This year, React Universe On Air is doing something different for Christmas. No guests, demos, or framework updates. Instead, Ola Desmurs Linczewska tells a Christmas story.
A (Secure) Christmas Carol is a holiday fairytale for JavaScript and React Native developers. Set on Christmas Eve, it follows Npmezer Scrooge, a senior engineer who believes deadlines matter more than holidays, and warnings can always wait.
Over the course of one long winter night, he’s visited by unexpected guides who show him what his choices look like across time: the optimism of the past, the quiet damage of the present, and a future no one wants.
All technical details, real-world security issues, and references mentioned in the story are explained in the show notes 📚 https://clstk.com/4pEVYwv
We’ll be back in January with regular episodes. Until then, stay kind, stay curious, and have yourself a very merry Christmas.
All content for React Universe On Air is the property of Callstack and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
This year, React Universe On Air is doing something different for Christmas. No guests, demos, or framework updates. Instead, Ola Desmurs Linczewska tells a Christmas story.
A (Secure) Christmas Carol is a holiday fairytale for JavaScript and React Native developers. Set on Christmas Eve, it follows Npmezer Scrooge, a senior engineer who believes deadlines matter more than holidays, and warnings can always wait.
Over the course of one long winter night, he’s visited by unexpected guides who show him what his choices look like across time: the optimism of the past, the quiet damage of the present, and a future no one wants.
All technical details, real-world security issues, and references mentioned in the story are explained in the show notes 📚 https://clstk.com/4pEVYwv
We’ll be back in January with regular episodes. Until then, stay kind, stay curious, and have yourself a very merry Christmas.
The NFL runs on tight deadlines. Every kickoff and Super Bowl demands that millions of fans get flawless live video, stats, and fantasy features, whether they’re on iPhones, Xboxes, or connected TVs.
In this episode of React Universe On Air, Mike Grabowski talks with Michael Blanchard (Director of Engineering at the NFL), about how React Native became the backbone of this high-pressure, multi-platform ecosystem.
Michael shares his journey from web engineer to leading NFL’s engineering teams across nfl.com, three mobile apps, a cross-platform video player, and a suite of connected TV apps. Together with Mike, he explores the NFL’s migration strategy, the transition from Haul/Webpack to Metro and Expo, and the cultural shifts that helped merge web and native engineers into one collaborative team.
You’ll learn:
➡️ Why the NFL went full Greenfield (twice)
➡️ How NFL+ shaped their second rewrite
➡️ Lessons from moving from Haul/Webpack to Metro
➡️ How Expo SDKs gradually replaced community libraries
➡️ How GitHub Actions + EAS Build reshaped their CI/CD pipeline
➡️ Strategies for handling 20–30 PRs daily in a monorepo
➡️ How React Native powers mobile, web, and multiple connected TVs
➡️ What cultural shifts enabled true cross-platform collaboration
Catch more React Universe On Air episodes 🎧 https://clstk.com/4gp8Cw5
Sign up for our newsletter ✉️ https://clstk.com/4mfmRof
Follow us on X 🐦 https://x.com/callstackio
Chapters:
00:00 Welcome to the React Universe
01:35 Meet Michael Blanchard from NFL
03:03 NFL's digital presence and platforms
04:24 React Native in NFL's mobile apps
08:32 How React spread across all platforms
11:47 Collaboration between web and native teams
18:11 Technical decisions regarding different platforms
23:48 V2 of NFL's flagship app
25:14 Choosing migration strategy
30:10 Maintaining more product versions
34:33 Adopting Expo
42:10 Modernizing CI/CD
46:48 Team structure and workflow at NFL
53:29 Final thoughts
React Universe On Air
This year, React Universe On Air is doing something different for Christmas. No guests, demos, or framework updates. Instead, Ola Desmurs Linczewska tells a Christmas story.
A (Secure) Christmas Carol is a holiday fairytale for JavaScript and React Native developers. Set on Christmas Eve, it follows Npmezer Scrooge, a senior engineer who believes deadlines matter more than holidays, and warnings can always wait.
Over the course of one long winter night, he’s visited by unexpected guides who show him what his choices look like across time: the optimism of the past, the quiet damage of the present, and a future no one wants.
All technical details, real-world security issues, and references mentioned in the story are explained in the show notes 📚 https://clstk.com/4pEVYwv
We’ll be back in January with regular episodes. Until then, stay kind, stay curious, and have yourself a very merry Christmas.
