Two's Complement
Ben Rady and Matt Godbolt · Ben Rady
Show overview
Two's Complement has been publishing since 2020, and across the 6 years since has built a catalogue of 71 episodes. That works out to roughly 50 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a monthly cadence.
Episodes typically run thirty-five to sixty minutes — most land between 37 min and 48 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-language Technology show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 3 weeks ago, with 5 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2021, with 16 episodes published. Published by Ben Rady.
From the publisher
If you come to a fork in the road, take it! Two’s Complement is a programming podcast, hosted by Matt Godbolt and Ben Rady; two programmers who both grew up wanting to make video games. One of them did, one of them didn’t, but now they both work together despite coming from very different backgrounds.
Latest Episodes
View all 71 episodesThe Rabbit Was Always There
Speed of Thought
Measure Twice, Optimize Once
Ben asks a simple question about performance and Matt talks for 46 minutes. The one true use case for linked lists is revealed, and a part three is threatened.
How Fast Is Fast?
Ben interviews Matt with a deceptively simple question: make my program go fast. 44 minutes later, robot dogs are falling over, Grace Hopper's wire makes an appearance, and Matt still hasn't gotten the job.
Gaming on Linux
Ben wipes his PC over Thanksgiving and installs Ubuntu for gaming. Matt recalls the dark days of himem.sys and IRQ conflicts. The universe was created last Thursday, and someone gets a hangover.
Factorio
Ben's new TCP backpressure explanation: conveyor belts full. Matt zooms out and mistakes his factory for a Pentium 2. Ben plans to switch to Linux gaming; Matt's start bar keeps popping up and he's had it.
Vibe Coding and Robot Teammates
Ben worries replacing juniors with LLMs creates a future hiring crisis - who'll train the robot-wranglers? Matt blames COVID brain fog, then proves it by botching NP-completeness. Capitalism is bad at escaping local minima.
Conference Talks: Some Assembly Required
Matt returns from CppCon with a cold, three talks, and a keynote title Reddit hates. Ben immediately declares Reddit dumb. The hosts discuss C++ reflection, the unforgivable renaming of the Sears Tower, and why conference attendees should stand like Pac-Man.
Running Programs
Matt and Ben discuss running in production; from running processes in screen to battling systemd configuration files. Ben sketches out daemonization rituals while Matt channels Tolkien to explain process hierarchies. Our hosts discover that Ansible playbooks are just bash scripts with better PR, and everyone still Googles journalctl syntax.
Squashing Compilers
Matt uses you as his therapist to vent about three days fighting systemd and boot time. Ben patiently listens while Matt explains why mounting things shouldn't consume 200% CPU. AWS sponsorship news provides a silver lining.
The Benefits of Experience
Matt and Ben explore how experience lets you run across water instead of drowning in options. Ben explains why he doesn't need a life preserver when building software. Matt retrofits good practices into Compiler Explorer while lamenting decisions from 10 years ago.
Is Football Possible Anymore?
Ben recounts his 2007 startup building a database chatbot (before LLMs were cool). Matt tries their methods live with Claude. Ben foolishly uses his phone as a microphone stand.
C++ and Rust: Different Tools for the Job
Matt and Ben discuss programming language debates sparked by an old talk that went viral. They explore how Matt's C++ safety tips convinced someone to switch to Rust instead. Matt stays up all night trying four different implementations to prove a point, then loses. Ben introduces the concept of "carpet bubbles" in language design. Matt lists all the C++ features that begin with C, while Ben questions whether Chicago makes popes.
Observable Metrics
Matt and Ben explore the intersection of testing, metrics, and observability in performance-critical code. They debate push vs pull metric systems, share war stories from financial trading systems, and ponder what to do when your program can't tell anyone it's in trouble.
Pair Programming with HAL?
Matt and Ben explore the new world of AI-assisted coding: is it like pairing with junior developer? Matt gets the recording working the second time, Ben worries about what happens when your business depends on code you don't understand.
Passing Messages
Ben and Matt wade into the deep waters of messaging systems, get utterly lost in time synchronization rabbit holes, and discover their new podcast tagline: "We make mistakes so you don't have to." Matt celebrates by getting his car stuck where cars shouldn't go.
Getting CRUFTy
Ben unveils his latest acronym-based software discussion framework while Matt patiently waits for the punchline. Our hosts explore alternatives to technical debt, debate the value of naming things, and Matt questions his ability to remember five letters for more than fourteen minutes. Ben has written a blog post going into more detail since the recording.
Are We Remotely Productive?
Matt and Ben unpack the mysteries of remote work and programmer productivity, with a side of two's complement philosophy. Featuring unexpected insights, hallway chat nostalgia, and the radical notion that writing less code might actually be winning.
Are Dirty Hands Right?
Matt and Ben preach the gospel of "dirty hands are right," then spend 30 minutes explaining why that's completely wrong unless you're the right person, with the right skills, at the right time, working on the right thing. Also, don't cook chicken with dirty hands.
Sequence Locks
Matt talks about a work thing, called a sequence lock. Ben suggests some dumb ideas about that work thing. Then our hosts discuss how to starve a reader, anger the Gods of Volatility, and invoke Sylvester Stallone.