The Talk Show With John Gruber

447: ‘A Sociopathic Father’, With Adam Lisagor

Adam Lisagor returns to the show to talk about Hovercraft [https://sandwich.vision/hovercraft], his new virtual presentation camera app for Mac, and how he's developing it with AI coding tools. Also, delicious Japanese spite sandwich cookies. Sponsored by: * Parcel [https://parcel.app]: Track your packages in one place, with native apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. * Scribe [https://scribe.how/talkshow]: Instantly capture and optimize workflows so your teams and AI agents do their best work. * Squarespace [https://squarespace.com/talkshow]: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code TALKSHOW. Transcripts: Unofficial but surprisingly good [http://podsearch.david-smith.org/shows/11]. Links: * Hovercraft — A virtual presentation camera for Mac [https://sandwich.vision/hovercraft]. * Adam’s intro video, on Twitter/X [https://x.com/adamlisagor/status/2052057904174489723]. * Version 1.1 is already out with some cool new features [https://x.com/adamlisagor/status/2055046267659817357]. * Theater [https://theater.sandwich.vision/] — Sandwich Vision’s theater experience app for VisionOS. * Television [https://television.sandwich.vision] — Sandwich’s, well, television experience app. * Cursor [https://cursor.com/] — Adam’s preferred coding agent. * Birdhouse, Adam and Cameron Hunt’s “Notepad for Twitter” from 2009 [https://web.archive.org/web/20090802142606/https://birdhouseapp.com/]. * The Birdhouse launch video, which launched Sandwich Video [https://sandwich.co/work/a-notepad-for-twitter/]. * Daring Fireball: Birdhouse — A Notepad for Twitter [https://daringfireball.net/linked/2009/04/13/birdhouse]. * Noir — Delicious Japanese spite sandwich cookies [https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/05/04/noir-japanese-cookies]. * Allen Pike [https://allenpike.com/]. * Allen on The Talk Show, back in December 2024 [https://daringfireball.net/thetalkshow/2024/12/02/ep-415]. * Yojimbo [https://www.barebones.com/products/yojimbo/]. * The graph I generated [https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/05/gruber-yojimbo-items-per-year.pdf], using AppleScript and Numbers, of the new Yojimbo items I’ve created per year. * Canon’s XL1 digital video camera from 1998 [https://global.canon/en/c-museum/product/dvc666.html]. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

446: ‘Food and Beverage Director’, With MG Siegler

MG Siegler returns to the show to discuss Apple’s announcement that Tim Cook is stepping aside (into the role of executive chairman) and John Ternus will become CEO. Sponsored by: * Squarespace [https://squarespace.com/talkshow]: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code TALKSHOW. * Drafts [https://getdrafts.com/thetalkshow]: The Swiss Army knife for text on all your Apple devices. Act now to get your first year of Drafts Pro for 50% off. * Finalist [https://finalist.works/talkshow]: A daily planner for iPhone, iPad and Mac, built on proven paper-based planning methods. Use this link to get six months free. Transcripts: Unofficial but surprisingly good [http://podsearch.david-smith.org/shows/11]. Links: * Apple Newsroom: * “Tim Cook to become Apple Executive Chairman; John Ternus to become Apple CEO [https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/04/tim-cook-to-become-apple-executive-chairman-john-ternus-to-become-apple-ceo/]”. * “Johny Srouji named Apple’s Chief Hardware Officer [https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/04/johny-srouji-named-apples-chief-hardware-officer/]”. * MG, at Spyglass: * “A Cook’s Tour [https://spyglass.org/tim-cook-steps-down-as-ceo-of-apple/]”. * “John Ternus’s Magic Show [https://spyglass.org/the-pledge-the-ternus-the-prestige/]”. * Yours truly: * “Another Day Has Come [https://daringfireball.net/2026/04/another_day_has_come]”. * “Time to Serve Some Delicious Claim Chowder Regarding the Cook-Ternus CEO Transition [https://daringfireball.net/2026/04/delicious_claim_chowder_regarding_the_cook-ternus_ceo_transition]”. * “The New York Times Printed the Wrong Crossword Grid Last Sunday, and I Find That Timing Serendipitous [https://daringfireball.net/2026/04/nyt_wrong_crossword_grid]”. * Steven Levy: * “Apple’s Next CEO Needs to Launch a Killer AI Product [https://www.wired.com/story/apples-next-ceo-needs-to-launch-a-killer-ai-product/]” (paywall-busting Apple News+ link [https://apple.news/AdCC7y43rTQq6SZH2bDmqxA]). * 2008: “Joe Nocera Gets a Call From Steve Jobs [https://daringfireball.net/linked/2008/07/26/nocera-jobs]”. * 2010, regarding Mark Papermaster, whom Steve Jobs fired just weeks after the iPhone 4 antennagate press conference: “Papermaster and That Damn Antenna [https://daringfireball.net/2010/08/papermaster_damn_antenna].” * “Look at how many blueberries your muffin has, and how many mine has. Yours is falling apart. I have nothing. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oF1Rd5kis4]” This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

445: ‘Apple at 50’, With John Siracusa

Who better to join the show to commemorate Apple’s 50th anniversary than John Siracusa? Sponsored by: * Sentry [https://sentry.io/talkshow]: A real-time error monitoring and tracing platform. Use code TALKSHOW for $80 in free credits. * Notion [https://notion.com/talkshow]: The AI workspace where teams and AI agents get more done together. * Factor [https://factormeals.com/talkshow50off]: Healthy eating, made easy. Get 50% off your first box, plus free breakfast for 1 year, with code talkshow50off. * Squarespace [https://squarespace.com/talkshow]: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code TALKSHOW. Transcripts: Unofficial but surprisingly good [http://podsearch.david-smith.org/shows/11]. Links: * The Commodore VIC-20 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VIC-20]. * Apple’s looks-good-to-this-day “Snow White” hardware design language [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White_design_language] from the 1980s, created in collaboration with Frog Design. * The Apple IIc [https://www.oldcomputers.net/appleiic.html] — in my opinion, the epitome of “Snow White”. * Frog Designed turned 50 back in 2019 [https://www.theverge.com/design/2019/6/26/18758789/apple-mac-design-snow-white-frog-polk-photo-essay], and The Verge has some amazing photos from their collection, including a jaw-dropping prototype for the Lisa. * Star Blazers [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Blazers]. * Yours truly, back in 2014, on the Finder’s “Special” menu [https://daringfireball.net/2014/01/special]. * Yours truly guesting on The Verge’s Version History podcast [https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/03/29/version-history-macintosh], to talk about the original Macintosh. * Hyperspace [https://hypercritical.co/hyperspace/] — Siracusa’s perfectly-named Mac utility for saving space via APFS magic. * ATP [https://atp.fm/] (a pretty good podcast), and episode 683 [https://atp.fm/683] in particular (a pretty good episode of that podcast, wherein Marco Arment tells the tale of the Mac Mini server farm he built for Overcast’s now-in-beta generated-transcripts feature). * Infinite Mac [https://infinitemac.org/] — classic Mac (and NeXTStep) emulators that run in your web browser. * “Can’t innovate anymore, my ass. [https://www.theverge.com/2013/6/10/4412350/apple-new-mac-pro-wwdc-2013]” * ResEdit 2.1 Reference [https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/mac/pdf/ResEditReference.pdf] — still hosted at Apple’s website. * SNL’s “McIntosh Jr.” commercial [https://www.reddit.com/r/VintageApple/comments/bq4ucw/mcintosh_jr_vintage_apple_parody/], the best Apple parody ad ever made. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

444: ‘You’re Going to Have the Niggles’, With Christina Warren

Christina Warren returns to the show to discuss Apple’s big month of product announcements — in particular, the iPhone 17e and MacBook Neo. And we pour one out for the Mac Pro. Sponsored by: * Squarespace [https://squarespace.com/talkshow]: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code TALKSHOW. * Sentry [https://sentry.io/talkshow]: A real-time error monitoring and tracing platform. Use code TALKSHOW for $80 in free credits. Transcripts: Unofficial but surprisingly good [http://podsearch.david-smith.org/shows/11]. Links: * The iPhone 17e [https://daringfireball.net/2026/03/the_iphone_17e]. * Thoughts and Observations on the MacBook Neo [https://daringfireball.net/2026/03/599_not_a_piece_of_junk_macbook_neo]. * My review: The MacBook Neo [https://daringfireball.net/2026/03/the_macbook_neo]. * Apple Discontinues the Mac Pro With No Plans to Bring It Back [https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/03/26/apple-discontinues-the-mac-pro-with-no-plans-to-bring-it-back]. * Yankees-Giants opens MLB season, on Netflix [https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/03/26/yankees-best-record-in-baseball]. * Nomad 65W Slim Power Adapter [https://nomadgoods.com/products/ac-adapter-65w-usb-c-slim]. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

443: ‘The Pogue Feature’, With David Pogue

Special guest David Pogue discusses his excellent and amazingly comprehensive new book, Apple: The First 50 Years. Sponsored by: * Notion [https://notion.com/talkshow]: The AI workspace where teams and AI agents get more done together. * Squarespace [https://squarespace.com/talkshow]: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code talkshow. * Factor [https://factormeals.com/talkshow50off]: Healthy eating, made easy. Get 50% off your first box, plus free breakfast for 1 year, with code talkshow50off. Transcripts: Unofficial but surprisingly good [http://podsearch.david-smith.org/shows/11]. Links: * “Apple: The First 50 Years [https://www.applefirst50.com]” official website. * Hardcover: * Amazon [https://amzn.to/479Cp8v] * Bookshop.org [https://bookshop.org/a/56320/9781982134594] * E-book: * Kindle [https://amzn.to/4sKCjfK] * Apple Books [https://books.apple.com/us/book/apple/id6749329845] * Photo of Sculley and the other white dude in suits [https://daringfireball.net/misc/2026/03/sculley-exec-team-p251.jpeg] on his executive team, circa 1993, from page 251. (My son Jonas quipped that they look like the executives from the company that made Robocop.) * The “Apple at 50” event David hosted at the Computer History Museum [https://www.youtube.com/live/eCSNJgI2LFI] earlier this month. * The similar event David hosted two years ago, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Macintosh [https://computerhistory.org/blog/insanely-great/]. * Matt Neuberg, back in 1998 (!), reviewing Conflict Catcher for TidBITS [https://tidbits.com/1998/09/14/nice-catch-conflict-catcher/], with mention of the user manual. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.