One Year of PyPodcats

It’s been a year since we first launched our first podcast episode on December 12, 2023. Since then, we’ve received lots of positive responses and kind words from Python community members about our podcast series.

Here are what some of our community members are saying about PyPodcats:

• A shout out from Carol Willing at the end of her PyTexas keynote, “really cool new podcast out that is highlighting some folks that do a lot of work in Python that you don’t normally see”.

• A shout out from Daphne Choong at the end of her PyLadiesCon keynote as one of her favorite new podcasts to learn from

• From Miho Takahashi (posted on PyLadies Slack, shared with permission), “What an inspirational message and videos. I’m surprised that you ladies started talking about exactly the same topic that I am currently struggling with when I jumped into the Python community in Japan. I’m desperately looking for female role models like you ladies!!“

• From Kelly Olsson on LinkedIn: “Love the concept for this podcast and looking forward to seeing more of it!“

Thank you again for all the kind words and the support. Hearing the responses from our community has been very motivating and inspiring us to continue with the podcast series.

This past year, we produced 8 episodes, and invited 7 guests from all over the world who have made fundamental contributions to the Python community. Here’s a recap of all our episodes:

• Introducing the Hidden Figures of Python
• Joanna Jablonski, Canada
• Karolina Ladino, Colombia
• Vicky Twomey-Lee, Ireland
• Jessica Tegner, Denmark
• Mona Obedoza, The Philippines
• Niharika Vadluri, India
• Anna Makarudze, Zimbabwe

We would like to give a big thank you to all of our guests for doing this with us and sharing their stories.

Here are some highlights from the past year from PyPodcats:

• Georgi gave a talk about our podcast at Hamburg Python Pizza.

• Cheuk and Tereza gave a talk about our podcast at PyCon DE in Berlin.

• All four of us (Cheuk, Georgi, Mariatta, and Tereza) gathered at PyCon US in Pittsburgh and gave a talk about our podcast. It was well received, and we were happy to see the community value diversity and inclusivity.

• We received support from the Python Software Foundation to upload our videos on YouTube channel. Special thanks to Marie Nordin who has been helping us make sure the trailers and videos were uploaded and released to the PSF’s YouTube channel.

• We received 2000 USD in grants from The PSF to help cover the operating costs of our podcast series. We have been transparent about our finances. Learn more about it on our Financials page.

• Cheuk, Georgi, and Mariatta went to Yogyakarta, Indonesia for PyCon APAC. Mariatta and Georgi were keynote speakers at the conference, while Cheuk gave a talk and a workshop. We also spent time engaging with community members in the region, and met even more “hidden figures” who deserve more recognition from the rest of us.

• We partnered with PyLadiesCon. Not only did our team members volunteer as core organizers at the conference, we also shared our media creation tools and resources. PyLadiesCon 2024 was a successful event, breaking all of their stats and proceeds compared to last year. At the conference, we have not just discovered more hidden figures, we have also shared a lot of joy with the PyLadies community. From sharing jokes, to celebrating each other’s achievements, we value this space that we are part of, and we will continue to support the PyLadies community.

What’s next for us?

We are taking a short break, but we will return next year with a new season with some changes. First of all, we will be adding a new team member to help with the production of our podcast series. We can’t wait to introduce them next year. We also have identified some issues with our current podcast creation process, and we will work on making it more efficient so that we could produce more episodes. Stay tuned!

Know a Hidden Figure of Python?

Nominate them for a spotlight on our podcast!

We are a small team with limited time and resources. That is only that much we can put into the spotlight our Hidden Figures in Python. If you know any hidden figures in the Python community, we encourage you to celebrate their success openly, introduce them to community event organizers and conferences, and invite them to speak at conferences and podcasts.

Nominate them for awards, such as the Outstanding PyLady Award, or The PSF Community Service Award.

Don’t let them be hidden! They deserve to be known.