Fork Around and Find Out is your downtime from uptime. Your break from the pager, and a chance to learn from expert’s successes and failures. We cover state-of-the-art, legacy practices for building, running, and maintaining software and systems.
The podcast Fork Around And Find Out is created by Justin Garrison & Autumn Nash. The podcast and the artwork on this page are embedded on this page using the public podcast feed (RSS).
If technology serves everybody, then everyone deserves access to a seat at the table. No one better embodies this sentiment than Crystal Preston-Watson. She’s a Senior Digital Accessibility Analyst with Salesforce, and she brings an unrivaled passion for making tech available for anyone to use.
On this episode of FAFO, we’re unpacking why her mission is so vital, and the previous career that made Crystal realize the disabled community needs a voice to advocate for them. Crystal goes into why it’s okay to turn personal struggles into triumphs for others, ARIA as a vital resource, and the issues with pushing GenAI tools onto accessibility tools.
You’ll also get to hear why Autumn loves Crystal’s presence on the internet, but especially Crystal’s blog (which is a great read if you love serious topics sprinkled with a good laugh).
Show Highlights
(0:00) Intro
(0:29) Tremolo sponsor read
(1:51) Introducing Crystal through the power of numeronym
(5:43) Crystal's journey to accessibility and software
(10:01) How Crystal’s background in tech led her directly to tech
(15:30) Using additional tools to help solve problems
(18:31) The power of lifting other people up through your own personal struggles
(21:53) The importance of the right to repair and accessibility in the disability community
(27:58) Rapid evolutions in accessibility, vulnerability, and security
(33:57) Tremolo sponsor read
(34:55) Changes Crystal has seen in accessibility
(39:04) Why ARIA is important to accessibility
(43:17) Can open source provide a voice for accessibility advocates?
(45:52) Audio accessibility tools and their many functions
(48:22) Who's better for accessibility: Apple or Android?
(51:42) GenAI's impact (or lack thereof) on accessibility
(57:33) Why Autumn loves Crystal's social media presence
(59:50) Where you can find more from Crystal
(1:01:04) Crystal's advice for making security more accessible
About Crystal Preston-Watson
Crystal is an accessibility engineer and analyst. She believes accessibility is a civic and human right, and she is passionate about building accessible and inclusive applications for everyone.
Links Referenced
Sponsor
Tremolo: http://fafo.fm/tremolo
Sponsor the FAFO Podcast!
Data and security breaches are a dime a dozen nowadays, and despite their frequency, they’re still just as dangerous. That’s where Yasmin Abdi, the CEO of noHack, comes in. Despite her relatively short career, she’s already worked for some of the giants of the tech industry like Google and Snapchat. Along with Justin and Autumn, Yasmin breaks down real-world security challenges and solutions, a firsthand view into managing role-based access, phishing simulations for employee training, and the delicate balance between security and usability.
Show Highlights
(0:00) Intro
(0:32) Tremolo sponsor read
(2:04) How Yasmin built noHack
(3:15) Breaking down Yasmin's impressive resume
(4:17) What sparked Yasmin's interest in security?
(7:54) Yasmin's biggest challenge since starting noHack
(11:05) How Zero Trust has evolved over the past decade
(12:34) Balancing usability and security
(15:43) The problems with role-based access and how Yasmin's work addresses it
(19:31) Phishing schemes and AI's role in the future of security
(23:14) Tremolo sponsor read
(24:13) Yasmin's efforts to educate organizations on the dangers of phishing and poor security
(29:31) "Security theater" and the lack of serious education
(34:20) How to get people to take security seriously
(39:37) Yasmin's opinions on third-party scanning vendors
(43:17) How Yasmin would have handled the CrowdStrike attack
(46:52) Where you can find more from Yasmin
About Yasmin Abdi
Yasmin Abdi is the CEO and Founder of noHack, a cybersecurity company focused on delivering high-impact solutions for public and private (startups, & SMB) clients. Yasmin’s expertise spans enterprise security, secure software development, vulnerability and risk management, threat detection and intelligence, security assurance and education, and privacy best practices. Yasmin has also shared her knowledge at major industry platforms (featured on Forbes, Cisco, Voice of America) and has established herself as a leading voice in the cybersecurity space.
Before launching noHack, Yasmin led global security and privacy initiatives at tech giants like Google, Meta, and Snap. With over seven years of experience, she played a pivotal role as a founding member of Meemo, an AI-powered social finance app later acquired by Coinbase for $95M.
Links Referenced
Sponsor
Tremolo: http://fafo.fm/tremolo
Sponsor the FAFO Podcast!
Kubernetes isn’t just a platform—it’s a revolution. On this episode of Fork Around and Find Out, Justin and Autumn sit down with Kubernetes co-creator Brian Grant to explore the origins of this game-changing technology. From Google’s internal tooling to the cloud-native juggernaut it is today, Brian takes us behind the scenes of Kubernetes’ evolution, including its roots in Borg and the creation of CNCF.
Brian also opens up about his fascinating career, from debugging GPUs at PeakStream to improving Google’s threading systems. Along the way, he shares his candid thoughts on Terraform, GitOps, and the future of infrastructure management. We’re talking insider stories, tech critiques, and the cyclical nature of trends like AI—all packed into one unmissable episode.
Brian is a visionary who’s shaped the cloud-native ecosystem as we know it. We can’t wait for you to hear his story and insights!
Show Highlights
(0:00) Intro
(0:31) Tremolo Security sponsor read
(2:42) Brian’s background
(6:20) What it’s like working on something great but it not being the right time
(9:17) How Brian’s work from the 2000s is still important today
(11:16) Why Brian said ‘yes’ to Google after previously turning them down
(12:59) The history of the FDIV bug
(16:49) What Brian was doing when his old company was bought by Google
(20:51) How Brian’s education helped him get started down this path
(23:47) Brian’s jump from Borg to Kubernetes
(32:27) The effect Kubernetes has had on the landscape of infrastructure and applications
(35:48) Tremolo Security sponsor read
(36:47) Times Brian has been frustrated at how people use Kubernetes
(41:05) The patterns Brian notices thanks to his years in the tech industry
(48:04) What Brian expects to see next as manual actions to make providers work to make a comeback
(54:58) Reflecting on Brian’s serendipitous journey through the tech world
(1:02:18) Where you can find more from Brian
About Brian Grant
Brian Grant is the CTO and co-founder of ConfigHub, pioneering a new approach to provisioning, deploying, and operating cloud applications and infrastructure. As the original lead architect of Kubernetes, Brian created its declarative configuration model (KRM) and tools like kubectl apply and kustomize. With over 30 years in high-performance and distributed computing, he’s held pivotal roles, including tech lead for Google’s Borg platform and founder of the Omega R&D project. A Kubernetes Steering Committee and CNCF Technical Oversight Committee member, Brian also boasts 15+ patents and a Ph.D. in Computer Science, shaping the future of cloud and computing innovation.
Links Referenced
Sponsor
Tremolo: http://fafo.fm/tremolo
Sponsor the FAFO Podcast!
Retirement is about the journey, not the destination. For Kelsey Hightower, it’s been an epic journey. On our debut episode of the Fork Around and Find Out Podcast (and much to Autumn’s elation), Kelsey joins us to run down his illustrious career that spans a quarter of a century.
Known for authenticity, Kelsey was on the frontlines of Kubernetes advocacy in the tool’s humble beginnings. Because of his time at Google, we get the inside scoop on why the company seems to enjoy killing off some of its most popular products. You’ll also hear his thoughts on why curiosity is essential to tech and why the industry needs to embrace problem solvers. We also get into the absurd state of the world, the moments that caused Kelsey to finally quit Twitter, and why he’s happy to embrace Bluesky.
Kelsey is not just someone who cares. He’s a genuine human being who’s invested in the future of the industry. We can’t wait for you to check out this conversation, because we know you’ll love it!
Show Highlights
(0:00) Intro
(0:37) Tremolo sponsor read
(1:56) Introducing Kelsey Hightower
(3:04) Reflecting on how Kelsey's 25-year tech journey shaped what he's been up to recently
(9:15) Why you shouldn't be surprised when someone like Google kills off a product
(14:46) How Kelsey built up his trust in the tech community through his honesty
(16:31) Having the financial privilege to be able to say "no"
(22:57) Is the churn and burn nature of the tech industry going to hurt innovation
(29:19) Advising NFL stars Larry Fitzgerald and Kelvin Beachum on their tech investments
(38:28) Figuring out how to make tech more sustainable by treating it like a relay race
(42:36) Autumn’s appreciation for the Kubernetes community
(44:16) How you can help sponsor the FAFO Podcast
(45:17) Kelsey’s theory around the strong Kubernetes community
(47:26) The future of the relationship between corporations and open-source
(51:33) Kelsey's adventures in circuitry, doing electrical work on his home, and why that kind of curiosity is vital to learning new skills in tech
(59:11) Is tech starting to abandon problem solvers?
(1:03:41) Creating solutions for problems that don't exist
(1:08:49) The absurd state of the world, social media, and how Kelsey helped lead the tech migration to Bluesky
(1:19:40) The power and the positive impact you can have with a large online presence
(1:30:29) Where you can find more from Kelsey
About Kelsey Hightower
Kelsey Hightower has worn every hat possible throughout his career in tech, and enjoys leadership roles focused on making things happen and shipping software. Kelsey is a strong open source advocate focused on building simple tools that make people smile. When he is not slinging Go code, you can catch him giving technical workshops covering everything from programming to system administration.
Links Referenced
Sponsor
Tremolo: http://fafo.fm/tremolo
Sponsor the FAFO Podcast!
Fork Around and Find Out is your downtime from uptime. Your break from the pager, and a chance to learn from expert’s successes and failures. We cover state-of-the-art, legacy practices for building, running, and maintaining software and systems.
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En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.