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)
Episode 027: Hackathons and Flirting with Failure with Rachel Katz
00:16 – Welcome to “Plotting the Rebellion” …we mean, “Greater Than Code!”
01:39 – Origin Story and Superpowers
03:05 – Getting Hooked on Hackathons
04:42 – Corporate Hackathons; Making Hackathons Accessible and Inclusive
Greater Than Code Episode 015: Zuri Hunter as Queen of Hackathons
09:38 – Organizing Hackathons
12:21 – Non-programmers and Hackathons; Bringing in Diverse Perspectives
“Some people, when confronted with a problem, think ‘I know, I’ll use regular expressions.’ Now they have two problems.” ~Jamie Zawinski
Code: Debugging the Gender Gap
22:46 – Building Things for Others, Leadership Roles, Group Dynamics, and Men vs Women
Ctrl Alt Delete Hate Hackathon
35:28 – Overnight Hackathons vs Non-Overnight Hackathons
36:38 – The Value of Celebrating Glorious Failure and Responding to Stress and Pressure
Benjamin Zander: The transformative power of classical music [TED Talk]
Reflections:
Astrid: Talking about hackathons is talking about all kinds of other issues.
Sam: Make room and seek out non-developers.
Rein: Benjamen Zander: Leadership on Display
Rachel: Show up, contribute, and listen.
This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep of DevReps, LLC. To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode.
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Special Guest: Rachel Katz.