[music]

Alison Stewart: This is All Of It. I'm Allison Stewart, live from the WNYC studios in Soho. Thank you for sharing part of your day with us. I'm really grateful you're here. Guess what, Nikita, I'm typing you already-- My tea bag today on my mug, it says, "Gratitude leads to love".

Nikita Richardson: Aww.

Alison Stewart: Aww, here's to that.

Nikita Richardson: Valentine's Day is everywhere.

Alison Stewart: [chuckles] On today's show, we consider some history for our Black History Month segment on Black New Yorkers who made an impact on our city. We'll speak with the curators of an exhibit at the New York Historical Society that describes how two Black athletes helped make the New York City Marathon what it is today. Then we'll head out to Long Island with a look at the Gilded Age and how it unfolded in the Tony Mansions on the Gold Coast. We'll continue our launch of this year's public song project with musician Valerie June, plus learning about how sound recording changed in the 1920s.

That's the plan, but let's get this hour started with a discussion about diners.

[MUSIC - Tom's Diner (Cover) - AnnenMayKantereit x Giant Rooks]

I am sitting in the morning at the diner on the corner

I am waiting at the counter for the man to pour the coffee

And he fills it only halfway, and before I even argue

He is looking out the window at somebody coming in

Alison Stewart: There's a certain mystique around diners. There are the sprawling menus that account for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and if you like dessert, almost any time of the day. Part of it might be the décor, which often features geometric tile floors, red bar stools, vinyl booths, table-side jukeboxes, and those ceramic containers with all types of sweeteners for your coffees. Oh, heck, even one of the best Barry Levinson movies takes place in one.

Speaker 3: There's a little place where people gather to enjoy the banquet of life.

[music]

Speaker 4: I got a date with Carol Hedra. She is death.

Speaker 3: It's the diner and what they really want most isn't on the menu.

Alison Stewart: Perhaps the original New York City third space, you can find yourself at a diner capping off a night of partying or getting some alone time with breakfast before work. There's a nostalgia factor to a casual and timeless space where the eternal question is only ever, "What can I get you?" Listeners, our guiding questions for this conversation are, what does a diner mean to you, and more practically, what are your favorite ones in the area? 212-433-9692 212-433-WNYC. What's your go-to diner? What's your order? 212-433-9692 212-433-WNYC.

You may call in, join us on the air or you can text us at that number as well. For those of you in Jersey, what makes diner culture in Jersey so special or unique? Help us understand Jersey diners. What role do they play in local business or politics? We are taking your meditations and recommendations about diners. 212-433-9692 212-433-WNYC. Quick reminder, don't call us if you're driving. [laughs] That's all I got to say. You can pull over. We'd love to hear from you if you pull over. It's for safety, folks. No driving and calling, but definitely do call in. 212-433-WNYC.

Joining us now to help take those calls and talk with us about the allure of diner culture, we have New York Times food editor Nikita Richardson, who writes the Where To Eat newsletter. Earlier this month, she published one headlined Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, Patty Melts, and More Diner Fare. Old-school New York diners are dwindling, but the holdouts are still churning out classics from mile-long menus. Thanks for coming to the studio, Nikita.

Nikita Richardson: So happy to be here.

Alison Stewart: All right. You came to New York. You've been in New York for a long time. When you first came to New York, though, what were your impressions of New York City diners?

Nikita Richardson: Honestly, I was coming from the perspective of Waffle House. I'm from the south. I'm from Georgia for listeners who don't know, but I've been here since about 2012. My expectation is that, which is funny, because the diner chain, but I feel like New York, it's not really about chains. It's about places that have been truly on that corner forever. I used to go out in Bushwick a lot when I first moved here, very girls of me. Then we would always end up the next morning at Tina's Place, which is at the corner of Morgan and Flushing, which I think it's well over 80 years old.

It's been there forever. It's only open for a few hours during the day. We're just sitting there and just eat all the alcohol-soaking food, [laughter] toast, eggs, bacon. The only way to recover from a night out sometimes is to go into a diner.

Alison Stewart: You cover restaurants, you go to a lot of very lovely meals, nice meals. Michelin stars aren't really what people are excited about when they talk about diners. What makes the experience of eating at a diner desirable?

Nikita Richardson: I think that the diner is like the every-man restaurant. The menu is so extensive that there's something for literally anyone who walks in there, whatever you're craving. If you go to a Michelin-star restaurant, you'll look at the menus and you're like, "What's a comfy? What is yuzu even?"

Alison Stewart: Why is there foam? [chuckles]

Nikita Richardson: Yes, but we all know what a pancake is. [chuckles] I have just as much fun if not more fun in a diner than in a fancy restaurant. I think there's something very-- the hospitality, the warmth of it, the kind of camaraderie you feel with your fellow diner/diners, I think makes it so much fun.

Alison Stewart: Now you mentioned Waffle House. Before anybody gets mad and gets in whether Waffle House is or isn't a diner.

Nikita Richardson: It is.

Alison Stewart: Okay. Football stars, the Kelsey brothers, Travis and Jason have had this argument on their podcast. Let's listen. This is Jason first.

Jason: I would not classify it as a diner. I would classify it as a Waffle House. It's in the breakfast--

Travis: Bakery.

Jason: Bakery? I would definitely not call it a bakery. What are you talking about?

Travis: You're calling it fast food and it's not fast food. It's a [beep sound] diner.

Jason: It's not a diner.

Travis: It's a 24/7 diner.

Jason: It's not a diner. Have you ever been to a diner? An actual diner? That's not a diner.

Travis: Yes. It looks exactly like it. You can just get shakes and burgers at a diner.

Jason: I refuse to call Waffle House a diner. Waffle House is Waffle House. Yes, it's not a diner. Diners are unique. You're at Marty's Diner, you don't go [unintelligible 00:07:10] Listen, I'm all for the Waffle House but I enjoy the fact that they make it-- Do you think they do it on purpose? They make it look crappy? I think that's part of the draw. If you went there and it's this pristine place--

Alison Stewart: They go on and on. This means Taylor Swift's going to a diner in case you haven't figured that out from Travis. What's your go-to order at a diner, Nikita?

Nikita Richardson: If it's Waffle House, it's going to be the double hash browns smothered, which means with cheese on it for those who are not in the know. Honestly, and this is what inspired this whole newsletter is if I'm overwhelmed, I'm going to go for a patty melt. That same week that the newsletter about diners came out, our restaurant critic, the Times restaurant critic Pete Wells had written an entire ode to the patty melt that was at, I think I was looking at the article right before this, 700 comments, which is very high for us.

It just inspired so much conversation because people feel very strongly about the patty melt. If you don't know what a patty melt is, it's essentially a burger, but it's between two slices of toast. It has cheese on it, Swiss, and it has caramelized onions. It is a perfect thing to eat at a diner. It's breakfast, it's lunch, it's dinner, it's everything.

Alison Stewart: [chuckles] My guest, Nikita Richardson, editor for the New York Times food section, she writes the Where To Eat newsletter. We are talking about diners. Our phone lines are full. Let's talk to some listeners, Nikita. Ingrid from Sayreville, New Jersey. Hi, Ingrid. Oh, we just lost Ingrid. How about Zoe from Long Island City? Zoe, are you there?

Zoe: I am and I would like to tell you about the Court Square Diner in Long Island City, right at the foot of the 7 train, which is very convenient.

Nikita Richardson: I know that diner.

Zoe: Yes.

Nikita Richardson: So shiny. [laughs]

Zoe: I've been going there for 40 years. The Kanellos brothers have owned it for most of that so it's a real Greek 24/7 diner. They never closed a single day, not even during the pandemic. They would do takeout. Even during Sandy, they stayed open because they were afraid that something might happen to the building so they stayed all night. They treat the people in this neighborhood like gold. All the waiters and waitresses know you. They all work there for years. There's not a big turnover. Even as a single person, you can go in there and they don't relegate you to Siberia.

If I come in there, if there's a booth open, they know I love a booth and they give me a booth. They're just so good to everybody. The place is consistently being cleaned, round the clock, you never sit down to a dirty table ever. It's just fabulous.

Nikita Richardson: What's your go-to order?

Zoe: I love going there, especially for brunch on the weekend, because I have a work studio in the neighborhood as well. One of my friends comes in to work in her studio. We'll meet for brunch and I'll have an avocado omelet with well-done potatoes and whole wheat toast and coffee, bottomless cup. The thing is that they even know how you take your coffee.

Alison Stewart: Awesome.

Zoe: You don't even have to ask. They know that you take half and half, for instance. The brothers are huge supporters of the arts in this neighborhood. Nine years in a row, they were our biggest supporters for our Arts Open. They gave more than Silver Cup, or Story Studios, or anybody else. It's because the artists have always supported the diner, even when it was truckers and hookers.

[laughter]

Alison Stewart: Zoe, thanks. Didn't see that one coming. Love that right turn it took. Steven is calling in from Queens. Hi, Steven.

Steven: Hey guys. Thanks for taking my call. I go to the one every now and then that's on 34th Street, the Skylight Diner. It's one of my favorites. I love it. The one I guess from my memories down through the years, I told this screener earlier, was the Westway Diner, which is on 43rd, between 43rd and 44th. Because years ago, the improvisation, the improv used to be on 44th Street and all the comics would do sets there and then haul it over to the Westway Diner, just like in the TV on Seinfeld.

I can remember being in there, there was Don Morello, Brett Butler, Robin Williams. Just the different people who would be there and the comics would be at their tables and they'd laugh and joke back and forth with each-- It was something. It is still a memory that I just can't shake.

Nikita Richardson: When a diner has proximity to a special place like that, I think that it always attracts that loyalty. People will go there over and over and over again. I think that exemplifies the diner culture.

Alison Stewart: I think for that one, Westway Diner as well as a Red Flame Diner over at 6th and 45th, 46th, if you're going into the theater, there's something for everybody. You don't have to worry about like, can this person eat that? People can always find something to eat.

Nikita Richardson: The eternal question where to eat before a show in New York City. It is the e-mail I get every day.

Alison Stewart: We get Midnight Express Upper East Side from Kelsey. We've got the Nevada Diner in Bloomfield, New Jersey. The cheesecake is to die for. Another text says, "No other country has diners. The most important meal is breakfast. Good home fries are essential. Shout out to Chelsea Square Diner, best matza ball soup, and spinach pie in the city 24/7." There's something about the 24/7. Right?

Nikita Richardson: The 24/7. I had a question actually about that. There was a guy who's like, "I'm in grad school sometimes I'm up until 3:00 AM writing a paper. I don't want to do it in my apartment. Where should I go?" At the time I said Kellogg's Diner, which is in Williamsburg, is now shuttered but is going to open with a fancy chef again. That was a 24-hour space. When the pandemic happened, we lost a lot of our late-night spaces. Late night is only just now crawling back. This used to be a 4:00 AM to 6:00 AM city. We all chilled out a lot in pandemic.

[laughter] The diner that's been a huge role of it, is like, any time of day you're getting off from the hospital at 4:00 AM you can go to a diner.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Alison from the Upper East Side. Hi Alison.

Alison: Hey Alison. I love this show. You guys put such a smile on my face. I've been on the Upper East Side for 50 years.

Nikita Richardson: Awesome.

Alison: I'll tell you what a diner is not, and I don't think young kids know what a diner is these days. It is not the green kitchen where you get a Cosmo or a Margarita or some effing fancy meal. A diner was a kin to a greasy spoon. I think that we don't have them on the Upper East Side anymore because I don't care if it's greasy meals. You don't spend $25 on two eggs and hash browns. It makes me so mad. I love this segment. I might have to go out of the Upper East Side to find a diner.

Nikita Richardson: You know where you should go? You might deign to go here because it does have espresso martinis. [laughs] The Manhattan Diner on the Upper West Side, which is one of the diners I talked about, has an amazing diner menu. Yes, it has fancy cocktails, but the prices are very decent. I have never seen a wider menu of options. You can get pasta at this diner. It's a little but they do have all the greasy spoon specials that you really crave.

Alison Stewart: Live in Brooklyn, but grew up in Philly, which is also diner haven. Lots of great memories of going to our neighborhood diner at 6th and Girard with my dad. My favorite memory is being at a South Philly diner with West Coast cousins who could not get over the waitress saying in her Philly accent, "Can I get you some coffee, hun?" Part of the waitstaff is part of the lure and the love of diners.

Nikita Richardson: Some could argue that it's 90% of it. Honestly, I think that the diner is one of the last places where if you get brusque service, you can't be mad about it. They have things to do. There's a lot of people here. You didn't come here for them to worship your feet. You came to get a very decent pile of waffles and a coffee. I think that that is so endearing to have your West Coast cousins be like, "Oh my God.

Alison Stewart: Coffee.

Nikita Richardson: East Coast diner culture."

Alison Stewart: All right. You've mentioned Tina's Place, Manhattan Diner. Any other New York City diners you want to get to before we take a break and then come back with Jersey?

Nikita Richardson: Yes. My final one that I feature is Jackson Hole Diner. This is a diner right by LaGuardia Airport. If you've been down the BQE, it's hard to miss. They have a neon airplane sign. I found myself in there a few, last year, almost a year ago and it's just like a very charming place. It looks like it's out of a movie, and it was in fact featured in Goodfellas.

Alison Stewart: We're discussing diner culture with Nikita Richardson, Editor for New York Times food section. She also writes the Where To Eat newsletter. We'll take more of your calls about your favorite diners. We'll head to my home state of New Jersey to discuss the specifics of Jersey Diner culture after a quick break. This is All Of It.

[music]

This is All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. My guest is Nikita Richardson, Editor for the New York Times food section. She writes the Where to Eat newsletter. One of her recent newsletters was all about diners. We're getting so many callouts for like the Bus Stop Diner in West Harlem. I love the Hollywood Diner in Flatiron Union Squareish area. We are getting questions about-- Oh no, we got Hector's Diner & Cafe at 44 Little West 12th Street. Oh, that is a classic right near the Whitney. I must say for this conversation, we need to head to the Garden State, which maybe should be called the Diner State.

Nancy Solomon, Senior Reporter and Editor covering New Jersey, is joining us to talk about New Jersey diner culture. Hi, Nancy.

Nancy Solomon: Hi, Allison.

Alison Stewart: What is unique about Jersey Diner culture?

Nancy Solomon: What could be more Jersey than a diner? It's just they're over the top in every way, especially the diners in Jersey. For one thing, first of all, there are more diners in Jersey than anywhere else. I googled it. There are 500 apparently or approximately and then they're just so over the top in every way. Crazy design elements, crazy long menus that include everything, huge portions. As was earlier mentioned, I just love it when the waitress calls me hun. Diners generally, not just in Jersey, they serve breakfast all day.

That's a plus. They're family-friendly and so a lot of folks move to Jersey to raise their kids, and Diners work for that. In New Jersey, they're very car-friendly. I was trying to think if I could think of a single diner that doesn't have a parking lot and I can't. I'm sure now someone's going to call. I'm sure there is one, but generally, they have parking lots. Super easy for car culture. It's all of it.

Alison Stewart: There you go. Thanks for dropping the name of the show. There you go. Two words. We also have to say disco fries. Very important to say disco fries when you're talking about Jersey and diners. Our producer, Kate Hines, a proud Jersey native, wants to make sure that we know that Jerseyans invented the diner. According to New Jersey Spotlight, in 1913, Bayonne, Jerry O'Mahony established the first stationary lunch wagon and then started building prefab diners that could be shipped across the country.

Apparently, New Jersey manufactured one-third of the nation's diners from 1920s to the 1980s. This is such an important topic, Nancy, that I know you asked the governor of New Jersey about it. Nancy, you there?

Nancy Solomon: I did. I thought you were going to play the tape.

Alison Stewart: No, I was going to have you throw to the tape.

Nancy Solomon: Yes. I knew you folks were planning the segment, so one of your producers asked me to ask him and so I did. I don't have in front of me what kind of tape you pulled, but I did ask him about it.

Alison Stewart: You asked his opinion on Jersey diners. Let's hear first what he had to say.

Governor Murphy: On the short list of things that you can experience in Jersey and literally nowhere else are diners. There's just no question about it. And the other great thing is every single diner has its own unique character. So we talk about Taylor Ham pork roll, the diner experience as a general matter, which is true, the commonality common spirit. Having said that, each and every one of them is their own unique experience, and I love them.

Alison Stewart: That is Governor Murphy on diners. Diners have a political element to them, especially for Jersey. You asked the governor about this. Let's listen. I want to let people know there's a little bit of music underneath the governor's answer because this was at the end of the show.

Governor Murphy: I mean, I have meetings in diners all the time. I go to diners with my family regularly. I had a disproportionate amount of diner time when I was first introducing myself around the state politically. This would be 2014 to 2016 when I was literally driving around meeting people. A disproportionate amount of those meetings were held in diners, usually in the community where the person lived or where their office was. While I had always got a diners, I had a almost supersized diner experience there for several years and I still love them.

Alison Stewart: Nancy, from your experience covering Jersey politics, what have you observed about the role of the diner in Jersey business and political dealings?

Nancy Solomon: I think it goes back to the idea of how easy it is to get in and out. They're usually on some of the state's most busiest roads, there's parking lots. They are meeting places and there's always been political deals made around the diner table. I have always loved the existence of the Westfield Five. It was five Republicans who used to meet at the Westfield Diner. It is not that there was anything untoward that happened. It was just a real power base back when Republicans were more relevant in New Jersey than they are now.

Then there was the decision among democratic power brokers. In 2021, Phil Murphy was at the table deciding on who would be the president of the New Jersey State Senate. That was purposely, I believe, made public. It was meant to be like a secret meeting, but they leaked it because they wanted to show that they were doing it in a Jersey diner. I thought that was pretty funny. Let me just say there's also a very interesting mob history to diners in New Jersey. Frank Lagano was shot in the head outside the Seville Diner in East Brunswick, which he co-owned.

He was a mobster. There was the decomposed body of a mobster found in the trunk of a car that was parked for weeks undetected at the Huck Finn Diner in Union, which is one of my favorites, by the way. More recently the political operative Sean Caddle, now in federal prison paid off a hitman at a diner in New Jersey to murder another politically connected guy who lived in Jersey City. There's also that rich mob history.

Nikita Richardson: Nancy, I think you killed me with that. [laughs]

Alison Stewart: You just took Nikita out with that list. WNYC's Nancy Solomon, bring in the good times. Nancy, thank you for calling in, I really appreciate it. Thank you for [crosstalk] asking the governor. That was great of you. Hey, All Of It crew, the TikTok Diner in Clifton New Jersey is a favorite of the Rolling Stones when they're in town. New York Times article said it a few years ago. We've got some more Jersey folks on the line. Jill from Warren. Hi, Jill.

Jill: Hi. The Summit Diner in Summit New Jersey doesn't have a parking lot and is one of the very, very old classic diners they used to ship all over the US. It's still got the wooden booths and the round circular small stools and is great for breakfast.

Alison Stewart: Jill, thanks for calling in. Mark is calling from the Bronx. Hi Mark.

Mark: Hi. Many years ago, I was intrigued by the diner in the West Village called the Terminal Diner, which I thought was an interesting name. I wrote a one-act play that was performed I guess about 40 years ago. As we speak, I'm working on a new version of it and it's called The Terminal Diner. It's about a family that takes over an abandoned dining car and turns it into a diner and everything that goes on. I would like to recommend one diner in the Bronx which is near Riverdale, but down the hill, and it's called the Tibbet Diner, T-I-B-B-E-T. It's the only diner I found that has a full menu of fresh caught fish.

Alison Stewart: Wow.

Mark: It turns out that the owner is a fisherman because when I asked him if the fish was fresh, he said, "Yes, I caught it this morning. Don't worry.

Alison Stewart: [laughs] I was about to say fish and diner. I don't always want to put those two things together. No offense to anybody, please.

Nikita Richardson: A diner can be anything.

Alison Stewart: A diner can be anything. There you go. Nikita, when you're thinking-- you obviously go to all kinds of restaurants. I don't mean to throw you a curve here, what do you think about the postmodern diners? New diners that pop up that have the vibe of an old diner, but are clearly modern.

Nikita Richardson: As our friend on the Upper East, I would say is are too expensive to count as diners. [laughter] I think that it's coming from the way that like I think a lot of people have a childhood love of the diner. A diner has always been a safe space to be a kid. I think that as those people have grown up, they want to create diners, but they've also worked at like very nice restaurants. I've mentioned Golden Diner. That's down. I guess what we call Chinatown, Two Bridges. The chef there, Sam, he is Chinese.

It's like there's diner culture, but he puts a lot of his Chinese heritage into the food. I think that's super special. Even if it's pricey, I'm like I'm glad this exists because it represents where the diner as we know it, it's a way that it's legacy is going on because diners are actually still closing at a relatively rapid clip. Everyone should follow the Instagram Diners of NYC, which features all of these diners from all over the place. I think that those diners they have a place and they are still carrying on that feeling of, "Hey, this is just a informal place.

We're all the same in this spot." As long as that is being carried on, then I think that both can coexist.

Alison Stewart: "The Chitchat Diner in West Orange is on a hill, and five years ago when school buses could not make it to their destinations because of a freak snowstorm, the owners welcomed in school buses full of kids, and many of them stayed overnight. The kids loved it. The 24-hour service is something." That's from Maria, from New Jersey texted us.

Nikita Richardson: It's adorable.

Alison Stewart: That is a great story. Thanks so much for calling in. Let's talk to Bob on line six, calling in from Manhattan, but he's got a Connecticut story. Hi, Bob.

Bob: Yes. The shout-out to the Sherwood Diner in Westport, Connecticut. It's right off 95, the Sherwood Island exit, and it's on Route 1. We have a tiny house up in Westport and in the summertime, it could just get packed with people. They're sleeping everywhere. My daughter was one and a half, and she would wake up at 5:00, 5:30 in the morning. I'd just pick her up, put her in the car seat. We'd drive to the Sherwood Diner and the waitresses were just so welcoming. It was some of the best mornings of my life.

I would just sit in there until time people were waking up and they were just so nice. Connecticut is full of diners. Almost every little town has a diner of sorts. Anyway, I think it's competition for New Jersey.

[laughter]

Alison Stewart: Bob, I'm with you. About the diners, when you have a kid and a newborn, I used to stick my kid in the car seat, take them over to the good stuff diner, sit them on the bank. It's a wonderful thing for a parent at 5:00 AM in the morning [laughs] that they have someplace to go. Let's talk to Mary on line four. Hi Mary. Hi Mary, are you there?

Mary: Yes. Hi. I wanted to mention a diner that has probably been closed for a number of years, but the Frontier Diner, it was on 3rd Avenue in the high '30s, low '40s. The location was great for people who worked in Midtown. It really stuck in my mind because I was bringing a French family of professors plus two teenagers, [coughs] sorry about that, around New York. It was a convenient location. They were staying nearby.

Alison Stewart: Oh, I think we've lost Mary. Mary, take care of your cough. [chuckles] Let's talk to Bob from Blairstown, New Jersey. Hey Bob. Thanks for calling in. You have a crazy-- I'll let you tell your story. Go for it. [laughs]

Bob: I am from Blairstown, New Jersey, and I'm calling about the Blairstown Diner. Now, this diner was featured in the original movie of Friday The 13th. It's still around, and every Friday the 13th, people from all over the country come to the diner and Blairstown dressed as different characters from all the Jason movies. It's the Blairstown's claim to fame, the Blairstown Diner on Friday the 13th.

Alison Stewart: Bob, thank you for calling in. I love a little diner trivia.

Nikita Richardson: I'm going to flag that as a story for The Times.

Alison Stewart: There you go. Niki, let's say you were going to open your own diner. Money's not a problem. What would you want the atmosphere to be? Would you stick with the classic gigantic menu? Would you keep it simple?

Nikita Richardson: Honestly, my only thing would be, I would pull back on the eggs. I'm not a big egg person. I love a scrambled egg. I'm not going to lie and maximize the waffles. This is not just a Waffle House thing. I just think that waffles are the best thing ever, like chocolate buckwheat waffles. They're primed for adding-- they have the little grid so they hold syrup extremely well. I think it would be Waffle House North. I think I'd just want a Waffle House in New York. I think that's just what I said.

I would like to open a franchise up here.

Alison Stewart: I think that my tip is pancakes for the table. Whenever you go out with a bunch of people, pancakes for the table.

Nikita Richardson: You need to run to Tom's Restaurant. This was another place I featured Tom's Restaurant. It's in Prospect Heights, kind of very close to the Brooklyn Museum. That restaurant's been around ages. I think it's also something in the '80s or '90s. It's not to be confused with the Tom's Restaurant that's near Columbia, which is the one that inspired Tom's Diner by Suzanne Vega. This one is completely different, but they have a massive menu of pancakes, like as many whatever your imagination can think of, it has that pancake on it.

They're not even round, they're kind of oblong and it's fine because they're so good that you don't really need them to be perfectly round.

Alison Stewart: Everybody who called in, we could do this again. We may have to do this again.

Nikita Richardson: Yes. I would come back.

Alison Stewart: Thank you to everybody who called in, those who got on the air, and those who didn't, and thanks to everybody who texted as well.

 

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