John Siracusa and Merlin Mann try to figure out exactly how they got this way.

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Latest Episodes

#217: Broken on Both Ends

September 15th, 2023 · 89 minutes

John has Follow-Up on his tile guy and cover band Mad Libs.

As a main topic, your hosts consider how we each should be supporting social media platforms we like (or hope to like).

(Recorded on Tuesday, September 5, 2023)

#216: Erroneous Beeping

September 1st, 2023 · 77 minutes

In Follow-up, John shares some updates on his tile and paint journey. Also, he reaches a critical junction in the saga of his freezer.

Next, we learn a little about eggcorns and mondegreens. Then there's some confusion about when the kid from There Will Be Blood was in Iron Maiden, and John corrects Merlin's Conan quote. Again and again.

F…

#215: They Did Start Tomorrow

August 19th, 2023 · 124 minutes

In Follow-Up, John has updates on his omnibus home improvement project. As a main topic, Merlin is interrogated about his AI journey.

(Recorded on Tuesday, August 8, 2023)

#214: First Farm in New York

August 4th, 2023 · 86 minutes

John reports in with his Vacation Results, but he seems reluctant to set Merlin up with his aunt.

For this month's members-only bonus show, your hosts discuss Hack My Home and the world of home makeover TV shows.

You can sign up today to hear all the member episodes, get more bonus stuff, and, yes, support o…

#213: Double Crown

July 21st, 2023 · 89 minutes

Things kick off with an exploration of sharing a mic on-stage and the Battle of Stalingrad. John reminds Merlin he's repeatedly tried to get him into airplane videos.

John's effort to get his username on a new site is being thwarted by a mom who claims to work too hard.

Lemongrab is discussed, and this leads to a real time review of your ho…

#212: Green Grow the Onions

July 7th, 2023 · 96 minutes

A question about question marks becomes a fairly detailed exploration of proper calendar usage and workplace culture. This inexplicably leads to a conversation Merlin recently had about engineering.

John has some Follow-Up on how Vision Pro might handle being used in unusual situations. Casting the right shadow is hard.

Next up, John has q…

#211: A Very Bad Grayble

June 23rd, 2023 · 132 minutes

In follow-up, John addresses a question from one of Merlin's co-hosts in which John agrees that Merlin is weird.

Also, there's a new movie that John saw and that Merlin hasn't (at the time of recording), and John wants Merlin to figure out how it lost part of a star on his letter box dee.

As a main topic, your hosts talk about Apple's recent…

#210: My Personal Fantasia

June 9th, 2023 · 92 minutes

At last, the pop quiz show.

Then, for this month's members-only bonus show, your hosts discuss their summer plans.

(Recorded on Tuesday, May 30, 2023)

#209: Trick Food

May 26th, 2023 · 79 minutes

Things kick off with some sundry food talk. John shows no interest in party-cut pizza or fruit juice concentrates, and Merlin identifies a perplexing class of food that's made of the wrong food.

Follow-up brings updates on how John tries to make his app play nice with macOS weirdness, and there's some important reconsideration regarding what La…

#208: Spinal Tap with Cowboy Hats

May 12th, 2023 · 94 minutes

Things kick off with Merlin giving John a pop quiz on music and a font. Merlin would also please like a special episode for his birthday.

After an admittedly overdue U2 Tangent, John gives Merlin a pop quiz on what their show is about. Then, Merlin clarifies what John can expect from an omnibus "Before Show" super-episode.

Follow-Up covers J…