Empower Apps

About Empower Apps

An exploration of Apple business news and technology. We talk about how businesses can use new technology to empower their business and employees, from Leo Dion, founder of BrightDigit.

Publisher

Leo Dion, Principal CEO and Swift Developer at BrightDigit

Category

business · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

14 Aug 2018

Latest episode

9 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

213 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   9 Oct 2026

   The More You Know with Stewart Lynch

   Stewart Lynch stops by to chat about using AI to learn faster instead of just letting it write your code. We get into planning in stages before you build, why Markdown is the universal language of AI, and the tiny "donkey work" tools he vibe codes for himself. Guest Stewart Lynch (https://www.createchsol.com/) Stewart Lynch 🇨🇦 (@StewartLynch@iosdev.space) - Mastodon (https://iosdev.space/@StewartLynch) Stewart Lynch (@stewartlynch.bsky.social) - Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/stewartlynch.bsky.social) Stewart Lynch - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/StewartLynch) Stewart Lynch | LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/StewartLynch) Stewart Lynch - All Social Links (https://bento.me/stewartlynch) Createch Solutions Blog (https://www.createchsol.com/blog/) Related Links How AI assistance impacts the formation of coding skills - Anthropic (https://www.anthropic.com/research/AI-assistance-coding-skills) Sosumi.ai - Apple docs as Markdown (https://sosumi.ai/) Typora - Markdown editor (https://typora.io/) Related Episodes How to Learn New APIs with Stewart Lynch - Part 1 (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/101-how-to-learn-new-apis-with-stewart-lynch-part-1) How to Learn New APIs with Stewart Lynch - Part 2 (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/102-how-to-learn-new-apis-with-stewart-lynch-part-2) Practical Agents with Donny Wals (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/210-practical-agents-with-donny-wals) Everyone Thinks They're Good at Prompting with Joe Fabisevich (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/208-everyone-thinks-they-re-good-at-prompting-with-joe-fabisevich) Chapters (00:00) - Xcode 27 & the New Device Hub (03:36) - Why YouTube Teaching Is Changing & Using AI to Synthesize New APIs (11:24) - Why Learn When AI Can Build It? Staged Plans & PRDs (16:29) - Markdown as the Universal Language of AI (22:07) - AI Costs, Hallucinations & Learning Smarter (27:48) - Xcode + Claude Code Workflow (30:53) - "Donkey Work": Building Small Tools With AI (35:55) - What to Delegate to AI vs. Control Yourself (40:22) - OS 27 Support, the iPhone Dual & Side-Project Playgrounds Watch Click here to watch a video of this episode. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IatG0aIuh7k) Transcript Click here to view the episode transcript. (https://share.transistor.fm/s/c8e02679/transcript) Support the Show ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ (https://www.patreon.com/brightdigit) Thanks to our supporters: Thanks to our monthly supporters Steven Lipton Welcome new supporters: Social Media LinkedIn - @leogdion (https://www.linkedin.com/in/leogdion/) GitHub - @brightdigit (https://github.com/brightdigit) GitHub - @leogdion (https://github.com/leogdion/) Mastodon - @leogdion@c.im (https://c.im/@leogdion) YouTube - @brightdigit (http://youtube.com/@brightdigit) X - @leogdion (https://x.com/leogdion) X - @brightdigit (https://x.com/brightdigit) Credits Music from https://filmmusic.io (https://filmmusic.io/) "Blippy Trance" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com (https://incompetech.com/)) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/))

2. 

   30 Sept 2026

   Skynet Came and Automated Everything with Jared Sorge

   Jared Sorge stops by to chat about Arborist, his native Mac command center for Git work trees. We get into running agents in parallel with work trees, when to drop from SwiftUI down to AppKit, and selling a Mac app outside the App Store with Sparkle, Stripe, and RevenueCat, and somehow end up talking about the iPhone Duo. Guest Jared Sorge (https://jsorge.net/) Jared Sorge (@jsorge@mastodon.social) - Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/@jsorge) jsorge (Jared Sorge) (https://github.com/jsorge) Jared Sorge | LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsorge/) Jared Sorge (@jsorge) • Threads (https://www.threads.com/@jsorge) Arborist - A native macOS command center for Git repositories and worktrees (https://taphouse.io/arborist) Taphouse Software (https://taphouse.io/) Related Links Arborist 1.2 - jsorge.net (https://jsorge.net/2026/09/08/arborist-1-2) Baseplate - Track your LEGO collection - Taphouse Software (https://taphouse.io/baseplate) git-worktree Documentation - Git (https://git-scm.com/docs/git-worktree) Tower - Git client (https://www.git-tower.com/) Nova - Panic (https://nova.app/) mise - dev tools, env vars, task runner (https://mise.jdx.dev/) just - a handy way to save and run project-specific commands (https://just.systems/) swift-subprocess - GitHub (https://github.com/swiftlang/swift-subprocess) Sparkle - Software update framework for macOS (https://sparkle-project.org/) RevenueCat (https://www.revenuecat.com/) Managed Payments - Stripe Documentation (https://docs.stripe.com/payments/managed-payments) SQLiteData - Point-Free - GitHub (https://github.com/pointfreeco/sqlite-data) Sharing - Point-Free - GitHub (https://github.com/pointfreeco/swift-sharing) Swift Navigation - Point-Free - GitHub (https://github.com/pointfreeco/swift-navigation) Introducing Claude Design by Anthropic Labs - Anthropic (https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-design-anthropic-labs) Mac-Assed Mac Apps - Daring Fireball (https://daringfireball.net/linked/2020/03/20/mac-assed-mac-apps) XcodeGen - GitHub (https://github.com/yonaskolb/XcodeGen) Shipaton 2026 - RevenueCat (https://www.shipaton.com/) SwiftCon (https://swiftcon.dev/) iOSDevUK (https://www.iosdevuk.com/) Bushel - Mac virtualization for developers (https://getbushel.app/) Related Episodes Practical Agents with Donny Wals (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/210-practical-agents-with-donny-wals/) Everyone Thinks They're Good at Prompting with Joe Fabisevich (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/208-everyone-thinks-they-re-good-at-prompting-with-joe-fabisevich/) The Great SwiftUI Migration - Part 2 with Ben Scheirman (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/186-the-great-swiftui-migration-part-2-with-ben-scheirman/) The Great SwiftUI Migration - Part 1 with Ben Scheirman (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/185-the-great-swiftui-migration-part-1-with-ben-scheirman/) macOS Indie Deep Cuts with Aaron Vegh (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/155-macos-indie-deep-cuts-with-aaron-vegh/) Mac Dev in 2021 with Daniel Jalkut (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/106-mac-dev-in-2021-with-daniel-jalkut/) How to Learn New APIs with Stewart Lynch - Part 1 (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/101-how-to-learn-new-apis-with-stewart-lynch-part-1/) Automation Fun with Jared Sorge (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/084-automation-fun-with-jared-sorge/) Chapters (00:00) - Why Work Trees (06:56) - The Idea Behind Arborist (11:14) - SwiftUI vs. AppKit (17:05) - Picking the Right Tool for the Job (21:27) - From Problem to Product (25:30) - Shipping Outside the Mac App Store (29:59) - Licensing, Sandboxing & Subprocess (36:30) - Agentic Coding & the Product Engineer (45:17) - What's Next for Arborist Watch Click here to watch a video of this episode. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juSoG8QwLRU) Transcript Click here to view the episode transcript. (https://share.transistor.fm/s/49488722/transcript) Support the Show ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ (https://www.patreon.com/brightdigit) Thanks to our supporters: Thanks to our monthly supporters Steven Lipton Welcome new supporters: Social Media LinkedIn - @leogdion (https://www.linkedin.com/in/leogdion/) GitHub - @brightdigit (https://github.com/brightdigit) GitHub - @leogdion (https://github.com/leogdion/) Mastodon - @leogdion@c.im (https://c.im/@leogdion) YouTube - @brightdigit (http://youtube.com/@brightdigit) X - @leogdion (https://x.com/leogdion) X - @brightdigit (https://x.com/brightdigit) Credits Music from https://filmmusic.io (https://filmmusic.io/) "Blippy Trance" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com (https://incompetech.com/)) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/))

3. 

   24 Aug 2026

   Swift on Windows with Saleem Abdulrasool

   Saleem Abdulrasool joins us to chat about bringing Swift to Windows. We get into server-side Swift, SwiftWin32, Swift's C++ interop, and how to get started yourself. Guest Saleem Abdulrasool (https://github.com/compnerd) compnerd (Saleem Abdulrasool) (https://github.com/compnerd) Saleem Abdulrasool (@compnerd) - Fosstodon (https://fosstodon.org/@compnerd) Saleem Abdulrasool (@compnerd) / X (https://x.com/compnerd) Related Links Porting by a 1000 Patches: Bringing Swift to Windows (2019 LLVM Developers' Meeting) - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zjlxa1NIfJc) Swift/Win32 - A Windows application framework for Swift - GitHub (https://github.com/compnerd/swift-win32) Swift/COM+ - GitHub (https://github.com/compnerd/swift-com) Swift/WinMD - Windows Metadata Parser in Swift - GitHub (https://github.com/compnerd/swift-winmd) Swift/WinRT - Swift Projections for WinRT - GitHub (https://github.com/compnerd/swift-winrt) DXSample - Sample Program for DirectX 12 + Swift - GitHub (https://github.com/compnerd/DXSample) vigil - A caffeinate-inspired power management tool for Windows - GitHub (https://github.com/compnerd/vigil) swift-winrt - Swift Language Projection for WinRT - The Browser Company (https://github.com/thebrowsercompany/swift-winrt) swift-winui - Swift Language Bindings for WinUI3 - The Browser Company (https://github.com/thebrowsercompany/swift-winui) Install Swift on Windows - Swift.org (https://www.swift.org/install/windows) Related Episodes Who's Wendy with Joannis Orlandos (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/205-who-s-wendy-with-joannis-orlandos/) Deconstructing Xcode with xTool with Kabir Oberai (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/201-deconstructing-xcode-with-xtool-with-kabir-oberai/) Full Stack Things with Werner Jainek and Vojtěch Rylko (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/198-full-stack-things-with-werner-jainek-and-vojtech-rylko/) Swift on Android with Marc Prud'hommeaux (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/196-swift-on-android-with-marc-prud-hommeaux/) Swift, Server Side, Serverless with Sébastien Stormacq (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/191-swift-server-side-serverless-with-sebastien-stormacq/) Swift Server Workgroup with Joannis Orlandos (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/157-swift-server-workgroup-with-joannis-orlandos/) Swift Package Index with Dave Verwer and Sven Schmidt (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/141-swift-package-index-with-dave-verwer-and-sven-schmidt/) Backend Decisions with Mikaela Caron (https://brightdigit.com/episodes/127-backend-decisions-with-mikaela-caron/) Chapters (00:00) - Why Swift on Windows (08:40) - Command Line Tools, PowerShell & WSL (16:35) - Server-Side Swift & Building Desktop Apps (24:46) - The History of Windows UI Frameworks (33:15) - Getting Started with Swift on Windows (41:32) - Interop, SwiftUI & Future Plans Watch Click here to watch a video of this episode. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIC-Q1B7FHM) Transcript Click here to view the episode transcript. (https://share.transistor.fm/s/b8649365/transcript) Support the Show ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ (https://www.patreon.com/brightdigit) Thanks to our supporters: Thanks to our monthly supporters Steven Lipton Welcome new supporters: Social Media LinkedIn - @leogdion (https://www.linkedin.com/in/leogdion/) GitHub - @brightdigit (https://github.com/brightdigit) GitHub - @leogdion (https://github.com/leogdion/) Mastodon - @leogdion@c.im (https://c.im/@leogdion) YouTube - @brightdigit (http://youtube.com/@brightdigit) X - @leogdion (https://x.com/leogdion) X - @brightdigit (https://x.com/brightdigit) Credits Music from https://filmmusic.io (https://filmmusic.io/) "Blippy Trance" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com (https://incompetech.com/)) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/))

Who has been a guest on Empower Apps

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Kaya Thomas
• Rachel Brindle
• Kabir Oberai
• Matt Massicotte
• Peter Witham

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

126,144

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.7 / 5

15 ratings

Spotify

4.8 / 5

5 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 81 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

95

Social presence

0

YouTube

82

Engagement

82