Well, this is timely given my post here. I hope listening to this episode doesn’t tempt me to upend my finally-tuned writing workflow! 
This was a very good show with many solid recommendations for applications to try.
From my perspective, one omission stood out: Zengobi’s Curio. Along with DevonThink, these are my two most-used applications.
In Curio you can write text, brainstorm, mind map, and attach metadata—it’s a really fantastic tool once you get used to it. You should dedicate a show to Curio,there is a lot to unpack there.
Probably a simpler way, but I’ve had good luck exporting mindmaps to a file, then asking AI to process it, create an opml, then I open that back up on mindmap and comparing the results with human (i.e. me) review.
(With AI prompts for processing like “condense this outline further” or “expand this outline with more background and examples” or whatever is appropriate for the project at hand.)
You’ll revise it again. Always do. 
Katie
+1 for David’s request for an iAWriter VisionPro app. That would be epic and awesome.
I’ve been a long-time listener and I had to create this account today just to post a thank you for this episode. I’ve been stuck in this indecision where Obsidian just feels like WAY too much and Apple Notes feels not quite flexible enough, but I really wanted something to write and edit Markdown files that didn’t lock them away in some kind of proprietary database.
Drafts wasn’t quite enough, plus I was just beginning to wonder if anyone still used it! I was a user of iA Writer way back when (along with Byword - remember that one?) and just re-downloaded their trial. I think the combo of Drafts for quick capture, along with iA Writer might be the one-two punch I need. Lighter weight than Obsidian, more capable than Drafts alone, and no file lock-in.
@ScottE22 For a lighter weight Obsidian you might want to try … Obsidian. Obsidian doesn’t HAVE to be fiddly and heavyweight; at its core it’s a surprisingly simple app. You can do a lot of complex workflows and load it up with community plug-ins, but none of that is necessary.
You might want to try Noteplan. It’s like a lighter weight Obsidian. Keep It is also a good choice.
I was surprised to see that Obsidian was barely mentioned in this episode. How times have changed!
One thing that surprised me was that David didn’t discuss the MindNode Classic vs. MindNode Next issue. I’m curious about which one he has settled on. I keep trying MindNode Next but end up back on MindNode Classic because the files are stored locally and the Markdown export works better.
Thanks! I’ve messed with “vanilla” Obsidian as well as NotePlan. I actually have a current license for Noteplan and like it a lot. It does give me the ability to just have .md files, but it also kind of obscures them a bit in its database and you can’t get directly at the files. I know there’s a setting you can toggle that kind of does that, but I’m finding I don’t have the need for the calendar/to do list integration or the daily note so it feels over-designed for what I need. Great app, though, with a very active dev if it fits your workflow and you want something that Obsidian can do, but without the fiddly-ness of trying to do it in Obsidian.
The value add that I’m seeing with iA Writer is being able to point it to any random folder in Finder and access the files without them having to live in one place.
You can also do this with Typora. Its features are comparable to iA Writer’s and it costs less. ($14.99 vs. $49.99 for a one-time license.) It doesn’t have a mobile version, however, which will be a deal-breaker for some. Typora is more customizable that iA Writer, supports LaTeX and Mermaid, and offers more export formats.
Notebooks.app also sits on top of Finder folders the way Obsidian, iA Writer, and Typora do. It’s not just a tool for writing, however—it’s a full-fledged, cross-platform note-taking app.
Great suggestions! That you so much! I discovered that I already own the mobile versions of iA Writer - probably from years back when I also owned Byword and one more I can’t remember - maybe Marked?
EDIT: Notebooks is NICE! And knowing I can keep a work notes folder that I don’t have to see all the time is a nice. Right now, digital work notes are in Notes and - while I love first-party tools - Notes just doesn’t feel quick or easy to navigate. Something I love with Drafts and NotePlan is how snappy the search is and how clean the interface is.
I played with Curio in the past and definitely +1 for this. If you have the more visual mindset, it’s a great option. It’s also a great one-stop shop as you say. I mulled it over for a long time but couldn’t switch from DEVONthink.
I feel like you’d need someone on the show that’s used it for a sustained period of time though.
Yikes. Been using Classic for a long time, am I going to have to find an alternative?
I also prefer keeping files locally. In fact, I try to keep just about everything related to one project in one folder in the Finder. So when they updated MindNode to MindNode Next and kept all the files within MindNode Next, I initially just stuck with using MindNode Classic. However, in MindNode Next 2025.7.1 (released in December), you can now drag a file out of MindNode Next and it creates a .mindnodealias file in the Finder. If you double-click this file, it opens up the appropriate mind map in MindNode Next. It even works, for example, if I open this document within the Files app on my iPad and it goes to MindNode Next. It’s still not keeping the original file within the Finder folder, but it’s a pretty useful way of getting to them for me.
Another Obsidian alternative: Joplin. It’s open-source and cross-platform.
It looks great.
I’ve recently been using this for journaling and notes. Markdown has some cool features with WYSIWYG markdown flavor similar to obsidian which I prefer. Also has a “rich text editor” but it’s just markdown (and allows making tables in an easy format but auto formats to md tables).
I find the iOS very good as well, and the sync actually works and has a native self hosted option.
OK, Mitch - you may have sold me. My old iA Writer license is only for iOS/iPadOS and after the free trial period of the MacOS version I do really like it, but I don’t know that I like it enough to justify $50 on a text editor.
I redownloaded Obsidian and I’m going to avoid plugins or excessive tweaking/fiddling and see how it fares as a cross-platform .md file manager and editor.
I feel an uncomfortable sense of responsibility now.
Text editors are a matter of personal taste. Just because Obsidian works for me doesn’t mean it necessarily works for other people. And indeed there are days I want to give up on Obsidian and use something else. Like I suspect most of the people here, I’m a compulsive app-switcher.
Now you did it!! 
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