Bob's Just Asking

An unexpected transportation two-fer: this episode focuses on the integral job of trucking, something I think most of us take for granted and think we know more about than we actually do. Ray Nicholas is a Hillsborough High School alumnus who I met during my first year of teaching way back in 1793.

Matt Newman is a pilot for a major airline. He answers all of my ignorant questions about being an airline pilot. Some really eye-opening stuff here.

Daniel Lazar is a high school social studies teacher at the JFK School in Berlin, Germany. Down the road we'll talk about what it's like to teach abroad, but today's focus is on his multiple forays into podcasting, most notably his soon-to-be-retitled exploration of working, currently called Studs (after Studs Terkel). Daniel is an incredibly introspective, thoughtful guy who has a lot to say abou...

Sebastian Goncerz is a sixth-year medical student in Poland who is at the forefront of a political movement to address a health care crisis in Poland. We discussed Polish government and politics in general before segueing into his area of focus. 

In 2020, Nina Jankowicz published her first book, How to Lose the Disinformation War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict. We talked about Russia, the election of 2016, and the subsequent developments in this disturbing area of our domestic security. Nina is a 2007 Hillsborough High School alumna.

Some of the most marginalized and endangered students in our schools are those in the LGBTQ+ community. Zach Lowe is an educator who trains other educators to support these students and LGBTQ peers. Our freewheeling conversation starts and ends there but covers a variety of topics along the way.

I know less than the average fourth grader about geology, so I thought having an expert on the subject give me an overview of subjects like plate tectonics and seismology, as well as the geology of New Jersey, would be a great use of this podcast. I met Maggie Benoit in my first year teaching at Hillsborough High School back in 1993. It was great catching up and learning from her.

Adam Mamawala is a 2005 graduate from Hillsborough High School who has been working in standup comedy for the past fifteen years. Going beyond the generic questions, we take apart a few of his jokes to see what makes them tick.

Joe Choroszewski is a 1998 graduate of Hillsborough High School and a professional drummer whose resume includes drumming for Broadway shows like Wicked, Promises Promises, Newsies, and Frozen. I asked him about the challenges of being a professional musician.

My lack of knowledge about India's government and politics is frankly embarrassing. So I thought I'd ask my former student Aman Thakker to help a brother out. Now don't ask me about Canada, okay?

I like coffee. You probably like coffee. But how much do you know about growing it and roasting it? What makes a coffee exquisite, good, or something relegated to commodity coffee? I interviewed Zakiya Mason, Hillsborough High School alumnus, and the director of coffee for Go Get 'Em Tiger, a specialty coffee company in Los Angeles, California.

Eytan Mirsky is best known for the songs he contributed to the films "American Splendor," "The Tao of Steve" and "Happiness." He has released seven albums of his original music and is simply one of the finest songwriting craftsmen out there. We spent an hour exploring some of the finer points of his approach to songwriting.

What better way to start an interviewing podcast than to interview someone about podcasting? Thom Bowers is the co-host of Spoon Radio and Superenthusiast Radio, two long-running podcasts, as well as a personal friend. He also happens to be a voiceover actor, audiobook reader, and my Constant Bassist (apologies to Stephen King) in our band The Windows. With limited knowledge of the world of podcas...