This is the Engineering Culture Podcast, from the people behind InfoQ.com and the QCon conferences.
In this podcast, Shane Hastie, Lead Editor for Culture & Methods, spoke to Thiago Ghisi about building engineering culture through leading by example, advancing careers by embracing "glue work" (non-technical but necessary tasks), taking full ownership of projects, and developing self-awareness to choose between technical and management career paths.
Read a transcript of this interview: http://bit.ly/3Uen9jV
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The InfoQ Podcasts:
Weekly inspiration to drive innovation and build great teams from senior software leaders. Listen to all our podcasts and read interview transcripts:
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Asgaut Mjølne Söderbom and Ola Hast, two developers with Sparebank1 speak about their journey towards continuous deployment and pair programming. During the conversation, they share how they use the "waste clock" to identify areas of improvement or how TDD helps them deliver high-quality code.
Read a transcript of this interview: https://bit.ly/4lNvYgI
Subscribe to the Software Architects’ Newsletter for your monthly guide to the essential news and experience from industry peers on emerging patterns and technologies:
https://www.infoq.com/software-architects-newsletter
Upcoming Events:
InfoQ Dev Summit Munich (October 15-16, 2025)
Essential insights on critical software development priorities.
https://devsummit.infoq.com/conference/munich2025
QCon San Francisco 2025 (November 17-21, 2025)
Get practical inspiration and best practices on emerging software trends directly from senior software developers at early adopter companies.
https://qconsf.com/
QCon AI New York 2025 (December 16-17, 2025)
https://ai.qconferences.com/
QCon London 2026 (March 16-19, 2026)
https://qconlondon.com/
The InfoQ Podcasts:
Weekly inspiration to drive innovation and build great teams from senior software leaders. Listen to all our podcasts and read interview transcripts:
- The InfoQ Podcast https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/
- Engineering Culture Podcast by InfoQ https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/#engineering_culture
- Generally AI: https://www.infoq.com/generally-ai-podcast/
Follow InfoQ:
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Write for InfoQ: Learn and share the changes and innovations in professional software development.
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Episode overview:
Andrew Hall faces a unique challenge: building profitable telecommunications infrastructure across one of Africa's largest countries with one of its smallest populations. As managing director of Paratus Namibia, Hall oversees operations spanning vast distances where traditional business models struggle to pencil out.
Andile Masuku invites Hall to share on the realities of building networks where "you'll see three fibres running next to the road" instead of shared infrastructure, why COVID accelerated their consumer business, and how recent oil discoveries are reshaping Namibia's economic landscape.
Key insights:
- On geographic challenges: Namibia's vast distances and sparse population create unique infrastructure economics where covering remote areas requires careful return-on-investment calculations across extended payback periods.
- On competitive landscape: Operating alongside two state-owned enterprises creates complex market dynamics where regulatory considerations and different organisational mandates influence infrastructure deployment strategies.
- On infrastructure sharing: Despite logical benefits, competitive dynamics often result in duplicated infrastructure: "three towers standing next to each other" rather than collaborative deployment approaches.
- On consumer versus enterprise: Traditional enterprise focus (75% of business) provided stability, but consumer growth since 2016 now drives expansion, particularly accelerated during COVID-19 periods.
- On technology transitions: Moving from WiMAX limitations (4-10 Mbps) to fibre required strategic timing; balancing asset sweating against customer retention as bandwidth demands increased around 2018.
Notable moments:
1. Hall's description of infrastructure redundancy: "If you drive down the road, you'll see three fibres running next to the road. If you're driving from one town to the other, you'll see two or three towers standing next to each other"
2. The COVID-19 catalyst: Consumer business performed "very, very well" as people became "100% reliant, work-wise, education-wise, entertainment-wise on connectivity"
3. Recent oil discoveries creating positive economic outlook with increased foreign investment interest and improved business confidence
The development question:
Hall addresses the expectation that telecoms should "unlock growth economically for an entire nation" by emphasising education as the foundation. Paratus's corporate social responsibility focuses on educational sector connectivity because "for children to have access to the internet, it makes the world a lot smaller."
His perspective reflects broader African infrastructure challenges: balancing commercial sustainability with development impact, managing investor expectations whilst serving diverse stakeholder needs, and building institutional capacity in environments with limited technical specialisation.
"I think access to the internet plays a crucial role. And I think it starts at grass root level in the form of education... for children to have access to the internet, it makes the world a lot smaller."
Image credit: Paratus Namibia
AI Chat is the podcast where we dive into the world of ChatGPT, cutting-edge AI news and its impact on our daily lives. With in-depth discussions and interviews with leading experts in the field, we'll explore the latest advancements in language models, machine learning, and more.
From its practical applications to its ethical considerations, AI Chat will keep you informed and entertained on the exciting developments in the world of AI. Tune in to stay ahead of the curve on the latest technological revolution.
Join Michael and Chris Sharkey, two proudly average tech enthusiasts, as they stumble through the world of artificial intelligence with all the grace of a robot learning to dance. This (sometimes weekly*) podcast delivers an hour-long conversation about their thoroughly middle-of-the-road adventures with AI.
No PhDs. No Silicon Valley insights. Just two guys with enough technical knowledge to be dangerous, sharing their unexceptional yet entertaining experiences with AI tools and technology.
Subscribe now to hear:
• Mediocre hot takes on AI developments
• Stories of AI experiments gone adequately okay
• The most average advice you'll ever need
• Two Sharkeys trying their best to sound smart about algorithms
• Childish AI prank calls that somehow fool everybody
• Attempts at using AI for phishing attacks on their mother
• "Chart-topping" AI songs according to the brothers
Join our perfectly mediocre community where being average at AI is celebrated, questions are encouraged, and learning through mistakes is our specialty. Because let's face it - most of us are figuring this out as we go along.
New episodes drop whenever we remember to record them. 🎙️
Proudly supported by Simtheory.ai
A tech podcast for the gadget lovers and tech heads among us from the mind of Marques Brownlee, better known as MKBHD. MKBHD has made a name for himself on YouTube reviewing everything from the newest smartphones to cameras to electric cars. Pulling from over 10 years of experience covering the tech industry, MKBHD and co-hosts Andrew Manganelli and David Imel will keep you informed and entertained as they take a deep dive into the latest and greatest in tech and what deserves your hard earned cash. New episodes every week. Waveform is part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
We wanna make the podcast even better, help us learn how we can: https://bit.ly/2EcYbu4
We explore how digital technology is reshaping the creative industries in Estonia, from live AI-generated theatre to immersive VR dance and the future of digital fashion. Mart-Matteus Kampus shares the behind-the-scenes challenges of co-creating a stage production with ChatGPT. Choreographer Liis Vares and interdisciplinary artist Taavet Jansen introduce a performance where the audience becomes part of the show through virtual reality. And fashion designer Xenia Joost reflects on how digital ...
Hanselminutes is Fresh Air for Developers. A weekly commute-time podcast that promotes fresh technology and fresh voices. Talk and Tech for Developers, Life-long Learners, and Technologists.
The Vergecast is the flagship podcast from The Verge about small gadgets, Big Tech, and everything in between. Every Friday, hosts Nilay Patel and David Pierce hang out and make sense of the week’s most important technology news. And every Tuesday, David leads a selection of The Verge’s expert staffers in an exploration of how gadgets and software affect our lives – and which ones you should bring into yours.
TFTC is a podcast hosted by Marty Bent about Bitcoin. Join Marty, Editor in Chief of "the best newsletter in Bitcoin", as he sits down to discuss Bitcoin with interesting people.
Industry veterans, degenerate gamblers & besties Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks & David Friedberg cover all things economic, tech, political, social & poker.
Stephen and Myke discuss a new iOS app named Cassette, using Water Lock on the Apple Watch, the state of CarPlay in iOS 26, and new rumors about an entry-level MacBook.
Every Thursday, join Jim O'Shaughnessy and his favorite people as they arm you with the tools & fresh perspectives required to upgrade your HumanOS and thrive in our messy, probabilistic world.
Visit our Substack at newsletter.osv.llc for full transcripts, highlights, weekly doses of timeless wisdom, and a bounty of other goodies designed to make you go, "Hmm that’s interesting!"
Conversations about science, technology, history, philosophy and the nature of intelligence, consciousness, love, and power. Lex is an AI researcher at MIT and beyond.
