Adam Wiggins and Mark McGranaghan host Metamuse, a conversation rooted in their deep experience building tools for creative work. This podcast lives in the space where abstract thinking meets practical craft, regularly exploring how we shape our tools and how those tools, in turn, shape our thoughts and output. You’ll hear detailed discussions on product design philosophy, the evolving landscape of software for thought, and the often messy process of cultivating good ideas. The tone is reflective and nuanced, favoring depth over headlines, as they examine the principles behind the interfaces and the systems that influence how we create. It’s for anyone who has ever been curious about the why behind the tools they use daily, from note-taking apps to complex design platforms. Each episode of this podcast feels like a thoughtful dialogue between two practitioners who are actively engaged in the problems they discuss, making the insights feel earned rather than theoretical. Tune in for a consistently substantive look at the intersection of technology, design, and cognition.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Metamuse
Podcast Episodes
64 // Hiring [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:40
Your company exists to build a product, but the meta-project is to build a team. Adam and Mark discuss hiring managers and job descriptions; the benefit of pilot projects over lengthy interviews; and the “dream candidate…
63 // Platforms with Joe Wadcan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:46
Building your business on a platform like iOS, Wordpress, or Shopify gives you access to that platform’s customers, but comes with many tradeoffs. Joe helped to create the GitHub Marketplace and built his most recent sta…
62 // Community with Ramses Oudt [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:21
A renaissance is happening in productivity tools—and that goes beyond the software itself and into online gathering places for users passionate about those tools. Ramses is the community manager for Logseq, and he joins…
61 // Listener questions 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:52
All your questions about Muse, answered! Mark, Adam, and Wulf discuss the purposes of search in knowledge tools; the need for an infinite canvas file format; the many facets of board archival; and how to fund a research…
60 // Real materials with Dan LaCivita [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:58
Designers use general-purpose vector editors like Sketch and Figma to mock up mobile UIs. Play is a design tool that offer a different approach: designing directly on an iPhone or iPad. Dan from Play joins Mark and Adam…
59 // Infinite canvases with Steve Ruiz [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:51
A new foundational document type is on the rise: the so-called infinite canvas. Steve is the creator of tldraw, an open-source canvas toolkit. He joins Mark and Adam to discuss why the canvas might be the ultimate fully-…
58 // Product decisions with Paulo Pereira [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:57
If you’re on a team responsible for a mature and beloved product, how do you decide what to build next? Paulo is a product manager at Sketch, and he joins Mark and Adam to talk about managing the ever-growing backlog of…
57 // Messaging with Hilary Maloney [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:35
Messaging is how your company talks about its product strategically and systematically. Hilary recently worked with the Muse team to create a new message for Muse 2.0, and she joins Mark and Adam to talk about her creati…
56 // Sync [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:22:42
The foundational technology for Muse 2 is local-first sync, which draws from over a decade of computer science research on CRDTs. Mark, Adam Wiggins, and Adam Wulf get technical to describe the Muse sync technology archi…
55 // Mac app design [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:39
Pro apps on macOS have a look and feel unlike apps on any other platform. Julia and Lennart join Adam to get into the details of designing and implementing Muse for Mac. Topics include the pros and cons of building with…