Mat Ryer is a London-based Go programmer, open-source creator, author, and long-time host of the Go Time podcast. Known for building beloved Go tools like xbar (18k+ GitHub stars), moq, and the `is` testing framework, he has been writing Go since before its v1 release. He authored 'Go Programming Blueprints' and spent years as a principal engineer at Grafana Labs building AI agents and observability tools. His characteristic blend of deep technical craft, game-show energy, and dry British wit has made him one of the Go community's most recognizable voices.
Russ Cox is a Distinguished Engineer at Google and the longtime technical lead of the Go programming language, the open-source language he helped shape for over a decade. Known for foundational work on RE2 (a safe, linear-time regex engine), Plan 9 from User Space, and Go's module system, he bridges deep computer science theory with production-grade engineering. After stepping down as Go tech lead in September 2024, he shifted focus to AI-powered open source tooling - building Gaby and Oscar, agent systems designed to help maintainers with the unglamorous but essential work of keeping software alive.