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{% block title %}Kenneth Reitz{% endblock %}

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<h1>Kenneth Reitz</h1>

<p class="subtitle muted">Creator of <a href="/software/requests" class="project-link color-software">Requests</a>,
<a href="/software/certifi" class="project-link color-software">Certifi</a>,
<a href="/software/pipenv" class="project-link color-software">Pipenv</a>, <a href="/software/records" class="project-link color-software">Records</a>,
<a href="/software/maya" class="project-link color-software">Maya</a> & <a href="/software" class="project-link color-software">more</a>.</p>

<section>
    <p>I'm best known for <a href="/software/requests">Requests</a>, the Python HTTP library. Most of what I write these days lives at the intersection of technology and consciousness — what we owe each other when we build things people think through. I live openly with <a href="/mental-health">schizoaffective disorder</a>; I'm a husband and father. Tech used to be my identity; now it's <a href="/essays/2026-03-18-values_i_outgrew_and_the_ones_that_stayed">craft, not lifestyle</a>.</p>

    <p class="muted">Current projects: <a href="https://rhymepad.org" target="_blank">RhymePad</a>, a scratchpad for poets &amp; rappers that <a href="/essays/2026-06-11-rhymepad_seeing_the_sound">hears the rhymes as you write</a> · <a href="/music/interpretations">Interpretations</a>, an album composed in Python · <a href="/software/websites/kjvstudy">kjvstudy.org</a> · <a href="/software/pytheory">PyTheory</a> · <a href="/software/responder">Responder</a>.</p>
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<section>
    <h2>Recent Writing <small style="font-size: 0.6em; font-weight: normal;">(<a href="/archive">archive</a>)</small></h2>

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    <p class="muted">Eighteen years of thinking out loud, <a href="/essays/2026-06-11-how_i_write_now">written the way I actually write now</a>. Browse the full <a href="/archive">archive</a>, or subscribe via <a href="/feed.xml">RSS</a>.</p>
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<section>
    <h2>Now</h2>
    <p><strong>Reading:</strong> <em><a href="https://poemsbysarah.com" target="_blank">The Becoming</a></em> by Sarah L. Reitz — my wife's poetry collection, tracing a journey from darkness through self-discovery to love. Free at <a href="https://poemsbysarah.com" target="_blank">poemsbysarah.com</a>, or in <a href="https://amzn.to/4qPQIH3" target="_blank">paperback &amp; Kindle</a>. I <a href="/essays/2026-01-30-the-becoming-building-a-poetry-publishing-pipeline-with-claude-code">built the publishing pipeline</a>; she wrote every word.</p>

    <p><strong>Playing:</strong> <a href="/music/interpretations">Interpretations</a> — a 24-track album composed entirely in Python. Sitar ragas, acid bass, ambient drones, trap beats — every sound generated from code. <a href="https://interpretations.kennethreitz.org/" target="_blank">Listen on the web</a>, or on <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/1jYjggrr6HEKfV4FchcJWD" target="_blank">Spotify</a> / <a href="https://music.apple.com/us/album/interpretations/1890986989" target="_blank">Apple Music</a>.</p>

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<section>
    <h2>Threads</h2>

    <p>A few threads run through everything here. <a href="/themes/for-humans-philosophy">The "for humans" philosophy</a> — that technology should serve human mental models, not the other way around. A growing body of <a href="/themes/algorithmic-critique">algorithmic critique</a>, tracing how engagement optimization consumes <a href="/essays/2025-08-26-the_algorithm_eats_virtue">virtue</a>, <a href="/essays/2025-08-27-the_algorithm_eats_language">language</a>, <a href="/essays/2025-08-27-the_algorithm_eats_love">love</a>, <a href="/essays/2025-08-27-the_algorithm_eats_democracy">democracy</a>, <a href="/essays/2025-08-27-the_algorithm_eats_reality">reality</a>, <a href="/essays/2025-09-01-the_algorithm_eats_time">time</a>, and lately <a href="/essays/2026-06-11-the_algorithm_eats_diagnosis">diagnosis</a>. Writing about <a href="/themes/mental-health">mental health</a>, <a href="/themes/consciousness-and-ai">consciousness and AI</a>, <a href="/themes/open-source-and-community">fifteen years of open source</a>, and <a href="/themes/spiritual-practice-and-technology">programming as contemplative practice</a>. Newer threads: <a href="/themes/personal-infrastructure">personal infrastructure</a> — moving a digital life off rented land — and <a href="/themes/music-as-code">music as code</a>.</p>
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<section style="margin-top: 2rem;">
    <p>Thank you for your attention — it's the only currency that actually matters. If anything here resonated, I'm glad. If you're curious about what drives the work, my <a href="/values">values</a> are the closest thing to a map I've got.</p>
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