Hunting Black Swans With Bees: Catching Up With The Inimitable Russell Keith-Magee

·56 min·5 clips

Russell Keith-Magee returns to discuss Python's black swan events and how the Beware project aims to prevent them.

The episode begins with host Tobias Macy introducing Russell Keith-Magee, a long-time Python community member and former Django core developer. Russell gives a brief background on his introduction to Python in the 1.5 days and his involvement with Django. The main focus is on the Beware project, which Russell describes as 'Django for application development,' targeting mobile platforms like iOS and Android. Russell reprises his 2019 PyCon US keynote on black swan events for Python, defining them as unforeseen disruptions that could make Python irrelevant, such as the lack of mobile support and packaging issues. He explains how Beware aims to mitigate these by enabling Python app development on mobile devices. The conversation shifts to WebAssembly, with Russell highlighting its role in allowing Python to run in browsers through projects like Pyodide and PyScript, which he calls a 'massive enabling tool.' Russell discusses his new full-time role at Anaconda working on Beware, funded to address ecosystem risks, and his plans to hire additional team members. He outlines short-term goals like fixing M1 hardware support and binary packaging for mobile, and long-term aspirations for a Toga 1.0 release with native widgets. Russell mentions past Beware subprojects like Batavia and VOC, which are now less active due to WebAssembly advancements. He shares examples of Beware usage, including the Maestral Dropbox client and an educational app from Tel Aviv, and a story about a visually impaired child building an app. Russell advises against using Beware for game development or high-stakes apps currently due to its early stage. The episode concludes with Russell promoting job openings at Anaconda and sharing picks like PyScript and the TV show 'The Great.'

As heard by us

A Python interview about Beware, black swans, PyScript, and everyday utility.

Russell Keith-Magee gives the episode its center of gravity. The conversation moves through the Beware project, Python's black swans, and PyScript's place in making the language useful in new settings.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Hear Russell Keith-McGee on Beware, Python's black swans, and PyScript's push to make useful work possible earlier.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Python Podcast.__init__