April 28, 2020 at 1:45PM •
1 hour 13 minutes
DISCUSSED: Merlin is having a strange day, and Dan notices everything; please remember that fear and stress and anxiety are pretty terrible motivators; praise for On Becoming a God in Central Florida and 1Password; security theater vs. security reality; Dan's new mouse is as quiet as a…what's the word?; Brushing with Hardest Available Toothbrush Considered Harmful; Dan is gently exposing his son to one of the great films. So what?; a couple great pieces on making actual good passwords; recommendations for a Sondheim special and a terrific YouTube guy; extensive advice and suggestions for a listener moving to a Mac; learning almost anything is a lot like learning The Metric System; and, finally, praise for the great Peter N. Lewis.
April 21, 2020 at 5:00PM •
1 hour 6 minutes
DISCUSSED: our perception of value is definitely personal and maybe even a little generational; sometimes, the only thing you can afford is the best; a listener question about where your hosts are with comics; further praise for TaskPaper; updates on macOS text editing; Merlin capitulates to Catalina; Dan answers a listener question about coping with chronic back pain; learning how to stop rehearsing frailty by embracing the wonders of momentum.
April 14, 2020 at 2:45PM •
1 hour 12 minutes
DISCUSSED: Dan loves it when things just work and so does Merlin; Dan is composting, and Merlin is down to clown; ¡repita después de mi!; massive real-time follow-up; playing with iBeacons; excellent follow-up and notes from listeners; many reccomendations; memories of Grad Night; this is a very silly one.
April 7, 2020 at 2:00PM •
1 hour 18 minutes
TW: very brief mention of suicide around minute 24.
DISCUSSED: a classic three-act episode! Expertise is difficult to explain—let alone to teach; the Sunday Scaries are real; it's an interesting (and surprising) time for people with anxiety and depression; let's keep trying to give each other a break; some follow-up on Descript and the One-Drawer Project; You Look Nice Today is back; finally, Dan has some tips on surviving working from home.
March 31, 2020 at 1:30PM •
1 hour 6 minutes
In this very intimate episode, Dan and Merlin share some ideas for positive yet do-able projects to improve your life and world in these dumb, scary times.
Also, covered in this episode: recommendations for Max Richter's Sleep and an insane new podcast production app called "Descript".
March 24, 2020 at 5:30PM •
57 minutes
Difficult times and the Venn overlap between anxiety and OCD. Hang in there, everybody.
March 17, 2020 at 2:15PM •
1 hour 18 minutes
DISCUSSED: “CATS — Now and Forever!”; BokBok.wtf; on civic responsibility; Dan browses worms, and Merlin finds him a spider; Dan wants some keyboard advice, and Merlin just needs a ride; some thoughts on engaging versus escaping right now; praise for Danny Elfman and Oingo Boingo; suggestions for leveraging the wonder of libraries today; Dan is working on a big Minecraft project, also some listener letters.
March 9, 2020 at 4:00PM •
1 hour 11 minutes
DISCUSSED: heck, yeah, there's a lot of uncertainty; the woeful knock-on effects of COVID-19, from SxSW to presidential handshaking; Dan graciously accepts Merlin's apology; it's so important that you not touch the fish's face; Dan's Podcast Method is back, baby; you can tell an ecosystem is healthy when the advice about it diversifies; Dan explains the Kelvin Timeline and why he hates it; a Celebration of Bones emerges; Merlin is intrigued by Otter and a little unsure about Jumbo; Dan wants you to know it's still him; breaking handshake news; the boys get a nice letter from a listener; Merlin kinda busts a gut about where his head was at when Back to Work launched; audio is afoot; recommended starter episodes are offered; and, finally, praise for Lost and Japanese Queer Eye.
March 3, 2020 at 3:00PM •
1 hour 15 minutes
DISCUSSED: Merlin's uvula thing is back; some handy one-liner suggestions; the boys are loving uBar, and this leads to a dive on how they use the macOS Dock; praise for Witch; Ultraman is back, baby!; 500,000° is very, very hot; some nebulous, initial thoughts about a bracing call to focus on doing the work (and not how it looks to others when you're doing the work); a listener letter on alternatives for music hosting and streaming in the Apple ecosystem; wow, hard drives sure got super-cheap, huh?; nostalgia for those awesome old Jasmine BacPac hard drives; and, finally, a listener needs your help finding good episodes about surviving and thriving while working in a corporate environment.
February 25, 2020 at 12:00PM •
1 hour 18 minutes
DISCUSSED: Skype steals focus, and Merlin ate your poem; music is pretty great; some odds and sods and recommendations; everyone should have a bell; learning to trust your system (and yourself); listener mailbag; Dan loves his new backpack; more on bulwarks against madness.
