Tom Marolda, the 144th stranger, has finally put out his 2026 album as his one man band, The Toms. “Make My Day” arrived October 2. It’s a 12 track album that the band’s Bandcamp page counts as the 25th Toms release, with songs like “Another Nervous Breakdown,” “Kings & Wizards”…

Zeb Soanes, the 28th stranger, has a packed run of performing dates across England over the next few months. After a long and successful radio presenting career, Zeb stays busy with concerts, writing children’s books, and now theatre – currently touring “Two Halves of Guinness,” his one-man show about Sir…

Jonn Elledge – the writer who took me through the history of the world in 47 borders back in January 2025 for the 131st dinner interview – has a new book and a U.K. tour to go with it. We met at Bellanger in London to discuss “A (Brief) History…

Look for the 147th interview at the end of the month. But today, a spotlight on news from another all-time favorite meal with a stranger: Fred Melamed – the 76th interviewee – is back working with Larry David. Fred appears in the seventh episode of HBO’s “Life, Larry and the…

New interviews are on the way. But today, a spotlight on news from one of my all-time favorite meals with a stranger: Frank Brigtsen, legendary New Orleans chef, has finally been talked into writing a cookbook. But as Frank – the 100th person featured on Dining With Strangers – told…

Got an interesting job, an odd hobby or a fascinating life story? Let me interview you about it over dinner. Dining With Strangers is a long-running interview series I started back in late 2008. The premise is simple: I invite someone I’ve never met to share their story over a…

Azusa Sheshe Dance – the singer and actress featured as the 142nd dinner interview – is celebrating a decade of New York artistry this year, and could use our help getting to the Summer Cabaret Conference later this month to mark it. Since moving to the city from Memphis, Tennessee,…

Happy anniversary to Mikko Kosonen, who opened his Nordic restaurant on R Street NW eight years ago because, as he told me in the 118th dinner interview, nobody else in Washington was doing it. The former Finnish embassy chef has been educating D.C. diners about his type of food ever…

After 16 years and 143 dinners, Dining With Strangers is finally on Instagram. Starting today, I’m archiving the entire interview series on Instagram from the very beginning in November 2008, when I had brunch with a friend in New York and came up with the idea for this site. Each…

Jeb Brooks, the 141st dining stranger, is quoted in a Washington Post article today on the slow dismantling of basic economy perks, specifically the major airlines’ decision to stop letting budget passengers earn frequent-flier miles. Jeb and his wife Suzanne spent a day in April 2025 testing basic economy across…