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

Dolphin social cognition expert and science writer Justin Gregg chats with Trey Elling about IF NIETZSCHE WERE A NARWHAL: WHAT ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE REVEALS ABOUT HUMAN STUPIDITY.

Super Bowl champion and US Rugby Olympian Nate Ebner chats with Trey Elling about FINISH STRONG: A FATHER'S CODE AND A SON'S PATH. The book tells the story of Nate's special relationship with his father growing up, his dad's tragic murder, and how Nate used the lessons learned from his dad to walk on at Ohio State Buckeyes football, win three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, and represent US Rugby at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. Nate and Trey discuss some of those details.

Comedian Jeff Ross, aka the Roastmaster General, chats with Trey Elling, prior to his shows at Cap City Comedy Club on August 4 - 6. Topics include: Jeff's status as an elder statesman in standup (1:59) Performing bits that have nothing to do with trash-talking (3:04) How losing Bob Saget and Gilbert Gottfried affected his comedy (3:45) Disappearing airport etiquette (4:43) Jeff growing to love dogs during the pandemic (5:36) A lack of hecklers at his shows (7:51) Jeff connecting with his audience after performing (8:36) Making roasting an integral part of his act (9:58) Initially deciding to pursue standup (13:07) Minoring in poly sci in college (14:21) Having to turn down 'in memorium' opportunities (15:53) Performing comedy in 2022 (17:06) Jeff roasts Trey (21:53)

Comedian, podcaster, writer, and actor Bryan Callen chats with Trey Elling, ahead of his standup shows at Cap City Comedy Club on July 28, 29, & 30. Topics include: Performing in Austin (4:12) Pronoun- & trans-politics (6:58) Interviewing Sammy "the Bull" Gravano (15:16) Upcoming standup special & cranking out new material (17:36) Standup in the 'cancel culture' era (18:54) Getting back into standup in 2005 (24:13) Places he won't go with his comedy (25:32) Failure (27:35)

Speech pathologist, writer, and Harvard lecturer Rebecca Rolland chats with Trey Elling about THE ART OF TALKING WITH CHILDREN: THE SIMPLE KEYS TO NURTURING KINDNESS, CREATIVITY, AND CONFIDENCE IN KIDS.

Legendary filmmaker Ron Shelton chats with Trey Elling about THE CHURCH OF BASEBALL: THE MAKING OF BULL DURHAM: HOME RUNS, BAD CALLS, CRAZY FIGHTS, BIG SWINGS, AND A HIT. The book is part memoir, part screenwriting/directing masterclass, and part oral history of one of the best sports movies ever made.

Molecular biologist Nicklas Brendborg chats with Trey Elling about JELLYFISH AGE BACKWARDS: NATURE'S SECRETS TO LONGEVITY. Topics include: Why we age (:51) How a certain jellyfish ages backwards (1:29) The unique aging of salmon (2:26) Large animals outliving small ones (3:17) The curious case of the naked mole rat (4:19) Genetics and lifespan (6:49) Why eradicating major diseases wouldn't extend average lifespan (9:20) Distinguishing the queen bee from worker bees (12:04) Antioxidant supplements bad for our health? (12:59) Hormesis (14:30) Heat shock proteins (16:25) Human growth hormone (19:30) Insulin-like Growth Factor 1, aka IGF-1 (21:25) Rapamycin and fungi (2:22) Spermadine (25:43) Telomeres (26:44) The epigenetic clock (28:33) Do old people benefit from young blood transfusions (34:13) The microbiome and aging (36:31) Fecal transplants (39:06) Caloric restriction (40:05) Insulin and the aging process (45:45) Metformin (48:33) Exercise (51:35)

Investigative journalists Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins chats with Trey Elling about SALMON WARS: THE DARK UNDERBELLY OF OUR FAVORITE FISH. Topics include: The genesis of this book (0:49) How the farmed salmon industry is like Big Tobacco and Big Ag rolled into one (3:04) How embedded farmed salmon is in our food supply (5:27) Properly labelling seafood (7:16) The evolution of commercial salmon farming (8:21) The Canadian government's role in the rise in that country's open-net farms in the 1980s (9:51) Norway's Hydro Seafood and its role in expanding salmon farming (13:39) Sea lice and their damage on farmed salmon (16:19) The dangers of farmed salmon escaping back into the wild (18:15) The concern around Cypermethrin for fish and humans (19:30) Alexandra Morton as a hero in this terrifying story (23:30) How the farmed salmon industry responds to scientific findings critical of their business (25:36) The right way to farm salmon (27:15) The reliability of a store claiming its fish is wild caught (30:54) Comparing Omega 3 levels in farmed- vs wild salmon (32:32) Why salmon farmers add dye to the chemical pellets they feed their fish (36:43) What Canada's Cohen Commission uncovered about dwindling wild salmon populations (37:50) Whether Norway does a good job of protecting its salmon (41:10) The added issue of salmon farm litter (43:19) An ecological disaster perpetuated by Cook Aquaculture in 2017 (44:40) The Miramichi River as a reason for optimism in the fight for wild salmon (57:56) Whether Doug and Catherine are concerned about industry pushback (49:41)

Actress, comedian, and writer Mary Lynn Rajskub chats with Trey Elling about FAME-ISH: MY LIFE AT THE EDGE OF STARDOM. Topics include: Covid as the inspiration to write this book (1:10) Making the ranch dressing at Denny's (2:32) Find a home as a young performer in LA (8:15) The evolution of her standup (13:36) The key to acting dead (20:37) Her million-dollar mansion that housed a women's commune and anus-less dog (21:39) Writing about personally difficult experiences (23:08)

Comedian Hans Kim chats with Trey Elling, prior to the standup showcase he's hosting at Vulcan Gas Company on July 10th. Topics include: Kill Tony discovering him (2:19) Life changing massively in the last year-plus (3:33) Moving to Austin (5:28) His standup experience in NYC (6:41) Getting comfortable on stage (8:44) Being funny as a kid (11:20) Layers of being funny (13:06) Continually honing his craft (14:48) Opening for Joe Rogan, in front of 17,000 people (19:40) Performing at the Vulcan Gas Company (22:34) Comedy club etiquette (24:13) Headlining clubs outside of Austin (26:01) Standup influences (28:00) Having his standup dreams become reality so abruptly (29:24)