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Maintainable

Robby Russell
Technical Debt
Software Maintenance
Ruby
Maintainability
Open Source
Microservices
Performance Optimization
Wunderlist
Legacy Code
Software Development
Flipper
Ruby On Rails
Refactoring
Agile Development
Moduliths
Dependency Management
Code Quality
Programming Education
Onboarding
Database Optimization

Do you feel like you're hitting a wall with your existing software projects? Are you curious to hear how other people are navigating this? You're not alone. On the Maintainable Software Podcast, Robby speaks with seasoned practitioners who have overcome the technical and cultural problems often associated with software development. Our guests will share stories in each episode and outline tangible... more

PublishesMonthlyEpisodes225Founded7 years ago
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Latest Episodes

Russ Olsen: The Hidden Cost of Forgetting Why the Code Looks Like That

Software doesn’t become hard to maintain only because the code is messy. It often becomes hard to maintain because the reasoning behind it disappears.

In this episode of Maintai... more

Long-lived software systems rarely stay tidy. Over time they accumulate decisions, workarounds, and layers of history that can make even simple changes feel risky. For engineers responsible for maintaining those systems, the challenge often becomes l... more

YouTube

Maintaining software over time rarely fails because of one bad decision. It fails because teams stop getting clear signals… and start guessing.

In this episode, Robby talks with Lucas Roesler, Managing Partner and CTO at Contiamo. Lucas joins from B... more

YouTube

Rewrites are seductive. Clean slates promise clarity, speed, and “doing it right this time.” In practice, they’re often late, over budget, and quietly demoralizing.

In this episode of Maintainable, Robby sits down with Brittany Ellich, a Senior Soft... more

YouTube

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Recent Guests

Joel Oliveira
Engineering manager at Easy Cater
Easy Cater
Episode: Joel Oliveira: Predictability Is a Maintainability Feature
Lucas Roesler
Head of engineering at Contiamo with over 12 years of experience in the software industry.
Contiamo
Episode: Lucas Roesler: The Fast Feedback Loop Advantage
Brittany Ellich
Co-host of Overcommitted Podcast and a Senior Software Engineer at GitHub
GitHub
Episode: Brittany Ellich: Using AI to Maintain Software, Not Rewrite It
Don MacKinnon
Lead Architect and Engineering Manager at Search Craft
Search Craft
Episode: Don MacKinnon: Why Simplicity Beats Cleverness in Software Design
Chris Zetter
Software engineer, speaker, and author of the book 'Build a Database Server'
Episode: Chris Zetter: Building a Database to Better Understand Maintainability
Denis Rechkunov
Principal software engineer at Elastic
Elastic
Episode: Denis Rechkunov: When Consistency Becomes a Culture
Nathan Ladd
Principal at BrightWorks Digital with two decades in the software industry.
BrightWorks Digital
Episode: Nathan Ladd: Relentless Improvement and the Cost of Neglect
Taylor Otwell
Founder and CEO of Laravel
Laravel
Episode: Taylor Otwell: What 14 Years of Laravel Taught Me About Maintainability
Joel Chippindale
CTO coach with over 20 years of experience leading software teams.
Monkeystum
Episode: Joel Chippindale: Why High-Quality Software Isn’t About Developer Skill Alone

Host

Robby Russell
Host of Maintainable; longtime practitioner focused on software maintainability and actionable discussions with engineers and leaders.

Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars from 110 ratings
  • So far great!

    Love this show. Each episode has something they've experienced which maps to my own experience in long-running codebases.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Exe Gete
    United States2 years ago
  • Entertaining and relevant.

    Appreciate it

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    McZul
    Germany2 years ago
  • A great listen!

    The host's ability to draw out detailed and meaningful conversations with each guest is awesome. This podcast is a must-listen for anyone keen on improving their knowledge in software.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Jimmy Kl.
    Philippines3 years ago
  • Great Perspetives on Keeping Software Alive

    Absolutely my favorite podcast. Robby does a great job covering the breadth of the industry and getting different insights and perspectives about what it takes to ensure a codebase can survive the test of time, employee turnover, industry changes, and so much more.

    It’s refreshing to get insights that balance technical idealism with the reality that building software is messy work done by imperfect humans who also have goals outside of writing that next line of code.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Garrett Dimon
    United States4 years ago
  • So far great!

    Listened to a few episodes so far, and there are substantial nuggets in each episode. Loving it!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Exe Gete
    United States4 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Fans note the breadth of topics and depth of guest expertise.
Listeners often highlight the actionable tips that transfer to real-world codebases.
Listeners praise the host for guiding conversations and drawing out practical insights.
Audiences appreciate the focus on long-term software health over flashy quick fixes.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#223
Spain/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#237
India/Technology

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Joel Oliveira: Predictability Is a Maintainability Feature
Q: So what do you believe are a few common characteristics of well-maintained software?
Joel highlights predictability, clear organization of code, and well-defined patterns as core indicators of maintainability. He emphasizes knowing where things live (MVC structure in Rails), avoiding a catch-all services directory, and leaning on stable patterns so teams can reason about the system quickly.
Brittany Ellich: Using AI to Maintain Software, Not Rewrite It
Q: How might you then frame it under that context if it's a teammate?
We're all pretty much on the same page on what belongs on our technical debt backlog versus the rest of our backlog.
Brittany Ellich: Using AI to Maintain Software, Not Rewrite It
Q: What do you believe are a few common characteristics of, dare I say, well-maintained software?
Any software can be well-maintained if people put the effort into it.
Don MacKinnon: Why Simplicity Beats Cleverness in Software Design
Q: What are your thoughts on automation and testing with strong typing?
Strong typing simplifies automated testing since it provides clear contracts for what is expected.
Don MacKinnon: Why Simplicity Beats Cleverness in Software Design
Q: What practices do you find help in keeping your team aligned around simplicity?
We write RFCs for larger features to think critically about the problem and discuss solutions as a team before implementation.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Maintainable

What is Maintainable about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Maintainable concentrates on practical, daylighting discussions about keeping software systems healthy over the long term. Across recent episodes, guests explore maintainability from multiple angles: reducing complexity, managing technical debt, improving observability and tooling, and aligning developer practices with business goals. The conversations emphasize real-world strategies—ranging from handling legacy systems and complex databases to adopting lightweight architectures, documentation habits, and team collaboration techniques—that help codebases survive turnover, platform shifts, and evolving requirements. A standout aspect is the consistent focus on balance: simplicity and clarity often trump cleverness, and healthy culture and co... more

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Which podcasts are similar to Maintainable?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Maintainable:

1. The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source
2. The Pragmatic Engineer
3. REWORK
4. Thoughtworks Technology Podcast
5. Soft Skills Engineering

How many episodes of Maintainable are there?

Maintainable launched 7 years ago and published 225 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Maintainable?

Recent guests on Maintainable include:

1. Joel Oliveira
2. Lucas Roesler
3. Brittany Ellich
4. Don MacKinnon
5. Chris Zetter
6. Denis Rechkunov
7. Nathan Ladd
8. Taylor Otwell

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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