Rule-Breakers
Episodes
Ep #13: Identity, security and privacy - with digital identity pioneer, Eve Maler
23 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Rule Breakers, Sean McGrath sits down with Eve Maler, a pioneer in digital identity and a long standing member of the XML community...
Ep #12: From SGML (1986) to LLMs (2026): Jon Udell on The Tools That Make Digital Knowledge Work
16 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Rule Breakers, we’re joined by author and software developer Jon Udell, a longtime explorer of the tools that shape how we write,...
Ep #11: XML, HCI, and a retrospective on markup and the Web with Steven Pemberton
05 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we speak with Steven Pemberton, a pioneer of the early web, the first user in Europe to connect to the open internet, and a long-time...
Ep #10: Markup Goes Beyond Tags: Rick Jelliffe on Language Markup, Structure & Semantics in XML
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dive into an in-depth conversation with Rick Jelliffe, one of the most influential figures in the world of markup languages and structured data.Rick's...
Ep #9: The Web Before Google: Liam Quin on HoTMetaL, XML, and the First Web Standards
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The latest episode of Rule-Breakers features Liam Quin a pioneering figure in the world of electronic publishing and generalized markup. In this conve...
Ep #8: The evolution of structured data formats — from XML to AI with Anthony Coates
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join Rule-breakers host, Sean McGrath and our latest guest, Anthony Coates, for a deep dive into the history and necessity of structured content. Draw...
Ep#7: The quiet innovator: the building blocks of structured documents with James Clark
01 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ever wonder how websites and apps are built to look organized and work the way they do? In the latest episode of Rule-breakers, Sean talks to James C...
Ep#6: Tim Bray: How did the internet learn to 'read' and organize information?
04 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sean talks to Tim Bray, a true pioneer in the world of digital documents and computing. Tim talks about his early work, including the groundbreaking O...
EP#5: Thomas Bruce: the Renaissance man behind the Cello browser and Legal Information Institute
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Rule-breakers, Sean talks to Thomas Bruce about his remarkable career. From his days as a master electrician for the Yale Rep to to...
Ep#4: Designing for knowledge complexity: DITA, AI, and next-generation delivery with Eliot Kimber
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, content engineering pioneer Eliot Kimber shares key lessons from his career on managing complexity in content systems. Author of DITA...
Ep#3 Before AI, there was DocBook: Simon St.Laurent on the tech foundations that still matter
05 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Simon St.Laurent offers an insider's perspective on the evolution of structured content and markup technologies at O'Reilly and throughout his career,...
Ep #2: Metal Type to the Web: Peter Flynn & the Birth of HTML
14 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Rule-breakers, Sean talks to Peter Flynn, an expert in markup languages and typesetting. With a background in traditional printing ...
Ep #1: 25 years of Law and Tech: AI, Documents, and the Next Generation
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Sean and John talk about 25 years of technological change, focusing on AI's impact on legislation and regulation. They highlight the ...