Markdown is a system for writing that makes it readable to both humans and computers. It's all about the symbols. You use - to make a list, * for emphasis, ** for even more emphasis. Brackets and parentheses turn into links. Once you know Markdown, you might begin to think in Markdown. Right now it is absolutely everywhere: people are maintaining their Claude.MD files for conversing with AI bots, and writing their notes in Markdown editors like Obsidian. So where did Markdown come from? It came from John Gruber. John joins the show, along with Anil Dash, to tell the story of where Markdown came from and how it took over the world.
Further reading:
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/">⁠The Markdown spec⁠</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.anildash.com/2026/01/09/how-markdown-took-over-the-world/">⁠How Markdown took over the world⁠</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/06/04/apple-notes-markdown">⁠Gruber on Apple Notes Markdown support⁠</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
 <li> <a href="https://9to5mac.com/2025/06/03/exclusive-ios-26-messages-carplay-more/">⁠9to5mac: iOS 26 to bring new features for Messages, CarPlay, and more</a>
</li>
</ul>
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# The epic story of Markdown

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