For a long time, tech culture has focused too narrowly on technical skills; this has resulted in a tech community that too often puts companies and code over people. Greater Than Code is a podcast that invites the voices of people who are not heard from enough in tech: women, people of color, trans and/or queer folks, to talk about the human side of software development and technology. Greater Than Code is providing a vital platform for these conversations, and developing new ideas of what it means to be a technologist beyond just the code. Featuring an ongoing panel of racially and gender diverse tech panelists, the majority of podcast guests so far have been women in tech! We’ve covered topics including imposter syndrome, mental illness, sexuality, unconscious bias and social justice. We also have a major focus on skill sets that tech too often devalues, like team-building, hiring, community organizing, mentorship and empathy. Each episode also includes a transcript. We have an active Slack community that members can join by pledging as little as $1 per month via Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/greaterthancode)
105: Code Switching with Maurice Cherry
01:49 – Maurice’s Superpower: Extreme Empathy
04:06 – Code Switching
13:21 – Creating and Fostering Safe Conference Environments
19:34 – Overcoming Feelings of Discomfort
22:16 – Human Decisions in Software: Why We Should Care
31:57 – Trust: How We’ve Lost It and How Should We Re-establish It?
A Developer Relations Bill of Rights
41:24 – Establishing Trust in a Company From the Ground Up: Glitch
47:03 – Diversity in Design and Shifting Your Mindset From a Creator to a Chronicler
Reflections:
John: It’s useful to think about code switching in context of my own behavior and using it as a practice for increasing empathy by trying to determine if other people are code switching in a certain situation.
Janelle: Putting myself in an outsider situation.
Jess: Storytelling and experience creating.
Astrid: Parents encouraging young creators.
Maurice: We all have more work to do and we all have privileges we are blind to.
Are you Greater Than Code?
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Special Guest: Maurice Cherry.