Roderick on the Line Ep. 612: "Regular Doors"
Jan 26, 2026
John Roderick, Seattle musician and co-founder of The Long Winters, shares witty personal stories. He riffs on aging Macs, app updates that break things, and the loss of simple, reliable gear. He narrates a fraught door-installation saga, corporate portals that block human contact, and a return to analog rituals like handwritten letters and sturdy knobs.
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Everything Feels Like Everything
- Merlin observes that it's become hard to talk about one thing without talking about everything.
- He frames that as a personal aphorism that helps him understand life and conversation.
Old Mac, New Problems
- John describes his aging Mac and the pain of forced OS upgrades that can brick old machines.
- He recounts upgrading to macOS 11 under duress and fearing further updates will break functionality.
Products Lose Their Soul When They Pivot
- Merlin explains that products lose what made them special when companies change them for unclear reasons.
- He links that disappointment to how people respond when apps discard beloved features for vague replacements.
