04 / Conversation lab. Some conversations begin halfway around the world. Others begin because a stranger tells me their life story on a Tuesday morning. Recording begins September. Over the years, I’ve met people I still think about. A woman archaeologist at a Maya site in Mexico. Sometimes the conversation ended because a train left, a trip moved on, or there simply wasn’t enough time. Now I’m going back. I’m inviting some of those people into longer recorded conversations. I’m also continuing to meet strangers in New York—and asking some of them to sit down and keep talking. No predetermined subject. No required takeaway. Just someone I want to understand better, enough time to stay with the conversation, and the curiosity to see where it goes. In September, a stranger and I step into a studio with microphones, cameras, and enough time to follow the conversation wherever it goes. I’m beginning with six recorded and filmed conversations before deciding what the project becomes. A podcast. A collection of conversations. Something else. I don’t need to know the final form to know the conversation is worth having.