Self-Directed Research Podcast
Origins of the podcast
James pitched this podcast to Amos — since they both spend a lot of time figuring stuff out, and working with Rust on both proprietary and open-source projects, creating a place to catch each other up, along with the wider Rust community, felt natural.
The concept of the podcast was refined over a few "content sparring" sessions (we didn't have slides originally, or a time limit!), where both co-hosts got to know each other a bit better and found their common voice.
James wants this podcast to be a place to hype up projects that he thinks deserves more attention, and perhaps even more funding. Amos feels the same, plus they benefit a ton from having to "finish writing something" every week.
Amos and James' different perspectives work out well for the podcast as they tend to ask each other questions that the audience may ask themselves — making presentations more approachable and fun. They're also getting better over time.
Head over to the episode list to see what we've been up to!
SDRP Team
Who is Amos Wenger
Amos (they/them) is known online as @fasterthanlime. After years working as a software engineer at companies in music, indie gaming and web infrastructure, they've now made "being nerd-sniped" their full-time job, writing long-form technical blog posts and videos.
You can read Amos on their website, or watch them on their YouTube channel.
Did you know?
- Amos is half-French, half-Swiss and has two cats
- At the end of their videos, Amos usually sings a song
- In another life, Amos shipped the itch.io desktop app
Amos receives donations through Github Sponsors and Patreon.
Who is James Munns
James (he/him) is an independent researcher and full-time consultant. He founded OneVariable, where he works on Rust, embedded systems, and convincing computers to talk to each other.
Did you know?
- The Postcard
#![no_std]library was written by James - James has another podcast, Chats With James
- He's a member of the Rust Embedded Working Group
- He's a member of the Rust Leadership Council
You can find James on BlueSky.
Who is Amanda Majorowicz
Amanda (she/they) is the editor and producer of The Self-Directed Research Podcast. They oversee recording, editing, sponsorships, publication, the website, promotion, and more. This podcast could literally not exist without Amanda.
Did you know?
- Amanda has a BA in Photo Journalism (but has done nothing with that), is a certified media educator (did that for 10 years) and now works with James at OneVariable
- They play roller derby for Bear City Roller Derby and is the Membership and Volunteer Coordinator for the Berlin chapter of Democrats Abroad
- We have a thread on our internal Discord server specifically about Amanda's (vivid) dreams