Rich Conversations

Manuel Novillo is a marine biologist from Córdoba, Argentina. He spends months in Antarctica researching Antarctic fish. In episode 208, he shared his experience and perspective gained from living and working in isolation. He has the following questions:   When did you start being yourself in the world? A ticket for Mars is booked for you tomorrow. Will you be on it? Why or why not? What is intuit...

Karlita Williams returns to the show for her third appearance, joining from Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Rich and Karlita talk New York, their experiences hanging out together, exploring art galleries in Manhattan's Lower East Side, and ask questions to each other from the card game, "We're Not Really Strangers."   Karlita on Instagram

After being assaulted and robbed by three men with Uzi guns, Rich took some time for reflection. Upon talking to family and friends, a question that arose repeatedly was, “Are you going to see someone?” Therapy can be helpful for many after traumatic events. Each day over the last four years, however, Rich has taken the time to objectively look at life. In an attempt to be more open, Rich shares w...

Material scientist Mubashir Mansoor lives in Istanbul. This was recorded June 30, 2022. His fields are physics, gemology, and  metallurgical and materials engineering. He and his two sisters joined us on episode 203. The episode covered a lot of ground including the culture of Istanbul, the Information Revolution which will lead us to multiple other revolutions this century, quantum computing enab...

Rich and now 4x guest, Kat Kennedy, planned to record an episode to give their thoughts on Jurassic World Dominion and the Jurassic Park series as a whole. Rich watched it once but, to be even more prepared, he decided to watch it a second time. On a beautiful summer night he walked to the theater. Just a few blocks away from it, an SUV pulled up to a stop sign, the doors flew open, and three men...

Rich joins Bonelang in their Albany Park studio. On a hot summer day, the boys discuss the importance of balancing their work and personal lives. Samy Sabh and Matt Bones share their perspective and experience as music artists using Spotify. Bones breaks down the streaming and revenue model and Samy shares ways that independent artists can grow in other ways. The two discuss the importance of musi...

Kelly Moran lives in Miami, Florida. In episode 224 we discussed early 2000s Internet culture. Kelly has the following questions: How do you see the internet evolving over the next 20 years? What is your favorite subject to write about? Which destination are you planning to travel to next? Our episode description: ASL? Kelly Moran on Early 2000s Internet Culture and Approaching Life with Intention...

Historian David (Dr. Dave) Rothmund returns for his fourth appearance on the show. David and Rich recorded outside Lincoln Station in Chicago, across from the historic Biograph Theater and marquee sign. The two catch up with each others’ lives from the past year and share where they are now in life. David came up with the idea of Rich Answers. The two discuss how and why that came about. David des...

Cousin Frank returns to the podcast after two years. We recorded this episode in Wisconsin outside his garage. He shares his story having brain surgery immediately after being pulled from an MRI machine. He explains what was going through his mind and what actions he took after being shown there was a tumor the size of a walnut in his head. He shares how the experience has changed his perspective,...

Scientist Mehya Mansoor lives in Istanbul. She’s a gemologist and sapphire specialist. Her field is metallurgical, materials, and geological engineering. She joined us on episode 203 with her two siblings, who are also scientists (We answered questions from Maryam last week). The episode covered a lot of ground including the culture of Istanbul, the Information Revolution which will lead us to mul...

What is the Lindy Effect? Rich shares how he learned about the concept back in the summer of 2021 when he met Paul Skallas (aka Lindy Man) while bartending at the Lincoln Station in Chicago. Skallas is a technology lawyer and an author who tries to use the most robust ideas from human history to make sense of the challenges and opportunities in daily life. Highly recommend checking out his Twitter...

Cousin Frank will return to the podcast soon. He's been battling cancer the last few years. This is our summer 2020 conversation when we talked about Wisconsin Culture, Technology, and much more. 

Scientist Maryam Mansoor lives in Istanbul. She specializes in metallurgical, materials, and mining engineering. She joined us on episode 203 with her two siblings, who are also scientists. The episode covered a lot of ground including the culture of Istanbul, the Information Revolution which will lead us to multiple other revolutions this century, quantum computing enabling infinite possibilities...

Joshua Murillo and Rich Hebron met each other at The Sylvester in the Midtown Miami neighborhood. Joshua grew up in Miami and currently lives there. He studied physiology and kinesiology at the University of Florida, Gainesville. Rich was on vacation and the two struck up a conversation. Now we have another conversation all about Miami, its culture, its recent rapid growth, and Joshua’s experience...

Gigi Flores returns to the show from El Paso, Texas. In preparation, Rich watched Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” for the first time, starring Jack Nicholson. Gigi helps Rich deconstruct the art forms and storytelling that made it great. They discuss how it’s shot, colors, composition, writing, and performances. Gigi explores the minds of writers. She identifies the three elements of effective fic...

Mohamed Hozyen is a photographer who lives in Cairo, Egypt. He was a guest on episode 195. He and Rich chatted about what life is like in Cairo and Egypt, documentary photography and capturing the human experience within a single moment. A person can change the world through visual storytelling and being aware of the life around them. Rich recorded this driving his car up to Wisconsin for his litt...

Music reviewer and critic Hope Orr joins Rich to discuss the new Harry Styles album, “Harry’s House.” The two discuss their impression of the new album, its themes, and favorite songs. Hope and Rich share their experiences attending Harry Styles concerts. Hope explores the meanings behind particular songs, Harry growing into himself as an artist and human being, and how the pandemic played a large...

Rich reflects on returning to Chicago after working on the farm for a week. He asks what the point of life is and answers that it is to live it. We live in a time where you can live it how you want more easily than ever but putting time and effort into knowing what you want is the key. We can use reflection to not just know where and how we want to live — but with who as well. Rich decides to crea...

Olive Moya is a visual artist and muralist. Her eye-popping work can be seen all over Denver, Colorado. She uses a combination of bright colors and intuitive noodle designs in her striking art. In episode 226 Olive and Rich talked about the city of Denver, what art school is like, the process of creating murals, the benefits of public art, and the importance of pushing boundaries and self-growth a...

Rich is back in Wisconsin for the week to help on the family farm. They’re planting soybeans and corn. He records the episode on the tractor while he’s digging up the ground. He reflects on the experience doing fieldwork now compared to the last 20 years, shares what he listens to and how he passes the time riding a tractor for hours every day, and the feeling of recharging at home in rural Americ...

Imagine being locked up in a small physical space for 23 hours of the day–and share it with another individual. How would you respond? How would you spend your time? Would you reflect on your being and behaviors and make changes? We have a special guest in this episode: Timothy Hayden. Over the past year and a half, Timothy and Rich have corresponded with each other, mainly through letters, about...

Wycliff Njenga is a software developer from Nairobi, Kenya. In his podcast appearance, we discussed how technology is creating the future. He asks Rich a number of questions, centering around the city of Chicago. The questions are the following: In Chicago, what is the general vibe, most popular sport, and most common car brand? Does your country restrict any popular website or mobile app? Are the...

Biology researcher Rafael Añorga returns to the show to discuss the importance of using biostatistics and understanding biochemistry to address public health concerns and issues. Last episode (187) we talked about CRISPR and gene-editing. Rafael shares current COVID data with Rich and the outlook of the variants. Rafael expresses his increase interest in virology. The two exchange thoughts and que...

Olive Moya is a visual artist and muralist. Her eye-popping work can be seen all over Denver, Colorado. She uses a combination of bright colors and intuitive noodle designs in her striking art. In this episode we talk the city of Denver, what art school is like, the process of creating murals, the benefits of public art, and the importance of pushing boundaries and self-growth as an artist. Olive...

Three-time guest Felipe Hernandez provides the questions for Rich Answers. He wrote these down after him and Rich watched game 3 of the Bucks-Celtics series in which the Bucks won. Felipe is a Wisconsin sports fan and great friend. Here are his questions:   Why don’t you like ranch? What do you think about Aaron Rodgers back on the Green Bay Packers? What do you like most about bartending at the r...