Chef Marcus Samuelsson knows that the key to being a good chef is a lot like being a good athlete. You get up every day and keep pushing yourself.

Despite being told that his Blackness would never let him own a fine dining restaurant, he made his way cooking in Michelin-starred restaurants around the world. After landing in New York in his early 20s, he set his sights on building a restaurant empire, starting with the renowned Red Rooster in Harlem. Today, he is a James Beard award winner, Top Chef alum and host, philanthropist, and food activist.

As his career has soared, he has thought deeply about what Black cuisine means to this country and around the world. Marcus tells Jay about how he thinks Black cuisine, much like Blackness itself, is ever evolving. Plus, he gives his perspective on the restaurant industry's outlook in the pandemic, and why he says good food is a civil right.

For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus at plus.npr.org/thelimits. On this week's Plus episode, Marcus gives tips on the kitchen tools you'll need to make great meals, even if cooking isn't your thing.

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It's Prime Time on The Limits. NFL legend Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders sits down with Jay to talk about his latest chapter coaching college football. The two-time Superbowl champion decided to bet on HBCUs as the future of the NFL, successfully making what Sports Illustrated has dubbed one of the most shocking recruits in college football history.

The head coach of Jackson State University now feels his calling is to raise the next generation of young, Black athletes. He's coaching them to be better on and off the field, and he's advocating for them to finally get paid for their name, image, and likeness.

As Sanders puts it, his tenure as a coach is "not a moment, but a movement." And just as with his own NFL career, Neon Deion is building the kind of coaching record that proves his critics wrong.

You can watch Sanders in action in his new Barstool Sports and SMAC Productions docuseries Coach Prime. New episodes air Tuesdays and Thursdays on all Barstool Sports digital platforms at 8:00pm ET through March 10.

For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus at plus.npr.org/thelimits. On this week's Plus episode, Deion Sanders talks about the personal relationships that have pushed him to greatness.

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In her own words, Niecy Nash has made it "from the hood to Hollywood." As she closes out her leading role in Claws, Niecy tells Jay about her early days in Hollywood with clarity?and hilarity.

With the Oscars approaching next month, Niecy also gets real about the deeper reasons the Academy so often overlooks Black women, and why she isn't looking for their approval.

Her outlook is faith-based and positive, not in small part because she has found love again with her wife, musician Jessica Betts. As she reflects on her evolving sexuality, Niecy confirms that finally, she feels seen.

For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus at plus.npr.org/thelimits. This week, Niecy Nash discusses reconciling her faith with her sexuality, and her cheat code for handling pressure.

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Bobby Hundreds is a trendsetter, and he believes if you give yourself permission you can be too. As founder of the iconic streetwear brand The Hundreds, he's been at the forefront of design for decades, and in this episode of The Limits he tells Jay how he does it.

For Bobby, success is about reframing your perceived weakness as your greatest strength. In the early days of The Hundreds, when Bobby found himself with limited merchandise, he branded it 'exclusive' and suddenly buyers found his designs irresistible. Now he's applying that same mentality to Web 3.0 by expanding the definition of "NFTs."

For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus at plus.npr.org/thelimits.

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Whether it's the NFL or the NBA, healthcare policy or America's two-party political system, Mark Cuban believes that when you buck tradition you begin to grow.

In this episode of The Limits, the Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire Shark Tank investor challenges NFL franchise owners to rethink who they hire and why. He applies that same logic to the healthcare industry, where he plans to upend the market by flipping the market on its head.

These big ideas come from a man who hustled his way from his working-class roots all the way to the billionaire club. At a time when the American dream has become a joke, Mark explains why he still believes in it.

For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus at plus.npr.org/thelimits.

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Brian Flores is not messing around. The former Miami Dolphins head coach was fired last month, and had his eyes set on the top job with the New York Giants. But a misdirected text from New England Patriots general manager Bill Belichick convinced Flores, who is Black and Latino, that the hiring process was rigged against him, and that race was a major factor. He responded to the NFL by filing a class-action lawsuit on Tuesday. He was one of only three Black head coaches in the NFL at the time of his firing, in a league that has a majority of Black players. The lawsuit accuses the league of systemic racism and discriminatory hiring practices. It's made for a whirlwind 48 hours for Flores, who did not come to the decision to take legal action lightly. And it's arguably a louder stand than when Colin Kaepernick took his knee and paid the price. In this episode of The Limits, host Jay Williams sits down with Flores to talk about the change he hopes to inspire in the NFL, and the sacrifices he's willing to make to see that change take flight. For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus at plus.npr.org/thelimits. Follow Jay on Instagram and Twitter. Email us at [email protected] Limits is produced by Karen Kinney, Mano Sundaresan, Leena Sanzgiri, Barton Girdwood, Brent Baughman, Rachel Neel and Yolanda Sangweni. Music by Ramtin Arablouei. Our executive producer is Anya Grundmann. Special thanks to Charla Riggi and Erin Register.

Larry Miller has been a top executive in sports and athletic wear for decades. As the Chairman of Nike's Jordan Brand, he's in charge of a multibillion-dollar global apparel juggernaut. But as a teenager growing up in West Philadelphia, he made a violent mistake that haunted him for decades: he murdered an 18-year-old man, Edward David White.

Later in life, as he ascended the corporate ladder, Miller kept his past a secret, afraid that it would jeopardize his career.

In this episode of The Limits, Miller tells Jay Williams why he couldn't keep his secret any longer, and how he took Michael Jordan's ideas and turned them into one of the most successful athlete-driven brands in the world. Plus ? what he says about the possibility of Nike collaborating with Kanye West.

Larry Miller's new book is called Jump: My Secret Journey from the Streets to the Boardroom.

For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus at plus.npr.org/thelimits.

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You know Ben Baller as the jeweler who has iced up the biggest names in hip-hop. But before that he was a record executive listening to Jay-Z's first album before anybody else. The guy's got stories. Like how he was fired by Dr. Dre for speaking out against the bad contracts Dre was giving to his artists.

So Baller gets fired? So what. Ben Baller is a master of reinvention. He sells his sneaker collection for millions and starts designing high-end jewelry. Now he's telling stories about making pieces for Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson.

In this episode of The Limits, Ben tells Jay Williams how he hustled his way to the top not just once but over and over again. The way he tells it, a Korean-American kid can do anything he wants if he just goes out and grabs it.

For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus at plus.npr.org/thelimits.

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It took a long time for Gabrielle Union to realize she had the wrong idea of success in Hollywood. That idea came from growing up in Nebraska, in white spaces, where she often embraced a role as 'the Black friend.' But in Hollywood she grew to reject those roles. Now her priorities are her own, and she's learned hard lessons about what to pay attention to ? and what to ignore.

In this episode of The Limits, Union tells Jay Williams how she learned to stand up for herself, why 'balance' is a myth, about her journey with surrogacy, and how she and her husband ? former NBA star Dwyane Wade ? overcame a turbulent time in their relationship.

Union is an actor, activist, producer, and entrepreneur. She is the author of We're Going to Need More Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, and True and You Got Anything Stronger?

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Lenard McKelvey's mom was an English teacher. As a kid, he always had his head in a book ? even when he was reading that book in a jail cell. But there were some things he couldn't learn from reading, and one of them was how to be true to himself as his radio career took off. Now he's Charlamagne Tha God, host of the massively influential radio show The Breakfast Club and his own late-night show on Comedy Central, Tha God's Honest Truth.

In this episode of The Limits, Charlamagne tells Jay Williams how he came to wield one of the biggest microphones in Black culture, and why ? despite that ? he's still working on finding his voice.

For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus at plus.npr.org/thelimits.

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Years before they built the SpringHill Company ? an entertainment and development brand recently valued at $725 million ? Maverick Carter and LeBron James were just two kids from Akron, Ohio who loved playing basketball. Over the past two decades, their friendship and ambitions have grown stronger as they have defied assumptions of what athlete-driven business ventures can be.

In this episode of The Limits, Carter ? CEO of SpringHill ? sat down with Jay Williams to share how he and James succeeded on their own terms, why LeBron's mother initially doubted their vision, and what Carter really thought about LeBron's decision to return to Cleveland.

For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus at plus.npr.org/thelimits.

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We all have moments when our limits are tested. On this show, host and ESPN correspondent Jay Williams asks how we define those limits ? and what it means to exceed them. New episodes every Tuesday, starting January 4th.