The Sport of Life: Chats w/ Comedians, Filmmakers, Sports Figures, Musicians, & Intellectuals

Environmental activist Michael Shellenberger chats with Trey Elling about APOCALYPSE NEVER: WHY ENVIRONMENTAL ALARMISM HURTS US ALL , including: why claims of mass death and destruction due to climate change lack scientific merit, the minimal impact of banning plastic straws and bags, economic development as a defense against climate change, nuclear power's value, many "green" organizations taking...

Tom O'Neill chats with Trey Elling about CHAOS , including: inconsistencies with the official narrative of murders committed by Manson and The Family, why lead prosecutor and HELTER SKELTER author Vincent Bugliosi can't be trusted, evidence of the CIA's fingerprints on the Tate house murder investigation as well as Manson's year forming the Family in San Francisco, and much more.

Matthew Schwartz chats with Trey Elling about CONFESSIONS OF AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER , including: interviewing David Berkowitz, aka Son of Sam, prior to his 2002 parole hearing, exposing a doctor who was fueling the opioid epidemic, a story that forced more accountability from airlines regarding pets checked as cargo, causing Hulk Hogan to cry like a baby, how Trump and Bernie Sanders both stiff...

Bill Buford chats with Trey Elling about DIRT: ADVENTURES IN LYON AS A CHEF IN TRAINING, FATHER, AND SLEUTH LOOKING FOR THE SECRET OF FRENCH COOKING , including: what started him on this journey, how he ended up at a boulangerie for his first stage and why Bob the baker was so important in him better understanding Lyon, taking part in a pig-killing ritual and drinking its fresh blood, understandin...

Dan Cortese chats with Trey Elling about STEP OFF! MY JOURNEY FROM MIMBO TO MANHOOD , including: how the town OB-GYN fueled his first Rock n Jock highlight as a little leaguer, epiphanies, an epic Billy Idol story, receiving an invaluable compliment from George C. Scott, becoming a dad, and more.

Best-selling author Max Brooks chats with Trey Elling about DEVOLUTION: A FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT OF THE RAINIER SASQUATCH MASSACRE , including: waging political battles over the book's title, tedious research that included actually hand-crafting every weapon created by the characters, evolving through devolution, receiving feedback from "Survivorman" Les Stroud, a possible movie adaptation, and more.

Matt Ridley chats with Trey Elling about HOW INNOVATION WORKS: AND WHY IT FLOURISHES IN FREEDOM , including: the truth about Edison and the light bulb (00:33), innovating e-cigs (04:51), potatoes (08:33), luggage with wheels (10:15), and coffee (16:10); the dog as one of man's best innovations (14:04), whether China is becoming the global leader of innovation (21:47), and more.

Filmmaker Barry Sonnenfeld joins the pod to share details from BARRY SONNENFELD, CALL YOUR MOTHER: MEMOIRS FROM A NEUROTIC FILMMAKER , including... He and his dad comparing eating his mom's cooking to cannibalism (4:16). His prowess as a leg wrestler, including dominating Kelly Ripa (7:08). Cousin Mike the Child Molester (10:17). His first paying gig in the film, as the camera guy on a nine-day po...

Dave Rubin joins Trey Elling to discuss DON'T BURN THIS BOOK: THINKING FOR YOURSELF IN AN AGE OF UNREASON , including: the difference between Catholic- and Jewish guilt, why a transgender Nazi helps explain the need for open dialogue, "woke" Thanksgivings, "catastrophizing," loving Clyde Drexler, and more.

Acclaimed journalist and author Joan Ryan joins Trey Elling to discuss INTANGIBLES: UNLOCKING THE SCIENCE AND SOUL OF TEAM CHEMISTRY , including: defining team chemistry, oxytocin's role, the seven archetypes of good team chemistry, why Barry Bonds wasn't a clubhouse cancer in SF, the power of expectation, and more.

Author Erik Larson chats with Trey Elling about THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE: A SAGA OF CHURCHILL, FAMILY, AND DEFIANCE DURING THE BLITZ , which takes a detailed look at the effects of Germany's aerial assaults on Great Britain during Winston Churchill's first year as prime minister. Larson also provides an update on the screen adaptation of THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY .

Actor and restauranteur Danny Trejo chats with Trey Elling about TREJO'S TACOS: RECIPES & STORIES FROM LA . The conversation includes: why he wanted to share the "secret" recipes from his Trejo's Tacos restaurants, the importance of food from his childhood and time in the pen, memories from the sets of HEAT and CON AIR, why he loves Austin, the time his boys mistook the "hook 'em Horns" hand s...

Howard Bloom joins Trey Elling to share details from EINSTEIN, MICHAEL JACKSON & ME: A SEARCH FOR SOUL IN THE POWER PITS OF ROCK AND ROLL , including: reigniting Texas pride thru ZZ Top, learning from the gospel of Al Green, Ozzy Osbourne's explanation for biting off a bat's head, empowering Joan Jett, Bob Marley's brilliance, the magic of Prince, advising John Cougar Mellencamp to not shill k...

Broadcaster and musician John Tesh joins Trey Elling to discuss RELENTLESS: UNLEASHING A LIFE OF PURPOSE, GRIT, AND FAITH . The conversation includes: how he learned to express his childhood curiosity in less mischievous ways, why he ended up living in a tent and working construction during what was supposed to be his senior year at NC State, what participatory journalism meant at its onset in the...

Singer-songwriter Allison Moorer joins Trey Elling to discuss BLOOD: A MEMOIR . The book is based around 14-year-old Allison being awakened in the early morning hours of August 12, 1986 by the sounds of gunshots outside the family's home, as her dad killed her mom before turning the weapon on himself. This conversation includes events that led up to the tragedy, how she continues to heal as an adu...

New York Times best-selling author Chuck Palahniuk joins Trey Elling to discuss CONSIDER THIS: MOMENTS IN MY WRITING LIFE AFTER WHICH EVERYTHING WAS DIFFERENT . The conversation includes why Chuck finally decided to put out a book that offered writing tips, the importance of establishing authority within a story, how his idea of "selling out" has changed over the years, a moment in Chuck's life af...

Former Navy SEAL and New York Times best-selling author Jocko Willink joins Trey Elling to discuss his book, LEADERSHIP STRATEGY AND TACTICS: FIELD MANUEL . The conversation includes: what separates this title from his other leadership books, the idea behind 'decentralized command', working for a bad boss, his counter-intuitive idea for how a leader should deal with a chronic complainer, why it's...

Chess Grandmaster and three-time British Chess Champion Jonathan Rowson joins Trey Elling to discuss his book, THE MOVES THAT MATTER: A CHESS GRANDMASTER ON THE GAME OF LIFE . The conversation includes why chess is such a great metaphor for life, evolving from someone who is learning from failure to a person who is educating thru success, how teaching a child the game of chess can benefit him or h...

Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue joins Trey Elling & Brad Kellner to discuss his book, FRANKLIN STEAK: DRY AGED. LIVE FIRED. PURE BEEF . The conversation includes the value of a good butcher, various ways to cook a steak, when to salt before cooking, grass versus grain-fed beef, and more.

Retired US Navy admiral William McRaven joins Trey Elling to discuss his book, SEA STORIES: MY LIFE IN SPECIAL OPERATIONS . The conversation includes the worst part about "hell week" during his Navy SEAL training and why that experience remains so valuable, what it means to "serve", being face-to-face with Saddam Hussein following his capture, how he used the movie HOOSIERS to inspire his men befo...

Dave Asprey is a Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur, creator of Bulletproof Coffee, and New York Times best selling author. He joined Trey Elling to discuss his book,  SUPER HUMAN: THE BULLETPROOF PLAN TO AGE BACKWARD AND MAYBE EVEN LIVE FOREVER . Dave and Trey discuss inflammation's role in aging, why eight hours is NOT the optimal amount of sleep, why cyclical ketosis is more beneficial...

Former Oklahoma Sooners coach Bob Stoops joins Trey Elling to talk about some of the details from his book, NO EXCUSES: THE MAKING OF A HEAD COACH . The conversation includes the importance of his father, Ron, on his life in and out of football, how he got into coaching after graduating from Iowa, turning around an awful K-State program with Bill Snyder, highs and lows from his time in Norman, mem...

Writer and humorist Adam Mansbach joins Trey Elling to discuss F**K, NOW THERE ARE TWO OF YOU , the third book in a series of children's books that started with GO THE F**K TO SLEEP . The conversation includes how the new book represents a version of what is going on in Adam's household, the process of writing a children's book, getting Larry David to do the audio book, and more.

Record-breaking adventurer Adrian Hayes joins Trey Elling to discuss his book, ONE MAN'S CLIMB: A JOURNEY OF TRAUMA, TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH ON K2 . The conversation includes why Adrian would attempt something so dangerous, details of a failed first attempt that ended tragically, how his personal life impacted a willingness to give it another go, whether he made it to the top on a second try, and more...

Former football player Braylon Edwards joins Trey Elling to discuss his book, DOING IT MY WAY: MY OUTSPOKEN LIFE AS A MICHIGAN WOLVERINE, NFL RECEIVER, AND BEYOND . The conversation includes what first stoked his love for football, why wearing #1 at Michigan meant so much, memories from the Rose Bowl between the Longhorns and Wolverines in early 2005, his favorite NFL season, taking heat for tweet...