The Standing Desk Podcast

Dan and Ben discuss the best prebiotic soda we’ve ever had, Cherry Fanta while landscaping, the final tipping rules, concert openers, bizarre uses of free will, the DC universe of diabolical content creation, the best prank of all time, and more.

Dan and Ben discuss Mr. Pibb, Sprite Zero, RFK Jr.’s impact on lemonades, the Colbert Late Night cancellation, ads before a movie, streaming vs. movie theaters, Superman (2025), 3D movies, the heat in New York vs. places like Arizona and Florida, thoughts on wearing shorts in the office, and putting former employers in your LinkedIn and Twitter bios.

Dan and Ben sit down with FloQast account executive — and former business development representative — Matt Strake to discuss chicken cutlets, good cold call strategies, bad cold call strategies, the worst cold calls he’s ever had, parrots, the nine innings challenge, and more.

Dan and Ben discuss a surprisingly good birthday card, a Saratoga water review, popsicles vs. Otter Pops, bribery as a sales tactic, Jony Ive joining OpenAI, wearable technology and whether it’ll ever catch on, a power ranking of job perks, and more.

Dan and Ben discuss comparisons between Sabrina Carpenter and Katy Perry, hydration drinks, frozen lemonade, 100 men vs. one gorilla, teams of people who could beat a gorilla in a fight, an interesting character at a bar, rules for wearing merch from movies, plays/musicals and TV shows, AI wearable recording devices, AI meeting summaries, an app that’s essentially Uber for personal security, and more.

Dan and Ben discuss piña colada coffee creamer, craft-brewed tea, an interesting cold call method, our ideas for cold call approaches, two LinkedIn posts about B2B sales, using ChatGPT to draft LinkedIn posts, the Studio Ghibli AI art trend, new-age baseball food (giant sandwiches and tiramisu), thoughts about sneezing and saying bless you, career advice, and more.

Dan and Ben discuss root beer-flavored sparkling water, flavor chemist salaries, Naked Juice copycats, virtue signaling on social media when it comes to entertainment and work, New York Magazine’s list of impressive interview questions, immigration gold cards, the “startup mentality” of this administration, Southwest Airlines’ new bag policy, the many problems of airline seating tiers right now, there are tiers for everything now, Dan is done with Ubers, and more.

Dan and Ben discuss revenge quitting, the ethics behind giving notice, interpersonal dynamics of leaving a job, corporate catfishing, anti-perks, reverse mentoring, burnout blocking, micro-retiring, a review of the Super Bowl half-time show, and more. Ben also shares his top five of the week, which includes “Best,” and “Circle Back.”

Dan and Ben discuss our fourth calendar year doing the pod, Elon Musk’s burner account Adrian Dittmann, his attempt to convince a streamer he’s Adrian Dittmann and definitely not Elon Musk, AI profiles on Instagram, apps are too complicated now, a simpler time with one-function apps, whether fewer companies will go public in the future, organic colas, movie seat stealers, an interaction with an unhoused person, and more. Dan also shares his top five of the week, which includes Hellbender and Fringehead.

Dan and Ben record in person to discuss coffee badging, Delta’s new partnership with Shake Shack, why gift guides are bad, Good Housekeeping’s gift guide (which includes bidets, an AirTag wallet, a mini chainsaw, and a password book), two drinks offered at La Grande Orange in Phoenix, the rights to a parlay as a White Elephant gift, the drones over New Jersey, and more. Ben also gives his Top Five of the week, which includes gingham and houndstooth. 

Dan and Ben discuss approaches to a work white elephant party, Ben’s white elephant gift selection this year, a crazy HR email following a company survey, the leaders in private jet miles and emissions this year, whether Elon’s cabinet position will lead to a higher adoption of electric cars, a new Liquid Death flavor, some takes on Secret Santa, Hawk Tuah’s cryptocurrency scandal, investing vs. betting, and more. Dan also shares his Top Five of the week, which includes Krampus and Blitzen. 

Dan and Ben talk about their approaches to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Ben’s distaste for needless kitchen gadgets, a hot take about record Black Friday spending, a clickbait headline about robots, Salesforce’s AI sales team, AI in sales, replying to cold sales emails, receiving cold sales calls, cucumber limeade, relaxation drinks, and the Bluesky resurgence. Ben also shares his Top Five of the week, which includes Platoon and Vertigo.

Dan and Ben discuss a Starbucks line-cutter, Mark Zuckerberg’s song with T-Pain, Zuck’s brand transformation, a LinkedIn post about Fortnite, a fun fact about UGGs, a rating of email signatures on a professional/casual-fight/kiss matrix, our own email signature preferences, and more. Dan also shares his Top Five of the week, which includes Dansby Swanson and Mr. Rogers. 

Dan and Ben discuss a hiring manager with no empathy, the decline of fortune cookies, a fortune cookie startup idea, a military recruitment psy op, strawberry milk, Diet Dr. Pepper vs. Diet Coke, Ben’s questionable gym attire, American Airlines’ new system to combat “gate lice,” Collins Dictionary’s words of the year, and more. 

Dan and Ben discuss Instagram profile cards, modern alternatives to business cards, discontinued Guinness World Records, camel wrestling, pyramids of pennies, fat cats, untimed gluttony, eating airplanes, Ben’s alter ego, being buried alive, the record for beers consumed in an hour, boxed tea (again), Calypso limeade, the etiquette of taking calls in an Uber, a New Illuminati theory featuring friend of the show Drew, GQ’s rules for watching TV, and more. Ben also shares his Top Five of the week which includes scales of justice, a rocketship and a salute.

Dan and Ben talk about questionable interview tests, seeing your coffee shop barista in an apartment tour video, what to do when someone pays for your meal anonymously, Hawk Tuah’s philanthropic endeavors, glass bottles vs. glass cups, thoughts on autumnal drinks, Shirley Temples, a limited edition Liquid Death flavor, AI-generated podcasts, 2000s TV, and the emotional journey of binging a show. Dan also shares his Top Five of the week, which includes beating someone 1v1 on Call of Duty’s “Rust” map and correctly ranking Kanye’s albums.

Dan and Ben talk about putting in an earbud at the bar, what “having the keys to the city” actually means, the moral quandary of rating Uber and Lyft drivers, rideshare perks and the rules for tipping accordingly, a new cooler talk rating system, boxed tea, a wild Craigslist listing for a roommate, the return-to-office push, cold calling, and more. Ben also shares his Top Five of the week, which includes an armadillo and a power drill.

Dan and Ben talk about banking hours, media outlet investors, OpenAI’s latest model, some actual applications of ChatGPT, Kirkland seltzer water, carbonation levels, orange wine, a remixed song of the lie about Haitians, the smell of Fritos, chicken sticks, first class parmesan cheese, YouTuber Nickocado Avocado, the Talk Tuah pod, Kendrick Lamar performing the Super Bowl half-time show, and more. Dan also shares his Top Five of the week, which includes cheese sticks and Fritos.

Dan and Ben talk about Ben’s road trip to New York, high-quality rest stops, middle America, sports franchises that carry cities, an update on Ben’s beef with Nespresso, first reactions of NYC, subway vs. car transportation, New York City tap water, On’s branding, Linkin Park’s new co-vocalist and world tour, the Oasis reunion concert, the latest Trump NFTs and sneakers, and more. Ben also shares his Top Five of the week, which includes Essentia and Arrowhead.

Dan and Ben discuss cold sales emails, ChatGPT going fully autonomous, a crazy admission on LinkedIn, watermelon drinks, Chick-fil-A’s streaming service, alternative strategies Chick-fil-A should consider, new hybrid sneaker stilettos called Sneex, and more. Dan also shares his Top Five of the week, which includes Twinkies, Mountain Dew and deep-fried butter.