Codepunk Podcast Changes in 2020

As 2019 comes to a close, there's been a lot of changes on my end as far as how I communicate with the industry and community at large. I've all but retired from speaking engagements (that's a different story) with the Valley Tech Con being my last talk. I've reduced some of my constant access to social media like Facebook and Twitter, but I've increased the amount of tutorial videos I've been posting on our YouTube channel. When it comes to content, I've been blogging here more, the newsletter is going strong, and the podcast has taken on a much larger "cyberpunk" feel, as we've been doing episodes on hacking history.

Bill and I did one final podcast episode this year, and we used it as a season/year/decade capper. Codepunk has never officially been produced as "seasons," but we've always taken a break from mid-November to mid-January for the holidays, and to recharge.

When we pick back up in 2020, there are going to be a few changes.

• We will officially adopt a "season" approach, recording a set number of episodes per season.
• The per season episode count will be 15 episodes per year.
• We will release an episode every three weeks.
• Each season will begin in February.

We're taking this approach for a few reasons. One reason is the aforementioned break that we were taking anyway. Another reason is that as much as we've tried to sit down for a single recording session per month, we haven't been consistent enough, and it's been difficult to align our schedules. By limiting the per season episode count to 15 (we've only every produced a max of 16 episodes per year anyway), and by spacing them out every three weeks instead of every two, we should be able to remain on schedule. By not premiering the season until February, we should be able to front-load some recordings too. All of this ought to reduce the risk of burn-out, while adding consistency, and giving all our listeners an idea of what to anticipate.

What should you expect next year during our fourth season? We'll take a look at how technology impacts elections and partisanship just time for the 2020 Presidential elections in the United States. We're also going to be talking about the technology necessary for a true Mars settlement. On the hacker front, we have episodes lined up about Kevin Mitnick, as well as the Masters of Deception. We also plan to deep dive into IBM's Watson, and by the time Altered Carbon season two premieres on Netflix, Bill and I plan to tackle that as well.

It's been a fun ride these last few years, and the podcast has continued to evolve. I hope you're looking forward to 2020 as much as we are.