Welcome to Stedman’s SQL Server Podcast Season 3. 2026 is our third season.
Here is a list of all of our season 3 – 2026 episodes:
Stedman SQL Podcast Season 3 Episode 10 Execution Plan Analysis
Steve Stedman discusses analyzing SQL Server execution plans and features in Database Health Monitor that aid in this task. He explains that execution plans are SQL Server’s roadmap for query execution, detailing how SQL Server will execute a query, including index usage and data sorting. Stedman differentiates between estimated and actual execution plans, noting discrepancies can indicate outdated statistics. He highlights the importance of execution plans in identifying slow queries, bad joins, and expensive operations. Database Health Monitor provides graphical representations of execution plans, making it easier to identify performance issues and optimize queries.
Episode 10 Details page – Watch episode 10 now
Stedman SQL Podcast Season 3 Episode 9 Login Auditing
In this episode of the Stedman SQL Server Podcast, Steve and George Stedman compare two powerful native SQL Server options for login auditing: SQL Server Audit and Extended Events. They explain why auditing logins matters for compliance requirements such as SOX, PCI, and HIPAA, demonstrate how to configure both approaches with downloadable scripts, and discuss the pros, cons, performance impact, and data captured by each method. The episode also highlights why logging successful logins to the SQL Server error log is a poor practice, explores real-world auditing and troubleshooting scenarios, and shares best practices for long-term audit retention, security monitoring, and identifying suspicious login activity. Whether you’re a DBA, developer, or security professional, this episode provides practical guidance for implementing reliable SQL Server login tracking without sacrificing performance.
Episode 9 Details page – Watch Episode 9 now
Stedman SQL Podcast Season 3 Episode 8 Managed Services
The podcast episode discusses Stedman Solutions’ SQL Server managed services offering, highlighting its unique approach and benefits. Key points include the team’s extensive experience, the availability of multiple team members for 24/7 coverage, and the comprehensive support provided for a flat fee. The team emphasizes proactive monitoring, performance tuning, and custom optimizations. They also offer tools like Database Health Monitor and Stedman SQL School for free to managed service clients. The discussion covers the importance of backups, the risks of not having proper coverage, and the cost-effectiveness of their services compared to hiring a full-time DBA or using offshore or junior DBAs.
Episode 8 details page – Watch Episode 8 now
Stedman SQL Podcast Season 3 Episode 7 Implicit Converts The Silent Performance Killer in SQL Server
Steve Stedman and George discuss implicit conversions in SQL Server, highlighting their impact on performance. Steve explains that implicit conversions occur when data types don’t match, forcing SQL Server to convert columns, which can slow queries significantly. They demonstrate this with examples, showing how a simple cast can reduce query times from 23,700 reads to 4 reads. They also discuss using extended events and DMVs to detect implicit conversions and provide solutions like creating views with clustered indices. The episode emphasizes the importance of choosing the right data types from the start to avoid performance issues.
Episode 7 details page – Watch Episode 7 now
Stedman SQL Podcast Season 3 Episode 6 Database Health Monitor Recap and Updates
In this episode of the Stedman SQL Podcast (Season 3, Episode 6), Steve Stedman is joined by Mitchell Glasscock and George Stedman to dive into the latest 2026 Q1 updates to Database Health Monitor. They break down new quality-of-life improvements like enhanced navigation with the back button history, SQL query formatting for better readability, and improved visibility into historical data updates. The team also explores powerful new Quick Scan checks, TempDB insights, email cleanup options, and major enhancements to blocking query tracking—including query plan capture for faster performance troubleshooting. Plus, they cover schema drift improvements, long-running query reporting, and new filtering capabilities across reports. If you’re looking to simplify SQL Server monitoring and boost performance tuning efficiency, this episode is packed with practical insights and real-world examples you won’t want to miss.
Episode 6 details page – Watch episode 6 now
Stedman SQL Podcast Season 3 Episode 5 The 7 Deadly Sins of Index and Statistics Maintenance
Steve Stedman and Mitchell Glasscock discuss the seven deadly sins of index and statistics maintenance in SQL Server. They highlight common mistakes such as blindly rebuilding or reorganizing all indexes nightly, adhering to outdated 5% and 30% fragmentation rules, and wasting resources on tiny indexes. They emphasize the importance of focusing on statistics over fragmentation, using customized OLA Hallengren scripts, and avoiding over-indexing. They also warn against running aggressive maintenance during peak hours and blindly trusting third-party tools like SQL Server Maintenance Plans and Database Tuning Advisor. The discussion underscores the need for evidence-based maintenance practices to optimize SQL Server performance.
Episode 5 details page – Watch episode 5 now
Stedman SQL Podcast Season 3 Episode 4 SQL Server Upgrades
Steve Stedman and Mitchell Glasscock discuss SQL Server upgrades, comparing in-place upgrades versus new server migrations. They highlight the importance of upgrading due to end-of-life security risks, such as SQL Server 2016’s July cutoff. In-place upgrades are quicker but riskier, with potential downtime and limited rollback options. New server migrations offer lower risk, more testing, and better rollback mechanisms but are costlier and time-consuming. They recommend the latter for mission-critical systems and those moving to the cloud. Best practices include thorough testing, backup plans, and considering hardware refreshes. They also promote their tool, Database Health Monitor, for migration assistance.
Episode 4 Details page- Watch Episode 4 now
Stedman SQL Podcast Season 3 Episode 3 Database Health Monitor Rewards Program
In this episode of the Stedman SQL Podcast (Season 3, Episode 3), Steve Stedman and Mitchell Glasscock introduce the new Database Health Monitor Rewards Program, launched with Version 3 of Database Health Monitor. They explain how paid subscribers can unlock exclusive monthly rewards—including free SQL Server training courses like Aggregating Data, JOIN Types, and the T-SQL OUTPUT Clause, plus a 20-minute personalized configuration session with the Stedman team. As subscribers continue their membership, additional benefits roll out over time, such as advanced courses on blocking and deadlocking, indexing for performance, backups and recovery, common table expressions, performance tuning, and even one-on-one mentoring. The episode highlights how the rewards program turns a Database Health Monitor subscription into ongoing SQL Server education and professional growth, while helping DBAs and developers proactively monitor performance, avoid bottlenecks, and keep their SQL Servers running healthy and fast. They also preview the next episode on the “Seven Deadly Sins of Index and Statistics Maintenance” and encourage listeners to upgrade to Version 3 to take full advantage of the new rewards.
Episode 3 Details page – Watch Episode 3 now
Stedman SQL Podcast Season 3 Episode 2 5 Things to Never Do With SQL Server
Welcome to the Stedman SQL Podcast Season 3, Episode 2, hosted by Steve Stedman and joined by Mitchell Glasscock from the Stedman Solutions team, where we dive into “5 Things You Should Never Do with SQL Server (Plus 2 Bonus Items)” and explain how common but dangerous practices like shrinking databases, clearing the procedure cache, using REPAIR_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS, blindly trusting the Database Tuning Advisor, and running sp_updatestats can seriously impact performance or cause data loss, along with two bonus mistakes around auto-growth and auto-shrink that we see far too often in the real world; we share expert insights, real-world examples, safer alternatives, while also previewing what’s coming next on the podcast and how Database Health Monitor and Stedman Solutions Managed Services help keep SQL Server environments healthy and reliable.
Episode 2 Details page – Watch Episode 2 now
Stedman SQL Podcast Season 3 Episode 1 What Will You Do Different This Year
Steve Stedman and Shannon Lindsay discuss SQL Server security and performance improvements for the new year. They highlight a 16% discount for new managed service customers and emphasize the importance of enforcing the principle of least privilege, implementing data encryption, and regular patching. They recommend using SQL Server audits, extended events, and the Database Health Monitor for advanced auditing and monitoring. For performance optimization, they suggest focusing on slow queries, optimizing storage and indexing, and enhancing backup and disaster recovery strategies. They also mention new features in SQL Server 2025 and the importance of ransomware preparedness.