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

Jim DiEugenio, a foremost expert on the assassination of John F. Kennedy, chats with Trey Elling about JFK REVISITED: THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS. The book provides annotated transcripts of Oliver Stone's recent two- and four-hour documentaries, co-written by Jim, that present the most recent evidence uncovered by the Assassinations Record Review Board (ARRB). Topics include: The ARRB's importance for this project (2:45) JFK's autopsy confusion (12:57) The mystery of a press conference held by the two Dallas doctors who tried to save JFK on 11/22/63 that has been dashed from history (20:07) The three Texas Book Depository secretaries whose testimony was ignored (30:06) A meeting between JFK, Allen Dulles, and Lyman Lemnitzer that showed Kennedy at odds was with the US military industrial complex (37:11) CIA MK-Ultra psychiatrist Jolly West paying a visit to Jack Ruby in prison, after he killed Oswald (1:09:25) Who was most responsible for killing JFK, and LBJ's complicity in the plan (1:20:44)

Journalist and author Henry Sanderson chats with Trey Elling about VOLT RUSH: THE WINNERS AND LOSERS IN THE RACE TO GO GREEN. Topics include: Why electric vehicles didn't catch on initially in the early 1900s (2:01) How Exxon gets partial credit for discovering the lithium battery (4:37) China as the world's 'battery superpower' (7:54) Lithium's path from ground to battery (11:40) Cobalt's path from ground to battery (18:11) Nickel's path from ground to battery (26:04) The shocking amount of copper needed in electric vehicles (30:21) Deep sea mining as the next 'great' frontier for EV materials (35:03) Possible solutions to a finite amount of inhumanely sourced materials (38:44)

Portland-based writer and author Kristin Ohlson chats with Trey Elling about SWEET IN TOOTH AND CLAW: STORIES OF GENEROSITY AND COOPERATION IN THE NATURAL WORLD. Topics include: Harvesting trees while keeping a forest healthy (1:14) Dead salmon's contribution to the forest network (5:17) Bees sometimes cheating mutualism with pollenating flowers (7:03) Relaxed selection versus natural selection (9:10) How viral infections helped with human evolution (13:57) Humans emit a lot of bacteria and...fungi? (16:15) The spread of germs can be beneficial (17:33) The effect of sugary junk food on the gut microbiome (20:13) How an area in Nevada transformed from desert into wetland (21:52) Regenerative agriculture (28:42) Coral snot and island bid poop as other examples of mutualism (35:31) Whether cities' attempts to build nature into concrete jungles has paid off (40:01)

Spy. Spook. Intelligence officer. However you label him, Douglas London spent 34 years with the CIA, working as a field operative in countries outside of the United States, establishing relationships with foreign nationals who could help the US with highly sensitive information. And he's sharing his story with Trey Elling as told in THE RECRUITER: SPYING AND THE LOST ART OF AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE. The book is part memoir, part how-to-spy guide, and part critique of how and why the CIA lost its way since 9/11 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Legendary actor Anthony Michael Hall chats with Trey Elling about his new film THE CLASS. Topics include: THE CLASS as a sort of spiritual sequel to THE BREAKFAST CLUB (0:38) Taking a page from John Hughes with rehearsals (5:00) Playing a school administrator, and remembering Paul Gleeson (8:53) Humanizing the authority figures (13:17) Acting class memories (14:59)

Evan Puschak, the guy responsible for the wildly popular The Nerdwriter channel on YouTube, chats with Trey Elling about ESCAPE INTO MEANING: ESSAYS ON SUPERMAN, PUBLIC BENCHES, AND OTHER OBSESSIONS. Topics include: Coming into his own as a writer (1:46) Lessons learned from Emerson (6:35) Articulating like Jerry Seinfeld (10:03) The brilliance of standup comedy (12:43) Facebook's true customers (15:37) The greatness of public benches (23:38) Why Venice, Italy is Evan's favorite place to sit (28:11) Probing Superman's psyche (30:34) The perfect Superman movie (35:13) Identity with respect to friendship (38:23)

Philly-based standup David James chats with Trey Elling, a head of his shows at Cap City Comedy Club from Sept. 2nd - 4th. Topics include: Getting fired from a paper company (0:25) Working as a parole officer (2:35) His standup journey (4:33) Tik Tok standup "comedians" (5:57) Remembering the Alamo while murdering Bills fans in Buffalo (7:36) David's terrible NYE in San Antonio (13:29) What he hates about Philly (17:13)

Trey takes a break from interviews to discuss his recent departure from 104.9 The Horn, a sports radio station in Austin, TX where he hosted a midday show for the past five-plus years.

Journalist, screenwriter, and New York Times bestselling author TJ English chats with Trey Elling about DANGEROUS RHYTHMS: JAZZ AND THE UNDERWORLD. In the second of a two-part conversation with TJ, topics include: Jazz thriving through the Great Depression (0:15) How gangsters "mobbed up" jukeboxes during the Great Depression (2:40) Frank Sinatra as the main figure in the book's second half (4:40) Sinatra's mom providing him an 'in' with the Hoboken, NJ mafia (6:16) Frank using the mob to help settle a disputes with a fellow, and former, band members (7:36) How the mafia had pay those favors back (12:21) Why heroin became so popular with jazz musicians at the start of World War II (19:33) The Times Square joint Birdland as perhaps the most mobbed up club in history (23:56) How 1950s Havana, Cuba was different from other mob-run jazz scenes (29:45) Miles Davis reinvigorating US jazz in the late 1950s (32:50) Sinatra having the mob give JFK a boost in the 1960 presidential election (38:44) When and why the relationship between jazz and gangsters fizzled (44:25)

Journalist, screenwriter, and New York Times bestselling author TJ English chats with Trey Elling about DANGEROUS RHYTHMS: JAZZ AND THE UNDERWORLD. In the first of a two-part conversation with TJ, topics include: Why the birth of jazz was about more than merely creating a new sort of language (3:10) How lynchings helped form a bond Sicilian club owners and black jazz musicians in early-1900s New Orleans (6:29) The origins of the term 'jazz' (10:22) "Jellyroll" Morton (14:06) The influence of the "Sicilian Black Hand" (16:56) The scene surrounding the earliest Kansas City jazz clubs (20:02) Not shying away from the ugliness that surrounded jazz in its early days (25:19) Louis Armstrong's move from New Orleans to Chicago in 1922 (32:16) Al Capone hearts Fats Waller (40:50) The birth of the hipster (44:20)