The freeCodeCamp Podcast

• #201 The "AI is going to replace devs" hype is over – 22-year developer veteran Jason Lengstorf

  Today Quincy Larson interviews Jason Lengstorf. He's a college dropout who taught himself programming while building websites for his emo band. 22 years later he's worked as a developer at IBM, Netlify, run his own dev consultancy, and he now runs CodeTV making reality TV shows for developers. We talk about: - How many CEOs over-estimated the impact of AI coding tools and laid off too many devs, whom they're now trying to rehire - Why the developer job market has already rebounded a bit, but will never be the same - Tips for how to land roles in the post-LLM résumé spam job search era - How devs are working to rebuild the fabric of the community through in-person community events Support for this podcast is provided by a grant from AlgoMonster. AlgoMonster is a platform that teaches data structure and algorithm patterns in a structured sequence, so you can approach technical interview questions more systematically. Their curriculum covers patterns like sliding window, two-pointers, graph search, and dynamic programming, helping you learn each pattern once and apply it to solve many problems. Start a structured interview prep routine at https://algo.monster/freecodecamp Support also comes from the 10,338 kind folks who donate to our charity each month. Join them and support our mission at https://donate.freecodecamp.org Get a freeCodeCamp tshirt for $20 with free shipping anywhere in the US: https://shop.freecodecamp.org Links from our discussion: - Jason's previous freeCodeCamp podcast interview, with his developer origin story: https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/from-drop-out-to-software-architect-with-jason-lengstorf-podcast-167/ - The first season of Web Dev Challenge on CodeTV: https://codetv.link/wdc  Community news section: 1. freeCodeCamp just published a Git and GitHub for beginners course. Git is a powerful version control tool that most developers now use to build software projects together. GitHub is a popular platform that adds tons of collaboration features on top of Git. You'll learn the basics of both in this course, which covers branching, merging, pull requests, and other key concepts. Well worth your time. (1 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/git-and-github-crash-course-for-beginners 2. freeCodeCamp also just launched our new Responsive Web Design Certification. You can now take the final exam and earn this verified cert, then add it to your LinkedIn, CV, or personal website. This is version 10 of the core fCC curriculum. The community collectively spent thousands of hours developing all this as your shortest path to front-end development skills. This announcement and comprehensive FAQ will help you figure out where this fits into your journey toward your learning goals. (100+ hour interactive curriculum): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/freecodecamps-new-responsive-web-design-certification-is-now-live/ 3. freeCodeCamp also just published a new Harvard CS50 course that will teach you R, a popular programming language for statistical computing and data science. You'll work with real-world datasets inside the RStudio Integrated Development Environment. You'll learn about Vectors, Matrices, Data Frames, filtering, visualizations, and more. (9 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/learn-r-programming-from-harvard-university/ 4. freeCodeCamp's JavaScript certification is now live. It's 1,033 steps long. and you'll build dozens of projects then sit for the final exam. This is a FREE verified certification you can earn then add to your LinkedIn, CV, and portfolio website. Dive in. Full announcement article and FAQ (5 minute read): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/freecodecamps-new-javascript-certification-is-now-live/ 5. Today's song of the week is 1982's soul classic Risin' to the Top by Keni Burke. I love the laid back bass groove and spacious piano chords. The lyrics are about overcoming setbacks, which I know anyone who's attempted to learn programming can relate to. https://youtu.be/euysGPy2t0M

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• #200 How to build your own learning path using Open Source with Kunal Kushwaha

  Today Quincy Larson interviews Kunal Kushwaha. He's a software engineer and prolific computer science teacher on YouTube. He failed the JEE, the Indian Engineering Entrance Exam, TWICE. But he persevered. He did 4 years of university but attended ZERO lectures. Instead he built his own learning path by contributed to open source projects and using free learning resources including freeCodeCamp. He moved from Delhi to London on a UK Global Talent Visa. He works at Cast AI and is the founder of the WeMakeDevs community. We'll talk about: - How he teaches himself new skills, then teaches those skills through his YouTube channel - His day-to-day working remotely at startups - His role in building out cloud regions as a field CTO at Civo, a cloud native service provider - The Indian higher education system Support for this podcast is provided by a grant from AlgoMonster. AlgoMonster is a platform that teaches data structure and algorithm patterns in a structured sequence, so you can approach technical interview questions more systematically. Their curriculum covers patterns like sliding window, two-pointers, graph search, and dynamic programming, helping you learn each pattern once and apply it to solve many problems. Start a structured interview prep routine at https://algo.monster/freecodecamp Support also comes from the 10,338 kind folks who donate to our charity each month. Join them and support our mission at https://donate.freecodecamp.org Rep the freeCodeCamp community with pride. Get your fCC t-shirt for $20 with free shipping anywhere in the US: https://shop.freecodecamp.org Links from our discussion: - Kunal's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@KunalKushwaha - WeMakeDevs, an inclusive global community for anyone passionate about technology that puts on events: https://www.wemakedevs.org/ - CastAI where Kunal now works: https://cast.ai/ Community news section: 1. freeCodeCamp's New Responsive Web Design Certification is now live. You can now take the final exam and earn this FREE verified cert, then add it to your LinkedIn, CV, or personal website. Announcement article: https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/freecodecamps-new-responsive-web-design-certification-is-now-live/ 2. Before modern Large Language Models, scientists and developers worked with more fundamental Natural Language Processing tools. freeCodeCamp just published a handbook that will help you understand the tools that power chatbots, machine translation, text summarization, and more. You'll learn how computers analyze syntax, model semantics, and interpret context. Then you'll use popular Python libraries to apply those concepts to real projects. (full length handbook): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-use-nlp-techniques-and-tools-in-your-projects-full-handbook/ 3. freeCodeCamp also published a handbook that will give you a nuanced understanding of one of the trickier aspects of JavaScript development: Closures. First you'll learn about functions, parameters, and lexical scope. Then you'll learn how a Closure "closes over" a variable to keep it safe, while still granting you access to its values through function calls. If this sounds complicated, it is. But fear not – this handbook will give you tons of code examples of Closure mechanics, and teach you when to use them. (full length handbook): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-closures-work-in-javascript-a-handbook-for-developers/ 4. Flexbox is a powerful CSS feature that lets you build user interfaces that fit any screen size. If you've ever struggled to center something with CSS or tried to make columns line up nicely, well, Flexbox simplifies this dramatically. freeCodeCamp just published a Flexbox for beginners course where you'll learn both the concepts and the code syntax while building a responsive website navigation bar. (2 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/learn-css-flexbox-for-beginners-free-2-hour-course 5. When you're working with Large Language Models, every additional token adds cost and latency. Microsoft just open-sourced a tool called LLMLingua that will compress your prompts and other context window data. freeCodeCamp published this tutorial to help you understand how this works and how you can add it to your Python projects. (10 minute read): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-compress-your-prompts-and-reduce-llm-costs/ 6. It is with great pride that I announce our Top Open Source Contributors of 2025. It's been a super productive year for the global freeCodeCamp community. As we start our 12th year as a community, we're firing on all cylinders, pushing forward more steadily than ever toward a future of open source education: https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/freecodecamp-top-open-source-contributors-2025 7. Today's song of the week is 1983 anthem Rock of Ages by British rock band Def Leppard. This is a silly, feel-good song with excellent vocal harmonies and massive-sounding drums. As a kid, when I saw the music video with the singer wielding a giant sword in a cave it blew my mind.

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• #199 Tips from a serial career changer with GitHub's Andrea Griffiths

  Today Quincy Larson interviews Andrea Griffiths, who taught herself programming using freeCodeCamp while working in construction. She moved to the US from Colombia when she was 17, and within 6 months she joined the US Army. She ran a chain of gyms before landing a support role at a tech company, then ascending to Product Manager and ultimately Developer Advocate at GitHub. Support for this podcast is provided by a grant from AlgoMonster. AlgoMonster is a platform that teaches data structure and algorithm patterns in a structured sequence, so you can approach technical interview questions more systematically. Their curriculum covers patterns like sliding window, two-pointers, graph search, and dynamic programming, helping you learn each pattern once and apply it to solve many problems. Start a structured interview prep routine at https://algo.monster/freecodecamp Support also comes from the 10,338 kind folks who donate to our charity each month. Join them and support our mission at https://donate.freecodecamp.org Get a freeCodeCamp t-shirt for $20 with free shipping anywhere in the US: https://shop.freecodecamp.org We talk about: - Tips for busy parents who want to learn new skills. - How AI tools are no substitute for your own critical thinking - and problem solving skills. - How even though it's getting easier every day to learn programming for free, people are so distracted, and for many it feels harder and harder to sit down and do it. Links from our discussion: - Article about AI and product management (which includes some blunt takes from Quincy): https://thenewstack.io/for-devs-a-fix-for-ai-complexity-is-hiding-in-plain-sight/ - Andrea's weekly newsletter: https://mainbranch.beehiiv.com/ - Learn How to Learn course by Dr. Barbara Oakley: https://www.classcentral.com/course/learning-how-to-learn-2161 Community news section: 1. freeCodeCamp just published this beginner-friendly back-end development course. You'll learn how to build your own web servers and APIs using Node.js, Express, and MongoDB. freeCodeCamp's website and mobile apps are built using these tools, which make up the popular MERN stack. You'll also get some exposure to database architecture, security principles, testing best practices, and more. (2 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/intro-to-backend-web-development-nodejs-express-mongodb/ 2. freeCodeCamp also published a comprehensive Blender and Three.js course where you'll build your own 3D portfolio piece: a render of an adorable home office. If you're interested in 3D rendering and computer graphics, this is the course for you. You'll learn key concepts like Quad Topology, Raycasting, OrbitControls, and more. By the end of the course, your 3D model will be live on the web so you can share it with your friends. (9 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/create-a-cute-room-portfolio-with-threejs-blender-javascript/ 3. freeCodeCamp also published a handbook on using Docker with Node.js. You'll learn how to set up Docker and Docker Compose. You'll also learn fundamental concepts like Volumes, Images, and Containers. This is an excellent resource for you to read through and code along with. Bookmark it for future reference. (full length handbook): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-use-to-docker-with-nodejs-handbook/ 4. Level up your JavaScript implementation skills with this new freeCodeCamp course on Clean Code. You'll learn how to detect "code smells" and refactor your JavaScript accordingly. You'll also learn how to use ESLint and Prettier to automate some of the more error-prone aspects of shipping code. (1 hour watch): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/level-up-your-javascript-detect-smells-and-write-clean-code/ 5. Classic text adventure games Zork I, II, and III are now open source with an MIT license. Microsoft has published their full source code on GitHub: https://github.com/historicalsource/zork1 6. Today's song of the week is 1985 classic "Something About You" by Level 42. I love the slap bass, the vocal harmony, the falsetto, and the huge synth sounds. It's impossible to listen to this song and still be in a bad mood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpdQQoc-gkk

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• #198 When NOT to use AI in your hackathon project with MLH winners Cindy Cui and Alison Co

  Today Quincy Larson interviews Alison Co and Cindy Cui, two university students who won the NW Hacks hackathon with their tool that helps people who are losing their vision learn to read Braille. He met them when GitHub invited them to their big San Francisco conference, GitHub Universe to present their project. Alison Co is a software engineer who's graduating Fall 2026. She's among the prestigious Major League Hacking Top 50 hackers. She's interned at Hubspot and will soon start interning at Rippling.  Cindy Cui is a software engineer who's graduating Spring 2026. She's interning as a backend developer at Shopify. She also teaches violin and holds the prestigious Level 10 Violin certification from the Royal Conservatory of Music. We talk about: - Tips for securing good internships - How they use AI as university students and as devs, and its limits - How they built their winning hackathon project to help people losing their vision learn to read braille Support for this podcast is provided by a grant from AlgoMonster. AlgoMonster is a platform that teaches data structure and algorithm patterns in a structured sequence, so you can approach technical interview questions more systematically. Their curriculum covers patterns like sliding window, two-pointers, graph search, and dynamic programming, helping you learn each pattern once and apply it to solve many problems. Start a structured interview prep routine at https://algo.monster/freecodecamp Support also comes from the 10,338 kind folks who donate to our charity each month. Join them and support our mission at https://donate.freecodecamp.org Get a freeCodeCamp tshirt for $20 with free shipping anywhere in the US: https://shop.freecodecamp.org Links from our discussion: - A 45-second demo of Braillelearn I recorded in the shuttle with Alison and Cindy at GitHub Universe: https://youtube.com/shorts/a7B-JvPgTQs - The Braillearn website: https://braillearn.vercel.app/ - Braillearn on GitHub: https://github.com/co-alison/nwhacks-2025 - Alison on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-co-3634721b7/ - Cindy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindy-cui/ Community news section: 1. freeCodeCamp just published a Discrete Mathematics for beginners course. It'll teach you tons of math concepts that are key to modern Machine Learning. You'll learn some Number Theory and Combinatorics, then use Python to explore the Pigeonhole Principle, the Stars and Bars Principle, Stirling Numbers, the Chinese Remainder Theorem, and more. (9 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/learn-discrete-mathematics/ 2. We also published this JavaScript course on the open source n8n agentic workflow automation tool. freeCodeCamp instructor Gavin Lon will teach you core concepts like working with loops, trigger nodes, webhooks, and more. You can code along at home and build 4 real-world projects, including a chatbot and an emergency notification app. (3 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/build-complex-workflows-with-n8n-and-master-ai-integration/ 3. Learn the popular Vue.js front end JavaScript framework. You'll learn Vue's core building blocks like components, reactivity, template syntax, dynamic data binding, and asset handling. By the end of the course, you'll have a simple Vue app that you can show to your friends. Also note that I recently interviewed Evan You, the creator of Vue, on the freeCodeCamp podcast. (2 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/learn-vuejs-javascript-framework-course/ 4. Learn how to run an open source LLM locally on your own hardware using Ollama. This is a great way to unlock the power of LLMs without the privacy and security tradeoffs of using public LLM websites and APIs. This freeCodeCamp guide will walk you through the setup process and give you a feel for the options at your disposal. (10 minute read): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-run-an-open-source-llm-on-your-personal-computer-run-ollama-locally/ 5. Learn about the eccentric designer Luigi Colani and his biomorphic designs that imitate nature. This video essay dives into the German designer's life history and his body of work. Why were his designs so broadly disliked by the design establishment? In what ways was he ahead of his time? How did he influence the development of cameras, or design a gas-powered car that got 130 miles to the gallon? I learned a ton from this and you will to. 30 minute watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVo7H3EheMY 6. Today's song of the week is Leon Ware's 1982 classic "Why I Came to California". I love the positive energy of the song, the brass blasts, and the duet vocals. I thought it'd be perfect since I met today's podcast guests in California when they were visiting from Canada. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1gwc9HJARU

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• #197 Harvard CS50 prof David J. Malan on why you should take your time learning programming

  Dr. David J. Malan teaches computer science at Harvard. Over the past decade, millions of people have taken his CS50 course both in person and online. He joins us to talk about: 1. Why he still recommends learning the C programming language in 2026 2. How he intentionally nerfs hist student's coding editors and LLMs to help them learn fundamentals faster 3. His vision for self-paced learning, and how it improves on traditional university education 4. Where the software engineering field is heading in light of recent AI tool improvements Links from our discussion: - Teaching Computer Science with Theatricality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMiNIjePZlo - Teaching CS50 with AI: https://youtu.be/ggshaJcOc6Y Dr. Malan's paper on Academic Honesty in CS50: https://cs.harvard.edu/malan/publications/Teaching_Academic_Honesty_in_CS50.pdf - Dr. Malan's paper, Toward an Ungraded CS50: https://cs.harvard.edu/malan/publications/Toward_an_Ungraded_CS50.pdf - My 2019 interview with Dr. Malan and Colton Ogden, one of his CS50 instructors: https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/podcast-harvard-cs50s-david-malan-and-colton-ogden-on-computer-science/ Community news section: 1. Learn how cryptography works, and how developers use it to secure both data and communication. freeCodeCamp just published a course that will teach you Python functions for symmetric and asymmetric encryption. You'll learn about SHA-256, AES, RSA, and public / private keys as well. You'll even code your own command-line cryptography tool. (1 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/cryptography-for-beginners-full-python-course-sha-256-aes-rsa-passwords/ 2. freeCodeCamp also published a course on building your own 3D games that run in a browser using Three.js and Blender. You'll learn how to model characters, design levels, detect collisions, and make the camera follow your playable character. You'll even deploy your game to the cloud so your friends can play it. (6 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/creative-web-development-with-threejs-and-blender/ 3. Learn Event-Driven Architecture. freeCodeCamp published this advanced JavaScript handbook that will teach you about Event Loops, Task Queues, Call Stacks, Backpressure, Websockets, Pub/Sub, and more. Take your full stack development skills to the next level and be sure to share this with your developer friends. (full length handbook): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/event-based-architectures-in-javascript-a-handbook-for-devs/ 4. freeCodeCamp also published our first ever guitar course. You'll learn beginner music theory concepts like chords and scales. You'll then map them to the guitar fretboard. You'll also learn guitar-specific techniques like barre chords. I learned guitar during the pandemic and am having an absolute blast with it. I hope you will, too. (1 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/guitar-theory-course-for-beginners-learn-fretboard-major-scale-and-triads 5. Check out the winner of this year's JS13k competition, Cat Strike. This cat stealth game was built using only 13 kilobytes of JavaScript, sound, assets, everything. You avenge your fallen human using wall climbing, rolling, meowing to distract, and of course, your claws. https://js13kgames.com/2025/games/clawstrike Song of the Week: "Kiss Like Judas" by It Bites 1988: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK4T8HnSdEI

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