The API Dispatch #9: Podcasts Holiday Special

Whether you’ll be dozing in a food coma or finally picking up that New Year’s resolution to start running, hopefully you’ll find this selection of API-related podcasts (and video channels) as informative and (sometimes) entertaining as I do.

APIs You Won’t Hate

(Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts)

I shared a few articles from APIs You Won’t Hate in this newsletter already, but did you know that Phil Sturgeon and Mike Bifulco also host a podcast? Most episodes are around 40 minutes in length with various guests from the API industry, talking about their experiences and projects.

I have particularly enjoyed the latest episode with Kin Lane – it’s a very frank talk about Kin’s long experience, API Evangelist persona, and critical view of the industry. Another favorite of mine is the interview with Dave Shanley (aka Quobix) about the Vacuum OpenAPI Specification linter and other projects Quobix is working on under Princess Beef Heavy Industries.

The API Experience

(Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts)

Greetings, children of the technology world! You've joined us to explore the possibilities of the technologies of the future here on the API Experience.

(Well, okay, that was just in a single episode.)

Hosted by Matt McLarty from Boomi and Mike Amundsen, the episodes are typically between 40 to 60 minutes. It’s a mix of interviews and discussions between hosts covering both recent developments in the API world, as well as trips into the history of the technology industry.

From the latter, I can recommend A Brief History Of Composability which goes all the way back to Object Oriented Programming origins through Service Oriented Architecture to microservices and REST. On the interview side, The Role of APIs in Knowledge Flow with Diana Montalion is a deep dive into the essence of information and knowledge (it’s really good, trust me). Also, the interview with Tim O’Reilly (yes, that O’Reilly with the animal book covers) is a pretty thorough – and critical – retrospective on the development of the industry, since and around, Web 2.0.

A(P)I Resilience

(Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts)

Initially, I didn’t have high expectations when I ran into this podcast. But after listening to almost 4 hours of a 2-part interview with Jeff Eaton about pattern languages and the future of content management I was hooked. The podcast host, Kristof Van Tomme, goes deep in conversations with his guests. Still, most episodes are around 45 minutes to 1 hour.

My other favorite episode is the interview with Michaela Halliwell about API productization and governance – and the need for APIs in the heavy civil construction industry.

Still not enough?

Have you gone through these recommendations and still looking for a dessert? Here are some additional recommendations.

APIs Over IPAs is a series of interviews hosted by Derric Gilling from Moesif. You will find the usual suspects there, like Mike Amundsen and Kin Lane. The show takes occasional hiatuses, but just this year brought 6 new episodes, so hopefully it returns next year.

No API-related podcast list would be complete without mentioning Kin Lane’s API API Evangelist Conversations. The episodes are short and to the point, usually no longer than 20 minutes.

If you prefer video, make sure to check out Erik Wilde’s Getting APIs to Work YouTube channel. Zuplo’s API Excellence is also a great source.

Also, I’m contractually obliged (not really) to mention Mews R&D Podcast from fellow Mewsers. With its recent introduction on Apple Podcasts I can finally call it a proper podcast. Specifically for APIs, check out the mini episode with Sylvia Tang and the interview with “Mr. Connectivity” Víťa Samek.

And for something completely different, if you’ve found most of the recommendations too boring and A(P)I Resilience too much of easy listening, try Feeling of Computing podcast (formerly known as Future of Coding). Actually, I’m hesitant to call it a podcast – each episode is like a sound artwork, with very specific editing, short music inserts, in-jokes, and tangents. So many tangents…

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Did you enjoy – or hate – any of these recommendations? Did I miss your favorite podcast? Let me know!

I’ll be back with a regular issue in January. In the meantime, enjoy the holidays and 'api New Year!