Curious Conversations on the Art of Software Maintenance. Hosted by @PlanetArgon's CEO @RobbyRussell.
Portland, OR
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Software has a “dark secret”: the real cost.
Mark Stringer discusses software maintenance, hidden trade-offs, and whether AI has actually made software cheaper on this week’s Maintainable.
🎧 Catch up with @robbyrussell: buff.ly/tTZW4CA
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Mark Stringer joins Maintainable to talk about the real cost of software, why maintenance never ends, and whether AI is actually making software cheaper.
🎧 Listen with @RobbyRussell: buff.ly/tTZW4CA
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@Bugarela joins @Robbyrussel to ask a deceptively simple question: how do you know you can actually trust your tests?
Catch up here: buff.ly/h4gbg2V
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@bugarela joins @RobbyRussell to talk about what happens when 800 tests still aren’t enough to trust your code.
They explore AI-generated tests, formal specifications, Quint, and why human judgment matters.
Listen here: buff.ly/pB1qbdx
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Still thinking about this one.
@MatijaSosic joins @RobbyRussell to explore boring software, abstractions, Wasp, and what AI changes about the way we build and maintain software.
Listen: buff.ly/VFNlFSv
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New episode: @MatijaSosic joins @Robbyrussell to talk about boring software, abstraction, Wasp’s evolution, and why AI may make good frameworks more valuable; not less.
Listen here: buff.ly/VFNlFSv
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"Maintainable software is software that you don’t really notice."
José Valim joined Robby to talk about designing Elixir for decades of evolution and why keeping things understandable matters even more as AI accelerates development.
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What changes when the software you maintain is a programming language used by thousands of applications?
José Valim joins Robby to talk about designing Elixir for long-term evolution, restraint, extensibility, and what AI is changing for maintainers.
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Before you remove the weird thing, find out why it’s there.
@JohnAthayde joins Maintainable to discuss understanding real user workflows before cleaning up or rewriting long-lived software.
Listen here: buff.ly/c7kMvPj
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Software maintenance isn't just about the code.
@JohnAthayde joins @robbyrussell on Maintainable to discuss front-end sprawl, design systems, AI-assisted software archaeology, and when to rewrite vs. refactor.
Listen here: buff.ly/c7kMvPj
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How do you make the case for technical debt?
Kristin Isaac argues that the strongest case connects maintenance work to customer impact, revenue, reliability, and risk.
Sometimes it takes a better story, not just a technical argument.
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Customers don't call it “technical debt.” They say your product is slow, unreliable, or broken.
Kristin Isaac joins @RobbyRussell to talk about connecting maintenance work to customer experience, revenue, reliability, and trust.
Listen here: buff.ly/T7iUEcb
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Missed this week’s Maintainable? David Hayes joins @Robbyrussell to explore why stable, predictable software matters — and what naval history can teach us about building reliable teams. ⚓
Listen here: buff.ly/OEEKqmV
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New on Maintainable 🎙️ David Hayes of FusionAuth joins @RobbyRussell to talk about long-lived software, technical debt, self-hosted products, and why “boring” software can be a good thing.
Listen here: buff.ly/OEEKqmV
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We're writing context files for AI agents, but actually, the rules are the same ones we've been ignoring for humans for years! Daniela Baron and Robby discussed this topic long before agents were reading our repos...
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Missed this week’s Maintainable?
@dianam joined @Robbyrussell to talk evals, input drift, human review, and the maintenance work behind AI systems — plus why simpler is often the better place to start.
🎧 Listen here: buff.ly/fi1sLmt
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What happens when software changes without the code changing?
@dianam joins @RobbyRussell on Maintainable to explore evals, input drift, production monitoring, and the maintenance cost behind AI systems.
🎧 Listen here: buff.ly/fi1sLmt
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AI can write the code. But can a human maintain it?
Appsmith CTO Arpit Mohan's take on writing code for humans (not machines) is a vault episode worth revisiting 🎧
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If you missed it 👀 @ChrisCoyier joined @RobbyRussell on Maintainable to talk about maintaining CodePen for 15+ years and why maintainability is often more about people than code.
Listen here: buff.ly/3bcbYhC
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New episode 👀
@ChrisCoyier joins @RobbyRussell to discuss maintaining CodePen for 15+ years, migrating from Rails to Go, and why maintainability is often more about people than code.
Listen here: buff.ly/3bcbYhC
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Catch up with Sally Lait & @RobbyRussell on Maintainable as they talk about confidence as a signal of maintainability.
You can feel it in a codebase immediately.
🎧 Listen here: buff.ly/4vZMQeU
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Sally Lait joins @RobbyRussell on Maintainable to talk about confidence as a signal of maintainability.
Not just code… but how teams feel working in it.
Listen here: buff.ly/4vZMQeU
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Stay sharp. Skip the noise. Join the Maintainable Podcast newsletter.
One email when a new episode drops. That's it.
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If you missed it this week
Rein Henrichs joined @robbyrussell on Maintainable to talk about maintenance, shared understanding, and weak signals.
Listen here: buff.ly/dSvKv5E
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Rein Henrichs joins @robbyrussell on Maintainable to talk about software maintenance, shared understanding, and why maintenance starts before you touch the code.
If your system doesn’t make sense, it won’t stay maintainable.
Listen here: buff.ly/dSvKv5E
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If you missed it this week, Russ Olsen joined @robbyrussell on Maintainable Software Podcast to talk about maintainability, legacy systems, and forgotten trade-offs.
Listen here: buff.ly/6pYkzd8
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Russ Olsen joins @robbyrussell on Maintainable Software Podcast to talk about maintainability, trade-offs, and why context matters more than dogma.
Understandable code matters more than clever code.
Listen here: buff.ly/6pYkzd8
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If you missed it this week, Joel Oliveira joined @robbyrussell on Maintainable Software Podcast to talk about predictable codebases, legacy systems, and why small improvements beat big rewrites.
Listen here: buff.ly/kJfn0E0
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Joel Oliveira joins @robbyrussell on Maintainable to talk about why predictability might be the most underrated feature of maintainable software. Consistent patterns help engineers understand systems faster and make safer changes.
Listen here: buff.ly/kJfn0E0
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The conversations that sustain long-lived software rarely make headlines, but they matter to the teams doing the work. Maintainable is where we have those conversations. Thank you to Podranker for naming us in your 15 Best Developers Podcasts of 2026!
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What if your app’s history is actually its biggest advantage?
Maintainable explores this every week.
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Missed this week's episode of Maintainable?
Lucas Roesler joins @RobbyRussell to explore readability, fast feedback loops, and why understanding systems comes before improving them.
Catch up here: buff.ly/nd8R9JH
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New episode of Maintainable is out now!
Lucas Roesler joins Robby to talk about readable software, fast feedback loops, and why understanding systems comes before changing them.
Listen here: buff.ly/nd8R9JH
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If you missed it, @BrittanyEllich explains why rewrites stall momentum, why boring systems are healthy, and how to use coding agents responsibly.
Catch up with @RobbyRussell on @_maintainable :
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Legacy is not a burden. It’s evidence and history. Something to be proud of.
Subscribe for conversations with people who treat software like a long-term commitment.
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@BrittanyEllich on maintainability, rewrites, and using coding agents without hype.
A grounded conversation about readability, long lived systems, and why boring software is often the healthiest kind.
Listen with host @RobbyRussell on @_maintainable:
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If your codebase feels complicated… good. That means it’s lived a life and served real users. But there are ways to simplify and move forward confidently.
Maintainable shares stories from teams who’ve been in your shoes. Join us! buff.ly/kSn9kun
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Your app has a future. And so do you.
Every episode brings ideas that helps you reclaim momentum.
Subscribe. buff.ly/kSn9kun
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If you missed it, @KentBeck explains why teams lose optionality faster than they realize and why tidying is not extra work, it is the work.
Catch up on his conversation with @robbyrussell on Maintainable:
buff.ly/QzCzGqu
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@KentBeck.com explains why making the easy change starts with making the hard change easy.
He breaks down the tension between features and future options and why optionality decides how fast teams can move.
Listen with @Robbyonrails.com on Maintainable:
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You don’t need a rewrite. You need space to think. Maintainable offers you that space.
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If you work in a code base that feels heavier than it should, Don MacKinnon explains why the real cause is often unnecessary structure, unclear layers, and too many ideas packed into simple problems.
Catch up on his Maintainable episode with @Robbrussell: buff.ly/uJlVMES
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Don MacKinnon explains why extra abstractions often make software harder to understand and harder to change.
He shares what happens when teams add layers that do not provide real value and why simplicity lasts longer.
Listen with @RobbyRussell: buff.ly/uJlVMES
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Chris Zetter reminds us that progress in long-lived systems doesn’t come from rewrites, it comes from building momentum through small, intentional changes.
Catch up on this week’s episode of @maintainable.fm with host @RobbyRussell: buff.ly/kQLCicY
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Do you feel like your codebase is one bad deploy away from chaos?
Maintainable Software Podcast brings you calm voices, clear thinking, and real stories from people who’ve been there.
Subscribe and breathe easier. buff.ly/kSn9kun
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Chris Zetter shares why starting small is the key to building confidence in an older codebase, and how small wins create momentum for bigger changes.
Listen on Maintainable with host @robbyrussell: buff.ly/kQLCicY
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