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Back to Work

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

Ranked #1

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Episode 459: Alley Oop to Yourself in the Future

Episode 459: Alley Oop to Yourself in the Future

Merlin needs help in the NOC; Dan discovers sensitive sauce; there are thresholds; hurting your roller skating muscles; ... Read more

7 Jan 2020

1hr 8mins

Ranked #2

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Episode 239: Starving African Child

Episode 239: Starving African Child

TOPIC: Block! Block! Body blow! Uppercut! This week, Dan and Merlin talk less about ad-blocking and more about what kind... Read more

23 Sep 2015

1hr 49mins

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Ranked #3

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Episode 168: It's Okay for Cats to Wander Around on Planes

Episode 168: It's Okay for Cats to Wander Around on Planes

TOPIC: Standing up to Attention Bullies. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about the world's impossible expectations regard... Read more

22 Apr 2014

1hr 11mins

Ranked #4

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Episode 238: A 100-Year Problem

Episode 238: A 100-Year Problem

TOPIC: Knowing what you'll need to know. This week, Dan and Merlin answer a listener question about how the "slow your r... Read more

15 Sep 2015

1hr 55mins

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Ranked #5

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Episode 161: Zeitgeist Helmut

Episode 161: Zeitgeist Helmut

TOPIC: Time, Sleep, and Aspirations This week, Dan and Merlin talk about impossible trade-offs and the benefits of remem... Read more

4 Mar 2014

1hr 32mins

Ranked #6

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Episode 140: Silicon Circus

Episode 140: Silicon Circus

TOPIC: Special Guest, Matt Alexander This week, Merlin is joined by Bionic co-host, Matt Alexander. They discuss ““techn... Read more

8 Oct 2013

1hr 24mins

Ranked #7

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Episode 188: The Smell of Snake Anxiety

Episode 188: The Smell of Snake Anxiety

TOPIC: Media, Rarely Well Done This week, Dan and Merlin talk about the modern consumer media landscape and how we seem ... Read more

23 Sep 2014

1hr 48mins

Ranked #8

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Episode 237: Slow Your Roll

Episode 237: Slow Your Roll

TOPIC: Stop that train! This week, Dan and Merlin talk about some ideas for noticing and then battling the surfeits of n... Read more

8 Sep 2015

1hr 38mins

Ranked #9

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Episode 185: David Foster Wallace Morning

Episode 185: David Foster Wallace Morning

TOPIC: The Durable Impossibility of Email. This week, Dan and Merlin return to an evergreen topic: the impossibility of ... Read more

2 Sep 2014

1hr 29mins

Ranked #10

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Episode 181: A Broom Pusher for Johnny Carson

Episode 181: A Broom Pusher for Johnny Carson

While Merlin takes a short sabbatical, Dan is joined by special guest David Sparks to talk about presentations, making y... Read more

6 Aug 2014

1hr 7mins

Ranked #11

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Episode 171: Put a Sweatshirt In My Wallet

Episode 171: Put a Sweatshirt In My Wallet

TOPIC: It's like wallets and backpacks. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about H.R. Giger, Dan's latest Android experiment... Read more

13 May 2014

1hr 17mins

Ranked #12

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Episode 155: Newton's Fifth Law of Politeness

Episode 155: Newton's Fifth Law of Politeness

TOPIC: Isolation and Identity This week, Dan and Merlin talk about civility, identity, Florida, and how you can't unsee ... Read more

21 Jan 2014

1hr 31mins

Ranked #13

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Episode 175: Andy is the Stuff of Nightmares

Episode 175: Andy is the Stuff of Nightmares

TOPIC: "Creativity" where you din't expect it. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about PIXAR, creativity, and FoldingText b... Read more

10 Jun 2014

50mins

Ranked #14

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Episode 260: Stuck in Green Forever

Episode 260: Stuck in Green Forever

TOPIC: Grab Bag. This week, Dan and Merlin cover the waterfront. This wide-ranging episode covers lots of listener feedb... Read more

23 Feb 2016

2hr 1min

Ranked #15

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Episode 373: Red Cheekums

Episode 373: Red Cheekums

Discussed: Dan's gummi vitamins, vitamins in general, the childhood shame of those weird plaque pills, exotic sickness i... Read more

24 Apr 2018

1hr 48mins

Ranked #16

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Episode 404: Very Advanced Camping

Episode 404: Very Advanced Camping

Discussed: Merlin worries that Dan is getting ground down; web sites are getting very thirsty; Dan thinks it's like pads... Read more

11 Dec 2018

1hr 13mins

Ranked #17

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Episode 166: 404 - Friends Not Found

Episode 166: 404 - Friends Not Found

TOPIC: The future we can't know. This week, Dan and Merlin talk about how quickly technology is evolving, how janky that... Read more

8 Apr 2014

54mins

Ranked #18

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Episode 258: Means of Egress

Episode 258: Means of Egress

TOPIC: Feelings, Slide Rules, and The Franklin Test This week Merlin hasn't had enough coffee and may have early-onset t... Read more

9 Feb 2016

1hr 45mins

Ranked #19

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Episode 183: Remember Who Has the Cannon

Episode 183: Remember Who Has the Cannon

TOPIC: Wait, what'd I DO?!? This week, Dan and Merlin talk about anger, misunderstandings, and trying to do the right th... Read more

19 Aug 2014

1hr 30mins

Ranked #20

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Episode 164: Back in the Medieval Village

Episode 164: Back in the Medieval Village

TOPIC: Curiosity & Creativity This week, Dan and Merlin talk more about expertise and how it relates to the ineffabl... Read more

25 Mar 2014

1hr 38mins

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