Mike Rugnetta works as a writer, podcast host, producer, audio engineer, educator, musician, sound designer, and parent. He juggles many roles at once. Rugnetta cocreated and hosts the acclaimed Never Post, a key podcast exploring online life, along with Fun City, a TTRPG show where he serves as GM. He has also led two Crash Course series and PBS’s Idea Channel.

That workload is substantial, so we asked how he maintains focus amid many demands and which tools prove essential. The discussion went deeper, covering creative methods, the importance of consistent electricity, and why removing the headphone jack points to cultural decline.

What tool do you rely on most?

Initially I considered my audio interface. It powers up first each morning and shuts down last at night. The unit is an RME Fireface UCX II, the second most dependable item I own. My headphones rank first.

The same Sony MDR-7506 pair has served me for roughly two decades. They see daily use and earn more trust than many long-term acquaintances. Signs of age have appeared only lately, yet repairs should extend their life several more years.

Some claim mixing cannot happen on headphones. Those voices lack courage. I value mine and handle nearly all mixes through them. Andrew Scheps shares this view, though he updates his set more often; perhaps I should follow suit.

Which item receives too little notice?

Reliable power stands out. My studio landlord and I continue a drawn-out dispute with Con Edison over weak service to the building. Heavy snowstorms hit New York City last winter and cut power for more than a week. Restoration brought near-brownout voltage that stayed low.

Standard levels sit near 122V. My power conditioner currently reads 114V and often drops to 107V. Odd issues arise, most of which I can manage except for the minisplit unit that refuses to run on such low voltage. Heat and cooling have been absent for about a month. A window unit helps yet proves noisy, wasteful, and internet-connected despite instructions otherwise, cycling on and off without clear cause. The printer tweet comes to mind; acquiring a handgun is not a path I wish to take.

In short, appreciate steady outlets. (EDITORS’ NOTE: Please avoid kissing power outlets.)

What app goes on first after a new device?

Firefox, with Firefox Focus on the phone. If that seems plain, Signal and Bandcamp follow for constant use. On a computer, Alfred and Max download right after Firefox.

What single change would you make to your phone?

With a particular set of skills I would pursue action against those currently leading Apple until headphone jacks returned to iPhones. The 3.5mm connection ranks among humanity’s finest achievements, and its removal from favored devices suggests society eroding beneath us. Online voices sometimes decry birthrates or immigration in dramatic terms, yet bias and personal limits keep them from seeing the true core of decline: missing ports.

Which sites stay pinned in your tab bar?

Three work-related email accounts appear, then a personal calendar and Never Post’s production Airtable. Until recently more lively items such as lines, the Max forum, Beta list, or OldReader account remained pinned, but that habit reduced how often I actually read them.

How many tabs sit open at the moment?

Eighteen, though most opened only to answer these questions. Ten feels typical, twenty feels high. I am not someone who keeps many tabs.

Which social platform sees the most use?

At this age the answer is Bluesky.

Where do you feel happiest online?

Bandcamp, without question. Years ago I met Joe Holt, a former computer science instructor, who mentioned a new startup selling digital music and asked me not to laugh at the name. My early fan account there sits at number four and was the first from someone outside the company.

I would like to support Bandcamp fully, yet recent ownership steps appear to have weakened a union effort. No updates from Bandcamp United have appeared since 2023, and the union FAQ notes that Songtradr has not recognized the union. I once called it the only good website, but the reality is that no website earns that label.

What gadget stands out as your favorite?

A few devices changed everything upon first use. The iPhone did, as did the Switch. Yet both follow the original path set by the first Gameboy, the foundational gadget. Much of today’s device design, aside from internet ties, traces back to that early model. I still own mine and it functions; my wife’s does too. The same cannot be said for our early iPhones.

Which one disappointed most?

The birth of my daughter marked the happiest day of recent years. The next came when I traded a Touchbar MacBook Pro for an M1 model now in use here. That earlier machine, like the subprime mortgage crisis or current administration schemes or Epstein Files disclosures, shows that those in power face no consequences for serious missteps.

Which game holds the strongest memories?

The summer Super Metroid released found me on Cape Cod. I stayed indoors the entire time.

Which tech trend should end?

Technofascism in its many forms holds little appeal.

What creation brings the greatest pride?

All my children receive equal affection.

Which brings the least?

All my children receive equal disregard.

More seriously, hundreds if not over a thousand creations exist when counting every episode. Dozens bring fond recall while others reveal clear room for improvement. Pride covers the whole body of work. Producing material demands effort before the added challenge of sharing it, which mixes satisfaction and difficulty in unexpected ways even after years of practice.

That said, Float City, twenty episodes of fully sound-designed superfuture TTRPG narrative with surprising unplanned turns, stands out as very strong.

What advice has proven most valuable?

Respected voices have repeated some form of the idea that no one else will treat your life with seriousness on your behalf. Broad guidance often presumes full agency that not everyone possesses. Loans, care duties, ability differences, or health can render suggestions to simply step forward or risk everything impractical. The useful reminder is that agency exists within one’s own life even if it feels distant or unused.

The advice prompts a search for areas of control and their application toward goals. Taking life seriously means exactly that, and it remains a personal task.

What holds your attention now?

Beyond usual interests like synthesizers and post-structuralist theory, recent weeks involved designing and building problem-solution furniture for the studio. The work proved satisfying and economical. Results are imperfect and plain yet personal, likely to last a decade. One piece updates a 2010 record shelf now adapted for synths.

More immediately, an upcoming Never Post episode on Doom means playing through notable Doom and Quake mods, WADs, and TCs. The latest Quake Brutalist Game Jam ranks among the most striking projects encountered; obsession fits the description.

How do you reach focus?

Ninety percent of the work involves quiet sitting for writing, mixing, editing, or scoring, so practice has shaped life around entering the zone. Phone notifications stay limited to text, email, and work Slack. The studio sits at the rear of the building away from the street beneath a large tree and separate from the apartment. Clients and coworkers remain remote, leaving only me and occasionally the dog during work hours.

Motivation rather than focus poses the larger hurdle, especially with administrative tasks like emails and invoices. Music usually starts the process; an Italian electro-acoustic compilation plays now, and recent releases from Gnod have also helped.

What steps follow when stuck?

Stuck moments usually trace to two causes: forcing a project into an unsuitable form or lacking sufficient input. The two can connect.

The state lingers while denial continues about the need to adjust what sits in front of you. This appears in many ways. Writing may head away from expected conclusions yet still gets steered back. Sound design may yield poor results while stubbornness insists otherwise. Fixing these typically requires returning to an earlier point. Returning feels like lost progress and can seem impossible or irresponsible, though ironically starting over often proves faster than pushing through the tangle that has formed.

Creative work carries a kind of momentum. Ideas, sounds, images, or shapes lead to one another in sequence inside each piece. Imagining and reacting to that momentum forms the heart of the intuitive process most creators follow, whether for essays, paintings, films, or songs.

Artists also negotiate with that imagined sequence. We picture outcomes, consider how others might picture them, and support or challenge those expectations at different points. During assembly a work may indicate an unexpected next step; momentum guides output into new territory. Surprise at one’s own creations can occur this way. The pieces almost issue demands. Observers note that the work wants or wants to become something. At times what it wants differs from what we want, placing us in a subversive stance toward our own output.