Tom Krasny is a queer, trans, neuro-divergent Glasgow based artist and organizer who is passionate about non oppressive ways of relating. Tom’s work sits on the seam between art and activism, and centers consent as a valuable orientation to collectively learn and practice new skills and tools that allow us to explore relationship to self, others an…

Andrew Krasny is best known for his post-match interviews on court for Tennis Channel. This week he is the host and emcee of Credit One Charleston Open, a tournament he considers among the best in the world for featuring the brightest women’s stars in the game. Over his storied career, Krasny has been one of the faces you've seen at Indian Wells, t…

Join us for an insightful episode featuring Bob Willis, President of the Louisville (Ky.) Area 10 & Under Tennis Association. Willis will host a National Tennis Month “Bring A Friend” lesson on May 25 at Charlie Vettiner Park. He recounts last year’s experience with a successful NTM event. Don't miss out on Willis’s valuable tips and strategies for…

With a client list that includes Walmart, Microsoft and Apple, Placement IO Founder and CEO Edwin Fu spoke with us about entrepreneurship. He talked about the high which comes from solving problems and building a better mousetrap and the necessity of having the passion of a mad scientist. He emphasized the necessity of craziness for founders based …

Sam Bailey is a sober person who is committed to improving the quality of life and wellbeing of all Trans, Non-Binary and Intersex people. They work as Care Navigator at the Clare Project, a charity in Sussex, UK, dedicated to affirming and supporting TNBI people . Sam is also an auricular acupuncturist focusing on serving people in recovery. I am …

Kristie Flowers hosted a Cardio Tennis session during 2023 and plans more sessions next month during National Tennis Month (NTM). She gets people active at the Dr. Eddie Floyd Florence Tennis Center in Florence, S.C. Flowers has had as many 50 participants get their heart rates up. She cites USTA Southern Board Member Ernie James for promoting NTM …

How do you expand tennis in your state? A strategic focus of USTA is increasing the number of providers like parks and recreation departments, coaches, teachers, tournament directors and grassroots tennis associations. Tyler Strong is using his knowledge of Junior Team Tennis to make connections with coaches and facilities. A nearly 10-year veteran…

The architect of the Oslo accords, Ambassador Dennis Ross, who worked in five U.S. presidential administrations trying to broker peace between Israelis and Palestinians, joined us on the heels of the deaths in Gaza, at the hands of the Israelis, of seven humanitarian workers. Ambassador Ross spoke of the present conflict as the worst he has witness…

Veteran Journalist, Journalism professor and author Jeff Jarvis joined us to discuss media and its history and future and the future of journalism. We zeroed in on questions of Internet regulation and the effect of AI and Jeff spoke about why he believes TikTok should be defended and not banned and focused on what he called hegemonic and corporate …

Arianne Hartono, a Dutch professional tennis player ranked No. 140 in WTA singles, made history at the University of Mississippi by winning the 2018 NCAA Women's Singles Tennis Championship, the first Dutch player to do so. She also received the 2018 Honda Sports Award for top female collegiate tennis player. Hartono is engaged to her coach Jason O…

Former Kaiser Permanente CEO and one of modern healthcare's most influential physician leaders, Dr. Robert Pearl joined us for a deep discussion focusing on his recent book "ChatGPT, MD" and the exponential changes generative AI can bring to American medicine and healthcare. We initially heard a poignant personal story from Dr. Pearl about how he w…

Street Fever is a versatile, mixed-media performance-artist residing in Boise, Idaho. Rooted in an ongoing spiritual awakening, Street Fever has been on a wildly cinematic path to better understand themselves as an artist, spiritual seeker, and human being. After losing all their possessions, being institutionalized multiple times and nearly losing…

Elizabeth Henderson’s life in tennis started by being No. 1 in numerous junior age levels in USTA Southern before being recognized as an All-American at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. She started her collegiate coaching odyssey at the University of North Carolina, followed by her first head coaching job at William & Mary. That led to a fo…

Astronomer Andrew Fraknoi joined us to dispense his usual passionate and illuminating clarity on the April 8 total solar eclipse and eclipses per se and more. He spoke of best places to view, optimal weather conditions, proper eyeglasses and what not to wear, as well as how to observe with a colander and why we cannot see a total solar eclipse from…

We chatted with John Cox, whose volunteer work covers many areas of tennis, including numerous posts in USTA Southern. Still, he has a soft spot for the students of Bayou Academy in Cleveland, Miss., where he began coaching the tennis team in 2017. His goal is to make tennis “cool” and get players on court and practicing. Winning two state titles a…

Former UC Berkeley Chancellor and President and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences Nicholas Dirks joined us to discuss his latest book, City of Intellect. We began with an assessment of the free speech movement and the trajectory to more recent efforts by protestors to shut speakers down. The dialogue proceeded from there to questions about ha…

We talk with the 2023 USTA Southern Local League Coordinator of the Year Anna Martin. She is a veteran of more than 23 years of promoting and organizing USTA League, providing a rich history of tennis in Wilmington, N.C. She now supports nearly 200 adult recreational teams. Martin highlights the importance of playing against players with similar sk…

Long-time Apple expert, podcaster and tech savant Rene Ritchie joined us in his role as YouTube liaison to discuss monetizing and revenue sources for aspiring and established YouTube content creators. Rene talked about YouTube as "the most accessible culture endeavor ever seen," and provided useful and practical points for content creators in our w…

Interviewed are two podcasters: Chris Godby & Chad Young of the awarding-winning “Game Set Match Kentucky!” After more than four years of uploading a two-interview podcast every other Thursday, the new “Talking Tennis Southern Style” plans on showcasing a single interview every Tuesday or Wednesday. Chris Godby & Chad Young produce “Game Set Match …

We spent an hour with twenty-year CEO of The World Affairs Council and foreign affairs expert Jane Wales discussing the wars in Ukraine, Gaza and the far less media focused civil war in Sudan with illuminating views from her on trends away from liberal democracy and the rise of autocrats. The Information Revolution, which has allowed war to be seen…

Allbirds co-owner and CEO Joey Zwillinger joined us for a wide-ranging discussion focusing on the ups and downs and successes and challenges of the international shoe company as well as decarbonization and sustainability; entrepreneurship and branding; innovation and capitalism. We talked about the fashion industry and the CEO's role in the public …

Laura is a Toronto native who has been based in Amsterdam for 5 years. She started cuddling professionally with a small client base during COVID and launched her business Lekker Cuddles officially in March 2021. Laura’s aim with Lekker Cuddles is to normalize platonic intimacy and prove to people that physical and emotional vulnerability does not h…

George “Ged” Schwing was honored with the Slew Hester Male Player of the Year for top adult player. Schwing has been a member of Team Louisiana for the Callen Cup and served as a captain the last few years, along with competing on the winning Southern team at the 2022 Keith Donoff Cup. Ozaki-Hastings Junior Sportsmanship Award winner Ryan Cozad was…

Leading Stanford neurologist and psychiatrist Dr. Nolan Williams joined us for a deeper understanding of current scientific explorations into the growing use of psychedelics in relieving and curing mental health problems. Though not ignoring valid concerns over bad trips and underage usage, Dr. Williams demonstrated how FDA approved research with s…

We spoke with leading climate scientist Dr. Kristina Dahl about the vital need for systemic solutions to the systemic problem of climate change and the vacillation many of us feel between hope and despair. If fossil fuels remain indispensable to us, what can be done and what, especially, can we as individuals do to curb carbon emissions and stave o…

Aarij Abbas (he/they) is a queer, South Asian-American sexual health educator based on the stolen land of the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potowatomi tribes, colonized as Chicago, IL. Aarij creates spaces of trust and community for people to freely explore concepts of sexuality, gender and relationships. Their work is informed by the idea that: A) humans are,…

With the number of tennis players growing in the last five years, more tennis courts are needed. While some courts are being converted to pickleball courts, the USTA Southern Advocacy Task Force is enabling grassroots advocates to make the case for adding, and not reducing, the number of tennis courts. Former Board Member Paul Pittman chairs the ta…

Louis Ferrante, former hijacker and Mafia gangster who turned in prison to research, book writing and Judaism, talks about his life in crime and time in prison and his published history of the American Mafia from his perspective as an insider. He also talks about guilt and religion, Mafia violence, snitching and Omerta, and the Mafia's Sicilian roo…

New Israel Fund CEO and self-described politically proud progressive Daniel Sokatch joined us to talk about what Emily Dickinson called "the thing with feathers" and discover seeds of hope for the long-term in the midst of the bloody battles between Israel and Hamas and their seemingly irreconcilable narratives. A passionate and incredibly well inf…

Happy Cooking are the two words that now are the trademark on recipes of master chef and culinary artist and educator Jacques Pepin. The French born public television star and author joined us to talk about his most recent book – Cooking My Way: Recipes and Techniques for Economical Cooking. We talked of cooking seasonally; using leftovers; the per…

It’s a new year and time for our Grand Slam correspondent to preview American and Southern players. USTA General Manager, Player Development Martin Blackman calls in from Down Under with high hopes for players with Georgia roots: Coco Gauff, Taylor Townsend, Ben Shelton & Christopher Eubanks. Yolanda “Yola” Ramírez Ochoa won mixed doubles and finis…

Internationally celebrated scientist Helen Blau focuses in on and elucidates the frontiers of stem cell research and her own singularly important work in her Stanford based lab and the company she co-founded. From longevity and replenishing and replacing stem cells, the conversation ranged on to an exploration of telomeres, CRISPR, and cloning and …

We began our conversation with internationally celebrated photographer Howard Schatz by focusing on the nature of creativity and and the challenges of creating "phenomenal" images when so many images are unoriginal, easy to access and abundant -- though the abundance, Schatz feels, makes it easier to determine what is great. He spoke about his inte…

Last Episode of 2023! Marcus Barnes is a man of many talents: an author, journalist, copy writer, mentor and coach dedicated to being a progressive force in the world of writing, especially surrounding music, culture and mental health. It’s a joy to talk to Marcus today on Sober Sex. You can find out more about Marcus on his socials @mgoldenbarnes…

Ken Dychtwald has acquired much wisdom on aging over the years so we began by exploring the upside of aging. He spoke of major historical changes in life expectancy and general attitudes toward aging. From there we discussed the central importance of purpose and the distinction New York Times columnist David Brooks has made between a career resume …

Finishing our fourth season, “Talking Tennis Southern Style” wraps up 2023 with compelling excerpts of eight of our favorite interviews. We are proud to highlight insightful conversations with these guests: Michelle Curry of the Althea Gibson CTA Tennis memorabilia collector and USTA Kentucky Past President Mike Eden USTA Chairman of the Board and …

In this engaging conversation with tech expert Jason Snell, the dialogue covered diverse AI-related topics. From the challenges of regulation to biases in machine learning models, the conversation explored societal impacts, education, and the digital divide. Jason also shared insights on the transformative nature of the Internet and discussed Apple…

In this enlightening episode of Gray Matter, Michael Krasny explores the life and work of accomplished entrepreneur and CEO of BioVie, Cuong Do. Starting from his humble beginnings as an immigrant from Vietnam, Cuong details his extensive contributions in the fields of business strategy and bio-medical research, from discovering a potential Alzheim…

Jane Preyer made her mark as an All-American at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill before succeeding in the WTA Tour. She reached No. 43 and defeated some top players including Evonne Goolagong. Later she took to coaching and led the Duke University women to four ACC championships. Keith Richardson is now inducted into his fifth hall of…

We recently spoke with Dr. Laura Esserman, a leading internationally recognized surgeon and breast cancer oncologist at the University of California, San Francisco where she serves as director of the UCSF Breast Care Center. We discussed the need to redefine cancer and the need for personalized patient centered care in health care, as well as a ran…

Marshall Happer headed the Men’s Tennis Council from 1981-89, making him the only unofficial commissioner of men’s professional tennis. He draws upon his extensive tennis background – including USTA Executive Director, USTA Southern President & CEO and Southern Tennis Hall of Fame inductee – in writing “Pioneers of the Game.” The 871-page history d…

Best-selling author and Stanford Professor of Medicine Abraham Verghese joined us to talk about his widely acclaimed and best-selling memoirs and novels, and look at the ways medicine can be practiced as a more patient centered, empathic and caring two way relationship. We discussed, too, the value of bedside medicine and the physical exam. Join us…

Lael Atkinson is a certified professional recovery coach who works at the intersection of drinking and dieting. During their experience of parting ways with alcohol and then tackling a lifetime of dieting, disordered eating and body shame, they found limited resources that addressed this frequent overlap of ‘shrinking and drinking’. This led Lael t…

Wheelchair tennis is booming and Zane Goodwin is riding the crest to the top of the game. The 16-year-old Birmingham, Ala., resident is the top junior wheelchair tennis player in the country and winner of the Cincinnati Wheelchair Open. Zane talks about his dedication to the sport while his mom, Lara Polk, describes how she loves traveling to tourn…

Our conversation with Tenshin Reb Anderson, one of the most prominent contemporary Zen Buddhist teachers and scholars, author, dharma leader and former abbot, included a deep dive into the belief and practice of Buddhism, with a focus on the wisdom in it for us all, along with your questions and comments.…

In a remarkable achievement, Manny Diaz, the veteran men's tennis coach at the University of Georgia, will be inducted into the prestigious Southern Tennis Hall of Fame, this January. Diaz reflects on his illustrious career, during which he achieved a remarkable SEC-record of 767 wins for the University of Georgia men's tennis team. He takes pride …

Our interview with Larry Smith and Melanie Abrams challenged our assumptions as we explored the many conceptions and misconceptions of cannabis use. Their new book, The Joy of Cannabis, is an attempt to clear up misunderstanding and describe the how and why of safely availing ourselves of the benefits. In the 1930s with the wane of Prohibition the …

Brooke Herr is a multi-talented education, healer and holder of space for ceremony, including but not limited to: grief work, tarot, somatic & energy work. Brooke draws inspiration from reserves as vast and profound as witchcraft, ancestor work, art practices and consent and coaching frameworks. It is a pleasure and a privilege to welcome Brooke to…

Meet Sharlene Durfey Francois, a creative force who seamlessly weaves art and human connection into the fabric of her life. Sharlene's multi-faceted portfolio reflects her passion, creativity and talent across many artistic media, including photography, fashion, lighting, graphic design and illustration. In creating the Intimacy Cards, Sharlene’s s…

Tennis is the sport of a lifetime and a former Atlanta Falcon wide receiver Brian Finneran is now excited about playing and watching tennis. He was wowed by the speed and athleticism of pro tennis players at the Atlanta Open. Brian can be heard on air on 680 The Fan, an Atlanta sports radio station. Andrew Walker worked four years at USTA Kentucky …