Dinner 96 is online! This is my meal at sea with entertainer and singer/songwriter Matt Yee, who is a mainstay of gay and straight cruise ships performing his cabaret act to packed audiences. In late January we were on the same cruise, and so one night when he had a…

W. Ralph Eubanks is a writer, educator and scholar with an extensive history covering racism in America — both his experiences growing up African-American, as well as broader issues such as the institutionalized economic racism he’s researching for his next book. In addition to all that expertise, he’s also fantastic…

Recently, I met with the winner of a silent auction. The twist was that dinner with me was the prize at the auction. I’d offered an interview for the site to help raise funds for college scholarships for LGBT athletes, and (much to my shock) people actually bid on it….

Brad Rushing lives his life behind a lens. He’s an award-winning cinematographer (or director of photography) whose work has included music videos for stars such as Britney Spears, Eminem and Nelly; movies working with a host of well-known actors, actresses and directors; and commercials for dozens of big corporations. Brad…

Former U.S. Senator Larry Pressler (R-SD) wants to save democracy. Larry, who left the Senate in 1997 after an unsuccessful reelection bid, has been using his post-Congress career to teach students about the importance of civil service. His hope is to inspire a new generation of informed voters who might…

JR “Nexus” Russ is living up to his name. Christened Nexus on his first trip to the Burning Man festival, JR — an artist in Washington, DC — finds his professional and personal life increasingly at a nexus. He’s heavily involved in the city’s arts scene, but equally passionate about…

Eleanor Clift is a famous liberal reporter, perhaps best known to many American television viewers as one of the pundits on the weekly political talk show The McLaughlin Group. Although she’s still busy reporting these days writing for The Daily Beast, she took a few hours out of her schedule…

Cheryl Kagan would love a private life — but that’s not possible right now. That’s because she’s the Maryland state senator for district 17, covering Gaithersburg and Rockville. As she told me during a dinner interview, it’s a non-stop job that involves a very public life. That makes it difficult…

Bill and Laura Johnson live on the road. They spend more than half the year traveling in their motor home to various states, motivated only by what they think might be interesting. The couple, both in their 60s, told me that they love the potential of going to new places…

Doug Schantz doesn’t care for sports and doesn’t cook — but that didn’t stop him from following through on his dream of opening a gay sports bar in Washington, DC. Nellie’s Sports Bar has been open since 2007 and remains incredibly popular with a mixed gay and straight crowd, with…