#123 Building Fast and Fun Data Projects - with Mehdi Ouazza

In this episode, I sit down with Mehdi Ouazza - data tinkerer, indie hacker, and content creator - who's always up to something interesting in the world of data and AI.We started with DuckDB but quickly veered off into much more exciting territory: side projects, voice-to-SQL with actual quacks, the power of local models, and why WebGPU might be one of the most underrated browser technologies today.We also talked about how we teach and learn data engineering in 2025: the importance of fun, interactivity, and why we both dream of creating a data engineering game that’s part "Among Us" and part serious skills training.Mehdi shares what tools he's using, where he sees GenAI actually helping—not replacing—engineers, and how he's building courses and meetups that inspire creativity in technical work.Perfect for data folks who like to experiment, educators looking for inspiration, or anyone wondering how far a fun idea can go with the right mix of curiosity and tooling.