Relay FM - Reconcilable Differences

This week kicks off with a critique of Merlin's new haircut and eyeglasses. Also, Happy Birthday to Relay dot fm. John's recommendation of a movie viewing option is very quickly withdrawn, but then he has an even better recommendation. Next up, your hosts talk about John's experience with opening his Twitter DMs. This leads to a discussion of PR spam and the people who make it. What are the benefits and risks of making yourself more available? It's important to know what not to needle people about. Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop! Merlin reads some listener mail, and John briefly disappears down a series of recursive memory holes. Talk turns to chairs. Late chairs, lost chairs, and extremely coincidental chairs. _Chairs!_ Finally, since John has recently returned from his Summer trip, it's time to review his vacation results. (_Recorded on Friday, August 2, 2019._)

This week kicks off with John quizzing Merlin about his **vacation results**. After the usual quibbling about terminology, Merlin confesses to being terrible at travel. John thinks vacations don't have to be fun for everybody all the time, but Merlin feels like he was definitely a drag. Can't we just have a plan? If you want ice cream, just put it on the dang calendar. Travel anxiety is discussed. Next up comes an extended meditation on **kitchen things**. Merlin cleans his pan with chain mail, and John's cheese grater finally died. Knives should not be sharp in the wrong places. In what becomes an unintentional **lightning round**, the guys cover internet consumer products, a podcast recommendation, Atari arcade games, more mispronunciation virality, jokes people miss, the Baader–Meinhof Effect, and the pointlessness of asking your family not to talk to you. Merlin tests his wife's mental TiVo-ing skills.

Merlin is not mentally-prepared, but John reminds him that preparedness is an illusion. Or is it? The boys try to remember quotes from _The Godfather_. Sally is a cool name. Your hosts discuss what happens when your friends have different taste in movies, and then you have to listen to them talk about it on a podcast. I mean, who doesn't like _Hot Fuzz_? John and Merlin recall the probematic films of their youth and enumerate several that their kids are specifically not encouraged to watch. John lets his son choose the movie by genre only, and Merlin worries about robbing his kid of a precious film gift. Merlin has thoughts on the humanity of Vines, and John doesn't enjoy Merlin's favorite Vine, although, Merlin really likes John's frog video. Why are the Daddies popping all those cherries, and what's the name of that Ewok guy anyway? In follow-up, Merlin has some excellent ancillary material on _Hamilton_, but John just won't let him have this one. Isolated track videos are discussed. Your hosts struggle through various aspects of Boston indie rock history. This week’s main topic is the controversial debate over running Apple betas. Who should and shouldn’t be running them? What are the risks and benefits? And what happens if all your iCloud data gets borked, smart guy? Things get a little silly, and the guys start doing voices. John has a challenge for Max. In Super Tech Support, John helps Merlin diagnose a weird iOS audio problem. John struggles with his Console, and Merlin does one last voice. (_Recorded on Tuesday, June 25, 2019._)

This week kicks off with John iteerogating Merlin's authentic Italiano recipe for baked ziti. Merlin says it's a hit with his family, but John has a _lot_ of problems with the ingredients. Not least the yogurt. John has a much simpler approach, but Merlin is anxious about stirring the sauce. Sometimes, recipes come with very long anecdotes, and we should be woke about that. Tall poppies think they're better than you, and sometimes, it can be hard to frame the things you choose to make with the world. Merlin's ideas for podcasts are considered and rejected for practical reasons. Next up, John wants to hear about Merlin and his family finally getting to see _Hamilton_. You really get an idea in your head about how something should sound, and then you get all mad when somebody doesn't do the thing. Alex did get better, but his Mother definitely went quick. Also, Éponine loves him—but only on her own. Finally, the boys settle in for a Spoiler Slot on the HBO miniseries, _Chernobyl_. Spoiler horn fires off at `1:02:14`.

This week kicks off with Merlin doing John's bit. Merlin has a new ATP shirt but hasn't earned it yet. Your hosts disagree on which of them has the worse taste and sense of humor. Merlin gender-swaps his face and sends it to John, and this leads to a discussion of hairs. John has some information on genes and earwax. The history of product packaging is discussed. Merlin shares some things he made for a different podcast, and John preemptively declares that he failed at the challenge. Merlin still doesn't understand what's allowed in show notes, and John isn't nearly finished demonstrating that this wasn't the actual challenge. The guys tease some visual homework you might want to watch. In a mini-topic, Merlin complains about words he doesn't like and phrases that should probably be replaced. Maybe he should just pen a piece on their ouster. Unless John takes him to task. There's a brief fever dream on references and pronunciation. John blew the chance to do some of Merlin's bits on his other program, but John couldn't get in. John wants to revisit knife sharpening, but Merlin realizes it's a trap. John thinks the Floppers don't listen to the program, and Merlin implores Stu to please reach out. Miyazaki is quite a smoker. So, of course, smoking is discussed. Provided it makes it into the final edit, your hosts _finally_ discuss the Japanese Moving Video. Believe it or not, John has high expectations about the moving process, and Merlin unsubscribes. Do you have any idea what goes into properly packing books? _Do you?_ (_Recorded on Tuesday, May 28, 2019._)