Writers, it is joked, sit in a room and talk to themselves, so it's often a pleasant surprise to hear how well-spoken they can be in person.
When he invited Malala Yousafzai on to the show he simply made a couple of jokes, sat back and let her tell her story of oppression by the Taliban, her hope and her vision of empowerment for women all over the world.
After a good deal of joking, they sat down to eat.
Jamel's face broke into a wide smile, and he ran and hugged the clown, who waddled across the room, shouting and joking, and sat at the arts table.
Feminists who normally shun rape jokes sit next to ardent defenders of freedom of speech, as survivors share their stories and poke fun at a society that has long marginalised the issue of sexual assault.
There's an early invitation for the player to – no joke – sit down and watch a short documentary outlining how the game's swimming pool-sized time machine actually works.
"It's amazing that all of us can be so far apart politically, but we can joke and sit down and tell stories about our sons.
There was huge social media interest over what he was wearing and the reaction was positive, although fellow Match of the Day presenter Dan Walker joked: "4000 sit ups a day for 20 seconds on telly.
While half a dozen patrons sat joking, eating and watching, the proprietress grabbed a handful of raw tortilla dough for each quesadilla, rolled it between her hands, flattened it in an ancient-looking wooden press, sprinkled it with one of several fillings and swiftly browned the folded result on a comal (griddle) at least a yard across, chatting non-stop.
Eventually, Michael protested that his mother's interest had become "too much," joked Bill, who sat across from his wife in a booth beneath a picture of former Patriot nose tackle Vince Wilfork.
