Behind the Python Release: Motivation, Fails & Rituals with Łukasz, Pablo & Hugo

Have you ever wondered how a CPython release works? In this episode, I talk with Hugo van Kemenade, Pablo Galindo Salgado, and Łukasz Langa about CPython release management.

About the guests

• Hugo van Kemenade – Release Manager for Python 3.14 & 3.15, currently employed at the Sovereign Tech Agency as a fellow. Maintainer of open-source projects such as Pillow. Co-organizer of local Python events in Helsinki.
• Pablo Galindo Salgado – Core Python developer, currently employed in the Software Infrastructure department at Bloomberg. Release Manager for Python 3.10 & 3.11, and a member of the Steering Council. Co-host of the core.py podcast.
• Łukasz Langa – Python’s Developer in Residence at the PSF and Release Manager for Python 3.8 & 3.9. Creator of Black, the opinionated Python code formatter, and co-host of the core.py podcast.

Outline

01:34 Most & Least Successful Releases

05:34 Evolution of Release Process

11:37 Release Schedule and Annual Releases

15:05 Handling PRs and Reverts

18:07 Becoming a Python Release Manager

25:24 Motivation and Time Zone Challenges

29:36 Release Rituals and YouTube Party

35:11 Sustainable Open Source Funding Models

42:10 Getting Involved & Further Listening

🎙️ This episode was recorded live at EuroPython in July 2025 in Prague.

Episode links

- core.py podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/1PGRfdrLEwgXjQbPBNk1pW

- Python’s Developer Guide https://devguide.python.org/

- PEP 101 https://peps.python.org/pep-0101/