I'm a radio producer for the local NPR station. Before that, I worked for NPR in Seattle and Las Vegas. (Feel free to ask me about acrobats, casino robberies, and the Strippermobile.) I've lived in Virginia, Oxford, and the Northwest, but I'm happiest back in California: perusing the colorful rows of fruit at the farmers’ markets, hiking redwood forests, catching a live show at the Fox Theater, and bringing together friends whenever I can.

I absolutely love my job. I work in radio, where I keep up with the latest news and meet lots of new people. I have:
1) scaled up a pine tree to meet a guy building treehouses,
2) tracked a pod of 20 orcas with scientists on Puget Sound, and
3) interviewed tightrope walkers about their art forms.

No matter where I go, I meet amazing people. Like I said... I love my job.

Making friends with complete strangers. I like sitting next to people on planes, at parties, at the dog park, and just chatting and finding out what’s going on in their lives. Sometimes it's surprising how much people just need someone to listen.

That I’m smiling. Why not? The great thing is that people usually smile back.

This feels like a High Fidelity checklist, but here we go:

Movies: Goodbye Lenin, The Lives of Others, Spirited Away, the Back to the Future series, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Hurt Locker, Hot Fuzz

Shows: Pushing for Daisies, Arrested Development, Modern Family, Firefly, the new BBC Sherlock Holmes

Music: Anything indie with a twist of folk or bluegrass, plus Brandi Carlile, Qbeta, Sam Cooke, Billie Holiday, Rachael Yamagata, Jeff Buckley, Bon Iver, Calexico, Josh Ritter, Joe Purdy, M. Ward, The National, Ryan Adams, U2, Lizz Wright, The Naked and Famous, Ben Howard, Kansas, Broadway musical soundtracks. Love gypsy jazz or catching live salsa. And ANYTHING Motown!

Books: To Kill a Mockingbird, Cutting for Stone, The God of Small Things, The Forever War by Dexter Filkins, the BFG.

Radio: The Story with Dick Gordon, RadioLab, This American Life, Snap Judgment, The Memory Palace, Fresh Air.

Family, good friends, my dog, podcasts, driving along the coast, Red Vines.

when they're finally gonna invent Marty McFly's hoverboard. How many years is it gonna be?!?

Hosting a potluck dinner for friends, or listening to live music. There's bound to be a bottle of sauce in my hand, or flour smudged on my nose at some point!

I love my dog. A lot. When I come home, we run toward each other like a slow-motion film montage.

You like having a good conversation, asking questions, and sharing stories, and listen to a lot of NPR podcasts. I love getting to know people, whether it ends up in romance or friendship, so write me a note!