Ready for Merge Ep. 17 👾

Summary:In this episode of Ready for Merge, Christine D. Kim sits down with Ethereum Foundation researcher Jihoon Song and Miga Labs founder Leonardo Bautista-Gomez to debate the two consensus-layer headliner proposals competing for inclusion in the Hegota upgrade: FOCIL and 2D PeerDAS. Jihoon makes the case for FOCIL. Leo argues for 2D PeerDAS. Each lays out the technical vision, trade-offs, and urgency behind their proposal—and why they believe it deserves priority in Ethereum’s roadmap. Beyond the upgrade itself, the conversation extends to broader questions about Ethereum governance, coordination, and the emerging role of AI in shaping the protocol’s future.This interview was recorded on February 17, 2026.Timestamps:(1:21) 2D PeerDAS overview(4:03) FOCIL overview(8:47) The urgency of 2D PeerDAS(10:41) The urgency of FOCIL(18:49) Hegota CL headliner predictions(22:18) Glamsterdam timeline predictions(29:35) Improvements to the headliner selection process(33:27) AI’s role in Ethereum governance(36:18) The vision behind Ethereum developmentLinks: Jihoon’s X profile (https://x.com/jih2nn) Leo’s website (https://leobago.me/)   Ethereum Foundation Protocol Prototyping website (https://prototyping.ethereum.foundation/) Miga Labs website (https://www.migalabs.io/) EIP-7805: Fork-choice enforced Inclusion Lists (https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-7805) Hegota Headliner: Partial Reconstruction and 2D PeerDAS (https://ethereum-magicians.org/t/hegota-headliner-partial-reconstruction-and-2d-peerdas/27652) Cell-Level Deltas for Data Column Broadcast (https://github.com/ethereum/EIPs/pull/11176/files) ACD After Hours: AI and the future of Ethereum governance (https://christinedkim.substack.com/p/acdt-70) Song Credits:Special thanks to Calios for the music featured in this episode. You can listen to the full track, “Our Lives,” and other songs by Calios on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6qs62M8pLHGZuttTwgP6JK. Get full access to Christine D. Kim at christinedkim.substack.com/subscribe