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

Legendary musician Don McLean chats with Trey Elling, ahead of his show at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, celebrating the release of "American Pie" 50 years ago. Topics include: What the show consists of (2:33) The key to a good story (4:03) How he handled the success of "American Pie" poorly (8:24) Exploring a variety of themes and styles with his music over the past 50 years (13:55) Bob Dylan disliking the likelihood that he's the jester character in "American Pie" (17:01) The government's role in many of the horrific events from the 1960s that the song discusses (22:49) The assassination of JFK in 1963 (23:33) Considering the song was inspired by his belief that the world was headed in a terrible direction, was his prediction correct? (29:25)

Actor, writer, producer, and standup comedian Marlon Wayans chats with Trey Elling, ahead of his live shows in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. Topics include: Whether he has a preferred type of venue to perform standup (1:39) What he loves about standup that is unique from making movies and tv shows (2:58) Has his brother Damon helped him evolve as a standup (5:26) What it'll take to get Eddie Murphy to perform standup again (6:55) The key to capturing Richard Pryor's vulnerability in an upcoming project where he's playing the legendary comedian (8:00) Whether he has a good Bill Murray story from their time shooting On the Rocks together (10:18) Playing the legendary figure George Raveling in a new film on Nike's pursuit of Michael Jordan, directed by Ben Affleck (13:09) Could a movie like White Chicks get made in 2022 (14:33)

Following their conversation on Dr. Rolle's new book, THE 2% WAY, Dr. Rolle and Trey Elling discussed several social issues that have been swirling around the world of college and pro sports. Topics include: Is the school song for the University of Texas racist? (1:49) Should Florida State University consider replacing the Seminoles mascot? (7:28) The "Redskins" nickname and high schools flying the Confederate flag (10:04) People clinging to symbols (11:35) To watch/hear our chat on THE 2% WAY, click HERE.

Former NFL player and current pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Myron Rolle chats with Trey Elling about THE 2% WAY: HOW A PHILOSOPHY OF SMALL IMPROVEMENTS TOOK ME TO OXFORD, THE NFL, AND NEUROSURGERY. Topics include: An explanation of the 2% way (0:45) Why examining one's foundations is important for fulfilling potential (2:26) What his mummy was like during his childhood (4:13) His dad's response to Myron kicking another kid's butt for calling him the n-word (6:12) The benefit of adopting his father's stoicism as an adult (7:43) The influence of Dr. Ben Carson's book, Gifted Hands (9:53) The opportunities and experiences his football talent afforded him at prestigious prep high schools (12:03) Why he decided to play football and attend college at Florida State University (16:08) An epiphanous moment at a San Francisco Denny's when the Seminoles were prepping for a bowl game in the Bay Area (20:48) Starting a program to assist the young people within the Seminole tribe in Florida (25:08) Lessons learned from initially failing to qualify for the Rhodes Scholarship (29:48) The exhilaration of winning the Rhodes Scholarship (33:29) Why he chose to pursue the Rhodes Scholarship over an NFL career, following his junior year at Florida State (35:12) Wonderful advice he received from Dr. Ben Carson the weekend before heading to Oxford (39:31) The biggest benefit from his time at Oxford (42:17) How he became better from the disappointment of sliding to the sixth round of the NFL draft (45:02) Spending the offseason after his rookie year representing the Clinton Global Initiative in Africa (47:25) Why his time in the NFL may have been cut so short (50:17) The biggest regret about his time in the league (54:00) Why 'community' and 'vision' were most important when selecting his residency hospital at Harvard Mass General Hospital (56:05) What his wife Latoya means to him (1:02:05) His opinion on college athletes finally being allow to profit off of Name, Image, and Likeness (1:05:49)

Multiple Sclerosis ambassador and motivational speaker Tyler Campbell chats with Trey Elling about THE BALL CAME OUT: LIFE FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FIELD. Topics include: Tyler's goal with the book (3:00) The thing that caused him to let his guard down a bit as a kid (4:36) Growing up as an African American in an affluent, predominantly white community (7:13) How the discovery of football helped him (12:15) An mistake that derailed his life as a junior in high school (15:29) How his mom and dad reacted to that mistake (19:37) Ending up at Pasadena City College in California (27:02) Getting that full ride to play at San Diego State (30:10) Swallowing his pride in making a name for himself on special teams (33:03) The terrifying details of his first experience with Multiple Sclerosis (35:03) Continuing to play football through this debilitating condition (41:08) Becoming an ambassador for MS and a highly sought-after public speaker (46:48) Inheriting Earl's skill as a public speaker (50:18) The key to a good story (52:14) What his mom means to him (54:51) What his dad means to him (55:44) What his wife means to him (56:37)

Former world champion debater Bo Seo chats with Trey Elling about GOOD ARGUMENTS: HOW DEBATE TEACHES US TO LISTEN AND BE HEARD. Topics include: Bo's goal with the book (0:27) Why disagreement is valuable in human interaction (2:30) Bo's outright avoidance of conflict changing in 2005 (4:52) The importance of topic analysis for debate (10:38) Why 'truth' and 'importance' are debate's two burdens of proof to convince a listener (15:49) Counterclaims as an embodiment for justifiable hope, according to Aristotle (28:14) Why rhetoric has such a negative connotation, and what good rhetoric looks like (32:02) Four qualifications that determine whether an argument is worth pursuing (37:02) How to disarm a name-calling bully in a debate (44:46) The greatest lesson he learned while coaching debate (48:10) Side-switching as another tool to prepare for debate (54:42)

Everybody Loves Raymond creator and Somebody Feed Phil creator/host Phil Rosenthal chats with Trey Elling, ahead of his appearance at the ATX TV Festival. The fifth season of Somebody Feed Phil is out now on Netflix!

Actor Briga Heelan chats with Trey Elling, ahead of her appearance at the ATX Television Festival for a GREAT NEWS cast/crew reunion and table read. Briga shares what she loved about the show, lessons learned from working around some legends, where her natural comedic sense comes from, the joys of parenting, and more!

John Gleeson was lead counsel in the successful racketeering-murder trials of John Gotti and Vic Orena, which he talks about with Trey Elling, as detailed in the new book, THE GOTTI WARS: TAKING DOWN AMERICA'S MOST NOTORIOUS MOBSTER. Topics include: The allure of working for the Eastern District of New York in the mid-1980s (1:28) How he became involved in the first Gotti case (3:15) Why his office didn't get along with the FBI's Gambino squad (6:42) Gotti's 'allure' in person (10:15) The special treatment Gotti received, despite being a defendant (13:17) Losing that first trial (15:24) The massive evidence obtained by bugging an apartment about the Ravenite club in Little Italy (18:57) How Gleeson took the lead on the second case (22:08) Nearly losing the case to the Southern District of NY (23:40) What they charged Gotti with (24:51) Using the bugged recordings to keep the defendants in detention (26:00) Getting two attorneys removed from Gotti's legal team (27:38) His initial response when learning Sammy "The Bull" Gravano wanted to flip on Gotti (30:10) Meeting with Sammy The Bull about flipping for the first time (31:44) Having to keep this a secret from his bosses (33:24) Learning from Sammy why they lost that first Gotti case (34:49) What worried Gleeson, leading into the second Gotti trial (35:45) Whether Gotti putting a contract out on his head during the trial worried Gleeson (37:44) Earning 'guilty' verdicts the second time around (39:06) His emotional response when finding out Gotti had died in the early 2000s (40:50)

Actor Adam Campbell chats with Trey Elling, ahead of a reunion with some of his former GREAT NEWS cast- and crew-mates at ATX TV Festival. Topics include: Embarking on his first trip to Austin and Texas (1:25) Adam's description of Los Angeles to an outsider (2:53) The difficulties of learning the full picture on the issues most impacting the country and world (5:08) Adam gaining an appreciation of America when going through the citizenship process (8:50) American freedom (10:31) What Adam loved about GREAT NEWS (12:19) Adam's comedic influences (16:20) Ricky Gervais' new standup comedy special (18:36) Raising a five-year-old son (22:44) Adam's hometown of Bath, Sommerset, England (26:33)