Interviewing strangers over a meal since 2008 (as featured in the Washington Post)
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…
President-elect Donald Trump takes office January 20th, and will probably head to a couple of inaugural balls that night — but Maryland State Senate Cheryl Kagan (the 89th dining stranger) has an alternative party planned. The Democratic lawmaker is hosting an “UnNaugural Concert” the same evening to promote progressive causes,…
Actor Jack Fry, the 15th stranger I dined with, is heading to New York City this month with his one-man show Einstein! The play is based on more than 15,000 documents from Albert Einstein’s life, with Jack playing the scientist on a bid to set the record straight about his…
Want to share your life story? And get a free meal? Dining With Strangers lets you do both at once. As you’re writing your new year’s resolution lists, add dinner with a stranger (me) on the to-do list. Meet with me at a restaurant of your choice, for a relaxed…
Sad news from New Orleans, with the announced closure at the end of December of t-shirt shop Storyville, which is run by former dinner interviewees Josh and Natalie Harvey. Storyville specialized in unique and funny designs, and gained some notoriety in the Big Easy with a “Brad Pitt For Mayor” t-shirt that generated…
The most festive interview I’ve done so far for this site was in December 2011 when I got dinner with Ed Downey, who for years has performed as Santa Claus. He had plenty of interesting things to say about his unusual job, as well as his adventure-filled life. But a…
There are two reasons I know Michael Wilkinson. First is that he’s one of the founders of Washington, DC-based pizza chain Pete’s Apizza, which specializes in New Haven-style pizzas. Michael was one of the first people to do an interview for this site, meeting me for lunch at the company’s…
As Americans head to the polls for the 2016 elections, here’s a look back at my political dinner interviews. Although it’s generally believed that people shouldn’t talk politics or religion at the dinner table, some of the interviews I’ve done over the years have been focused heavily on political talk….
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….