Why RubyTapas episodes have been coming out erratically lately

Hi folks! I’m sure some of you have noticed that RubyTapas episodes have been coming out a little more erratically than usual recently, including some missed weeks. I just wanted to apologize, and explain what’s going on.

As I announced in a previous news update, I’m going all-in on guest episodes this season. I’ve really been enjoying working with the guest chefs: brainstorming topics, honing scripts, and bringing new voices and perspectives to the show.

However, with any change there are always lessons learned and growing pains. Working with more people means coordinating more schedules. Sometimes it means finding out that we need to improve the way we bring new chefs up to speed on the RubyTapas workflow.

At the same time, while I am leaning more and more on my helpers these days, as Head Chef I’m still a bottleneck for a lot of decisions and processes. And changes to my family situation have made it increasingly difficult to parcel out my time. This has meant that I haven’t always detected future roadblocks as early as I might have.  And it has meant that when an episode’s schedule slips, I’m not always able to step in with a “fill-in” episode on short notice.

Based on what we’re learning, we’re constantly adjusting and improving our workflows. For instance, we’re starting to schedule script reviews earlier on the timeline for a given episode, ensuring that any tweaks needed happen with time to spare for production and post-production. And I’m constantly looking for ways to shift more of my responsibilities over to my helpers, so that my own availability doesn’t stand in the way of an episode getting out the door.

I apologize for the gaps and delays. I can’t promise that everything is going to be on schedule from here on out, but I can tell you that we’re learning and adjusting. And I am still really, really excited about being able to bring you all of the new perspectives and learnings that guest chefs can cook up.

Thanks for your patience, and thanks for supporting RubyTapas.

Happy hacking,

Avdi