BAO NGUYEN'S MENTOR BUFFET

Ultramarathoner Max Jolliffe joins host Alexi Pappas to share about his evolution as a person and athlete over the past few years, including how he’s formed the habit of choosing positivity, and how he’s learned to prioritize progress over perfection. Max recounts his third place finish at the Kodiak 100 last week, which qualifies him for next year’s UTMB—the most prestigious trail race in the world. Max shares about the challenges in his upbringing and the challenges of abusing substances in, and presents running as the vehicle that transformed his life. He’s grateful to have found his thing and says when you find your thing it will bring you amazing gifts. Among those gifts are Max’s many mentors, who he catalogs: his sponsor in AA Ray Coder, his friend JP Olson who got him into more serious running, the veteran local trail runners Jesse Haynes and Sally McRae, Max’s wife Mackenzie, trail running legend Courtney Dauwalter, and all around legend Cam Hanes.

Alexi answers listeners' advice questions about getting in touch with your passion, how to make money if you don't want to work a 9-5, and how to choose which direction to go at a crossroads.

Richard Linklater, the great filmmaker who made Boyhood, Before Sunrise, Dazed and Confused, and so many other movies you love, joins host Alexi Pappas on Mentor Buffet to share about protecting how he spends his time, why the art life is important to him, and how he relates to actors. Both having backgrounds in sports, Rick and Alexi also compare and contrast sports to the Arts. Rick recounts his first interactions on the internet and explains why he doesn’t have any social media. His worldview is centerstage every step along the way.

Richard Linklater, the great filmmaker who made Boyhood, Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise, Slacker, and so many other movies you love, joins host Alexi Pappas to discuss what it has meant for him to listen to his passion and create his own path. Rick recounts community college professors he admired for living the Art life. He points to Henry David Thoreau as his greatest mentor for writing Walden, for demonstrating that the most important thing in life is to spend as much time doing exactly what you want. Another mentor figure Rick points to (“A ment—”) is Martin Shafer at Castle Rock who helped Rick get Before Sunrise made when the big movie studios wouldn’t offer him the same creative freedom. Rick also shares about admiring Frank Zappa. Alexi and Rick talk about the differences between sports and the arts, and Rick shares why he prefers the Art life. In this conversation with Alexi, Rick’s worldview comes through clearly—the world is trying to help you; the most important thing is to follow your sense of excitement; when you’re ready everybody else will sense it. And so much more. Rick Linklater on Mentor Buffet—enjoy. Another hour of this conversation will be released in a week.

Jenny Simpson, the World Champion and Olympic medalist track athlete, joins host Alexi Pappas to share about her experience with cardiac arrest, and the changes in her life that are coming as a result of never being able to run again. They talk about our relationship to the unexplainable, finding new teachers when we’ve outgrown old ones, and embracing the fact that we’re good at multiple things. Jenny shares about her relationship with her sister and the process of letting people show up for her.