Keyframes, Cash, and CodePen w/ Shaw

Keyframes, Cash, and CodePen w/ Shaw

Author: Skill Issue Studios May 14, 2026 Duration: 1:16:25
This week, Robbie and Adam welcome Shaw from CodePen to talk CSS animations, web components, server side rendering nightmares, and why building things by hand still matters in the age of AI slop. They dig into the CodePen 2.0 rewrite, Apollo GraphQL cache manipulation, the pain of reactive variables on the server, why Code Mirror 6 is both brilliant and bizarre, and whether stacks and fans will finally solve the PR review problem. Along the way, they cover HTML as a programming language, handwritten code museums, agentic parenting disasters, and why showing up prepared beats luck every time. In this episode: Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome & Introductions 00:02:25 Whiskey Tasting: Andalusia Stryker Texas Smoked Single Malt 00:04:32 Hot Takes: Is HTML a Programming Language? 00:10:50 Chris Coyier vs Adam Argyle: The Impossible Choice 00:13:21 Git Worktrees, Stacks & Fans: Modern Version Control 00:22:21 React Server Components: Mistake or Masterpiece? 00:24:30 CodePen 2.0: Building a Modern Editor from Scratch 00:39:18 AI in CodePen: Curation Over Generation 00:45:07 Agentic Parenting & The Fart Sycophant Problem 00:57:00 Raising Creative Kids in the Age of Screens 01:10:43 Whiskey Review & Final Thoughts Links - Andalusia Texas Smoked Single Malt Whiskey: https://andalusiawhiskey.com/ - CodePen: https://codepen.io/ - CodePen 2.0: https://codepen.io/ - KeyFramers: https://keyframers.com/ - Code Mirror 6: https://codemirror.net/ - Apollo GraphQL: https://www.apollographql.com/ - Next.js: https://nextjs.org/ - GitHub Stacks: https://github.com/ - React Server Components: https://react.dev/ - Claude: https://claude.ai/ - Project Hail Mary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Hail_Mary - Pico-8: https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php - Spike Prime: https://education.lego.com/en-us/products/lego-education-spike-prime-set/45678/ - Blockly: https://developers.google.com/blockly - Rails: https://rubyonrails.org/ - Go: https://go.dev/ - Vercel: https://vercel.com/ - StackBlitz: https://stackblitz.com/ - Monaco Editor: https://microsoft.github.io/monaco-editor/ - VS Code: https://code.visualstudio.com/ - Raised by Wolves: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raised_by_Wolves_(American_TV_series) - The Manualist: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheManualist - Aesop Rock: https://www.aesoprock.com/ - Minecraft: https://www.minecraft.net/ - Nerdy.dev: https://nerdy.dev/ Connect with Shaw - Website: https://shshaw.com/ - X / Twitter: https://x.com/shshaw Connect with the hosts - Robbie Wagner: https://x.com/RobbieWagner - Adam Argyle: https://x.com/argyleink Subscribe and stay in touch - Website: https://whiskey.fm - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whiskey-web-and-whatnot/id1552776603 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19jiuHAqzeKnkleQUpZxDf - Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1552776603 - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhiskeyWebAndWhatnot Whiskey Web and Whatnot Merch Enjoying the podcast and want us to make more? Help support us by picking up some of our fresh merch at https://whiskey.fund.

There's a certain alchemy that happens when you combine deep technical expertise with the warmth of a good conversation, and that's exactly what you'll find in Whiskey Web and Whatnot. Hosts Robbie Wagner, Charles William Carpenter III, and Adam Argyle bring decades of collective experience to the table, but they leave the lecture format at the door. Instead, each episode feels like pulling up a chair with colleagues who are just as passionate about the craft of building for the web as they are about the nuanced flavors in a glass of whiskey. The discussion naturally flows between the concrete details of modern development-like navigating JavaScript frameworks, CSS architecture, or the practical realities of agentic AI and new coding tools-and the broader, human aspects of a software engineering career. This podcast from Skill Issue Studios is built on the idea that the tools and the people who use them are equally important. You'll come for insightful, grounded advice on developer productivity and emerging technologies, but you'll stay for the genuine camaraderie and the occasional spirited debate about which whiskey bottle truly earns a spot on the shelf. It’s a refreshing blend of substance and personality, making complex topics accessible and reminding everyone that there's always a story behind the code.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Whiskey Web and Whatnot
Podcast Episodes
Are Developers Overthinking Everything? w/ Bdougie [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:40
Recorded live at All Things Open, Robbie and guest co-host Nick Taylor talk with Bdougie (Brian Douglas) about open source’s impact on their careers, the legacy of OpenSauced, and why developer tools succeed—or don’t. Th…
From Librarian to Developer: w/ Roxy Rodriguez-Becker [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:21
Recorded live at All Things Open, Robbie and guest co-host Jason Torres talk with Roxy Rodriquez-Becker about her journey from educator and librarian to aspiring developer, the community supporting her transition, naviga…
Open Source, Agents, and the Next AI Wave w/ Angie Jones [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:17
Recorded live at All Things Open, Robbie Wagner and guest co-host Jason Lengstorf talk with Angie Jones about AI, coding models, and the evolving landscape of open source. They unpack the importance of community-driven t…
Why Open Source Might Be Your Best Career Move w/ Shruti Kapoor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:07
Recorded at All Things Open 2025, Robbie Wagner and guest co-host Jason Lengstorf chat with developer-turned-creator Shruti Kapoor about her leap from Slack and PayPal to YouTube, the joys and pitfalls of open source, an…
Rust Is Overrated w/ Naman Goel [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:10
This week, Robbie and Adam talk with Naman Goel about the origins and evolution of StyleX, how it integrates with React and other frameworks, and the pros and cons of different programming languages like Rust, TypeScript…
npm Worms & RubyGems Coups: Trust Issues in Open Source [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:48
This week, Robbie, Chuck, and Adam talk about the worst whiskey they’ve tasted, Tailwind as a “state management library,” and recent security scares in open source. Also — dependency hygiene, developer visa drama, and wh…
Is CSS a Programming Language? w/ Kevin Powell [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:55
This week, Robbie and Adam talk with Kevin Powell about the quirks and complexities of CSS, from Tailwind and Flexbox to AI’s failure to write decent styles. While sipping some Crown Royal Black, they dig into weird web…