2025. They discuss the State of Resilience 2025 report, revealing widespread operational concerns, costly outages, and gaps in failover preparedness. Modern resilience strategies, like active-active configurations and consensus replication, reduce risks but require expertise and investment. Spencer highlights growing regulatory pressures, such as the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act, and the rising complexity of distributed systems. Despite challenges, Cockroach Labs aims to simplify resilience, enabling organizations to modernize while balancing risk, cost, and customer trust.
Show Highlights
(0:00) Intro
(0:36) Cockroach Labs sponsor read
(3:14) The foundational nature of databases
(3:55) Cockroach Labs’ State of Resilience 2025 report
(8:55) CrowdStrike as an example of why database resilience is so important
(11:04) What Spencer found most surprising in the report’s results
(15:13) Understanding the multi-cloud strategy as safety in numbers
(18:29) Cockroach Labs sponsor read
(19:23) Why cost isn’t the Achilles’ heel of the multi-cloud strategy that some people think
(23:52) Executives are blaming IT people for outages as much
(28:21) The importance of active-active configurations
(32:01) Why anxiety about operational resiliency will never fully go away
(37:52) How to access the State of Resilience 2025 report
About Spencer Kimball
Spencer Kimball is the CEO and co-founder of Cockroach Labs, a company dedicated to building resilient, cloud-native databases. Before founding Cockroach Labs, Spencer had a distinguished career in technology, including contributions to Google’s Colossus file system. Alongside co-founders Peter Mattis and Ben Darnell, he launched CockroachDB, a globally distributed SQL database designed to handle modern data challenges like resilience, multi-cloud deployment, and compliance with evolving data sovereignty laws. CockroachDB is renowned for its innovative architecture, enabling consistent and scalable database performance across regions and clouds. Under Spencer’s leadership, the company continues to redefine operational resilience for enterprises worldwide.
Links
Cockroach Labs: https://www.cockroachlabs.com/The State of Resilience 2025 report https://www.cockroachlabs.com/guides/the-state-of-resilience-2025/Sponsor
Cockroach Labs: cockroachlabs.com/lastweek -
On this Screaming in the Cloud In this episode of Screaming in the Cloud, Corey Quinn is joined by AWS container hero and security engineer at the Python Software Foundation, Mike Fiedler. They delve into the intricacies of Python's ecosystem, discussing the evolution of PyPI, its significance, and the ongoing battles against security threats like account takeover attacks and typo-squatting. Mike sheds light on his role in maintaining the security and reliability of the Python Package Index, the importance of 2FA, and the collaborative efforts with security researchers. Corey and Mike also explore the challenges and philosophies surrounding legacy systems versus greenfield development, with insights on maintaining critical infrastructure and the often-overlooked aspects of social engineering.
Show Highlights(0:00) Introduction
(0:47) The Duckbill Group sponsor read
(1:21) Breaking down the Python nomenclature and its usability
(5:49) Figuring out how Boto3 is one of the most downloaded packages
(6:43) Why Mike is the only full-time security and safety engineer at the Python Software Foundation
(9:53) How the Python Software Foundation affords to operate
(14:17) Mike's stack security work
(16:14) The Duckbill Group sponsor read
(16:57) Having the "impossible job" of stopping supply chain attacks
(21:00) The dangers of social engineering attacks
(24:44) Why Mike prefers to work on legacy systems
(33:30) Where you can find more from Mike
About Mike Fiedler
Mike Fiedler is a highly analytical, forward-thinking Information Technology professional. His broad-based background includes systems administration and engineering in global environments. Mike is technically astute and versatile with ability to quickly learn, master, and leverage new technologies to meet business needs and has a track record of success in improving performance, stability, and security for all infrastructure and product initiatives.
Mike is also bilingual, speaks English and Hebrew, and he loves solving puzzling problems.
Links
Mike’s Mastadon: https://hachyderm.io/@mikethemanMike’s Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/miketheman.comMike’s Python Software Foundation blog posts: https://blog.pypi.org/The Python Package Index Safety & Security Engineer: First Year in Review: https://blog.pypi.org/posts/2024-08-16-safety-and-security-engineer-year-in-review/Sponsor
The Duckbill Group: duckbillgroup.com
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On this Screaming in the Cloud Replay, we’re revisiting our conversation with Co-Founder of Senzo, Ant Stanley. Ant sits down with Corey to do so. He offers up his history which has lead to his time as “Serverless Hero” to landing on the line that “serverless sucks.” Lend us your ears to see how that transition happened! Ant goes into detail on JeffConf (not the of the Bezos nomen), and working with servers and what to put where and why. Ant and Corey talk over the plague of AWS services where Ant offers his perspective how to trim the fat and keep things simple to make long-term objectives more attainable. They discuss the importance of training, the role of certifications for better and worse, and more. Tune in for his take!
(0:00) Intro(0:51) Duckbill Group sponsor read(1:24) What does it mean to be an AWS Serverless Hero?(3:13) Why Ant and Corey are critical of the state of serverless(7:53) Woes with Lambda and CloudFront(10:12) The never-ending stream of new AWS services(13:36) Hurdles ahead of going serverless(17:33) Struggles of getting customers to understand a newly built service(21:31) Duckbill Group sponsor read(22:14) Pros and cons of certifications(32:17) Where you can find more from Ant
Show HighlightsAbout Ant Stanley
Ant Stanley is a community focused technologist with a passion for enabling better outcomes for society through technology. He is an AWS Serverless Hero, runs the Serverless London User Group, co-runs ServerlessDays London and is part of the ServerlessDays Global team.
Links
A Cloud Guru: https://acloudguru.comhomeschool.dev: https://homeschool.devaws.training: https://aws.traininglearn.microsoft.com: https://learn.microsoft.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/iamstanOriginal Episode
https://www.lastweekinaws.com/podcast/screaming-in-the-cloud/serverless-hero-got-servers-in-his-eyes-with-ant-stanley/
Sponsor
The Duckbill Group: duckbillgroup.com
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Eric Carter of Sysdig joins Corey to tackle the evolving landscape of cloud security, particularly in AWS environments. As attackers leverage automation to strike within minutes, Sysdig focuses on real-time threat detection and rapid response. Tools like Runtime Insights and open-source Falco help teams identify and mitigate misconfigurations, excessive permissions, and stealthy attacks, while Kubernetes aids in limiting lateral movement. Eric introduced the “10-minute benchmark” for defense, combining automation and human oversight. Adapting to constant change, Sysdig integrates frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK to stay ahead of threats. Corey and Eric also discuss Sysdig’s conversational AI security analyst, which simplifies decision-making.
Show Highlights
(0:00) Intro
(0:32) Sysdig sponsor read
(0:51) What they do at Sysdig
(3:28) When you need a human in the loop vs when AI is useful
(5:12) How AI may affect career progression for cloud security analysts
(8:18) The importance of security for AI
(12:18) Sysdig sponsor read
(12:39) Security practices in AWS
(15:19) How Sysdig’s security reports have shaped Corey’s thinking
(18:10) Where the cloud security industry is headed
(20:03) Cloud security increasingly feeling like an arms race between attackers and defenders
(23:33) Frustrations with properly configuring leased permissions
(28:17) How to keep up with Eric and SysdigAbout Eric Carter
Eric is an AWS Cloud Partner Advocate focused on cultivating Sysdig’s technology cloud and container partner ecosystem. Eric has spearheaded marketing efforts for enterprise technology solutions across various domains, such as security, monitoring, storage, and backup. He is passionate about working with Sysdig's alliance partners, and outside of work, enjoys performing as a guitarist in local cover bands.
Sysdig's website: https://sysdig.com/Sysdig's AWS Cloud Security: https://sysdig.com/ecosystem/aws/Sysdig’s 5 Steps to Securing AWS Cloud Infrastructure: https://sysdig.com/content/c/pf-5-steps-to-securing-aws-cloud-infrastructure?x=Xx8NSJ
LinksSponsor
Sysdig: https://www.sysdig.com
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On this Screaming in the Cloud Replay, Corey is joined by John Allspaw, Founder/Principal at Adaptive Capacity Labs. John was foundational in the DevOps movement, but he’s continued to bring much more to the table. He’s written multiple books and seems to always be at the forefront. Which is why he is now at Adaptive Capacity Labs. John tells us what exactly Adaptive Capacity Labs does and how it works and how he convinced some heroes to get behind it. John brings a much-needed insight into how to get multiple people in an organization on the same level when it comes to dealing with incidents. Engineers and non. John points out the issues surrounding public vs. private write-ups and the roadblocks they may prop up. Adaptive Capacity Labs is working towards bringing those roadblocks down, tune in for how!
Show Highlights
(0:00) Introduction
(0:59) The Duckbill Group sponsor read
(1:33) What is Adaptive Capacity Labs and the work that they do?
(3:00) How to effectively learn from incidents
(7:33) What is the root of confusion in incident analysis
(13:20) Identifying if an organization has truly learned from their incidents
(18:23) Gitpod sponsor read
(19:35) Adaptive Capacity Lab’s reputation for positively shifting company culture
(24:22) What the tech industry is missing when it comes to learning effectively from the incidents
(28:44) Where you can find more from John and Adaptive Capacity Labs
About John Allspaw
John Allspaw has worked in software systems engineering and operations for over twenty years in many different environments. John’s publications include the books The Art of Capacity Planning (2009) and Web Operations (2010) as well as the forward to “The DevOps Handbook.” His 2009 Velocity talk with Paul Hammond, “10+ Deploys Per Day: Dev and Ops Cooperation” helped start the DevOps movement.
John served as CTO at Etsy, and holds an MSc in Human Factors and Systems Safety from Lund University
Links
The Art of Capacity Planning: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Capacity-Planning-Scaling-Resources/dp/1491939206/Web Operations: https://www.amazon.com/Web-Operations-Keeping-Data-Time/dp/1449377440/The DevOps Handbook: https://www.amazon.com/DevOps-Handbook-World-Class-Reliability-Organizations/dp/1942788002/Adaptive Capacity Labs: https://www.adaptivecapacitylabs.comJohn Allspaw Twitter: https://twitter.com/allspawRichard Cook Twitter: https://twitter.com/ri_cookDave Woods Twitter: https://twitter.com/ddwoods2Original Episode
https://www.lastweekinaws.com/podcast/screaming-in-the-cloud/finding-a-common-language-for-incidents-with-john-allspaw/
Sponsors
The Duckbill Group: duckbillgroup.com
Gitpod: http://www.gitpod.io/
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On this Screaming in the Cloud Replay, we’re revisiting our conversation with Michael Garski, the director of software engineering at famed electrical guitar manufacturer, Fender. Prior to this position, he worked as a principal software architect at Viant, a principal software architect at MySpace, a manager of internet development at Countrywide Financial, and a manager of system architecture at Fandango, among other positions. He also had a four-year stint in the US Navy, working as an engineering laboratory technician. Join Corey and Michael as they talk about how artists are angels and Fender’s job is to give them wings, how Fender has diversified its offerings in recent years, how serverless is a mindset and how Fender approach serverless technology, how Fender’s traffic surged during the pandemic and how everything mostly scaled up without a hitch, the challenges of teaching students to play instruments over the internet, the vendor lock-in boogeyman, and more.
Show Highlights(0:00) Introduction
(0:42) Dragonfly sponsor read
(1:25) How does Michael describe Fender’s work
(2:08) Fender’s work to go serverless
(4:13) The impact of COVID on Fender
(6:19) Explaining Fender Play and how it works on the backend
(9:44) Working with MediaConvert
(11:30) Experiences with scaling and hitting AWS service limits
(12:52) Why Michael prefers working on the customer side
(15:33) The Duckbill Group sponsor read
(16:15) Frustrations with gateways and third-party apps
(19:03) Managing a massive influx of users during COVID
(21:13) The vendor lock-in boogeyman
(23:19) Cloud costs vs. saving time
(24:49) Walking the fine line of criticism as a director
(28:09) Enforcing consistency across services
(31:52) Where you can find more from Michael
About Michael Garski
Michael Garski has worked in the Los Angeles tech industry for over 20 years, across companies including Fandango, Countrywide Home Loans, MySpace, Viant, and is currently at Fender Musical Instruments as the Director of Platform engineering were he leads the devops, data, and api engineering teams. His focus currently is on building the platform to support the consumer facing digital products for Fender. The most prominent application he supports is Fender Play, a web and mobile application that provides video-based instruction for guitar, bass, and ukulele for more than a quarter-million subscribers.
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mgarski/Original Episode
https://www.lastweekinaws.com/podcast/screaming-in-the-cloud/keep-on-rockin-in-the-server-free-world/
Sponsors
Dragonfly: dragonflydb.io
The Duckbill Group: duckbillgroup.com
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Whether remote or local, Gitpod Co-Founder and CTO Chris Weichel thinks there’s a clear benefit to standardizing automated development environments. On this episode of Screaming in the Cloud, Chris joins Corey to chat about the inception and progression of Gitpod, highlighting the company’s mission to streamline development workflows, improve security, and enhance developer productivity. They also discuss the hurdles and solutions that come with balancing organizational standardization with individual developer preferences. You’ll also get the inside scoop on why Gitpod is transitioning away from Kubernetes and the innovative aspects of Gitpod Flex!
Show Highlights(0:00) Introduction
(0:27) Gitpod sponsor read
(1:39) What is Gitpod in the modern era?
(3:07) The debate of local vs. remote development
(4:57) Explaining Gitpod's target customers
(9:36) Clarifying Corey's misconceptions about Gitpod
(12:42) Building between developer environments
(15:23) Is something inherently bad if your employer forces you to use it
(17:49) Gitpod sponsor read
(19:01) Deploying local development tools at large scale
(21:16) Launching Gitpod Flex
(22:54) Creating a separate product based on feedback
(24:58) Gitpod's decision to leave Kubernetes
(28:16) Where you can find more from Chris and Gitpod
About Chris Weichel
Chris Weichel is the Chief Technology Officer at Gitpod, where he leads the engineering team that builds and maintains the cloud-native platform for software development. With over 20 years of experience in software engineering and human-computer interaction, he has a comprehensive view of the systems Gitpod creates, from the user experience to the underlying technology.
Chris is passionate about creating technology that empowers users, and solving complex engineering problems. His expertise in cloud-native architecture, programming, and digital fabrication has resulted in multiple publications, patents, and awards. Chris is always looking for new opportunities to apply my broad skill-set and excitement for creating technology in a commercial or research context.
Links
Chris’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-weichel-740b4224/Chris’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/csweichelGitpod: https://www.gitpod.io/Why Gitpod is leaving Kubernetes: https://www.gitpod.io/blog/we-are-leaving-kubernetesSponsor
Gitpod: https://www.gitpod.io/ -
Before cloud economics entered his life, Corey’s first true love was a good book. On this episode of Screaming in the Cloud, he’s joined by Laura Brief, the CEO of nonprofit 826 National. The organization is the largest youth writing network in the country, something that’s near and dear to our hearts at The Duckbill Group. Corey and Laura talk about why having a deep appreciation for reading and writing is vital no matter what career path you take. From offering a creative escape for kids to moonlighting as a “pirate supply company,” 826 National helps children realize that there’s an author inside all of us. So check out this great conversation, and be sure to buy one of our shirts while you’re at it!
Show Highlights
(0:00) Introduction
(1:02) Gitpod sponsor read
(2:14) The Duckbill Group's history working with 826 National
(3:01) What is 826 National?
(4:43) Corey's love of reading, writing, and how it correlates with 826 National's mission
(10:11) The rise of ChatGPT and its impact on reading and writing
(13:49) Why GenAI fails to capture the feeling of writing
(22:30) Why writing education is important
(24:54) The benefits of reading and writing for kids
(31:39) 826 Valencia: the Pirate Supply Company
(35:24) Buy a shirt benefiting 826 National!
(37:15) Where you can find more from Laura Brief and 826 National
About Laura Brief
Laura Brief is the CEO of 826 National. Prior to joining the nonprofit, Laura held leadership positions at high achieving youth organizations including Build, First Graduate, Juma Ventures, and The Posse Foundation, where she developed the organization’s first national career, corporate engagement, and alumni programs. She holds a Master’s in Education and a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University, and is the Chair of the Board of Directors at Youth Speaks.
Links
826 National: https://826national.org/Reach out to Laura: [email protected] Buy our charity shirt to help support 826 National: shitposting.fashionSponsor
Gitpod: gitpod.io
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Corey Quinn talks with Serena DiPenti, aka “SheNetworks,” about her career from Cisco to Black Hills Information Security and her challenges in content creation. Serena reflects on starting at Cisco, where her role as a tech engineer required deep expertise and navigating rigid, high-pressure situations that led to burnout and limited growth opportunities. Now at Black Hills, she enjoys the hands-on work in security analysis and network-based penetration testing. Serena finds content creation more demanding than her cybersecurity work, often facing audience skepticism and burnout. However, her podcast Breaking the Internet provides a rewarding, conversational outlet for sharing insights.
Show Highlights
(00:00) Introduction
(00:37) Dragonfly sponsor read
(1:20) Catching up with Serena since she was last on the show(2:34) Serena’s experience at CISCO
(8:00) How Serena got stuck in her TAC role
(11:06) Serena’s pivot to her new role at Black Hills Information Security
(14:10) When Serena finds time to sleep during her busy schedule
(16:43) Corey’s short-lived attempt at YouTube
(20:28) The importance of conversational content
(21:43) Serena’s plans for naming and branding
(25:49) Where Serena sees herself aiming next
(31:18) How to follow Serena’s work
About Serena
Serena DiPenti is an offensive security professional who shares her experiences and expertise through her Shenetworks educational content on platforms like TikTok, Twitter (X), YouTube, and Twitch. Her focus includes topics related to penetration testing, ethical hacking, and other areas of cybersecurity. She's passionate about helping others break into the cybersecurity field, offering tips, guidance, and career advice.
Serena’s work includes creating accessible and engaging content that demystifies complex cybersecurity concepts, making the industry more inclusive and approachable for beginners and professionals alike.Links
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@shenetworks TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shenetworks?lang=en Twitter: https://x.com/shenetworksBuy our charity shirt to help support 826 National!
https://store.lastweekinaws.com/
Sponsor
Dragonfly: dragonflydb.io -
Corey Quinn sits down with Stephen Barr, Chief Evangelist of CloudFix. With his extensive history in the cloud, the pair delve into Stephen's journey with AWS, relatable anecdotes on optimizing cloud costs, and the complex role of tech evangelists in fostering better communication between engineering and finance teams. Corey and Stephen also weigh the pitfalls of early AI adoption, how to come up with effective content creation strategies, and even postulate a hopeful vision of a tech-driven future (from a Trekkie’s point of view at least).
Show Highlights(0:00) Intro
(0:40) Gitpod sponsor read
(1:52) How Stephen defines his role
(4:26) Breaking down recent shakeups at AWS and the ever-growing promotion of AI
(9:36) How will AI impact how we teach younger people about coding?
(13:45) AI marketing, crypto, and other professional grifts
(16:56) Stephen's history with AWS and the cloud ecosystem
(20:42) Wiz sponsor read
(21:30)Oversights that can easily inflate a cloud bill
(25:32) Acting as a marriage counselor between engineering and finance
(30:09 Stephen's creative process as a Chief Evangelist
(33:54) Stephen's thoughts on the future of technology
(35:28) Where you can find more from Stephen
About Stephen Barr
Stephen Barr, Principal Architect and Technical Evangelist at CloudFix, is known throughout the technology industry for his joyful frame of mind and deep expertise in data engineering, machine learning, LLMs, systems architecture, and all things AWS.
Even as a teenager, Stephen’s digital curiosity and drive landed him at an email hosting startup working on network administration. He also worked at Microsoft while still a high school student.
After graduating from the University of Washington, he continued graduate studies at the University of Rochester and Washington. Stephen has also worked as a data scientist, software developer, technical consultant and more.
When he’s not researching or communicating about the power of AWS, Stephen enjoys spending time with his family at home in Seattle. His interests outside of work include science fiction, 3D printing, and the outdoors., Stephen Barr, Principal Architect and Technical Evangelist at CloudFix, is known throughout the technology industry for his joyful frame of mind and deep expertise in data engineering, machine learning, LLMs, systems architecture, and all things AWS.
Even as a teenager, Stephen’s digital curiosity and drive landed him at an email hosting startup working on network administration. He also worked at Microsoft while still a high school student.
After graduating from the University of Washington, he continued graduate studies at the University of Rochester and Washington. Stephen has also worked as a data scientist, software developer, technical consultant and more.
When he’s not researching or communicating about the power of AWS, Stephen enjoys spending time with his family at home in Seattle. His interests outside of work include science fiction, 3D printing, and the outdoors., Stephen Barr, Principal Architect and Technical Evangelist at CloudFix, is known throughout the technology industry for his joyful frame of mind and deep expertise in data engineering, machine learning, LLMs, systems architecture, and all things AWS.
Even as a teenager, Stephen’s digital curiosity and drive landed him at an email hosting startup working on network administration. He also worked at Microsoft while still a high school student.
After graduating from the University of Washington, he continued graduate studies at the University of Rochester and Washington. Stephen has also worked as a data scientist, software developer, technical consultant and more.
When he’s not researching or communicating about the power of AWS, Stephen enjoys spending time with his family at home in Seattle. His interests outside of work include science fiction, 3D printing, and the outdoors.
Links Referenced
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenjbarr/AWS Made Easy: https://awsmadeeasy.com/Sponsors
Gitpod: gitpod.io
Wiz: https://www.wiz.io/scream -
Corey Quinn chats with Dylan Etkin, CEO and co-founder of Sleuth. He joins this episode of Screaming Into the Cloud to share his insights on reshaping engineering metrics to prioritize team success. Sleuth emphasizes team-level productivity over individual output, sidestepping controversial metrics like lines of code and focusing on alignment and iterative improvement. By aggregating data from tools like GitHub, Jira, and Datadog, Sleuth provides actionable insights, helping leaders reallocate resources for optimal impact without disrupting unique team workflows. Designed for collaborative review, Sleuth’s slide deck-like interface supports meaningful discussions around DORA metrics and deploy tracking.
Show Highlights
(0:00) Intro
(0:51) Sleuth sponsor read
(1:12) What Sleuth is
(2:02) How Sleuth evaluates engineers’ work
(5:41) The value that evaluations brings to a business
(9:34) Who Dylan usually discusses results with
(11:04) Sleuth sponsor read
(11:30) The day-to-day experience of using Sleuth
(14:23) The importance of meeting people where they are
(18:21) The actual outcome of implementing Sleuth
(20:27) Why engineering teams should care about metrics
(24:27) The interface that people have when they're working with Sleuth
(26:23) Where you can find more from Sleuth
About Dylan Etkin
Dylan was one of the first twenty employees of Atlassian, and a founding engineer and the first architect of Jira. He has led engineering at scale for Bitbucket and Statuspage. He has a Master's in Computer Science from ASU. Dylan is a bit of a space nut and has been seen climbing around the inside of a life-size replica of the Mir space station in Star City Russia.
Sponsor
Sleuth: https://www.sleuth.io/ - Montre plus
