Beyond The Build

Uma Abu and Ope Osunkoya
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Technology

Beyond The Build is a podcast about the real, unfiltered experiences of being a software engineer. Hosted by two seasoned engineers, Uma and Ope, we dive into the highs, the lows, and everything in between—from career growth and technical challenges to work-life balance and industry insights. Whether you're an aspiring developer or a seasoned pro, join us as we explore the parts of tech that don’t get talked about enough. Connect with Ope - https://www.linkedin.com/in/osunkoyaope/ Connect with Uma: Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/umacodes) Tiktok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@umacodes) Twitter: (https://twitter.com/umacodes) LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/umaabu/)  Follow us on Social Media Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/beyondthebuildpodcast)  TikTok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@beyondthebuildpodcast)

  1. 2d ago

    Why Anthropic Doesn't Require Humans to Review Every PR | Last Week In Tech

    Be part of the show: https://btb-listener-line.fly.dev/ Ask us a question or suggest an Episode: https://forms.gle/8tEg2CKTNNWteSgt9 AI has changed how software engineers write, review, and ship code, but is it actually making developers more productive? In this episode of Beyond the Build, we break down Anthropic's AI-assisted code review process, where AI agents review AI-generated code and human approvals depend on the risk involved. We explore what this means for the future of code reviews, software engineering workflows, and developer productivity. We also discuss why some engineers are getting unlimited AI budgets while others face restrictions, the paradox of AI making developers busier instead of reducing their workload, and why hungry junior engineers might have an advantage over experienced developers in the AI era. Plus, we cover major cybersecurity incidents, including developer tool supply chain attacks, compromised DevOps environments, exposed credentials, and growing concerns around AI and data privacy. Connect with Ope - https://www.linkedin.com/in/osunkoyaope/ Connect with Uma:  Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/umacodes) Tiktok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@umacodes) Twitter: (https://twitter.com/umacodes) LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/umaabu/) Follow us on Social Media  Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/beyondthebuildpodcast) TikTok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@beyondthebuildpodcast) 00:00 - Trailer  01:48 - Welcome to Last Week in Tech  02:14 - How the Claude Code Team Reviews Code  04:45 - Which Changes Still Need Human Approval?  09:11 - The OpenClaw Creator’s Reported $10M Token Budget  11:10 - Cisco’s Ambitious AI Code Rewrite  13:18 - Unlimited AI Budgets vs. Token Restrictions  15:00 - AI Promised Less Work. Why Are We Busier?  18:58 - Why Hunger Matters More Than Tenure  21:35 - Business Impact Over Busywork  23:28 - Build a Prototype Instead of Debating for Weeks  26:06 - Staying Curious as an Experienced Engineer  27:38 - Learning AI by Actually Building With It  30:09 - Discussing the Reported Binance Hack  34:18 - Engineers as Targets for Social Engineering  38:35 - The Reported Claude Code Extension Backdoor  40:27 - Why Security Needs More Than Individual Caution  43:10 - Applebee’s Database Password Exposure  45:11 - Smart Devices & the End of Security by Obscurity  48:07 - Google Personal Intelligence & Data Privacy  51:16 - Why the Hosts Changed Their Minds About Data Sharing  53:39 - Outro & Listener Submissions Send us a message

  2. Oct 26

    Black October: This was One of the Worst Weeks in Cybersecurity | LWIT

    DescriptionBe part of the show: https://btb-listener-line.fly.dev/ Ask us a question or suggest an Episode: https://forms.gle/8tEg2CKTNNWteSgt9 October 2026 has been a rough month for cybersecurity. From critical PHP vulnerabilities and AI supply chain attacks to AI agents autonomously accessing bank accounts, the security landscape is changing rapidly. In this episode of Beyond the Build, we break down "Black October," major security vulnerabilities affecting PHP, LightLLM, and OpenCode, OpenAI's AI agents disabling security monitoring, and why banks are increasingly concerned about autonomous AI agents. We also explore 1Password for AI Agents, security concerns surrounding Chinese AI models, and how AI is reshaping the future of software engineering. Are AI agents creating more problems than they're solving? And what does the future look like for software engineers? Join us as we unpack these stories and more. Connect with Ope - https://www.linkedin.com/in/osunkoyaope/ Connect with Uma:  Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/umacodes) Tiktok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@umacodes) Twitter: (https://twitter.com/umacodes) LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/umaabu/) Follow us on Social Media  Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/beyondthebuildpodcast) TikTok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@beyondthebuildpodcast) 00:00 - Trailer 01:44 - Welcome to Last Week in Tech 02:04 - “Black October”: Critical PHP Vulnerabilities 07:07 - Why Old Software Becomes a Security Liability 09:31 - Bank of America’s AI Security Cleanup 11:39 - When AI Agents Disable Their Own Monitoring 16:58 - Code Is Cheap: What Software Agencies Should Sell 20:53 - AI Agents Are Logging Into Bank Accounts 23:36 - Action Control vs. Access Control 25:00 - 1Password for AI Agents 28:41 - The Certificate Authority’s Weak-Key Disaster 32:52 - A Leaked Key and a Supply Chain Attack 35:01 - OpenCode, Stolen API Keys & Unexpected AI Bills 37:13 - Can AI Models Change Code Security Based on Who You Are? 43:24 - A Plugin That Tests Your Understanding Before You Push 46:33 - What Linear Gets Right About Product Design 50:50 - Making Your Smart TV Dumb Again 55:14 - Nigeria’s DevOps Community & Finding Your Network 57:01 - Outro & How to Join the Show Send us a message

  3. Oct 19

    OpenAI Engineer Caught Spying, GitHub Reinvented for AI Traffic & Nigeria's GTA | LWIT

    Be part of the show: https://btb-listener-line.fly.dev/ Ask us a question or suggest an Episode: https://forms.gle/8tEg2CKTNNWteSgt9 An OpenAI engineer was arrested for allegedly spying on executive meetings, GitHub is rebuilding its infrastructure to handle the explosion of AI-generated code, and a Nigerian developer has built a GTA-inspired game based on life in Lagos. In this episode of Beyond the Build (Last Week in Tech), we break down the OpenAI spying scandal, why GitHub and Anthropic are rethinking Git and source control for AI coding agents, and how AI is changing software engineering, code reviews, and the skills developers need to stay relevant. We also explore Lagos Life, a Nigerian-built simulation game, the growing security risks of AI-generated code, and why companies like Clay are rethinking how engineers use AI for writing and communication. Connect with Ope - https://www.linkedin.com/in/osunkoyaope/ Connect with Uma:  Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/umacodes) Tiktok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@umacodes) Twitter: (https://twitter.com/umacodes) LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/umaabu/) Follow us on Social Media  Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/beyondthebuildpodcast) TikTok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@beyondthebuildpodcast) 00:00 - Trailer 01:54 - Welcome to Last Week in Tech 02:24 - The Alleged OpenAI Office Bugging 09:01 - Lagos Life: Building a Virtual Lagos 15:29 - Why GitHub Needs to Rebuild for AI Scale 17:22 - How Git Commits, Pushes & Conflicts Work 23:50 - Separating Storage from Compute 25:30 - Why Anthropic Built Its Own Source Control 28:37 - Should We Stop Reviewing AI-Generated Code? 30:25 - Engineering Judgment: Knowing What Good Looks Like 35:10 - Better Tests, Not Just More Tests 36:07 - AI Code That Works—but Is It Secure? 39:22 - Designing Security Into AI Projects 41:12 - Why Forward-Deployed Engineers Are Hard to Find 43:20 - Writing With AI Without Outsourcing Your Thinking 47:28 - Turning Voice Notes Into Better Writing 48:42 - How Unchecked AI Replies Destroy Trust 50:15 - Longer Documents Aren’t Better Documents 53:27 - Interactive Artifacts Instead of Long Documents 54:10 - Outro & Listener Intros Send us a message

  4. Oct 12

    The US Is Blocking H1B & Green Card Sponsorship for Some Big Tech Companies

    Be part of the show: https://btb-listener-line.fly.dev/ Ask us a question or suggest an Episode: https://forms.gle/8tEg2CKTNNWteSgt9 The US is tightening immigration policies, and Big Tech is feeling the impact. With companies like Microsoft pausing green card sponsorships and proposed changes to OPT for international students, what does this mean for the future of tech jobs in America? In this episode of Beyond the Build, we discuss how immigration restrictions could affect skilled workers, international students, and the tech industry, and whether these policies could push more talent and jobs overseas. We also explore growing concerns around AI sovereignty and data privacy, Anthropic's handling of private Claude conversations, Claude's integration with Google Workspace, and Microsoft and Meta's massive spending on AI coding tools. Finally, we discuss the future of AI interfaces, why understanding code still matters in the age of AI, and some interesting open-source projects worth checking out. Connect with Ope - https://www.linkedin.com/in/osunkoyaope/ Connect with Uma:  Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/umacodes) Tiktok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@umacodes) Twitter: (https://twitter.com/umacodes) LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/umaabu/) Follow us on Social Media  Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/beyondthebuildpodcast) TikTok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@beyondthebuildpodcast) Send us a message

  5. Oct 5

    AI Plan Mode Is Dead. What Developers Are Doing Instead | LWIT

    Be part of the show: https://btb-listener-line.fly.dev/ Ask us a question or suggest an Episode: https://forms.gle/8tEg2CKTNNWteSgt9 In this episode of Beyond the Build, we talk about how personal AI agents are starting to change the way we interact with technology, including research showing that some agents may recommend more expensive options based on what they infer about a user. We also get into the privacy tradeoffs of personal AI, OpenAI Dots vs. Meta Muse, whether Plan Mode still makes sense for coding agents, why taste still matters when building with AI, browsers sending gRPC requests directly, and what it actually takes to identify and push high-leverage engineering work inside an organization. Connect with Ope - https://www.linkedin.com/in/osunkoyaope/ Connect with Uma:  Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/umacodes) Tiktok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@umacodes) Twitter: (https://twitter.com/umacodes) LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/umaabu/) Follow us on Social Media  Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/beyondthebuildpodcast) TikTok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@beyondthebuildpodcast) Send us a message

  6. Sep 28

    Is Polymarket A Money Laundering Machine? | LWIT

    Be part of the show: https://btb-listener-line.fly.dev/ Ask us a question or suggest an Episode: https://forms.gle/8tEg2CKTNNWteSgt9  This week on Beyond the Build, we break down some of the biggest stories in software engineering, cybersecurity, AI, and tech. We discuss Jev, a new decision-focused AI model, the shifting AI talent pipeline between China and the US, AI hacking incidents, Kimi coming to AWS Bedrock, the reported FBI breach, North Korean fake developer interviews, Polymarket fraud, Samsung smart fridge failures, and the debate around whether MCP is still necessary. We also talk about senior engineer communication, how coding agents edit files, and the growing problem with AI-generated writing. If you’re a software engineer or tech professional trying to keep up with what’s changing across the industry, this episode is for you. Connect with Ope - https://www.linkedin.com/in/osunkoyaope/ Connect with Uma:  Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/umacodes) Tiktok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@umacodes) Twitter: (https://twitter.com/umacodes) LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/umaabu/) Follow us on Social Media  Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/beyondthebuildpodcast) TikTok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@beyondthebuildpodcast) 00:00 Trailer  01:36 Intro — Last Week in Tech  01:50 Prediction Markets, Fraud & Polymarket  06:29 Kimi AI Comes to AWS  10:41 The AI Slowdown & Management Consultants  15:05 Jev: The AI Model Built for Fast Decisions  17:47 Slop Mop & The Problem With AI Writing  21:44 The Changing Landscape of Chinese AI Talent  26:56 AI Models Are Hacking Computers  30:27 Is MCP Still Necessary?  36:45 ShinyHunters Hack the FBI  39:46 When a Software Update Breaks Your Fridge  42:43 North Korean IT Workers & Deepfake Job Interviews  45:40 Rapid Fire: The Senior Engineer Death Spiral  48:03 Managing Capacity, Delegation & Engineering Work  50:13 How Coding Agents Edit Your Files  51:23 Should AI Be Writing Your Documents?  55:49 Wrap Up  56:17 A New Way to Get Your Questions on the Show Send us a message

  7. Sep 22

    Scams, Surveillance, Cyber Warfare: What The Dark Web Has Been Up To With AI | LWIT

    Ask us a question or suggest an Episode: https://forms.gle/8tEg2CKTNNWteSgt9 In this episode of Beyond the Build, we break down Anthropic’s latest AI misuse report and look at how bad actors are already using AI for scams, surveillance, cyber operations, influence campaigns, telecom data scraping, and other real-world attacks. We also discuss the growing AI arms race between companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and other major labs. AI companies are warning about models becoming harder to supervise while simultaneously investing billions to build more capable systems. Can any company realistically slow down if everyone else keeps racing ahead? We also get into a new security problem emerging around AI coding agents and plugins. As developers give tools like Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot, and Gemini CLI more access to repositories, terminals, APIs, and credentials, supply-chain attacks become significantly more dangerous. Then we debate what code review should look like in the age of AI. If AI can generate code faster than humans can read it, should every line still be reviewed? Or does code review become less about catching bugs and more about making sure engineers still understand the systems they are building? We also cover AWS infrastructure failures during geopolitical conflict, Windows 11 updates breaking hardware, OpenAI’s IPO plans, digital ownership, and what happens when the software and infrastructure we depend on become increasingly automated. Connect with Ope - https://www.linkedin.com/in/osunkoyaope/ Connect with Uma:  Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/umacodes) Tiktok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@umacodes) Twitter: (https://twitter.com/umacodes) LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/umaabu/) Follow us on Social Media  Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/beyondthebuildpodcast) TikTok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@beyondthebuildpodcast) Send us a message

  8. Sep 15

    Apparently AI Might Kill Us. Anyway, Here’s a PR | LWIT

    Ask us a question or suggest an Episode: https://forms.gle/8tEg2CKTNNWteSgt9 In this episode of Beyond The Build, we talk about the growing wave of AI safety warnings coming from researchers at companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind, and whether those concerns should actually change how seriously we think about the risks of increasingly capable AI systems. We also get into the security problems that come with AI agents having access to production secrets, private data, credentials, and external systems, along with recent controversies around AI research, watermarking, browser privacy, and the trust we place in the tools we use every day. Then we bring it back to software engineering. If AI can already investigate alerts, write code, open pull requests, and automate more of the development lifecycle, what is actually left for engineers? We discuss why coding is only one part of the job, why judgment, system design, debugging, operations, and accountability still matter, and why you cannot fully delegate a system you do not understand. Along the way, we also touch on AI-assisted research, security vulnerabilities, prompting, brownfield vs. greenfield development, Postgres at scale, expired credit card security, and a few other things happening in tech this week. Connect with Ope - https://www.linkedin.com/in/osunkoyaope/ Connect with Uma:  Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/umacodes) Tiktok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@umacodes) Twitter: (https://twitter.com/umacodes) LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/umaabu/) Follow us on Social Media  Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/beyondthebuildpodcast) TikTok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@beyondthebuildpodcast) Send us a message

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5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Beyond The Build is a podcast about the real, unfiltered experiences of being a software engineer. Hosted by two seasoned engineers, Uma and Ope, we dive into the highs, the lows, and everything in between—from career growth and technical challenges to work-life balance and industry insights. Whether you're an aspiring developer or a seasoned pro, join us as we explore the parts of tech that don’t get talked about enough. Connect with Ope - https://www.linkedin.com/in/osunkoyaope/ Connect with Uma: Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/umacodes) Tiktok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@umacodes) Twitter: (https://twitter.com/umacodes) LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/umaabu/)  Follow us on Social Media Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/beyondthebuildpodcast)  TikTok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@beyondthebuildpodcast)

Information

  • Creator
    Uma Abu and Ope Osunkoya
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    60
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Beyond The Build
  • Show Website
    Beyond The Build

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