My friend Steve Delahoyde (and husband of fellow WBEZ blogger Claire Zulkey) works at the Chicago design firm Coudal Partners. And every time I asked him what the company does, he'd give me a bunch of examples — a short film he'd shot, an online design tournament — but I was still left wondering, "OK, right, but what does the firm really do?"

So, finally, I went to Jim Coudal himself. Here Jim explains things . . . more or less.

The next Interview Show is this Friday, Jan. 6, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Guests include novelist John Green (Looking for Alaska, The Fault in Our Stars), Fake Shore Drive founder and editor Andrew Barber, actor Marc Grapey (Race at the Goodman), jazz-DJ group Seeking Wonderland and Gaztro-Wagon. More info here.