
Merlin Mann's frank & candid weekly phone call with John Roderick of The Long Winters
| Publishes | Weekly | Episodes | 641 | Founded | 15 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | PhilosophySociety & Culture | |||

The Problem: Trees can’t eavesdrop.
(Recorded on August 17, 2026.)
The Problem: That type is Eric.
(Recorded on August 10, 2026.)
The Problem: We’re living in an earnest time.
(Recorded on August 3, 2026.)
People also subscribe to these shows.




I often refer to John and Merlin as my progressive dads. John is one of the best story tellers I’ve ever heard, and Merlin is truly the funniest person I’ve ever listened to (You Look Nice Today, baby). Thanks for all the great shows and keep them coming!
This podcast works on the same sturdy principles that made shows like Car Talk delightful for years. 2 guys who really like each other and who share a common sense of irony and humor just go at it for an hour, spinning up yarns and ideas. It’s like eavesdropping on the most interesting people at a party.
It’s rough to listen to now. Guys didn’t learn anything from Covid as they’re all on pharma drugs now. Prayers for Merlin’s kid.
I only started listening to this podcast because my brother’s name is Roderick. But I was hooked immediately. I love John’s stories, but plenty of people have pointed that out. The absolute best thing for me about this podcast is Merlin Mann’s delightful overthinking of his ADHD. He speaks to me in my language, and I find his “mental technologies” to be truly life changing. It has really helped me think about my own life in a more gamified way, which makes it much easier to get through the day. ... more
The show would be great but Merlin interrupts every other second and doesn’t shut up. More John please.
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.
How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.
Apple Podcasts | #58 | |
Apple Podcasts | #118 | |
Apple Podcasts | #175 | |
Apple Podcasts | #66 | |
Apple Podcasts | #121 | |
Apple Podcasts | #124 |
Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.
Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.
| Listeners per Episode | |
|---|---|
| Gender Skew | |
| Location | |
| Interests | |
| Professions | |
| Age Range | |
| Household Income | |
| Social Media Reach |
Two longtime friends—Merlin Mann and John Roderick—exchange freewheeling, story-forward conversations that blend personal memory, culture, travel, and everyday observations with sharp humor. Across episodes, listeners get a steady stream of candid banter, witty riffs, and thoughtful digressions about aging, fame, media, and the small rituals of daily life. The format often feels like a long, intimate chat between two creative collaborators, with a mix of nostalgia, pop culture references, and offbeat details that can feel both nostalgic and timely.
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Roderick on the Line. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Roderick on the Line and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for four million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for Roderick on the Line, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.
Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for Roderick on the Line, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
To see how many followers or subscribers Roderick on the Line has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
These podcasts share a similar audience with Roderick on the Line:
1. Omnibus
2. Reconcilable Differences
3. Do By Friday
4. The Talk Show With John Gruber
5. Accidental Tech Podcast
Roderick on the Line launched 15 years ago and published 641 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Roderick on the Line from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of Roderick on the Line. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.
Recent guests on Roderick on the Line include:
1. John Roderick
2. Non-binary teen
To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.