I asked who I should interview next and my inbox went a bit wild. Here is the shortlist, and the four letters I have actually sent.
A while back I put a line at the bottom of a post that said "who should I meet next?" I honestly thought I would get about three replies, and two of them would be from my own family.
I got a lot more than three.
Some of the suggestions were very sensible. Some were less sensible. One person said I should interview a kea, which is not technically a person, although it would probably run a better select committee than some.
Here are the four that kept coming up, and that I have now actually written letters about.
1. Dame Cindy Kiro, the Governor-General. Several of you said this one. The Governor-General is the King's representative in New Zealand, and she lives and works at Government House in Wellington. I did not know until this year that a bill does not become law until she signs it.
2. Chris Hipkins, a former Prime Minister and now Leader of the Opposition. I want to ask what it is actually like to lose an election, because everyone talks about winning and almost nobody talks about the other bit.
3. The Royal New Zealand Police College in Porirua. What does it actually take to become a police officer? How long is the training? What do you learn that is not on TV?
4. McDonald's. Yes, really. One of you asked how they make food so fast and so identically in every single store, and now I cannot stop thinking about it. That is a systems question, and systems questions are my favourite kind.
Writing the letters took longer than I expected. You cannot just email someone "hi can I come" and hope. You have to say who you are, what the project is, how long you need, and why it matters. I got Mum to check every one for spelling.
Now the hard part: waiting. I will tell you exactly what happens, including the nos. Especially the nos.
Keep the suggestions coming. Just maybe fewer birds.