A delightful conversation with Washington DC balloon artist Julie Zauzmer. Julie is a full-time reporter for the Washington Post who maintains her love of balloon art, performing as Zippy.

Julie is also a former editor of the Harvard Crimson, and a published author. Her book Conning Harvard is still available at Amazon.

Among topics we discussed, here is the article that Julie calls the best piece ever written about a childrens performer: a 2006 Washington Post article that really got people talking about The Great Zucchini.

Julie’s website is found at Balloons by Zippy.

One way her balloon work has crossed over into her day job was a contest held in 2014, when she made a balloon version of a metro train to celebrate the new Silver Line.

And, for your consideration, the definition of abecedarian.