Modern Software Engineering
Hosted by Modern Software Engineering
A collective of software industry veterans explains advanced engineering practices, from continuous delivery to agentic AI, for experienced developers.
This is an expert lecture and discussion series for professional software engineers. Rather than chasing trends, the hosts apply first principles of software engineering to new technologies, most recently focusing on how to program with and manage agentic AI. The show operates as a collective, with different hosts taking the lead on episodes that align with their expertise, creating a curriculum-like feel for senior practitioners.
“Its primary distinction is the rotating cast of highly credible, well-known industry pioneers as hosts. Unlike single-host shows, it offers a multifaceted perspective on software engineering, grounded in decades of collective, high-level experience. The recent focus on 'Harness Engineering' and ATDD for AI provides a principled, non-hype-driven approach to a new paradigm.”
Who hosts this show
Modern Software Engineering is a channel where a rotating cast of influential software industry figures share insights on advanced development techniques. Hosted by figures like Dave Farley, Steve Smith, and Emily Bache, the show aims to help good developers become great by focusing on foundational principles and their application to modern challenges, including a recent deep-dive into AI-assisted programming. The hosts are all established authors, consultants, and speakers in the software world.
Credentials & credits
- Dave Farley: Co-author of 'Continuous Delivery', author of 'Modern Software Engineering'.
- Kent Beck: Creator of Extreme Programming (XP) and Test-Driven Development (TDD), signatory of the Agile Manifesto.
- Sam Newman: Author of 'Building Microservices' and 'Monolith to Microservices'.
- Kevlin Henney: Author and editor of several books including '97 Things Every Programmer Should Know'.
- Daniel Terhorst-North: Pioneer of Behavior-Driven Development (BDD).
- Steve Smith: Global SVP at Equal Experts, author of 'Measuring Continuous Delivery'.
Other ventures
- Dave Farley: Continuous Delivery Ltd. (consultancy), CD.Training.
- Steve Smith: Equal Experts (technology consultancy).
- Emily Bache: Bache Consulting, Samman Technical Coaching Society.
- Kevlin Henney: Independent consultant, trainer, and writer.
- Sam Newman: Independent consultant and speaker.
- Daniel Terhorst-North: Dan North & Associates (consultancy).
What kind of podcast
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Region
- uk
When new episodes drop
- 01I Stopped Coding and Started Architecting Agents (And You Should Too)Jun 24, 2026 · 13 min
- 02GenAI is Changing the Future of Development TeamsJun 17, 2026 · 11 min
- 03Automating Agentic AI Success Using This SECRET WorkflowJun 10, 2026 · 17 min
- 04Save HOURS Of Work & Automate Your AI Agent's Feedback Loop (Do This)Jun 3, 2026 · 13 min
- 05Agentic Workflows Have Changed EVERYTHING in 2026 (DEATH Of The Senior Dev?)May 27, 2026 · 11 min
- 06This Is The ONLY Way to Trust Your AI AgentMay 22, 2026 · 13 min
- 07A Radical Approach to Long Term SoftwareMay 20, 2026 · 8 min
- 08Can We Tackle Security & Compliance in Our Deployment Pipeline?May 15, 2026 · 21 min
Notable episodes
- 01I Stopped Coding and Started Architecting Agents (And You Should Too)
Introduces the concept of 'Harness Engineering' as a structured method for using agentic AI in professional software development.
- 02Automating Agentic AI Success Using This SECRET Workflow
Explores how established practices like Acceptance Test-Driven Development (ATDD) can be used as a 'contract' to manage non-deterministic AI agents.
- 03GenAI is Changing the Future of Development Teams
Argues that organizational bottlenecks, not coding speed, are the primary constraint on realizing productivity gains from Generative AI.
What you'll be asked on this show
The show does not follow a traditional interview format. When guests are featured, it's often in the form of pre-recorded, edited clips integrated into a larger narrative presented by the primary host. The host (e.g., Dave Farley) provides extensive context, uses the guest's insights to support a specific point, and then synthesizes the information with his own perspective. This makes the host more of a rapporteur building an argument than an interviewer conducting a live conversation.
The show employs a multi-format approach. Some episodes are solo-hosted deep-dive lectures, others are co-hosted discussions, and some feature interviews presented as edited clips within a host's broader narrative. Production is professional and direct, resembling a conference talk or a focused training session more than a casual chat.
Questions Modern Software Engineering keeps coming back to
4 cataloguedIf you're going on this show as a guest, expect some version of each of these. Each note explains when Modern Software Engineering reaches for it.
process
2- Q.01
“What advantages does this [new] approach give you over other methods?”
The host asks this to establish the core value proposition of a technique being discussed.
- Q.02
“What limitations might prevent GenAI from succeeding in your organization?”
Used to probe beyond the technology itself and into the organizational and process-related bottlenecks.
future
1- Q.01
“Do you see agentic workflows giving a bigger push to established concepts like TDD/ATDD?”
This question connects a new technology (AI) with foundational software engineering practices.
craft
1- Q.01
“Can these new AI tools genuinely accelerate maintenance and non-differentiating work?”
This question frames the central theme of an episode, exploring the practical economic impact of a new tool.
Signature segments
- · AI Briefing series
- · The Engineering Room Podcast (associated series)
- · Sign-off: 'Happy coding.'
Topics covered repeatedly
Who gets booked here
Guests are typically senior practitioners, authors, or directors who are actively applying the advanced concepts being discussed. They are peers of the hosts, brought on to provide specific, real-world examples, such as using ATDD to guide AI agents in a corporate environment.
- Stefan Ellersdorferon Automating Agentic AI Success Using This SECRET Workflow
- Christian Gesellon Automating Agentic AI Success Using This SECRET Workflow
- Daniel Terhorst-Northon Can We Tackle Security & Compliance in Our Deployment Pipeline?
- David Yanacekon This Is The ONLY Way to Trust Your AI Agent
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
Sponsors are B2B technology companies and consultancies like Equal Experts, TransFICC, and Octopus Deploy, targeting senior engineering talent and decision-makers. The hosts also promote their own related ventures, such as books, Patreon, and training courses like CD.Training.
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
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People also ask
- Who are the hosts of Modern Software Engineering?
- The channel features a collective of hosts, including Dave Farley, Steve Smith, Emily Bache, Kevlin Henney, Kent Beck, and others, who are all prominent figures in the software industry.
- What is the format of the show?
- It's a multi-format show. Episodes can be solo-host lectures, co-hosted discussions, or narrative episodes that include edited clips from interviews.
- Is this podcast for beginners?
- No, it is aimed at experienced, professional software developers, architects, and tech leads who want to deepen their skills.
- What topics does the show focus on?
- The show covers advanced software engineering principles, including Continuous Delivery, TDD, software architecture, and, more recently, a heavy focus on programming with agentic AI.
- Is the podcast still active?
- Yes, the channel publishes new videos regularly, typically on a weekly basis.
- Where can I watch or listen to the podcast?
- The primary platform is the 'Modern Software Engineering' YouTube channel. Audio versions of some content are also available on podcast platforms.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
- [01]Dave Farley's Speaker Bioaae-speakers.com
- [02]Steve Smith's Professional Biostevesmith.tech
- [03]Emily Bache's Speaker Biogotopia.tech
- [04]Kevlin Henney's Speaker Biondctechtown.com
- [05]Kent Beck - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- [06]Sam Newman's Official Websitesamnewman.io
- [07]Daniel Terhorst-North on BDDdannorth.net
- [08]Modern Software Engineering YouTube Channelyoutube.com
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