Ep. 46 Special: Origin of Roderick on the Line - Roderick on the Line on Huffduffer

5by5 | Back to Work #31: You Can Polish AC/DC All Day Long (August 30, 2011)

Hey, gang. Merlin here.

One year ago this week, the first episode of Roderick on the Line went up. To commemorate the occasion, I wanted to share a little bit of history with you, as well as just say, “thanks.”

Here’s the thing:

John and I have been pals for about a decade now. And, as we’ve discussed on the program from time to time, we’ve had a longstanding habit of engaging in very, very long conversations, both in-person and on the phone, about pretty much any topic you can imagine. A fact born out by any of the 40+ episodes of this show so far.

Now, in terms of the pre-pre-history of RotL, a seed was planted when I interviewed John for a thing I used to do called, The Merlin Show (n.b.: you can find video and audio of that interview over here). It was a riot to do, and I really recommend checking it out for both Roderick newbies and completists alike. You will find it very helpful. As you do.

But, the real impetus for this show arose by accident last Summer, when my Back to Work co-host, Dan Benjamin, was on paternity leave. In Dan’s brief absence, I decided to interview three interesting friends about their life and how they work. One of my victims was, of course, The Great Man himself—the bearded oracle who ended up being the titular co-host of this very program: Mr. John Morgan Roderick.

On that episode, John and I talked about lots of different stuff to be sure (full show notes below), but, as a careful listener of the current program will immediately pick up, you will also hear the genesis of what would become numerous leitmotifs from what would soon become the canonical RotL.

There’s John’s deep historical pedagogy. There’s John’s perspicacious cultural criticism. There’s John’s first singing my name to the tune of Janet Jackson’s 1986 hit, “Nasty.” There’s John (again) hearing my formal pitch to do a new podcast called, “Roderick on the Line.” And, yes: there is John’s bell.

I hope you will enjoy this important cultural document and are able to appreciate its gravitas as the undergirding for this august platform by which John helps so many people each week.

And, let it not go without saying, my having the chance to do this show with John every week is one of the joys of my life. I look forward to recording it, I look forward to “editing” it, and, yes, I really look forward to hearing the finished product. I’m proud to be involved, and I’m really grateful to my great pal for making the time to do it.

Finally, thanks to all of you for a year of listening and being helped. You are Generation Super Train, and, I hope to God you survive to find a tolerable position in John’s horribly twisted Utopian Dystopia.

In any case. Please continue.