Nick Bergson-Shilcock on the Recurse Center

Off-Trail Learning

Nick Bergson-Shilcock is the CEO and co-founder of the Recurse Center (recurse.com), a self-directed and community-driven educational retreat for computer programmers. Nick describes his background as a lifelong unschooler (he’s the son of Peter Bergson, a recent podcast guest), as well as his early interest in gaming and programming and his transition into college, career, and Y Combinator (the startup incubator). We discuss how RC differs from “coding bootcamps,” who applies, who gets in, how the whole thing is funded, RC’s unique social rules (no well-actually’s, no feigning surprise, no back-seat driving, and no subtle -isms), and Nick’s evolving views on unschooling. Visit Nick’s personal website at https://nick.is/ Recorded on July 20, 2021.