We started this episode with the idea of talking about what it means to be an “only” on your team, in our organization, wherever. We traversed space (space! NASA! Moon rocks! again!), early influences (brothers! Taking stuff apart! Barbies!), how to ask for what you need from your allies (if that’s time to breathe, someone to raise up our voice or sit with us, or someone to just listen)...and why there are no magic bullets. Why it can be frustrating to be asked to help when the person asking doesn’t seem interested in really doing the work. Why some days navigating the world just makes a person tired. Why even with all that, the little kid that wanted to work at NASA, that little kid who got in trouble for taking things apart, still loves working in tech. Alecia Hodges, little girl who learned about the planets from her brother, shares her wisdom and her experiences and her stories. And we should listen. - Anna’s Favorite Tech Things introduces us to Better Allies: the website (betterallies.com), the newsletter, the Twitter feed, and the book. In Tech Support, Jess talks about how to get started in Python and some resources to get you started (including Python.org, and “How To Think Like a Data Scientist” from Luther College Press).

P.S., Blacks in Tech came up in our conversation - in our excitement, we forgot they are now Techquity - check ‘em out at www.techquity.mn.