Mikko Kosonen was days from his restaurant’s first anniversary when I sat down with him back in April 2019 for the 118th dinner interview. He was already exhausted – 170-person weddings, embassy dinners, a World Bank sit-down, all in the same week. “I almost lost my belief in the whole…

Steve Hayes reviews movies online with a consistent approach: “I don’t want to criticize, I just get excited, and if I like it, I want other people to like it. And if you don’t enjoy it, that’s okay, but just try it,” he told me during the 117th interview, then…

“I’m going to compare ourselves to some greats now, so please forgive me – Burns and Allen. We know who we are and we know how to set each other up.” Jane Lynch arrived to the 116th dinner interview at Hugo’s Restaurant in West Hollywood ready to fix the blinds,…

“Get the early show if you can — look at the state of me, I’m not even buying green bananas anymore.” Bernie Clifton was 82 and two days from the end of a pantomime run when I caught up with him for coffee in Hull in December 2018. In the…

“If we don’t talk about someone’s criminal backstory then we’re just a cooking school and who gives a shit?” Mike Curtin doesn’t sugarcoat things. The CEO of DC Central Kitchen sat down with me for breakfast at Unconventional Diner in December 2018, just weeks before the organization marked its 30th…

“You can’t be all things to all people. Do one thing and do it well,” says Mark Bucher. He’s built his entire Medium Rare restaurant philosophy around that principle, achieving success with a simple idea. . When I sat down for dinner with him at his Arlington location in November…

Growing up in Detroit, Alex English never thought about a career making people laugh. But once he left the city and moved to New York, an impromptu decision to take part in a comedy club’s open mic night made him decide to become a professional comedian. He’s written for television,…

In October 2018, I was fortunate to spend a lengthy, fun lunch in Los Angeles with Donna Lynne Champlin for the 111th interview with a stranger. Donna Lynee is an actress with an impressive and growing resume, including an extensive stage and Broadway career, a self-produced album, film appearances, and…

The first dinner interview of the year, and the 143rd overall, will be online in a few weeks. Today’s article is a throwback to my 110th interview. In October 2018 I had lunch with Pierre Phipps and Terrance Wilson, also known as gay rap duo Freaky Boiz, to hear about…

Demetrius Harmon found fame online several years ago making video comedy skits on the since-defunct app Vine. It gained him a following of more than two million people combined between Instagram and Twitter. Now he’s looking to use that massive audience to spread a positive message. For the 109th dinner…