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

New York Times Bestselling author Jeff Pearlman chats with Trey Elling about THE LAST FOLK HERO: THE LIFE AND MYTH OF BO JACKSON. Topics include: How he got the nickname "Bo" (0:26) Why young Bo cleaned his act (1:30) Bo the high school football player (3:16) Choosing college football over pro baseball and Auburn over Alabama (4:06) How Bo helped "kill" Bear Bryant (5:39) Bo's first season in college baseball (8:18) Bo showing his human side (11:56) Bo's The Natural moment in college (13:25) Bo's soap opera life when he won the Heisman (16:15) Bo's senior baseball season ending abruptly (17:52) Bo's terrible first impression with his future Royals teammates (19:40) How Bo ended up in pro football, despite insisting otherwise (20:34) Bo befuddling Matt Millen in his first practice with the Raiders (22:17) Bo killing The Boz (23:14) Why Bo was an a-hole when he returned to Royals spring training (24:42) The Kevin Seitzer incident (25:55) The "Bo Knows" ad campaign (27:18) Bo running up and down an outfield wall (29:52) The hip injury (31:59) Returning to baseball after the injury (33:22) Techmo Bo (34:03) Bo's enriching 1993 baseball season (35:17) Bo's penile legend (36:07) Bo's role in the Nolan Ryan-Robin Ventura brawl (37:06) The hardest part of writing a biography on Bo (38:38)

Humanitarian Nate Boyer chats with Trey Elling about MVP, a film Nate co-wrote, directed, and starred in. Topics include: The starting point for this project (:30) When it was decided he would play the lead AND direct (5:46) Relating to the most emotional moments in the film (12:12) One of the themes in the film that everyone is f-ed up. (17:25) Nate's thoughts on Longhorn football under Steve Sarkisian (27:45) Whether Nate is optimistic or pessimistic on America's direction (32:38)

Actor Frank Grillo chats with Trey Elling about LAMBORGHINI: THE MAN BEHIND THE MAN BEHIND LEGEND. The film tells the wild story of Ferruccio Lamborghini, played by Frank, and what it took to create one of the most recognizable luxury sports car brands on the planet. Topics include: Whether Frank broke his disciplined diet white shooting on location in Italy (1:11) How Frank pulled off the Italian accent (2:51) A surprising detail from Ferruccio Lamborghini's story (3:55) Riding in a $28-million-dollar Lambo (5:16) What Frank loves about the film (6:07)

Award-winning writer David Sax chats with Trey Elling about THE FUTURE IS ANALOG: HOW TO CREATE A MORE HUMAN WORLD. Topics include: How the pandemic exposed the flaws of going too digital (0:22) The value of working at an office with your coworkers (3:28) The false promises of technology evolving education (18:45) What schools could learn from kindergarten (26:42) The initial vision of e-commerce vs what it became in this era of Amazon (36:19) The analog value of cities (45:38) The importance of shared, live experiences (49:32) Analog conversations healing loneliness and depression through "social prescribing" (54:09) Unplugging for the good of the soul (59:25) David's thoughts on the Metaverse (1:07:05)

Two-time UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas and her trainer & fiancé Pat Barry chat with Trey Elling about THUG ROSE: MIXED MARTIAL ARTIST from the red carpet, prior to its world premiere at the Austin Film Festival. The film documents the highs and lows from Rose's life and career. Pat Barry (0:00) Rose Namajunas (3:37)

Rose Namajunas and Marius Markevicius chat with Trey Elling about THUG ROSE: MIXED MARTIAL ARTIST. The documentary about Namajunas' life and career, directed by Markevicius, premieres on November 9th on UFC Fight Pass.

James Beard- and Emmy-winning chef, tv personality, and author Jacques Pépin chats with Trey Elling about ART OF THE CHICKEN: A MASTER CHEF'S PAINTINGS, STORIES, AND RECIPES OF THE HUMBLE BIRD. Topics include: What he loves about chickens (1:32) Giving recipes in a narrative style (3:05) Cooking over live fire (5:28) Working at Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Paris (6:29) Moving from France to NYC in 1959 (7:43) Choosing Howard Johnson over the Kennedy White House (8:39) Making chicken cracklings (13:18) The value of a cooked chicken carcass (14:41) Deboning chickens, quickly and correctly (15:00) Why he & Julia Child were lampooned by SNL (15:47) Eggs, the MOST valuable ingredient (18:41) A love for painting AND painting chickens (19:19)

Joe Maddon, a longtime MLB manager who led the Tampa Bay Rays to their first ever World Series appearance and the Chicago Cubs to their first World Series title in more than 100 years, chats with Trey Elling about THE BOOK OF JOE: TRYING NOT TO SUCK AT BASEBALL AND LIFE. Topics include: The book's goal (2:14) Slogans helping to get a message across (4:08) A football coach who shaped his leadership style (7:24) How he got into coaching baseball (8:53) His favorite championship (10:52) The importance of struggling (12:48) The hardest player he ever had to cut (16:08) Gene Mauch's impact on Joe (17:58) The Cubs' mistreatment of Joe, heading into his final season with the team (19:50) The next ideal managerial situation (21:45) Whether computers should call balls and strikes (24:11)

European history and nuclear arms policy expert Benjamin Abelow chats with Trey Elling about HOW THE WEST BROUGHT WAR TO UKRAINE: UNDERSTANDING HOW U.S. AND NATO POLICIES LED TO CRISIS, WAR, AND THE RISK OF NUCLEAR CATASTROPHE. Topics include: NATO's expansion east over the past 30 years (0:35) Why NATO would've promised not to expand east in the early 1990s (2:46) NATO adding Poland is a member in the late '90s (6:09) George W. Bush withdrawing the US from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in late 2001 (8:48) NATO's failed attempt to add Georgia and Ukraine in 2008 (11:00) The US's role in Ukraine's 2014 coup (17:16) Russia's response to the coup (26:26) US actions in Romania in 2016 (29:50) Trump surprisingly continuing aggressive policies toward Russia (33:53) NATO & US diplomacy with Ukraine intensifying in 2021 (38:20) The immediate future of the current conflict (47:15) The likely culprit(s) of the Nord Stream Pipeline attacks (53:25) Ben's concern about a nuclear weapon being used (1:02:40)

Award-winning television producer and documentary filmmaker Natasha Lance Rogoff chats with Trey Elling about MUPPETS IN MOSCOW: THE UNEXPECTED CRAZY TRUE STORY OF MAKING SESAME STREET IN RUSSIA. Topics include: Why Sesame Street asked her to bring the show to Russia (2:00) Starting with getting past Russia's gatekeepers (8:29) Finally finding Russian financing (14:42) The difficulty of convincing Russians to diversify the show's music (17:07) The Russian production team not understanding America's racism (23:59) Russia's culture and values worth exposing to its children with Sesame Street (30:11) Important details for the Russian Sesame Street neighborhood (39:05) The sadness involved with casting Russian child actors (43:41) Creating the Russia-specific Muppet puppets (47:27) Finally getting to the television premiere in October 1996 (52:26) The lasting legacy of Russian Sesame Street (54:41)