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The Stack Overflow Podcast

Podcast #123 – Jon Skeet Wants You To Be a Feminist

It's a Stack Overflow Podcast not-so-hostile takeover! Jon Skeet in the NYC Stack Overflow HQ to celebrate One Million Rep, so we gave him the podcast reins to talk about whatever he wants! And mwhahahaha he wants to talk about... diversity and inclusion in tech and his work educating others on how to be better allies! Wait, that's not diabolical at all. That's actually... a really thoughtful and much needed topic to discuss in the tech space... especially now. Is he really that great a guy? Yes. The answer is yes. So, for this episode we've invited Casey Ashenhurst (SO Inclusion Manager & Senior People Ops Partner) and Cassie Montrose (SO Executive Assistant extraordinaire) to chat on these topics along with Jess, Ilana, and sometimes Jay. Seriously, the is the quietest Jay's ever been. You're welcome, world. You'll also get:

  • A much nicer rant than we're used to (Jon is British after all) about a regrettable trip to the Times Square Applebee's; NY heating makes no sense; and the fact that Broadway etiquette is not a universal trait.
  • "Jon is a time expert" is said more than once.
  • Cool stats from Dr Julia Silge about how many people Jon has reached on Stack Overflow on his journey to a million rep. *Spoiler Alert* It's a LOT.
  • We read Jon Skeet Facts to Jon Skeet mainly just to watch him blush.
  • Back to that diversity and inclusion talk from the intro: In today's Dev Story, Jon is interviewed by Casey, Cassie, Ilana, and I about his journey to outspoken feminism and how he applies it to the tech sphere. What opened his eyes? What are his policies about conferences? Who inspires him? What happens when you inevitably mess up? What can and should be done in the tech spaces right now? It's a fascinating and educational discussion that we hope to continue in the future.
We have a new Constitution question but before that, we have our very first Constitutional Decree! The Jon Skeet Decree: When adding a comment to your code, you must add a space and a capital letter (if it doesn't specifically call for lowercase) in order to make the comment more readable. New Constitution question: During the musical Hamilton, when King George sings, "Everybody!" are you allowed to then sing along with the next part? Vote PRO if you think that Yes, you can sing along; or CON if No, you are not Lin-Manuel Miranda and should not sing along under any circumstances. Let us know your thoughts by posting to twitter with #stackoverflowpodcast. Last week's winner is Aakash Verma, @theUtopianHoe https://twitter.com/theUtopianHoe/status/943541697840943104 Thanks for listening, and see you next time! So many important links this week: Jon's recs to be a better feminist and ally: Jon's personal blogs and books: Oh hey the Dev Survey Results are here! Check em out.

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