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

Actor Ethan Suplee chats with Trey Elling about his new film, GOD IS A BULLET, which premieres in theaters on June 23rd. Topics include: Too many European weddings this summer (1:34) How he ended up in God Is A Bullet (2:41) Playing a violent, psychopathic character (4:43) Getting extremely tatted up for the role (7:14) Sharing scenes with Jonathan Tucker (8:42) Whether he read the book that spawned this film (9:44) The ideal European vacation (11:56)

Award-winning, University of Nebraska-Lincoln sociologist Kelsy Burke, Ph.D., chats with Trey Elling about THE PORNOGRAPHY WARS: THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF AMERICA'S OBSCENE OBSESSION. Topics include: How she ended up writing this book (0:50) A definition of ‘pornography’ (2:02) The subjectivity of ‘offensive’ (3:33) The genesis of the US porn wars around Civil War times (4:17) George Francis Train as one of the first porn defenders (6:24) J. Edgar Hoover’s “Obscene File” (8:22) Both sides of the porn wars feeling empowerment in 1957 (10:00) Common ground on porn for hardcore feminists & Christian women in ‘60s & ‘70s  (12:37) Nixon’s war on porn backfiring (14:03) What sparked a golden era for porn in the 1970s (17:14) Rev. Jerry Falwell’s impact on the porn wars (18:39) The VHS saving porn (21:33) The relationship between the internet and porn (22:45) An explanation of sex trafficking (24:50) How often sex trafficking is a part of porn (26:27) Similarities between diametrically opposed sex trade expos (28:43) The complications of a California bill to require male porn actors to wear condoms for intercourse (31:28) A horrifying example regarding the complications of consent (33:31) Where women go to work when they try to leave the sex industry (36:28) Feminist porn (38:04) How watching porn is potentially harmful (41:08) Is porn addictive? (42:49) Youth sex education & porn (46:06) Is ‘porn’ sex 'real’ sex (50:47)

Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton and director Steve James chat with Trey Elling at the red carpet premiere of THE LUCKIEST GUY IN THE WORLD. This four-episode documentary is the newest addition to ESPN's 30 for 30 franchise and takes a look at Walton's whimsical life on and away from the court. Steve James (0:45) Bill Walton (3:51)

Comedian Tom Papa chats with Trey Elling about WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER...SO MAKE SOME ROOM. Topics include: Performing at the Comedy Mothership (0:37) Whether Tom enjoys writing books (4:38) The idea of being ‘normal’ (6:32) Parenting (9:41) The unwritten rules of #2ing yourself (10:47) Regret (13:37) Dying of jazz and laughter (17:55) Feelings (20:56) The disappearance of basic manners (27:24) Airplane pet peeves (30:04) Coaching the Special Olympics, hypothetically (31:19) True love usually takes time (33:10) What Tom hope’s they’ll say when he’s gone (36:35)

Brothers Joey, Matthew, and Andy Lawrence chat with Trey Elling, ahead of their appearance at the ATX TV Festival, to discuss their Brotherly Love podcast and more. Topics include: Coming to Austin (0:50) Being close as kids, despite a sizable age gap (2:12) How they survived childhood fame (6:07) Their Brotherly Love podcast (9:06) Combatting the hyper-politicized nature of modern times (12:11) Having open-minded conversations (17:00) The brothers' Philly sports fandom (20:30)

Filmmaker Billy Corben chats with Trey Elling, ahead of his panel discussion at the ATX TV Festival. Topics include: Austin (0:39) Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat (2:27) The key to telling a good story (7:06) The common quality in the stories Billy tells (9:57) Billy’s “Because Miami” podcast (11:51) Florida Man (14:01) Florida’s iguana problem (19:26) The University of Miami pushing NIL boundaries (20:11)

Professional bullriders Chase Outlaw and Zeke Mitchell chat with Trey Elling, ahead of the ATX Television Fest premiere of THE RIDE, a new Amazon Prime docuseries that follows the lives of several riders competing in the inaugural season of the PBR's team series. What does it take to get atop one-ton animal that is angrily trying to get buck any rider off his back? If not riding bulls, what do you fear? The guys answer these questions and more. Chase Outlaw (0:35) Zeke Mitchell (22:28)

Comedian and podcaster Greg Fitzsimmons chats with Trey Elling, ahead of hi headlining shows at Joe Rogan's Comedy Mothership. Topics include: The perfect club for comedians (0:35) Disposing of comedy club hecklers (5:04) Greg and his wife nearing empty nester status (7:10) Parents losing to their offspring (8:56) Sports as a way for men to safely express emotion (17:19) Baseball's ridiculousness (18:39) Trading fight stories (22:49) Whether Greg would ever write another book (28:17) Helping spread the word on Tom O'Neil's CHAOS (30:17) The current health of the standup business (33:45)

Comedian Ehsan Ahmad chats with Trey Elling. Ehsan's Solid Comedy Show, co-hosted with Deric Poston, can be seen most Wednesdays at the Comedy Mothership and this Saturday (May 27th) at Vulcan Gas Company. Topics include: Why he decided to move to Austin in 2021 (0:46) Finding success in comedy before moving to Texas (2:28) Hosting the Solid Comedy Show with Deric Poston (3:44) Hanging around Dave Chappelle (6:35) Applying cognitive neuroscience in his standup (7:25) What he loves and dislikes about Austin (9:50) A love for Bay Area pro sports teams (12:19) The Warriors (14:37) The 49ers (17:12) The toughest act he's had to follow in standup (22:24)

The New Yorker's Adam Gopnik chats with Trey Elling about THE REAL WORK: ON THE MYSTERY OF MASTERY. Topics include: The book’s goal (0:38) The importance of learning new skills (3:26) Defining ‘mastery’ (6:12) The mystery of performance (8:19) Jamy Ian Swiss and the real work (13:15) “The method is not the trick” (16:33) Learning about mastery from David Blaine (19:11) The mystery of identity and intention (23:53) The challenge of Adam learning to drive a car in his 50s (29:07) How learning to drive in NYC changed his perception of the city (32:38) Courtesy waves (34:54) The mystery of interiority (36:24) The mystery of meaning (40:17) The mystery of late style (46:22) Overcoming a shy bladder (49:32) Whether learning how to draw altered Adam’s perception as an art critic (55:13)