Shows
Townbuilders310 Devon Zuegel - From Software Engineer to Townbuilder, Building a New Village in California Wine CountryIn this episode, Levi sits down with Devon Zuegel, a former software engineer and the visionary behind Esmeralda, a proposed 260-acre village in California’s wine country. Inspired by childhood memories and a personal obsession, Devon has set out to create a place that solves the issues she saw in the built environment and that could be a blend of vibrant urbanism and intentional community. She shares how she’s navigating California’s complex regulatory environment, the idea of pop-up villages to create community, raising long-term capital, and how to build trust with locals.
2025-11-121h 16
The BayCan the Esmeralda Land Company Win Over Cloverdale?On Wednesday, executives from a group called the Esmeralda Land Company will present their plans to officials in Cloverdale, a small city of roughly 9,000 residents in northern Sonoma County.
The project, titled Esmeralda, is led by Devon Zuegel, a tech worker who hopes to build a hotel, new housing, and a park on a 266-acre piece of land in the southern end of the city. She describes the planned development as a “mini college campus,” reminiscent of the small resort town of Chautauqua, NY.
Some residents, including local officials, are excited about the project and impre...
2025-11-1026 min
The Coral Capital PodcastDesigning the Future of Neighborhoods | Devon Zuegel on EsmeraldaDevon Zuegel, founder and CEO of the Esmeralda Institute, joins us on the latest episode of The Coral Capital Podcast.After building online communities, scaling open-source programs at GitHub, and hosting Notion’s Pioneers series, Devon Zuegel is now bringing her expertise offline to create a family focused village north of San Francisco.In this episode, she shares the challenges of shaping a people centered village, from navigating complex land use regulations to balancing environmental realities.Topics explored:- How San Francisco’s ho...
2025-10-071h 03
California Future SocietyInside the Solarpunk Pop-Up Village Exploring California’s Future - Devon Zuegel of Edge EsmeraldaWhat if building better cities didn’t have to take decades?In this conversation, I sit down with Devon Zuegel of the Esmeralda Institute and Edge Esmeralda, to explore how a Solarpunk-inspired pop-up village in Northern California is creating new models for community, experimentation, and urban design.We talk about what it means to build spaces that are human-scale, how aesthetics shape culture, and why California’s future still holds enormous promise — if we’re willing to rethink how we build.Topics include:How Edge Esmeralda is shaping the design of a future...
2025-04-2845 min
The Capital Catalyst: Strategic WealthDevon Zuegel: How To Create A New Town - [Invest Like the Best, EP.413]Devon Zuegel: How To Create A New Town - [Invest Like the Best, EP.413] My guest today is Devon Zuegel. Devon is the founder and president of the Esmerelda Institute, and she is creating a new town called Esmerelda in California wine country. Learning of Devon and her plan, I couldn’t help but wonder why there aren’t more people building new towns. She shares the origin story of her project Esmeralda, a modern reinvention of the Chautauqua community she cherished growing up, and we explore her fascinating work building communities and reimaging how we live together. We discuss how...
2025-03-041h 18
Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'ShaughnessyDevon Zuegel: How To Create A New TownDevon Zuegel: How To Create A New Town - [Invest Like the Best, EP.413]My guest today is Devon Zuegel. Devon is the founder and president of the Esmerelda Institute, and she is creating a new town called Esmerelda in California wine country. Learning of Devon and her plan, I couldn’t help but wonder why there aren’t more people building new towns. She shares the origin story of her project Esmeralda, a modern reinvention of the Chautauqua community she cherished growing up, and we explore her fascinating work building communities and reimaging how we live toge...
2025-03-041h 16
Real Perspectives PodcastEsmeralda: Building Tomorrow’s Village in Sonoma CountyEsmeralda, a proposed 266-acre development in Sonoma County, California, aims to create a tech-focused village inspired by the Chautauqua Institution. The project, led by software engineer Devon Zuegel, emphasizes sustainability, community building, and lifelong learning, drawing inspiration from both historical and technological influences. Esmeralda’s design incorporates Mediterranean village aesthetics, blending seamlessly with Sonoma County's natural beauty. While the project has garnered interest and preliminary approval from Cloverdale city officials, it faces potential hurdles related to inclusivity, affordability, and community acceptance. The project’s success hinges on its ability to balance its ambitious tech-driven vision with the needs and conc...
2024-10-2913 min
Edge CityDevon Zuegel & Janine Leger: Building Edge Esmeralda, popup villages, and new townsIn this inaugural episode of the Edge City Podcast, host Timour Kosters sits down with Devon Zuegel and Janine Leger to explore Edge Esmeralda, a pop-up village experiment they organized in June 2024 that brought together 1,300 people who believe the future can be better and are actively working to make it happen.Devon is an accomplished writer and thinker with a background in software engineering and a deep passion for cities. She’s currently working on Esmeralda, a new town project in Northern California. Janine, Timour’s co-founder at Edge City, previously led the grants program at Gitcoin and...
2024-09-1544 min
PossibleDevon Zuegel on the future of cities and communityWhat if we built cities focused around community, leveraging technology to actually increase human connection, health, and fulfillment? Devon Zuegel, the leader of Edge Esmeralda—a pop-up village that took place in June 2024—joins Possible to discuss how she is reimagining cities to optimize for community. In this episode, Devon, Aria, and Reid get into why designing cities with intention can impact quality of life and strengthen communities. Devon shares what she has learned from Edge Esmeralda—and what she plans to build from here. Read the transcript of this episode here.
2024-07-1051 min
PossibleDevon Zuegel on the future of cities and communityWhat if we built cities focused around community, leveraging technology to actually increase human connection, health, and fulfillment? Devon Zuegel, the leader of Edge Esmeralda—a pop-up village that took place in June 2024–joins Possible to discuss how she is reimagining cities and community. Devon, Aria, and Reid get into why designing cities with intention can impact quality of life, strengthen communities, and foster stronger ideas. In this episode, Devon shares what she has learned from Edge Esmeralda—and what she plans to build from here. Read the transcript of this episode here.
2024-07-0949 min
The Building Culture Podcast#14 Devon Zuegel: Building a People-First Town From Scratch with Esmeralda & Rethinking How We LiveDevon Zuegel is planning a bold, people-centered town from scratch. She has a background in software engineering and has worked at some of the big firms in Silicon Valley. She discovered a passion for urbanism and
housing while living in San Francisco when she started looking into why there wasn’t more housing, and she draws a lot of inspiration from her childhood experiences at Chautauqua, a small town in Western New York.
We discuss the need for more beautiful and community-oriented neighborhoods and the challenges of current housing policies and regulations. Devon also explains her vision for Esmeralda, a...
2024-04-181h 33
Pirate WiresHow to Build a City: California Forever w/ Jan Sramek & Devon ZuegelIn today's episode, Mike Solana is joined by Jan Sramek & Devon Zuegel to discuss California Forever, a startup aimed at building an entirely new city in California. We get into why Jan has raising $900M for this project, the problems with current cities, doing the impossible, and the ferocious push back that he has received.
Featuring Mike Solana, Jan Sramek, Devon Zuegel
Subscribe to Pirate Wires:
https://www.piratewires.com/
Topics Discussed:
Pirate Wires T...
2024-03-271h 05
Metamuse84 // RetrospectiveMark and Adam take a look back at three years of podcasts to reflect on their favorite episodes—and the friends they made along the way. They discus Metamuse’s origin story, walk through the production process, and wax nostalgic on some of their favorite episodes. Plus: a look at what the future holds for our hosts and the podcast.
Discuss this episode in the Muse community
Follow @MuseAppHQ on Twitter
Show notes
NPR
The future of iPad
Ferrite
Hello Internet, Gastropod, Lexicon Valley
This American Life, Gimlet Media
Most downloaded episodes: Comp...
2023-10-051h 21
Narratives131: Devon Zuegel - Urbanism and the Future of CitiesIn this episode, we're joined by Devon Zuegel to talk about Prospera, urban sprawl, James Scott's Against the Grain, Georgism and more. Transcript:William Jarvis 0:05 Hey folks, welcome to narratives. narratives is a podcast exploring the ways in which the world is better than in the past, the ways that is worse in the past, or it's a better, more definite vision of the future. I'm your host, William Jarvis. And I want to thank you for taking the time out of your day to listen to this episode. I hope you enjoy it. You can find s...
2023-01-1749 min
Notion PodcastPioneers: Michael NielsenMichael Nielsen is a quantum physicist, science writer, computer programming researcher, and modern polymath working on tools to expand human capacity to think and create. He’s previously authored pioneering quantum computing books, propelled forward the open science movement, and published research on artificial intelligence. He now researches meta-science at the Astera Institute, while writing about his many interests online.
See www.notion.so/blog/michael-nielsen for episode transcript.
Hosted by Devon Zuegel
Edited by Anson Yu
Audio by The Land Films
2022-11-011h 35
EconTalkDevon Zuegel on Inflation, Argentina, and CryptoDevon Zuegel talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the crazy world of money and finance in Argentina. When inflation is often high and unpredictable, people look for unusual ways to hold their savings. And when banks are unreliable because of public policy, people look for unusual ways to keep their savings safe and to make financial transactions. Welcome to Argentina, where Zuegel finds surprising applications of cryptocurrency for solving problems.
2022-10-171h 03
The Sourcegraph PodcastThe future of the code economy, with Devon Zuegel, creator of GitHub SponsorsDevon Zuegel, the creator of GitHub Sponsors, tells the story of how an email rant to Nat Friedman on the eve of Microsoft's acquisition of GitHub turned into the most popular way to fund open source. She also shares her thoughts on different models of paying for software and where the future of the code economy is headed.Show notes & transcript: about.sourcegraph.com/podcast/devon-zuegel/Sourcegraph: about.sourcegraph.com
2021-08-051h 12Metamuse33 // Cities with Devon ZuegelTech product designers could learn from the immense challenges of designing cities. Devon joins Adam and Mark to share her knowledge and passion on urban design and economics. They discuss how open source communities compare to cities; historical preservation versus growth and change; the messy middle of public and private goods; wi-fi spectrum ownership; and what to do when the neighbor’s new building puts shade on your vegetable garden.
Discuss this episode in the Muse community
Follow @MuseAppHQ on Twitter
Show notes
Devon Zuegel / @devonzuegel
Order without Design (book)
Order Without De...
2021-06-241h 08
The Swyx Mixtape[Second Brain 2] Organizing with PARAI am a mentor for the Notion Advanced track of Tiago Forte's Building a Second Brain, Cohort 12. This is the cleaned up audio of the second of 5 mentorship sessions with Q&A at the end. The first session was last week.Recommended readsPARA: https://fortelabs.co/blog/para/ Blogpost Annealing: https://www.swyx.io/blogpost-annealing/Twitter as Universal Meta-Commentary Layer: https://www.swyx.io/twitter-metacommentary/Digital Garden TOS: https://www.swyx.io/digital-garden-tos/Devon Zuegel on Epistemic Status: https://devonzuegel.com/post/epistemic-statuses-are-lazy-and-that-is-a-good-thingSlides and Video.TimestampsPrelude [00:00:00]Housekeeping [00:01:09]Content R...
2021-05-2255 min
Notion PodcastPioneers: Experts gather to talk about the impact of Richard HammingA mathematician by training, Richard Hamming contributed significantly to the computer science and telecommunications industries. Of his work in information theory, digital filters and numerical methods, the most widely known is the Hamming codes — a family of formulas that allowed computers to detect and correct their own errors. This work would go on to be foundational for computers and communications, being used in modems, embedded processors, satellites, and more.
For more episodes of Pioneers, including photos and transcripts, please visit: https://www.notion.so/blog/topic/pioneers
Produced by Notion: http://www.twitter.com/NotionHQ
Ho...
2021-03-1851 min
The Swyx Mixtape[Weekend Drop] Digital Gardening w/ Maggie AppletonMaggie and swyx hosted a Clubhouse chat this weekend on Digital Gardens. Here are show notes for ongoing conversations so you can dig in further!Maggie’s garden: https://maggieappleton.com/ Swyx’s garden: https://www.swyx.io/ideas, http://github.com/sw-yx/spark-joy (and other repos)Comments and extra questions welcome!## RecordingYouTube Recording Here and Commentable Transcript is Here!This podcast audio was automatically edited for pauses and filler words via Descript. It gets a little choppy about 45mins in, but otherwise seems ok?## Thing...
2021-02-141h 07
Ride AI82: The biggest bikeshare in America - talking with Laura Fox, Lyft's General Manager for Citi Bike in New YorkThis week Oliver interviews Laura Fox, Lyft's General Manager for Citi Bike in New York. Laura has an incredible background with stints in Qatar, working on Mexico cities planning regulations, time at Sidewalk Labs, and as editor for one of the best books on urban planning and economics we’ve found, Order by Design by Alain Bertaud, all of which is discussed, before digging in to the nitty gritty details of Citibike in NYC.
This was a great episode - Laura is an amazing thinker and you’ll get a lot out of listening to her.
Specifically we dig into:
- an...
2020-07-231h 07Ride AI82: The biggest bikeshare in America - talking with Laura Fox, Lyft's General Manager for Citi Bike in New YorkThis week Oliver interviews Laura Fox, Lyft's General Manager for Citi Bike in New York. Laura has an incredible background with stints in Qatar, working on Mexico cities planning regulations, time at Sidewalk Labs, and as editor for one of the best books on urban planning and economics we’ve found, Order by Design by Alain Bertaud, all of which is discussed, before digging in to the nitty gritty details of Citibike in NYC.
This was a great episode - Laura is an amazing thinker and you’ll get a lot out of listening to her.
Specifically we dig into:
- an...
2020-07-231h 07
Micromobility82: The biggest bikeshare in America - talking with Laura Fox, Lyft's General Manager for Citi Bike in New YorkThis week Oliver interviews Laura Fox, Lyft's General Manager for Citi Bike in New York. Laura has an incredible background with stints in Qatar, working on Mexico cities planning regulations, time at Sidewalk Labs, and as editor for one of the best books on urban planning and economics we’ve found, Order by Design by Alain Bertaud, all of which is discussed, before digging in to the nitty gritty details of Citibike in NYC.This was a great episode - Laura is an amazing thinker and you’ll get a lot out of listening to h...
2020-07-231h 07
Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant RobotsProduct RoadmapsChad and Lindsey discuss their experiences around, and the pros and cons of, product road maps.
Enroll in our free online-workshop on code audits How to supercharge your Rails application with a code audit
Scott Miller on Giant Robots
Quora Thread on companies with public product roadmaps
AirPower is Dead. Here's What Happened
Buffer’s Transparent Product Roadmap
Slack Platform Roadmap
GitHub Universe Conference
Devon Zuegel on Giant Robots
Wistia on Giant Robots
Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots
2020-04-0641 min
Changelog InterviewsWelcome to The ChangelogThe Changelog is deep discussions in & around the world of software… and it’s been going for over a decade.
We talk to hackers, like Chris Anderson from 3D Robotics… leaders, like Devon Zuegel from GitHub… and innovators, like Amal Hussein…
Welcome to The Changelog! Please listen to an episode from our catalog that interests you and subscribe today. We’d love to have you with us.
Join the discussionChangelog++ members support our work, get closer to the metal, and make the ads disappear. Join today!Featuring:Adam Stacovi...
2020-03-3001 minThe Changelog: Software Development, Open SourceWelcome to The Changelog (Interview)The Changelog is deep discussions in & around the world of software… and it’s been going for over a decade.
We talk to hackers, like Chris Anderson from 3D Robotics… leaders, like Devon Zuegel from GitHub… and innovators, like Amal Hussein…
Welcome to The Changelog! Please listen to an episode from our catalog that interests you and subscribe today. We’d love to have you with us.
Join the discussionChangelog++ members support our work, get closer to the metal, and make the ads disappear. Join today!Featuring:Adam Stacovi...
2020-03-3001 minThe Changelog: Software Development, Open SourceThe making of GitHub Sponsors (Interview)Devon Zuegel is an Open Source Product Manager at GitHub. She’s also one of the key people responsible for making GitHub Sponsors a thing. We talk with Devon about how she came to GitHub to develop GitHub Sponsors, the months of research she did to learn how to best solve the sustainability problem of open source, why GitHub is now addressing this issue, the various ways and models of addressing maintainers’ financial needs, and Devon also shared what’s in store for the future of GitHub Sponsors.
Join the discussionChangelog++ members support our work...
2019-12-011h 26Changelog InterviewsThe making of GitHub SponsorsDevon Zuegel is an Open Source Product Manager at GitHub. She’s also one of the key people responsible for making GitHub Sponsors a thing. We talk with Devon about how she came to GitHub to develop GitHub Sponsors, the months of research she did to learn how to best solve the sustainability problem of open source, why GitHub is now addressing this issue, the various ways and models of addressing maintainers’ financial needs, and Devon also shared what’s in store for the future of GitHub Sponsors.
Join the discussionChangelog++ members support our work...
2019-12-011h 26
The Bike Shed212: Award Winning ShedsOn this week's episode, Steph and Chris share the news that The Bike Shed won the Best Dev Podcast on the Hackernoon Noonies awards! After a bit of celebration, they get back to their normal adventures with a discussion around onboarding covering the importance, approach, and pitfalls that they've seen in their time joining countless teams. They also touch on the relevance and increasing ease of SSL everywhere, and they answer a listener question about technical debt and rewriting applications.
Bike Shed - Best Dev Podcast Noonies
Simplecast
Let's Encrypt
Heroku
Netlify
Nadia Odunayo on Giant Robots
A...
2019-09-0437 minGiant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots334: Preserve and Extend (Devon Zuegel)Devon Zuegel, Product Manager at GitHub, discusses her transition from researcher to product manager, and shepherding the funding, communication, and tooling of open source sustainability.
GitHub
Devon on The Bike Shed
GitHub Sponsors
Let’s talk about open source sustainability
GitHub Satellite 2019
thoughtbot open source projects
Devon on Twitter
Learn more about open source at thoughtbot.
See open positions at thoughtbot!
Become a Sponsor of Giant Robots!Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots
2019-09-0241 min
The Rhys Show#14 Devon Zuegel: GitHub Sponsors and Open SourceDevon Zuegel is an open-source product manager at GitHub who is helping build the GitHub Sponsors program. We chat about that program, her philosophical mindset towards open-source, the pros and cons for viewing cities from a top-down vs. bottom-up perspective, and the benefits she's gotten from Twitter.
https://github.com/sponsors
https://twitter.com/devonzuegel
https://twitter.com/RhysLindmark
https://twitter.com/mitDCI
2019-07-2259 minThe Bike Shed191: Open Source is Created By Humans (Devon Zuegel)Chris is joined by Devon Zuegel who recently joined GitHub in the new Open Source Product Manager role. Devon and Chris discuss the complexities inherent to open source including funding models, managing motivation and burnout, different open source models, and end with a discussion around how we can be better open source citizens, both as consumers and maintainers.
Devon on Twitter
Devon's Blog
Nadia Eghbal - Roads and Bridges: The Unseen Labor Behind Our Digital Infrastructure
Patreon
Sindre Sorhus on Patreon
Open Collective
ESLint on Open Collective
Webpack on Open Collective
Babel on Open Collective
Sidekiq Pro
GraphQL...
2019-03-2239 min
Subversion with 1517025. Devon Zuegel on NIMBYism, YIMBYism, and the Life of Great CitiesDevon Zuegel (@devonzuegel) joins Michael Gibson (@WilliamBlake) to discuss urbanism, the life and death of great cities, NIMBYism vs. YIMBYism, and why cities like San Francisco make it hard to build new housing.
2019-02-2054 min
The a16z Showa16z Podcast: Crypto and the Evolution of Open Sourcewith Devon Zuegel (@devonzuegel), Denis Nazarov (@iiterature), and Jesse Walden (@jessewldn)
The open source movement enabled so much in computing, including the collaborative building of libraries -- that is, building blocks of code that developers could combine together to build applications. But as these applications grew to massive scale, those libraries ended up being somewhat asymmetrical for "nights-and-weekend" developers (compared to say, the disproportionate resources of a large company with billions of users and big data).
Blockchains, however -- enabled by cryptotokens that align incentives among stakeholders -- shift open source development from libraries, to the...
2018-08-2037 min
North Star PodcastDevon Zuegel: Cities as a SuperpowerListen Here: iTunes | Overcast | PlayerFM Keep Up with the North Star Podcast Here My guest today is Devon Zuegel, a writer of code and writer of words who spends her time unlocking human potential through incentive design and tools for thought and cities. In this conversation, we jump from coordination problems to urban planning to travel to architecture. We compare cities like Singapore and San Francisco and talk about the power of urban density and architecture to make us happier and healthier. Then, we talk about writing, specifically the three tiers of common knowledge, how to find...
2018-08-181h 14The a16z Showa16z Podcast: Cryptonetworks and Cities -- Analogieswith Denis Nazarov (@iiterature), Jesse Walden (@jessewldn), Ali Yahya (@ali01), and Devon Zuegel (@devonzuegel)
Cryptonetworks are often compared to firms, people, or even coral reefs -- but, observes a16z crypto partner Ali Yahya, they might be much more similar to cities. Where does that analogy fit, and where does it break down? And what can we learn from how cities both emerge from the bottom up and are motivated by a top down vision/design and apply to open source networks such as those in crypto?
In this episode of the a16z Podcast...
2018-08-0137 minThe a16z Showa16z Podcast: Cryptonetworks and Decentralization -- Building Blockswith Chris Dixon (@cdixon), Ali Yahya (@ali01), and Devon Zuegel (@devonzuegel)
“Show me the incentive and I'll show you the outcomes.”
At the end of the day, observes a16z crypto general partner Chris Dixon, Satoshi's whitepaper [the original bitcoin paper outlining a peer-to-peer decentralized network and blockchain sans centralized third parties] is nine pages of incentives. It's the kind of incentive design that you can use to build many other things on the internet (which itself is driven by very simple core protocols and could even upgrade itself as a result). But only with the...
2018-08-0146 min