Where to Start

New here? Wondering where to start?

With so many episodes in the feed, it can be tough to know which one to pick first.

This page is our “suggested listening” guide, a hand-picked list of episodes we consider essential. These are our favourite yarns, the ones we keep coming back to ourselves, and the chats that stay relevant no matter when you listen.

We’ve included all our non-technical episodes, as they’re great for any listener, plus the technical episodes we cite most often or consider truly timeless.

While we do record topical episodes (especially when big news drops in tech), most of those aren’t here — but a few we loved or often reference have still made the cut.

Use the filters below to choose technical, non-technical, or both, and click on the chips to explore by topic (just note: the chips work as an OR filter, not an AND).

Cheers! 🍻

non-technical startups founders trust parenting community branding career strategy mindset personal superheroes storytelling hope geek-culture AI marketing hype ethics technical .NET open-source business growth inclusivity burnout agile team-health leadership Git tooling UX funding MVP business-strategy remote-work culture DDD software-design language media industry-trends TDD architecture cybersecurity Australia industry OpenAI VR future hardware finance conferences tech-industry team-dynamics emotional-intelligence calm motivation holiday reflection why decision-making Unity game-dev problem-solving incident-response ops privacy big-tech consulting events Lean Startup year-in-review

Rank	Episode	Summary
1	TDD & DDD from the ground up with Chris Simon	Chris Simon joins for a deep, practical discussion on Test-Driven Development, Domain-Driven Design, and building adaptive, modern teams.
2	Unpacking the 2023 Australian Cybersecurity Strategy	Cybersecurity expert Nick Ellsmore joins to break down Australia’s national strategy, from professionalisation to data risks and future tech threats.
3	Burndown burnout	Matt shares the hard lessons of juggling multiple roles, avoiding burnout, and why sometimes your own wellbeing deserves a place on the backlog.
4	VR - The past, present and future	Matt shares his passion for VR, from its early days to the Quest 3 and beyond — plus some wild predictions about where immersive tech is heading.
5	Diving into DDD	We celebrate Matt’s birthday with a deep dive into Domain-Driven Design — what it is, why language matters, and whether it’s the key to long-term software success.
6	Championing the Road Less Travelled	We celebrate those brave enough to change careers later in life, unpacking privilege, resilience, and the value of diverse perspectives in tech and beyond.
6	Is it time to end the remote work experiment?	A candid look at return-to-office trends, the value of in-person collaboration, productivity myths, and whether remote work’s golden age is truly over.
7	Can you afford a tech startup?	We break down the real costs (and hidden costs) of starting a tech business, from MVPs to incubators to the reality of throwing away your first version.
9	Is AI Marketing Full of It?	We unpack the hype and snake oil behind AI marketing, questioning authenticity and what real, trustworthy engagement should look like.
9	The "Netflix problem"	From streaming wars to piracy and licensing headaches — a business-focused yarn on how convenience and vertical integration shape the media landscape.
10	Opening the lid on OpenAI	Special guest Uly Maclaren joins to unpack the OpenAI board drama, AGI speculation, AI safety, and what the future might hold for humanity.
11	Is Git shit?	Matt vents about Git — from its toxic roots to painful UX — and we debate whether it’s an industry standard or an outdated pain machine that needs to evolve.
12	Why Matt Believes a Man Can Fly	Matt gets personal on Superman, hope, and why stories matter — plus reflections on practical effects, mythology, and backyard birthday laser tag.
12	Is the .NET ecosystem in crisis?	We tackle the wave of open-source projects going commercial in .NET, community trust, and what it means for the future of the ecosystem.
13	Brand or Be Branded	With guest Sarah Kenyon, we break down personal branding myths, navigating LinkedIn noise, and why ‘just let the work speak’ isn’t always enough.
14	Built by Mums, for Mums: The Villey Story	Lucy Quinlan shares the story of Villey — building a tech company without a tech background, bootstrapping, and the power of trust and community support.
—	F U Money, Tank Sims, and Rethinking Merit	Fresh from /NEW conference, we explore financial independence, Aussie defense tech, merit narratives, and how to back founders who’ve overcome more.
—	When It’s Your Job to Stay Calm	A vulnerable chat on leadership under pressure, balancing empathy and steadiness, and what it really means to be the calm center of a team storm.
—	What does open-source owe you?	A candid discussion on entitlement, burnout, and the blurred lines between community and commerce in the open-source ecosystem.
—	Is the career ladder a lie?	We challenge the traditional linear career path, exploring staff engineering roles, motivation, and how ‘moving back’ can actually be moving forward.
—	Merry Christmas from the Beer Driven Devs	A short, festive wrap-up to close the year — looking back with gratitude and raising a glass to all our listeners. Cheers!
—	Why?	A reflective episode on Simon Sinek’s ‘Start with Why’, personal motivations, and how thinking strategically can transform careers and team dynamics.
—	[BONUS] A Day of Decisions - Part 2	Wrapping up ADAConf highlights, hallway chats, and what we’re taking into next year’s events — plus bonus stories from the flight home.
—	A Day of Decisions - Part 1	A recap of ADAConf Melbourne — standout talks, decision-making in architecture and teams, and why this conference left such an impression.
—	Open Source, Closed Wallet, Questionable Ethics?	We unpack the ethics of open source, corporate freeloading, and how maintainers balance community goodwill with burnout and business realities.
—	Unity, One Year On: BDD’s Full Circle	A year after Unity’s big fee fiasco, we reflect on game dev, community backlash, and what we’ve learned after 12 months of podcasting.
—	The Art of Problem solving	From technical puzzles to life’s big challenges — we explore mindsets, DDD, YAGNI, and whether every problem really needs a solution at all.
—	The CrowdStrikes Back	We unpack the largest IT outage in history, explore how tech debt and leadership contributed, and discuss what it means for trust and resilience in ops.
—	Nobody cares about your privacy: Adobe, Apple, Microsoft trampling your rights?	A spicy chat on privacy, monopolies, AI overload, and whether you can really trust big tech with your data (and your kids’ photos).
—	Golden hammers and doing nothing	When is the best solution doing nothing at all? We talk golden hammers, consulting mindsets, and how to resist the urge to always ‘just build’.
—	BDD @ NDC	A live catch-up from NDC Sydney — highlights, favourite talks, and the social side of one of Australia’s biggest dev conferences.
—	Leaning into the Lean Startup	A practical chat about Lean Startup principles — MVPs, validated learning, pivots, and whether anyone should really worry about someone ‘stealing’ ideas.
—	2023 Retro	Matt and Liam reflect on a huge year: favourite episodes, professional highlights, personal growth, and what they’re excited for next.
—	About your hosts	Get to know Matt and Liam — their journeys into tech, life lessons, and why they believe in tackling big challenges (and drinking good beer).
—	Welcome to the BDD Podcast	Matt and Liam kick off the podcast with a look at Unity’s pricing controversy, leadership lessons, and what it all means for devs and the industry.