Earsay: The Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club
Aug 20, 2026 · 38 min · 14 segments
David Sedaris has notes: on "welcome in," on the machine that took your coffee order, on the airport tip screen, on everyone under 40. But underneath the complaints in his new collection, *The Land…
David SedarisGuest
Kal PennHost
What are your feelings on our current technological moment? Are you scared for the future? Have you adopted a no screens policy anywhere?
anywhere?No, I mean, comparatively, when I go to a restaurant, I don't lay my phone on the table.
Usually the only reason I brought it with me is if somebody was gonna be late-
But I was in France about 10 days ago, and the man across the aisle from me pulled out his phone and started watching things without, you know, headphones on.
And I said, "Excuse me." I said, uh, "You, you use headphones." And he said, "I don't have any." And it's like the rule isn't [laughs] that if you have headphones you have to use them.
It's not... [laughs] That's what makes me worry is just, [sighs] um, so I finished my UK tour, I don't know, maybe like two weeks ago or something.
But when I was on that tour, I was in Bristol, and there was a picture of this kind of iced drink, and it was all sweaty, and it looked refreshing, right? So I went [laughs] into this place thinking, "You know what? I'm gonna get one of those." And then you had to order from a machine.
Like, there's nobody in there, and there were two people behind the counter, but you had to order from a machine.
"Oh, I'll have that refreshing drink that's in..." Why can't I say that to two people and then have them give it to me? And then I could pay them.
What are your feelings on our current technological moment? Are you scared for the future? Have you adopted a no screens policy anywhere?
anywhere?No, I mean, comparatively, when I go to a restaurant, I don't lay my phone on the table.
Usually the only reason I brought it with me is if somebody was gonna be late-
But I was in France about 10 days ago, and the man across the aisle from me pulled out his phone and started watching things without, you know, headphones on.
And I said, "Excuse me." I said, uh, "You, you use headphones." And he said, "I don't have any." And it's like the rule isn't [laughs] that if you have headphones you have to use them.
It's not... [laughs] That's what makes me worry is just, [sighs] um, so I finished my UK tour, I don't know, maybe like two weeks ago or something.
But when I was on that tour, I was in Bristol, and there was a picture of this kind of iced drink, and it was all sweaty, and it looked refreshing, right? So I went [laughs] into this place thinking, "You know what? I'm gonna get one of those." And then you had to order from a machine.
Like, there's nobody in there, and there were two people behind the counter, but you had to order from a machine.
"Oh, I'll have that refreshing drink that's in..." Why can't I say that to two people and then have them give it to me? And then I could pay them.
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