ThunderCast

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Aug 2026

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About the show

An inside look at the making of Mozilla Thunderbird, and community-driven conversations with our friends in the open-source software space.

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25 recent

August 4, 2026Episode 451 min

Thundercast - S3E4 - Half Year Review

ThunderCast, the official Thunderbird podcast is back for another season! In this episode we focus on our half year mark review (unbelievable that is already August), going through some high level updates of things done and what's coming. Roadmaps: https://roadmaps.thunderbird.net/ Developer guides: https://developer.thunderbird.net/ Ideas for Thunderbird desktop and mobile: https://connect.mozilla.org/ User support for Thunderbird desktop and mobile: https://support.mozilla.org/ Submit your questions at podcast@thunderbird.net ★ Support this podcast ★

June 16, 2026Episode 347 min

Thundercast - S3E3 - Thunderbird ESR 153

ThunderCast, the official Thunderbird podcast is back for another season! In this episode we focus on the upcoming ESR 153 release, codename Meadow. Roadmaps: https://roadmaps.thunderbird.net/ Developer guides: https://developer.thunderbird.net/ Ideas for Thunderbird desktop and mobile: https://connect.mozilla.org/ User support for Thunderbird desktop and mobile: https://support.mozilla.org/ Submit your questions at podcast@thunderbird.net ★ Support this podcast ★

April 30, 2026Episode 244 min

Thundercast - S3E2 - Contributor journey

ThunderCast, the official Thunderbird podcast is back for another season! In this episode we focus on the contributor journey, analyzing what we currently have and what are our plans to improve jumping into the Thunderbird community. Roadmaps: https://roadmaps.thunderbird.net/ Developer guides: https://developer.thunderbird.net/ Ideas for Thunderbird desktop and mobile: https://connect.mozilla.org/ User support for Thunderbird desktop and mobile: https://support.mozilla.org/ Submit your questions at podcast@thunderbird.net ★ Support this podcast ★

March 17, 2026Episode 153 min

ThunderCast - S3E1 - Roadmaps

ThunderCast, the official Thunderbird podcast is back for another season! Let's kick things off with some insights on our roadmaps and what's ahead for our desktop and email clients. User testing discussions: https://thunderbird.topicbox.com/ Roadmaps: https://roadmaps.thunderbird.net/ Developer guides: https://developer.thunderbird.net/ Ideas for Thunderbird desktop and mobile: https://connect.mozilla.org/ User support for Thunderbird desktop and mobile: https://support.mozilla.org/ Submit your questions at podcast@thunderbird.net ★ Support this podcast ★

December 1, 2025Episode 1543 min

State of the Thunder 14: The 2026 Mobile Roadmap

As 2025 winds down, its time to start thinking of what we want to achieve for our Android AND iOS apps next year. Alessandro walks us through the 2026 mobile roadmap, covering our urgent priorities, feature wish list, and a glimpse at our upcoming design plans for the entire Thunderbird project. Resources: Current Android Roadmap: https://github.com/orgs/thunderbird/projects/19 TB Pro Announcement: https://blog.thunderbird.net/2025/04/thundermail-and-thunderbird-pro-services/ Mobile Development Matrix: https://matrix.to/#/#tb-mobile-dev:mozilla.org Thunderbird for Android GitHub Issues: https://github.com/thunderbird/thunderbird-android/issues (00:00) - (00:00) - Intro (01:47) - Thunderbird Pro in Mobile (05:49) - How we build a roadmap (07:40) - Android initiatives (12:51) - Material 3 or Material You (21:05) - Calendar Exploration Questions (31:26) - Roadmap items for our community (33:34) - iOS initiatives ★ Support this podcast ★

November 14, 2025Episode 1455 min

Bonus Episode: An Android Retrospective

If you can believe it, Thunderbird for Android has been out for just over a year! In this episode of our Community Office Hours, Heather and Monica check back in with the mobile team after our chat with them back in January. Sr. Software Engineer Wolf Montwé and our new Manager of Mobile Apps, Jon Bott look back at what the growing mobile team has been able to accomplish this last year, what we’re still working on, and what’s up ahead. ★ Support this podcast ★

October 10, 2025Episode 1352 min

State of the Thunder 13: How the Roadmap Gets Made

Welcome back to another State of the Thunder! In this episode, Managing Director Ryan Sipes is leading us through how the Thunderbird roadmap. Unlike other companies where roadmaps are driven solely by business needs, Thunderbird is working with our community governance and feedback from the wider user community to keep us honest even as we move forward. Resources: Mozilla Manifesto: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/about/manifesto/ Share big ideas: https://connect.mozilla.org Report desktop bugs: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org Report Android bugs: https://github.com/thunderbird/thunderbird-android/issues/ Engage with the Thunderbird Council: https://council.thunderbird.net Desktop roadmap: https://developer.thunderbird.net/planning/roadmap Mobile roadmap: https://developer.thunderbird.net/planning/roadmap (00:00) - Intro (00:19) - How a software roadmap gets made (02:27) - A brief history of Thunderbird (06:24) - Writing next year's roadmap (12:16) - Community contributions in the roadmap (24:43) - Engage with the project (27:56) - How we incorporate feedback (29:24) - Why telemetry is important (33:12) - How people can see our roadmaps ★ Support this podcast ★

September 23, 2025Episode 1240 min

State of the Thunder 12: Community, Android, and Mozilla Connect

We're back with our twelfth episode of the State of the Thunder! In this episode, we're talking about community initiatives, filling you in on Android development, and finishing our updates on popular Mozilla Connect requests, including true Conversation View! (00:00) - Intro (01:21) - Austin RiverHacks (05:40) - Ask-a-Fox (15:13) - More Mozilla Connect Updates (16:03) - Native system notification integration (24:10) - Conversation View (26:51) - The new Panorama database initiative (36:04) - A few Thunderbird Pro updates ★ Support this podcast ★

September 11, 2025Episode 1153 min

State of the Thunder 11: Mozilla Connect Updates

State of the Thunder is back after a short hiatus for a new season of answering questions and providing our community with updates on all our products, from mobile and desktop clients to the upcoming Thunderbird Pro! In our first episode of the new season, Alessandro and new cohost Michael Ellis tackle a new batch of your questions with help from members of the Thunderbird team and community. Then they provide updates on the 20-ish top Thunderbird suggestions in Mozilla Connect. (00:00) - Introduction (03:23) - Accidental Message Order Sorting (08:49) - Move Focus Keyboard Shortcut (11:33) - Option for Simplified Thunderbird? (21:16) - Thunderbird Version in Ubuntu PPA (24:12) - Top 20-ish features requested in Mozilla Connect ★ Support this podcast ★

July 30, 2025Episode 1052 min

State of the Thunder 10: Answering Community Questions!

Welcome back to State of the Thunder! In this edition, we're taking more community questions on a range of topics. From improving Settings to the role of Add-ons and more, the Thunderbird team is tackling your most urgent inquiries! (00:00) - Intro (01:56) - Supporting and Sustaining FOSS Projects We Use (05:49) - Future UI Settings Plans (14:05) - Account Setup and Manual Configuration (21:34) - Balancing Complexity and Simplicity (32:58) - Benefits of the New Monthly Release Channel (38:01) - JMAP Support in Thunderbird (41:12) - Maintaining Backups in Thunderbird ★ Support this podcast ★