Seeing Janet Jackson as a child in Houston changed everything for Arlan Hamilton. The music star looked like her and exuded confidence, and Hamilton came away believing that nothing was impossible. That belief was challenged when she abandoned a successful career in music to try and launch a career in tech. She talks about launching her Backstage Capital venture fund from a food court without a prospect of where to sleep that night, and how that prepared her for the roller coaster of the tech...

Less than 2 percent of the companies funded by venture capital companies are run by African Americans, and the number of women founders has plateaued at 17 percent for the last four years. Next week's guest is looking to change all that. In this week's preview, we tease Arlan Hamilton's pivot from music tour manager to venture capitalist focused on funding companies started by women, people of color and members of the LGBT community. She's got an enormous task ahead. 

A fall down the stairs at the age of 30 changed Kimberley Chambers' life forever. We talk to the open-water swimmer and first ever woman to swim the treacherous passage from the Farallone Islands to San Francisco Bay. Stretching 30 miles it passes through the 'red triangle' where 38% of America's shark attacks take place. Recorded at San Francisco's South End Rowing Club, we talk to her about her relationship with sharks, and the allure of operating at the bleeding edge of risk. Her...

Even as jellyfish tormented her, open-water swimmer Kim Chambers accomplished one of the rarest feats in extreme endurance sports when she completed the Ocean's Seven. Ahead of next week's full interview with her we let her tell the story of how she pulled off one of the most dangerous swims of her career. 

Former pro snowboarder Mike Basich has become a pioneer in the off the grid movement. He's built a self-sustaining 300 square foot home on 40 acres in Tahoe, guided by the philosophy that any creative endeavor is only worth it if you invest sweat equity (and not the Silicon Valley kind). He stops by the Red Bull podcast to talk about what it takes (physically and mentally) to live off the grid and how he pioneered the art of the action selfie - more than a decade before GoPro.

Snowboarder Mike Basich was taking action selfies before GoPro was even an idea. On this week's preview podcast we talk to him about his most epic one ever; a jaw-dropping 120ft jump from a helicopter.

A quick heads up to all friends of the pod that we've changed the name but are still brining you the same tips, tricks and nuggets of inspiration from risk takers and pursuers of excellence

Photographer Mark "Cobrasnake" Hunter built his first career as the world's premier nightlife photographer through his willingess to talk his way past velvet rope and connect with his subjects on the sweat-soaked dance floors of the world's most exclusive after-parties. But when the night life became too much, he reinvented himself as a fitness guru, and used the same enthusiasm and energy that made him a darling of dance floors to motivate people to move out of their comfort zone. We talk to...

Before Instagram, nightlife photography was ruled by Lastnights arty and Cobrasnake. Ahead of next week's guest, we take a trip down memory lane and gawk at the wool hats, wild patterned shirts, Pabst blue ribbon and the oh-so-NSFW imagery that defined the web sites of the two party photographers. 

Assia Grazioli-Venier overcame not one, but two major medical setbacks and used them as fuel to transition her career into new areas. We talk to the venture capitalist, high level digital strategist and youngest member of the Juventus Turin board of directors about how a desire to be useful informs everything she does. Warning: pod contains cool-sounding Italian-accented English. 

Ahead of next week's podcast interview, we look at how our guest's chance in encounter with a man on a train ended up with her becoming the youngest member of the board of global soccer powerhouse Juventus Turin.

A freak fire accident in Thailand left Colin O'Brady believing that he'd never walk again. Last year, he became the youngest person ever to scale the highest peaks on all seven continents and reach the North and South poles. Of the estimated 45 people to have ever accomplished the dizzying feat, only two finished within a year. He did so in 139 days. We talk to O'Brady about goal-setting, manifesting your dreams and the path he took to mastering an entirely new sport in a short amount of...

No, it's not a Menu item at some far-flung Dennys, but the pinnacle of the adventure profession: Climbing all seven summits, and reach both the north and the south pole. Only 45 people have done it in history and ahead of next week's podcast with the youngest one of all of them (who broke two records in the process), we dive into the dangers of the perilous journey, and some of the men who have completed it. 

David Batstone thinks career narratives are b******t. He's pivoted more times than he's gone the straight and narrow. And it's gotten him to a radical new mission: upending the way major corporations do business. We talk to the globe-trotting entrepeneur and author on a book on human trafficking, about building social impact and profit into the business model, the value of making small bets and knowing when to jump in feet first. 

The idea of the fastest-growing organic drinks company in the US was the brainchild of 50 of the most influential minds in Silicon Valley, an idea they conceived of in 24 hours. Now that company is looking to forever change the way business is done. Ahead of our chat next week with REBBL's founder, we look at the audacity of including profit and social impact into your business model.

Street-meat slanger, online moonshine salesman, startup founder, Sam Parr has worn many hats in his ridicuously young career. But none has fit as perfectly as The Hustle. His young tech and business news company has ambitions of taking on Vice Media. But first, he had to learn how to write. We talk to Sam about the power of the written word in the digital age, how to properly cold-e-mail a CEO and why failing isn't all its cracked up to be. If you're a wannabe entrepreneur, or one in the...

Ahead of next week's podcast guest, we dive into The Hustle, a newsletter for startup founders and entrepreneurs that has exploded in popularity in the last few years. We fly up to San Francisco to check out the third annual HustleCon, and the loyal following of founders and funders it has brought together. Mainly, though, we look at how something was built out of nothing.

Ron Finley planted some vegetables and fruits in the cracked sidewalks outside his South Central Los Angeles home and started a green movement. But first he got hit with an arrest warrant. We talk to the Gangsta Gardner about his transition from fashion designer to food activist for the communities who need it the most and the Silicon Valley tech types who love him for it. 

Carlin Isles recognized early on the gift he had. And a difficult childhood in foster homes with his sister only increased his resolve to take advantage of it. Today, Isles is the fastest man in one of the fastest growing sports in the US: rugby. We talk to him about the importance of recognizing your own talents, using his speed to inspire others and why he never went to senior prom. 

Rugby vs. Football for American market domination has thus far only had one clear winner. But with the rise of brain injuries in football and the increase in the popularity of kids' rugby programs, is that about to change? Ahead of next week's guest, US rugby and sprinting star Carlin Isles, we take a look at the sport's' future in the US.

Pasquale Rotella's love affair with electronic music began in an underground club. His fascination with spectacle had its roots in a youth spent on the Venice Beach boardwalk. As founder and CEO of Insomniac, his Electric Daisy Carnival is electronic dance music's top festival in the U.S. But all he wants is to make it bigger. 

How the premiere event for dance music in the US, the Electric Daisy Carnival, got its start in underground raves in warehouses in dangerous, and far-flung, corners of Los Angeles. Ahead of next week's guest, one of the most important names in dance music, we dive into the rise of a music festival that has cemented dance music's weird and carnivalesque reputation in the U.S. 

Overcoming crippling dyslexia, Don Montague has become one of the chief innovators in the action sports space. A pioneering windsurfer and kitesurfer, his bizarre idea for a kite-powered sailboat eventually caught the attention of Sergey Brin and Larry Page, who became the founding investors in a company dedicated to creating a new energy source. Later this Summer, Montague and a small team will attempt to set a speed record sailing a kite-powered 60-foot trimaran from San Francisco to...