REWORK

Latest Episodes:

An Email Account is Born Jun 30, 2020

Show notes

To show off the features of HEY, Basecamp's new email service, we needed a fully featured and realistic demo account. That meant writing dozens of fictional emails—a task that fell to Merissa of Basecamp's customer support team. She comes on Rework to talk about her epistolary opus.

Show Notes

HEY website | @heyhey on Twitter - 00:22

Team OMG - 1:39

Notes to self feature - 5:32

Clips feature - 5:35

Reply Later feature - 5:42

Screener feature - 5:51

Fitzgerald "Fitz" Grant - 9:13

"'A Star Is Born' and the Enduring Appeal of 'I Just Wanted to Take Another Look At You'" (Film School Rejects) - 9:29

Designing Hey Jun 23, 2020

Show notes

Basecamp design lead Jonas Downey was one of the first people to experiment with what would eventually become Hey, Basecamp’s newly launched email service. Jonas comes on Rework to talk about building software for humans, preserving a sense of fun weirdness as a new product evolves, and managing a big launch during a tumultuous time.

Show Notes

Hey - 00:21

Our previous episode about Hey, featuring Basecamp co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson - 00:27

Apple vs. Hey - 00:40

Jonas Downey on Twitter - 00:56

Prairienet - 1:36

Basecamp’s book on a calm workplace - 19:20

Hey, What's Going On? Jun 16, 2020

Show notes

Basecamp has launched Hey, a new email platform with a strong point of view. It's also one of the stupidest things Basecamp has ever attempted. Co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson talk about the philosophy around time, attention, and privacy that forms the backbone of Hey, why Inbox Zero is a tyrannical scam, and what Hey does differently.

Show Notes

Hey.com | the Hey manifesto - 00:14

Jason Fried on Twitter - 00:34

DHH on Twitter - 00:48

Jason and Ryan Singer discussed Hey's origins in Highrise in this product strategy Q&A - 3:20

"Highrise is back with Basecamp" (Signal v. Noise) - 3:44

Our previous episode about pixel tracking - 20:04

Our previous episode talking about Superhuman - 24:01

Ian Malcolm's "Your scientists..." clip from Jurassic Park - 30:45

The Spy Who Emailed Me Jun 09, 2020

Show notes

On June 15, Basecamp launches a new email service called Hey. One of its features is that it blocks tracking pixels that report back to the sender when and how you read an email. In this episode, Basecamp's marketing team talks about their difficult search for an email newsletter provider that doesn't track subscribers. And Nabiha Syed, president of the new investigative journalism outlet The Markup, talks about their commitment to data minimization—including zero tracking, not even open rates, on their newsletters—and how that affects their relationship with readers.

Show Notes

Basecamp’s newsletter - 2:34

Hey - 3:05

Andy Didorosi on Twitter - 3:29

Farnam Street newsletter - 5:47

Adam Stoddard on Twitter - 7:23

Mailchimp's postcard program | Opt out of receiving postcards - 9:21

Sendy.co - 12:34

Nabiha Syed's bio | Twitter - 14:04

The Markup - 14:06

The Markup's privacy policy - 14:28

Nabiha’s letter - 16:27

Martijn de Kuijper on Twitter | Revue - 18:40

The Bookshop Around the Corner Jun 02, 2020

Show notes

Andy Hunter launched Bookshop.org in January as a platform to help independent bookstores take and fulfill online orders. Shortly afterward, the pandemic forced small businesses to close their physical doors and Bookshop.org found itself trying to manage three years of growth in three months. Andy comes on the show for a deep dive into how his business works, monopoly power in the book industry, and what steps Bookshop is taking to make sure growth and success don't compromise their mission.

Show Notes

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer - 1:27

"Nevermore, Amazon," our episode about The Raven Book Store - 2:06

Andy Hunter on Twitter - 2:44

Bookshop website | Twitter | Instagram - 2:44

Catapult | Counterpoint | Soft Skull Press - 3:28

Lit Hub - 3:32

Ingram - 6:21

Certified B Corporation - 9:25

Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C. - 10:18

Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, CO - 10:19

Powell’s Books in Portland, OR - 10:20

IndieBound - 13:30

Morgan Entrekin - 15:34

HappyFunCorp - 18:36

Libro.fm - 19:37

Hummingbird Digital Media - 20:16

"Baker & Taylor to Drop Wholesale Book Distribution to Retailers" - 24:56

BuzzFeed article about GrubHub collecting fees from restaurants even when customers call to place orders - 26:05

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins - 30:23

Astounding by Alec Nevala-Lee (Wailin's husband) - 30:45

Help Wanted May 26, 2020

Show notes

The pandemic has caused enormous job losses and forced many companies to rethink the nature of work. In this episode, two Stanford students talk about the online resource they built to help fellow students whose summer internships were canceled, and Wildbit CEO Natalie Nagele returns to Rework to discuss the launch of People-First Jobs, a job board that connects seekers with human-centered companies.

Show Notes

Akshaya Dinesh's website | LinkedIn | Twitter - 1:10

Andrew Tan's website | LinkedIn | Twitter - 1:28

Verkada - 3:36

LinkedIn post announcing the mentorship program - 5:36

Remote Students - 8:10

People-First Jobs website | Twitter - 10:17

Wildbit - 10:21

Natalie Nagele on Twitter - 10:30

COVID-19 Resources on People-First Jobs - 17:27

our recent episode about banning makers of employee surveillance technology - 18:53

Kitty Hawk - 20:20

Winston Sat At His Computer May 19, 2020

Show notes

A growing number of companies have turned to employee surveillance software to monitor their newly remote workforce. Basecamp, which has taken a hardline stance against surveillance of all kinds, decided to ban makers of this "tattleware" from integrating with our products. Basecamp CTO David Heinemeier Hansson comes on the show to talk about how a special "Moral Quandaries" team at the company made the decision and how surveillance systems poison the future of remote work.

Show Notes

Awair air quality monitor - 00:34

A presentation by DHH on "Why Air Quality Matters" - 1:15

DHH on Twitter - 1:55

Basecamp Terms of Service -2:37

Until the End of the Internet policy - 2:46

Basecamp API - 3:54

basecamp.com/extras - 4:09

Article by Drew Harwell of the Washington Post about employee surveillance - 5:10

REMOTE: Office Not Required by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson - 8:53

The surveillance illustration from REMOTE - 9:00

GitHub repository for Basecamp policies - 14:00

Signal v. Noise post about the new policy - 14:21

Apple's "1984" commercial for the Macintosh - 17:10

Bubble Wrap & Prayers May 12, 2020

Show notes

The government may not consider comic book shops, indoor plant stores, and small boutiques "essential," but these businesses are vital to the unique fabric of their neighborhoods and downtowns. Without foot traffic, they're finding new ways to connect with customers and stay afloat, all while navigating supply chain disruptions and e-commerce logistics.

Show Notes

AlleyCat Comics website | Facebook | Instagram - 0:55

Mighty Con - 1:36

"New Comics Delayed Across Industry in Wake of Coronavirus Concerns" (The Hollywood Reporter) - 2:10

Our previous episodes about small businesses and COVID covered fitness studios and family-oriented businesses - 2:37

Hearth & Hammer General Store website | Facebook | Instagram - 3:29

Walden Woods candle - 4:22

The Zen Succulent website | Facebook | Instagram - 8:00

Modern Terrarium Studio by Megan George - 9:01

Jordan Grace Owens website | collaboration with The Zen Succulent - 10:36

Claire Daniel website | picture of her installation at The Zen Succulent - 11:02

Mad Cave Studios GoFundMe for comic book shops - 13:25

Image Comics announcement on their COVID measures - 13:37

Megan George was able to get a Paycheck Protection Program loan, but most of her fellow women of color business owners were shut out - 16:04

Sex Criminals - 19:31

Moog Theremini - 21:16

Living on Hope May 07, 2020

Show notes

We call up our friend and former colleague Esther Lee, who lives with her husband on a 35-foot sailboat named Hope in Jacksonville, Florida. Esther, an "idealist in hiding," talks about how living smaller gives her more space to turn outward and care for others, especially now.

Show Notes

Esther's bio at the Poetry Foundation - 00:25

The Minimalists - 3:30

Sailrite sewing machines - 9:30

eXXpedition - 13:32

eXXpedition's João Pessoa to Barbados leg has been rescheduled to 2022 - 13:45

Sacrificial Metal by Esther Lee - 14:22

Rudolf Laban - 14:52

Wayfinders Now on Instagram | website - 17:55

Kids Incorporated May 05, 2020

Show notes

Endless Zoom meetings, being cut off from friends, the widespread cancellation of summer fun, ricocheting between boredom and anxiety—kids have it pretty rough! And it's no picnic for their parents, either. In this episode, businesses built on offering in-person enrichment for children talk about how they're adapting to reach families and stay resilient during this time.

Show Notes

Nancy Mork's biography - 00:47

Fussy Baby Network website | Facebook - 00:50

Erikson Institute - 00:53

Hatch Art Studio website | Instagram - 3:51

Collage Workshop for Kids by Shannon Merenstein - 3:55

Omowale Casselle on Twitter - 5:28

Digital Adventures website - 5:32

Bar Rucci's Art Bar Blog - 13:06

Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art - 21:17

Eric Carle's book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar (not The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar like Wailin says) - 21:21

Collage Workshop for Kids on Bookshop.org - 21:29