The table you choose says who you're becoming.

22 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief interview segment, host Donald Burns asks Speaker B to name any chef, leader, or historical figure they'd like to sit down with. Speaker B immediately chooses Mark Twain, explaining that Twain has been a lifelong favorite due to his memorable quotes, unique worldview, and the poetic coincidence of being born and dying with a comet—suggesting a celestial destiny. Burns notes that many people often pick sports icons like Michael Jordan, prompting B to name a second figure. Speaker B selects Edgar Allan Poe, citing a love for old English literature and an attraction to darker, more mysterious voices. Burns reacts with fascination, imagining a dinner where he could probe Poe’s darkness and perhaps even his eccentric habits. The exchange highlights how personal literary heroes shape conversational aspirations and reveals the interviewer's curiosity about the inner lives of these iconic writers.

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So if you could sit down with any chef, any leader, any historical figure, past, present, alive or dead, who would it be? Anybody. Mark Twain. Really?
Yeah.
Why Mark Twain?
Yep, he's been my favorite author ever since I was a kid. I just have a book of like his quotes, his way of looking at the world. He's the most interesting historical figure to me. You know, born with a comet and died with a comet. I mean, I think that man was made from the stars.
Yeah, that's a good one. That's a good one. Yeah, most people, like, a lot of people pick, uh, like sports figures. Like, I get a lot of times, oh yeah, oh, I'd like to have dinner with Michael Jordan. It was like, okay, yeah. How about, uh, who, who else? If you had to pick another one?
Uh, you know, and that, that question's come up before in my life, and it's like, it's always old authors. Like, my number 2 is Edgar Allan Poe. Yeah. Oh, wow.
That's fascinating.
Yeah. Yeah. I love old English literature. You were deep.
He was dark. Man, that would be fun to have dinner with Edgar Allan Poe and just kind of like, and just kind of like lean over and go, man, what was going on with you? Yeah. What mushrooms were you taking, man?
Because that's some weird stuff, man. Right.