Topical
81 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 8 years ago - ★★★★★ - 4 ratingsIn the ongoing war between good and evil, Russell and Jelly just want to figure out which side they’re on. As they journey on their quest for clarity, they tear apart one topic at a time, leaving no doubt… or survivors.
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Episodes
30: Marketing
October 01, 2015 22:00 - 26 minutes - 18.4 MBThe latest Apple event has got Russell thinking about how Apple market their new products, and how no other company seems to be able to match their effectiveness. He and Jelly discuss reasons why this might be, and what it might be like in a reality where Apple didn’t use terrible jokes in their marketing.
29: Content Blocking
September 24, 2015 22:41 - 29 minutes - 20.3 MBThe latest version of Apple’s mobile OS comes with a built-in way of blocking content within Safari, which has cause quite a stir online, particularly amongst journalists who rely on ads for their livelyhood and the tech industry which is creating these new apps. #notallwebsites
28: Drinking
September 17, 2015 22:00 - 28 minutes - 18.4 MBWhat are you like when drunk? There’s only really one way to find out, so Russell and Jelly get their drink on to look at drinking, from the social aspects to hangovers.
27: Holidaying
September 10, 2015 22:00 - 25 minutes - 17.3 MBJelly’s looking for some travel tips, so he and Russell discuss some of their past holidays, recounting mis-adventures and some of their more notable instances of culture shock.
26: Science Journalism
September 03, 2015 22:00 - 20 minutes - 12.8 MBWhen Russell and Jelly can’t agree on whether podcasts under 30 minutes are definitively better, they bring in an expert to help them solve the mystery with science. While they’re at it, they learn what it’s like to make a science podcast for a major broadcaster.
25: Pets
August 27, 2015 22:00 - 26 minutes - 17.3 MBRegardless of whether you consider yourself a cat person or a dog person, you’ll find that pets become an integral part of your life. But how attached can you become to your pet, and how does their shorter lifespan affect your relationship with them? Even more importantly, however, how do they see you, and is your cat really plotting to kill you?
24: Alternate Professions
August 20, 2015 22:00 - 18 minutes - 12.7 MBIf you’d never gravitated towards the profession you chose for your career, would you be the same person? Are you defined by your career choice? If Russell and Jelly had never gotten into IT, they both agree their career paths would be vastly different, but as to themselves, they’re completely at odds.
23: Imposter Syndrome
August 13, 2015 22:00 - 20 minutes - 13.9 MBSometimes in life, you find yourself asking if you even deserve the successes you’ve received, and whether you’re as good as your peers. Jelly certainly has recently, and he and Russell take the opportunity to look at what Imposter Syndrome is, how it can affect you, and what it takes to get over it.
22: Facebook
August 06, 2015 22:00 - 19 minutes - 12.4 MBWith 10 years under it’s belt, Facebook has gone from being a tiny college start-up to being not just the world’s largest social network, but also a fundamental part of people’s lives. But is it anything more than just a platform for staying in touch with family members you’d rather forget existed?
21: Technical Debt
July 30, 2015 22:00 - 22 minutes - 15 MBTechnical debt is something that every developer finds themselves dealing with at some point. As code ages, the need to maintain and update older code becomes more and more important, but how and when do you do that?
20: Emotions
July 23, 2015 22:00 - 22 minutes - 15.1 MBHumans are emotional beings, and when you give them an outlet like the internet, there’s bound to be some emotional carnage. When a sneaky visitor attempts to subvert Jelly’s hosting chair, the three decide to explore how emotions affect life on the internet, and what happens when you log off.
19: Business Models
July 16, 2015 22:00 - 27 minutes - 17.7 MBIn making products, and software in particular, at what point can you call your venture a success? Jelly and Russell take a look at their own ventures and try to determine the best model for creating and selling apps, and how to make such a thing sustainable.
18: Birthdays
July 09, 2015 22:00 - 17 minutes - 11.9 MBIt’s Jelly’s birthday, so Russell breaks out the helium balloons and the two get to the bottom of what birthdays are all about. Along the way they talk about what their ideal birthdays would be, buying gifts and the change that social media has brought to the party.
17: Jet Lag
July 02, 2015 22:00 - 21 minutes - 13.9 MBHaving just gotten back from his trip to San Francisco, Russell has just a touch of jet lag. He and Jelly talk about what they’re each like when they’re tired and how easily they can each push through. They then move on to talking their strategies for beating jet lag, from setting their clocks to the destination timezone, to some crazy Australian invention that shines light in your eyes…?
16: Web vs. Native
June 25, 2015 22:00 - 23 minutes - 15.2 MBIt’s a discussion that’s been brewing amongst developers for many years. In an effort to decide once and for all, Russell and Jelly talk through their preferences for mail clients, photos apps and everyone’s favourite web-based chat app to figure out the solution.
15: Workplaces
June 18, 2015 22:00 - 23 minutes - 15.4 MBNow that Jelly’s working from home, it seems like the perfect opportunity for he and Russell to discuss the differences between that and working in an office. They discuss what they each struggle with, and Jelly gives some suggestions on how to make working by yourself a little easier.
14: Celebrities
June 11, 2015 22:00 - 17 minutes - 11.2 MBRussell’s visit to San Francisco has allowed him to briefly experience what being a celebrity is like, from many different angles. He and Jelly discuss what it’s like to be on various sides of this experience, both being recognised, recognising others and watching others be recognised, and try to figure out the important question: is The Rock more famous than the President?
13: I/O vs. WWDC
June 04, 2015 22:00 - 23 minutes - 15.7 MBRussell is in San Francisco to attend Google and Apple’s respective developer conferences. Both happen at roughly the same time of the year, and even in the same building. Nevertheless, the two conferences are quite different, and might even say a lot about the differences between the two companies themselves.
12: Communication
May 28, 2015 22:00 - 17 minutes - 12 MBFrom speaking to writing to Matrix-style information download, Jelly and Russell tackle the concept of people communicating with each other, and try and figure out what the ultimate form of communication looks like. Along the way they discuss the flaws with various kinds of communication, along with the issues they have when communicating with each other.
11: Friday
May 21, 2015 22:00 - 14 minutes - 10 MBIt’s Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday. Jelly and Russell are looking forward to the weekend, but how exactly do people get themselves out of work mode and into… non-work mode? They enlist the help of Russell’s pals from Shifty Jelly to figure out what people do on their weekends, and whether it even makes a difference.
10: Independent Podcasts
May 14, 2015 22:00 - 29 minutes - 18.6 MBJelly and Russell are unexpectedly joined by a mysterious guest. Having established that he has the power to just drop into podcasts at will, they decide to go with it and explore the seedy world of Independent Podcasting. What they learn is both equal parts disturbing and intriguing.
9: Motivation
May 07, 2015 22:00 - 26 minutes - 16.6 MBFinding the wherewithal to get off of the couch can take some effort, but never fear! Russell and Jelly discuss what it takes to get motivated to do things… and complete them probably. After a good nap, of course.
8: Employment
April 30, 2015 22:00 - 25 minutes - 16.6 MBJelly’s quit his day job, so he and Russell talk about different kinds of work: working for an employer, freelancing, and creating your own products. Having done all three between them, they talk lessons learned, pros and cons, and try and figure out what the best approach for each option is.
7: Clickbait
April 23, 2015 22:00 - 28 minutes - 16.6 MBAfter Jelly discovers that MSN still exists, he and Rusty find themselves sucked down a rabbit hole of sensationalist headlines. In an effort to understand humanity’s need for entertainment, they sacrifice their browser history and attempt to understand why clickbait headlines exist. The things they discover will shock and surprise you!
6: Minimum Viable Product
April 16, 2015 22:00 - 26 minutes - 18 MBAt a listener’s request, Jelly and Russell tackle the concept of a minimum viable product and the process they go through when deciding on features that go into their respective apps. Along the way, they discuss the concept of feature regret, and whether the concept of an “opinionated app” is a good thing or a bad thing.
5: Criticism
April 09, 2015 22:00 - 17 minutes - 12.2 MBNobody is perfect, especially Jelly, who has recently received some criticism through the internet. This lead to some reflection on how one deals with negative feedback, both constructive and not-so-constructive, and how to make it so you don’t feel quite so sad afterwards.
4: Galaxy S
April 02, 2015 21:00 - 24 minutes - 15.7 MBSamsung cops a lot of flak for cloning Apple devices, which is something Russell doesn’t think they deserve any more. In fact, he’s convinced that they actually made the right business move to duplicate the iPhone when building the Galaxy S.
3: Shower Thoughts
March 26, 2015 21:00 - 16 minutes - 11.5 MBRussell’s favourite place for thinking through the problems he faces is the shower (don’t worry, he wears a tuxedo), so he and Jelly talk about their favourite ways to solve problems with down time, whether by showering, walking or building Lego.
2: Nicknames
March 19, 2015 21:22 - 18 minutes - 12.5 MBIf anything is certain, it’s that Jelly has a really odd nickname. He also has some pretty specific ideas about how others should refer to him, so he and Russell discuss the origin of their online handles, the names they prefer other people call them by, and why Jelly should have taken his wife’s name when he got married.
1: Watch
March 13, 2015 03:12 - 30 minutes - 18.4 MBSure, Apple now have a $10,000 watch which is made out of a special gold, but is this the beginning of an Apple which no longer produces things that we care about? Russell certainly thinks so.
0: Topical
March 05, 2015 23:30 - 18 minutes - 11.3 MBRussell wants to start a podcast, but Jelly’s not sure. He doesn’t have a lot of time on his hands (worst excuse ever), but he’s at least willing to hear Russell out. Along the way, they talk Crossy Road, whether there is a limit to the cuteness of puppies, and evil laughs.