482: Destination Linux 482: Rocco Returns & Red Hat’s Mike McGrath Sheds Light On Lightwell

In Destination Linux Episode 482, Jill leads a very special show featuring the long‑awaited return of Rocco, one of the original hosts who helped build Destination Linux from the ground up. It’s been years since he last joined us, and we’re thrilled to have him back.

We also welcome Red Hat VP Mike McGrath for an in‑depth conversation about Lightwell - a new approach to simplifying modern infrastructure, improving predictability, and supporting open source ecosystems at scale. Mike shares insights on AI’s rapid rise, open source economics, partnerships with industry heavyweights, and how Lightwell helps developers, sysadmins, and researchers in real‑world environments.

Along the way, we cover Session chat updates, website security improvements, and reflect on the origins of Destination Linux with Rocco. We wrap with a fun lightning round.

Below are the full timestamps for this episode:

00:00:00 Welcome to Destination Linux

00:01:22 Community Feedback

00:06:44 Sponsored by Sandfly Security

00:08:14 Thanks to Our Supporters

00:10:37 Session Chat and Website Security

00:16:23 Rocco and the Origins of Destination Linux

00:28:31 Meet Mike McGrath

00:32:28 AI’s Rapid Rise

00:41:00 Open Source Economics

00:47:47 Introducing Lightwell

00:49:55 Why Lightwell Exists

00:53:15 Predictable Security at Scale

00:56:59 Keeping It Simple for Developers

01:00:43 Real-World Security Scenarios

01:02:47 Palo Alto Networks Partnership

01:05:47 What Lightwell Does

01:09:58 Helping Researchers

01:12:40 Getting Started with Lightwell

01:13:45 Roadmap and New Ecosystems

01:17:19 The Lightning Round

01:21:57 Closing Thoughts

Destination Linux is a weekly show where Ryan, Jill, and guests share their passion for Linux and Open Source. Destination Linux is a show for all experience levels, whether you’re a beginner to Linux and Open Source or a long time user, this is the podcast for you. Destination Linux covers a wide range of topics from the latest news, discussions on Linux and Open Source, Linux distributions, Linux applications, security, privacy, AI, gaming on Linux, and unique in-depth interviews with Linux developers and leaders and much more.

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