NOT So Famous in NJ podcast - Coffee Talk and Candid Conversations

08/25/2026

Julieanna Richardson spent decades giving identity and voice to thousands of Black Americans and their stories. . . even though one really prominent Black scientist refused to be interviewed.

I met Julieanna Richardson at a Rutgers event, honoring her work in creating an archive of Black history, from the voices of those who created it. You'll be surprised by at least one famous person who refused to be interviewed. . . I know I was.

07/29/2026

The untimely death of Jeanie Bryson left her friends and fans in shock. I'm reposting our 2021 conversation, when she talked about the documentary she produced about her late husband Coley Mellet, as well as the tribulations of being the unacknowledged daughter of Dizzy Gillespie. Jeanie, you will be missed!

The unacknowledged daughter of Dizzy Gillespie, Jeanie Bryson who made a name for herself globally as a jazz singer, passed away suddenly last month. I'm revisiting our 2021 conversation, where she speaks bluntly about her father, the outsized influence of her songwriting mother, Connie Bryson, how....

05/11/2026

Woohoo!
What? You haven’t listened to my interviews with people like Billy Van Zandt, Vinnie Brand & Jose Loo? Why not??

Click through to listen
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hazlet-coffee-talk/id1482007581

03/27/2026

If George Washington Carver, Crispus Attucks and slavery are the sum total of your knowledge of African American history, you're in for a few surprises in my interview of Juliana Richardson, founder of the History Makers. From the woman who inspired Hidden Figures to Quincy Jones to Barack Obama, Juliana has archived a mountain of first person interviews.

Two years ago I was lucky enough to attend an event at Rutgers Living History Society where Juliana Richardson was honored with an Oral History Award. Her claim to fame? Her work with the History Makers, a project she started 24 years earlier to document Black history in America. . . the largest eff...