The PowerShell Podcast

Andrew sits down with longtime PowerShell legend James Brundage to recap what he calls his "summer of fun," a stretch of side projects that prove PowerShell can go way further than most of us ever thought to push it. James kicks things off with Wave, a module for creating and manipulating real .wav files in the object pipeline. Once you see audio as a sine wave and some math, you can generate notes, play music, and even draw animated SVG waves straight from PowerShell.
From there, the tour keeps rolling. MarkX turns Markdown into queryable XML so you can pull out code blocks or turn Markdown tables into typed data tables. James also shares how a vibe coded Wolfenstein 3D style clone in PowerShell (that got pulled from the internet after some tough feedback) sent him down the audio rabbit hole, and how he's collaborating with Bruce Payette on getting Braid to play nicely with PowerShell.

Then it gets visual. James walks through his Matrix module, which brings the transformation matrices already baked into .NET over to PowerShell and CSS, and shows off a hallway of fake 3D depth built entirely with PowerShell generated SVG. He explains the simple trick behind PowerShell static sites (a .html.ps1 script that spits out HTML, plus a ToString or HTML property on your objects) and shares Fun, a tiny web server where any function named with a leading slash becomes a web page. The episode wraps with a promise of a Part 2, because there is clearly way more to cover.

Key Takeaways:

• PowerShell can do a lot more than most of us assume. Audio waveforms, Markdown as queryable data, matrix transforms, and fake 3D graphics are all fair game once you understand the small piece of math or tech underneath.
• Static websites in PowerShell have been possible since version 1. Redirect output from a .html.ps1 script to a file, and add a ToString or HTML property to your objects so they render nicely on the web instead of dumping text in a terminal.
• With the Fun module, naming a function with a leading slash turns it into a route on a local PowerShell web server, which makes web experiments quick and low stakes.

Guest Bio:
James Brundage is a former Microsoft engineer and one of the most prolific PowerShell developers around, known through his company Start-Automating and the handle MrPowerShell. He is the author of a long list of open source modules, including RoughDraft for multimedia work with FFMpeg, and he founded the PoshWeb GitHub organization to bring together open source PowerShell web development projects. James is currently heads down on creative projects around PowerShell web development, audio, and graphics.

Resource Links:
PoshWeb GitHub organization (open to new contributors) https://github.com/PoshWeb

Wave (work with wave files in PowerShell) https://github.com/PoshWeb/Wave

MarkX (Markdown, XML, and PowerShell) https://github.com/PoshWeb/MarkX

Matrix (matrix transforms with PowerShell, CSS compatible) https://github.com/PoshWeb/Matrix

https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/Matrix

Fun (a fun functional PowerShell server) https://github.com/PoshWeb/Fun

James Brundage on GitHub https://github.com/StartAutomating

James Brundage's website https://MrPowerShell.com

Previous PowerShell Podcast episode with Bruce Payette on PowerShell and Braid https://pdq.com/resources/the-powershell-podcast/ep-82-exploring-powershell-braid-and-beyond-with-bruce-payette

The PowerShell Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/WLEo6EjZqFM

 

Adam Driscoll, creator of PowerShell Universal, returns to the show for a deep dive into how AI has reshaped his day to day work. Since selling PSU to Devolutions last October, Adam has gone from writing thousands of lines of code himself to running a fleet of coding agents through GitHub Copilot, working across the PSU codebase, documentation, and Jira tickets. He and Andrew talk candidly about the personal side of that shift, the strange mix of mourning your old flow state while also getting more done than ever. From there the conversation turns practical, covering how Adam builds guardrails around agents using PowerShell modules and MCP servers, why planning in smaller steps beats one shotting a huge feature, and why Pester testing has quietly become non negotiable. They wrap with a PowerShell Universal 2026.3 update, including a redesigned admin console, new AI chat and MCP guardrail features, and Devolutions Agent support for running PSU jobs, plus a fun detour into Adam's side projects: a fully managed SQLite engine called Ahtola and an accidental 20,000 line Unity game.

Key Takeaways:

• Treat your AI coding agent like a junior developer. It needs the "why" behind a task, not just the "what," or it will fill in the gaps with assumptions you don't want.
• Guardrails matter more as agents get more capable. Adam constrains what his agents can touch by routing them through well defined PowerShell functions and MCP tools rather than giving them free rein, and tool approval settings let IT admins do the same in more sensitive environments.
• Break big builds into small, reviewable steps instead of writing a massive plan and letting the agent run wild with it. Smaller steps mean you can actually review what changed at each stage.

Guest Bio:
Adam Driscoll is the creator of PowerShell Universal and joined Devolutions in October 2025, where he now leads its continued development. He's a longtime fixture in the PowerShell community, known for his tooling work and prolific output.

Resource Links:
https://ironmansoftware.com/

https://devolutions.net/

https://bsky.app/profile/adamrdriscoll.com

https://discord.gg/PDQ

The PowerShell Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/u5zTzgEhWT8

 

Justin Grote (posh.guru) rejoins the PowerShell Podcast a year after his last appearance to talk about how fast the agentic AI world has moved since then. He walks through his experiments with the agent host protocol, running coding agents in isolated dev boxes and spot VMs so a stray command can only trash a container instead of his laptop. He and Andrew dig into what a "harness" actually is, how tools like these steer raw model output into something useful, and why that shift pushed Justin into a real existential dip this past summer, wondering what the point of hand building modules is when an agent can spin one up on demand. He works through how he came out the other side (doing it for the love of the game and the community), then gets into the practical stuff: a from-scratch C# rewrite of ModuleFast that cut Az module install time from seven seconds to three, the ExcelFast beta for slinging PowerShell objects in and out of Excel, and how he's tuning prompts using VS Code's new debug view and token caching. They also cover the rise of agent plugins (bundled skills plus MCP), his favorite lightweight plugin Ponytail, and Justin's read on where PowerShell fits once AI can talk to APIs directly. The conversation closes on advice for people getting into PowerShell right now and where to find Justin online.

Key Takeaways:

• Agentic coding is moving fast enough that "harnesses" (the coordination layer around an LLM, like GitHub Copilot or Claude Code CLI) matter as much as the underlying model, and running agents in isolated dev boxes or spot VMs lets you hand over real autonomy without real risk.
• Feeling threatened by AI generating modules on the fly is common right now. Justin's answer was to keep building for the love of the craft and the community rather than chasing relevance.
• PowerShell's role is shifting from "the way you talk to a computer" toward a rapid prototyping and troubleshooting tool that both humans and AI agents reach for, especially anywhere a GUI or a full compiled language is overkill.

Guest Bio:
Justin Grote is a PowerShell MVP and the author of ModuleFast and ExcelFast, along with other tools in the PowerShell ecosystem like PoshNmap and several SecretManagement extensions. He works for a managed services provider and has been a fixture of the PowerShell community for years, known online as posh.guru.

Resource Links:
Justin Grote on GitHub https://github.com/JustinGrote

Justin Grote on Bluesky (posh.guru) https://bsky.app/profile/posh.guru

ModuleFast https://github.com/JustinGrote/ModuleFast

ExcelFast https://github.com/JustinGrote/ExcelFast

Ponytail (the agent plugin Justin mentioned) https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail

PowerShell Discord https://discord.com/invite/powershell

The PowerShell Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MsgZoIKYnY0

 

Andrew welcomes back pen tester and AD security enthusiast Spencer Alessi (Tech Spence) fresh off DEF CON for a wide ranging chat on where PowerShell still fits into offensive security, how AI is changing his workflow, and what makes an environment genuinely painful to attack. Spencer talks through why PowerShell remains a favorite for both attackers and defenders, how he uses LLMs to speed up one off scripting tasks (and where they still fall short), and how he leans on AI tools to obfuscate offensive tooling during engagements. The conversation shifts into real world stories from the field, including a memorable case of exposed domain user hashes sitting on an overly permissive share, before wrapping up with the three controls Spencer sees make the biggest difference for defenders: application control, content filtering, and network segmentation.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. PowerShell is still a top tool for both attackers and defenders because it is fast, flexible, and built into every Windows box, which is exactly why locking it down matters.
2. AI is great for offloading quick one off scripting tasks, but it often assumes intent incorrectly and can produce messy code, so manual review and hand written scripting still matter.
3. Application control, outbound content filtering, and network segmentation are the three controls Spencer sees make attackers' lives noticeably harder.

GUEST BIO:
Former Sysadmin, now Pentester @SecurIT360 | Microsoft MVP | Helping IT teams make their environment harder to attack | Social Media content & podcast @CyberThreatPOV

RESOURCE LINKS:
Spencer's website and newsletter: https://spenceralessi.com

 Spencer's link hub: https://links.spenceralessi.com

 Andrew's link hub: https://andrewpla.tech/links
 SecurIT360: https://securit360.com

 The Cyber Threat Perspective podcast: https://offsec.blog

 PowerSploit (offensive PowerShell framework): https://github.com/PowerShellMafia/PowerSploit

 Locksmith (AD CS misconfiguration finder, Spencer is a contributor): https://github.com/TrimarcJake/Locksmith

 ScriptSentry (Spencer's logon script scanner): https://github.com/techspence/ScriptSentry

 PDQ Discord community (PowerShell scripting channel): https://discord.gg/pdq

 PowerShell Wednesdays (weekly livestream): https://www.youtube.com/@PDQ

The PowerShell Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DDbBZqEJkSI

 

Andrew welcomes back Constantin Hager, a senior systems engineer, PowerShell User Group organizer, and brand new Microsoft MVP. They open by revisiting Constantin's infamous "size of a finger" intro from his first appearance, then dig into his talks at PSConfEU this year on dev containers with GitHub Codespaces and on Maester, the testing framework for M365 and on-prem AD. A quick detour into the GitHub vs. GitLab vs. Codeberg debate leads into the main event: a deep breakdown of Microsoft365DSC, what it actually does, how it treats M365 tenant settings like Intune, Entra, and Exchange as idempotent, drift-monitored code, and how the M365DSC Workshop wraps the notoriously painful setup process into a lab folder anyone can run. They cover the workshop's multi-tenant design, its DSC Community roots, and the honest limitations, like settings that still aren't exposed through public APIs. Constantin also shares his organic path to becoming an MVP, updates on his user group's shift to English-language talks, and a heads up on an upcoming blog series diving deeper into M365DSC. They close with news on the free PSConfEU MiniCon, happening October 13th with the CFP open until September 25th.

Key Takeaways:

• Microsoft365DSC turns M365 tenant configuration into idempotent, drift-monitored code, and the M365DSC Workshop exists specifically to make the notoriously painful setup process approachable through a ready-to-run lab folder instead of a hundred-page whitepaper.
• Not everything in M365 is automatable yet. Settings without a public API (some Copilot controls, for example) still require manual portal fixes or an interactive token, so full automation has real gaps today.
• Constantin's MVP award grew out of years of showing up, organizing his user group, speaking at conferences, and opening GitHub issues, not out of being the loudest voice in the room.

Guest Bio:
Constantin Hager is a senior systems engineer based in Germany, organizer of the PowerShell User Group Inn-Salzach, and a newly awarded Microsoft MVP. A returning guest of the podcast, he's known for his enthusiasm around dev containers, PSFramework, and now Microsoft365DSC.

 

Resource Links:
Constantin Hager on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/constantin-hager/

Constantin's blog, The IT Guide https://the-itguide.de

Andrew's blog: https://andrewpla.tech
PowerShell User Group Inn-Salzach (Meetup) https://www.meetup.com/de-DE/powershell-usergroup-inn-salzach/

Maester (M365 and Entra security testing framework) https://maester.dev/

Microsoft365DSC official site https://microsoft365dsc.com

Microsoft365DSC on GitHub https://github.com/microsoft/Microsoft365DSC

M365DSC whitepaper and CI/CD pipeline scripts https://github.com/ykuijs/M365DSC_CICD

DSC Community https://dsccommunity.org

PSConfEU https://psconf.eu

PSConfEU MiniCon Call for Papers (Sessionize) https://sessionize.com/psconfeu-minicon/

PDQ Discord https://discord.gg/PDQ

The PowerShell Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Vy4kaayGT2M

 

David McFall joins Andrew Pla to talk about practical PowerShell, mentorship, automation, and why you do not need to be a PowerShell expert to get serious value from it. David shares how he uses PowerShell across Active Directory, Entra, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Graph, and PDQ, including real-world examples like device posture reporting, identifying hardware gaps, and automating project management. They also dig into learning with AI, knowing when a simple script is enough, the importance of testing before production, and why helping the people around you grow can make everyone’s job easier.

Key Takeaways:
· PowerShell does not have to be complicated to be useful. David approaches PowerShell as a working sysadmin who wants to automate repetitive tasks, reuse existing tools, and solve real problems rather than build everything from scratch.
· AI can accelerate learning, but it should not replace understanding. David uses AI to better understand PowerShell concepts and Microsoft Graph, while emphasizing the importance of reviewing, testing, and understanding scripts before putting them into production.
· Sharing knowledge makes the whole team stronger. David views himself as a mentor rather than simply a manager. Helping junior team members develop their skills gives them more opportunities while also creating a team that can share responsibility instead of relying on one person who knows everything.

Guest Bio:
David McFall is an IT infrastructure and operations leader with experience across enterprise cloud platforms, cybersecurity, system administration, Microsoft Defender, Azure, incident response, and automation. Based in Metro Detroit, David combines hands-on technical work with a strong focus on mentoring IT professionals and sharing what he has learned throughout his career.

Resource links:

ImportExcel (create Excel reports without Excel installed) https://github.com/dfinke/ImportExcel

PSWriteHTML (build interactive HTML reports from PowerShell) https://github.com/EvotecIT/PSWriteHTML

BurntToast (Windows toast notifications from PowerShell) https://github.com/Windos/BurntToast

Maester (automated Microsoft 365 security posture testing) https://maester.dev

The PowerShell Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/36VN6K-oE8w

Andrew welcomes Morten Mynster back to the PowerShell Podcast to dig into the projects he’s been building around Microsoft Graph, Entra, least privilege, and authentication. Morten walks through Least Privileged Entra, a module that uses activity logs to identify users who may have more permissions than they actually need, and MS Graph Proxy, which lets developers work with mocked Microsoft Graph data locally without connecting to a live tenant. They also get into managed identities, the rougher corners of Microsoft 365 APIs, testing Graph-based projects in CI/CD pipelines, and how contributing to open source can solve real problems while creating unexpected career opportunities.

 

Key Takeaways:
· Least privilege is easier when you can see what people actually use. Morten’s Least Privileged Entra module compares assigned Entra roles with activity data to identify permissions that may be unnecessary and suggest more limited alternatives. The goal is to give admins something actionable rather than simply reporting that a configuration passed or failed.
· You don’t always need a live Microsoft 365 tenant to develop against Microsoft Graph. MS Graph Proxy intercepts Graph requests and responds with mocked data, allowing developers to test scripts and modules locally, offline, or inside CI/CD pipelines. It can also identify the minimum Graph permissions associated with the endpoints an application uses.
· Sharing your work can have benefits far beyond the project itself. Morten credits his Least Privileged MS Graph project with helping him land his current job. His approach is simple: solve a real problem, share the solution, contribute where you can, and let other people build on what you’ve learned.

 

Guest Bio:
Morten Mynster is an IT professional and open source contributor focused on Microsoft Entra, Microsoft Graph, security, and least privilege. His projects include LeastPrivilegedMSGraph, LeastPrivilegedEntra, and MSGraphProxy, and he regularly contributes to community projects and discussions around Microsoft 365 security and PowerShell.

Resource Links:

• https://github.com/Mynster9361/Least_Privileged_MSGraph
• https://github.com/Mynster9361/LeastPrivilegedEntra
• https://github.com/Mynster9361/msgraphProxy
• https://github.com/FriedrichWeinmann/EntraAuth
• The PowerShell Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/cB_QE1HvAyI

Mike Soule, Field CTO at Sentinel Technologies, returns to the PowerShell Podcast for the first time in three years to talk identity security, cloud configuration testing, and the evolving role of AI in the Microsoft ecosystem. Andrew and Mike dig into Maester, the open source PowerShell-based test automation framework that applies unit testing concepts to Microsoft 365 security configuration. Mike breaks down how Maester works, how Sentinel uses it with clients, and how the community has grown it into something that spans hundreds of built-in tests covering conditional access, CIS baselines, CISA standards, and more. They also cover EntraOps, the Enterprise Access Model, AI's impact on the MSP world, and why working in managed services is still one of the fastest ways to level up in IT. The episode closes with a strong Brandon Sanderson tangent.

Key Takeaways:

• Maester brings the concept of unit testing to Microsoft 365 security configuration, letting admins continuously validate their cloud settings against known-good baselines with as few as three PowerShell commands. It's built on Pester, is fully open source, and now has over 100 community contributors.
• AI is changing the MSP landscape fast, but the fundamentals still matter. Mike and Andrew discuss how to think about Copilot licensing complexity, model routing in agent stacks, and why meeting users in their existing interface is often more important than deploying a shiny new tool.
• MSP experience accelerates learning in a way that internal IT often can't match. When you're working across multiple clients and environments, you accumulate reps quickly, and that breadth is hard to replicate elsewhere.

Guest Bio:
Mike Soule is the Field CTO at Sentinel Technologies, a large managed service provider focused on identity, cloud, and security strategy. Mike has been working hands-on with PowerShell, Entra ID, and Microsoft 365 security architecture for years and is a regular speaker at identity and security conferences.

Resource Links:
Maester (open source framework): https://maester.dev

Maester on GitHub: https://github.com/maester365/maester

Maester Cloud (hosted version by Merill Fernando): https://maester.cloud

HIPConf (Hybrid Identity Protection Conference): https://www.hipconf.com

EntraOps by Thomas Naunheim: https://github.com/Cloud-Architekt/EntraOps

Mike Soule on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikesoule

The PowerShell Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EQK693gGWoo