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

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)

Zoologist and science writer Jo Wimpenny chats with Trey Elling about AESOP'S ANIMALS: THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE FABLES. Questions include: From "The Crow and the Pitcher", why did one researcher refer to corvids as "feathered apes" in 2004? (4:50) Inspired by "The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing", are there animals more likely than wolves to use deception in capturing prey? (14:09) Based on "The Ass Carrying the Image", ancient cultures lauded donkeys. So why did our collective opinion about them change? (19:27) From "The Fox and the Crow", why did one wildlife biologist call foxes the "catlike canine"? (28:03) Inspired by "The Lion and the Shepherd", is the lion's mane a defense mechanism? (36:24) Based on "The Ant and the Grasshopper", can humans take any valuable traffic tips from ant highways? (49:17) From "The Tortoise and the Hare", why did a team of mechanical engineers argue a few years ago that the fastest animals and vehicles are neither the biggest nor fastest over a lifetime? (52:01)

Actor Tye Sheridan chats with Trey Elling about the new Amazon Prime film, THE TENDER BAR, co-starring Ben Affleck and directed by George Clooney. Questions include: What sort of prep goes into a role where he plays the author and main character of a film based on a memoir? (1:27) Based on his character's belief that getting into Yale was a "lucky break," what is a lucky break from Tye's career, and how did he handle things after getting past the idea that he didn't belong? (4:19) His character was a voracious reader from a young age. What is a book that Tye holds dear? (7:01) A question that would be considered highly offensive, IF the listener hasn't seen the film (9:01)

University of Notre Dame philosophy professors Meghan Sullivan & Paul Blaschko chat with Trey Elling about THE GOOD LIFE METHOD: REASONING THROUGH THE BIG QUESTIONS OF HAPPINESS, FAITH, AND MEANING. Questions include: What is the Good Life Method? (1:25) What is our function as humans? (4:05) How does 'bullshit' keep one from the good life? (7:08) Why are philosophers so enamored with 'caves' as a metaphor? (15:12) How important is financial wealth for the good life? (18:01) Why is taking responsibility an important quality? (24:46) What is the attentive mind as it relates to love? (38:46) What question do they like to ask people to get to know them better? (42:43) What is God? (48:34) Why does stoicism come up when they write about contemplating one's purpose? (53:28) How have Paul and Meghan prepared for death? (1:02:23)

Primetime Emmy-winning actor Tony Hale chats with Trey Elling about the new animated film, POUPELLE OF CHIMNEY TOWN, for which Tony voiced the title character. Questions include: What is POUPELLE OF CHIMNEY TOWN? (01:01) Does he seek out projects with positive, uplifting themes in 2021? (01:57) Based on his character's secret skill, what surprising skill does Tony possess? (03:34) What is Tony's biggest fear? (04:41) Since his character got jumped in the film, when was the last time Tony got into a fistfight, and how'd it turn out? (05:36) What is an example of modern oppression that Tony loves to see people pushing back on? (06:26) What is the proper Christmas tip for the garbage man? (07:05) Who are what led to Tony conducting himself in such a gracious manner in an industry with a reputation of doing the opposite? (08:31)

Former zoo & aquarium senior leader and leadership consultant Julie C. Henry chats with Trey Elling about WISDOM FROM THE WILD: THE NINE UNBREAKABLE LAWS OF LEADERSHIP FROM THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. What is leadership? (00:57) What is the mangrove method, as it relates to change? (01:17) What does Julie mean by, "one person's spider is another's sea otter"? (04:02) Why are baby sea turtles worth remembering during difficult changes? (04:56) What can leaders learn from the relationship between giraffes and termites? (07:19) How can a coral reef help with the structural foundation of a team? (08:22) Why are pelicans so resilient? (09:32) How are sea cucumbers good examples of thriving? (10:37) What's so special about the platypus? (12:30)

Nutritional psychiatrist, professional chef, and nutritional specialist Dr. Uma Naidoo chats with Trey Elling about THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON FOOD: AN INDISPENSABLE GUIDE TO THE SURPRISING FOODS THAT FIGHT DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, PTSD, OCD, ADHD, AND MORE. Learn all about the foods and beverages that can have a positive or negative impact on mental health issues such as: Depression (05:06) Anxiety (12:31) PTSD (18:08) ADHD (20:29) Dementia & brain fog (21:20) OCD (24:35) Bipolar disorder & schizophrenia (26:50)

Award-winning filmmaker Sean Baker, whose credits include THE FLORIDA PROJECT and TANGERINE, chats with Trey Elling about RED ROCKET. The dark comedy stars Simon Rex as an aging porn star who returns to his hometown and a cadre of people from his past, most of whom are leery of parasitic ways. Questions include: Why did he chose Texas City, TX as the film's locale? (01:32) How did he land on Simon Rex to play the lead? (03:05) What convinced Sean to cast Suzanna Son as 'Strawberry'? (04:28) Was it tough to get NSYNC to sign off on the film's usage of "Bye Bye Bye"? (06:06) Is there a specific film or director that influenced his abrupt audio cuts? (06:48) Why does he like telling stories through socioeconomically disadvantaged lives? (07:56) What's the key to telling a good story? (09:47) Was it a prosthetic? (12:38) Does he typically consider where his story is headed after the end credits roll? (12:57)