Back to Work

It's your show.

About the show

Back to Work is an award winning talk show with Merlin Mann and Dan Benjamin discussing productivity, communication, work, barriers, constraints, tools, and more.

Back to Work on social media

Episodes

  • Episode 41: Carpal Tunnel Diem

    November 15th, 2011  |  1 hr 21 mins

    Dan and Merlin talk more about why we get stuck and how might re-think getting "unstuck." Looking at process over product, remembering how you got here, and getting clear about what you're really trying to make.

    Merlin also has some updates and tips

  • Episode 40: Dirty South Is Off the Menu

    November 8th, 2011  |  1 hr 39 mins

    Dan and Merlin talk about what it means for Google to change the meaning of "plus," and how it might bolster the production of "stuff and needy."

    They also consider options for "getting unstuck" with a creative project—how, sometimes, the constraints c

  • Episode 39: A Source of Rice with Velocity

    November 1st, 2011  |  1 hr 20 mins

    On strength and tolerance.

    Dan and Merlin talk about the many facets of strength, including the complexity of knowing what to be strong about, to whom, and when.

    It's about way more than nailing the "clean and jerk" or yelling at Sips-His-Coffee-Rea

  • Episode 38: Sorry. You Can't Have a Candle.

    October 25th, 2011  |  1 hr 19 mins

    On improving presentation culture.

    Dan and Merlin talk about bombing the deck, advancing the slides, and striving to improve the self-perpetuating bad culture of presentations.

    Slide?!?

    (Also, kid germs in the spaghetti, meeting the angry corn gu

  • Episode 37: It's Never Not Everywhere

    October 18th, 2011  |  2 hrs 4 mins

    This week, Merlin loves and hates iCloud while loving and REALLY loving Dropbox. He and Dan observe angry corn, discuss emailing files to yourself, wonder what to do with an ugly photo, and explore Mr. Noodle's brother, Mr. Noodle.

  • Episode 36: Writing on the Wind

    October 11th, 2011  |  1 hr 21 mins

    Merlin Mann talks with Dan Benjamin about his dogged obsession with the flexibility of index cards—for propping up tables, giving very small cuts, and getting babies hygienically removed. Then, there is much talk of graphing your focal length against your

  • Episode 35: Why My Pants Were On Fire

    September 27th, 2011  |  1 hr 34 mins

    How to handle job interviews.

    Merlin and Dan can't solve the problem of interviews being dumb, but Merlin will tell you what is wrong with you, how long you'll have to wait for your resume to get you a job, how Larry Wall interviews for a Perl job, an

  • Episode 34: Rectangular Door Conspiracy

    September 20th, 2011  |  1 hr 4 mins

    How to say "no."

    Merlin talks with Dan about saying No to toilet paper diamonds, mints on pillows, and things you don't have the wallet for instead of saying Yes to a crate of bananas you don't have enough information about or giving a qualified Yes to

  • Episode 33: The Hypocrite You Can Live With

    September 13th, 2011  |  1 hr 11 mins

    Merlin Mann and Dan Benjamin have a totally natural emotional reaction to the unreasonable demands they place on themselves after reading The Spongebob Report. Maybe they wouldn't have offended non-ex-Marines if they had just taken some time and consulted

  • Episode 32: The Beertruck Scenario

    September 6th, 2011  |  1 hr 26 mins

    Merlin and Dan talk about Dan's sabbatical, hotdogs, services, triggers, Quicksilver, Launchbar, and why there's no 'I' in 'ordnance.'

  • Episode 31: You Can Polish AC/DC All Day Long

    August 30th, 2011  |  1 hr 42 mins

    With Dan on sabbatical, Merlin is joined by John Roderick of The Long Winters to talk about life as a bull in a china closet, craving real-world constraints, making better records, and being banned for life from Interpol's corn chip bowl.

  • Episode 30: I'm Not Working in an Abattoir

    August 23rd, 2011  |  1 hr 37 secs

    With Dan on sabbatical, Merlin is joined by Jonathan Coulton to talk about traveling, horn sections, and Jonathan’s new album, "Artificial Heart."