I'd Rather Be Writing Podcast

AI Book Club discussion recording of 'Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future', by Dan Wang

26 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

This is a recording of the AI Book Club discussion of Dan Wang's Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future. Our discussion tries to tie ...

Podcast: How valuable are agent skills? Conversation with Larah Vasquez and Fabrizio Ferri-Benedetti

12 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast, I chat with Larah Vasquez and Fabrizio Ferri-Benedetti about using skills to extend AI capabilities, the future of agentic engineerin...

The Emerging Picture of a Changed Profession: Cyborg Technical Writers — Augmented, Not Replaced, by AI

05 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

I recently gave a presentation to students and faculty in person at Louisiana Tech University on March 30, 2026, focusing on what I call the cyborg mo...

Will tech writers survive AI? Perspectives from two professors, Nupoor Ranade and Jeremy Merritt

21 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast, I chat with two professors — Nupoor Ranade (Carnegie Mellon) and Jeremy Merritt (James Madison University) — abou...

AI Book Club recording of 'If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies'

17 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

This is a recording of our AI Book Club discussion of If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Will Kill Us All by Nate Soares and Elieze...

Podcast: Doc testing, skills files, and the guardians of knowledge -- with Manny Silva

08 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast, Fabrizio Ferri-Benedetti (passo.uno) and I chat with Manny Silva (instructionmanuel.com), head of documentation at Skyflow and author...

AI Book Club recording, notes, and transcript for Sarah Wynn-Williams's Careless People

16 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

This is a recording of our AI Book Club discussion of Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams, he...

Podcast: Tech comm predictions for 2026 (Phase One - Fabrizio Ferri Benedetti and Tom Johnson)

25 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Fabrizio and I discuss our predictions for tech comm in 2026, focusing on two posts: Fabrizio's My day as an augmented technical...

AI Book Club recording of God, Human, Animal, Machine

24 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

This is a recording of our AI Book Club discussion of God, Human, Animal, Machine: Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning by Meghan O'G...

Podcast: Writing is telepathy: AI tools, automation, an intentionally offline life -- conversation with CT Smith

04 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Fabrizio (passo.uno) and I talk with CT Smith, who writes on a blog called docsgoblin.com and works as a documentation lead for Payab...

AI Book Club recording, notes, and transcript for Ethan Mollick's Co-Intelligence

17 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This is a recording of our AI Book Club discussion of Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick, held Dec 14, 2025. Our discussion...

Episode 3: Documentation theater and the acceleration paradox (Podcast with Fabrizio Ferri Benedetti and Tom Johnson)

30 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Fabrizio Ferri Benedetti (from Passo Uno) and I discuss the concept of documentation theater with auto-generated wikis, why visual ID...

Is AI an alien intelligence? AI Book Club discussion on Yuval Noah Harari's Nexus

22 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This is a recording of our AI Book Club discussion of Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari, he...

MCP servers and the role tech writers can play in shaping AI capabilities and outcomes -- podcast with Fabrizio Ferri Beneditti and Anandi Knuppel

26 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast episode, Fabrizio Ferri Benedetti and I chat with guest Anandi Knuppel about MCP servers and the role that technical writers can play ...

Recording of AI book club session of 'Hands-On Large Language Models: Language Understanding and Generation', by Jay Alammar and Maarten Grootendorst

26 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This is a recording of our AI book club discussion of Hands-On Large Language Models: Language Understanding and Generation by Jay Alammar and Maarten...

Podcast: How AI is changing the role of technical writers to context curators and content directors

28 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this conversational podcast, Fabrizio Ferri Benedetti (Passo.uno) and I talk about the impact of AI on the technical writing profession. We tackle ...

Recording of AI Book Club discussion of Karen Hao's Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI

22 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This is a recording of the AI Book Club discussion about Karen Hao's Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI. The discussio...

Recording of AI Book Club discussion about Kai-fu Lee's AI Superpowers

19 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This is a recording of our AI Book Club session discussing Kai-Fu Lee's AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order. There are ...

Will our next users be AI agents? The future of content delivery with Fabrice Lacroix, founder of Fluid Topics (podcast)

05 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast, I chat with Fabrice Lacroix, founder of Fluid Topics, about the evolution of technical communication. Fabrice describes the industry&...

AI Book Club recording and notes for The Singularity is Nearer, by Ray Kurzweil

15 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This is a recording of our AI Book Club session discussing Ray Kurzweil's The Singularity is Nearer podcast: When We Merge With AI. You can watch ...

Notes and discussion for Suleyman's <i>The Coming Wave: AI, Power, and Our Future</i> + AI Book Club recording and transcript

17 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This post describes the key arguments and themes in The Coming Wave: AI, Power, and Our Future, by Mustafa Suleyman, for the AI Book Club: A Human in ...

Notes and discussion for Jonathan Warner's <i>More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI</i> + AI Book Club recording

15 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This post has notes and questions for discussion for More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI, published in February 2025 by Jonat...

Rethinking traditional approaches to release notes -- recording of WTD Australia presentation

17 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

I gave a presentation to the Write the Docs Australia group on using AI to write release notes using file diffs, on Feb 16, 2025. Here's the recor...

My 2025 trends predictions for tech comm

05 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's that time of year again when we take to analyzing trends. If you know me, you're probably gearing up for a load of AI-optimistic predicti...

[Podcast] GenAI and Document360: Conversation with Saravana Kumar

06 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This podcast explores GenAI in technical documentation scenarios, highlighting the AI features and capabilities provided in Document360. I talk with S...

Podcast: Task decomposition and complex tree diagrams

28 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This tutorial will help you understand task decomposition by guiding you through the process of creating a complex tree diagram that's too sophist...

Podcast: Using long-token contexts to quality check an entire API doc set

28 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of the advantages of recent Gen AI updates is the massive token input context. When you can pass in an entire set of documentation as an input, yo...

Podcast: Using file diffs for better release notes in reference docs

28 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You can use AI prompts when creating release notes for APIs by leveraging file diffs from regenerated reference documentation. The file diffs from ver...

Podcast: Populating documentation templates using AI

28 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to use AI to populate documentation templates with the source material you've gathered. For example, API ov...

Podcast: Gathering source material for context input

28 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most successful strategies for using AI is to pass in an abundance of source material that can augument and inform the AI's responses. ...

Podcast: Creating high-fidelity, thematically organized notes from engineering meetings using AI

28 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For AI tools to generate accurate information for documentation you're writing, you need to pass in source material. This usually means meeting wi...

[Podcast] Uncovering and communicating the value of your tech comm teams' work, with Keren Brown

30 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast episode, I talk with Keren Brown, VP of Marketing and Value at Zoomin Software, about strategies for technical writers to demonstrate ...

[Podcast] Breaking ground: New API documentation course at UW, with Bob Watson

05 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast, I chat with Bob Watson about an upcoming API documentation course he'll be teaching at the University of Washington. Bob has exte...

My 2024 technical writing trends and predictions

01 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

I've been mulling over whether to write a trends post this year. There's so much uncertainty, it's hard to feel confident about how the te...

Podcast: Notes and themes from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig

15 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

These are some notes and thoughts from reading Robert Pirsig's classic philosophical novel, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, published i...

Webinar recording: Experiments and use cases for AI from a tech writer’s perspective

13 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

I recently gave a webinar titled 'Experiments and use cases for AI from a tech writer’s perspective' on December 8, 2023. The webinar was sp...

30+ ways I’m using AI in everyday writing life as a technical writer, blogger, and curious human

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this post, I provide over 30 real-life examples of how I'm using AI on a daily basis, not just for technical writing tasks but more broadly in ...

Podcast: The evolution of podcasting, with Ed Marsh

03 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast, I talk with Ed Marsh about podcasting. You may have listened to Ed Marsh's Content Content podcast previously. As an experienced ...

Podcast: Tech writing and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, with Dan Grabski

18 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, I chat with Dan Grabski, a senior content developer based in Portland, both about his recent WTD talk titled 'Zen and the Art of ...

Doing research with AI tools -- avoiding the trap of fabricated URLs

09 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this short podcast, I explore using AI tools to do research, the potential for fake URLs, and how to deal with the fabrication. I started by using ...

Notes for Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality

06 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality, Melissa and Chris Bruntlett describe how the Dutch achieved so much cycling succ...

My experience trying to write original, full-length human-sounding articles using Claude AI

25 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

You can use AI tools like Claude to help you write full-length content. By going paragraph-by-paragraph, you can direct the AI while seemingly maintai...

Chatting about AI trends and tech comm with Fabrizio Ferri Benedetti

20 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast, I chat with Fabrizio Ferri Benedetti, a tech writer in Barcelona who blogs at passo.uno and works for Splunk, about various AI news t...

[Podcast] AI and APIs: What works, what doesn't

14 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In conversations about AI, a lot of tech writers are asking what kind of scenarios is AI good for? What works, what doesn’t? In which scenarios? You...

Presentation recording: Specialization myopia syndrome and the content journey

07 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This is a recording of a presentation called Specialization myopia syndrome and the content journey, which I gave to a company's private tech comm...

Podcast: All about Redocly, with founder Adam Altman

26 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast, I chat with Adam Altman all about Redocly, an authoring/publishing tool for creating API documentation. Topics we discuss include why...

Podcast about Archbee -- a new documentation tool with a block-based editor, API publishing capability, content re-use, and more

31 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Archbee is a relatively new documentation tool that offers a block-based editor, API publishing capability, content re-use, and more. The initial vers...

Keynote presentation to STC India 2022

26 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This post is part of a series that explores tech comm trends that I've either followed or forgotten, and why. The overall goal is to better unders...

[Podcast] Become a technical writer: conversation with Bobby Kennedy about the technical writing courses he offers

21 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I recently chatted with Bobby Kennedy to learn more about the technical writing courses he's offering at becometechnicalwriter.com. In this podcas...

MEGAComm recording: How to increase awareness of tech comm inside corporate walls

10 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I recently gave a presentation called How to increase awareness of tech comm inside corporate walls at the MEGAComm 2022 conference, which is a confer...

Presentation recording -- 'Best practices in API docs: Product overviews and getting started tutorials'

29 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

I recently gave an online presentation about product overviews and getting started tutorials in API docs, sponsored by the STC Washington, D.C.-Baltim...

tcworld China 2021 keynote: 'Tech comm and marketing: How to make your tech comm group more visible to those within your company'

16 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

I recently gave a keynote presentation at tcworld China 2021 on the topic of tech comm and marketing. This post provides a recording of the presentati...

Recording of 'Product overviews vs. getting started tutorials: striking a balance between read-first and try-first user behaviors'

07 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

I recently gave a webinar to tekom Europe about product overviews and getting started tutorials. The recording and slides are below.

Videocast: Micro content and Flare -- Conversation with Kate Schneider

21 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this videocast, I chat with Kate Schneider about micro content and Flare. Kate shares micro content examples from her current documentation and exp...

The story behind Document360 -- podcast with founder Saravana Kumar

17 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In a previous post, I explored how Document360, a new cloud-based documentation platform, handles API documentation scenarios. This time, I decided to...

Playing a product design role as a content designer -- podcast with Jonathon Colman

24 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast, I chat with Jonathon Colman about an innovative work model they implemented at Intercom with content designers. In their experimental...

A tip for doc reviews -- bring a list of questions

24 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Although doc reviews are a central part of the tech writing process, it's often a challenge to get teams to review docs. One tip is to bring a lis...

Developer portal strategies for complex landscapes -- conversation with Kristof van Tomme

24 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Recently I chatted with Kristof van Tomme, CEO and co-founder of Pronovix, about a topic that's become increasingly relevant in the past several m...

API the Docs recording: How Trends in API Documentation Differ from other Tech Comm Trends

04 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I recently presented a session at the API the Docs virtual series on Wednesday, May 27, 2020, as part of the 5th edition. My session covered dev doc t...

WTD Australia event recording -- 'Remote discussion: Techcomm in the times of pandemic'

31 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I recently co-presented in a WTD Australia event titled Techcomm in the times of pandemic on May 28, 2020. The other presenter was professor Kirk St. ...

Are technical writers increasingly playing non-technical roles? Some thoughts on the evolution of technical writing roles

30 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How is the role of the technical writer evolving? It seems we're moving away from writing and more towards other roles, such as reviewer/convener,...

Podcast: Users as producers of knowledge -- conversation with Nupoor Ranade about how tech writer roles are changing

29 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How can users shape and influence the documentation you're producing? In this podcast, I chat with Nupoor Ranade, PhD candidate at North Carolina ...

Webinar recording: How Trends in API Documentation Differ from other Tech Comm Trends

12 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I recently gave a webinar on trends in developer docs to the STC Washington DC chapter on March 12, 2020. In this presentation, I presented the result...

Introduction to API documentation - Recording from Los Angeles API documentation workshop

11 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In January I gave an API documentation workshop in Los Angeles, and I recorded the first section of the workshop. This section provides an introductio...

Podcast: How Paligo is filling a niche in the CCMS market for complex documentation, with Anders Svensson

09 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I recently chatted with Anders Svensson about how Paligo, a cloud-based CCMS, is filling a niche in the CCMS market for complex documentation needs. C...

Podcast with Andrew Davis: Hiring API doc writers -- an inside look at fixing broken processes

23 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I recently chatted with Andrew Davis, a recruiter for API documentation positions in the San Francisco Bay area, about why it's so difficult to hi...

From API docs to developer portals

09 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

One comment I often hear from API workshop participants and other readers is that they want a more advanced API course. I've been thinking about w...

Podcast: API Design and Usability with Arnaud Lauret (API Handyman)

07 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Arnaud Lauret, also known as the API Handyman, recently published a book called The Design of Web APIs. In this podcast, I chat with Arnaud about his ...

Podcast: Dealing with Project Overload -- Strategies to Manage Overflowing Documentation Tasks

02 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast, I talk about how to deal with project overload, specifically covering strategies to manage tasks. Scrum is one framework for dealing ...

Podcast: 10 myths about API documentation

29 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast, I debunk 10 myths about API documentation. For example, some myths are that only engineers can write API docs, or that you have to wr...

Recording of Tech Comm Trends Presentation (STC Puget Sound chapter)

08 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I recently gave a presentation on technical communication trends to the STC Puget Sound Chapter in Seattle, Washington, on May 21, 2019. This is one o...

Crash course in API documentation -- a one-hour video

16 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

If you want a condensed, one-hour version of what I cover in my API documentation workshop, check out this crash-course video.

Corporate exodus narratives: A close look at the tension between the corporation and academia

01 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Corporations often expect tech comm academics to fashion their curriculums to suit corporate needs; in contrast, academic departments want to give stu...

Recording and slides for my trends presentation at the Symposium for Communicating Complex Information (SCCI)

24 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This week I traveled to Louisiana to attend the Symposium for Communicating Complex Information and presented on tech comm trends. You can listen to t...

How to become a 10X technical writer in the workplace

07 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How do you become a 10X technical writer in the workplace (10X means 10 times more efficient and productive than others)? In this post, I raise the qu...

How to motivate users to provide feedback: Show that you're listening to their input

01 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

To encourage users to leave more feedback, add a contact email field on your feedback submission form. When you receive feedback, provide a quick resp...

Site analytics from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2018 -- are more engineers writing docs now?

14 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Every year, when I re-examine my site analytics, I take the time to reflect on trends I’m seeing with traffic to my own site. Not necessarily indust...

Recording for Menlo Park API documentation workshop now available -- and some thoughts on using cardioid versus omnidirectional microphones for recording

04 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The recording for the full-day API workshop that I recently gave in Menlo Park, California, is now available. This recording provides more than 5 hour...

New post in Simplifying Complexity series -- Principle 11: Be both a generalist and specialist at the same time

30 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In my Simplifying Complexity series, I added a new post called, Principle 11: Be both a generalist and specialist at the same time. I also recorded th...

How to avoid being a secretary for engineers

19 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

If we just see our task as documenting solutions that engineers have solved, it removes the creativity and critical thinking dimension from tech comm....

Upcoming full-day API documentation workshop in Menlo Park

31 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I'm giving a full-day API documentation workshop on Nov 8, 2018, in Menlo Park, California, in coordination with Scott Abel (aka, The Content Wran...

Preferring technical acuity over specialized knowledge

24 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In the debate between being a specialist or generalist, there's also a third option: developing technical acuity. A person with a high degree of t...

If writing is no longer a marketable skill, what is?

09 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When we try to sell our tech comm skills, promoting our writing skills doesn't seem to impress people anymore, as writing is considered more of a ...

My conflicted thoughts about the decentralized web (while taking the Census of Technical Communicators survey)

06 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Seeing my name in the Census of Technical Communicators survey as a possible source for professional development made me think about the impact of blo...

Articulating stories that influence product adoption (new article in Simplifying Complexity series)

31 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I added a new article in my ongoing series about simplifying complexity. The article is called Articulating the invisible stories that influence produ...

The relationship between academics and practitioners -- Podcast with Kirk St. Amant

11 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast, I chat with Professor Kirk St. Amant about the relationship between practitioners and academics. Kirk recently co-authored an article...

Reducing the complexity of technical language (new article in Simplifying Complexity series)

11 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I added a new article in my ongoing series about simplifying complexity. The article is called Reducing the complexity of technical language and explo...

Evaluating the user experience of documentation -- Podcast with Bob Watson

18 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This week I chatted with Bob Watson, an assistant professor of tech comm at Mercer University, about how to evaluate the user experience of documentat...

Recording of API documentation workshop in Denver

12 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I recently gave a half-day API workshop in Denver on March 10, 2018. Topics in the workshop included how to document reference API content (endpoints,...

Recording of STC San Francisco presentation: Beyond mere endpoint reference — the overlooked content in API documentation

08 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I recently gave a presentation to the STC San Francisco chapter called "Beyond mere endpoint reference — the overlooked content in API document...

Recording of OpenAPI and Swagger presentation (for STC and WTD San Diego)

14 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I recently gave a presentation to the STC San Diego chapter and WTD San Diego group called "Swagger UI and the OpenAPI specification" (Febru...

Recording of WTD South Bay presentation: Publishing tools for API documentation

19 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I recently gave a presentation called "Publishing tools for API documentation" to the Write the Docs South Bay meetup group on January 18, 2...

How to become a voracious reader

01 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Voracious reading begins with voracious thinking. Asking questions gives us a purpose and drive for reading.

How do you communicate user progress in a course without a Learning Management System (LMS)?

28 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When you don't have a system that logs users in and tracks their progress, it can be a challenge to show their progress in a course. However, rath...

Intro to API Documentation -- recording of presentation to STC Silicon Valley chapter on 11/20/2017

19 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

I recently gave a presentation titled "Introduction to API Documentation" to the STC Silicon Valley chapter in Santa Clara, California. The ...

SwaggerHub: A collaborative platform for working on OpenAPI/Swagger specification files, and more

05 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When documenting REST APIs, the OpenAPI specification (formerly called Swagger) is pretty much the default standard. Yet learning the OpenAPI spec is ...

Has plain language deepened or ruined our delight in language?

20 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Although technical writers champion plain language, embracing plain language for many years can cripple your ability to use more eloquent language, li...

Discoveries and realizations while walking down the Docs-as-Code path

23 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This past week I had some good discussions with developers about the right directions in our doc-as-code project at work. I say good discussions, but ...

Why Stack Overflow's Documentation effort failed -- a few thoughts from a technical writer's perspective

05 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Stack Overflow, mostly known as a forum for answering niche software questions, recently tried to launch a Documentation component to their site. The ...

Tech docs and Agile: Alternatives to integrating into engineering Scrums (Part 2)

04 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This is part two in a series on Agile and tech docs. In the previous post, I outlined challenges in integrating into engineering Scrum teams. Some alt...