The Opinel No. 8: A $20 French Folding Knife Chefs Carry in Their Apron
A listener’s tip (he says he tried sending it to JCD himself before the show existed): a small folding paring knife, made since the late 1800s by French knifemakers, that folds flat enough to carry in an apron pocket without risking a cut. Based on the details given — the “number 8” size being the ideal paring size, the carbon-vs-stainless tradeoff — this is almost certainly the Opinel No. 8 “Savoyard,” one of the most recognizable folding knives in the world, still made in the Savoie region of France it’s named for. Carbon steel holds an edge better; stainless is lower-maintenance if you’re not cleaning it right after every use. Runs about $20.
Get it: amazon.com.[Party Line Show #1 2:11:44]
Party Line Show: The Dvorak Family and Dana Brunetti Launch a New Show in John C. Dvorak’s Honor
Party Line Show debuted this Sunday — fittingly, on All Saints’ Day — as a new weekly show from John C. Dvorak’s family (widow Mimi Smith-Dvorak, son-in-law Brennan Lawton) and his longtime friend and producing partner Dana Brunetti, broadcasting live at 11:00 AM PT on Void Zero Community Radio, the same decentralized stream that’s carried several No Agenda-adjacent shows for years.
The concept goes back further than you’d guess. Mimi explained on air that the “party line” idea came from two places: John’s fascination with old call-in radio formats — Joe Pyne (the first true call-in radio show, before a change in FCC rules even allowed broadcasting phone calls live) and Art Bell — plus actual childhood party lines, the shared phone lines where multiple houses split one line and neighbors could (and did) listen in on each other’s calls. Dana added his own piece of the origin story: a running joke with John about a podcast called “The Wine Idiot” that never got made, years of recorded phone conversations the two of them had just talking, and John’s conviction — stated outright, more than once — that the best podcasts work exactly like eavesdropping on an interesting conversation at the next table.
The show leans hard into that legacy without pretending to be a replacement for it. Brennan and Mimi walked through the Ship of Theseus thought experiment on air to explain why: No Agenda, piece by piece, became a different ship once John was no longer on it — so rather than try to keep calling it the same ship, the family built a new one. “I don’t think there can be a No Agenda without Adam and John,” Mimi said. Dana closed the thought with his own version of the same idea (George Washington’s axe — replace the handle, replace the head, it’s still the same axe), making clear this is still very much John’s family carrying his work forward, not a tribute act.
There were real tears mixed into the laughs. The hosts spent a chunk of the first hour on “dad stories” (Brennan is a brand-new father), told a story about how every post office clerk and bank teller JCD ever dealt with adored him, and read listener voicemails that were openly, plainly grieving — alongside a long stretch of people calling in just to wish the new show well. One listener asked the hosts the kind of question that could only exist in this community: name one thing John said that you thought was ridiculous at the time and later realized he was right about. Nobody had a clean answer before the show cut to a joke and moved on, which felt true to the format in its own way.
Party Line Show airs live Sundays at 11:00 AM PT on Void Zero Community Radio, and episodes/voicemail call-in details are at partylineshow.com. Meetup announcements are migrating to a shared site for the broader former No Agenda community at noagendameetups.com. NoAgendaFun.com will be posting tips and mentions, just like we did for No Agenda. We wish the Dvoraks Good Luck for this new show!
Proton: The VPN (and Email) Setup Darren Won’t Shut Up About
A VPN deep-dive on Unrelenting #210 covered jurisdictions (NordVPN is based in Panama, outside the international copyright treaty, so DMCA takedowns reportedly go nowhere) and why double-hopping through two VPNs is actually easier to track than using one — it creates a second known ingress/egress point. But the real recommendation to come out of it was Proton. Darren uses Proton VPN specifically for its port forwarding, a feature most VPNs don’t offer, and has been on Proton Mail for two years, calling the easy custom email aliasing “the only way to fly”: a unique, disposable address for every site you sign up for, so one breach doesn’t expose your real inbox. The whole bundle — mail, VPN, storage — runs about $119/year.
Proton is currently running some Black Friday specials for VPN and Proton Mail for only $6.49 a month (billed at $77.88 for the first 12 months, then renews at $119.88 every 12 months.[Unrelenting #210 1:10:33]
The 1977 Mazda REPU: The Only Pickup Mazda Ever Built With a Rotary Engine
On Planet Rage #240, a producer wrote in about his latest garage project: a 1977 Mazda REPU getting a motor swap and some body work. The hosts had never heard of one before — turns out it’s real, and it’s the only pickup truck anyone has ever built with a rotary engine. REPU stands for Rotary Engine Pick-Up: Mazda sold it in the U.S. and Canada from 1974 to 1977, powered by a 1.3-liter twin-rotor Wankel making around 110 hp — more than any rival compact truck of the era — backed by a 50,000-mile warranty and a TV ad campaign starring Rod Serling. Mazda only built about 15,000 of them before pulling the plug. It’s a certified cult classic now, which tracks, since a listener is still wrenching on one 49 years later.
Check Hemmings or Bring a Trailer if you want to see what they’re going for these days.
[Planet Rage #240 2:06:44]
What to Listen to Next: Andrew Horowitz’s Other Shows
Asked point-blank by a producer what else to listen to now that No Agenda is ending, final-episode co-host Andrew Horowitz pointed to his own two financial/markets podcasts: DH Unplugged and The Disciplined Investor Podcast — both real, ongoing shows he hosts. Adam added his own lineup too (We Get to Do This, moving to twice a week starting November 9th, and the returning Curry and the Keeper), but those have already gotten their own coverage here, so this one’s specifically the Horowitz recommendation.
Search either title in any podcast app.
[No Agenda #1916 3:29:00]
Empty That “Empty” Lotion Bottle With a Theragun
A producer called out Adam for a habit he described a few shows back: nursing a “mostly empty” lotion bottle along for weeks rather than tossing it. So the show handed it back to him as an official Executive Producer Tip of the Day. Turn the bottle upside down, grab a Theragun (or any percussive/neck massager), click it to high, and let it buzz the bottle for a few seconds — the last of the lotion shakes loose, no more fishing it out with a finger. Adam’s on-air verdict: “It’s a good tip of the day. I like it.”
Theragun (Therabody) devices are genuinely sold on Amazon. You can use other vibrating devices too 😉
[No Agenda #1916 4:28:30]
The Last Show: No Agenda Ends After 19 Years and 1,916 Episodes
After 19 years, 1,916 episodes, and zero ads ever run, No Agenda went off the air for good on October 29th. Andrew Horowitz — who co-hosted alongside John Dvorak for almost as long as the show existed — sat in for the entire final episode, calling it “emotionally draining, but at the same time a…
The Opinel No. 8: A $20 French Folding Knife Chefs Carry in Their Apron
A listener’s tip (he says he tried sending it to JCD himself before the show existed): a small folding paring knife, made since the late 1800s by French knifemakers, that folds flat enough to carry in an apron pocket without risking a cut. Based on the details given — the “number 8” size being the…
Party Line Show: The Dvorak Family and Dana Brunetti Launch a New Show in John C. Dvorak’s Honor
Party Line Show debuted this Sunday — fittingly, on All Saints’ Day — as a new weekly show from John C. Dvorak’s family (widow Mimi Smith-Dvorak, son-in-law Brennan Lawton) and his longtime friend and producing partner Dana Brunetti, broadcasting live at 11:00 AM PT on Void Zero Community Radio, the same decentralized stream that’s carried…
Proton: The VPN (and Email) Setup Darren Won’t Shut Up About
A VPN deep-dive on Unrelenting #210 covered jurisdictions (NordVPN is based in Panama, outside the international copyright treaty, so DMCA takedowns reportedly go nowhere) and why double-hopping through two VPNs is actually easier to track than using one — it creates a second known ingress/egress point. But the real recommendation to come out of it…
The Last Show: No Agenda Ends After 19 Years and 1,916 Episodes
After 19 years, 1,916 episodes, and zero ads ever run, No Agenda went off the air for good on October 29th. Andrew Horowitz — who co-hosted alongside John Dvorak for almost as long as the show existed — sat in for the entire final episode, calling it “emotionally draining, but at the same time a…
The Opinel No. 8: A $20 French Folding Knife Chefs Carry in Their Apron
A listener’s tip (he says he tried sending it to JCD himself before the show existed): a small folding paring knife, made since the late 1800s by French knifemakers, that folds flat enough to carry in an apron pocket without risking a cut. Based on the details given — the “number 8” size being the…
Party Line Show: The Dvorak Family and Dana Brunetti Launch a New Show in John C. Dvorak’s Honor
Party Line Show debuted this Sunday — fittingly, on All Saints’ Day — as a new weekly show from John C. Dvorak’s family (widow Mimi Smith-Dvorak, son-in-law Brennan Lawton) and his longtime friend and producing partner Dana Brunetti, broadcasting live at 11:00 AM PT on Void Zero Community Radio, the same decentralized stream that’s carried…
Proton: The VPN (and Email) Setup Darren Won’t Shut Up About
A VPN deep-dive on Unrelenting #210 covered jurisdictions (NordVPN is based in Panama, outside the international copyright treaty, so DMCA takedowns reportedly go nowhere) and why double-hopping through two VPNs is actually easier to track than using one — it creates a second known ingress/egress point. But the real recommendation to come out of it…