KRAZAM Unfiltered feat. Ben Burke | S2 E05
02/10/25 • 66 min
Today, we bring a very special guest, one whose face you might recognise, one that appears on your homepages with a sporadic video and seemingly disappears. His name is Benjamin Burke, or simply Ben, he’s the co-creator of KRAZAM, a channel that consists of sketches that combine grotesque and absurdist humor with technological anxiety, satirizing the tech industry and the modern alienation of the corporate life in general.
In this episode, which admittedly is a bit different from the usual, we’ll focus on KRAZAM and its origins, creative process, and what future plans and ambitions the duo has. Both Ben and Shiva started in software engineering, met in college and started doing sketches just for fun, not expecting this project to explode in popularity in the way it did. Ben will also share their unique approach to content and why KRAZAM prioritizes loyal viewers over virality, comedic inspirations. Stay tuned!
Learn back-end development - https://www.boot.dev
Listen on your favorite podcast player: https://www.backendbanter.fm
KRAZAM'S Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@KRAZAM/videos
KRAZAM's X/Twitter: https://x.com/krazamtv
KRAZAM'S Website: https://www.krazam.tv/
Krazam's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/KRAZAM
Ben's X/Twitter: https://x.com/bb_fresh
Ben's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bnjmnbrk/
Shiva's X/Twitter: https://x.com/shivakilaru
Shiva's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shivakilaru/
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:58 - KRAZAM Origin Story
03:59 - How Much More Footage Is Left After the Recordings?
05:12 - Are Both Ben and Shiva Programmers?
06:46 - Inspiration Behind "The Hustle"
08:47 - Has Ben Read Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations"?
09:25 - The Actual Introduction to KRAZAM
10:49 - Microservices
14:04 - Sending Birthday Messages Is HARD
19:06 - On Shiva Not Being in the Microservices Video
20:48 - Favorite KRAZAM Videos
22:22 - Most Underrated KRAZAM Video
32:00 - KRAZAM's Viewers Are Very Loyal
36:03 - Ambitions for the KRAZAM Channel
39:04 - How Did You Know KRAZAM Had Product-Market Fit?
40:59 - Ben's Comedic Inspirations
43:08 - KRAZAM Does Not Aim for Virality
46:47 - Was It Stressful to Do a Live Talk?
49:40 - KRAZAM's Video Release Frequency
51:46 - Competitive Excel
55:34 - Site Reliability Engineer Video
57:50 - AI Bots on Spotify
01:00:27 - Self-Hosting and The Good Old Days
01:02:31 - What's the Churn in the Industry?
01:05:21 - Where to Find Ben and KRAZAM
Today, we bring a very special guest, one whose face you might recognise, one that appears on your homepages with a sporadic video and seemingly disappears. His name is Benjamin Burke, or simply Ben, he’s the co-creator of KRAZAM, a channel that consists of sketches that combine grotesque and absurdist humor with technological anxiety, satirizing the tech industry and the modern alienation of the corporate life in general.
In this episode, which admittedly is a bit different from the usual, we’ll focus on KRAZAM and its origins, creative process, and what future plans and ambitions the duo has. Both Ben and Shiva started in software engineering, met in college and started doing sketches just for fun, not expecting this project to explode in popularity in the way it did. Ben will also share their unique approach to content and why KRAZAM prioritizes loyal viewers over virality, comedic inspirations. Stay tuned!
Learn back-end development - https://www.boot.dev
Listen on your favorite podcast player: https://www.backendbanter.fm
KRAZAM'S Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@KRAZAM/videos
KRAZAM's X/Twitter: https://x.com/krazamtv
KRAZAM'S Website: https://www.krazam.tv/
Krazam's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/KRAZAM
Ben's X/Twitter: https://x.com/bb_fresh
Ben's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bnjmnbrk/
Shiva's X/Twitter: https://x.com/shivakilaru
Shiva's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shivakilaru/
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:58 - KRAZAM Origin Story
03:59 - How Much More Footage Is Left After the Recordings?
05:12 - Are Both Ben and Shiva Programmers?
06:46 - Inspiration Behind "The Hustle"
08:47 - Has Ben Read Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations"?
09:25 - The Actual Introduction to KRAZAM
10:49 - Microservices
14:04 - Sending Birthday Messages Is HARD
19:06 - On Shiva Not Being in the Microservices Video
20:48 - Favorite KRAZAM Videos
22:22 - Most Underrated KRAZAM Video
32:00 - KRAZAM's Viewers Are Very Loyal
36:03 - Ambitions for the KRAZAM Channel
39:04 - How Did You Know KRAZAM Had Product-Market Fit?
40:59 - Ben's Comedic Inspirations
43:08 - KRAZAM Does Not Aim for Virality
46:47 - Was It Stressful to Do a Live Talk?
49:40 - KRAZAM's Video Release Frequency
51:46 - Competitive Excel
55:34 - Site Reliability Engineer Video
57:50 - AI Bots on Spotify
01:00:27 - Self-Hosting and The Good Old Days
01:02:31 - What's the Churn in the Industry?
01:05:21 - Where to Find Ben and KRAZAM
Previous Episode
Does ADHD really make programming harder? ft. Chris Ferdinandi | S2 E04
Lane chats with Chris Ferdinandi—creator of Go Make Things and ADHD for the Win—a frontend dev, educator, and all-around expert in making JavaScript (and learning) simpler. Chris has built a career helping devs cut through the noise, level up their skills, and embrace ADHD-friendly ways to stay focused and productive.
We dive into his journey from discovering his own ADHD to reshaping how people learn to code. We talk about why so many devs have ADHD, how gamification can actually help (when done right), and how today’s tech is messing with our attention spans. Plus, we get into the psychology of learning and what actually works when it comes to staying engaged and motivated.
Learn back-end development - https://www.boot.dev
Listen on your favorite podcast player: https://www.backendbanter.fm
ADHD ftw! : https://adhdftw.com/backend-banter/
Go Make Things: https://gomakethings.com/
https://bsky.app/profile/cferdinandi.bsky.social
https://mastodon.social/@cferdinandi
00:00 - Intro
01:58 - Why so many devs have ADHD
03:21 - Quick explanation of ADHD
07:10 - Is ADHD actually more common now?
17:41 - ADHD, dopamine, and why we can’t put our phones down
20:50 - Trying meds for ADHD – what’s it like?
22:34 - How ADHDftw got started
24:21 - Why finishing big projects is so damn hard
25:54 - Best content styles for ADHD brains
28:40 - Gamification: What works and what’s just hype?
34:16 - Which gamer type fits ADHD folks best?
39:27 - Is TikTok basically junk food for your brain?
41:45 - Must-read books on focus and getting stuff done
43:43 - Where to find Chris and his content
46:26 - Is ADHD a gift or a curse?
59:30 - Brutally honest feedback for Boot.dev
01:18:58 - Outro
Like & subscribe for the algo if you enjoyed the video!
Next Episode
Programming Music with Sonic Pi feat. Sam Aaron | S02 E06
Today we bring Sam Aaron, the creator of Sonic Pi, a free code-based music creation and performance tool that lets you use simple code to turn your computer into a fully networked live coding music studio! It is also used to engage students in computer science and programming through music creation!
In this episode, we explore the origins of Sonic Pi, its deep connection with Raspberry Pi, and how it enables live coding for music creation, starting from it's Ruby-based language features, we discuss how Sonic Pi has evolved, the challenges of maintaining it as a sustainable open-source project and if you’re curious about coding, music, or both—this one’s for you!
Learn back-end development - https://www.boot.dev
Listen on your favorite podcast player: https://www.backendbanter.fm
Sonic Pi - https://sonic-pi.net/
Sam's Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/samaaron
Sam's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samaaron/
Sam's X/Twitter: https://x.com/samaaron
DJ Dave: https://www.youtube.com/@dj_dave____
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:11 - Sonic Pi Origin Story
03:03 - Connection To Raspberry Pi
04:23 - But What Is Sonic Pi?
06:25 - Is Ruby The Primary Language Used In Sonic Pi?
10:25 - A Small Sonic Pi Showcase
17:53 - Collaboration through Git
23:12 - How Did Sam Get Involved In All Of This?
25:14 - The Feedback Loop of Sonic Pi
26:56 - How Does The Live Coding Experience Work In Sonic Pi?
32:01 - The Two Different Working Modes Of Sonic Pi
33:42 - How Does Debugging Work In Sonic Pi
38:55 - How Do The Different Components Fit Into The Architecture Of The Project
51:33 - Has Sam Been Full-Time On Sonic Pi Since Its Inception?
53:25 - Does Sam Want To Try Something Different?
56:25 - How Is Sam Finding More Sustainable Revenue?
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