Aug 1, 2016
After a few weeks off, Dennis returns, welcoming his old friend from San Francisco Andrea Carla Michaels into his Noho condo to talk about what it's like to create crossword puzzles for the New York Times. She talks about why she loves it, her long history with Will Shortz, how she gets paid, having her puzzle featured at a crossword contest and making peace with using those 4-letter "glue" words like Oreo. She also discusses her career as a professional namer with her company Acme Naming. She talks how "Bewitched" was an early inspiration, how she gets paid and the company name she's most proud of. Other topics include: giving pizza to the homeless every day, how much San Francisco has changed in the last decade, her teenage relationship with Woody Allen, working as a writer on "Designing Women," and why she goes by all three names. www.acmenaming.com