Funny as Tech Live Show August 21st in NYC with Special Guests

Our relationship with technology is messy…let’s discuss!
Funny as Tech is a freewheeling tech comedy panel show, taped for podcast. The next show is Monday, August 21st from 8–9 pm. Tickets can be reserved at: bit.ly/FunnyAsTechAug21
Monthly shows happen at the Peoples Improv Theater (123 E 24th Street) in NYC where co-hosts David Ryan Polgar (tech ethicist) and comedian Joe Leonardo invite a diverse range or guests to unpack our absurd present and uncertain future. It is a wild and winding conversation around social media, tech etiquette, AI, self-driving cars, the power of algorithms, privacy in the digital age, and the latest trend du jour.
It’s comedy and conversation for our brave new world.
Funny as Tech is a deep-dive into how technology and social media is flipping our lives upside down. Past guests have included bestselling author & media theorist Douglas Rushkoff, WNYC’s Manoush Zomorodi (host of Note to Self & author of Bored Brilliant), and comedian Chuck Nice (Star Talk, HGTV, VH1. TODAY show regular).
Special guests for Funny as Tech on August 21st include CNN’s Laurie Segall, AI expert John C. Havens, and Quartz’s Georgia King.
Meet the special guests for August 21st:
LAURIE SEGALL

Laurie Segall is a senior technology correspondent for CNN and editor-at-large for CNN Tech, covering the intersection of technology and culture. Segall is also the host of CNN’s first CNNgo original, Mostly Human with Laurie Segall, a six-part investigative docuseries, exploring sex, love, death — humanity — through the lens of tech.
An award winning journalist, Segall specializes in investigative reports showing the impact of technology on our daily lives, building on her longstanding focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. Her work appears across all CNN platforms. @LaurieSegallCNN
JOHN C. HAVENS

AI expert | author of Heartifcial Intelligence: Embracing Our Humanity to Maximize Machines | Executive Director, IEEE Global Initiative for Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems
John C. Havens, human journalist, is the author of Heartificial Intelligence: Embracing Our Humanity to Maximize Machines and Hacking H(app)iness — Why Your Personal Data Counts and How Tracking it Can Change The World. His work has appeared in Mashable, The Guardian, Slate, Fast Company, TechCrunch and The Huffington Post. John is also the founder of The H(app)athon Project, a non-profit foundation utilizing emerging technology and positive psychology to increase human wellbeing. He tweets @johnchavens. Havens was also a professional actor in New York City for over 15 years, appearing in principal roles on Broadway, television, and film.
GEORGIA KING

Georgia Frances King is an Ideas Editor at Quartz, where she works with industry leaders to pen forward-thinking op-eds on futuristic technology. VR, AR, AI, IoT, ML, NLP: If it’s an acronym, she probably deals with it.
A recovered lifestyle journalist, she was once the assistant editor of Australia’s frankie magazine and spent three years as the editor of Kinfolk magazine, during which time she also edited their New York Times-best seller, The Kinfolk Home. She now works at the intersection of emerging technology and quality-of-life, happily living with her head in the cloud. She tweets at @georgiafrancesk
Although Funny as Tech just started in June, it has already received some media buzz. Find out what all the commotion is about…
“This new New York-based podcast is a mixture of deep thoughts and belly laughs as writer and technology ethicist David Ryan Polgar shoots the breeze with comedian Joe Leonardo who is a performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (comedy nerds will be impressed).”-The Irish Times
“Above all, both men want their show to be funny. And given the slew of scandals, failures and ‘solutionification’ in Silicon Valley and further afield in tech, they aren’t short of material.”-Red Herring
YOUR HOSTS FOR FUNNY AS TECH
Some people are the future of comedy. These guys are the futurist comedy.

David Ryan Polgar is a frequent speaker (3-time TEDx, The School of the New York Times), tech commentator (SiriusXM, CNN.com, Inc.com, HuffPost), and contributing writer/expert for Big Think, Quartz, and IBM Think Leaders. He is currently focused on whether we are becoming “botified” online, along with the ethical concerns facing emerging tech. Polgar co-founded the global Digital Citizenship Summit and currently works with the virtual world startup Friendbase. As a Tech Ethicist, he explores our evolving relationship with tech from an ethical, legal, and emotional perspective.

Joe Leonardo is a comedian, improviser and writer who has been featured on ESPN, Travel Channel, NPR, Anderson Cooper LIVE, Cafe, and Prank Academy to name a few. He is currently a house team performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York and co-host of their WednesdayNight Improv Jam. Joe is also the creator/host of The Flying Blind Sketch Show, which plays bi-monthly at The People’s Improv Theater and is one of the founders of Sea Tea Improv.

==
After August 21, the next Funny as Tech live show will take place on Friday, September 29th. There will also be regular podcast interviews, taking place in NYC. Would you like to get involved or have an idea? Please reach out
PRESS CONTACT: David Ryan Polgar (dpolgar/gmail)
