Community Pulse is the spot for Developer Relations and Community professionals who are looking for information on building technical communities. Community Builders and DevRel veterans Jason Hand, Mary Thengvall, PJ Hagerty, and Wesley Faulkner interview experts in the field of Developer Relations and Community Leadership on a broad range of topics related to building community.
Listen to episodes
60 recent
June 12, 202615 min
After Pulse: Playing DevRel's Advocate
In this After Pulse the hosts get into what it's actually like to be the odd one out in the room, the person who can see the bigger picture when everyone else is heads down on their own slice of the problem. They share personal anecdoates about trying to get stakeholders to zoom out, see who a decision actually impacts, and what's worked and what hasn't when you're the one connecting dots nobody else is putting together yet.
Enjoy the podcast?
Please take a few moments to leave us a review on iTunes and follow us on Spotify, or leave a review on one of the other many podcasting sites that we’re on! Your support means a lot to us and helps us continue to produce episodes every month. Like all things Community, this too takes a village.
May 27, 202635 min
Playing DevRel's Advocate (Ep 104)
In this episode of Community Pulse, we discuss the challenge DevRel teams face when raising concerns internally. Because they’re closely connected to the developer community, they often spot issues before anyone else. Speaking up too often can make them seem overly negative or resistant to change. We explore how to communicate concerns effectively, maintain credibility with stakeholders, and continue advocating for the community without becoming “the person who always pumps the brakes.”
Checkouts
Wesley Faulkner
Work’s Not Working - A community for those struggling in the workplace to get real help instead of platitudes. Get suggestions from other people that are dealing with the same struggles that you are facing to get real support.
Against Empathy - The book draws on the distinctions between empathy, compassion, and moral decision making.
Jason Hand
High Agency In 30 Minutes
Datadog Community YouTube
The State of AI Engineering Report
Mary Thengvall
Monte Williams - ALEU Leadership Development
Project Hail Mary - book is amazing; audiobook narrator (Ray Porter) is phenomenal; and the movie holds up to the book - triple threat!
Melissa Appel
Re-reading Designing your Life - it uses design thinking, and especially prototyping / experimentation to help you figure out what’s next in your professional or personal life
Jonan Scheffler
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind - Shinryu Suzuki
Drive, Dan Pink: Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose
DM me if you're in Berlin, I'll buy you a beer.
Enjoy the podcast?
Please take a few moments to leave us a review on iTunes and follow us on Spotify, or leave a review on one of the other many podcasting sites that we’re on! Your support means a lot to us and helps us continue to produce episodes every month. Like all things Community, this too takes a village.
Artwork photo by Nick Nice on UnsplashSpecial Guests: Jonan Scheffler and Melissa Appel.
April 1, 202636 min
AI Slop in the Industry (Ep 103)
Prompted by some content on “How to Succeed in DevRel” that was clearly AI produced, Jason, PJ, and Wesley go down the rabbit hole of how developers are affected by AI generated content, what the real value of AI content is to developers, and a few points on what exactly the value is of creating content for AI instead of human developers.
Checkouts
Wesley Faulkner
Twilight Zone episode
PJ Hagerty
Asimov’s I, Robot (not the movie)
Jason Hand
J’s hackathon project
Enjoy the podcast?
Please take a few moments to leave us a review on iTunes and follow us on Spotify, or leave a review on one of the other many podcasting sites that we’re on! Your support means a lot to us and helps us continue to produce episodes every month. Like all things Community, this too takes a village.
Artwork by Nahrizul Kadri on Unsplash
January 7, 202631 min
2025 End of Year Wrap-Up (Ep 102)
In this year-end episode, we’re reflecting on our 2025 DevRel conversations and the themes that defined the year. We revisit key insights from our guests, look at how the DevRel landscape continued to evolve, and call out the lessons that showed up again and again across our episodes. It’s also a moment to thank our guests and listeners who made the show possible. Whether you joined us for one episode or all of them, this wrap-up looks back on where DevRel has been in 2025 and ahead to what’s coming next.
Enjoy the podcast?
Please take a few moments to leave us a review on iTunes and follow us on Spotify, or leave a review on one of the other many podcasting sites that we’re on! Your support means a lot to us and helps us continue to produce episodes every month. Like all things Community, this too takes a village.
Artwork by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash.
November 7, 202538 min
Non-tech Communities That Inform Our DevRel Activities (Ep 101)
Our lived experiences often inform our work. This is true in the world of DevRel as well. Whether you have organized a church group, been in a band, or put together a big party - some of those experiences will leak over into how you see community and how you work in the Developer Relations world.
Enjoy the podcast?
Please take a few moments to leave us a review on iTunes and follow us on Spotify, or leave a review on one of the other many podcasting sites that we’re on! Your support means a lot to us and helps us continue to produce episodes every month. Like all things Community, this too takes a village.
October 3, 202533 min
After Pulse: What's Changed Since Community Pulse Started!
We’re reflecting on how the show has evolved, from adding Pulse and tightening our structure to getting comfortable recording without guests. We also look back at the biggest shifts in DevRel over the past decade (no, you can’t say AI), share thoughts on where the industry is headed, and dig into highlights from the Decade of DevRel report.
Enjoy the podcast?
Please take a few moments to leave us a review on iTunes and follow us on Spotify, or leave a review on one of the other many podcasting sites that we’re on! Your support means a lot to us and helps us continue to produce episodes every month. Like all things Community, this too takes a village.
September 26, 20251 hr 1 min
What's Changed Since the Community Pulse Started! (Ep 100)
It’s been 10 years since the start of Community Pulse and, appropriately enough, we’ve reached the milestone of 100 episodes. To celebrate, we invited Jono Bacon -- our very first guest on the show -- and SJ Morris -- a former host of the show -- to join us and reminisce about changes in the DevRel industry as well as how we’ve changed personally and professionally over the last 10 years. We’ll laugh a little… cry a little… and as always, learn a lot along the way.
Checkouts
Jason Bono
Primalbranding by Patrick Hanlon and Hooked by Nir Eyal - awesome books, very relevant
Attio / OpusClip / Anam - awesome tools
Stateshift
MobLand on Paramount+
SJ Morris
Developers, Reinvented
Design from the Margins
Wesley Faulkner
Kitten TTS
Add Bluesky comments and likes to your blog
PJ Hagerty
The AI Con - How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want by Emily M Bender and Alex Hanna
Tyler the Creator - Don’t Tap the Glass
Jason Hand
Anyone can Play Music by Josh Turknett
ai-tools-lab.com
LLM Observability Learning Course (FREE)
Mary Thengvall
Upcoming book that I had a preview of and am very excited about (coming from Apress in early 2026)! Developer Relations Activity Patterns: A Unified Approach to Devrel, DX and Community Management by Scott McAllister, David Neal, Ted Neward, and Chris Woodruff
Fun (random) things have made me smile lately:
Miniature Cheese Graters
Lapel Pins
Special Guests: Jono Bacon and SJ Morris.
August 9, 202530 min
DevRel Tooling (Ep 99)
In this episode, Jason, Wesley, and Mary share some of our favorite tools of the trade—from live streaming setups and demo-building tricks to the software and hardware we rely on for recording videos and tracking metrics. Join us for a practical, behind-the-scenes look at the gear and workflows that help us connect with developers and communities every day.
Categories
Building & Managing Websites
Hugo
Astro
Form Bricks
Local Recall
SquareSpace
Eleventy
Data, metrics, and knowledge sharing
Airtable
Common Room
Metabase
Scheduling meetings
Cal.com
Fantastical
LiveStreaming & video recording and editing
Streamyard
Riverside.fm
OBS
OpenShot
Audacity
VLC
Descript
Otter Meeting Agent - AI Notetaker, Transcription, Insights
Automation tools
n8n
Zapier
IFTTT
Forums
Slack
Discourse
Podcast hosting
Fireside
Building demos
Claude Code
Lovable
Cursor
LocalAI
Enjoy the podcast?
Please take a few moments to leave us a review on iTunes and follow us on Spotify, or leave a review on one of the other many podcasting sites that we’re on! Your support means a lot to us and helps us continue to produce episodes every month. Like all things Community, this too takes a village.
Photo by Todd Quackenbush on Unsplash.
June 6, 202529 min
Work/Life Blur: Navigating the Grey (Ep 98)
Sometimes work stretches beyond “normal” hours, and while we might welcome that when we’re energized by the project, other times it’s a real struggle. In this episode, Jason, PJ, and Mary unpack the difference between working late because we love the job versus doing it just to meet a deadline. They also explore how to recognize when those long hours are a sign of a toxic environment or poor prioritization—and what we can do to push back.
Photo by Mohammad Alizade on Unsplash.
Enjoy the podcast?
Please take a few moments to leave us a review on iTunes and follow us on Spotify, or leave a review on one of the other many podcasting sites that we’re on! Your support means a lot to us and helps us continue to produce episodes every month. Like all things Community, this too takes a village.
May 23, 202528 min
Vibing on Vibe Coding (Ep 97)
"Vibe coding" is gaining traction as a new way to approach software development—but what does it actually mean? In this episode, we unpack the term, explore how it's shaping the developer experience, and examine its potential to transform developer relations. We'll break down the pros and cons, from faster workflows to new challenges in communication and code quality, and discuss what this shift means for DevRel professionals today and in the future.
Enjoy the podcast?
Please take a few moments to leave us a review on iTunes and follow us on Spotify, or leave a review on one of the other many podcasting sites that we’re on! Your support means a lot to us and helps us continue to produce episodes every month. Like all things Community, this too takes a village.
Is this your show?
Claim this listing to keep it up to date, reach guests who want to pitch you, and manage bookings with Guestify.
