It's Topics, the podcast where two comedians discuss serious topics in a serious way.

Although if something funny happens, that's okay too.

I'm Michael Ian Black, joined as always by Michael Schoalter.

Hey, Mike, it's good to be here.

It's always great to hear your voice, separated as we are by an entire continent.

And yet through the miracles of technology, we're able to huddle up by the virtual campfire

and have ourselves a good old-fashioned chew.

Yeah, technology really is, and it's amazing when used for the right things.

It really is something that brings us together, not something that separates us.

And I think that's kind of the point you were making.

It is.

You know, I think of, well, you know, I mentioned sitting around the virtual fire,

and fire is kind of an apt analogy for technology or standin, I should say, for technology.

It's one of the first technologies. And like all technologies, it can be used for good or you can,

it can be used for ill.

And I like to think that with topics, we're doing our best to use, let's call it the 21st century fire for good.

What do you think about that?

I think that's a really great thing that you're saying.

And I think, you you know there's this sort of fear that I

know I have that technology can kind of sort of cave in on itself to to where all

of these devices and systems that we're trying to think of to make our

lives easier really is having the opposite effect. It's making our lives harder. Well, can you unpack

...