David Hill

So I put a small site together. If you'd be interested in attending the Ruby Magic Conference in Orlando (hopefully late 2027), I'd love it if you'd visit the site and let me know: rubymagic.dev

If AI is writing the code, what does it mean to be a software engineer? Avdi Grimm and Jessica Kerr join me to discuss coding agents, technical debt, developer identity, and staying human in the age of AI. Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/557

Hire Drew before your competitor does and you have to sit through a meeting about why they're shipping faster.

I would give my worldly possessions away to work with Drew again on an engineering team. Hire him. Or tell a friend. And have them tell a friend he's on the market again.

When AI makes software dramatically easier to build, choosing what deserves to be built becomes even more important. Tom Rossi and I talk Rails, AI, old codebases, product thinking, analytics, and building for actual customer value. Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/556

I've been talking and dreaming for a while about putting on a Ruby conference here in Orlando. Before I get too deep into that, I'd like to get an idea of who else might be interested in attending such a conference here.

New episode out today: Marco Roth joins me to talk about Herb in Rails 8.2, ReactionView, fine-grained reactivity with ERB, Hotwire, developer tooling, AI coding agents, and RubyEvents. Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/555

I sat down with Obie Fernandez at Rails World to talk about AI, agentic development, the future of software engineering, and why Rails may be especially well suited for what comes next. Listen Here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/554

Javier Cervantes joins me to talk about the Ruby User Forum and the challenge of building a persistent home for Ruby community conversations. Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/553

Chris Oliver and Collin Jilbert join me on the new Ruby on Rails Podcast to talk candidly about GoRails, Hatchbox, AI, and the future of developer education. Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/552

What happens when AI is simultaneously one of the best tools your business has ever adopted…and one of the biggest threats to the business itself?

I'm really excited about today's episode of the Ruby on Rails podcast. I've got my first repeat guest on the show, @jeremysmithco , giving us a small preview of his upcoming Rails World talk: Practical Hotwire. And his talk looks like it is going to be 🔥🔥🔥

Got busy yesterday and forgot to announce the latest episode! Jim Remsik joins me this week to talk about XORuby. Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/550

New episode is now live! Anton Tkachov and Michelle Yuen join me to talk about building Chicago Ruby, creating strong local meetups, entrepreneurship, and why showing up in person still matters. Plus: Michelle’s journey to becoming a Rails World MC. Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/549

In tomorrow's episode I’m talking with Chicago Ruby organizers @antontkachov.bsky.social and Michelle Yuen about building local Ruby communities, running meetups, entrepreneurship, and the relationships that can grow out of simply showing up.

I've made no secret of the fact that I love Ruby conferences. I love the talks. I love the hallway track. I love having opportunities to get to meet and interact with people in the Ruby community.

Andy Kroll joins me this week to talk AI-assisted development, why coding tests may no longer make sense, hiring for judgement instead, Brighton Ruby, and Rails World. Today is the last day to enter the giveaway for a Rails World ticket: forms.gle/LoLvTfJ2BFav...

Tomorrow is the last day to enter the giveaway for a free ticket to Rails World! Enter here if you're interested: forms.gle/LoLvTfJ2BFav...

New episode: Amanda Perino previews Rails World in Austin. We talk live music, lightning talks, the opening keynote livestream, Austin energy, and yes, a mechanical bull. Listen: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/546 Giveaway: forms.gle/LoLvTfJ2BFav... The giveaway is open until August 12, 2026

There will also be a surprise giveaway announced at the end of the episode that, I hope, will help someone out.

Has a conference talk ever changed what you did next? Not just taught you something. Actually pushed you to apply, speak, build, ask for help, or trust yourself more. What talk, hallway conversation, or small moment stuck with you?

New episode: Neha Abraham joins me in the aftermath of RubyConf. We talk Rails, data-heavy dashboards, Power Home Remodeling, mental health, RubyConf, and how one lightning talk about fear and trust helped push her to do scary things. Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/545

One of my favorite things about attending conferences is catching up with old Ruby Friends, and making new ones. My next guest on the podcast is one of those new Ruby Friends: Neha Abraham. New episode drops Wednesday!

New episode: RubyConf 2026 hallway track. We caught up with attendees about JRuby, Ractors, Ruby front-end ideas, karaoke, volunteering, first-time conference experiences, and why the hallway track is often the real conference. Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/544

New episode: Mike Dalton joins me to talk RubyConf, Authentication Hell, and building a DragonRuby game where getting hit means you have to re-authenticate. We also get into AI, creativity, RubyConf Africa, and conference community. Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/543

My @blastoffrails.bsky.social talk is live! youtu.be/ZBrBMC_sH2A?...

I've been wanting something like this for ages. Might finally give me the push I need to get a local Ruby group going.

Today Kyle d’Oliveira joins me to talk JIT Preloader, Fibonacci Funhouse, RubyConf, conference speaking, and why Ruby’s magic can make entire classes of problems disappear. Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/542

Tomorrow Kyle d’Oliveira joins me to talk Ruby magic, JIT Preloader, Fibonacci Funhouse, and how a toy math problem can reveal a surprisingly deep Ruby toolkit.

Hey there, Ruby consultants, freelancers, and agencies! The Ruby Consultants Quarterly Gathering is happening (over Zoom) next Monday, 1pm Eastern. We've had really good discussions this year, hope you can join us! 😊 luma.com/zasdeov3

New episode: Markus Schirp joins me to talk mutation testing, Mutant, AI-assisted code review, and why 100% line coverage can still miss the behavior that matters. Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/541

One idea from this week’s episode: At a small single-track conference, everyone shares the same room, talks, breaks, and story arc. That’s not a bug. It’s a feature. The organizer’s job is to create the conditions for good things to happen.

New episode: Jeremy Smith joins me for a Blue Ridge Ruby 2026 retrospective. What worked? What was harder than expected? And why is every conference a brand-new thing? Listen here: www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/540

Tomorrow Jeremy Smith joins me to look back on Blue Ridge Ruby 2026. Conference planning, speaker flow, long hallway-track breaks, Asheville, budgets, burnout, and what makes small regional Ruby events feel special.

This week Jeremy Smith joins me for a Blue Ridge Ruby 2026 retrospective. We talk about what worked, what changed, and why small regional conferences can create a shared experience big multi-track events don’t always match.

One hard-earned lesson from this week’s episode: For a first-time conference, the essentials are simpler than your ambition wants them to be. Speakers. A place to gather. People talking to each other. Everything else is a stretch goal.

New episode: Travis Dockter joins The Ruby on Rails Podcast to talk about planning Blastoff Rails. We discuss starting a conference, why simplicity matters, CFP surprises, and how generous the Ruby community can be when someone decides to build something.

What does it actually take to put on a Rails conference for the first time? This week on The Ruby on Rails Podcast, Travis Dockter joins us to talk about planning Blastoff Rails, learning in public, and why the first version should probably be simpler than your dream version.

Programming can feel weirdly lonely sometimes. Especially when you’re remote, deep in a strange bug, quietly wondering if everyone else has this more figured out than you do. One thing Ruby community spaces do well: remind us that other people are figuring it out too. New Podcast episode out now

And we're back! There's a brand new episode of The Ruby on Rails podcast up this morning! @chael.codes is the special guest host for the episode, to introduce the new regular host: @davidhill.dev. www.therubyonrailspodcast.com/538

The Ruby on Rails podcast is back with @davidhill.dev at the helm! I recommend popping on a podcast while doing dishes and cleaning up the kitchen. These new episodes are keeping me sane.

It's official! New episodes of The Ruby on Rails podcast starting tomorrow! For this first episode @chael.codes serves as the guest host to allow me, @davidhill.dev, to introduce myself as the new host of the show. I hope you'll give it a listen!

Hello, Ruby Friends! New episodes of The Ruby on Rails Podcast are going to start rolling out soon! If all goes well, the first new episode should go up next week. The podcast has a brand new host who is very excited to hit the ground running.

This talk led directly to my first open source contributions in a very long time. So good!

www.buzzsprout.com/2260490/epis...

@andrewm.codes I just got to the appearance of Gingers in the book. I’m dying.

I’m excited to share that **The Ruby on Rails Podcast is coming back**. I’ve had the privilege of taking over the show, and I’m working to relaunch it with a steady cadence of conversations about the people, projects, ideas, and stories shaping the Rails community today.

Just had my first open-source contribution merged in quite a long time. Thank you @chael.codes for your talk at @blueridgeruby.com. It really did a lot to motivate and guide me through that process.