On the occasion of the conference "Arithmetic and Algebraic geometry", organised in honor of Ofer Gabber's 60th birthday, we publish three interviews to some of the protagonists of algebraic geometry at IHES: Ofer Gabber (IHES &CNRS), Luc Illusie (Université Paris-Sud) and Nick Katz (Princeton University). In a rare interview by Luc Illusie, Ofer Gabber talks about some of his work, his relationship with mathematics, and his approach to research. Luc Illusie and Nick Katz share a few memories of their time at IHES and talk about the different collaborations they had with its members during the years, at the intersection between algebraic geometry and friendship.