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.

Back to Work

469: Israel, Jr.

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.

468: Cancellation Christmas

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.

467: I Loved My Garden

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.

466: The Maturation of Pillow Forts

DISCUSSED: Merlin isn't quite awake yet and has some audio struggles in the midst of a new project; Dan is bringing back The Podcast Method; committing something to media can still be very special; podcasts are cool, and you should make one; praise for Temple Grandin, a Jason Snell video, and a big upgrade over the stock Home app for iOS; solid syncing has raised a lot of boats; updates on the iOS text editor landscape; and, finally, thoughts on the future of sustainable iOS app development.

465: That 20-Minute Sting

DISCUSSED: new muting!; infrastructure is hard; on dogs; Dan gets a podcast recommendation from his fish guy; who we're 'shipping on Star Trek; a free musical performance for a beloved sponsor; some good TED talks; do we like ligatures in monospace fonts?; Dan is getting restarted with OmniFocus, and Merlin has many, many thoughts and suggestions; finally, your hosts conclude by communicating The Pig Joke. Classic.

464: Winter's Not Done with Me Yet

DISCUSSED: thoughts on hand-washing and habit-building; Dan has a really good scarecrow joke; Merlin still can't figure out how many 12-year-olds Dan owns; Dan has a question about laptops and backpacks; the Tao of Backpacks; how to listen to a podcast; Dan has a question about iPhone cases; what we talk about when we talk about ad blocking; Merlin recommends a TED talk and a podcast about delight; Dan's new Picard podcast is going well; Dan has questions about OmniFocus; finally, Dan has questions about Los Angeles and, then, repeatedly ruins Merlin's very good endings.

463: Begloved in Otherness

Merlin is pretty out of it this week, and Dan shares some listener questions.

462: A Contract About Your Future

DISCUSSED: strongly-held podcast preferences; Skype hates you; praise for Rogue Amoeba and Strong Songs; a small B2W milestone passes; Dan likes 1917; what Jack did; praise for Match Game; a couple app and font reccos; tips for tricking out your Logitech mouse; no, seriously, Skype actively hates you; Merlin nabs an excellent new domain name for the program; Merlin continues his deep dive into LaunchBar; and, finally, some thoughts on burritos and tacos.

461: Dead Noon

DISCUSSED: A fun and creepy new face swap app; Twitter is not creating much new happy; this leads to a discussion of generational perceptions about what's acceptable or even desirable (especially with Apple products); praise for the podcast, The Dream; Merlin gets a new clock; the origin of #MerlinsPoopList; who pays $168 for a bikini?; Merlin has uvula problems; Dan explores P&amp;S Liquid and an upsetting gurgling noise; and, finally, "Back to the Mac 2020™" kicks off with a first dive into the magic of Obdev's LaunchBar.

460: Listen to the Jar

Merlin needs help in the NOC; Dan discovers sensitive sauce; there are thresholds; hurting your roller skating muscles; new printer; and, finally, Merlin conducts a long exploration of unnecessary efficiencies, evolved technologies, and the minimum viable productivity system.

459: Alley Oop to Yourself in the Future

For this very special end of the century, fin de siècle episode, Dan and Merlin make bespoke personal recommendations for music, podcasts, apps, TV shows, YouTube videos, and gadgets.

458: 2 Fury 2 Road

DISCUSSED: holiday lizard talk; some benefits of using "Environment" and "Journal" calendars; nostalgia for the Palm family of products in general and Graffiti in particular; responses to listener letters about: finding a "hook" for a new habit, physical media follow-up, HomeKit dinguses, Markdown editors, the joys of the TaskPaper lifestyle, advice on recovering from a disruption, and, finally, some thoughts on the unexpected benefits of disruption.

457: A Buddhist Gift

DISCUSSED: Dan presents a curious new bathroom project; some thoughts on OCD, procrastination, and empathy; praise for Fury Road, Inglourious Basterds, and Dunkirk; Dan has follow-up on his awesome new laptop and the state of Unix shells; Merlin makes the case for occasionally getting unused to things.

456: Urinal Cup

DISCUSSED: Drafts for Mac is out!; check out Damon Lindelof on The Watch; suggestions for HomeKit power strips; and responses to listener letters on rediscovering the joys of physical media and getting started with addressing chronic pain.

455: Talc Mandala

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

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Back to Work

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