Recorded at All Things Open 2025, Robbie Wagner and guest co-host Jason Lengstorf chat with developer-turned-creator Shruti Kapoor about her leap from Slack and PayPal to YouTube, the joys and pitfalls of open source, and eternal web dev debates.

In this episode:

(00:00) - Intro
(01:37) - Wine rating & review: Fre Sparkling Brut
(06:33) - Hot Take: git rebase vs. git merge
(09:11) - Hot Take: Is HTML a programming language?
(09:41) - Hot Take: Is CSS a programming language?
(10:20) - Hot take: classes vs. functional components
(11:13) - Hot Take: Remix, TanStack, or Next.js?
(15:02) - Hot Take: console.log vs debugger
(16:11) - Hot Take: Were React server components a mistake?
(20:42) - How open source changed Shruti’s career
(22:23) - The real value of contributing to open source
(26:05) - What is the React Foundation and why it matters
(28:58) - Highlights from React Conf and new features
(31:01) - From Slack engineer to independent creator
(34:34) - Choosing what content to make (and why)
(37:58) - Shruti’s dog, discipline, and life lessons
(40:01) - What would Shruti do if not in tech?
(40:30) - Where to find Shruti online

Links

Fre Sparkling Brut: https://www.frewines.com/
Wes Bos: https://wesbos.com/
Syntax: https://syntax.fm/
Slack: https://slack.com/
PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com
React: https://react.dev/
JavaScript: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript
HTML: https://www.w3schools.com/html/
CSS: https://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/
Ember: https://emberjs.com/
TanStack: https://tanstack.com/
Next.js: https://nextjs.org/
Remix: https://remix.run/
Astro: https://astro.build/
VS Code: https://code.visualstudio.com/
All Things Open: https://allthingsopen.org/
GitHub: https://github.com/
React Conf: https://conf.react.dev/
React Foundation: https://react.dev/blog/2025/10/07/introducing-the-react-foundation
Linux Foundation: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/
Vercel: https://vercel.com/
Google Home: https://home.google.com/welcome/
Primeagen: https://x.com/ThePrimeagen
ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/
MCP: https://modelcontextprotocol.io/
Shruti's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@shrutikapoor08
16 Common React useEffect Mistakes You’re Making: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGOPO2V6MHI

Connect with Jason

Website: https://jason.energy/
X / Twitter: https://x.com/jlengstorf

Connect with Shruti

Website: https://shrutikapoor.dev/
X / Twitter: https://x.com/shrutikapoor08

Connect with the hosts

Robbie Wagner: https://x.com/RobbieTheWagner
Chuck Carpenter: https://x.com/CharlesWthe3rd
Adam Argyle: https://x.com/argyleink

Subscribe and stay in touch

Website: https://whiskey.fm
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Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1552776603
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhiskeyWebAndWhatnot

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