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.

Destination Linux website
https://deviantairwaves.com

Become a Patron
https://patreon.com/destinationlinux

Buy Me a Coffee
https://buymeacoffee.com/destinationlinux

Merch
https://shop.deviantairwaves.com

EFF x Destination Linux
https://eff.org/destinationlinux

Sandfly Security
https://sandfly.com/?utm_source=destinationlinux&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=podcast&utm_content=yt-description