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

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Merlin Mann

The Wisdom Project

John Siracusa

Hypercritical

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    #284: Burger Boy

    If you want to get into the puffy village, you have to have a child with you.

    April 10th, 2026 · 84 minutes

    What we talk about when we talk about bagging your own groceries.

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    Download: MP3 (77.91 MB)

    Links and Show Notes

    Things kick off with some vintage and international Follow-Up on video extras. Your hosts also consider why you might not actually want to deliberately remove all the Fluoride from your family's drinking water.

    John admits he was once residentially saddled with persistently discolored drinking water.

    As a main topic, your hosts consider whether bagging your own groceries might not be the most durable analogy for how we navigate the present—let alone what we anticipate some eldritch, notional future. Expertise is agreed to be complicated.

    In this month’s member bonus segment, your hosts discuss why someone might choose to delete their "second brain." Should you consider throwing out everything you ever wrote down and just start over? Especially given that it can be difficult to meter the usefulness of a given 55-gallon contractor bag?

    You can sign up today to hear all the member episodes, get more bonus stuff, and help support our program.

    (Recorded on Tuesday, April 31, 2026)

    Credits
    SNL UK opening monologue - YouTube
    Nick Lowe - Wikipedia
    'Born Fighters' 1979 Documentary Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds & Rockpile - YouTube
    Voice of Harold, from Dead Letter Office, by R.E.M. - YouTube
    Mike Martin‘s post about behind-the-scenes documentaries in Australia
    Jess Bowers’s post about EPKs (electronic press kits)
    Chad Hughes Interviews Todd Osgood from Project Farm - YouTube
    West Campus at Boston University
    Ski lift ticket holder (“wicket”)
    The Bluesky post by James in MN that gives the example of bagging groceries
    John D. Mott: Accused of Sexual Misconduct
    St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, in Smithtown, NY
    The Testament of Ann Lee - YouTube
    I Deleted My Second Brain, by Joan Westenberg

    Why I Erased 10,000 Notes, 7 Years of Ideas, and Every Thought I Tried to Save

    Merlin’s garbage-free Readwise link for the “I deleted my second brain” post
    Tool For Thought, by Steven Johnson
    Elements of a ColdFusion application