Reconcilable Differences

This week kicks off with Merlin having a rare on-air beverage to celebrate, but not too many, unless he feels like it. John helps Merlin remember some things that he couldn't remember he’d forgotten. Luckily, we record this program. John thinks the water fountain story has been robbed of its power, and Merlin learns that cornhole is real. John tackles the first of several unfounded points about hi...

This week, John drives, and Merlin leads from behind. Your hosts are pretty sure they remember talking about having trouble remembering whether they’ve talked about memory before, but no way does that stop them from taking their deepest dive yet into the many troubles with human memory. Or, at least it’s the deepest dive that they can remember taking. _For now_. Anyway. This leads to an exploratio...

This week kicks off with Merlin’s Bon Jovi snobbery and John’s concerns about Bono. The excellent _Vietnam War_ series is discussed and mutually endorsed. With the overdue return of Ordinary Time, your hosts cover some exciting Nest IQ Cam follow-up and debate face recognition in the macOS Photos app. There’s some worrisome follow-up on those iOS password pop-ups and how they could potentially be...

This week kicks off with a meander through Skype avatars, back-to-school night, and personal metadata quirks. Merlin feels bad about getting a new TV, and John assures him it probably won’t be terrible. On separate occasions, John and Merlin both demonstrate a lot of restraint. Merlin apparently doesn’t know how to (not) turn off his PlayStation, so John walks him through it. Paul’s in the basemen...

This week kicks off with dives into religious time, talking like a wizard, kid manners, and the times your hosts did and mostly did not get recognized. *Google me!* John gets hung up on Merlin’s avatar choices, and both hosts get Happy-Go-Jackie on the junkiness of Apple’s Mac apps. John’s kid made a comic, and Merlin has some diminished expectations for his Cat Lady and her van. Then, there’s an...

This week kicks off with some Daisy updates and surprisingly deep dives into online banana quizzes and proper application of The Bristol Scale. Merlin hates having a freezer full of fruit, and John has frankly had it with all the Britishisms. Merlin kindly offers to buy John a new dingus, and John demurs with extreme prejudice. Moving onto John’s doggy spy camera, your hosts find much to dislike a...

This week kicks off with some travel woes, news stress, and how Merlin is laboring to save “Planty.” John learns his concerns about Merlin’s multitasking afternoon bath habits were well-founded. The beauty of non-obvious movie effects and CGI are lauded. This week’s main topic is ***Mid-Life Crisis***. What even is it? How do you know if you’re having one, and how many will there be? How come ther...

This _double wraparound_ episode kicks off with updates on John’s ongoing struggle with Daisy’s potty habits. Merlin tries to help, but John suffers neither his analogy nor his blatant Male Answer Syndrome. Merlin still thinks John may be a doggie racist. Further, few differences are reconciled in debating which are the best MCU movies. Merlin’s daughter goes to theme camps, and John pushes back o...

This week kicks off with Merlin walking John through his exciting new nap workflow. John has significant safety concerns. In dog news, it seems Daisy has discovered toilet paper. This week’s accidental main topic finds your hosts ending up talking _a lot_ about ***80s Music***. Why are all the lyrics sites wrong? U2 vs. R.E.M.? How even would you make a radio mixtape? Is it really just a matter of...

This week kicks off with thoughts on breaking-in new stuff, a tutorial on washing blue jeans, and, regrettably, the official retirement of Barrel Week. Eighties comedies are _problematic_, Richard Dawson had a pretty sweet mic, and our calendars are still **such** a mess. John’s got beef with deliberately-distressed stuff, Merlin commits to a new lifestyle, and John helps you find photos of his do...

This week kicks off with some discussion of Yakov Smirnoff’s beard, why Merlin wants to buy a drill, and how John feels a little vindicated about his read of _Fight Club_. In follow-up, John catches us up on how things went after his wife listened to the house duties episode. Merlin just wants to be loved, and John just isn’t sold on the benefits of being a _no-shoe household_. This week’s mini-to...

In this wraparound episode, your hosts kick off with follow-up on _Arrival_ (no spoilers) and why John gets sad when people don’t listen to the program. Merlin has questions about YouTube influences and quickly forgets John is on The Incomparable. Do dogs like NPR, and how would we even know? Can you please turn the TV off, _please_? George is getting angry! John’s bird seems to be moving further...

This week kicks off with some follow-up on John’s bird-enemy and why a person would ever eat popcorn with a spoon. A (spoiler-free) check-in with _The Leftovers_ Season 3 leads to a further discussion of trailers, recaps, and…spoilers. Your hosts address their approaches to “His ‘n Hers” media consumption, and the joys of watching closely. The main topic this week is ***PIXAR***. Specifically, you...

Follow-up kicks off with Merlin’s iMac repair and why it’s fun to buy things with your phone. Strategies for tricking kids into watching media are explored, and John talks about why he’s still a TiVo man. _Engadget_ hangs John’s Mac. Merlin bemoans point-of-sale systems, and John provides important corrections from his wife on that weird metal Visa card he got. Merlin updates us on some unusual te...

This week, John and Merlin fret about their kids’ health and inherited emotional baggage. Merlin fails at becoming Sisyphus, while John is pessimistic about keeping anything in pairs. John shares his recent experience at a concert by his celebrity crushes, Aimee Mann and Jonathan Coulton. Jonathan gets dressy, and Aimee receives an important message from the Ancient Bird. Finally, talk turns to tr...

This week, Merlin helps a friend and John disallows an awkward neologism. John wonders who refills the store-smell machine. John surprises Merlin by (finally) watching the film, _Les Misérables_, and shares his impressions. What works, what doesn’t, and why does the sewer need to be so sewery? In a surprisingly robust main topic, John recalls his youth spent playing handball and many other New Yor...

This week kicks off with John analyzing Merlin’s various mouth noises, self-styled music cues, and personal sound effects. Both hosts get songs stuck in their heads. John lays a trap for Merlin, and Merlin shares an important new dream with the Ancient Bird. At length, your hosts get a little meta, with follow-up on things Merlin still hasn’t watched. Many mini topics are considered, discussed, an...

This week kicks off with John talking about the new Zelda game alongside thoughts on what it takes to keep a franchise great. In follow-up, John addresses online angst and agita about the recent discussion of _Arrival_. Next up, Merlin gets his time in the barrel as John disabuses him of his self-styled situation as "the dumb one." Merlin tries gamely to change the subject to how status works in i...

Merlin admits to almost watching something on TV and encourages John to talk him out of buying a new laptop. John has concerns about dander diamonds, and Merlin briefs John on the mechanics of modern version control. This week’s first topic is **self-driving cars** and how soon they’re likely to be ready, as they say, for prime time. John cannily revisits his Parameters of the World and, no, he do...

This week, things open with a shockingly thorough discussion of chickens that somehow pivots to Costco caskets, TV buying decisions, Merlin's increasingly strange pronunciations, and John’s reluctant agreement to become a cron job. Follow-up covers John finding those charts about global living conditions and Merlin finally figuring out how to remember the name of that one song. There's a fair amou...

This week starts off ignominiously, with John and Merlin both not remembering several things. Merlin proposes *The File Card Effect*, and John knows not to be too smart when searching Google. John celebrates the proper use of Title Case, while Merlin frets over wearing his memories down to a nub. Mini-topic this week is Merlin’s latest fraught and stressful experience on jury duty (yes, again). Jo...

This week, it doesn't take long to get deep in the stack on texting people in the same room, John's take on pound-sign hashtags, and the location of Merlin's missing meat. The mini-topic this week is **tattoos**. Specifically, why Merlin has developed such strong feelings about tattoos, plus John's vision of a world free of theoretical tattoo discrimination. For the main topic, your hosts address...

This week, John won’t talk about his job, Merlin has jury duty (yes, *again*), and your hosts do some follow-up on documentaries. The disappearing of classic episodes of older PBS shows is lamented. The main topic this week is **Dad Stuff**. Dad Jokes, Dad Hats, and Dad…everything. In particular, when did Dad Jokes become a thing, and exactly what part of that label is supposed to be so bad and in...

This week, Merlin introduces John to a thriving culture of internet busybodies. What happens when we’re only ever exposed to people who look or think like we do? What would we do with free access to an all-you-can-eat Fun Dip buffet? In follow-up, John learns about “Bay Lake,” but badly confuses his celebrity folk heroes. Around a YouTube series Merlin a perimeter creates. Your hosts debate which...

This week kicks off with some contentious claims that Merlin is a crammer and John is a monster. Merlin reminds John that he is out of his depth, and John remembers things. Also, some brief talk on Apple router alternatives and learning to tolerate morning notifications. Lots of follow-up on Free Will, including thoughts on Heisenberg, tail-chasing, and provocative recent scholarship on whether wh...