Tessera

New episode is now live! Anton Tkachov and Michelle Yuen join me to talk about building Chicago Ruby, creating strong local meetups, entrepreneurship, and why showing up in person still matters. Plus: Michelle’s journey to becoming a Rails World MC. Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/549

ChicagoRuby with Anton Tkachov and Michelle Yuen

Chicago Ruby organizers Anton Tkachov and Michelle Yuen share what it takes to build and sustain a local Ruby community.

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Rachael Wright-Munn @chael.codes · last mo.

In tomorrow's episode I’m talking with Chicago Ruby organizers @antontkachov.bsky.social and Michelle Yuen about building local Ruby communities, running meetups, entrepreneurship, and the relationships that can grow out of simply showing up.

I spent a lot of time and effort building custom generators for RubyEvents event data only to have AI ignore them in favor of MCP tools and direct editing. I started to think about turning my generators into MCP tools. Carefully wrapping each one and invoking it.

I saw that happen earlier this year at RubyConf. Joining me today on The Ruby on Rails Podcast are guests Rachael Wright-Munn and Andy Andrea to talk about how it all came together. Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/548

I've made no secret of the fact that I love Ruby conferences. I love the talks. I love the hallway track. I love having opportunities to get to meet and interact with people in the Ruby community.

Andy Kroll joins me this week to talk AI-assisted development, why coding tests may no longer make sense, hiring for judgement instead, Brighton Ruby, and Rails World. Today is the last day to enter the giveaway for a Rails World ticket: forms.gle/LoLvTfJ2BFav...

Tomorrow is the last day to enter the giveaway for a free ticket to Rails World! Enter here if you're interested: forms.gle/LoLvTfJ2BFav...

Rails World 2026 Ticket Giveaway

The Ruby on Rails Podcast is giving away one ticket to Rails World 2026 in Austin, Texas. The prize includes conference admission only. Travel, lodging, and all other expenses are the responsibility...

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New episode: Amanda Perino previews Rails World in Austin. We talk live music, lightning talks, the opening keynote livestream, Austin energy, and yes, a mechanical bull. Listen: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/546 Giveaway: forms.gle/LoLvTfJ2BFav... The giveaway is open until August 12, 2026

Rails World 2026 Ticket Giveaway

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This week Amanda Perino joins me to preview Rails World in Austin. Live music, a mechanical bull, lightning talks, the opening keynote livestream, and how AI is reshaping the Rails Foundation’s work. New episode releases Wednesday.

Has a conference talk ever changed what you did next? Not just taught you something. Actually pushed you to apply, speak, build, ask for help, or trust yourself more. What talk, hallway conversation, or small moment stuck with you?

New episode: Neha Abraham joins me in the aftermath of RubyConf. We talk Rails, data-heavy dashboards, Power Home Remodeling, mental health, RubyConf, and how one lightning talk about fear and trust helped push her to do scary things. Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/545

Post RubyConf conversation with Neha Abraham

Making new Ruby Friends is one of my favorite parts of attending conferences. Neha Abraham joins me to chat about RubyConf, Mental Health, Data Aggregation, and being my Nemesis

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One of my favorite things about attending conferences is catching up with old Ruby Friends, and making new ones. My next guest on the podcast is one of those new Ruby Friends: Neha Abraham. New episode drops Wednesday!

New episode: RubyConf 2026 hallway track. We caught up with attendees about JRuby, Ractors, Ruby front-end ideas, karaoke, volunteering, first-time conference experiences, and why the hallway track is often the real conference. Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/544

RubyConf 2026 Hallway Track

While at RubyConf, I caught up with several attendees and volunteers to discuss their experiences.

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New episode: Mike Dalton joins me to talk RubyConf, Authentication Hell, and building a DragonRuby game where getting hit means you have to re-authenticate. We also get into AI, creativity, RubyConf Africa, and conference community. Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/543

Mike Dalton and Authentication Hell

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Today Kyle d’Oliveira joins me to talk JIT Preloader, Fibonacci Funhouse, RubyConf, conference speaking, and why Ruby’s magic can make entire classes of problems disappear. Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/542

Kyle D'Oliveira and the Fibonacci Funhouse

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Tomorrow Kyle d’Oliveira joins me to talk Ruby magic, JIT Preloader, Fibonacci Funhouse, and how a toy math problem can reveal a surprisingly deep Ruby toolkit.

New episode: Markus Schirp joins me to talk mutation testing, Mutant, AI-assisted code review, and why 100% line coverage can still miss the behavior that matters. Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/541

Markus Schirp and Mutation Testing

With AI seeming to generate more code every day, we need better tools to verify that it hasn't broken something. Maybe mutation testing can help us get there. Markus Schirp chats with us about the mut...

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This week Markus Schirp joins me to talk mutation testing, Mutant, and why 100% line coverage is not the same as confidence. As AI generates more code, the hard question becomes: What do your tests actually prove?

One idea from this week’s episode: At a small single-track conference, everyone shares the same room, talks, breaks, and story arc. That’s not a bug. It’s a feature. The organizer’s job is to create the conditions for good things to happen.

New episode: Jeremy Smith joins me for a Blue Ridge Ruby 2026 retrospective. What worked? What was harder than expected? And why is every conference a brand-new thing? Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/540

Jeremy Smith and Blue Ridge Ruby

Blue Ridge Ruby made a comeback in 2026, and Jeremy Smith joins the podcast to talk about how it went

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Tomorrow Jeremy Smith joins me to look back on Blue Ridge Ruby 2026. Conference planning, speaker flow, long hallway-track breaks, Asheville, budgets, burnout, and what makes small regional Ruby events feel special.

This week Jeremy Smith joins me for a Blue Ridge Ruby 2026 retrospective. We talk about what worked, what changed, and why small regional conferences can create a shared experience big multi-track events don’t always match.

One hard-earned lesson from this week’s episode: For a first-time conference, the essentials are simpler than your ambition wants them to be. Speakers. A place to gather. People talking to each other. Everything else is a stretch goal.

New episode: Travis Dockter joins The Ruby on Rails Podcast to talk about planning Blastoff Rails. We discuss starting a conference, why simplicity matters, CFP surprises, and how generous the Ruby community can be when someone decides to build something.

Tomorrow on The Ruby on Rails Podcast: Travis Dockter joins us to talk about planning Blastoff Rails. We get into first-time conference planning, overpromising, CFP chaos, community generosity, and the very Rails instinct to say: “I’ll just build it myself.”