More with Marc Istook

Marc Istook
  • 5.0 (16)
  • Society & Culture

Conversations. Context. Clarity. Whether it's going behind the scenes with your favorite actors and athletes, or getting expert insights on the issues that affect you every day, Emmy-winning journalist and veteran host Marc Istook digs deeper to share the stories and perspectives you might otherwise miss. Because there's always more to the story.

  1. 5d ago

    Presidents Have to Follow the Rules, Too... Right?

    Attorney Mark Lyda has built a rapidly growing social media audience by doing something deceptively simple: reading the law, digging into the details, and explaining what they actually mean. In this episode of MORE with Marc Istook, Marc (Istook) talks with Mark (Lyda) about his unexpected evolution from practicing attorney to online legal commentator - and why he believes social media has become an important place for serious conversations about law, politics and democracy. They dig into the challenge of creating thoughtful content in a medium that rewards speed and outrage, why Mark says he normally wouldn’t even discuss politics “in polite company,” and what finally convinced him that staying quiet wasn’t an option. Then they turn to some of the biggest legal questions surrounding the Trump administration, including the SAVE America Act, immigration enforcement, executive power, birthright citizenship, the Supreme Court and what Mark sees as weaknesses being exposed in America’s legal and political systems. Marc also reconnects with Mark for a special follow-up conversation after a new Supreme Court ruling involving President Trump’s executive order targeting mail-in voting. Mark explains why the Court’s decision did not declare the order constitutional, why litigation over it remains unresolved, and why he believes the uncertainty could create significant problems ahead of the midterm elections. In this episode: 00:00 - Cold open: “They rule it’s illegal... but we’re going to let it proceed?” 00:32 - Introduction to Mark Lyda 02:03 - From practicing attorney to social media creator 05:29 - How Mark scripts and researches his videos 06:05 - How long a one-minute video can actually take 07:14 - The “psychological gauntlet” of creating content online 08:55 - Social media as a new way people consume news and information 10:17 - What would Walter Cronkite be doing today? 11:22 - Why the quality of information matters more than the platform 12:41 - Covering politics when the news feels like “drinking from a fire hose” 13:11 - The SAVE America Act and ICE push Mark into political commentary 15:11 - “You would have done what you’re doing now” 16:15 - Why major stories can disappear amid the constant flood of news 17:26 - What happens when legal guardrails stop working? 18:13 - Trump as a stress test for weaknesses in the legal system 19:43 - Finding stories worth digging into 20:46 - The SAVE America Act and “visions of Saddam Hussein’s elections” 21:16 - Why Mark doesn’t want to make the 100-millionth “Trump is bad” video 23:08 - Giving people useful facts they can carry into real-world conversations 24:47 - Can confidence in the rule of law be repaired? 25:11 - Why Mark says the Supreme Court is legitimate - even when its decisions are deeply troubling 26:13 - The structural reforms he believes government needs 27:23 - Should Democrats use the same expansive executive powers if they regain control? 28:54 - The Trump action Mark considers most clearly unconstitutional 29:09 - Birthright citizenship and the Constitution 30:02 - Why the Supreme Court’s birthright citizenship ruling was more complicated than 6-3 33:44 - Supreme Court ethics and structural reform 35:16 - What bothers Mark most about the Trump presidency: “It’s the brutality” 36:17 - Stephen Miller, political power and “an unholy mix” 36:56 - Government dysfunction, institutions and the normalization of bigotry 38:49 - Racism becoming more openly expressed BONUS: Supreme Court ruling on mail-in voting 39:19 - Breaking-news addendum begins 39:54 - What exactly did the Supreme Court decide? 40:21 - “They ruled it illegal... but we’re going to let it proceed?” 41:08 - What Trump’s executive order actually does 42:32 - Threatening state election officials with prosecution 43:20 - When does the constitutional harm actually occur? 44:01 - Why the appeals process may not finish before the midterms 44:28 - Could this inject chaos into the November election? 45:07 - The legal catch-22: sue too early, then potentially too late 45:33 - Mark’s prediction: “There is a guarantee that it will muck up the works” 46:56 - What disruption could mean for states heavily reliant on mail voting 48:01 - How problems at the margins could affect close races 49:19 - Could changes to mail voting disproportionately affect Democrats? 49:50 - Trump himself votes by mail 50:02 - Could discretion over mailed ballots create unequal treatment? 52:29 - False positives in federal voter-eligibility databases 53:06 - “Please tell me it’s going to be okay, Mark” 53:23 - Mark’s answer: turnout matters 53:38 - “Vote early and vote often.” “No!” Follow Marc: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcistook TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marcistook YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@marcistook Substack: https://morewithmarcistook.substack.com Website: https://www.marcistook.com Find more episodes of MORE, with Marc Istook wherever you get your podcasts. Conversations. Context. Clarity. Because there’s always more to the story. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Presidents Have to Follow the Rules, Too... Right?

  2. Aug 19

    Trey Wingo Is Not Mike Tirico

    For more than two decades, Trey Wingo was one of the most recognizable faces and voices at ESPN, anchoring SportsCenter, hosting NFL Live and covering everything from the NFL Draft to major golf championships. Now, he’s doing things on his own terms. In the inaugural episode of the revamped More with Marc Istook, Trey joins Marc for a wide-ranging conversation about ESPN’s heyday, the changing sports-media landscape, why he has little interest in manufactured hot takes, and what he enjoys about building an independent media business. They also revisit some of the defining moments of Trey’s ESPN career, including helping turn NFL Live from an afterthought into appointment television, hosting the unprecedented 2020 NFL Draft during COVID, and anchoring SportsCenter alongside Bob Ley in the days after September 11. And yes, Trey also explains why he is definitely not Mike Tirico. In this episode: 00:00 - Trey Wingo is not Mike Tirico 00:31 - Welcome to the revamped More with Marc Istook 01:16 - Why Marc and Trey had to record the entire interview twice 03:00 - The surprisingly small world of sports broadcasting 04:21 - Trey’s Texas roots, Baylor and some very deep Fort Worth references 06:24 - What the iconic ESPN sound still means to Trey 09:12 - When ESPN was the common language of sports fans 10:25 - Trey’s dream of working at ESPN and realizing how big it had become 12:43 - Why sports television feels different today 13:38 - Trey on ESPN now: “We take ourselves very seriously, and if there’s time we’ll talk about sports” 14:36 - Why Trey wants to know what analysts know, not just what they think 17:11 - “No bits, no b******t, just ball” and the freedom of independent media 18:34 - What great sports television used to get right 21:04 - How Overreaction Monday started 21:41 - Why Trey refused to bury Tom Brady and Bill Belichick 24:35 - What made Bill Belichick such an adaptable coach 27:14 - Dale Hansen’s influence on Trey as a broadcaster and storyteller 29:34 - The strangest cases of mistaken identity in Trey’s career 32:19 - Trey’s biggest “pinch me” moments at ESPN 33:30 - How NFL Live became appointment viewing 34:17 - Hosting the historic 2020 NFL Draft essentially alone in the studio 36:08 - Anchoring SportsCenter after 9/11 and why Bob Ley changed Trey’s mind about going on the air 39:31 - Life after ESPN 40:03 - Why Trey says he’s having a blast now 41:27 - Golf, football and the freedom to cover only what he actually cares about 42:51 - Building the Wingo Network and moving from cable to YouTube 43:50 - Why authenticity is at the center of Trey’s new work 45:42 - How sports betting changed the sports-media business 49:03 - Why Trey has become more willing to speak out online 49:30 - “I hate politics. But I don’t like people lying.” 50:31 - Final thoughts and the legend of the lost first recording More from Trey Wingo You can find Trey’s latest work across The Wingo Network, including: Trey Wingo Presents on YouTube Trey Wingo Golf on YouTube Inside Football on YouTube The Wingo Network on your favorite audio podcast platform Trey also hosts Golf Live with Justin Ray, breaking down the biggest stories and developments from the world of golf. Follow Trey on social media for more sports analysis, commentary and updates on his latest projects. More with Marc Istook More with Marc Istook brings you conversations, context and clarity - from behind-the-scenes stories with actors and athletes to expert perspectives on the issues affecting your everyday life. Because there’s always more to the story. Watch full episodes: YouTube Follow Marc: Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Threads More: morewithmarcistook.substack.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Trey Wingo Is Not Mike Tirico

  3. Season 3 Trailer

    The New Name: More with Marc Istook

    A new name. A broader focus. The same curiosity. In this short announcement, Marc shares why "Dream Job" is evolving into "More with Marc Istook." The show will continue going behind the scenes with interesting people from sports, entertainment and media, while also featuring experts and newsmakers who bring greater perspective and insight to the issues that affect us every day. Conversations. Context. Clarity. Because there’s always more to the story. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    The New Name: More with Marc Istook

  4. Aug 12

    Chad Blankenship | President & GM, Texas Rattlers

    What does it take to build a professional sports franchise around one of America’s oldest and most dangerous competitions? In this episode of Dream Job, Marc Istook sits down with Chad Blankenship, President and General Manager of the Texas Rattlers, to explore the evolution of professional bull riding and the remarkable career path that prepared Chad to help lead it. Chad explains how the PBR Teams league took a traditionally individual sport and added the hometown loyalty, shared responsibility, rivalries, and season-long storylines that make team sports so compelling. He also breaks down what fans experience at a live event, from world-class riders and bulls to music, lights, pyrotechnics, and a carefully designed pace that keeps the entire arena engaged. The conversation expands into the resurgence of Western culture across sports, television, music, and fashion. Chad discusses why values such as perseverance, self-reliance, community, and respect for the land continue to resonate with modern audiences. Then Marc and Chad retrace a career journey that was anything but predictable. Chad shares stories from his early years in advertising, being laid off from one of the world’s most prestigious agencies, working on New York City’s bid for the 2012 Olympics, spending seven years at ESPN, launching a television network with filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, and helping create the PBR Teams league. He also recounts leaving his career behind for nearly a year to travel through China, Tibet, Nepal, and Thailand, including trekking to Everest Base Camp and unexpectedly taking a job at a resort on a Thai island. The episode concludes with a conversation about failure, personal responsibility, community, and one of Chad’s most enduring life lessons: wherever you go, you remain the same person. The real opportunity is learning to be fully present and make the most of where you are now. Timestamps 00:00 - Meet Chad Blankenship, President and GM of the Texas Rattlers 01:53 - How professional bull riding and the PBR Teams league work 04:12 - What it feels like to experience a Rattlers event in person 04:56 - The difference between traditional rodeo and PBR 07:30 - Building a fast-paced entertainment experience around eight-second rides 09:00 - Fan service, live sports, and the Savannah Bananas comparison 11:38 - Commercial breaks and the pace-of-play problem in American sports 15:49 - Why the young PBR Teams league has so much potential 16:39 - What team competition adds to an individual sport 19:17 - How teammates change the experience for bull riders 20:22 - Why Western culture is having a major resurgence 24:44 - The influence of Yellowstone, country music, fashion, and pop culture 26:23 - Chad’s unconventional career journey begins 27:18 - Growing up in Oklahoma and studying marketing at OU 28:02 - His first advertising job at The Richards Group 30:40 - Getting recruited by Wieden+Kennedy 32:54 - Losing his job and learning an early career lesson 35:35 - Moving to Los Angeles and finding a community of creators 39:36 - Leaving work behind to travel through Asia 40:46 - Trekking to Everest Base Camp from Tibet and Nepal 42:05 - An unexpected job opportunity at a resort in Thailand 44:53 - Joining New York City’s bid for the 2012 Olympic Games 47:01 - How sports can inspire social and personal change 48:40 - Why losing can sometimes be more valuable than winning 50:21 - Taking ownership of failure and deciding what comes next 51:13 - Seven years at ESPN and earning a “sports business MBA” 53:02 - Launching El Rey Network with Robert Rodriguez 54:17 - Working with Richard Branson’s Virgin Sport 54:50 - Joining PBR with little background in Western sports 56:01 - Launching a streaming platform and helping create PBR Teams 57:03 - Becoming President and GM of the Texas Rattlers 58:28 - Winning the 2023 PBR Teams Championship 59:24 - Why Chad and his family fell in love with Fort Worth 1:02:23 - The biggest lesson from Chad’s travels and career 1:05:23 - Final thoughts and an invitation to experience Rattler Days Links and Resources Ariat Texas Rattlers official website 2026 Rattler Days at Dickies Arena - October 2-4 Texas Rattlers on Instagram Texas Rattlers on Facebook Professional Bull Riders Connect with Chad Blankenship on LinkedIn Dream Job on Apple Podcasts Connect with Marc Website: MarcIstook.com Instagram: @MarcIstook YouTube: @MarcIstook Facebook: MarcIstookTV TikTok: @MarcIstook Substack: More, with Marc Istook Contact: info@marcistook.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Chad Blankenship | President & GM, Texas Rattlers

  5. Jun 18

    Dan Dawer | PhD Candidate, Education Policy

    The Quiet Dismantling of Texas Public Schools, with Dan Dawer Texas has taken over more school districts than any other state in the country, and a majority of those takeovers have happened in the last ten years under Governor Greg Abbott and Education Commissioner Mike Morath. The official story is accountability. The real story, according to this week's guest, is the construction of an entirely new model for public education in Texas, one designed to be cheaper, more regimented, and built on a workforce of uncertified, inexperienced teachers reading from scripted curriculum. Marc sits down with Dan Dawer, a former classroom teacher of 11 years and a PhD candidate at the University of Texas at Austin, whose dissertation research has put him on the ground inside the Houston ISD takeover for nearly four years. Dan has interviewed close to 140 stakeholders across the district and has emerged with one of the most comprehensive views of what state takeovers actually do to communities, students, and teachers. This conversation covers: . Why the research overwhelmingly shows takeovers do not improve student outcomes, and which communities they disproportionately target . The shift from "conservative" takeovers (designed to restore districts) to "activist" takeovers (designed to rebuild them into something new) . How Houston's reported test score improvements may be driven by changes to the pool of test takers, not actual learning gains (including a 24% drop in 8th grade Algebra 1 enrollment and a 15% drop in Biology end-of-course test takers) . The financial throughline connecting property tax elimination, the absence of a state income tax, and the budget pressure to make public education cheaper . Why a Pennsylvania billionaire would care about Texas school board elections . The reality of the voucher program: most applicants were already enrolled in private school, and tuition routinely exceeds the $10,000 award . The teacher pipeline crisis (45% of Houston ISD's teaching workforce now has between 0 and 3 years of experience, and a majority of new hires statewide are uncertified) . The AI-in-the-classroom question, and why Dan worries about cognitive offloading and the erosion of professional teaching knowledge . An honest assessment of Mike Morath's ten years as Education Commissioner . Why the A-F school rating system is more variable than parents realize, and what families should actually be looking at . The toll road analogy that explains vouchers better than any political talking point If you care about public education, your property taxes, your kids' classrooms, or the long-term direction of this state, this is the conversation. Dan brings the data. We dig into what it actually means. Recommended reading from this episode: Takeover: Race, Education, and Democracy in America by Domingo Morel. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Dan Dawer | PhD Candidate, Education Policy

  6. May 28

    Sara Hirsh Bordo | Author & Filmmaker

    Award-winning filmmaker, activist, and founder of Women Rising, Sara Hirsh Bordo joins the Dream Job Podcast to discuss her debut book Autoimmunity and the Good Girls — a groundbreaking exploration of how women raised to self-silence and caretake are disproportionately likely to develop autoimmune disease, and how reclaiming your own voice may be the most powerful medicine of all. EPISODE NOTES Sara Hirsh Bordo has spent her career building stages for other people's stories — directing award-winning documentaries, founding the women's empowerment production company Women Rising, and being named an Architect of Change by Maria Shriver. But while she was busy lifting up everyone else, her own body was sending a message she couldn't ignore. In this conversation, Marc and Sara — friends since their days as undergrads at TCU — go deep on her debut book, Autoimmunity and the Good Girls: How Permission to Put Ourselves First Has the Power to Keep Us Well, published by HarperOne/HarperCollins. Topics covered in this episode: How Sara's career journey — from Estée Lauder and MGM Studios to Paramount Pictures to documentary filmmaker — was always driven by curiosity and storytelling What it means to be a "good girl," and why that conditioning starts in girlhood The connection between the caretaker archetype, birth order, and autoimmune disease How Sara funded the first quantitative research study at the intersection of female empowerment and autoimmunity — and what the data revealed Why 80% of autoimmune disease patients are women, and why so many go undiagnosed or unheard The role of self-suppression in chronic illness — and the science behind it Sara's personal health journey: Hashimoto's, cancer, tumors — and full remission How faith intersects with the struggle for self-sovereignty The butterfly as a symbol for transformation — and why the journey to flight matters more than the flight itself What Sara hopes the book ultimately does for the women who read it Timestamps: 00:02:28 — Sara on what she actually does for a living 00:05:33 — The hero's journey vs. the heroine's journey 00:10:12 — On catalysts: cozy ones and crushing ones 00:15:47 — The lightbulb moment that led to the book 00:16:19 — What autoimmune disease actually is, explained plainly 00:19:18 — How Sara funded the first research study on this topic 00:22:24 — Beyond birth order: the caretaker archetype 00:27:43 — Sara's full list of diagnoses — and how they all went into remission 00:29:57 — Why women silence themselves in the doctor's office 00:32:01 — The whisper, the tap, the shove 00:33:32 — Why the word "feminist" doesn't appear in the book 00:39:30 — The battered butterfly in a German museum 00:44:58 — What Sara hopes the book's legacy will be About Sara Hirsh Bordo: Sara is a 20-time award-winning filmmaker and Founder/CEO of Women Rising. Her documentary debut, A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story, won the Audience Award at SXSW and qualified for the Academy Award. She has directed campaigns for Toyota and ESPN, consulted on the Wonder Woman franchise for Warner Bros., and produced the first TEDxAustinWomen — the most-viewed TEDxWomen event in the world that year. A percentage of her author proceeds are being donated to the Society for Women's Health Research. Autoimmunity and the Good Girls is available wherever books are sold, including Amazon, and the audiobook — read by Sara herself — is available on Audible. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Sara Hirsh Bordo | Author & Filmmaker

  7. May 26

    Chris McKenna | CEO, Protect Young Eyes

    What happens when we hand seventh graders "a hundred million people and a hundred million choices"? Chris McKenna spent 12 years in business risk consulting at Ernst & Young before a call to youth ministry put him face-to-face with the rise of the smartphone in kids' lives. What he saw there led him to launch Protect Young Eyes, now one of the most respected voices in the fight for online child safety. In this conversation, Chris and I get into why he thinks "parental controls" is a destructive phrase, how to talk to other parents about screens without sounding judgmental (hint: think peanut allergy), what the recent Meta and social media court wins really mean, why the Australia law is being framed exactly the way Big Tech wants it framed, and what it'll take for screen-time legislation to have its seatbelt-law moment. Chris's new book, Five Habits of the Tech-Ready Family: Raising Wise Kids in a Wild Digital World, comes out June 16 and is available for pre-order now. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Chris McKenna | CEO, Protect Young Eyes

  8. May 13

    Jonathan Carone | Creator, Healthy Sports Parents

    If you've ever sat in the bleachers and wondered when youth sports got so intense, this episode is for you. Meet Jonathan Carone, creator of Healthy Sports Parents (100K+ on Instagram), and hear a candid conversation about what's gone wrong - and what we can do about it. We discuss the "self-love and self-glory" forces driving parent behavior on the sidelines, why "winning is everything" coaching is still the default even when we know better, the private-equity gold rush turning kids into revenue streams, the scholarship myth, and the difference between development and competition for kids under 12. Jonathan also shares the John Wooden quote that reframed how he thinks about success, why he calls himself part of "the youth sports resistance," and the one piece of advice every sports parent needs to hear: let your kid lead. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Jonathan Carone | Creator, Healthy Sports Parents
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About

Conversations. Context. Clarity. Whether it's going behind the scenes with your favorite actors and athletes, or getting expert insights on the issues that affect you every day, Emmy-winning journalist and veteran host Marc Istook digs deeper to share the stories and perspectives you might otherwise miss. Because there's always more to the story.

Information

  • Creator
    Marc Istook
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    28
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Marc Istook
  • Show Website
    More with Marc Istook

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