No Opt-Out

Conrad and Verena reconnect as Verena surprises him with news that his Berlin postcard has finally reached Las Vegas, well ahead of Christmas this year. They talk about Verena’s whirlwind New York trip across four states and her cousin’s no-tech adventure in the Andes. The discussion shifts to ageing with technology, sparking the idea of a “peace of mind” concierge service. Somewhere in there are dinosaur eggs and a definition for the latest fad, ambient AI.

Creatives, pay attention. Conrad and Verena open this one in German before detouring into whether Verena is Conrad’s “favourite American” (spoiler alert: Gaga is). The chat turns to creativity and the widespread myth of not having “a creative bone in my body.” The dish : showing interest in others’ creative work matters, as does honest feedback and shared accountability.

In this episode, the digital besties zone in on tech that actually connects, exploring specific apps and features that could support a new type of online community. Email, calendar and messaging apps plonk themselves down in the hot seat to be analysed. A fridge magnet gift to a colleague, Slack reactions, and the mystery of archived emails keep them diving deeper into the vast modern tech landscape.

On their fourth call of the season, Conrad and Verena open with a laugh before drifting into late-night Google searches and the calm of silent films. The conversation turns to how easily tone gets lost online (from passive-aggressive smileys to “silenced notifications”). They delve into how digital communication strains boundaries, share stories about unread messages and WhatsApp oversharing, and agree that (seriously, seriously) “ASAP” does not mean right now.

Verena opens the call with a theory that companies have stopped designing products to please customers. The pair returns to a discussion on why users shouldn’t bear the burden of protecting their own mental health when platforms don’t. Conrad argues that people still need to take responsibility for our wellbeing. From disposable tech to hidden digital harms, they explore accountability for both users and creators.

Conrad calls Verena in a frustrated state, but what starts as a venting session turns into a fast-paced chat about digital miscommunication and how it affects relationships. Verena revives the discussion on digital community, and Conrad suggests it simply doesn’t exist. Together they unpack societal loneliness with a philosophical lens and explore the limits of connecting only through a screen (as they’ve done for the past two years).