Explicit Measures Podcast

Mike & Tommy dive into what data visualization can teach us about critically evaluating LLMs, exploring why fluent, polished AI output can be just as misleading as a beautiful but inaccurate chart. They break down the tension between AI speed and data quality, tackling how BI teams can build a practical framework around accuracy, security, and sovereignty to use these tools without lowering their standards.
Read the article that inspired this episode: https://nightingaledvs.com/critically-evaluating-llms/
News links from this episode:
https://www.meetup.com/chicagolandpowerbi/events/315787998/?eventOrigin=group_upcoming_events
https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/blog/fbc_pbiupdatesblog/power-bi-august-2026-feature-summary/5348434
https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Fabric-Updates-Blog/Bringing-agentic-warehouse-development-to-Fabric-Data-Warehouse/ba-p/5360190
https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/blog/fbc_pbiupdatesblog/the-ai-semantic-layer-you-probably-already-have/5360197
Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/

Mike & Tommy dive into Power BI Desktop Bridge, breaking down what it actually solves, where it fits in your stack alongside Desktop, Service, Fabric, Git, and deployment pipelines, and what it really takes to make it run like a Ferrari for your team.
They tackle the hard questions — whether Desktop Bridge exposes weak development habits faster than it fixes them, how to keep speed from turning into chaos, and what governance guardrails every BI lead should have in place before rolling it out broadly.
Read more: https://promptingbi.com/2026/08/19/design-the-report-from-the-meeting-you-already-had/
News:
Enhanced Data Agent Visualizations with Fabric Visuals (Preview)
Connectivity Patterns in Microsoft Fabric: A Guide for Data Integration Workloads
Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/

Mike & Tommy dive into anonymous data access in Fabric Apps, exploring how the new capability lets builders deliver public-facing BI experiences without requiring users to sign in — and whether that's a governance breakthrough or a disaster waiting to happen.
They break down which items support it, what tenant admins need to know, and how Rayfin fits into the story of Fabric becoming a true application platform.
Learn more: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/apps/anonymous-data-access
News this episode:
https://www.meetup.com/chicagolandpowerbi/events/315711136/?eventOrigin=group_upcoming_events
https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/blog/fbc_fabricupdatesblogs/fabric-runtime-2-0-generally-available/5326359
https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/blog/fbc_fabricupdatesblogs/build-end-to-end-fabric-solutions-with-sql-database-skills-preview/5357234
Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/

Mike & Tommy dive into the emerging pattern of Fabric as a Backend (FaaB), exploring whether Fabric is becoming the default way teams think about their entire data ecosystem or just a front-facing adoption tool.
They weigh in on whether this pattern is a natural evolution of the platform or a case of forcing an analytics engine into an operational role — and what guardrails teams need before going all in.
Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/

Mike & Tommy dive into what agentic development actually means for Power BI teams, breaking down the crawl, walk, run framework for safely adopting AI agents across BI assets. They explore why the shift goes far beyond Copilot prompts, how semantic models become the center of the conversation, and whether most orgs are ready to trust agents with DAX, RLS, and report generation. Tune in for a practical roadmap on where to start, what guardrails are non-negotiable, and how experienced pros stay relevant as agents take on more of the build.
Read the article: https://datasavvy.me/2026/06/22/crawl-walk-run-with-agentic-development-of-power-bi-assets/
Get in touch:
Send in your questions or topics you want us to discuss by tweeting to @PowerBITips with the hashtag #empMailbag or submit on the PowerBI.tips Podcast Page.
Visit PowerBI.tips: https://powerbi.tips/
Watch the episodes live every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 730am CST on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/powerbitips
Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/230fp78XmHHRXTiYICRLVv
Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/explicit-measures-podcast/id1568944083‎
Check Out Community Jam: https://jam.powerbi.tips
Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcarlo/
Follow Tommy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommypuglia/