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

Comedian, podcaster, writer, and actor Bryan Callen chats with Trey Elling, ahead of his standup shows at Cap City Comedy Club on July 28, 29, & 30. Topics include: Performing in Austin (4:12) Pronoun- & trans-politics (6:58) Interviewing Sammy "the Bull" Gravano (15:16) Upcoming standup special & cranking out new material (17:36) Standup in the 'cancel culture' era (18:54) Getting back into standup in 2005 (24:13) Places he won't go with his comedy (25:32) Failure (27:35)

Speech pathologist, writer, and Harvard lecturer Rebecca Rolland chats with Trey Elling about THE ART OF TALKING WITH CHILDREN: THE SIMPLE KEYS TO NURTURING KINDNESS, CREATIVITY, AND CONFIDENCE IN KIDS.

Legendary filmmaker Ron Shelton chats with Trey Elling about THE CHURCH OF BASEBALL: THE MAKING OF BULL DURHAM: HOME RUNS, BAD CALLS, CRAZY FIGHTS, BIG SWINGS, AND A HIT. The book is part memoir, part screenwriting/directing masterclass, and part oral history of one of the best sports movies ever made.

Molecular biologist Nicklas Brendborg chats with Trey Elling about JELLYFISH AGE BACKWARDS: NATURE'S SECRETS TO LONGEVITY. Topics include: Why we age (:51) How a certain jellyfish ages backwards (1:29) The unique aging of salmon (2:26) Large animals outliving small ones (3:17) The curious case of the naked mole rat (4:19) Genetics and lifespan (6:49) Why eradicating major diseases wouldn't extend average lifespan (9:20) Distinguishing the queen bee from worker bees (12:04) Antioxidant supplements bad for our health? (12:59) Hormesis (14:30) Heat shock proteins (16:25) Human growth hormone (19:30) Insulin-like Growth Factor 1, aka IGF-1 (21:25) Rapamycin and fungi (2:22) Spermadine (25:43) Telomeres (26:44) The epigenetic clock (28:33) Do old people benefit from young blood transfusions (34:13) The microbiome and aging (36:31) Fecal transplants (39:06) Caloric restriction (40:05) Insulin and the aging process (45:45) Metformin (48:33) Exercise (51:35)

Investigative journalists Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins chats with Trey Elling about SALMON WARS: THE DARK UNDERBELLY OF OUR FAVORITE FISH. Topics include: The genesis of this book (0:49) How the farmed salmon industry is like Big Tobacco and Big Ag rolled into one (3:04) How embedded farmed salmon is in our food supply (5:27) Properly labelling seafood (7:16) The evolution of commercial salmon farming (8:21) The Canadian government's role in the rise in that country's open-net farms in the 1980s (9:51) Norway's Hydro Seafood and its role in expanding salmon farming (13:39) Sea lice and their damage on farmed salmon (16:19) The dangers of farmed salmon escaping back into the wild (18:15) The concern around Cypermethrin for fish and humans (19:30) Alexandra Morton as a hero in this terrifying story (23:30) How the farmed salmon industry responds to scientific findings critical of their business (25:36) The right way to farm salmon (27:15) The reliability of a store claiming its fish is wild caught (30:54) Comparing Omega 3 levels in farmed- vs wild salmon (32:32) Why salmon farmers add dye to the chemical pellets they feed their fish (36:43) What Canada's Cohen Commission uncovered about dwindling wild salmon populations (37:50) Whether Norway does a good job of protecting its salmon (41:10) The added issue of salmon farm litter (43:19) An ecological disaster perpetuated by Cook Aquaculture in 2017 (44:40) The Miramichi River as a reason for optimism in the fight for wild salmon (57:56) Whether Doug and Catherine are concerned about industry pushback (49:41)

Actress, comedian, and writer Mary Lynn Rajskub chats with Trey Elling about FAME-ISH: MY LIFE AT THE EDGE OF STARDOM. Topics include: Covid as the inspiration to write this book (1:10) Making the ranch dressing at Denny's (2:32) Find a home as a young performer in LA (8:15) The evolution of her standup (13:36) The key to acting dead (20:37) Her million-dollar mansion that housed a women's commune and anus-less dog (21:39) Writing about personally difficult experiences (23:08)

Comedian Hans Kim chats with Trey Elling, prior to the standup showcase he's hosting at Vulcan Gas Company on July 10th. Topics include: Kill Tony discovering him (2:19) Life changing massively in the last year-plus (3:33) Moving to Austin (5:28) His standup experience in NYC (6:41) Getting comfortable on stage (8:44) Being funny as a kid (11:20) Layers of being funny (13:06) Continually honing his craft (14:48) Opening for Joe Rogan, in front of 17,000 people (19:40) Performing at the Vulcan Gas Company (22:34) Comedy club etiquette (24:13) Headlining clubs outside of Austin (26:01) Standup influences (28:00) Having his standup dreams become reality so abruptly (29:24)

Bestselling author and screenwriter Jerry Stahl chats with Trey Elling about NEIN, NEIN, NEIN: ONE MAN'S TALE OF DEPRESSION, PSYCHIC TORMENT, AND A BUS TOUR OF THE HOLOCAUST. Topics include: Why he decided to go on a Concentration Camp bus tour a few years ago (0:25) Coming to terms with his own depression many years ago (1:12) The added challenge of placating Hollywood while on the bus tour (3:23) Investing in digitally hip luggage before the trip (5:15) Keeping it real on Spielberg’s Schindler’s List while in Kraków (8:18) Feeling a “heavy peace” throughout the trip, including at a Kraków synagogue’s cemetery (10:49) Nazi porn fetish rabbit holes, no pun intended (12:13) One of the many endearing characters on the tour bus through Poland and Germany (15:09) An annoying, hipster influence at Auschwitz (17:59) Modern Auschwitz’ cafeteria scene (20:08) A Dresden, Germany restaurant that would keep kids in line with a fake executioner (23:00) A pit stop in Munich, during Oktoberfest (26:51) The “Bitch of Buchenwald” (29:27) The Nuremberg courtroom being climactic and anti-climactic at the same time (38:36) Concentration Camp fatigue syndrome (40:23) Unique elements at Dachau’s Concentration Camp (41:19)

Retired four-star Admiral James Stavridis chats with Trey Elling about TO RISK IT ALL: NINE CONFLICTS AND THE CRUCIBLE OF DECISION. Topics include: John Paul Jones continuing to fight a battle that was seemingly lost (1:43) Lieutenant Stephen Decatur 'cutting out' in Tripoli Harbor (3:08) An amazing example of risk-taking from the US Civil War (4:46) Gut instinct as an element of good decision making (6:37) "Cool Hand" George Dewey and the challenges he overcame with his fleet entering Manilla Bay in 1898 (7:10) A heroic example of risk-taking from a low-ranking figure at Pearl Harbor (10:02) Admiral William "Bull" Halsey as an example of risky decision-making leading to tragic consequences (13:23) The saddest example of lose-lose decision-making in the book (17:42) Rear Admiral Michelle Howard and her team's rescue of Captain Jim Phillips from Somali pirates (22:19) An unfortunate example of decision-making, relating to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic (27:06) A good example of risk-taking in the face of conflict from Jim's career (31:48)

One of Hollywood's brightest, young filmmakers Cooper Raiff chats with Trey Elling about CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH. Raiff wrote, directed and starred in the film, which is available now on Apple+. Topics include: Having a hamster as a costar in the film (1:23) How his sister serves as an inspiration in CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH (1:45) Directing actors of a variety of ages (2:47) "Brown Eyed Girl" (4:09)