Welcome to Call Your Girlfriend, a podcast for long distance festies everywhere.

I'm Amina Tussaud and I'm Anne Friedman.

Hey Anne Friedman, what's up this week?

On today's agenda is a conversation with George McCalman, who is an artist, a writer,

an illustrator, a designer, like honestly the list of labels goes on and on because this

man does it all.

He spent many years as a magazine creative director shaping the look and feel of publications,

like Ready Made and a Far and Mother Jones, which is where he and I met 15 years ago when

I was a lowly intern and he was just like a creative force even then.

Once that time he has opened up his own studio, McCalman Co, where he collaborates on branding

and design and editorial projects.

Often all of those things kind of collapse into one.

He always has his hands in about six different pots.

And he's also one of my favorite writers.

He contributes to the San Francisco Chronicle where he pioneered a column for them called

Observed, where he illustrated his observations about the city's cultural life.

And if that weren't enough, he also shows his fine art in galleries.

What did I tell you?

Does it all?

Recently he worked with Chef Bryant Terry on his new book Black Food, which is a gorgeous

tribute to the food ways of the African diaspora.

That's out next week.

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