Pragmatic
Episodes
119: Is That Photo Real?
28 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
With heavily digitally modified images and fully AI-generated images now being regularly posted as being real, what can we trust? John and Clay tackle...
118: Call Me Anywhere (Just Not Underwater)
20 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
After some updates about the past few months, Vic and I touch on the Starlink and SpaceX Direct To Cell technology. How it works and the ways in which...
117: Video is Harder
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Having recorded and edited over 130 video episodes of various shows, John discusses everything he's learned with Vic, reflecting on gear choices a...
116: Whisky Whiskey
20 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Vic joins John to discuss all things Whisky/Whiskey as John launches a new Video Podcast of the same name. Think of Pragmatic...but applied to Whisky....
115: Use Sparingly Use Wisely
06 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Scott Willsey returns to pull apart the Google AI Overviews feature, the risks of trusting LLMs and Generative AI and the OpenAI Scarlett Johansson sa...
114: Monopoly (Not The Game)
15 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Vic and John discuss southbooth cooling progress, the lack of Apple Vision Pro internationally, Johns new Electric Ride on Mower, briefly about cricke...
113: Whack Me In The Face
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Vic joins John to go discuss the new iPhone 15 Pro Max Lenses for photos and video, using the Meta Quest 3 and trying out the Fuji Real3D Camera vs iP...
112: A Mixed Bag
07 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Vic joins John to go through a mixed bag of topics including the two most recent Apple Events, selling lenses, the new 5x iPhone Pro Max Lens, Johns d...
111: Virtually Augmented
13 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Vic joins John to look at the history of Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality and Augmented Reality as we pre-assess the pros and cons of AR and VR and the ...
110: Apple Watch Evolution
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With some initial discussion of the Twitter Appocalypse and M2 Mac Mini, John and Vic dive into the Apple Watchs evolution since 2015 to present and d...
109: Soundbite Workshop
16 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Following Johns appearance on Episode 100 of Podcasting 2.0, John is joined by Dave Jones to workshop the soundbites tag enhancements, as well as touc...
108: Not Turning It Into A Flower Pot
09 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Clay joins John to walk through the key moments of the WWDC keynote for 2022 and look at what each means for us and also the broader populace. Whilst ...
107: Tesla Electric
07 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Russell returns to Pragmatic to discuss his experiences with renewable energy, both the Model S and Model 3 and we dive into the finer issues with gla...
106: Wind Farming
30 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Wind Farms are getting bigger and spreading throughout the world both on and off-shore. Vic joins John to talk about Wind Turbines, John's new Tes...
105: Chips Ahoy
20 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Where have all the chips gone? Scott Willsey joins John to look at how the shifting automotive use of ICs, a drought, a pandemic and poor planning amo...
104: Mirrorless Revolution
28 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Watching photography evolve in the past few years had demonstrated with computing power comes the possibility of ditching the SLR entirely and going m...
103: Lockdown Computing
15 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lockdowns due to the pandemic of 2020-2021 has shifted a lot of peoples computing needs with working from home on their computer now a real driver for...
102: Podcast Lightning
06 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A team of podcasters and developers are working on the next evolution of podcasting they call Podcasting 2.0. Dave Jones joins John to talk about thei...
101: AstroPhotography
02 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ian Norman from Lonely Speck joins John to talk about photographing the MilkyWay with just your DSLR and without spending a fortune. We cover everythi...
100: Oh My NAS
11 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Casey returns to join John in an episode where we explore all things NAS - specifically the Synology. How we use it, what we use it for and how we nei...
99: StarLink
13 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
SpaceX and Elon Musk have been accelerating a project to provide high-speed, low latency broadband internet around the world via Satellites and are ca...
98: Docks And Interference
18 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After a brief chat about John's App-in-progress Timeless Day, Ronnie Lutes joins to dissect the problems and pitfalls of poorly shielded or cheap ...
97: Back To The Mac
01 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Myke Hurley returns to the show to follow on with Optimal Interfaces, now looking into application specific advantages of the different user interface...
96: I’ll Do The Procrastination Episode Tomorrow
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In an episode that could not be put off any longer, Merlin Mann joins John to unpick the habit of procrastination, how to identify when you're doi...
95: FOSS Social
15 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Free Open Source Software is at the heart of the Federated Social revolution that's gathering momentum. David Chartier joins John to walk through ...
94: Photography
21 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
If you want to take the best possible picture, far better than a smartphone will ever be able to, where do you begin? John is joined by Clay Daly to w...
93: Optimal Interface
16 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With a growing number of device categories and devices within them, it can be hard to pick what devices from what category will meet your needs. Jason...
92: Espresso
21 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Following on the Pragmatic Coffee journey, Miha joins to discuss every detail behind the Espresso coffee and how to make the best shot you can.With Mi...
91: Zelda
24 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
John Siracusa returns to Pragmatic to discuss everything Zelda related, with a focus on Breath of the Wild and how so many established Zelda gameplay ...
90: Agile
24 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Waterfall development is being overtaken Agile and in only two decades its popularity continues to grow. Casey Liss weighs in on the pros and cons of ...
89: The Problem Is Us
05 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Social Media has taken the world by storm but recent history has shown all that glitters isn't gold and has many people wondering if the technolo...
88: Trust, Faith and the Cloud
04 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
With Cloud Storage becoming a staple of modern computing, we deep dive into the history of how cloud storage came about, what features it has or shoul...
87: Static vs Dynamic
16 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
From the retronymous Web 1.0 through 2.0 and beyond, we look at how web development is coming full circle and when Static, Dynamic or Statically Gener...
84A: Space X Follow-up 1
12 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Follow up (Part A) to Space X where we address the outcome of the first Falcon Heavy launch and Falcon 9 booster relanding outcome, SpaceMan and we do...
86: Segway Evolution
03 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Self-balancing vehicles started with the Segway in 2001, but since then they've evolved, losing their handle bars and even losing a wheel. We look...
85: Uncommon Transportation
01 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When you're trying to optimise a daily commute, there are lots of options to choose from. Balancing physical effort, cost, speed, safety, storage ...
84: Space X
07 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Elon Musk is considered by many to be a technological visionary. In this, the third in a series of shows about Elons projects, we look at Space X, its...
83: Tesla Part Two
02 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Elon Musk is considered by many to be a technological visionary. In this, the third in a series of shows about Elons projects, we look at Tesla, its h...
82: Tesla Part One
05 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Elon Musk is considered by many to be a technological visionary. In this, the second in a series of shows about Elons projects, we look at Tesla, its ...
81: Boring Loops
29 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Elon Musk is considered by many to be a technological visionary. In this, the first in a series of shows about Elons projects, we look at Hyperloop an...
80: Mastodon
08 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
GNU Social is gaining momentum recently with Mastodon leading the charge. It's a different way to micro-blog and it's not perfect, but it shou...
79: Diluted My Metric Goodness
23 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The history of measurements has a few surprises. Casey Liss joins John to discuss once and for all Metric and Imperial measurements.With Casey Liss an...
78: Full Term Surface Pro
19 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
For 9 months now John has been using a Microsoft Surface Pro 4 for work purposes, and Vic's son uses a Pro 3 at College. We go back and forth on t...
77: Look Before You Touch
10 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The new MacBook Pros come with a new feature Apple call the Touch Bar. We look at whether blending direct and indirect interactions make sense and try...
76: Banned
20 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Marco and I discuss how the Apple Watch brought us both back to wearing watches and the search for the ideal Watch Band for every use case.With Marco ...
75: Rollercoasters
13 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
A lot of people love Rollercoasters including the hosts of the show. We look at the history, evolution and revolution of these amazing thrill rides.Wi...
74: Vics 20
21 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
It's all about Vic! He takes us through his history of programming for slightly more than 20 minutes.With Vic Hudson and John Chidgey.A Maintained...
73: Everything Is Cyclic
29 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Weighing up the cycles of driving vs public transport and Windows to Mac and back again.With Vic Hudson and John Chidgey.Related Episodes: Pragmatic ...
72: So Much Noise
10 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Noise as a term is widely misused and misunderstood. Carmen joins John to sort out the signal from the noise.With Carmen Parisi and John Chidgey.Relat...
71: Off The Rails
17 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Trains and roads look like they have lots in common but the trade-offs in signalling and network design are completely different, and horrendously inc...
70: The Seas Will Rise
27 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The cause of global warming may be hotly debated, but rising sea levels are a fact. Vic joins John to talk about how fast it's happening and how o...
69: It's Complicated
22 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Smart Watches support dynamic, configurable complications but not all are created equal. Russell Ivanovic from Shifty Jelly joins John to see just how...
68: Paperless
08 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
We are closer than ever to a paperless office, and for John with the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil it's time to actually try and see if it's possi...
67: Iron Man
29 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
What if the superhero Iron Man was real? We look at some of his tech and assess how possible it is.With James Smith and John Chidgey.Miscellaneous Lin...
66: Haptic Taptic Tactic
05 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Apple are pushing Haptics in more of their devices each release. We look at why they are and how they're doing it differently.With Carmen Parisi a...
65: Everything is Analogue
22 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
We tackle the subtle differences between analogue and digital data transmission and why frequency changes everything.With Carmen Parisi and John Chidg...
64: Software Radios
09 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Pragmatic returns to talk about a recent melding of traditional radio technology and software that are now dominating the telecommunications world.Wit...
63: Making Up Lines Then Reading Between Them
05 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In this final episode John talks about the making of Pragmatic, highlights, lowlights, criticisms and advice on whether you should have listened to it...
62: Send It Into The Void Baby
21 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
John tackles how the internet works - the most requested topic as voted by Pragmatic listeners in this, the penultimate episode of the show.With Vic H...
61: You Never Really Owned It
14 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Seth Clifford returns to discuss DRM and the value of entertainment content. We also explore if DRM will someday end.With Seth Clifford and John Chidg...
60: Or Was That Doctor Sbaitso
06 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
With four episodes to go Vic chose a topic that was never on the list - the history of programming. We look at five key people in the evolution of pro...
59: Roll With The Seasons
26 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Erik Hess of Technical Difficulties and Dawn Patrol joins me to talk about the things that motivate and demotivate us, and turning hobbies into jobs a...
58: I Want My Hovercar
20 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The next disruption in transportation is coming to a car near you soon. We walk through the history and evolution of personal transportation and look ...
57: Lap Band Bypass Gastric Sleeve
15 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
My wife joins me as we discuss our recent experiences with being obese and undergoing weight-loss surgery. It's extreme but it works though it'...
56: Lovely Platitudes Don't Help Me
06 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Brianna Wu is the CEO of GSX and is one of the women behind Revolution 60. Join us as we talk about gender imbalance in Engineering and Technology, an...
55: Cautiously Concerned
31 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Privacy online is becoming a bigger issue with more servers hacked every week our personal data has never been at more risk. Seth Clifford joins me to...
54: Stop Rubbing Your Reader Against My Butt
23 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The Apple Watch promises to make Apple Pay even easier and safer than traditional credit card transactions. We look at the history of Credit Card data...
53: Overlapping Signals
16 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
There is a growing trend to eliminate the wires and go wireless for data and for power. Can it work? Is it practical? Dive in.With Vic Hudson and John...
52: Your Mileage May Vary
08 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Are electric cars going to save you money? We look at all electric and plugin hybrids, charging habits and being energy independent.With Vic Hudson an...
51: Psst Come Here I Want To Tell You Something
30 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Automation in OSX, iOS and the PC can save lots of time for users prepared to invest some time up-front. We delve into the history on these platforms,...
50: Accidental Clicking
23 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
John Siracusa joins me to discuss RSI in depth, drawing on both of our experiences we look at what works, what doesn't and why you should care. Ke...
49: A Bow On The Handlebars
12 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
With holiday cheer Vic and John dive into some of the finer details of Christmas and the Holiday season looking at wrapping paper and sticky tape, wha...
36A: Prevailing Wind Direction Follow-up 1
06 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Follow up (Part A) to Prevailing Wind Direction where we address different personality types and how they cope with remote work, safety cultures aroun...
48: You Say Data, I Say Daaa-taaa
04 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
SCADA User Interface design has many things in common with other graphical design methodologies. We look at how SCADA works, what it does, the limitat...
38A: Watch This Time and Space Follow-up 1
29 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Follow up (Part A) to Watch This Time and Space where we address durability of mechanical watches vs quartz watches, accuracy, using the band as a cha...
47: Interrogation Signal
27 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We delve into Barcodes and RFID tracing their history and dissecting exactly how they work and where the future of identification technology is headed...
46: Out of Steam About Steam
20 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
We delve into energy conversion efficiencies of solar photovoltaics, fuel cells, the Hydrogen Economy, steam and hydro-turbines and ways you can conse...
45: Not Part of the Plan
13 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Managing features and requirements on your project is difficult and scope creep is your constant enemy. John and Seth explore classifying features, de...
42A: Hopefully They Don't Burn It Follow-up 1
10 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Follow up (Part A) to Hopefully They Don't Burn It where Vic and John touch briefly on DRM, looking at kill switches and when it's right/wrong...
44: Order a Steak and Get a Piece of Rat
07 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Working in retail and in customer facing roles comes with its own set of challenges. We dive into coping mechanisms, closing a sale and identifying wh...
30A: Coffee Follow-up 1
03 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Follow up (Part A) to Coffee where Marco and John revisit Johns coffee setup, oxalates, different milk warmer/frothers, portafilters, cold-brew coffee...
43: It's The Best Thing For Everybody
01 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
When you create a product the time inevitably comes when you have to either hand it over or shut it down. Marco Arment joins John to look at how they ...
42: Hopefully They Don't Burn It
24 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
eReaders have many advantages over paperbacks and although Amazon would have you believe that eBooks are leading the way, the paperback is far from de...
41: Meaningless Token Award
17 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Independence and job satisfaction is a consideration whether you work for yourself or for a large corporation. Understanding what matters to us the mo...
40: Productivitus Interruptus
09 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Remaining productive in your projects with limited time and constant interruptions can lead to giving up. John delves into strategies for being produc...
13A: Safety, Safety Everywhere Follow-up 1
07 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Follow up (Part A) to Safety, Safety Everywhere with Fire Extinguishers being fitted to the wrong spot in a Nuclear Reactor and the dangers of Nitroge...
39: Look Ma, No Wires
03 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Radio and Amateur/Ham Radio played a huge role in John's career in Engineering. We delve into EM Waves, Antennas, Transmission Lines as well as ma...
38: Watch This Time and Space
27 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The Apple Watch promises new functionality from a smartwatch. John dissects the detail behind the power demands of wristwatches, screen types, movemen...
37: The Sledgehammer Solution
15 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Cancer is the number two cause of death in the US and can affect anyone at any age. Federico Viticci joins John to talk about the history of the disea...
36: Prevailing Wind Direction
08 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Working in Engineering construction sometimes requires working away from home and this comes with its own set of challenges. Vic Hudson joins John to ...
35: Written by Kernel Hackers for Kernel Hackers
01 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Why write open source code and when you should start. If you're interested in Python, John's found just the man, Nick Coghlan of Red Hat joins...
34: My Code's Nicer Than Your Code
24 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone thinks they know the best way to write code. Irrespective of the platform there's some common concepts that every programmer should try t...
33: The Shopfront Window Is Still The Same Size
19 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Loyalty to a single platform can be a risky business position for developers. Russell Ivanovic of Shifty Jelly joins John to discuss his experiences o...
32: A Slice Of A Physical Machine
12 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Where does one host their site or service on the Internet? There are lots of choices, places and trade-offs to consider. David Smith joins John to wal...
31: It's Supposed To Be Raining
30 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Since information could travel faster than the weather we've strived to predict the weather more accurately into the future. Joel Housman joins Jo...
30: Coffee
21 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
On the day following the launch of his new app Overcast, Marco Arment joins John to talk about coffee. We cover the history from the 13th century to ...
26A: Gambling Machines Follow-up 1
20 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Follow up (Part A) to Gambling Machines where I talk briefly about why I left Zero-Sum games out of the episode, how Italy is facing the similar probl...
21A: Daylight Saving Follow-up 1
20 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Follow up (Part A) to Daylight Saving where we quickly touch on Seasonal Affective Disorder and whether Daylight Saving _actually_ contributes to it. ...
29: You Can't Fight Physics
15 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The Surface Pro 3 claims to be the best of both a laptop and tablet experience but in trying to compromise for both, new issues about its optimisation...
28: The Changing Face of Writing
09 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Jason Snell has been writing for 25+ years - the most recent two decades in the Tech space. We dive into how writing styles for tech have evolved ...