API The Docs Podcast

API The Docs
  • 5.0 (1)
  • TECHNOLOGY

Our guests talk about their insights and experience as documentarians. We bring advice from behind open and closed developer portals, ideas on what new learnings you can aim for, and recent experiments from the field of API documentation.

  1. JUL 14

    State of the Docs 2025: Insights from GitBook - Discussion with Addison Schultz

    We discuss findings from GitBook's "State of the Docs" report (2025), for example that 90% view documentation as crucial for purchases, yet 40% of those interviewed don't track its performance. We talk of speeding up API integration, and GitBook's focus on refining adaptive and personalized documentation features, then address avoiding tunnel vision and keeping discoverability for users, underscoring the ongoing innovation in the field.  Bio: Addison Schultz is a web developer & designer working and living in Tokyo, Japan. He leads the developer relations team at GitBook, a tool for technical teams to document their products and APIs. He's been working the last 7 years on collaborative tooling, worked with some of the world’s leading design and development companies, providing product teams with advice and industry advice on how teams can build better products, faster. References:  https://www.stateofdocs.com/2025/ https://gitbook.com/docs/ https://apithedocs.org/ai-docs-online-2025

    28 min

  2. JUN 16

    How AI Impacts Technical Writing Workflows - Discussion with Anila Zaidi and Marco Spinello

    Welcome back to the A(P)I The Docs podcast! We’re opening this new chapter with an absolute treat of an episode in which Anila Zaidi, Staff Technical Writer at Squarespace, and Marco Spinello, Senior Technical Writer at Booking.com discuss the transformative role of generative AI in technical writing and beyond. We explore how AI has evolved from an experimental tool to an essential aid whilst also touching on the challenges and ethical considerations surrounding AI.

    56 min

  3. 07/18/2024

    Documentation by humans for humans - Discussion with Polina Zaichkina and Max Clayton Clowes

    How do you get people on board when you shift to a new tool or a new approach? Even if the value proposition is clear, it might be a challenge to create a practice out of the change.  In this episode of API The Docs, Polina Zaichkina (Senior technical writer at Codat) and Max Clayton Cowes (Product director for experience at Codat) share insights about building a culture of participation around documentation and achieving internal enablement.

    43 min

  4. 07/08/2024

    From Inconsistent to Award-winning Docs - Conversation with Naomi Pentrel & Andrew Feierabend

    In this episode, Naomi Pentrel and Andrew Feierabend share their journey of revamping Viam’s robotics APIs documentation. They discuss the benefits of sitting down with actual users in well-structured interview sessions with specific scripts and tasks. Learn about their approach to user research, their team’s collaborative methodology for achieving daily usability wins, mentoring, and implementing larger-scale changes like automation. And it all started with a smart cat feeder!

    51 min

  5. 06/27/2024

    The Secret Sauce of Developer Programs: A Conversation with Byrne Reese

    Byrne Reese had the opportunity to build a number of developer programs over the years. In this episode, he explains his unique Developer Pyramid framework which he uses as a guide to build a successful and scalable developer program now at RingCentral. He also dives into his passion for board games and how it influences his approach to documentation, and explores the Workflow Builder tool that redefines building on the RingCentral platform. Tune in for all the details!

    57 min

  6. 04/29/2024

    Teaching and Learning Git - Discussion with Anna Skoulikari

    When it comes to learning Git, it can be daunting to navigate the plethora of learning resources out there. Recognising the need for a visually engaging all-levels experience, Anna Skoulikari (JetBrains) decided to write her own self-study book to help learners along the way.

    28 min

  7. 04/09/2024

    Install ways to check on the overall health of the portal - Conversation with Rachel Lee Nabors

    "Key results are the things you're going to do to move that number. Here's the thing where most people spin out. There should be a break mechanism on the things that you're doing […] a culture of experimentation, and objective critique around 'Is this the right thing to be doing?” Welcome back to our two parts episode with Rachel Lee Nabors, we continue with talking about developer portal stakeholders and your metrics based approach.

    26 min

  8. 04/09/2024

    React.dev and storyboarding with Rachel Lee Nabors

    "You can always tell when it's a novice writer or a writer and an artist who are in bad relation because there will be blocks of text everywhere explaining how the character is feeling […] There's a delicate balance to be struck and it's the same with code.” Welcome Rachel Lee Nabors, one of the creators behind the grand award-winning react.dev portal where all 600+ code examples are manipulable, and in each section’s "code challenges," learners are encouraged to fix broken examples by following clues left by the core team.

    24 min
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About

Our guests talk about their insights and experience as documentarians. We bring advice from behind open and closed developer portals, ideas on what new learnings you can aim for, and recent experiments from the field of API documentation.

Information

  • Creator
    API The Docs
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2025
  • Episodes
    58
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © API The Docs
  • Show Website
    API The Docs Podcast