'As Spiders Do': The podcast

Provissiero: So what age were you when you first said, “Oh, I understand that’s a profession. I want to do that”?

McShane: I was like 4 or 5. A couple of my sisters and I went and saw Disney’s animated Robin Hood. I came home, and I was like, “That’s what I want to do.” I realized it was an animated character. And back then there were reruns of Hogan’s Heroes, F Troop, Addams Family, Munsters, I Dream of Jeannie. I was like, “I want to do that, but I don’t want to be the lead dude. I want to be the second dude. I want to be Agarn in F Troop.” I don’t know if any of you remember that. But then, you know, life took its course and I kind of had to give up on it.

Provissiero: I’ve never heard this. Now, that’s really fascinating. You at some early age said, “I don’t want to be the lead. I want to be second on the call sheet.”

McShane: Yeah, until I got to see Gene Hackman, and then Alan Alda in M*A*S*H. Gene Hackman and Alan Alda were my biggest influences. But still they were, I don’t know ...

Provissiero: Why didn’t you say, “I want to be the lead?”

McShane: Because I didn’t like Tony Nelson as much as Healey in I Dream of Jeannie. He was funny. I liked Agarn better. I don't really know why. It’s worked out.

[We jump ahead in the conversation.]

Johnson: My final question, and this is something I ask all of my guests: What does it mean to be a Richmond Spider?

Provissiero: I love that question. I’ve never thought about that. Richmond is a different place than when we were there, let’s face it. I think a lot of us with gray hair know this to be the case. ...

It’s a scrappy school. It’s a school that had to fight its way in to be respected. It’s not an Ivy League school, but it’s a really good school in a part of the country that’s not quite the South or quite the North. We have such a beautiful campus, and the schools and the departments are just so impressive. I was a psych major. It’s an excellent department. I remember that. Scrappy.

McShane: Tenacity was the first thing that came into my head. ...

Provissiero: When we were there, Richmond made it to the Sweet 16. Dick Tarrant was the coach, and Kenny Atkinson was the point guard. We scraped and clawed our way into the Sweet 16, and we were the Cinderella story. That has left an indelible mark on us, so maybe that’s why we associate Richmond with that.

McShane: I like that. Richmond is such a small, beautiful school. You meet people. You didn’t feel lost.

You?

Johnson: No one’s ever turned that back on me. I would agree. Richmond’s a special place. When I graduated in 2018, all of my peers in my first job — nobody had a college experience like I did. It’s that community and it’s that space where you can try anything and do anything. Scrappy and tenacious is such a good phrase for what it means to be a Spider. I think we’re dreamers, and I think we’re doers. We’re people who tackle things, and we pursue the potentially impossible. And if we fail, that’s great, and we learn, but so often we soar. I think it’s a really cool place.

Hear the whole episode here: