March 1, 2016 at 5:45PM •
2 hours 2 minutes
TOPIC: That's Not How the Future Works.
This week, Dan and Merlin talk about evolving technology culture, the weird landscape of semi-smart devices, and why Merlin does and kinda doesn't do Getting Things Done so much anymore.
February 23, 2016 at 4:15PM •
2 hours 1 minute
TOPIC: Grab Bag.
This week, Dan and Merlin cover the waterfront. This wide-ranging episode covers lots of listener feedback, corrections of egregious errors, D&D alignment, the danger of guessing why people are how they are, some fun Tumblr recommendations, considering the yak-shaving ordeal of time-shifting broadcast TV, plus further discussion of last week's topic re: kids and computer access.
February 16, 2016 at 4:00PM •
1 hour 44 minutes
TOPIC: Epistemology and Parenting as Dumpster Fire
This week, Dan and Merlin end up talking a lot about what they don't know and how they know they don't know it. The biases, errors, and frames that make us feel wiser than we probably are.
Sometimes it pays to learn how to be a dummy.
Also, Dan learns what a "film projector" is.
February 9, 2016 at 3:45PM •
1 hour 45 minutes
TOPIC: Feelings, Slide Rules, and The Franklin Test
This week Merlin hasn't had enough coffee and may have early-onset toxoplasmosis, so he and Dan respond to great feedback from listeners, mostly on feeling feelings.
February 2, 2016 at 4:00PM •
1 hour 34 minutes
TOPIC: Information, Context, and Courage.
This week, Dan and Merlin talk about the reaction to last week's episode about work and identity and respond to follow-up questions from listeners.
Also, Merlin buys a faucet.
January 26, 2016 at 3:30PM •
1 hour 37 minutes
TOPIC: Coder, Kayaker, Father, Person.
This week, Dan and Merlin talk about Dan's attempt to vastly rejigger his schedule in the interest of mental and physical health.
This leads to a long discussion of work, identity, expectations, and choosing which of the voices in your head to listen to and when.
January 19, 2016 at 1:45PM •
1 hour 46 minutes
TOPIC: Say something funny.
This week, Dan and Merlin talk about entertainment as a career and how difficult it can be to know whether you're suited for it.
Plus, discussions of X-Men, San Francisco's collapse, and the best way to get vomit out of the bathroom sink.
January 12, 2016 at 1:00PM •
1 hour 13 minutes
TOPIC: Budgeting the Primary Secondary Project
This week, Dan and Merlin do a deep dive on a very old and very thorny topic: managing time.
Thing is: this is not about bookkeeping—it's about accounting. Being honest, humble, and diligent in mindfully applying your time and seeing how it went.
(This is a good one.)
January 5, 2016 at 2:00PM •
1 hour 53 minutes
TOPIC: Elephants all the way down.
This week, Dan and Merlin do a deep dive on communication, perception, persuasion, empathy, and understanding, as illustrated by everything from The Force Awakens to Don LaPre to PR emails to Donald Trump to a variety of elephants—plus a famous photo of a man and the fake dead triceratops he supposedly killed.
December 23, 2015 at 3:45PM •
1 hour 47 minutes
TOPIC: Something something the things we own.
This week, Dan and Merlin talk about the way shopping changes how we buy stuff—and how buying is changing what we can actually shop for.
Then, there's a ruminative discussion of the Mast Brothers chocolate dust-up and what it might say about our sense of story, identity, and "authenticity."
