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PODCAST

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast

Welcome to Asynchronous and Unreliable, the new weekly podcast where we discuss the latest and most fascinating ideas in tech and AIOur host Anne Currie is a tech veteran, co-author of O"Reilly"s Building Green Software and author of the strangely prescient science fiction Panopticon series Expect animated, friendly, and lighthearted discussions with some of the most interesting thinkers and practitioners in technology. To find out about just a few of our amazing guests in 2026, visit our

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All Episodes

00:22:41

Ep:29 Building Reliability Out of Unreliable Humans,...

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/10/05

ShownotesBuilding reliability out of unreliable humans, with unreliable human Anne CurrieWhat happens when a podcast about unreliability meets a household full of colds? This week, I use the podcast itself as a worked example of building more resilient systems.With Jon too ill to join me, I explore three techniques: setting expectations, planning graceful downgrades and buffering work in advance. Along the way, I explain why a backup co-host who lives in the same household might share your failure

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00:42:31

Ep 28: Will AI Write Good Novels? With Bestselling...

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/09/28

ShownotesAI, authors and the business of telling stories—with Katherine PathakCould AI help a prolific novelist keep up with her own imagination? And how different is an AI continuing a successful series from a ghostwriter—or an author’s family—taking over?This week I’m joined by crime writer Katherine Pathak, author of the best selling DCI Dani Bevan series, to talk about her new book, Red Red Rose, and what AI might mean for writers, readers and publishing.We explore the possibilities for

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00:36:18

Ep 27: AI & Human Alignment With AI Solopreneur...

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/09/21

ShownotesAre AIs Learning Humanity's Better Nature? with Yanqing ChengAnne Currie talks with software engineering leader and Tollens.ai founder Yanqing Cheng about how large language models acquired the helpful assistant persona, and what their training tells us about human learning, morality, and alignment. Yanqing traces the assistant from early role-played prompts through reinforcement learning and synthetic post-training, while Anne asks whether books and long-form writing carry more of

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00:47:12

Ep 26: How To Build Resilient Distributed Systems...

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/09/14

In this episode of Asynchronous and Unreliable, I talk to Sam Newman, author of Building Microservices, about his new O’Reilly book, Building Resilient Distributed Systems.Distributed systems are hard — and, as they scale, they become hard in distinctly inhuman ways. Rare events stop being rare, components inevitably fail, resources run out, and the million-to-one chance starts happening nine times out of ten.Sam’s new book is intended as a survival guide for developers who find themselves building

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00:51:25

Ep 25: Scaling AIs with AI Solopreneur Yanqing Cheng

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/09/07

ShownotesAI Management, Agent Limits, and Why Long Form Text Still MattersAnne Currie talks with Yanqing Cheng about what she has been learning from building Tollens.ai, where she is experimenting with quality management for AI software products. They also dig into Jon Berger’s book, What Happens When You're Not In The Room, and compare what it means to manage humans versus managing AI agents.In this episode, they explore where AI agents are genuinely useful, where they still fail badly, and why

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00:24:41

Ep 24: How to Make Difficult Change Happen With...

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/09/01

ShownotesBook Launch: What Happens When You Are Not in the Room by Jon BergerWhat Happens When You Are Not In The Room?Buy on Amazon UKBuy on Amazon USAnne Currie welcomes back mission critical software delivery expert Jon Berger for a book launch conversation about leadership, management, and strategy. This episode focuses on the hard-won lessons behind Jon’s new book, why he wrote it, and the practical models he uses to think about whether leadership is actually working.We discuss what it means to

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00:42:16

Ep 23: What Happens When You Are Not In The Room? Jon...

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/08/24

ShownotesWhat Happens When You're Not in the Room with Jon BergerAnne Currie talks with Jon Berger about his upcoming book on leadership and management, shaped by 30 years of experience across startups, scale-ups, and Microsoft. The conversation focuses on why context matters, how to build alignment, and why internal teaching, writing, and speaking can make leaders more effective when they are not physically present.They also discuss Team Topologies, internal tech conferences, and how AI may create

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00:52:54

Ep 22: AI is Forcing A Rethink of Organisation...

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/08/17

Internal Conferences, Team Topologies, and the AI Learning OrganizationAnne Currie speaks with Matthew Skelton, co-author of the bestseller Team Topologies and CEO of Conflux, about why AI is exposing weak organizational design and making intentional knowledge-sharing more important than ever.They chat about how internal conferences, shared language, and clear team boundaries help organizations align faster, reduce duplication, and spread useful practices across the business. The conversation also

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00:54:49

Ep 21: What Do Enterprises Have to Fear When Adopting...

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/08/10

Navigating the Evolution of Enterprise Tech: Cloud Native, AI, and BeyondIn this episode, Anne Currie and Sarah Wells, ex Financial Times engineering leader and O'Reilly author, explore how enterprises survive rapid technological shifts from cloud native transformations to the rise of AI. They discuss lessons learned from the Financial Times’ cloud journey, the comparative impact of AI on software development, security concerns, and the importance of fostering resilient, adaptable teams in the

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00:40:56

Ep 20: How to Make AI Data Centers Sustainable with...

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/08/03

When we make AI data centres expensive and unsustainable that's a choice because they don't have to be.In this episode of Asynchronous and Unreliable, host Anne Currie speaks with Chad Gibson, ex Microsoft co-founder and CEO of AI host and infrastructure company Neuralwatt, to discuss innovative approaches to reducing the energy footprint of AI.Discover how layered technologies, transparency, and customer-driven model choices can help to shape greener, cheaper, and more efficient AI.Key

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01:03:09

Ep 19: Latest News in AI Code Generation From Mission...

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/07/27

ShownotesExploring AI, Software Development, and Future Possibilities with Martin Davidson for a discussion on #Rustlang, the AI SDLC,Join us for a deep conversation on the latest in AI experimentation, software engineering, and reimagining hardware and UI design. Martin Davidson returns to share insights from his ongoing projects, exploring how AI models like Claude and Codex are transforming the way we build and understand software. #rustlangMain Topics Covered:Martin’s current AI experimentation

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00:31:16

Ep 18: What Happens When You Are Not In The Room? Jon...

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/07/20

What Happens When You're Not in the Room? - Leadership, Media, and Writing Insights #leadership #management #softwareBook reveal - Jon Berger's new book on leadership and management, What Happens When You Are Not In The Room? comes out on the 1st September 2026.In this episode, Anne Currie and mission critical software and leadership veteran Jon Berger explore the nuances of leadership, the art of writing books, humour in professional communication, and media representations of leadership. They

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00:55:20

Ep 17: How Could AI Write Software Much Better Than...

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/07/13

The Future of Software: Insights from ExperienceDiscover how seasoned experts (aka old people in computer years) predict the evolution of software development over the next decade, focusing on #AI's transformative role, hardware implications, and the potential for machine-only software.In this episode:Reflection on recent episodes discussing AI and code generation and what they imply for the futureThe challenge of maintaining softwareThe shift from human to AI-centric code creation and the

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01:08:10

Ep 16: Could YOU Recreate Amazon S3 At Home With...

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/07/06

A wild ride through Justin Cormack's attempts to build really hard stuff using AI. Did he recreate Amazon s3 in his back bedroom in a couple of weeks?A fun dive into the fascinating world of AI-assisted software development, Unikernels, and the future of programming languages, with Justin Cormack. Justin was the CTO of Docker for a decade, is one of the founders of Unikernels and is a leading figure in cloud-native and systems programming. In this episode, Anne hears all about his current

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00:57:10

Ep 15: How Are Systems Changing To Improve...

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/06/29

In another friendly conversation, Anne and Holly Cummins of IBM discuss IBM's cloud native platform Quarkus and why it is so, so important right now. You've got to be able to turn it off and on again for operatioal efficiency, to take any advantage of the cloud and - vitally - for security because in the new world, patches have to be applied rapidly.Anne and Holly, Java champion, explore the evolution of Java from its initial flexible, runtime-centric design to a modern cloud-native, operationally

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00:45:00

Ep 14: How Is Software Security Changing to Handle AI...

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/06/22

In this episode, Anne and industry expert Adrian Mouat of security firm Chainguard and author of O'Reilly's Using Docker discuss the "crazy" rapid evolution of AI, its implications for cybersecurity, the future of software development, and the urgent need for adaptive security practices. They also discuss the brand new Athena coalition for accelerating patches against vulnerabilities in the face of AI-driven attacksMain Topics:The accelerating pace of vulnerabilities and exploitations in

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01:03:57

Ep 13: What Does Quality Mean for AI Generated...

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/06/15

How Do We Make AI-Generated Code Good?Anne and Yanqing Cheng, founder of AI startup Tollens.ai, explore the future of software quality, AI management, and organizational trust. Discover how holistic engineering management, trust, and organizational dynamics influence AI and software quality.Key TopicsThe evolving definition of quality in AI-generated softwareTollens.ai's approach as an engineering management consultantThe importance of holistic management and decision-makingHow AI tools can aid

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00:41:17

Ep 12: How Can We Trust AI To Build Software? With...

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/06/08

ShownotesTitle: Navigating AI's Impact on Software Development and TrustO'Reilly author Anne Currie and Mission Critical software expert Jon Berger discuss the question of the moment: how can we entrust AI with the software that underpins everything?Join Anne and Jon as they explore real experiments, strategic implications, and practical steps for leaders in a rapidly evolving tech landscape.Main Topics:The future of AI in software engineering: rapid development and risk managementLeadership

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00:42:01

Ep 11: How Did We Write an O'Reilly Tech Book? With...

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/06/01

Building Green Software: Insights from the Authors or How To Write an O'Reilly BookThis episode features Anne Currie and Sara Bergman discussing the journey of writing Building Green Software, the lessons learned, and the ongoing impact of eco-conscious software development in industry and academia. They share behind-the-scenes insights, the importance of collaboration, and practical advice for authors.Key Topics:The origin story and motivation behind Building Green SoftwareThe collaborative process

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00:34:48

Ep 10: What Is Platform Engineering and how will it...

Asynchronous & Unreliable - Tech & AI Podcast ·

2026/05/25

ShownotesWhat Is Platform Engineering and how will it work in an AI world? An In-Depth Conversation with Paula KennedyIn this episode, Anne Currie chats with old friend and colleague Paula Kennedy, COO of platform engineering startup Syntasso about the fundamentals of platform engineering, its evolution, and its impact on organizations of all sizes. They explore how platform engineering helps manage the growing cognitive load in modern software development and operational practices.This episode is a

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