The Forward

Musician Chris Shiflett is this weeks guest on The Forward. When he is not on out tour playing guitar with The Foo Fighters you can find Chris playing his solo material that focuses on country music. He is also the host of the Americana podcast Walking the Floor. He joined Lance the morning of his solo show in Austin to talk Merle Haggard, the sport of boxing, growing up in Santa Barbara and life in a huge band. Chris also played two songs of his latest solo release West Coast Town. 

“I’m a singer not a preacher, but these songs are my sermon,” says Paul Cauthen, this weeks guest on The Forward. The East Texas native joined Lance to talk about being a working musician, life lessons from his Paw Paw, picking yourself up and becoming a survivor. Paul also plays two songs including a new track from his upcoming record.  

Ed Ruscha is one of America's most treasured contemporary artists. Raised in Oklahoma, Ed and Lance discussed his desire to head west to California in the mid 50's, the support of his parents early on and his process for creating his paintings and photographs. An exhibit of Ed's works are on display at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin through early January. 

John Furner is the CEO of Sam's Club. He started at Walmart as a 19-year-old intern and has worked his way to the most senior position. He was in Austin to talk about riding the TEXAS HŪNDRED, his passion for cycling and Guns N' Roses. John also shared his mother's cancer experience. 

Michael Shermer is the founding Publisher of Skeptic Magazine and columnist for Scientific American. Shermer was in Austin to talk with Lance about his new book Heavens on Earth The Scientific Search for the Afterlife, Immortality, and Utopia. Their conversation covers a variety of topics including the purpose of this life, cancer, suffering and the Race Across America. 

Tim Kennedy is a Special Forces sniper, Green Beret and former MMA fighter. Tim and Lance did a workout at the Onnit Academy and then taped an episode in The Forward studio. They talked about gun control, school shootings and Tim's role as a sniper as he sets off for his 13th deployment.

Tom Torkelson is the Founder of the Idea Public Schools. IDEA was founded to combat educational deficiencies they saw in their students in order to focus on college readiness. Lance and Tom toured one of the Austin schools and then sat to discuss the origins of the school and their 100% success rate of getting kids to college.  

Mia Khalifa is a former adult film actress. A brief stint in the porn industry led her to be named to the ISIS hit list. She joined Lance in Austin to discuss her experience in the adult film world, a conversation she has never shared publicly. She also talked about the stigma around the industry and how the label has followed her. They discuss her passion for sports, her cooking show and challenges of trying to date.

Earlier this year Lance was offered an opportunity to tour the San Quentin Prison and speak to the inmates currently enrolled in The Last Mile program. TLM teaches current inmates the job of coding with the hopes of earning employment in the tech world up their release. After his tour Lance talked with Chris Redlitz, the founder or TLM, about how he created the program and his initial hesitation to accept the invite. Lance also talked with Kenyatta Leal and Chris Schumacher about their experience in TLM. They discuss how they learned to code, job prospects upon release and starting relationships post incarnation. Lance also made a commitment to return to San Quentin to run the prison marathon. For more information on TLM visit https://thelastmile.org/

Vanessa Grigoriadis is a writer for The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, and the author of various books including: Blurred Lines: Rethinking Sex, Power and Consent on Campus. Vanessa caught up with Lance on various topics including her new book, consent, and more.

Perry Farrell is a singer-songwriter who is a founding member of Jane's Addiction. Perry founded Lollapalooza in 1991 as a farewell tour for his band. Perry was in Aspen over the holiday break and sat down with Lance after a performance at the Belly Up. They talked about Perry’s visit to the 2004 Tour de France, his vision for what a music festival should look like and his latest ambitious project called Kind Heaven. 

Part two of the Bryan Fogel interview starts with Bryan discussing China’s ability to skate the doping controversy in Beijing.  The two also discuss how much WADA is really doing in the doping battle in particular with the handling of Grigory and Russia. Lance and Bryan discuss the odd circumstances around the deaths to some of the key folks involved in the Russian lab. They close the conversation talking about living in fear of what has been produced by this film. 

Bryan Fogel joins Lance to discuss his Academy Award nominated Best Documentary, Icarus. They discuss Bryan’s original vision of the film and how that changed. Bryan goes into detail about he got to know former Russian anti doping lab director Grigory Rodchenkov. They review the doping program that Bryan was on to compete at the Haute Route. Part one concludes with Bryan elaborating on how Russia was able to circumvent the testing process during the Sochi Olympic Games. 

Heidi Zuckerman is the CEO and Director of the Aspen Art Musuem. Heidi joined Lance to talk about giving opportunities to all for access to the Arts. They also talk about the decision to continue their relationship with Lance in light of controversy. Heidi also discuses her new book, Conversations with Artists, and the challenges of opening a new art museum.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a recently retired NASCAR driver from Kannapolis, NC. He sat down with Lance over the holidays in Aspen to talk about his move from the car to the NBC studio and his introduction into cycling and riding bikes. Dale also discussed the changes in the NASCAR scoring system, his memories of his Dad and his somewhat controversial go to sandwich. 

Lance sat down with American World Cup ski racer and six-time Olympic medallist Bode Miller in Aspen to talk about Miller's decorated alpine skiing career and more. Their candid conversation touched on everything from Miller’s unconventional upbringing, to what it feels like to fly down a mountain at 100 miles per hour, to the mental game of higher-risk sports like skiing and cycling. Miller, now a father of four, also talks about his passion for horse racing, and shares what’s next, following his formal retirement from ski racing.

Nate Bargatze is a touring comedian from Tennessee. Nate dropped by the studio this past weekend before 6 shows at Capitol City Comedy Club in Austin. He talked about his process for writing and working through jokes, his misery being a Vanderbilt sports fan and perceptions about what it is to be a clean comic. Nate is featured in the new Netflix special The Standups and has appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central Presents and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He also talked about working with his Dad who is a magician and whether or not his wife finds him funny.

Dakota Meyer is a United States Marine Corp veteran. In 2009 he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of Ganjgal. He is the first living Marine in 38 years to be honored. Dakota and Lance discussed the battle at length, dealing with PTSD, having a beer with the President and his Own The Dash brand. 

Noah Kagan is an entrepreneur and founder of appsumo and sumo.com. He was the 30th employee at Facebook and went on to work at Mint before founding his own companies. Noah and Lance caught up from the Forward Studios to talk about dealing with getting fired from a company, picking a coach and trying to improve a new skill each year and how to effectively manage your time every day. 

Joe Nick Patoski is an author and journalist who has covered Texas and Texas music for 40 years. Joe Nick and Lance spent an hour talking about writing books with and about Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Selena and the Dallas Cowboys.