In the first few months of “The Daily,” we reached Mike Schmidt on the road, using the only landline phone connection he could find: the customer service line at Kinko’s. Here’s how the interview began:

Schmidt: Hey. Barbaro: Hey! Schmidt: Sorry. So I got the folks here at Kinko’s to let me use the phone. Barbaro: How did you do that? Schmidt: I told them I needed to call the office. Barbaro: [Laughs] Schmidt: But the problem is, I’ve got my laptop on the other side of Kinko’s here, and I’m afraid some Russian spies are gonna take it, so I got to keep my eyes on it.

In many shows, an exchange like that would be left on the cutting room floor. It’s not necessary to understand the story. But we decided to use it.

We realized that the spontaneous exchanges we have at the beginning of our interviews could be powerful. These moments allow you to experience Times reporters as real people with quirks, tempers, a sense of humor and, in some cases, a magnificent singing voice.

We were rolling when Maggie Haberman came on the line from our studio in Washington and did what comes naturally — to her, anyway — when sitting in front of a microphone: She belted out a tune. We ran it on the next morning’s show.

In other episodes, you heard Matt Rosenberg getting locked out of the studio. And Matt Apuzzo apologizing, profusely and colorfully, for showing up late to an interview.