Developer Tea is a short career podcast hosted by Jonathan Cutrell
Episodes
22 Jul 2026
"Explores how cognitive substitution simplifies decision-making by replacing complex questions with easier ones, its applications in fields like software engineering and performance management, and strategies to overcome decision paralysis by breaking choices into smaller, reversible steps."
Open episode10 Jul 2026
"Risk prediction and management are vital in decision-making, with pre-mortems helping prevent failures; however, strong, trust-based relationships outperform transactional ties and financial incentives as the most resilient safety net for long-term success."
Open episode24 Jun 2026
The text emphasizes accountability and structured planning in engineering to overcome workflow bottlenecks caused by unclear requirements, weak system foundations, and flawed validation, advocating for robust design and testing to ensure alignment with specifications and address systemic inefficiencies.
Open episode18 Jun 2026
Foundational software engineering principles like limiting WIP, focused work, and Test-Driven Development remain critical for productivity and reliability in AI-driven development, despite advancements in agentic tooling and parallelism.
Open episode10 Jun 2026
Durable human-centric skills like adaptability, collaboration, and principle-oriented thinking are vital for software engineering careers, with a focus on leveraging AI's unique strengths through flexible problem-solving rather than rigid categorizations.
Open episode3 Jun 2026
Feedback as a durable skill for growth emphasizes goal-oriented, behavior-focused dialogue using frameworks like SBI and the Four A's to minimize defensiveness, align with recipient goals, and foster improvement through structured, collaborative approaches.
Open episode27 May 2026
Rapid tech advancements and shifting job demands require updating mental models, redefining roles, and critically evaluating outdated assumptions, as automation blurs traditional distinctions, creates efficiency-quality trade-offs, and challenges static frameworks through historical parallels, systems thinking, and first-principles analysis.
Open episode24 May 2026
Software engineering's evolving landscape emphasizes balancing creativity and adaptation, lifelong learning, and systemic thinking over incremental practice, highlighting the need for intentional change to avoid stagnation and foster innovation.
Open episode14 May 2026
The text highlights the shift in technical careers from coding to leadership roles requiring systemic thinking, technical architecture, and team management, emphasizing the need for senior engineers to develop soft skills, problem-solving resilience, and a focus on diagnosing root causes over surface fixes, while balancing success and failure narratives to demonstrate growth.
Open episode6 May 2026
The text critiques *Thinking Fast and Slow* for its shaky scientific foundations amid the psychology replication crisis while stressing the need for adaptability, critical belief evaluation, evolving knowledge, and humility in response to dynamic realities.
Open episode