GR-OSS OUT Podcast

About GR-OSS OUT Podcast

This podcast takes an honest and unvarnished look at the reality of contributing to open source software projects. Too often, the open source community can paint an idealized picture of seamless collaboration and frictionless progress. But the truth is, working on OSS projects can be challenging, messy, and at times, downright frustrating. From conflicting opinions and coding philosophies to project politics and ownership disputes, there are many potential pitfalls. That's why this podcast gives voice to the personal experiences of actual open source contributors and influencers. They'll share the unfiltered ups and downs they've faced working on real projects. You'll hear war stories of coding battles, community dramas, and those weekly agonizing pull request reviews. But it's not all horror stories! You'll also learn valuable lessons about persevering through challenges, building consensus, and ultimately creating robust open source software that delivers value. Guests will provide insights into cultivating positive OSS communities and effective collaboration processes. So whether you're a veteran open source participant or just getting started, this podcast will prepare you for the gritty realities and help you navigate the unusual situations that so often arise. Join us as we embrace the awkward, frustrating, and yes, even "gross" side of open source software development. It's a journey that every contributor needs to understand.

Publisher

G-Research Open Source Software

Category

business · science · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

20 May 2024

Latest episode

20 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

28 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   20 Oct 2026

   Sustaining Apache Arrow and Parquet: The Arctos Alliance with Alex Scammon

   What happens when a critical open source software (OSS) community faces losing many of its core maintainers? In this reprise episode, host Jay Faulkner talks with Alex Scammon, co-CEO of G-Research Open Source Software, about how the Apache Arrow and Apache Parquet community responded, and why G-Research helped create the Arctos Alliance, a community-funded nonprofit that employs engineers to support the ecosystem. They also dig into how artificial intelligence (AI) generated pull requests (PRs) are changing trust between contributors and maintainers. Guest Alex Scammon, Co-CEO, G-Research Open Source Software (GR-OSS) Host Jay Faulkner, GR-OSS Out Podcast Topics discussed Why Apache Arrow (in-memory columnar data format) and Apache Parquet (on-disk columnar file format) underpin modern data science, machine learning (ML), and AI tooling Why the Arctos Alliance is a community effort rather than one company’s project How a small independent team can keep a project’s direction from being shaped by a single company Halving Apache Arrow’s open issue count, from roughly 4,600 to about 2,200, and why issue tracker health matters to new contributors Work in progress on tensor types and encryption How AI-generated PRs are affecting maintainers, and why in-person community building matters more now, including a Delta Lake example A candid story about contributions reverted in Apache YuniKorn, and lessons on communication in open source communities Other projects G-Research has helped sustain: etcd, Apache Spark, Polars, and more Links mentioned Arctos Alliance - https://arctosalliance.org (https://arctosalliance.org) Apache Arrow - https://arrow.apache.org (https://arrow.apache.org) Parquet - https://parquet.apache.org (https://parquet.apache.org) G-Research - https://gresearch.com (https://gresearch.com) G-Research is hiring in Dallas, TX and London, UK! Apply at https://gresearch.com/vacancies (https://gresearch.com/vacancies). For a video version of this podcast, check out https://youtu.be/4sCJnYAfkXA (https://youtu.be/4sCJnYAfkXA). The GR-OSS OUT Podcast is produced by Ben Wiley. Special Guest: Alexander Scammon.

2. 

   17 Sept 2026

   GitProxy and the MLH fellowship with Juan Escalada

   In this episode of the GR-OSS Out Podcast, host Jay Faulkner talks with Juan Escalada, maintainer of GitProxy at G-Research Open Source Software, about a serious vulnerability in GitProxy that allowed a second branch push to bypass every security check the tool was designed to enforce. Juan explains how the bug was found through a security audit, why it went unnoticed in production for years, and how the G-Research team handled responsible disclosure — being transparent about the flaw even when it wasn't the easiest choice from a marketing standpoint. The conversation also covers how GitProxy works as a network-level proxy for Git requests, unpacking and validating Git pack files, auditing pushes, and blocking data exfiltration before code reaches remotes like GitHub or GitLab. Juan and Jay discuss a new single-push approval workflow in development, and where artificial intelligence (AI) tools help — and where they still fall short — in software architecture and system design. Juan also shares his path from Major League Hacking (MLH) Fellow to full-time GitProxy maintainer in under two years, the mindset shift required to go from writing code to being responsible for reviewing other people's code, working through imposter syndrome as a new maintainer, and practical advice for engineers applying to the MLH Fellowship — including why a well-lit, professional video call setup matters more than people expect. GitProxy - https://git-proxy.finos.org/ (https://git-proxy.finos.org/) Open WebUI - https://openwebui.com/ (https://openwebui.com/) MLH Fellowship - https://fellowship.mlh.com/ (https://fellowship.mlh.com/) "Developers" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fcSviC7cRM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fcSviC7cRM) G-Research is hiring in Dallas, TX and London, UK! Apply at https://gresearch.com/vacancies (https://gresearch.com/vacancies). For a video version of this podcast, check out https://youtu.be/zNUTa4s0l3k (https://youtu.be/zNUTa4s0l3k). The GR-OSS OUT Podcast is produced by Ben Wiley. Special Guest: Juan Escalada.

3. 

   19 Aug 2026

   OpenStack Ironic and the MLH Fellowshipwith CID

   In this episode of the GROSS Out Podcast, host Tabitha DiDomenico talks with CID, a software engineer and maintainer on the OpenStack Ironic project at G-Research. CID explains what OpenStack Ironic does — provisioning and managing bare metal (physical) servers the same way you'd manage a cloud instance — covering the full server lifecycle from enrollment and cleaning to firmware updates and deployment. CID also share his journey from ALX (African Leadership X), the MLH Fellowship to full-time open source maintainer of OpenStack Ironic and how it changed his life. The conversation covers: What OpenStack Ironic is and the problem it solves for bare metal provisioning Runbooks, a feature for predefining and scoping automation steps across servers, and the upcoming Version 2 (V2) improvements Why this release cycle has focused heavily on security advisories and vulnerability backports across four stable release branches CID's path from the Major League Hacking (MLH) Fellowship and the African Leadership Experience (ALX) software engineering program to becoming a full-time open source maintainer The realities of open source code review, the anxiety of working in public, and why backward compatibility is one of the most overlooked but critical skills in maintaining large infrastructure projects CID's advice for anyone facing rejection from a fellowship or open source community Links CID's Blog - https://auditorical.com/ (https://auditorical.com/) OpenStack Ironic - https://opendev.org/openstack/ironic (https://opendev.org/openstack/ironic) MLH Fellowship - https://fellowship.mlh.com/ (https://fellowship.mlh.com/) ALX - https://www.alxafrica.com/ (https://www.alxafrica.com/) Eventlet - https://evenlet.net/ (https://evenlet.net/) Runbooks - https://docs.openstack.org/ironic/latest/admin/runbooks.html (https://docs.openstack.org/ironic/latest/admin/runbooks.html) G-Research is hiring in Dallas, TX and London, UK! Apply at https://gresearch.com/vacancies (https://gresearch.com/vacancies). For a video version of this podcast, check out https://youtu.be/fbsI8l-MaFA (https://youtu.be/fbsI8l-MaFA). The GR-OSS OUT Podcast is produced by Ben Wiley. Special Guest: CID.

Reach and audience

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

YouTube views

8,096

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 27 / 100

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

Quality

25

Social presence

0

YouTube

74

Engagement

0

Contact GR-OSS OUT Podcast

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.