Lunch Talk Series: Of Clouds and Crows

This iteration of the Lunch Talk Series will be covering Lynn Root’s touching PyCon US 2025 Keynote, “Of Clouds and Crows”.

You should watch this if:

• You think you may be burning out
• You want to avoid burning out
• You’re looking for more self-satisfaction in your life

This talk covers the importance of play in the world. Lynn shares her own story with burnout and how she has been recovering through incorporating more play into her life. She provides the definition of play which a ton of sense when thinking about it.

This talk is another great example of how to give an excellent talk that works in an audio only way. Lynn refers to the slides a few times, but largely they are there to help facilitate the story.

Now that isn’t to say you shouldn’t watch this video. The slides contain absolutely stunning illustrations and graphics. It’s a tremendously well-done presentation that holds your attention without taking away from the purpose of it.

I really enjoyed this talk. I don’t know Lynn personally, but I appreciate the vulnerability she shows. She approached a difficult and important topic and was able to provide tangible action items for people to help mitigate burnout. For me, my takeaway is to try to incorporate play more into my life not only to prevent burnout, but also to help stimulate deeper learning.