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

Military vet, writer, naturalist, and filmmaker Doug Peacock chats with Trey Elling about WAS IT WORTH IT? A WILDERNESS WARRIOR'S LONG TRAIL HOME.

Wildlife & science filmmaker Jackie Higgins chats with Trey Elling about SENTIENT: HOW ANIMALS ILLUMINATE THE WONDER OF OUR HUMAN SENSES.

Doctor of internal medicine and pediatrics Jonathan Reisman, M.D., chats with Trey Elling about THE UNSEEN BODY: A DOCTOR'S JOURNEY THROUGH THE HIDDEN WONDERS OF HUMAN ANATOMY. Questions include: How did an early love of exploring the outdoors benefit his eventual medical career? (1:21) How did an elderly patient help him better appreciate the throat? (3:31) Why is the cardiovascular system analogous to the Earth's waterways? (7:14) What exactly is the Indian-style way of wiping one's butt? (13:11) How are fecal transplants administered, and how do they work? (15:28) Why do bodily rhythms come up in the chapter dedicated to genitals? (18:25) What exactly is the pineal gland? (23:19) Why do our brains swell the further we get from sea level? (26:49) Where does the brain end and the mind begin? (30:29) Why is the skin 'intelligent'? (33:52) What does he love about urine more than any other bodily fluid? (36:29) How much of obesity is a medical disease versus a person making continually poor lifestyle choices? (43:44) Do medical schools provide adequate training on nutrition? (47:39) Why are the lungs a forbidden food in the US? (50:16) Why is eye contact an important component of his patient care? (54:04) Why is it important to assess the temperature of a finger or toe when treating an injury to the digit? (56:26) Why do plastic surgeons use leaches? (58:22) Why is empathy crucial for patient care? (1:01:15)

The Wall Street Journal's Hollywood reporter Erich Schwartzel chats with Trey Elling about RED CARPET: HOLLYWOOD, CHINA, AND THE GLOBAL BATTLE FOR CULTURAL SUPREMACY. The book breaks down the complex history of the CCP and American film studios, which has evolved since the 1990s to put China in control over a US industry whose financial successes have become hugely dependent on Chinese money.

Substacker Ian Miller chats with Trey Elling about UNMASKED: THE GLOBAL FAILURE OF COVID MASK MANDATES. Questions include: What was the consensus among organizations regarding face masks mitigating the spread of respiratory viruses, and why did that change so drastically shortly after the start of the COVID 19 pandemic? (1:06) With asymptomatic transmission touted early in the pandemic as a reason to mask, was there any research conducted in 2020 on the actual threat of asymptomatic spread of this virus? (3:01) Why does it matter that this respiratory virus spread through airborne means and not droplets, as it relates to masking? (4:19) How were medical professionals justifying the September 2020 claim that masks were more effective against this virus than a potential vaccine? (6:57) What was Ian's starting point for the ridiculous claims on masks' effectiveness? (10:10) Where does he get his info and how time consuming is it to put together his comparative charts that prove the ineffectiveness of masking and mask mandates? (12:38) Considering the drastic differences between the mitigation efforts in California and Florida, how have these to compared since the Sunshine State completely opened back in in September 2020? (14:55) How have hospital numbers been manipulated to help the case for masking? (17:04) Is the disappearance of the seasonal flu the past two winters a good argument that masking works in some capacity? (21:48) Do N95 and KN95 masks protect the wearer more than cloth and surgical masks? (23:44) How concerned is he with the longterm effects of the forced masking of kids in schools across the country? (25:06) How is the most recent CDC study proving the effectiveness of indoor masking flawed to the point of irrelevance? (29:55)

Journalist, author, and podcaster Florence Williams chats with Trey Elling about HEARTBREAK: A PERSONAL AND SCIENTIFIC JOURNEY. The book weaves Florence's personal struggle to understand the abrupt ending of her 25-year marriage with a search for the health science of relationships that flourish and, more importantly, dissolve.

Emmy-winning actor Brian Cox chats with Trey Elling about PUTTING THE RABBIT IN THE HAT. Questions include: What inspired the book's title? (1:18) Brian was eight when his dad died. How did his life change after that? (3:50) Why did a schoolyard fight in grade school provide him with his first lesson on acting? (5:22) When and why did Shakespeare begin to click for him? (8:24) Considering Brian played the first Hannibal Lecktor in the 1986 film MANHUNTER, why has he never discussed the role with his friend Anthony Hopkins? (13:03) What were his impressions of working with a young Wes Anderson and Bill Murray on RUSHMORE? (15:01) Why does he feel like he only truly became a Scot after leaving the country? (19:17) Why is Brian's work in 2006's THE ESCAPIST his favorite screen performance? (21:20) How did learning that Logan Kent loved his kids convince Brian to accept the role in SUCCESSION? (25:19) As someone who has always pursued 'the reason why', what is that 'why' in 2022? (27:41)

College football hall-of-famer and former Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder chats with Trey Elling about BILL SNYDER: MY FOOTBALL LIFE AND THE REST OF THE STORY. Questions include: Did his desire to help others come from his own upbringing? (2:52) Who was Dr. Norris Patterson, and how did he help change the trajectory of Bill's life? (4:21) Why did he decide to take over a Kansas State program that was considered to be one of the worst in college football history? (8:57) What was his first order of business in Manhattan? (17:00) Why does he love the story of Pinocchio? (27:41) Was there an overriding quality he'd look for when hiring assistant coaches? (31:59) What about Darren Sproles made him a perfect prototype player for the K-State program? (36:20) As a big fan of hand-written notes, is there a note he cherishes that someone penned for him? (39:22) What was his secret for success against the Texas Longhorns? (42:01) What does he think of Texas and Oklahoma moving to the Southeastern Conference? (43:51) Is he a fan of expanding the college football playoff beyond four teams? (45:57) Is Bill glad college athletes can now profit off of name, image, and likeness? (49:40) How does he hope to be remembered when he's gone? (52:15)

Addiction psychiatrist and bioethics scholar Carl Erik Fisher, M.D., chats with Trey Elling about THE URGE: OUR HISTORY OF ADDICTION. Questions include: When and why did the word 'addiction' come to be? (2:09) How did the ancient Greeks think about addiction? (3:39) Why is a period from around 1500-1800 known as the "psychoactive revolution? (5:33) Why were women supposedly spontaneously combusting in mid-18th century London? (8:10) When and why did the concept of temperance shift from moderation to total abstinence? (15:12) Why did America's first opioid epidemic fire up in the mid-1800s? (17:46) Who was Margaret "Marty" Mann, and what was her importance to Alcoholics Anonymous? (24:05) How did the pharmaceutical industry respond to the learned addiction potential of amphetamines following their heavy usage by US troops in WWII? (29:46) Did Nixon's "War on Drugs" really begin with a therapeutic focus? If so, why did it change? (38:57) Why did a US senator warn of the addiction treatment field becoming an "alcohol and drug industrial complex" in the mid-1970s? (43:16) What does pop culture get wrong about dopamine's role with addiction? (45:18) Do interventions typically help those struggling with addiction? (48:57) How might harm reduction help with addiction? (51:10) Does drug decriminalization or legalization help with addiction? (53:37)

Acclaimed writer and photographer Bill Hayes chats with Trey Elling about SWEAT: A HISTORY OF EXERCISE. Questions include: When did the word 'exercise' come to be? (2:03) The ancient Greeks literally collected the sweat of their best athletes. How did they do so, and what did they use the perspiration for? (7:54) Why was the book DE ARTE GYMNASTICA, originally written in the 1500s, the centerpiece of the story Bill told in SWEAT? (10:43) Why did GYMNASTICA not consider sports to be exercise? (17:17) What caused humans to evolve to sweat emotionally, as well as thermally? (20:58) How did GYMNASTICA justify 'laughter' as exercise? (29:19) What contribution did Harriet Beecher Stowe's sister make to exercise in the mid-1800s? (35:54) When did yoga come to be, and at what point did it shed mysticism in focusing on the physical body as a way to reach enlightenment? (42:44) Why are the 1970s so crucial for modern exercise? (49:00) How did Jane Fonda end up providing praise for SWEAT that ended up on the back cover? (50:20)