I delete tests every night. On purpose. Agents write tiny, low-signal tests for free. Maintenance is not free. Nightly Keep Tests Tight. Fewer, longer tests. Real cleanup PR: +122 / -703. New Better with Kent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C0jTimK8V0&list=PLV5CVI1eNcJhP4nrJt85L7PxHjebFpDfY

I delete tests every night. On purpose. Agents write tiny, low-signal tests for free. Maintenance is not free. Nightly Keep Tests Tight. Fewer, longer tests. Real cleanup PR: +122 / -703. New Better with Kent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C0jTimK8V0&list=PLV5CVI1eNcJhP4nrJt85L7PxHjebFpDfY

The fastest agentic upgrade is often boring: notice the prompts you repeat, then turn them into skills. Ben Ilegbodu on accelerating development. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/developer-customers-ai-skills-and-durable-product-judgment-with-ben-ilegbodu~9sw98

Stop reviewing thousand-line agent diffs line by line. Review the system first: primitives, composes vs extends vs adds, then the code that matters. New Better with Kent - free visual-recap skill on GitHub. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs-U7SY2uNE&list=PLV5CVI1eNcJhP4nrJt85L7PxHjebFpDfY

Stop Reviewing Diffs. Start Reviewing Systems.

Agent PRs are too big to read line by line. Kent shows a visual system recap in the PR description - classify what changed as composes, extends, or adds - so you review the architecture first, then the code that matters.

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Claude Code has real upside. But @anniesexton.com says it's also made engineering problem-solving kind of boring - and she's still figuring out where that joy goes. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/curiosity-ux-and-durable-engineering-skills-with-annie-sexton~doh9e

Languages and frameworks change fast. Robert C. Martin says the rules of software architecture have stayed remarkably constant. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/architecture-ai-agents-and-product-empathy-with-robert-c-martin~yr5vf

Tricking people into learning is a real skill. @anniesexton.com on pulling in curiosity with a hook, then delivering something genuinely fascinating once they're there. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/curiosity-ux-and-durable-engineering-skills-with-annie-sexton~doh9e

One Cursor chat published an entire episode: Notion, Canva, Kit, Transistor, Bluesky, LinkedIn. And the agent never saw a single credential. I replay the whole conversation, tool call by tool call. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2PzSPD-wVI&list=PLV5CVI1eNcJhP4nrJt85L7PxHjebFpDfY

My Agent Ships Across 6 Services Without Seeing a Secret

Want the system from this episode? Check out Kody at https://heykody.dev/ Kent replays a real publish night — one Cursor conversation where the agent drove Notion, Canva, Kit, Transistor, Bluesky, and LinkedIn through Kody packages, with every secret kept out of the agent's reach.

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Robert C. Martin says getting real value from AI agents means walking away from the code as the main review surface. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/architecture-ai-agents-and-product-empathy-with-robert-c-martin~yr5vf

Who pays the bills shapes the roadmap. Sean Roberts on big customers, real needs, and the tickets that look urgent but aren't. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/the-technical-person-in-the-room-product-engineering-with-sean-roberts~8r1bw

Ten times faster in the wrong direction is still wrong. Sean Roberts on quality, sales conversations, and sane AI speed. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/the-technical-person-in-the-room-product-engineering-with-sean-roberts~8r1bw

One orchestrator prompt. Six platform swaps. Production still up. I walked through the real kentcdodds.com migration: steering, review loops, the perf scare, and where the agents were wrong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNd2AT7evE4&list=PLV5CVI1eNcJhP4nrJt85L7PxHjebFpDfY

Fable nailed my production YOLO infra migration

One orchestrator prompt. Six platform swaps. Production still up.

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Agents are great at writing code. Michael Shimeles' advice: revisit the old engineering books so you can actually steer them. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/taste-simplicity-and-ai-era-product-judgment-with-michael-shimeles~x7p8l

Is the mind computable? Grady Booch on what Church-Turing actually says - and why software is still very far from sentience. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/software-architecture-human-judgment-and-ais-limits-with-grady-booch~e3ly9

Domain knowledge beats guessing. Michael Shimeles explains why useful apps start with people who actually know the problem. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/taste-simplicity-and-ai-era-product-judgment-with-michael-shimeles~x7p8l

Your users do not care how clever the implementation was. Swizec Teller on selling the superpower, not the puzzle. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/user-outcomes-workflow-design-and-biotech-software-product-engineering-with-swizec-tel~w1nqr

The people signing million-dollar checks often had no visibility in the product. Swizec Teller on what support threads revealed. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/user-outcomes-workflow-design-and-biotech-software-product-engineering-with-swizec-tel~w1nqr

Did anyone use what you shipped last week? Jack Ryan on measuring success beyond the ticket. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/user-empathy-feedback-loops-and-what-not-to-build-product-engineering-with-jack-ryan~ed0b0

I'm speaking at Agent Conf 2026 in Warsaw, September 17–18! Still shaping exactly what I'll talk about, but I can promise this: it'll be something that makes you a better engineer no matter how good the agents get. Hope to see you there 🇵🇱 Tickets: https://www.agent.sh/tickets

Better prompts won't fix a coding agent that's stuck with bad primitives. I walk through four moves - create, combine, delete, expand - with real examples: RBAC, downshift, and Instagram deleting most of Burbn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbmv3HIuKyk&list=PLV5CVI1eNcJhP4nrJt85L7PxHjebFpDfY

Your Coding Agent Needs Better Primitives

Intentional system primitives make coding agents more reliable, efficient, composable, and auditable.

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Using AI agents without asking questions? @anniesexton.com says that's button pushing, not engineering. Curiosity is still the differentiator. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/curiosity-ux-and-durable-engineering-skills-with-annie-sexton~doh9e

Shipped a working project from his phone while waiting in line. Rhys Sullivan on what that says about where build ergonomics are heading. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/primitives-agent-ux-and-executor-product-engineering-with-rhys-sullivan~85cun

Complex is easy with AI. Michael Shimeles says the real product challenge is making the path to value simple. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/taste-simplicity-and-ai-era-product-judgment-with-michael-shimeles~x7p8l

Clients ask for the cool AI feature they saw online. Michael Shimeles starts by asking what problem they actually have. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/taste-simplicity-and-ai-era-product-judgment-with-michael-shimeles~x7p8l

Gmail sped up login by preloading after you type your email. Lucas Wargha on product engineers who do not wait for a PM to connect the dots. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/know-your-customer-better-than-your-code-product-engineering-with-lucas-wargha~x1egq

Every few years someone declares React dead. Svelte has the DX, Solid has the benchmarks. A decade later, React still runs most real product work. Best framework and framework that won are not the same question. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxRjJPoWBE4&list=PLV5CVI1eNcJhP4nrJt85L7PxHjebFpDfY

@justinjackson.ca could we please get dark mode on the transistor dashboard. Late night podcasting is killing my eyes.

AI made it easy to ship more apps. Michael Shimeles says the gap now is quality, taste, and care for the person using the thing. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/taste-simplicity-and-ai-era-product-judgment-with-michael-shimeles~x7p8l

Warp's CEO told his team they're factory engineers now, not product engineers. I read the memo out loud and pushed back on where it forgets users. Spoiler: its last word is still "product." www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd6l...

What the devil is a Factory Engineer?!

YouTube video by Kent C. Dodds

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Consuming JIRA stories is comfortable. Lucas Wargha on why product engineers need to be creators who understand who they serve. Full episode and notes: https://www.epicproduct.engineer/know-your-customer-better-than-your-code-product-engineering-with-lucas-wargha~x1egq