Roderick on the Line, Ep. 50: “Check Your Six” on Huffduffer

The Problem: John was supposed to be Joe Junior.

Igloo. The new digital workplace.

Roderick on the Line, Ep. 49: “A Red Light in a Strange Town” on Huffduffer

The Problem: Would you like to donate a dollar for penis cancer?

Igloo. The new digital workplace.

The Problems: There needs to be a lot more exhaustion in this country; we were really tearing through popes there for a while; one hickie, and suddenly you’re out-of-uniform; Billy Corgan: The Seriousest Kid on Earth; retirees and toddlers should NOT be sharing a classroom; why John could never be a full Grateful Dead person; pull up those goddamned pants—like a gentleman; when ganking, you can’t stab your fish until the new shivs arrive; guys, you gotta stay away from the heroin; you get that Trotsky tattoo, and you’re stuck with that Trotsky tattoo; Merlin’s morbid fear of Judas Priest; passing on that Orthodox stress bump? “Tradition!”; history clearly mitigates against the group shower; Paul Shaffer just keeps playing along; crafting an artisanal air guitar; how your “fitness regimen” is literally killing the environment; Jonathan Cain, last of a generation; pondering England’s functional pussies; introducing awkward sharing and constant uncertainty; startling new statistics on what 70% of New York’s men “have”; up to pie on katie bars of kitchen signs—but not me in; John shares how to properly blouse a pant; how did you get this number?; Merlin gives Hodgman a fresh pair of GoldToe®s; introducing new yokes to usefulness; Dave Grohl seems like a pretty nice guy; no skylarking; the little red-haired witch that flew over the moon; an abrupt change of plans for little Tyler Heraclitus; The Varieties of Wangus Experience; debating the indignity of the keytar; silent instruments of the holocaust; now it’s HALF a golf pencil, and you’ll like it; the category of things that are never funny; no excuse, sir; yeah, but, Rimbaud and Mozart were corner cases; functional data points on The Liberty Bell Curve; how come only the keyboard guys ever die?; and that is what you get for wearing a plastic faucet on your head for nine hours; “Shower down to get an ‘A!’”; only takes one shortcut to ruin the rugby photo for everyone; crisscross applesauce; entering Washington’s carnival worm hole; why Merlin may be better at guitar than he lets on; gaslighting the shit out of these kids; one day love will find you; more on helping Gibson find his duck; and, John’s important new plan for helping our young people.

Igloo. The new digital workplace.

The Problem: You better hope to Christ you brought everything you’ll need.

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bethefawn - That’s the best you can do.

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.

Roderick on the Line, Ep. 45: “The Conditions of Love” on Huffduffer

The Problem: It’s become unfashionable to punch people in the nose.

The Problem: Patiently spanking a long line of dirty little elves.

Ep. 43: “Waiting for Our Duck” - Roderick on the Line - Merlin Mann on Huffduffer

The Problem: Perfect storm for a little wiener dog.

Ep. 42: “Your Hands Would Be Your Passport” - Roderick on the Line - Merlin Mann on Huffduffer

The Problem: Precipitous decline in the mean scariness of adult men.

Ep. 41: “In Lieu of a Laundromat” - Roderick on the Line - Merlin Mann on Huffduffer

The Problem: Standing on a carpet of nails.

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