gm builders! Welcome to the mid-week issue of the Leaderboard. In today's edition: An AI that can make everybody a podcast bro, a potentially-hair pulling developer test, and a tool that generates wealth from your security deposit. Let's dive in.
Podcast out of thin air
Jellypod: A customizable AI podcast studio
It’s hard not to become jaded about AI in the face of relentless mind-boggling launches. The cars can drive themselves, the rocks can talk, and…you can just make a podcast with a piece of source material and a few clicks of a button. At least that’s the promise of Jellypod, which generates an editable podcast script and recording based on a file (audio, URL, PDF, YouTube video or otherwise) that you give it. As a writer, the most immediate use case that comes to mind here is turning some of my longer articles into podcasts. This would probably require a bit of post-production work (otherwise why not just create an AI-generated recording?), but in our podcast-centric culture, that’s easily justified by much better distribution
Test your dev skills
Codele: A free and fresh coding challenge every morning at 8am.
If LeetCode and Wordle had a baby, it’d look a lot like Codele—a daily coding challenge that lands every morning at 8 AM, ready to test your skills and maybe frustrate you (in a good way). It’s got the best of both worlds: the gamified fun of Wordle and the brain-stretching puzzles of LeetCode, but without the grind. You can peek at community solutions if you’re stuck, compare your performance, and actually enjoy the process. The real question is, will it keep the charm alive long enough to make daily coding a habit? Time (and your morning motivation) will tell.
Win-win for everyone
Whale: A high yield savings account for security deposits
I love how Whale takes something notoriously frustrating—security deposits—and flips it into a win-win for both renters and landlords. Renters finally get to earn interest on their deposits (up to 3.25%!) while landlords get an automated, hassle-free system that keeps them compliant and frees up their time. It’s a clever idea that feels long overdue. I’d love to see Whale expand this model beyond rentals—think car deposits, office spaces, or even short-term accommodations. There’s so much untapped potential in making deposits work better for everyone involved. Why stop at leases?
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