Hosted by John Siracusa and Merlin Mann.
John Siracusa and Merlin Mann try to figure out exactly how they got this way.
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#88: Static Contraction
October 4th, 2018 · 123 minutes
This week, John has a musical request for Merlin, and Merlin agrees to hop on the court. This leads to a discussion of musical fingernail trimming, and the revelation of an upsetting new callus.
John has questions about Merlin’s crazy bandwidth. This leads to misty, water-colored memories of the way we downloaded. Time was, no one could get ISD…
#87: Looking for Something to Manage
September 20th, 2018 · 111 minutes
This week kicks off with some complaining about Google’s UI cruft. Also, why are school websites so bad? Technology old and new is discussed. John just wants to upload a photo, and Merlin learns a lot about targeted individuals. John is skeptical about whether this is really a thing, but Merlin is pretty sure it is.
John thinks Merlin missed …
#86: Horse’s Feed Bag Full of Food
September 5th, 2018 · 122 minutes
This week, Merlin is losing his mind, and John’s kids can’t even.
Merlin praises his kid’s tech-savvy teacher, and John has questions about how well Merlin has been following his orders. Merlin admits that he literally has not.
Homework is discussed, and John confesses to once starting the world’s longest book report. John recounts his ca…
#85: Comedy’s Not Funny
August 23rd, 2018 · 107 minutes
This week kicks off with John’s candid assessment of Merlin’s new facial hair experiment, and Merlin expresses sympathy for John’s own grave face challenges. Ziti is briefly discussed, and Merlin has a feature request for ATP.
John has some questions about a podcast Merlin likes, and this leads to a discursive walk through ***what makes a pod…
#84: Camptivities
August 9th, 2018 · 108 minutes
Again with the Skype, and the show is off and running with a quick gloss on Programming, Scratch, homemade Pong, and another podcast where John adjudicates what is or is not a thing.
John goes bowling, but it isn’t proper bowling, and Merlin doesn’t actually make it into arcades so much anymore. John explores the squalid underworld of Gamblin…
#83: A Pit of Feek
July 26th, 2018 · 86 minutes
This week, Merlin has managed his time poorly and John has notes about the verisimilitude of Memoji. John’s daughter is at camp and Merlin thinks the show notes are just a mess.
This week’s mini-topic cover’s Merlin’s struggle with a sound bar. This leads to some TV (set) talk. John is in the market for a new one and Merlin asks for some tech a…
#82: Summer of Intentionalities
July 11th, 2018 · 105 minutes
This week starts with an inhale as Merlin fails to solve several of John's musical puzzles. Then, there's some R.E.M. talk. As you do.
This week's mini-topic involves Merlin's Summer Projects. Merlin likes choosing the right word, and John doesn't really do projects. This ends up leading to some deep discussion about buying a guitar and…
#81: Sixteen-Tile Puzzle
June 28th, 2018 · 95 minutes
This week opens with Merlin’s heavy reappraisal of Isle of Dogs, plus an anecdote that involves his wife slapping a remote out of his hands. John shares some strong opinions about motion smoothing and reveals the stunning secrets of Instagram. Your hosts discuss New England.
John reveals a new wrinkle in his daughter’s recent dietary radical…
#80: Death is an Easy Diagnosis
June 14th, 2018 · 100 minutes
This week’s wraparound episode begins with the annual WWDC reporting live from the show floor. Then, Merlin explains a joke and shows John an image you can’t see yet. John has trouble stopping the flow of WIRED, and Apple TV apps are further discussed. Merlin briefly uses his Nest camera as a voice dingus. Very briefly.
Your hosts talk a…
#79: Goofball Island
May 31st, 2018 · 92 minutes
This week kicks off with a main topic: Kid Independence Projects. Merlin is trying a new thing, and John admits that he’s pan-fretful. What kind of stuff do you undertake to encourage your kids’ independence and responsibility? What about the fires and the knives? Merlin is proud when his daughter deceives him, but John’s a little disappoi…