The PowerShell Podcast Certificates Are Not Optional with Leo D'Arcy

Andrew sits down with Leo D’Arcy, cloud solutions architect and PSConfEU speaker, to talk certificates, PKI infrastructure, and why so many organizations get it so spectacularly wrong. Leo shares how a decade of consulting work in remote access solutions pulled him into the world of Active Directory Certificate Services whether he liked it or not, and how that hands-on experience turned into conference talks and a genuine specialty. The conversation covers the difference between self-signed certs and proper CA infrastructure, why code signing deserves more attention than it gets, and how integrating signing into a CI/CD pipeline is less painful than it sounds. They also get into the “developer-ization” of IT, the underrated value of consulting experience for career growth, and why communicating across teams is just as important as knowing your PowerShell.

The PowerShell Podcast PowerShell Universal and the Joy of Building with Adriano Carollo

In this episode, Andrew chats with Adriano Carollo at PSConfEU about community, PowerShell Universal, AI, and what happens when you stop lurking and start talking to people. Adriano shares how PowerShell helped him grow from sysadmin into web apps, automation, and open source-style contribution, while Andrew reflects on learning, AI, and why enthusiasm still matters.

Key Takeaways:

· Community accelerates growth. Adriano came to PSConfEU after hearing Andrew encourage listeners to engage, and the payoff was immediate.

The PowerShell Podcast Cookie Monster Has Entered the Teams Chat with Miriam Wiesner

Recorded live at PSConfEU 2026, Andrew sits down with returning guest Miriam Wiesner, Senior Security Researcher at Microsoft, for a wide-ranging conversation on PowerShell security, cookie-based attacks, and the evolving threat landscape. Miriam walks through her two conference talks — one on Microsoft Teams session cookie hijacking (a follow-up to her 2025 Entra ID cookie talk, complete with Cookie Monster branding and actual handcuffs), and a joint session with Stéphane van Gulick on using Microsoft Defender’s Live Response feature for incident investigation. The conversation also covers the current state of PowerShell security, why sophisticated attackers are moving away from PowerShell, and why defenders who haven’t enabled script block logging and AMSI are leaving easy wins on the table. On top of the technical deep dive, Miriam and Andrew get into the human side of the conference community — nerves before presenting, imposter syndrome, and why showing up is already half the battle.

The PowerShell Podcast Betting on Yourself with Frank Lesniak

Frank Lesniak joins Andrew Pla for a wide-ranging conversation that covers Frank’s newly minted Microsoft MVP status, his journey through PowerShell, and what it looks like to build a real presence in the tech community. Frank talks through the pipeline struggles that tripped him up early on, how his VB Script and object-oriented background made the shift to PowerShell’s object model feel disorienting, and how AI has quietly changed the way he approaches scripting today. The conversation takes a thoughtful turn as Andrew and Frank dig into impostor syndrome, the value of conference speaking, and how showing up consistently in the community compounds into a career. Frank also shares an update on DuPage Animal Friends, the nonprofit he serves, which supports one of the country’s highest-performing open-admission animal shelters.

The PowerShell Podcast Solving Problems at the Root with Mark Littlefield

In this episode, host Andrew Pla sits down with Mark Littlefield, VP of Product at PDQ, for a wide-ranging conversation about product management, the PowerShell community, and what it looks like to deeply learn a technical domain when you’re not coming from a traditional sysadmin background. Mark shares his journey from tech support to product management, what drew him to PDQ and the challenges facing IT admins, and what surprised him about PowerShell once he started paying close attention. The two also dig into the history behind PDQ Connect’s PowerShell Scanner, how product teams learn from customers, the art of storytelling as a PM and sysadmin skill, and more.

The PowerShell Podcast PowerShell After Dark: OnRamp, IoT, and Finding Your People.

It’s PowerShell After Dark. Recorded live at the PowerShell & DevOps Global Summit in Bellevue, Washington, host Andrew Pla takes his mic to the hotel bar for a series of candid conversations with attendees. The episode features four guests: Josh Gratton, an OnRamp scholarship recipient whose career pivot to junior systems engineer was fueled by PowerShell and the podcast; Mark Go, a first-time Summit speaker and attendee; Craig Mileham, a fellow podcast listener and Summit first-timer working in higher ed IT; and Matt Zaske, a longtime community member, conference speaker, and IoT enthusiast who ran a Home Assistant lightning demo. What connects all four conversations is the same thread Andrew keeps pulling on: community makes everything better. Beginners belong here. Reach out. Take the risk. Start now.

The PowerShell Podcast Splatting, Automation, and Chasing the Sun with Jess Pomfret

Jess Pomfret returns for her third appearance on the PowerShell Podcast and brings the same energy that keeps people coming back. She and Andrew cover a lot of ground, starting with her upcoming “Chase the Sun” charity cycling event where she’ll attempt to ride 205 miles coast-to-coast across the UK in a single day, starting at sunrise on the longest day of the year and racing the sun to the finish line. It’s a big undertaking, and she’s riding to raise money for Momentum in Fitness, a charity her wife works for that brings fitness opportunities to older adults, kids in non-traditional school settings, and children with cancer.

The PowerShell Podcast From ISE Anxiety to VS Code Every Day with Paula Kingsley

Paula Kingsley, a senior IT leader, longtime consultant, automation and PowerShell enthusiast, eight-time Microsoft MVP for Exchange Server, and happy generalist, joins Andrew for a wide-ranging conversation about her tech journey and what it actually looks like to grow from deep hands-on work into technology leadership. They kick things off with a topic near and dear to a lot of PowerShell folks: the ISE-to-VS Code migration. Paula was terrified of it, put it off for as long as she could, and now uses VS Code every single day.

The PowerShell Podcast PowerShell & DevOps Global Summit Bar session with Josh & Jeff

This episode of the PowerShell Podcast After Dark captures two candid bar-session conversations from the PowerShell and DevOps Global Summit, centered on community, career growth, and the real-world value of putting yourself out there. In the first segment, Josh Dearing talks about attending his first Summit, building PowerShell modules, learning from failure, and using automation to improve systems and processes in higher education.

In the second, Jeff Wardlaw reflects on finally attending the event in person, the impact of meeting the people behind the tools and community, and the broader lessons around perspective, technical leadership, communication, and problem-solving. Across both conversations, the theme is clear, PowerShell is not just a toolset, it is a way into a generous technical community where curiosity, experimentation, and shared learning can meaningfully shape a career.

The PowerShell Podcast From Event Logs to AI Workflows with Lucas Allman

Lucas Allman joins the PowerShell Podcast for a conversation that starts with practical beginner wins and builds into bigger questions about AI, learning, community, and career growth in IT. The episode covers hands-on PowerShell use cases like event logs, scheduled tasks, and writing functions directly in the terminal, then shifts into Lucas’s experience as a first-time PowerShell Summit speaker and his evolving perspective on AI as a tool for both productivity and learning. It lands on a strong human note, with Lucas reflecting on impostor syndrome, keeping up with change, and why curiosity and community still matter just as much as technical skill.