If a podcast can count Ryan Reynolds and Steve Martin among its guests in less than 100 episodes, something really good must be happening. 

That’s the case for The Interview Dudes, three middle schoolers from Ontario who still hope to get Chris Pratt and the creator of Minecraft to appear as guests someday. 

James Charron, father of Jack, one of the three hosts, has done some audio book work and used those contacts when the boys, including Nathan and Ben, started their podcast a few years ago. 

“It slowly evolved from interviewing me,” Charron says. “My neighbor across the street had done some acting. We moved up to the mayor of Ottawa, who is connected to Ryan Reynolds. When we put out a tweet asking Ryan Reynolds if he would do an interview, the mayor kindly retweeted it.” 

The Interview Dudes started as something fun to do during the summer while Nathan, Jack and  Ben were on break from school. Originally they were interviewing classmates. Now they’ve interviewed celebrities and other well-known people, including Susan Jane le Jeune d’Allegeershecque, the British High Commissioner to Canada; Marc Garneau, the first Canadian to fly in space and the current Minister of Transport for Canada, and several high-profile athletes. 

“One interview the boys forget, they interviewed the director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Kirk Johnson,” Charron says. “He had some samples to show the boys. They were quite enthralled with them.”

It’s All Journalism host Michael O’Connell talks to Jack, Nathan, and Ben, better known as The Interview Dudes, about their podcast and interviews with the likes of Ryan Reynolds and Steve Martin. Together they discuss dream guests, how they started their podcast, and how their parents still embarrass them on a regular basis.

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