Reconcilable Differences

After a discussion about The Game, which Merlin has finally watched all the way through, the boys tackle the topic of jobs. They discuss what they did or didn't learn from them, and how their younger work lives shaped their future employment choices.

This week, John critiques Merlin's online editing skills, which leads to a discussion of coding conventions. Merlin, in turn, critiques John's propensity to murder a joke by telling it in weird bullets.

Next up, we learn that Merlin has (finally) watched The Game all the way through, which leads to a spoiler-heavy dive into this terrific 1997 David Fincher film. (Note: Please listen for the spoiler horn, then skip from 00:16:21 through 00:40:47 if you haven't watched the movie yet.)

Finally, the boys tackle the topic of jobs. First jobs, early jobs, what they did or didn't learn from them, and how their younger work lives shaped their later future employment choices.

(Episode recorded December 15, 2015)

"I got this key out of a mouth of this... wooden clown."

THAT guy.

John probes Merlin about why exactly he’s so interested in remembering and recording his whackadoodle dreams. We learn, for example, that Permiso delivers 3 to 5 surprises per day.

This week, John and Merlin start out by exploring the challenges of sleep and AppleTV.

Finally, Merlin interrogates John about why he dislikes and avoids scary movies.

Merlin Mann and Max Temkin watch season 13 of Top Chef.

This week, your hosts cover TV buying decisions, the legacy of Star Wars, thoughts on holidays, and how to not end up raising Dudley Dursley.

This time out, John and Merlin start with a consideration of parenting advice and (surprise) the Star Wars prequels.

Then, the wardrobe is opened for a discussion of clothing. What your hosts choose to wear and why...

Merlin encourages listeners to give John a virtual makeover.

George Lucas, is the Force with us?

Will it save us from heartbreak in 1998?

This episode, John and Merlin have a spirited debate on netspeak and emoji talk (🤕👹😭), then address the Wonderful World of Disney (World), including what makes it great and what keeps it relevant.

'Presentation Cartoons'

On this special episode recorded while Dan was still on paternity leave, John is joined by guest host Merlin Mann. Merlin and John discuss Vegas, Disney, Pixar and more!

The centerpiece of the episode is a lot of talk about travel, focused on the myriad reasons your hosts find it so terribly difficult. Observations on helplessness, motion sickness, money, and the titular "Hobbit tendencies" emerge.

This week kicks off with some further discussion of salad and the video game, Destiny, and then proceeds into some talk about the current TV season and the state of late-night programming.

Things conclude with a meditation on introversion: what it means to have it (or decide that you have it), and what constitutes the super-wide spectrum between social anxieties and the more garden-variety aversion to, say, wearing pants.

John ruefully updates us on the stressful state of renovations to his house—and how his quest for quality collides with whatever passes for quote-unquote craftsmanship today.

This week, the boys return for Season Two.

Things kick off with a clandestine follow-up discussion of evolution based on an unreleased episode of a different podcast. Don't ask.

The boys settle into a detailed exploration of "Merlin's world of music." From AM radio (through a pillow speaker) to abortive accordion and trombone lessons to impersonating Pete Townsend through the Bacon Ray years.

This final episode of Season 1 kicks off with some fascinating FU on Clever Hans and proceeds into a listener question about John's feelings about "faith."

Fauvism is the style of les Fauves (French for "the wild beasts"), a loose group of early twentieth-century Modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong color over the representational or realistic values retained by Impressionism.

Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music that originated in the American South of the United States. The name is derived from The Sacred Harp, a ubiquitous and historically important tunebook printed in shape notes.

This week's main topic focuses on the many aspects of being a "late bloomer." From secondary sex characteristics and serial social prickliness through figuring out how to be in a family and studying the anthropology of the opposite sex.

In this penultimate episode, John and Merlin start with a discussion of salad and some followup on Destiny (John can't even believe he forgot Xur).

John educates Merlin about the first-person shooter game, "Destiny." Merlin feels overwhelmed, while John says we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg.

This time around, John and Merlin talk about time-shifted media releases, corporate speak, and Dave the Marketing guy.

For the main topic, John educates Merlin about the first-person shooter game, "Destiny." Merlin feels overwhelmed, while John says we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg.

Car Talk is a Peabody Award–winning radio talk show broadcast weekly on NPR stations and elsewhere. Its subjects were automobiles and automotive repair, discussed often in a humorous way. It was hosted by brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi, known also as "Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers".

John Siracusa educates Jason Snell about what is, and what is not, a robot.

What terrible business jargon do you need unsucked?

During Andy Baio’s ‘Worst Website Ever’ competition, Merlin Mann was one of eight contestants proposing ideas-so-crazy-they-might-just-work to venture capitalist David Hornik. I recorded a video of Merlin’s winning proposal.

In marketing terminology, a killer application (commonly shortened to killer app) is any computer program that is so necessary or desirable that it proves the core value of some larger technology, such as computer hardware, gaming console, software, a programming language, software platform, or an operating system.