Picture Me Coding

Hosted by Erik Aker and Mike Mull

Technology

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Episodes

110

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Picture Me Coding is a music podcast about software. Each week your hosts Erik Aker and Mike Mull take on topics in the software world and they are sometimes joined by guests from other fields who arrive with their own burning questions about technology. Email us at: podcast@picturemecoding.com Patreon: https://patreon.com/PictureMeCoding You can also pick up a Picture Me Coding shirt, mug, or stickers at our Threadless shop: https://picturemecoding.threadless.com/designs Logo and artwork by Jon Whitmire - https://www.whitmirejon.com/

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 23, 2026Episode 1091 hr 9 min

Are We All Going To Die?

In this episode we explore the likelihood of existential risk from AI. We discuss the viewpoints of doomers and skeptics, and some of the scenarios that could lead to catastrophic outcomes. We admire the takes of the third most famous Michael Jordan. We conclude that not ALL of us will die, but maybe some of us. Michael I. Jordan on AI: “Superintelligence is science fiction” AI as Normal Technology Dario Amodei — We Must Pace the Frontier 'A billion deaths': Bill Gates warns about AI in the wrong hands, saying a kill switch and self-regulation won’t be enough | Fortune Is the AI existential threat real—and can regulatory action prevent it? | Brookings Generative design of bacteriophages with genome language models | Science How Might Artificial Intelligence Affect the Risk of Nuclear War? Michael I. Jordan on AI: “Superintelligence is science fiction” AI ‘godfather’ Yann LeCun has ‘zero concerns’ about human extinction, says Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is ‘deluded’ | Fortune AI 2027 - Rogue Replication Timeline — LessWrong Send us Fan Mail

October 9, 2026Episode 10858 min

Thanks for the Memory Part 2: Garbage Collection

This week we conclude our discussion of dynamic memory allocation with a discussion of the history and implementation of garbage collectors. There are no mentions of raccoons. Recursive Functions of Symbolic Expressions and Their Computation by Machine, Part I Uniprocessor Garbage Collection Techniques? cpython/InternalDocs/garbage_collector.md at main Generation Scavenging: A Non-disruptlve High Perfornm.nce Storage Reclamation Algorithm 1. Introduction 2. The Relationship Betw Send us Fan Mail

September 25, 2026Episode 1071 hr 7 min

Thanks for the Memory Part I: Allocators

This week we present the first of two episodes on dynamic memory allocation. We were going to talk about garbage collection, but realized we should probably discuss allocators first. Turns out they are complicated, and there are many different strategies. Dynamic Storage Allocation: A Survey and Critical Review (Wilson) Hoard: a scalable memory allocator for multithreaded applications mimalloc: A new, high-performance, scalable memory allocator for the modern era - Microsoft Research A Scalable Concurrent malloc(3) Implementation for FreeBSD Send us Fan Mail

September 11, 2026Episode 1061 hr 1 min

From the Academy to Industry with Alan Dyke

In this episode we interview Alan Dyke, a colleague of Erik's who got his Ph.D from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he did research on Computer-Aided Software Engineering. We talk about Alan's unique journey in software development, going from the academic environment to the defense industry, embedded software, and biotech. We also learn about the crucial importance of calibrating your software for hurricanes. Send us Fan Mail

August 28, 2026Episode 10559 min

DataCon LA

This week we're talking about Mike's visit to DataCon LA 26. We talk about the conference, various talks he was able to see, and his own experience giving a talk. Compression Represents Intelligence Linearly [2602.17127] The Emergence of Lab-Driven Alignment Signatures: A Psychometric Framework for Auditing Latent Bias and Compounding Risk in Generative AI Instructor spaCy John Snow Labs Hierarchical Navigable Small Worlds (HNSW) | Pinecone Lance Video is a demonstration platform for analyzing and searching video content with LanceDB. · GitHub Send us Fan Mail

August 14, 2026Episode 10455 min

The Monte Carlo Method

In this episode we discuss the Monte Carlo method, both the technique and its place in the history of computing. The Monte Carlo method is a set of tools that use probability to solve problems that are otherwise intractable. Programs using Monte Carlo were among the first programs created on digital computers. The Monte Carlo Method Nicholas Metropolis; S. Ulam Journal of the American Statistical Association, Vol. 44, No. 247. (Sep. Equation of State Calculations by Fast Computing Machines Hitting the Jackpot: The Birth of the Monte Carlo Method | LANL Monte Carlo Sampling Methods Using Markov Chains and Their Applications W. K. Hastings Biometrika, Vol. 57, No. 1. (Apr., 1970), 2014HaighPriestleyRope-LosAlamosBetsonENIAC.pdf The Unheralded Contributions of Klara Dan von Neumann Send us Fan Mail

July 24, 2026Episode 1031 hr 14 min

The Most Cited Papers from JACM

In this episode we discuss the 5 most-cited papers from the flagship journal of the Association for Computing Machinery, the JACM. The papers include everything from distributed computing to real-time scheduling. Direct Search'' Solution of Numerical and Statistical Problems | Journal of the ACM Impossibility of distributed consensus with one faulty process | Journal of the ACM Robust principal component analysis? | Journal of the ACM Authoritative sources in a hyperlinked environment | Journal of the ACM Scheduling Algorithms for Multiprogramming in a Hard-Real-Time Environment | Journal of the ACM What is HITS Algorithm (Hyperlink-Induced Topic Search)? Send us Fan Mail

July 10, 2026Episode 1021 hr 0 min

The Prehistory of the Internet

This episode started with the question: who first had the idea to connect computers together to make a network? We explore JCR Licklider's ideas about an "Intergalactic Network", some of the earliest attempts at networking, and the ideas that lead to packet switching and the Arpanet. SAGE: Semi-Automatic Ground Environment Air Defense System | MIT Lincoln Laboratory Memorandum for Members and Affiliates of the Intergalactic Computer Network The Arpanet and Computer Networks 60 Years of Networking - by Bruce Davies - Systems Approach Information Flow in Large Communication Nets (1961, Leonard Kleinrock, MIT) On Distributed Communications Networks (1962, Paul Baran, RAND) National Physical Laboratory Proposal for a Digital Communication Network by D. W. Davies June, 1966 Send us Fan Mail

June 26, 20261 hr 5 min

Software Development in 2046

In this episode we discuss a couple of recent papers on just-in-time development and agentic systems and how we think they suggest trends that will affect software development for years to come. We boldly predict that in 2046 people will still not want robot dentists. The Time is Here for Just-in-Time Systems: Challenges and Opportunities MDASH: The MS Security Thing Services: The New Software | Sequoia Capital Understanding Spec-Driven-Development: Kiro, spec-kit, and Tessl Send us Fan Mail

June 12, 2026Episode 10054 min

Numerology

For the 100th episode of Picture Me Coding we talk about numbers. Mike talks about his favorite numbers, Erik talks about his favorite ports, and we discuss the surprising phenomenon of Benford's Law. Send us Fan Mail