Technology podcast
Podcast
FLOSS Weekly is a free and open-source software (FLOSS) themed netcast from the TWiT Network.[3] The show premiered on April 7, 2006, and features interviews with prominent guests from the free software/open source community.[4] It was originally hosted by Leo Laporte; his co-host for the first seventeen episodes was Chris DiBona and subsequently Randal Schwartz.[5] In May 2010, Schwartz took over from Laporte as lead host. May 2020 saw Doc Searls take over the host role in episode 578, and Jonathan Bennett leads the show since episode 762 in December 2023.
Reach
Many influential people from the free and open-source community have appeared on the show, including Kent Beck, Ward Cunningham, Miguel de Icaza, Rasmus Lerdorf, Tim O'Reilly,[6] Guido van Rossum, Linus Torvalds, and Jimmy Wales. Show topics are wide in variety, and have for example included ZFS,[7] Mifos,[8] Asterisk,[9] and the OSU Open Source Lab.[10]
Though it has several episodes centered around Linux, it is generally about more diverse software in the Free Software/Open Source communities.[11]
Conversely, many in the community view being on FLOSS Weekly as an accomplishment, validating the work they have done. These appearances are often publicized by the guests through their own communication channels.[12][13][14]
History
FLOSS Weekly was started by Leo Laporte, who runs the TWiT podcast network, and Chris DiBona, now the open source program manager at Google. FLOSS is an acronym for Free/Libre Open Source Software. The show was intended to be a weekly interview with the biggest names and influences in open source software. Episode one of FLOSS Weekly appeared on April 7, 2006.
Towards the end of 2006, episodes began to appear less frequently, dropping to a monthly basis. DiBona's newborn baby and commitments at Google were cited as reasons for the show's stagnation, and on the seventeenth episode, Laporte appealed for other co-hosts to share the burden.[15] This was DiBona's final appearance on the show as the host. He returned as a guest for the show's 100th episode.[16]
The show went on an unannounced three-month hiatus, re-appearing on July 20, 2007, with a new co-host, Randal Schwartz,[17] who had previously appeared on the show as a guest. Schwartz went on to take over organizing guests for the show, and restored the show to a predominantly weekly schedule (with occasional gaps from scheduling conflicts or last minute cancellations). Starting with episode 69, Jono Bacon was a somewhat regular co-host, even filling in for Randal when Randal was not available.
The show was nominated for the 2009 Podcast Awards in the Technology/Science category.[18]
In May 2010, the show began publishing a video feed (along with many of the rest of the TWiT network shows), and moved to an earlier recording time. As a result of the new recording time, Leo Laporte stepped down as the lead host, and Jono Bacon could no longer regularly co-host.
In May 2020 Doc Searls took over for Randal Schwartz.
On December 13, 2023, TWiT dropped the podcast, citing cost concerns.[19] In response, the show was picked up by Hackaday, with Jonathan Bennett taking over as lead host. [20] This transition was officially endorsed by the TWiT network with a final brief release to the FLOSS Weekly RSS feed and channel.[21]
