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

Historian and bestselling author Rutger Bregman chats with Trey Elling about HUMANKIND: A HOPEFUL HISTORY. Over the past few decades, many scientists have become much more optimistic on human nature. Did you know that a real life version of the fictional book Lord of the Flies happened in the 1960s with drastically different results? Or that the Stanford Prison Experiment was not the pure process its head scientists led us to believe? Or that a Norwegian prison which allows it inhabitants a shocking amount of trust and freedom creates law-abiding citizens? Trey and Rutger discuss these things and much more.

New York Times tech columnist Kevin Roose chats with Trey Elling about FUTUREPROOF: 9 RULES FOR HUMANS IN THE AGE OF AUTOMATION. Why does Kevin consider himself a sub-optimist on the future of artificial intelligence and automation? How is AI quickly replacing the "Michael Scott" middle-management types? Kevin answers these questions and shares details from each of his nine rules for humans.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, two-time NBA champ, 11-time All Star, and Olympic gold medalist Chris Bosh chats with Trey Elling about LETTERS TO A YOUNG ATHLETE. In this book, Chris offers guidance to young people on what it takes to achieve greatness. The guys discuss 'finding your why', keeping your ego in check, not letting wins or losses linger, and much more.

Washington Post columnist and CNN political correspondent Josh Rogin chats with Trey Elling about CHAOS UNDER HEAVEN: TRUMP, XI, AND THE BATTLE FOR THE 21st CENTURY. How did previous administrations' missteps on China pave the way for Trump's erratic handling of the CCP? What aggressive takeover strategy did Chinese president Xi Jinping detail in 'Document 9'? Who is the Bingo Club? How have General Electric and the California Public Employees' Retirement System helped the Chinese military? Why did former Houston Rocket GM Daryl Morey's tweet show the CCP's ability to censor speech outside of its borders? What did Josh report on in March of 2020 regarding COVID 19 and a potential lab leak in Wuhan? Are China's cyber warfare abilities a concern? Josh and Trey discuss these things and much more.

Pulitzer Prize winner Glenn Frankel chats with Trey Elling about SHOOTING MIDNIGHT COWBOY: ART, SEX, LONELINESS, LIBERATION, AND THE MAKING OF A DARK CLASSIC. What was the story behind the Midnight Cowboy book that the film was based on? Why did a then-conservative Hollywood allow something so risque allowed to be made? What drew director John Schlesinger to the project? Were Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight shoo-ins for the main characters? Were political forces behind the film's initial X-rating? Why did Dustin Hoffman avoid promoting the film when it came out? How surprising was Midnight Cowboy's win for 'Best Picture' at the 1970 Academy Awards? Glenn and Trey discuss these things and much more.

American Chemistry Society executive producer George Zaidan chats with Trey Elling about INGREDIENTS: THE STRANGE CHEMISTRY OF WHAT WE PUT IN US AND ON US. What makes a food highly processed? How and why humans begin to preserved food? What does aphid excrement have to do with one of the first sugar-added treats humans enjoyed? How are cigarettes and e-cigs similar and different? Is there such a thing as too much sunscreen? What causes scientific research to become flawed? Is coffee good or bad for us? And what is an acceptable amount of processed food to consume? George and Trey discuss these topics and much more.

Marion Nestle joins Trey Elling to discuss LET'S ASK MARION: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE POLITICS OF FOOD, NUTRITION, AND HEALTH, including: the rising cost of whole- versus ultra-processed foods, how agriculture, Wall Street, and food regulation fueled the US obesity epidemic in the early 1980s; why glyphosate is still allowed to be sprayed on crops, whether technology can help fix our food system, and more. 

Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay chat with Trey Elling about CYNICAL THEORIES: HOW ACTIVIST SCHOLARSHIP MADE EVERYTHING ABOUT RACE, GENDER, AND IDENTITY--AND WHY THIS HARMS EVERYBODY, including: the three major phases of postmodernism over the last 50 years, why the movement rejects science, the definition of 'Theory', the ins and outs of specific Theories, what will become of postmodernism by 2030, and more.

Niko Vorobyov chat with Trey Elling about DOPEWORLD: ADVENTURES IN THE GLOBAL DRUG TRADE, including: writing on the subject as someone who sold and served time for dealing, hanging with Columbian guerilla soldiers, China's Opium Wars, the Japanese Yakuza, Cosa Nostra's role in the worldwide heroin trade, why El Chapo is revered in Sinaloa, the origins and hypocrisy of America's War on Drugs, how Portugal has fared since decriminalizing and legalizing all drugs, and more.

Frontman Greg Graffin chats with Trey Elling about DO WHAT YOU WANT: THE STORY OF BAD RELIGION, including: how the band got together, hearing their music on the radio for the first time, learning from the failure of Into the Unknown, the importance of the album, Suffer; playing in East Germany prior to the Berlin Wall coming down, the timelessness of Stranger Than Fiction, learning from Ric Ocasek and Todd Rundgren, what the band has yet to accomplish, whether the Bucks will win the NBA championship this year, and more.