Hanselminutes Podcast by Scott Hanselman

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Daniel Temkin and the Beauty of Esoteric Languages

Daniel Temkin and the Beauty of Esoteric Languages

Show #1026 Dec 04 2025 Podcast Player with Transcript Help edit or fix transcripts here!

What happens when code stops being useful and starts being art? Scott talks with artist and programmer Daniel Temkin about his new book Forty-Four Esolangs, a deep dive into the world of esoteric programming languages...systems designed not to ship software, but to provoke thought. They explore how absurdity, constraint, and humor reveal something profound about how we think in code.

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