Episode
Room for Everybody: Maryam Banikarim, Co-Founder, The Longest Table
- Podcast
- How We Connected
- Published
- Jun 24, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2834
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://www.chamberofconnection.org/
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Summary
Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst of the US Chamber of Connection catch up on Charlotte's second wedding anniversary weekend in Portland, where she and her husband reread their vows, and Aaron's trip to New York for his sister's 50th, the Knicks championship parade, and a Father's Day in the Yankee Stadium. Charlotte walks through her hunt for breakable Guinness World Records for Welcome Week. This week's interview is with Maryam Banikarim, co-founder of The Longest Table, a free neighborhood potluck that turns a single city block into one long table where strangers become neighbors. It started during the pandemic, when everyone kept saying New York was dead and Maryam kept thinking we're all still here. She posted a photo of a shared street meal on Nextdoor, met eight neighbors over coffee, and put on a lunch that drew five hundred people the first year. It now draws more than two thousand in Chelsea alone and has grown into a movement of about 50 tables across the country. 00:00 Show Intro and Check-In 01:13 Weekend Stories 09:19 Welcome Week and World Records 15:59 Introducing Maryam Banikarim and The Longest Table 16:26 Origin Story: Always the New Kid 19:01 Birth of The Longest Table 25:06 Why It's Caught On 27:38 Planning a Longest Table for Seattle 30:08 How It Works: Table Captains and Community Tables 38:41 Reflection --- How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community. Aaron Hurst , Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpos…