Distributed, with Matt Mullenweg

Episode 21: Morra Aarons-Mele on Introversion and Anxiety in Remote Work

Jun 19

Is working from home a breakthrough for introverts? The answer, of course, is not so simple. Morra Aarons-Mele is the host of The Anxious Achiever podcast for HBR Presents from Harvard Business Review, and founder of award-winning social impact agency…

Episode 20: Adam Gazzaley on the Distracted Mind During a Crisis

Apr 29

Matt Mullenweg speaks with neuroscientist Dr. Adam Gazzaley, co-author of the book The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World, about how our brains work, particularly during times like the current pandemic. How does the brain handle internal…

Matt Mullenweg with Sam Harris on Distributed Work’s Five Levels of Autonomy

Apr 15

On a recent episode of Sam Harris’s excellent Making Sense podcast, Matt shared insights for managers and companies who are currently exploring remote work for the first time.

Vanessa Van Edwards on Navigating the Virtual Workplace in Stressful Times

Apr 9

The world has dramatically changed in just a few weeks. As companies around the world shift to remote work, how do we navigate this crisis? Distributed host Matt Mullenweg talks to Vanessa Van Edwards, bestselling author, speaker, and founder of Science…

Episode 18: Jason Fried on Treating Workers Like Adults

Jan 9

For our first episode of the year, host Matt Mullenweg talks to Jason Fried, the CEO of Basecamp. Jason runs a semi-distributed company that’s been making project management software for 20 years. He’s accumulated a wealth of wisdom about how trusting…

Episode 17: Matt Mullenweg Reflects on Distributed Work in 2019

Dec 26, 2019

To close out the year, our host Matt Mullenweg is joined once again by Automattic’s Mark Armstrong to discuss the state of distributed work as we transition into a new decade. Matt discusses his key takeaways from his 2019 conversations on the podcast,…

Episode 16: Glitch CEO Anil Dash on Strengthening Values in a Distributed Startup

Dec 12, 2019

Anil Dash didn’t like the direction the web was going, so he joined a tech company that promised to take web development back to its indie roots. That company became known as Glitch, a semi-distributed company based in NYC. In this episode, Matt and Anil…

Episode 15: Inside the Grand Meetup

Nov 26, 2019

On this episode of the Distributed podcast, we get an insider’s look at the Grand Meetup, Automattic’s annual weeklong all-staff event, where employees have an opportunity to collaborate, learn from one another, and hang out face-to-face. Folks from…

Episode 14: InVision CEO Clark Valberg on Distributed Design

Nov 14, 2019

InVision CEO Clark Valberg needed a tool to help his distributed team collaborate on design projects. So he created it — and it became the company’s flagship product, one that every Fortune 100 company now uses. In this episode, Clark joins our host Matt…

Episode 13: Attorney Lydia X. Z. Brown on Making Work More Accessible

Oct 31, 2019

Because of their background in working with disabled and marginalized people, attorney and activist Lydia X.Z. Brown has a deep understanding of how different workplace environments can best serve diverse workforces. Today they join our host Matt…

Episode 12: Toptal’s Taso Du Val on Finding the Top Distributed Talent

Oct 17, 2019

When hiring managers interview a candidate for a high-level role, they want to be sure that the person they choose will be productive and able to work well with their prospective team. But what if the hiring process takes place over video chat? A growing…

Stephen Wolfram on 28 Years of Remote Work

Oct 3, 2019

Stephen Wolfram started out on an academic career path, but eventually realized that founding a company would allow him to pursue his scientific work more efficiently. He’s served as a remote CEO of Wolfram Research for the last 28 years. In this episode,…

Automattic’s Sonal Gupta on Communication and Chaos

Sep 19, 2019

Sonal Gupta leads Automattic’s Other Bets division, a team that develops experimental products that hover around Automattic’s core business. She relies on her legal background in order to clearly communicate the team’s new ideas to the rest of the…

Author Scott Berkun on Managing Distributed Teams with Respect

Sep 5, 2019

Our host Matt Mullenweg gets together with an old colleague, Scott Berkun. Scott’s an author and tech industry veteran who in 2013 wrote a book about his experience with distributed work at Automattic. Now he’s catching up with Matt to talk about what’s…

Automattic’s Cate Huston on Building Distributed Engineering Teams

Aug 22, 2019

Our host Matt Mullenweg gets together with Cate Huston, Automattic’s Head of Developer Experience, to talk about the kinds of engineers that excel in distributed environments, and how companies can create the conditions that help engineers thrive. For…

Leadership Coach Leo Widrich on Emotional Wellness for Distributed Workers

Aug 8, 2019

Our host Matt Mullenweg sits down with leadership coach Leo Widrich to talk about how distributed workers can build emotional resilience and stay connected. For more, go to Distributed.blog. Produced by Mark Armstrong and the team at Charts & Leisure:…

Design leader John Maeda on how to foster creative collaboration on distributed teams

Jul 25, 2019

Our host Matt Mullenweg sits down with design leader John Maeda for a discussion about how creative collaboration happens in a distributed context. For more, go to Distributed.blog. Produced by Mark Armstrong and the team at Charts & Leisure: Jason…

Upwork’s Zoe Harte and Han Yuan on Managing People and Products in a Distributed Company

Jul 11, 2019

Upwork’s Zoe Harte discusses how she helps run a blended team of full-time and freelance employees. Then Upwork’s Han Yuan shares his insights on the “soft” skills engineers need to work effectively in a distributed world. For more, go to…

Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg on building a fully distributed company

Jun 27, 2019

Automattic editor Mark Armstrong turns the interview table on our host, Matt Mullenweg, to discuss how Automattic became one of the biggest fully distributed companies in the world. For more, go to Distributed.blog. Produced by Mark Armstrong and the team…

VC Arianna Simpson on Distributed Work and the Blockchain

Jun 13, 2019

A distributed work skeptic shares her concerns with the model along with recent blockchain innovations. For more, go to Distributed.blog. Produced by Mark Armstrong and the team at Charts & Leisure: Jason Oberholtzer, Whitney Donaldson, Cole Stryker, Levi…

Pluto VR Cofounder John Vechey on the Virtual Office

May 30, 2019

How VR might empower remote workers with high fidelity communication. For more, go to Distributed.blog. Produced by Mark Armstrong and the team at Charts & Leisure: Jason Oberholtzer, Whitney Donaldson, Cole Stryker, Levi Sharpe, and Michael Simonelli.…

Upwork’s Stephane Kasriel on Fixing the American Dream

May 16, 2019

How changing the way we think about work can give workers freedom and flexibility. For more, go to Distributed.blog. Produced by Mark Armstrong and the team at Charts & Leisure: Jason Oberholtzer, Whitney Donaldson, Cole Stryker, Levi Sharpe, and Michael…

A new podcast, 15 years in the making.

May 15, 2019

I created a company with no offices. Now it’s time to share what I’ve learned.