Celebrity Interviews

William McNamara (UFO), AI Office Hours with Pat Riley, and GildaGram. The Neil Haley TV Show 08-9-26: Actor William McNamara on The Mike Vilardi Show, AI Office Hours with Pat Riley, and GildaGram with Dr. Gilda CarleThis edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with a Mike Vilardi Show simulcast, hosted by Mike Vilardi, welcoming veteran actor William McNamara. Known for Copycat, Chasers, Surviving the Game, and Stealing Home across a 35-year career, McNamara returned to talk about his self-made series The Trouble With Billy, ten episodes he wrote, directed, produced, and stars in as a wildly exaggerated version of a fallen 1990s actor, complete with his pit bull and a beat-up car, now streaming on the independent platform Red Coral Universe. He described building it on a shoestring with friends and a cast that includes the late Tom Sizemore, Sally Kirkland, and Billy Baldwin, and how a union pension-and-health dispute stalled distribution for years before he found the show a home, part of a deliberate shift later in his career toward writing and directing his own material rather than waiting on casting calls. The conversation took an unexpected turn into the real-life inspiration behind the show's off-planet premise, as McNamara shared what he describes as genuine close encounters. By his account, around 2004 and 2005 in the small towns of Salt Point and Harriman in New York's Hudson Valley, he had contact with multiple craft, including a silent, triangular object with no visible propulsion that hovered just above the ground and that he says he followed for some 45 minutes, along with an even stranger encounter, in another small Hudson Valley town, that he recounts in vivid, unsettling detail. He framed those experiences, offered as his own testimony, as part of the seed for the show's premise, in which his character believes he was taken off-planet for a decade, and noted he is a frequent guest on the UFO and disclosure circuit. Find the show at thetroublewithbilly.com.The hour continued with an AI Office Hours simulcast, where Neil and co-host Pat Riley traded notes on their ongoing experiments with artificial intelligence agents and assistants. Riley shared a hard-learned lesson about keeping a close eye on runaway costs when an automated task quietly burns through its budget faster than expected, and the importance of not tinkering with a setup that is already working. He passed along a favorite use case in which someone traveling abroad set an AI agent to repeatedly scan a humane society's website, matching photos and descriptions, until it flagged a listing that turned out to be their lost cat. Neil described his own deep dive into letting an AI assistant take on more and more of his workflow, from booking appointments to lining up sponsorship interest for the NHL Wraparound Podcast to building projects like a children's book, marveling at the productivity while cautioning that it is exhausting and demands a human in the loop. He recounted an agent that hallucinated its own book cover yet still drove a real sale for a client, using it to illustrate both the promise and the pitfalls, and the pair agreed the central challenge now is learning to manage your agents, with a person watching over them, rather than simply turning them loose. Their throughline, echoed by listener comments Neil read on air, was that AI is at its best as a force multiplier for a human who stays in charge, not a hands-off replacement.The program closes with a GildaGram simulcast where Dr. Gilda Carle unpacked a sensational viral story about a scorned spouse's over-the-top revenge on a cheating partner, using the jaw-dropping tale as a springboard to talk about betrayal, consequences, and the depths of a partner's hurt when trust is broken, and the wiser paths a person might choose instead. Find William McNamara's The Trouble With Billy at thetroublewithbilly.com.

This edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with a Love Is podcast simulcast, co-hosted by Kim Sorrelle, welcoming actor Scott Valentine, remembered as Nick Moore on Family Ties. Valentine spoke about resilience, recounting how being run over by a truck left him paralyzed and told he would never walk again, and how he refused to accept that verdict. He framed setbacks as manure to clean off before climbing back on the horse, insisting that when someone treats you like dirt it defines them, not you. He credited his good fortune working with Michael J. Fox, Michael Gross, Meredith Baxter, Justine Bateman, and creator Gary David Goldberg, then centered the conversation on Red Coral Universe, the ad-supported streaming platform he built with partner Larry Meistrich to give independent creators a real voice and a fair share of the profits, splitting revenue from dollar one and opening the door to makers the big platforms overlook. Find it at redcoraluniverse.com.Neil then joined a Criminally Good with Sherrie and Jen simulcast, presented by Storehouse Media Group, welcoming Matthew B. Cox, a former licensed mortgage broker who became a notorious white-collar offender and once landed on the U.S. Secret Service's most-wanted list before serving time in federal prison. Cox recounted how, since his release, he has reinvented himself as a true-crime author and the host of the popular YouTube show Inside True Crime, where he interviews law enforcement and former criminals, occasionally joking that a guest turns out to be less former than advertised, for an audience of more than a million subscribers. He explained that he began writing behind bars, penning memoirs of fellow inmates, among them Efraim Diveroli, whom he was incarcerated alongside, and clarified a common mix-up: he did not write War Dogs, the film that drew from a Rolling Stone article by Guy Lawson, with Jonah Hill playing Diveroli. His own book, Shark in the Housing Pool, has been optioned for the screen several times over roughly seven years without yet becoming a movie, a grind Cox takes in stride, noting that only a handful of optioned projects ever get made and that he is happy with where things stand. He offered a candid critique of the true-crime convention circuit for sidelining actual reformed offenders while welcoming him only as a journalist, and, drawing on the long odds he has watched other authors face, cautioned anyone banking on a single Hollywood deal to build something else in the meantime. Now channeling that same hustle into growing his shows across new platforms, he encouraged listeners to check out Inside True Crime.The hour closes with a Jesus and Ugly Jody simulcast, hosted with Sherrie, where recurring guest Jody Corbett led a reflection on blessings. Corbett walked through several kinds, material provision, relationships, and health, and pointed especially to what he called unrealized blessings, the disappointments that only reveal themselves as gifts in hindsight, a point Neil and Sherrie echoed with their own stories of doors that closed before better ones opened. He opened by asking simply what a blessing is, and pressed on where blessings come from. Anchoring the talk in Jeremiah 29:11, he noted that God's plans are meant not only to prosper but to protect, and reminded listeners that even everyday gifts like a healthy body, rest, and the breath of each morning are easy to overlook. He then turned to the temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4 to argue that not everything that looks like a blessing is one, since some are distractions meant to pull us off course, and that our free will shapes which doors we let God open. Find Scott Valentine at redcoraluniverse.com and Matthew B. Cox on Inside True Crime.

This edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with a conversation with actor Mika Abdalla about her role in the coming-of-age film Snack Shack, streaming on Paramount. Abdalla, whose breakout came on the Netflix series Project MC2 after an early start in commercials and an American Girl movie, described Snack Shack, directed by Adam Rehmeier and loosely based on his own childhood, as a warm throwback to the coming-of-age movies of the 1980s and 1990s. Centered on two young best friends running a poolside snack stand over one eventful summer, the film casts Abdalla as the girl who moves to town and shakes things up. To prepare, the director flew the cast in early to live their characters' lives around town, soaking up the era's cars, fashion, and music, and she reflected on the bittersweet, temporary closeness of friendships formed on location and on set. With the industry ramping back up after a slow stretch, she said she is excited to find her next project. Find her on Instagram at Mika Abdalla.Neil's team then aired a Storehouse Media Group simulcast, with Neil away, featuring mortgage expert Phil Gantz, the driving force behind Next Wave Mortgage, on helping first-time buyers, especially younger people daunted by home prices. Gantz's guidance was to get your financial house in order first, steering clear of late payments and building savings, then to explore the down payment assistance programs that can bridge the gap, some carrying credit-score minimums around 640. He explained that lenders run applications through automated underwriting from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and that the depth and history of one's credit can matter as much as the raw score, so an established borrower with a modest number may fare better than a newcomer with a higher one. His bottom line, offered as professional perspective rather than personalized advice, was that there is no perfect moment and real value in starting sooner.The hour closes with a Criminally Good with Sherrie and Jen simulcast, presented by Storehouse Media Group, welcoming retired Washington State Trooper Carlos Rodriguez, author of The Ugly Underneath. Rodriguez spent roughly eight years on the state's Missing and Exploited Children Task Force before retiring in 2020, and his book confronts the emotional toll of investigating crimes against children rather than the cases themselves. He spoke about compartmentalization as a survival skill for first responders, from officers to ER staff, and about its hidden cost when those mental boxes are never reopened and processed, quietly straining health and family life. After relocating to San Diego, where he now works for a school district, he lost his old support structure, sought therapy, and, at his counselor's encouragement, began writing to help others. He framed the book as a lifeline for those doing this difficult protective work and their families, a way to tell spouses and children that a loved one's distance was never their fault, and to help fellow first responders know they are not alone. He made the case for accurate language, explaining why he favors the term child sexual abuse material over one he believes minimizes the reality, and acknowledged how easily people shut down when the subject comes up, arguing that the topic has to be discussed, in a measured way, if society is going to confront it and support both the investigators and the survivors who need help to heal. Writing about two hours a day for roughly a year, he shaped those sessions into the book, and he closed by honoring the many people who step away from their own families to protect other people's children, urging listeners to support that mission. He also noted his former task force accepts public donations through the Washington State Patrol website. The Ugly Underneath is available online, and you can find Mika Abdalla's Snack Shack on Paramount.

Bestselling Novelist Don Winslow, Reset Medical's Corey, Filmmaker Michael Tove, and GildaGram with Dr. Gilda CarleThis edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with New York Times bestselling crime novelist Don Winslow, joined by co-host Lefty, about his 26th book, City in Ruins. Winslow traced his lifelong pull toward writing to a book-loving home, a career-Navy father and a librarian mother, and a sister who is herself a novelist many times over. He spoke about the strange intimacy of spending more time with people who do not exist than those who do, the thrill and feedback of meeting readers on tour, and his gratitude that everything he owns he owes to them. He was candid that for years agents and editors insisted he would never make the list and simply would not print enough copies, until his breakout about the Mexican drug cartels arrived the day before El Chapo escaped from prison and everything changed. City in Ruins completes the Danny Ryan trilogy, following its longshoreman-turned-fugitive protagonist to a new life as a Las Vegas casino magnate. Winslow, a self-described overnight success in his fifties, treats writing as a five-day-a-week job and urged aspiring authors to never give up and to take ownership of marketing themselves rather than leaning on a publisher. City in Ruins is at Amazon and independent bookstores.Neil then hosted a Reset Medical and Wellness Center podcast simulcast with Corey, a nurse who has been with the Strongsville clinic almost since it opened. She described a practice that treats patients like family, many of the staff having gone through treatment themselves, and walked through the clinic's neurosympathetic reset, a procedure Dr. Lauer's team uses to calm an overactive fight-or-flight response tied to stress, anxiety, and trauma. Corey shared that she was initially the skeptic, then watched patients arrive flat and withdrawn and return the next day transformed, and eventually underwent the reset herself after years of insomnia and pandemic-era stress on the job. She reported sleeping better and, more meaningfully, shifting from merely powering through tasks to being present with her family, recounting that others noticed her old self returning. She framed the results as her own and her patients' lived experience.The hour continued with a Celebrity Interviews simulcast from the grotto welcoming North Carolina filmmaker Michael Tove about his award-winning short Yard Sale-ing. Tove traced a storyteller's path from O. Henry, Rod Serling, and Hitchcock-style twist endings, through a cattle-call role on the feature film The Handmaid's Tale that hooked him, to fifteen years of screenwriting training and friendships with industry veterans, among them director Tom Logan, who directed the short. He described Yard Sale-ing, an idea he first sketched decades ago, as a Hitchcockian tale of opposites, an effervescent optimist certain she will strike treasure at a yard sale and her reluctant, dryly sarcastic husband, whose outing takes an unexpected turn. Logan's casting drew Eric and Eliza Roberts along with leads Georgia Van Cuylenburg and Liam Bradford, and Tove praised the on-set chemistry and collaboration. Watch it free at emeraldoakproductions.com.The program closes with a GildaGram simulcast where Dr. Gilda Carle weighed in on biohacker Bryan Johnson, who has poured a fortune into defying aging and now concedes he may have gone too far, linking an autoimmune condition to his own regimen. Carle's takeaway was blunt: there is no fountain of youth and no quick fix, and the wiser aim is to grow wiser as we age. Find Don Winslow's City in Ruins in bookstores and Michael Tove's Yard Sale-ing at emeraldoakproductions.com.

Snack Shack's Mika Abdalla, Author Robert Wolf on The Mike Vilardi Show, and Former Congressman Jason AltmireThis edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with a conversation with actor Mika Abdalla about her role in the coming-of-age film Snack Shack, streaming on Paramount. Abdalla traced a career that began almost by accident, with an open casting call for a parenting magazine at her dentist's office when she was five or six, an only child whose mother wanted to draw her out of her shyness. That led to commercials, an American Girl movie at eleven, and her breakout on Project MC². She described Snack Shack, directed by Adam Rehmeier and loosely based on his own childhood, as a warm throwback to 1980s and 1990s coming-of-age movies, centered on two young best friends running a poolside snack stand over the summer, with Abdalla playing the girl who moves to town and shakes things up. To prepare, the director flew the cast in early to live their characters' lives around town, swimming at the pool and soaking up the era's cars, fashion, and music. She reflected on the bittersweet, temporary closeness of people met on location and on set, and said she is excited to find her next project now that the industry is ramping back up. Find her on Instagram at Mika Abdalla.Neil then joined a Mike Vilardi Show simulcast welcoming author Robert Wolf, whose book Not a Real Enemy tells the true story of his family's survival through Nazi Germany and the communism that followed, drawn from his father's fight for freedom. Wolf spoke about his parents having endured totalitarianism at its most extreme and about his own belief in engaging across cultures, communities, and faiths rather than dividing into us and them, recalling friendships that cross religious lines. The wide-ranging conversation also moved into current events and a debate over socialism, communism, immigration, and public safety, with the hosts and guest offering their own strong political opinions. Not a Real Enemy is available from booksellers.The hour closes with a segment co-hosted by author and publisher Paul Hollis featuring former Pennsylvania Congressman Jason Altmire, now a national association CEO, adjunct professor, and author. Altmire reflected on life after Congress, having left office at 44 determined not to let his career peak in his 40s, and on how the public's perception of the institution has soured in the years since. He discussed his book Dead Center, which examines the causes of political polarization, draws on academic research into how partisans think, and weaves in his own experience as a centrist in a divided Congress. Altmire argued that most Americans sit closer to the center than the political class does, citing Pew research that roughly a third identify at the extremes, evenly split left and right, and warning that because those voters dominate primaries and campaign giving, closed primary systems reward candidates who speak to the edges. He said he regrets that his 2017 forecast of worsening division has proven right. Find Jason Altmire's Dead Center wherever books are sold.

Family Ties' Scott Valentine, the FMCSA's Cicely Waters, Tam R. Luc, Joel Berg of Hunger Free America, plus Wounded Sisters and GildaGramThis edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with a Love Is podcast simulcast, co-hosted by Kim Sorrelle, welcoming actor Scott Valentine, remembered as Nick Moore on Family Ties. Valentine spoke candidly about resilience, recounting how being run over by a truck left him paralyzed and told he would never walk again, and how he refused to accept that verdict. He framed life's setbacks as manure you clean off before climbing back on the horse, insisting that when someone treats you like dirt it defines them, not you. He credited his good fortune on Family Ties working with Michael J. Fox, Michael Gross, Meredith Baxter, Justine Bateman, and creator Gary David Goldberg, and traced his path from Hollywood through banking to entrepreneurship. Most of the conversation centered on Red Coral Universe, the ad-supported streaming platform he built with partner Larry Meistrich to give independent content makers a real voice and a fair share of the profits, splitting revenue from dollar one with no ingestion, onboarding, or carriage fees. With roughly 10,000 licensed titles and an open-door policy for creators, the goal, he said, is a universe that serves both viewer and maker. Find it at redcoraluniverse.com.Neil then welcomed Cicely Waters, FMCSA Director of Communications and a ten-year Air Force veteran, to spotlight the Freedom Haulers initiative connecting veterans to trucking careers. She explained that military service instills the safety, professionalism, leadership, and comfort with complex equipment the industry prizes, and that the mission need not end when the uniform comes off. She detailed the Even Exchange program, now active in 27 states with nine more committed, which lets qualifying service members waive the CDL knowledge and skills tests, and the CMVOST grant, which funds scholarships covering CDL training for veterans and their families. With driving jobs often reaching six figures and GI Bill benefits applicable, she urged transitioning members to explore the options at freedomhaulers.dot.gov.The hour continued with a Storehouse Media Group simulcast featuring Tam R. Luc, founder of Women Who Bossed Up. A longtime entrepreneur with a commercial real estate and marketing background, Luc built her company to help women who have hustled their way into a bind, where every function runs through them, redesign and systematize their businesses to grow past that choke hold. She traced the arc from her book A Woman's Side Hustle and her Women Who Boss Up author collections to hands-on work with service, real estate, and medical business owners, and shared that she designed her own life to be location-independent, now running a high-revenue business from Malaysia. Find her at WomenWhoBossUp.com.Neil next spoke with Joel Berg, founder and CEO of the nonpartisan Hunger Free America, which connects people to SNAP, school meals, and WIC, runs the USDA National Hunger Hotline, and advocates on policy. Berg argued that hunger persists because of low wages and a thin safety net, noting that before the government stopped collecting the data, USDA counted 48 million Americans who could not always afford enough food, most of them working people rather than the homeless. The segment became a frank exchange on solutions, with Berg contending that stronger safety-net policy and higher wages are the answer and Neil making the case for a viable third party. Learn more at hungerfreeamerica.org.The program closes with two simulcasts. On Wounded Sisters, bestselling author Mary Shearer Eckert, marking her 30th wedding anniversary, discussed her novel about a retreat where broken pastors' wives find healing, forgiveness, and faith. On GildaGram, Dr. Gilda Carle examined online cruelty, using Ariana Grande's decision to step back to argue that anonymous

Billy Baldwin of Hit the Floor, Dr. Pam Mullarkey Robbins, The Walking Dead's David Morrissey, and XzibitThis edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with a Total Celebrity conversation with actor Billy Baldwin about his guest-starring turn on VH1's Hit the Floor. Baldwin, reflecting on the rowdy, rambunctious upbringing that shaped the famous Baldwin brothers, described the series as a scripted soap opera set inside a professional basketball franchise, the fictional Los Angeles Devils, full of behind-the-scenes drama among players, wives, cheerleaders, and a front office locked in a power struggle. He plays Everett, a billionaire pulling strings behind the scenes, and likened the dynamic to the real-life Lakers tug-of-war between Jeanie Buss and Phil Jackson. Baldwin praised showrunner James LaRosa and co-star Dean Cain, marveled at the caliber of the dancers, and joked that playing a master of the universe required no research given the billionaires strolling his Montecito neighborhood. He noted he is producing and starring in his third Hallmark Channel film and had just wrapped a movie in Italy with Michael Madsen. Hit the Floor airs at 10 p.m. Eastern.Neil then welcomed Dr. Pam Mullarkey Robbins, author of What's So Funny About Dementia?, a counselor and psychologist and four-time caregiver who explained how humor became her survival tool during her mother's Alzheimer's journey, always laughing with the person and never at them. She walked through prevention, the protein BDNF and the habits that support it, diet, exercise, rest, lower stress, and socialization, and named early warning signs like repeated questions and unexplained car damage. Because a caregiver who collapses cannot care for anyone, her counseling starts with the caregiver. Her second book, The Brighter Side of Dementia, collects a hundred reader-submitted stories.Neil then spoke with acclaimed British actor David Morrissey, unforgettable as the Governor on The Walking Dead, about the Starz and BBC thriller The Missing. Morrissey said he treasures the friendships and the visceral response to a character audiences love to hate, then turned to the new season's story of a soldier whose daughter, abducted as a child, walks back into the family's life eleven years later. Told across two timelines, the series follows not the search for a missing child but the harder aftermath of her return, as a delighted father and a suspicious mother are driven apart and a tenacious French detective, Julien Baptiste, played by Tchéky Karyo, reopens the case. Morrissey, who stars opposite Keeley Hawes, reflected on the guilt and grief such a homecoming stirs and the truth that you must be careful what you wish for. He also invited listeners to his Boogaloo Radio music show.The hour closes with a Total Education segment featuring recording artist, television host, and entrepreneur Xzibit. A recording artist since his 1996 debut who went on to work with Dr. Dre, Eminem, and Snoop Dogg and to host Pimp My Ride, Xzibit explained why, as the first millionaire in his family, he chose ownership over mere endorsement, becoming a partner in the Bonita Platinum tequila brand rather than simply lending his name. He detailed a market-by-market rollout built on events and local brand ambassadors, his goal of taking the brand everywhere, and a charitable streak that spans a breast-cancer campaign and homes he has helped build for wounded warriors near San Antonio. He also previewed continued touring behind his album Napalm. Find Billy Baldwin's work on VH1, David Morrissey in The Missing on Starz, and Xzibit's Bonita Platinum tequila as it expands.

Grammy Winner Jermaine Dupri, Actor Chris Mulkey, and Entrepreneur Robin Sims-AllenThis edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with a Total Celebrity conversation with Grammy-winning producer Jermaine Dupri about Lifetime's The Rap Game, returning for a third season with Queen Latifah. Dupri, the So So Def founder behind decades of hits and discoveries from Kris Kross to Bow Wow and Da Brat, explained that finding talent comes down to genuine interest and really listening, and that the rare misses happen only when an artist is not as gifted as they believe. He described The Rap Game as unlike American Idol or The Voice, a hip-hop show built to educate kids roughly twelve to sixteen while their parents watch alongside them, teaching craft, competitiveness, and the culture itself. Looking ahead, Dupri said this season raises the talent bar and brings in more of his celebrity friends, and he shared his deeper hope for the genre: a return to artists with distinct, individual styles. He pointed out that Tupac and Biggie never sounded alike, and that Jay-Z and Nas each carved their own lane, arguing that today's artists sound too similar to become iconic. The season premieres Friday at 10 p.m. Eastern.Neil then welcomed veteran character actor Chris Mulkey for a Celebrity Interviews simulcast from the grotto of co-host Greg Hanna. Mulkey, a self-described lover of playing the bad guy, traced his craft from boyhood in Minnesota, where the AWA wrestling circuit and stars like Verne Gagne first awakened his love of drama, through classical theater training to a screen career of memorable heels. He shared the origins of Hank Jennings on Twin Peaks, drawn from a dangerous, charming ex-convict he once knew, and a harrowing on-set moment during Captain Phillips, filmed off Malta, when he instinctively grabbed a stunt performer back from going over a railing fifty feet above the water. He recalled advice from Clint Eastwood that sent him back to Minnesota to write and star in his own films, Loose Ends and Patty Rocks, both Sundance winners, the latter with his late wife Karen Landry. He reflected on Whiplash, whose family scene was the first shot of a film that won three Academy Awards, and named the Robert Duvall western Broken Trail as his favorite villain role. Mulkey previewed a run of new movies, including the 1990s hair-band comedy Rock Bottom with Jake Bongiovi, plus Far Haven, Deadland, and Long Shadows, and said the most important things in life are family and loyalty to friends. Find his music at chrismulkeymusic.com.The hour closes with a Storehouse Media Group simulcast, hosted by Sherrie, featuring Robin Sims-Allen, founder and CEO of Phoenix Marcus LLC. A tech professional and entrepreneur with 22 years of experience who launched her first company in 2007, Sims-Allen built Phoenix Marcus as an umbrella brand so she would never have to pick a single lane, spanning an organic beauty and franchise venture, a consulting practice, and TotalHER, a women-only platform. She described consulting on process improvement and strategy across industries, from past defense and Amtrak-related work to embedding AI into nearly every current project, and framed her minority- and women-owned firm, based outside Atlanta, around finding problems to solve and working backward from the end goal. TotalHER, she explained, is evolving from a social platform into a future-of-work space for women, letting professionals from fitness and finance to beauty and law build brands and income in one trusted place. Her advice to entrepreneurs was to embrace failure as a lesson, to keep pivoting rather than niching into a corner, to try the exact opposite of your safe bet, and to treat skill-building as ongoing research and development, living by the creed of each one, teach one. TotalHER is live now at totalher.co. Find Jermaine Dupri on The Rap Game and Chris Mulkey's films on Amazon Prime.

This edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with a Total Celebrity conversation with actress Kim Fields, beloved for The Facts of Life and Living Single, about her book and career. Fields, a Steelers fan who competed on Dancing with the Stars alongside Antonio Brown, reflected on nine years, from age nine to eighteen, growing up on The Facts of Life, and on the mentors who shaped her, from co-star Nancy McKeon to Norman Lear, Dick Clark, and Ruby Dee. She credited her longevity to learning her craft, doing theater, and deliberately building backup skills in directing, writing, and producing so that if one hat wasn't working she could put on another, rather than fade into a has-been at eighteen. She also named contemporaries like Nicole Ari Parker and Blair Underwood as peers who sharpen one another, iron sharpening iron. Fields lit up about Living Single finally streaming on Hulu and the flood of fan response, saying she loves how much the fans love the show. Reflecting on a journey from a single-parent home in Harlem to a lasting career, she framed the book less as a look-at-me than a look at all God has done, and encouraged listeners that rock bottom is never the end. Find her book and coffee line, including the Blessed Blend and a binge-watching Binge Blend, at KimFields.com.Neil then welcomed retired DC homicide detective turned author and filmmaker Mitch Credle for a Criminally Good with Jen and Sherrie simulcast, presented by Storehouse Media Group. Credle spent 29 years with DC's Metropolitan Police, some 23 of them in homicide, and traced his path to the veteran detectives he idolized, part Miami Vice, part real-life heroes, before turning to writing and film. His novels Stranger in the Streets and Damaged Roots blend real cases and characters into fiction, and his five films, including the documentaries A Detective Story and 12 Years in Hell on Tubi and Informant on Prime, grew from a passion to tell DC's disappearing history through the people who lived it. He described how the leadership of running a homicide scene, where the detective is effectively in charge of everyone present, translated to directing, and recounted difficult cases including the Banita Jacks tragedy and the Colonel Brooks Tavern killing, where a childhood friend was among the victims and he refused to face the family until arrests were made nine months later. He explained why he casts real families and community members and flags graphic content on screen rather than sugarcoat it, wanting to honor victims and preserve a version of DC that is rapidly vanishing, and praised up-and-coming actors like Mark Scheiss and Michael Anderson from Informant. He previewed a serial-killer script and a new film, Brooklyn, promising untold details of the Colonel Brooks investigation. Find him as Mitch Credle across social media.The hour closes with an AI Office Hours simulcast, where Neil and co-host Pat Riley debated where artificial intelligence is really headed. Neil shared an epiphany that he had been pouring too much time into automation loops that produced data he never used, and both argued that AI's true value is as a productivity multiplier and tool that makes a person sharper, not an autonomous replacement for human judgment. Neil described using AI conversationally as a kind of financial assistant to organize revenue, invoices, and time tracking, while stressing that it still needs a human driving it on a tight leash. They voiced skepticism about the hype around fully automated one-person AI businesses, warned against quitting a job to chase it, and predicted a reckoning for those who over-automate at the expense of their own skills, while agreeing the smart move is to use AI to become better than anyone not using it. Find Kim Fields at KimFields.com and Mitch Credle's films on Tubi and Prime.

This edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with a Caregiver Dave segment, co-hosted by caregiver advocate Dave Nassaney, welcoming astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium, about his book Cosmic Queries: StarTalk's Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We're Going. Tyson explained that his lifelong goal was simply the PhD in astrophysics, and that he sees his public role as serving the public's cosmic curiosity, even fantasizing about slipping quietly back to the lab someday. He argued that a free, pluralistic democracy depends on shared, objectively established scientific truths, that people are free to believe as they wish but that laws should rest on what is demonstrably true, and he warned that tribalism and science denial threaten the country's standing. Asked whether God and science can coexist, Tyson drew a careful distinction between a hands-off creator, a view he tied to the deism of the Founding Fathers, and literal readings that collide with the natural world. He offered the example of the mysteries God lays before Job in the Old Testament, tides, migrations, and more, noting that science has since explained nearly all of them, and cautioned that placing God only in the shrinking gaps of scientific ignorance leaves an ever-receding faith. He described StarTalk as a blend of science, humor, and pop culture, using shared references as a scaffold to make science relevant, and Cosmic Queries as a collection of the deepest questions readers have asked, from why we are here to how it all began and will end. When Nassaney raised caregiving, Tyson reflected on his mother the gerontologist, on caring for aging relatives, and on how longer lifespans have left society, and undervalued caregivers, unprepared. Cosmic Queries is available at booksellers and on Amazon.Neil then welcomed author Paul Shemella, a retired Navy SEAL captain, lecturer, and caregiver whose memoir Into the Mist: An Alzheimer's Journey chronicles his wife Lena's decline and his devotion to her. Shemella explained that dementia is an umbrella term covering roughly a hundred conditions, of which Alzheimer's is the most common, and spoke candidly about learning as he went, eventually placing Lena in memory care and coming to peace with a decision that helped them both. He stressed that up to forty-five percent of dementia cases may be preventable through lifestyle, pointing to diet, exercise, sleep, social connection, and staying intellectually engaged, and urged early attention to warning signs like repeatedly losing things, the value of ruling out reversible mimics before seeing a neurologist, and the promise of newer blood tests and treatments that work best when caught early. His recent Newsweek essay warns the American healthcare system is unprepared for a coming wave, and he shared his mantra of living from one smile to the next. Readers can find him on Substack and on Amazon, where his memoir and earlier novels appear.The program closes with a back-to-school conversation with Vanessa Vakharia, the Toronto-based Math Guru, on setting students up for a distraction-free year. She urged parents to choose tools that do one thing well, noted many states are moving to limit phones in schools, and recommended studying at the kitchen table and starting school-year routines two weeks early. In a segment tied to Texas Instruments, she praised the new TI-84 Evo graphing calculator for its familiar, icon-based screen and, above all, for having no AI and no internet, so students stay on task. Vakharia stressed that math anxiety is not a life sentence, that confidence grows through consistency, and that math, like life, is a step-by-step journey rather than a race to the answer. Find Neil deGrasse Tyson's Cosmic Queries and Paul Shemella's Into the Mist on Amazon, and Vanessa Vakharia's back-to-school picks at education.ti.com/evo.

This edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with a Total Celebrity conversation with WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley about his book Saint Mick: My Journey from Hardcore Legend to Santa's Jolly Elf. Neil, a former pro wrestler himself, thanked Foley for once steering him toward promoter Bert Prentice and the independent circuit early in his own career. Foley reflected on a run that exceeded even his own expectations, from grinding out a 58-minute match in front of just 25 people in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to stardom in WCW and the WWF, and shared the lesson that it is not the size of the crowd but the impact you have on the people in the room. That same conviction, he said, drives his six years portraying Santa Claus, and he told a moving story about a Christmas Eve visit to a young cancer patient on Long Island, whose transformation he ranked among the finest moments of his career. Foley explained that he wrote the book himself, partly for his children, and credited Stephanie McMahon with convincing him the offbeat, touching Christmas tale could reach beyond wrestling fans. He previewed his 20 Years of Hell tour, built around bringing that infamous match back to life. Find him at realmickfoley.com.Neil then turned to a J Len Sciuto Show simulcast, where the retired Coast Guard officer and thriller author offered his own geopolitical analysis, opening, as he noted, with a disclaimer that it is opinion and discussion drawn from public reporting rather than settled fact. He walked through his reading of tensions around Iran's nuclear program and a fortified mountain site near the Natanz facility, the risk of the Houthis widening the conflict, and the military scenarios he fears could follow, while also touching the Abraham Accords, the long U.S. history of regime-change operations, and rising oil prices. Drawing on 36 years in the Coast Guard, he tied the themes to his bestselling submarine thriller Hades Crypt and a coming sequel, Desperate Countermeasures, noting that a large share of his book royalties supports junior enlisted service members. Reach him at jlenscuto.com.Neil then welcomed the legendary Suzanne Somers, author of Two's Company: A 50-Year Romance with Lessons Learned in Love, Life, and Business. Somers shared the story of meeting her husband, Canadian television star Alan Hamel, on a San Francisco game-show set, and of a partnership so close the two have not spent a night apart in decades while also running a business together. She recounted her rise on Three's Company, being fired after seeking pay equal to the men on the number-one show, and the smear campaign that followed, then how she and Hamel refused to dwell on what she had lost and instead branded Suzanne Somers, from the ThighMaster to headlining Las Vegas. Her throughline was simple: problems do not define you, how you respond to them does, and the goal is to turn setbacks into opportunities. Find her at SuzanneSomers.com.The hour closes with actor and director Mario Van Peebles on Syfy's Superstition, in which he writes, directs, produces, and stars alongside his daughter Morgana. Van Peebles described growing up in the Van Peebles independent-film family as an apprenticeship in every job on a set, from cables and lighting to directing, so that wearing many hats now feels natural. He pitched Superstition as the story of a loving Southern family in the funeral business, running the Hastings Funeral Home, who battle demons rising as humanity does more damage to the planet, each episode built around a different piece of Gothic Americana. He shared bits of his father Melvin's wisdom, that luck is preparation meeting opportunity, and that it is not what you face but how you face it that reveals you. Find Mick Foley's Saint Mick and Suzanne Somers' Two's Company in bookstores, Jay Len Sciuto at jlenscuto.com, and Mario Van Peebles on Superstition.

Ben Stein on The Capitalist Code, Author Todd R. Mitchell Jr., and GildaGram with Dr. Gilda CarleThis edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with a Total Celebrity conversation with economist, author, and actor Ben Stein about his book The Capitalist Code: It Can Save Your Life and Make You Very Rich. Stein traced his belief in owning capital back to his father, a prominent free-market economist, and to a family shaped by the Great Depression, arguing that owning capital, not just labor, is what gives ordinary people security. His central message was refreshingly simple: most people will never beat the market by picking stocks, so the smart move is to steadily buy a low-cost S&P 500 index fund and let compounding do the work over decades. He pointed to Social Security as far too thin to rely on, even for high earners, and framed buying the index as effectively owning a microscopic share of all American business without the headaches of running one. He urged listeners to start young and put investing on autopilot, predicting the market's next move is likely down before it climbs higher, and shared that Warren Buffett, whom he called a friend, endorsed the book by saying its readers need no other guide to investing. Stein balanced the financial talk with reflections on living for today as well as tomorrow, on order and discipline as keys to happiness, and on his gratitude for America, and he previewed a coming project on sobriety drawn from his years in recovery and his losses of friends and relatives to addiction. The advice is his own; listeners should weigh it for their own situation.Neil then welcomed author Todd R. Mitchell Jr., joined by his fiancee, to talk about his book Never Gave Up. A gifted athlete who earned a college basketball scholarship without ever playing a high school game and went on to eight years of arena football, Mitchell described how alcoholism shadowed every opportunity and closed door after door. Asked where he would be had he reached the NBA or NFL, he did not hesitate: homeless, broke, or dead, because the money would have arrived long before he reached the root of the problem. He traced a hard road through homelessness, incarceration, and car accidents, including spending his father's last twenty dollars on alcohol instead of food, and credited his turnaround to faith and to a partner who visited him every day during rehab and stood by him through relapse, understanding that recovery is a process rather than a single decision. His daughter, and the disappointment on her face one difficult day in Atlanta, became another anchor, and he spoke about the patience and grace it took his fiancee to walk beside him without giving up. Today Mitchell has finished school, earned a film production degree from Miami Dade College, and launched Born From The Ashes Mitchell Production Studios in Jacksonville. He and Neil went deep on the question every retired athlete faces, what you build once the crowd noise stops. Never Gave Up is available on Amazon, where it has been a number-one new release.The hour closes with two GildaGram simulcasts featuring co-host Dr. Gilda Carle, author of Real Men Don't Go Woke. In the first, Carle discussed the themes of her book, which she frames as an examination of male mental health and a rising rate of suicide among men and, increasingly, boys, arguing that men are being discouraged from speaking up and expressing themselves; she illustrated the point through Will Smith and responded directly to online critics of her work. In the second, she offered her take on a viral story about a workplace romance caught on camera, using it to talk through questions of power dynamics, consent, and consequences when a relationship crosses lines of authority. Find Ben Stein's The Capitalist Code and Todd R. Mitchell Jr.'s Never Gave Up on Amazon, and Dr. Gilda Carle's Real Men Don't Go Woke wherever books are sold.

The Mike Vilardi ShowEpisode Title: William McNamara on “The Trouble with Billy,” Hollywood Survival, and Independent TelevisionEpisode SummaryIn this episode of The Mike Vilardi Show, Mike Vilardi and Neil “The Media Giant” Haley welcome actor, writer, director, and producer William “Billy” McNamara. Known for Copycat, Chasers, Stealing Home, Dream a Little Dream, and Surviving the Game, McNamara shares the journey behind his independent series, The Trouble with Billy.Billy wrote, directed, produced, and starred in ten episodes—roughly 300 minutes of television—while navigating limited resources, legal complications, union disputes, and a changing streaming industry. Season One is now available on Red Coral Universe.The series is loosely inspired by McNamara's life but greatly exaggerated. His character is a former 1980s actor who believes aliens abducted him and returned him to Hollywood after ten years.Nobody remembers him. He sleeps on his niece's couch. After hosting Alien Abductees Anonymous, he is thrown out and forced to live in a 1998 Chevrolet Monte Carlo with his sick pit bull.Billy must raise $15,000 for the dog's heart transplant. Every time life improves, another bad decision sends him crashing down. The show combines Hollywood satire, alien-abduction comedy, homelessness, friendship, and determination.The first season includes ten episodes, about 150 actors, and more than 75 locations. Featured performers include Billy Baldwin, Angus Macfadyen, Costas Mandylor, Tom Sizemore, Sally Kirkland, and Robert Wagner.Billy says many people doubted he could complete such an ambitious independent production, but he refused to quit.The series was delayed by a Screen Actors Guild dispute involving pension and health contributions. The issue prevented Billy from selling the show and resulted in a two-year legal fight.By the time the legal issues were resolved, streaming had shifted toward advertising-revenue deals, vertical content, and lower-cost programming.Billy eventually connected with producer Larry Meistrich and Red Coral Universe, which released the show on a non-exclusive basis. The platform is available through Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, and smart televisions.Billy is developing Season Two and working with investors, brands, and production partners. A New Jersey bank may finance part of the production through a New York State rebate, while Red Coral explores sponsorships and minimum guarantees.Billy discusses the unexpected revival of Copycat, the thriller starring Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter. When it began trending internationally on Netflix, his IMDb ranking jumped to 161, and he gained thousands of social-media followers overnight.Other career highlights include Stealing Home, Dream a Little Dream, Doing Time on Maple Drive, Surviving the Game, Chasers, and Beggars and Choosers.Billy says Doing Time on Maple Drive remains especially meaningful because viewers still tell him how the film helped them discuss sexuality and family struggles.After more than three decades as a working actor, Billy now prefers writing, directing, and producing. He stepped away from auditions to focus on The Trouble with Billy.The conversation also creates possible collaborations involving the Radiate TV Film Festival, Red Coral Universe, and distribution partnerships. Neil invites Billy to join an upcoming Hollywood panel.Website: TheTroubleWithBilly.comInstagram: @WilliamMcNamara108Watch: The Trouble with Billy on Red Coral UniverseHosted by: Mike Vilardi and Neil “The Media Giant” HaleyGuest: William McNamaraProduced by: Media Giant ProductionsThe Trouble with BillyBuilding the Series Against the OddsSAG Dispute and DistributionSeason Two PlansCopycat Finds a New AudienceFrom Actor to CreatorConnect with William McNamara

This edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with a Total Celebrity conversation with actor Philip Winchester about bringing his Chicago Justice character, prosecutor Peter Stone, over to Law & Order: SVU. Winchester explained that Dick Wolf revived the character after Justice ended, dropping Stone into New York around a right-to-die case and the death of his father, and pulling him in through Sam Waterston's Jack McCoy. Where Justice kept Stone in the courtroom, SVU digs into the man himself, his brokenness, family secrets, and the pressure of joining a team that does not want him there. Winchester described Stone as someone who sees the law in black and white after years in homicide, only to discover that the SVU world is anything but, as victims forget, are coerced, or are impaired, and Olivia Benson begrudgingly takes him under her wing. He credited the writing staff, including Michael Chernuchin and others with legal backgrounds, for the impassioned closing arguments and for teaching him a subject entirely new to him, and he pointed to the show's long run as proof that audiences respond to flawed people who still find the strength to do right. His arc airs on SVU at 9 p.m. Eastern, and he can be found by searching his name online.Neil then welcomed recurring host Dr. Robert E. Marx, the internationally recognized oral and maxillofacial surgeon and author, for two segments on The Dr. Robert E. Marx Show. In the first, Marx offered an educational take on the military's plan to test troops' testosterone levels and offer replacement therapy to those who test low, arguing the program is medically supervised, dose-controlled, and a matter of choice, and calling much of the political criticism uninformed. He distinguished replacement therapy from the super-physiologic doses that gave steroids their bad name, walked through the balance of testosterone and estrogen in both sexes, and tied a generational decline in men's testosterone to dyes and additives in the food and drug supply, praising the current direction on those issues. In a lighter second segment, Marx reviewed the FIFA World Cup, calling Spain a deserving champion over Argentina, praising the tournament as a security and economic success for the United States, and playfully knocking soccer's tendency toward theatrical flopping, suggesting the sport adopt hockey's embellishment penalty. He noted the growth potential for the game as NIL money reaches college sports. His book, 28 Life-Changing Patients, is on Amazon, and he previewed lectures in Winnipeg, New Jersey, and Aventura, Florida.The hour closed with a Criminally Good with Jen and Sherrie simulcast, presented by Storehouse Media Group, featuring Wade Williamson, host of the Crime and Entertainment podcast, who lived the kind of story true crime usually only reports. Williamson recounted a late-night confrontation in his South Carolina home with a man connected to his estranged, and now reconciled, wife, an encounter that stayed civil for hours before turning violent. Licensed to carry and recovering from recent back surgery, he fired in self-defense when the man attacked and threatened his life, then immediately called 911, only to be charged with murder days later and to face the possibility of life in prison. He described a roughly five-year ordeal, dragged out by COVID, that cost him a fifteen-year job, drained his retirement savings, and ran up steep legal bills, until high-profile Charleston attorney Andy Savage helped clear his name in what Savage called a clean shoot. Williamson explained how launching his podcast while on house arrest became his therapy and outlet, and ultimately his path forward, and noted that he and his wife came through the ordeal still together. Find Philip Winchester's work on Law & Order: SVU, Dr. Robert E. Marx's 28 Life-Changing Patients on Amazon, and Wade Williamson's Crime and Entertainment podcast wherever you listen.

NeverEnding Story's Tami Stronach, plus Mina Valentine, AI Office Hours with Pat Riley, Grace Lynx Jenkins, and Ryan Aguas of Reignstorm GroupThis edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with actress and dancer Tami Stronach, who at ten played the Childlike Empress in Wolfgang Petersen's 1984 classic The NeverEnding Story and has since come full circle to family entertainment. Stronach walked Neil through an audition process that ran from San Francisco to Los Angeles to a final nerve-wracking callback at Bavaria Studios in Germany, where she learned she had the role the next day. She recalled reading Michael Ende's novel as a ten-year-old to prepare, the long days on a set she loved, and crediting Petersen above all for helping her fully believe in each scene. Though her screen time was brief, her character became one of the film's most remembered, and Stronach reflected on how the experience left her with a lifelong soft spot for fantasy, which she believes lets us digest hard truths from a safer, more open place. She explained the family decision to step away from celebrity as a child, in part because the scripts that followed did not speak to her and some carried violence or nudity she wanted no part of at eleven, choosing dance instead, studying at SUNY Purchase, running her own company for two decades, and later teaching at Marymount Manhattan College. Having her daughter Maya pulled everything together into Paper Canoe Company, the family entertainment venture she now runs with her husband, complete with puppetry that echoes the film. She is also returning to the screen in the meta indie film Ultra Low, in which the cast plays themselves, and is choreographing a video for the company's album. After years out of the spotlight, she is embracing fans again at Comic Cons.The hour continued with a simulcast of The Mina Valentine Show, where the historical romance author, recovering from recent surgery, shared her gratitude to readers and her eagerness to get back to writing. She described plotting a new storyline from her hospital bed, the painstaking historical research behind her London-set novels, and the days when a story simply pours out. Her books are available at MinaValentin.com, with autographed copies on request.Neil then turned to two conversations about artificial intelligence. In AI Office Hours with co-host Pat Riley, the two argued that AI's real power lies in making a person superhuman as an assistant and brainstorming partner rather than replacing employees through autonomous agents, comparing the current wave of one-person "AI businesses" to hype that will not sustain itself, and cautioning against quitting a job to chase it without a real brand or product. That theme carried into a visit with bestselling author Grace Lynx Jenkins, who ran her own thriller through AI tools for analysis and found the feedback, strengths in character-driven, psychological suspense and a note to work on pacing, matched her instincts, alongside a comparison to bestselling novelist Dean Koontz. Both agreed AI should sharpen an artist's work, never create it, and that creativity remains human. Find her at gracelynksjenkins.com.The program closes with a Reignstorm Radio Show simulcast featuring co-host Ryan Aguas on his role at Reignstorm Group, the financial firm founded by his father. Aguas explained how his MBA and media background drew him in as director of network development, bringing brand-building to a financial world he says underuses it, and walked through the firm's approach to tax-saving and wealth-building strategies, from a student-loan payoff method to the case for saving and planning young. He stressed the value of talking to advisors, accountants, and business owners rather than navigating a tax code of tens of thousands of pages alone. Reach him at reignstormmediagroup.com. Find Tami Stronach's work through Paper Canoe Company, Mina Valentine at MinaValentin.com, and Grace Lynx Jenkins at gracelynksjenkins.com.

This edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with a Celebrity Interviews simulcast from the Grotto, co-hosted by Greg Hanna, welcoming actor, author, and martial artist Ron Thomas, who played Bobby Brown in The Karate Kid and returned to the role in Cobra Kai. Thomas shared the story he loves to tell, that he was already a second-degree black belt when he auditioned and was told to keep quiet about it because producers wanted actors first, and that stunt coordinator Pat Johnson later trusted him to choreograph his own tournament fight scenes. He described Bobby as the good bad guy who knew when a line had been crossed, pointing to a cut scene in which he throws his belt at Kreese's feet and walks out, and explained how the Cobra Kai creators reimagined Bobby as a pastor still trying to do right. A favorite memory was driving Pat Morita across the valley to surprise the students at his old dojo. Thomas, a former world-champion sport jujitsu competitor, also discussed his kids' TED Talk on focus and screen time, inspired by prying his daughter away from her devices, his book The Hidden Life Lessons of Mr. Miyagi, and a new children's personal-development series. His message: never stop growing and creating. Find him at SenseiRonThomas.com.Neil then welcomed retired NYPD detectives Tom Smith and Dan Murphy, hosts of the Gold Shields podcast, in a Criminally Good with Sherrie and Jen simulcast presented by Storehouse Media Group. With more than fifty years of combined experience, the two met on the Bronx Gang Squad some twenty-five years ago and built a guest-centric true-crime show, now past 170 episodes, that keeps the focus on the detectives who lived the cases rather than on themselves. They traced its origins to a desire to restore respect for law enforcement, recalled meeting Neil's hosts at CrimeCon, and singled out standout episodes, including a challenge from former Chief of Department Louis Anemone that led them to the 1940 World's Fair bombing, the only unsolved line-of-duty homicide in NYPD history, and the Emanuela Orlandi Vatican case, recorded in English and Italian. Guests have ranged from Bundy survivor Kathy Kleiner to Taya Kyle and a Navy SEAL who led a team on the bin Laden raid. The pair also introduced Impact, their patent-protected, food-grade alternative to pepper spray now used by more than a hundred departments, at carryimpact.com. Find the show at thegoldshieldshow.com.The hour continued with a back-to-school conversation with Vanessa Vakharia, the Toronto-based Math Guru, on setting students up for a distraction-free year. She urged parents to be intentional about tools, choosing devices that do one thing well, and noted that many states are moving to limit phones in schools. Her practical advice included studying at the kitchen or dining table rather than the bedroom, and starting school-year routines a good two weeks early. In a segment tied to Texas Instruments, she praised the new TI-84 Evo graphing calculator for its familiar, icon-based screen and, above all, for what it lacks, no AI and no internet, so students stay on task and build the tool familiarity that research links to better test performance. Vakharia stressed that math anxiety is not a life sentence, that confidence grows through consistency, and that math, like life, is about the step-by-step journey rather than the destination, a theme Neil echoed from his own years teaching math. Details are at education.ti.com/evo.The program closes with a GildaGram simulcast where co-host Dr. Gilda Carle, author of Real Men Don't Go Woke, turned to men's health, arguing that men too often avoid asking for help and should be viewed as a whole system rather than just muscles and testosterone. She began walking through her ten ways men can optimize their health, starting with annual checkups and knowing your key numbers.

This edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with a Total Celebrity conversation with Today Show weatherman Al Roker, who walked Neil through the pre-dawn routine behind live morning television. He is up around 3:45, on the phone with his meteorologist comparing models, maps, and notes before heading to the studio by about 5:45 for the two-hour broadcast, and he admitted he never quite manages to get to bed on time. Roker turned to his Hallmark Movies and Mysteries film, The Morning Show Mystery: Murder on the Menu, part of a series drawn from his own mystery novels, in which his chef and morning-show-host character Billy Blessing, reimagined for the screen and played by Holly Robinson Peete, is pulled into clearing a rival celebrity chef accused of murder while navigating a will-they-won't-they with a homicide detective she once dated. He praised Hallmark's family-friendly throwback tone, a nod to Matlock and Murder She Wrote, talked up live-tweeting alongside viewers, and, writing his recent books on an iPad in airports and on planes, reflected on how reading and writing became twin passions. The film airs Sunday at 9 p.m. Eastern.Neil then welcomed physician and author Dr. Paul Corona, known as the Doctor for Depression, whose Mind and Body Healing approach argues that mental and physical health are inseparable. He laid out the principles at the heart of his Corona Protocol: recognizing the mind-body connection, and how stress surfaces as real physical symptoms; reading the full spectrum of conditions such as bipolar disorder rather than the popular caricature of it; and aiming for genuine remission, patients feeling fully like themselves again, rather than settling for Band-Aid symptom relief. Corona stressed careful history-taking over rushed prescriptions, close individualized follow-up, and getting to root causes, and he addressed the criticism his outspokenness draws by framing his stance as pro-patient rather than anti-medication. His books range from the Healing the Mind and Body trilogy to The Corona Protocol and its Prescriber's Guide for clinicians, and his reality series The Dr. Paul Show streams on Roku, Amazon Fire, and YouTube. He can be found at drpaulcoronamd.com, and Neil floated featuring the show on Rayd8 Television.The hour continued with author and coach David Chametzky, host of Peace, Love and Bring a Bat, who returned with a health-driven update. What he assumed was simple extra weight turned out to include serious heart blockages, a wake-up call that has him twenty pounds down and refocused on wellness. A ghostwriter with a stack of finished manuscripts now in the edit queue, Chametzky made the case for authenticity over shiny-object promises, urging people to build their own book and brand rather than chase compilation projects and hollow bestseller badges, and framing real leadership as leaving an impact even after you have left the room. He described relaunching his podcast with thirteen episodes at once, partnering with Neil's Media Giant operation, and offering anyone who reaches out a free half hour to map out speaking, a book, or a podcast of their own.The hour also carried a Wounded Sisters simulcast with bestselling author and nurse Mary Shearer Eckert, who encouraged listeners not to let the past define them, to forgive themselves and move forward, chase their bucket lists as she did by skydiving at seventy, and find joy in the journey rather than the destination. Her novel Wounded Sisters, set in the rugged beauty of West Texas, has a sequel she expects to finish by the end of summer. The program closes with a Singularity simulcast where host and author Gary Lyon Otto explored where computing heads next, contrasting digital, quantum, and analog systems and marveling that the human brain does holographic, analog work on a tiny fraction of the power a data center demands.

This edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with a Total Celebrity Show conversation with Pro Football Hall of Famer and Miami Dolphins legend Dan Marino, joining live from a Microsoft Store grand opening in Boca Raton, Florida. Marino took Neil back to his hometown roots in Pittsburgh, where he grew up in Oakland blocks from the University of Pittsburgh, attended Central Catholic, and felt he had no other choice but to play for Pitt. He relived the Sugar Bowl against Herschel Walker's Georgia, recalling the fourth-down touchdown he threw to his friend "Downtown" John Brown in the closing minute to win it, a play coach Jackie Sherrill has often retold, and he noted the kicker's range that day left going for it as the better call. Marino spoke warmly about the Dan Marino Foundation and Marino Campus, where students build life skills, and about Microsoft's support of the school and of South Florida groups including the Boys and Girls Club and area museums. Asked about Xbox, he joked that his favorite game is Madden, for the simple reason that he is in it, and he pointed listeners to marinocampus.org and danmarinofoundation.org.Neil then welcomed author Paul Shemella, a retired Navy SEAL captain, lecturer, and caregiver whose memoir Into the Mist: An Alzheimer's Journey chronicles his wife Lena's decline and his devotion to her. Shemella explained that dementia is an umbrella term covering roughly a hundred conditions, of which Alzheimer's is the most common, with vascular, Lewy body, and frontotemporal, the form Bruce Willis has, among the others. He spoke candidly about learning as he went, treating a brilliant, independent woman as she declined toward the mind of a child, eventually placing Lena in memory care and coming to peace with a decision that helped them both. Lena, born in Germany and bombed as a small child at the end of World War II, carried that trauma for life, and Shemella suspects it played a role in her disease. He stressed that up to forty-five percent of dementia cases may be preventable through lifestyle, pointing to diet, exercise, sleep, social connection, and staying intellectually engaged rather than shriveling up after retirement. He urged early attention to warning signs like losing wallets and repeated forgetfulness, the value of ruling out reversible mimics before seeing a neurologist, and the promise of newer blood tests, PET scans, and treatments that work best when caught early. His recent Newsweek essay warns that the American healthcare system is unprepared for a coming wave, and he shared his own mantra of living from one smile to the next. Readers can find him at paulshemella.substack.com and on Amazon, where his memoir and earlier novels appear.The hour continued with a simulcast of the Mitchell S. Karnes podcast, where the Christian crime-thriller author gave Neil an update on the Water Grave film adaptation. His Kickstarter closed a third above target, raising roughly twenty thousand dollars against a fifteen-thousand goal, with pilot filming set for August 10 and additional cast and investors coming aboard. Karnes described a two-night hotel writing retreat, free of distractions, that produced 104 pages and a finished novella draft, his plotter's approach to seeding red herrings and real clues for Nashville homicide detective Abbey Rhodes to chase, and his decision to retitle the fifth book Closure for the double dose of resolution it delivers. He previewed signings at The Spine Bookshop in Smyrna and Landmark Booksellers, plus an appearance at the Killer Nashville conference near Franklin, and invited listeners to follow his weekly podcast on the writing process. Signed copies are available at mitchellskarnesauthor.com.The hour closes with a GildaGram simulcast where co-host Dr. Gilda Carle, author of Real Men Don't Go Woke, offered pointed commentary on new figures showing a record number of Americans counted as not in the labor force, connecting the trend to themes from her book.

This edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with a Celebrity Interviews simulcast from the grotto and actor Nathan Gamble, whose new faith-based comedy Bad Counselors reaches theaters this week. Gamble described a career that ran the classic actor's arc in reverse. His second-ever audition landed him the role of Brad Pitt's son in Babel, a Best Picture nominee, at just seven years old, and steady work followed in The Mist, Marley & Me, The Dark Knight, and both Dolphin Tale films. He explained to Neil, himself a former professional wrestler, how completely his identity fused with the work, so that a stretch without booking left him feeling not like Nathan between jobs but Nathan the failed actor. By nineteen he was living alone in Los Angeles, isolated and at his lowest point, until a series of phone calls from the dean of a Ventura Bible college drew him to visit. The peace and joy he saw in those students, none of whom had the career he prized, unsettled and eventually changed him, and he stepped away from Hollywood for seven years.Gamble framed that stretch through the image of getting the Egypt out of your heart rather than merely leaving Egypt, using the time to loosen his ego's grip on acting until he could say honestly that he would be fine if he never acted again. He worked a long list of ordinary jobs, from newspaper writing to drywall and landscaping to teaching, and found real fulfillment in the conviction that his calling was larger than his career. When he returned, it was not to chase only faith-based films but to be a presence on any set, and he pointed to Kevin Sorbo, alongside whom he has filmed and whose son Braeden Neil has interviewed, as a model of an actor who works constantly without being boxed in. On Bad Counselors, directed by Chris Dowling, Gamble plays Dallas, the youth pastor who senses that two frat brothers posing as camp counselors to work off community service are frauds. He praised a cast that includes Matt Cornett, Ramon Reed, Brec Bassinger, McKaley Miller, Chris Klein, and Missi Pyle, and previewed his co-created project Bible College and the coming film Miracle on the Precipice. Asked the show's signature question, he named loving God and loving people, and being the best husband to his wife Hannah, as the things that matter most.Neil then welcomed author, podcaster, and life coach Jayson Blair for a Criminally Good with Sherrie and Jen simulcast, presented by Storehouse Media Group. Blair spoke candidly about the 2003 New York Times fabrication and plagiarism scandal that ended his journalism career, a bipolar diagnosis that followed, and the long road through the mental health field as a volunteer, clinician, and coach. That work, and a colleague's persistence, led to his podcast The Silver Linings Handbook, named for the film he loves and for his belief that hard-won lessons come through suffering. Blair described interviewing not as a checklist but as following where a guest's heart pulls, building trust so people can be vulnerable, and leaving in the pauses because a silence can reveal more than words. He reframed true crime as human stories about shared suffering, recalling Jill Harrington turning unfathomable loss into something like clay you can build with, and argued that true crime is less a gateway to sensationalism than a gateway to helping. He discussed his memoir Burning Down My Master's House, his Substacks The True Crime Times and The Center Holds, and his conviction that no one should be forgotten in a second death.The hour closes with a GildaGram simulcast where co-host Dr. Gilda Carle, author of Real Men Don't Go Woke, weighs how to handle online negativity and shares that six European countries are pulling tablets from classrooms and returning to printed books, citing drops in reading, memory, and concentration. Find Bad Counselors in theaters now, and Jayson Blair at silverliningshandbook.com.

Hour two of The Neil Haley Show opens with Todd R. Mitchell Jr., author of Never Gave Up (Reclaimed My Life), joined by his fiancee Tanya Weiner. Todd grew up moving constantly as a military family child, uprooted from the north to the south, and chased belonging in ways that pulled him toward trouble and, eventually, alcoholism. He was an exceptional athlete who earned a full college scholarship without ever playing a single high school basketball game, spotted dunking in a pickup game. He played at Piedmont College in Georgia and was headed to the University of Florida before the drinking derailed the transfer, then played eight years of arena football. Asked where he would be had he reached the NBA or NFL, Todd did not hesitate: homeless, broke, or dead, because the money would have arrived long before he reached the root of the problem. He described watching door after door open through basketball, football, and later film, and closing each one himself because he carried the alcohol into every city and every team.Todd traced the bottom honestly: homelessness, incarceration, repeated car accidents, and the last twenty dollars his father sent him spent on alcohol instead of food. He explained that drinking was never the celebration it looked like but a cover for everything he did not want to feel, and that the hardest part was accepting he could not blame anyone else. The turning point came when he felt his faith slipping and believed God had stopped opening doors. Tanya, who met him at the start of his rehab process and visited every day, spoke candidly about what it takes to stand beside someone in recovery, that relapse is part of a process rather than a failure of will, and that the person hurting most is the one who fell. Todd also spoke about his daughter, and the look on her face one day in Atlanta that he has never forgotten. Today he has finished school, earned a film production degree from Miami Dade College, and launched Born From The Ashes Mitchell Production Studios in Jacksonville. Neil and Todd went deep on the question facing every retired athlete, which is what you build once the crowd noise stops, a subject Neil knows firsthand from his own pro wrestling career.Neil then welcomed Dr. Pam Mullarkey Robbins, author of What's So Funny About Dementia?, in a segment presented with Books to Life Marketing. A counselor and psychologist who has been a caregiver four times, Dr. Pam explained why humor became her survival tool during her mother's Alzheimer's journey. She and her father made a deliberate decision to look for what was funny, and she is emphatic that the laughter is with the person, never at them. She shared the story of her mother refusing to let her in the house because she was convinced Pam was her husband's girlfriend, and how a high school graduation photo held up to her face briefly bridged the gap. Each chapter pairs a story with practical guidance, and her counseling work starts with the caregiver, because a caregiver who collapses cannot care for anyone.The conversation turned practical on prevention. Dr. Pam walked through the protein BDNF and the five habits that support it, diet, exercise, rest, lower stress, and socialization, and named early warning signs worth watching, especially repeated questions and unexplained damage to a car. She discussed why isolation is the worst response to a diagnosis, why sugar works against brain health, and why she believes the roughly seventy percent female incidence rate will eventually trace back to menopause. At 79, with Alzheimer's on both sides of her family, she is living proof of her own advice. Neil added his own recommendation to keep the mind sharp after retirement by learning to work with AI. Her second book, The Brighter Side of Dementia, collects a hundred reader-submitted stories.

This edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with a special simulcast of Criminally Good with Sherrie and Jen, the Storehouse Media Group podcast, welcoming Matthew Cox, the former licensed mortgage broker turned nationally recognized expert on white collar crime. Cox built his criminal career around synthetic identities and the fraudulent acquisition of credit cards, personal loans and mortgages, landed on the Secret Service Most Wanted list, and served 13 years in federal prison. Today he hosts Inside True Crime, interviewing law enforcement, journalists and former criminals. Cox opened up about the writing career he started behind bars, the life rights he has optioned, and the persistent confusion around War Dogs, the film based on Guy Lawson's Rolling Stone article. Cox was incarcerated with Efraim Diveroli, the figure played by Jonah Hill, and ghostwrote and sold Diveroli's memoir, but had no hand in the movie. His own memoir, Shark in the Housing Pool, has been optioned several times across seven years without reaching production, and Cox explained why he refuses to build a life around waiting on Hollywood.The conversation turned into a candid masterclass on podcast growth. Cox has built Inside True Crime to 1.1 million YouTube subscribers in roughly six years, tracing the arc from filming himself on an iPhone, to one video a week, to a full in-studio operation producing three long-form episodes a week plus daily shorts. He explained why AdSense outperforms outside sponsors for a true crime show, and how shorts and reels drove his biggest surge. Neil pushed him on volume, recommending a more aggressive shorts schedule, and shared how NHL Wraparound is capturing summer hockey attention with former New York Rangers general manager Neil Smith. Cox also detailed going from begging guests to appear to fielding more submissions than he can book, and why storytelling ability matters more to him than the size of the crime.Cox was equally direct about the harder material, describing how he bristled at the first articles written about him before accepting that the con man label fit, and came to terms with how Dateline and American Greed portrayed him. Rewriting his memoir forced an honest accounting, and by his release he had decided to tell his story exactly as it happened regardless of how it made him look. Sherrie, drawing on 32 years in law enforcement, credited him for paying court-ordered restitution when most people in the federal system never bother, and for avoiding recidivism. Cox also discussed launching additional channels, including The Murder Man, which monetized in about nine days, and the painting career that kept him afloat after the halfway house. He still paints today.Neil then welcomed poet, recording artist and author MJ Bop, whose work blends storytelling, music and spoken word. Bop won a poetry award in second grade, earned an XXL Magazine Hip-Hop Quotable in 1999, released the single You Don't Hear Me, and performed throughout New York City before touring Switzerland and Japan. He cited Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Kool G Rap, Slick Rick and Cam'ron as influences, and spoke movingly about the stroke and heart attack he suffered in 2023, which erased his memory of rhyming and forced him to relearn himself, deepening his faith and resetting his priorities. Bop discussed his book Bop Poetry, Writer of the Black Experience, drawn from the struggles, dreams and shackled hopes he sees in his own neighborhood, his clothing brand Writers Wear, created to make writing cool for young people, and his upcoming book Losing Myself to Find Myself.The program closes with The Mike Vilardi Show, where Neil and Mike Vilardi discussed the reported bounty on President Trump, the Ayatollah's funeral, the assumptions that shaped the recent conflict with Iran, and Vilardi's view that ideological fractures will split the Democratic Party. Find Cox at Inside True Crime on Instagram,

Neil opened the Total Celebrity segment with a re-aired call from Australia (9:30 PM local time) with Jurassic Park's Sam Neill on the New Zealand feature Hunt for the Wilderpeople from Boy and What We Do in the Shadows director Taika Waititi, then in select theaters. Sam played Hec, the grumpy old geezer paired against Julian Dennison's Ricky, a hip-hop-raised Māori foster kid who lands with Sam's isolated New Zealand couple as his last resort before tragedy strikes and the two end up on the run in the bush. Sam described the film as unsellable to genre (technically a comedy, but the emotional payoff is a warmth he had never gotten back on any of his previous credits), pointed to the Flight of the Conchords lineage that Taika comes out of, flagged its 100 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating, and the audience awards it kept collecting festival to festival. His wine label Two Paddocks is at TwoPaddocks.com and he is at @TwoPaddocks on Twitter; the film lives at #WilderPeople and Facebook.com/ForTheWilderPeople.Neil then welcomed retired first responder James Meuer, brought in by Books to Life Marketing, for his memoir Damaged: A First Responder's Experiences with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. James defined PTSD as a normal response to abnormal situations (a brain-based amygdala injury, not a physical wound), walked Neil through his own symptom cluster (unexplained explosions of anger over a dropped spoon, sleep loss, nightmares that replay calls, the "deer in the headlights" freeze his wife learned to recognize, hypervigilance he still cannot switch off in restaurants or in his own shop, and the pain-medication and alcohol addictions that followed a broken back and four or five broken hands from punching walls), the coping stack that finally worked for him (a PTSD service dog from Texas, part Great Dane part Dutch Shepherd; woodworking as therapy in his garage shop; music from Evanescence to Meghan Trainor to the Backstreet Boys at bedtime; and a fourth marriage to a wife who found him the dog), and the pivotal 1988 pediatric call that stayed with him through the rest of a 1986-2011 career until he found the little girl's memorial page in 2018, left a note as the paramedic who was there that day, and two weeks later heard from her mother, who sat down with him and released him from decades of guilt. His through-line: asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness, and no first responder is 10 feet tall and bulletproof. Pick up Damaged on Amazon or email him at damagedthebook@outlook.com.Neil closed with the Dr. Robert E. Marx Show simulcast, on which oral and maxillofacial surgeon Dr. Marx welcomed his former University of Miami chief of dentistry and dental implantology, Dr. Arun Garg, DMD, founder and president of Implant Seminars and the International Dental Implant Association out of Aventura, Florida, for a full consumer-facing walkthrough of dental implants in 2026. Dr. Garg traced the discipline's arc from a few thousand specialists two decades ago to more than 100,000 general dentists offering implants today, warned that the pendulum has swung to marketing-driven, promotion-heavy offices where the patient must ask sharper questions (how many cases like mine, what training on this load protocol, do you have a hygienist and a real maintenance recall, how long has your team been here), and walked Neil through the full price ladder (from a $1,000 upper or lower denture through a snap-in overdenture on two-to-four implants, up through the $17,000-30,000 per arch screw-in prosthesis, and finally to eight individual implants with three-tooth bridges at roughly 20-30 percent more, which most closely mimics natural teeth). He and Dr. Marx flagged screw fatigue on the tiny watch-size retention screws (take the whole prosthesis out every two years to clean and re-screw rather than waiting for a break),

On this episode of The Neil Haley Show, Neil The Media Giant Haley sits down with the creative team behind "Kevin's Series of Unfortunate Events," the buzzy comedy episode making its world premiere at the 2026 Tribeca Festival. Joining Neil are director and co-creator Rex Glensy, writer and co-creator Asad Moghal, and actor Jake Watkins, who stars as the hopelessly optimistic Kevin."Kevin's Series of Unfortunate Events" is episode four of Patterns, an ambitious eight-episode comedy anthology series co-created by Glensy and Moghal. The concept is unique: every episode stands alone as its own self-contained story, but all eight connect into one shared universe. A minor character in one episode might be the lead in another, so viewers can enjoy a single episode on its own or watch the full series for the complete picture. The episodes span wildly different comedic styles, from traditional sitcom to slapstick to a full original musical, all unified by what the creators call "universal camp," an over-the-top-yet-grounded tone in the tradition of Monty Python and Absolutely Fabulous.In this episode, Kevin braves a relentless string of disastrous dates, convinced that persistence will eventually lead to love. Jake Watkins shares how he first auditioned for the role of Kevin back in 2020, why the character's hope and tendency to see the best in people mirror his own personality, and how Asad Moghal's writing made the role click. Moghal reveals that the dating disasters are drawn from his own real-life dating history, calling the series his own form of therapy, including the date who turned out to be fifty years older than his profile photo. Rex Glensy explains his directing philosophy: comedy was always the line, and the moment a scene stopped being funny and turned threatening, that was a story for another show. Neil even opens up about his own post-divorce dating war stories, proving the episode's themes hit home far beyond any one community.The conversation also explores the rest of Kevin's journey through the Patterns universe. Watkins appears in three of the eight episodes, including episode six, "Back to School," and the season finale, episode eight, a full musical featuring all original songs and Watkins doing his own vocals, structured as a comedic singing treasure hunt with Kevin and his frenemy Foster.The team discusses the thrill of being selected for Tribeca, one of the top film festivals in the world, where only a small number of shows make the TV section out of thousands of submissions. "Kevin's Series of Unfortunate Events" has its red-carpet world premiere in a primetime slot, with screenings on June 7, June 8, and June 14 in New York City, and Q&A sessions at every screening. The second screening sold out so quickly that the festival added a third. Tickets are available to the public through the Tribeca Festival website in the TV section.And there's much more on the way: all eight episodes of Patterns are fully shot, along with an entire eight-episode prequel series, Patterns: Origins, giving distributors sixteen ready-made episodes and roughly eight hours of content. The team expects to announce streaming distribution following the Tribeca premiere.Follow Jake Watkins on Instagram at @jakeybaby, writer Asad Moghal at @asadmoghal, and director Rex Glensy at @rexglensy. For tickets and screening information, visit the Tribeca Festival website and search the TV section for "Kevin's Series of Unfortunate Events."Don't miss this hilarious and heartfelt conversation about modern dating, finding the funny in life's worst moments, and the breakout series everyone will be talking about after Tribeca.

In this exciting episode of The Neil Haley Show and Celebrity Interviews Live from The Grotto, Neil Haley welcomes two special guests connected to one of television's most iconic competition franchises. Joining the show are legendary sports broadcaster Chris Rose, who serves as commentator for the new version of American Gladiators, and Steel, one of the featured Gladiators and a former professional wrestler. Together, they discuss the highly anticipated revival of the beloved competition series, the incredible athletes involved, and why both longtime fans and new viewers should tune in.The conversation begins with Neil reminiscing about the original American Gladiators phenomenon that captivated audiences in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Chris Rose laughs when asked whether he ever imagined competing against the Gladiators himself. Rather than wanting to challenge the larger-than-life athletes, Rose explains that his dream role was always to be behind the microphone, calling the action and bringing excitement to viewers at home.Rose humorously describes himself as far better suited for commentary than competition, joking about his lack of athletic prowess and emphasizing that the Gladiators are physical specimens unlike anything most people have ever encountered. He credits the show's enduring popularity to the incredible combination of athletic competition, entertainment, and larger-than-life personalities.For Steel, becoming an American Gladiator represents the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Growing up watching the original series, he viewed the Gladiators as real-life superheroes. Their imposing physiques, charismatic personalities, and athletic abilities left a lasting impression on him as a young fan. Now, as one of the new Gladiators, he embraces the opportunity to inspire a new generation of viewers just as the original cast inspired him.Steel speaks passionately about honoring the legacy of the original Gladiators while helping bring a modern edge to the franchise. He describes the responsibility of stepping into such an iconic role and credits the original stars for paving the way for today's competitors. For him, becoming Steel is more than a television role—it is a chance to motivate people to pursue strength, discipline, and confidence in their own lives.The discussion shifts to the competitors who enter the arena hoping to defeat the Gladiators and win the grand prize. Chris Rose points out one of the biggest differences between the original version of the show and the current reboot: the overall caliber of the contestants. While the original series featured everyday people, today's competitors are often highly trained athletes with impressive physical abilities and compelling personal stories.Rose explains that many contestants arrive with life-changing motivations. Some have overcome significant weight loss journeys. Others are competing for their families, pursuing lifelong dreams, or proving something to themselves after years of adversity. The $100,000 prize certainly provides motivation, but according to Rose, the competition often represents something much deeper. For many contestants, the show serves as the culmination of years of personal growth and perseverance.One particularly memorable example involves a contestant who overcame childhood obesity after a doctor warned him that his health was in serious danger. Through hard work and determination, he transformed his life and eventually became a personal trainer who now helps others achieve their goals. Stories like these give the competition emotional depth and make viewers emotionally invested in the outcomes.

In this exciting episode of The Neil Haley Show, Neil Haley welcomes Christian Hubicki, FIRST alum, robotics expert, and competitor on Survivor 50, along with Liam Twohig, a student participant at the 2026 FIRST Championship. Together, they discuss one of the world's largest and most influential STEM competitions, the impact of robotics education, and how programs like FIRST are preparing students for careers in technology, engineering, business, and beyond. The conversation highlights not only the incredible robots on display but also the life-changing opportunities available to students who participate in FIRST programs around the globe. The interview begins with an overview of the 2026 FIRST Championship, an international robotics competition that brings together students from kindergarten through high school to showcase their accomplishments in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. With thousands of students, mentors, educators, and industry professionals gathered in one location, the event serves as both a competition and a celebration of innovation. Participants design, build, program, and operate robots while developing critical skills that extend far beyond the classroom. Liam shares his personal journey with FIRST and explains how the program transformed his confidence and communication skills. When he first joined his robotics team in eighth grade, he struggled to speak in front of others and found networking intimidating. Through participation in FIRST, however, he gradually developed the ability to communicate effectively, engage with judges, collaborate with teammates, and represent his team in professional settings. His experience demonstrates how STEM programs can foster personal growth alongside technical development. One of the key themes throughout the conversation is that FIRST is much more than a robotics competition. Christian explains that FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology and serves as one of the leading global organizations promoting STEM education. The program gives students hands-on experience with real-world technology while exposing them to careers they may never have considered. Participants are not simply building robots; they are solving problems, collaborating with others, and learning skills that will serve them throughout their lives. Christian emphasizes that robotics serves as a vehicle for much broader educational experiences. Students must tackle challenges related to engineering, programming, manufacturing, business management, fundraising, marketing, communications, and project planning. Teams often function like small companies, with students taking on leadership roles and managing complex projects. These experiences help participants develop a practical understanding of how organizations operate while preparing them for future careers in virtually any field. The scale of the FIRST community is truly remarkable. Christian notes that tens of thousands of students participate annually, creating one of the largest STEM networks in the world. At the championship alone, thousands of students gather to share ideas, learn from one another, and build relationships that may continue throughout their professional lives. The connections formed through FIRST often lead to internships, career opportunities, mentorships, and lifelong friendships. For Liam, one of the most valuable aspects of the program has been the opportunity to explore his interest in 3D animation and creative technology. Although robotics is often associated strictly with engineering, Liam explains that FIRST embraces STEAM education—Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. Through his work with 3D printing and design, he has gained skills that align closely with his future career aspirations. The program's emphasis on communication, creativity, and collaboration makes it relevant even for students whose goals

In this insightful episode of The Neil Haley Show, Neil Haley welcomes New York Times bestselling author and personal finance expert Beth Kobliner to discuss the newly revised edition of her iconic financial guide, Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your 20s and 30s. Widely regarded as one of the most trusted voices in personal finance, Beth shares practical advice for young adults navigating today's increasingly complicated financial landscape. From saving and investing to avoiding debt and resisting financial temptations, she provides a roadmap for building long-term financial security even during uncertain economic times. The conversation begins with a discussion about one of the biggest challenges facing young adults today: saving money. Many people in their 20s and 30s are focused on immediate concerns such as rent, student loans, finding stable employment, and managing rising living expenses. Retirement often feels too far away to prioritize. Beth acknowledges these realities but explains that today's younger generations are facing a unique combination of economic pressures, including concerns about artificial intelligence replacing jobs, volatile financial markets, the influence of social media, online gambling platforms, and prediction markets that constantly compete for their attention. Despite these challenges, she believes there are simple and effective steps young people can take to begin building wealth. Beth emphasizes the importance of automation when it comes to saving. One of her core recommendations is to automatically save at least ten percent of every paycheck before the money can be spent. By directing funds into high-yield savings accounts, retirement plans, or investment accounts automatically, individuals can remove the emotional component of saving and create consistent habits that compound over time. She explains that even small contributions can make a significant difference over the long term thanks to the power of compound growth. The discussion then turns to retirement accounts and investing. Beth explains that many young people are intimidated by terms like 401(k)s and IRAs because they associate them exclusively with retirement. However, she argues that these accounts should be viewed as powerful wealth-building tools rather than distant retirement vehicles. Tax advantages, long-term growth, and employer matching programs make these accounts some of the most effective financial tools available. She encourages young adults to start investing as early as possible, even if they can only contribute small amounts initially. Another important topic covered during the interview is the accessibility of investing today. Beth points out that modern investment platforms have dramatically lowered barriers to entry. Young investors can begin with as little as a single dollar by purchasing shares of diversified exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through reputable firms. By focusing on diversified index funds rather than chasing speculative investments, individuals can steadily build wealth while minimizing unnecessary risk. Her message is clear: investing is no longer reserved for the wealthy, and everyone can participate regardless of income level. Beth also addresses the financial challenges that are unique to Generation Z. While previous generations were often criticized for being careless with money, she notes that many young people today are actually more financially aware than their predecessors. Having lived through economic uncertainty, inflation, and global disruptions, many members of Generation Z understand the importance of financial security. However, they also face new threats, including misinformation spread through social media and aggressive marketing from online gambling companies and speculative financial platforms. This makes financial education more important than ever before.

In this engaging episode of The Neil Haley Show and Celebrity Interviews Live from the Grotto, Neil Haley welcomes award-winning filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, and actor Michael Tove to discuss his acclaimed short film Yard Sale-ing, his fascinating journey into the film industry, and the lessons he has learned from decades of pursuing his passion for storytelling. Michael shares how a lifelong love of stories evolved into a successful filmmaking career that has now earned international recognition through one of the most decorated short films on the festival circuit today. Michael begins by reflecting on his roots in North Carolina and how his fascination with storytelling started at an early age. Long before filmmaking entered the picture, he was captivated by short stories and narrative twists, drawing inspiration from legendary storytellers such as O. Henry, Rod Serling, and the classic Alfred Hitchcock anthology series. What fascinated him most were stories that led audiences down one path before surprising them with an unexpected ending. Those influences would eventually become central to his own creative style and are clearly reflected in his filmmaking approach today. His entry into the film industry happened in an unexpected way. While searching for opportunities to learn about filmmaking, Michael answered a casting call for the original film adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale. What began as a simple background acting opportunity turned into a transformative experience. Standing on a professional film set for the first time exposed him to the collaborative nature of filmmaking and ignited a passion that would shape the next several decades of his life. He quickly realized that creating films involved far more than acting and became determined to learn every aspect of the craft. Over the years, Michael immersed himself in screenwriting education. He spent more than fifteen years studying the art and business of screenwriting through workshops, mentorships, coaching programs, master classes, and professional training. He learned from some of the industry's most respected instructors and writers, constantly refining his storytelling abilities. During this period, he also developed relationships with industry veterans, including former Universal Pictures President Tom Mount and veteran director Tom Logan. These connections provided invaluable guidance and helped shape Michael's understanding of professional filmmaking. The conversation then shifts to Yard Sale-ing, the award-winning short film that has brought Michael widespread recognition. The project originated from an idea he first conceived more than three decades ago. Like many of his favorite stories, the concept began with a simple “what if” question. Over the years, the idea evolved while maintaining its original core premise. Eventually, after extensive script development and collaboration with director Tom Logan, the project moved into production and became the short film audiences are now discovering around the world. Without revealing spoilers, Michael explains that Yard Sale-ing centers on Jim and Sally Marsh, a married couple whose personalities could not be more different. Sally is optimistic, enthusiastic, and convinced that hidden treasures are waiting to be discovered at local yard sales. Jim, on the other hand, is practical, skeptical, and would rather be almost anywhere else. Their conflicting perspectives create the foundation for a story that combines humor, character-driven conflict, and the type of unexpected twists Michael has loved since childhood. As Sally embarks on a quest to uncover hidden treasure, the couple finds themselves pulled into a situation that develops in ways neither of them anticipated.

In this entertaining episode of The Neil Haley Show and Celebrity Interviews Live from the Grotto, Neil Haley sits down with musician, actor, writer, and filmmaker Hobart to discuss his upcoming comedy feature film I Am Ryan. The conversation explores Hobart's fascinating journey through the entertainment industry, from performing in bands and touring internationally to acting in national commercials and eventually creating his own feature film inspired by years of being compared to Hollywood superstar Ryan Reynolds.Growing up in central Illinois surrounded by farmland and small-town life, Hobart always dreamed of building a career in music. In 2012, he made the bold decision to move to Los Angeles and pursue those ambitions full-time. Like many artists who relocate to Hollywood, he quickly discovered that success often requires adaptability, persistence, and a willingness to explore opportunities beyond the original plan.While music remained his primary focus, Hobart soon found himself auditioning for commercials during downtime between musical projects. What started as an experiment quickly became a successful second career. Over the years, he landed campaigns with major brands including Walmart, Microsoft, ZipRecruiter, and numerous others. These experiences helped him become comfortable in front of the camera while providing valuable insight into the entertainment industry.Throughout the interview, Hobart reflects on his extensive music career. He shares stories about performing on the iconic Vans Warped Tour, touring across the United States and internationally, and playing more than a thousand live performances throughout his career. His music has also been featured in major media projects including Deadpool: The Video Game, Rock Band, MTV productions, ESPN broadcasts, and additional television and gaming properties. These accomplishments established Hobart as a versatile creative talent long before he stepped into filmmaking.The centerpiece of the discussion is Hobart's new comedy feature, I Am Ryan. The film is inspired by a unique reality that Hobart has experienced for years: people constantly telling him that he looks like Ryan Reynolds. Friends, strangers, casting directors, and entertainment professionals have repeatedly pointed out the resemblance. Instead of ignoring the comparisons, Hobart decided to turn them into a comedic concept.The story follows Brian Reynolds, an ordinary man who happens to look remarkably similar to Ryan Reynolds. After being discovered by a questionable manager looking to capitalize on the resemblance, Brian suddenly finds himself navigating bizarre situations, questionable promotional appearances, and opportunities that blur the line between reality and mistaken identity. The result is a comedy that combines satire, celebrity culture, and absurd humor while exploring the unexpected consequences of looking like one of Hollywood's biggest stars.Hobart explains that the original idea for I Am Ryan first came to him in 2017. Although he loved the concept immediately, bringing it to life required years of planning, development, networking, and persistence. Eventually, he connected with producer Carl Jackson, who immediately recognized the potential of the project. Together they assembled the team necessary to move the film into production, ultimately filming the movie in 2025.Neil and Hobart spend considerable time discussing the realities of independent filmmaking. Unlike major studio productions with massive budgets and resources, independent films require creators to wear multiple hats. Hobart not only stars in the film but also wrote, produced, and helped oversee many aspects of the project. He shares how challenging—but rewarding—it was to transform a simple idea into a completed feature film.

In this heartwarming episode of The Neil Haley Show and Celebrity Interviews Live from the Grotto, Neil Haley welcomed entrepreneur, animal advocate, and television personality Ron King, better known today as “The Donkey King.” What began as a conversation about a unique television series quickly became an inspiring story about reinvention, purpose, compassion, and discovering what truly brings joy in life. Ron King's life today looks nothing like the life he once lived. Before becoming one of the nation's most recognized donkey rescuers, Ron was a highly successful publishing executive who served as the publisher of InStyle magazine. His career placed him at the center of the fashion industry, attending exclusive events, sitting front row at major fashion shows, and working alongside some of the biggest names in media and entertainment. It was a world of glamour, luxury, and prestige that many people dream about. Yet despite his professional accomplishments, life would eventually lead him in an entirely unexpected direction. As Ron explained during the interview, everything changed during a difficult period in his life. After leaving Time Inc., he expected his experience and accomplishments would naturally open doors to another executive position. Instead, he discovered firsthand the challenges that many professionals face later in their careers. At fifty years old, he found that opportunities were no longer appearing as easily as they once had. Combined with the uncertainty and isolation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ron found himself struggling emotionally and searching for a new sense of purpose. That purpose arrived in the most unlikely way possible—a TikTok video.While scrolling online, Ron stumbled across a video showing donkeys being sold through livestock auctions and ultimately sent to slaughter. The discovery shocked him. He had never considered the plight of donkeys before and began researching the issue. What he learned changed his life forever. Rather than simply feeling sympathy, he decided to take action. Despite having absolutely no background in animal rescue, farming, veterinary care, or donkey ownership, he committed himself to creating a sanctuary dedicated to saving these animals. Looking back, Ron laughs at the fact that he launched a rescue operation before he had ever even met a donkey. After creating a business plan, securing funding, and establishing the foundation for the organization, he suddenly realized he should probably spend some time around the animals he intended to save. His first three rescued donkeys—Goose, Pickles, and Shadow—arrived in December 2020. Those three animals remain part of the sanctuary today and helped ignite a passion that continues to drive Ron's mission. What followed was one of the most dramatic personal transformations imaginable.Over the past five years, Ron has rescued approximately 450 donkeys, creating a thriving nonprofit organization known as Oscar's Place. What began as a personal mission evolved into a nationally recognized sanctuary dedicated to providing care, rehabilitation, and adoption opportunities for donkeys rescued from neglect, abandonment, and slaughter pipelines. Today, the sanctuary is home to approximately 220 donkeys spread across two separate properties, each receiving individualized care and attention. The success of Oscar's Place eventually attracted media attention. A feature segment on CBS introduced Ron's story to a wider audience and generated an astonishing response. During the brief television appearance, the sanctuary received approximately $200,000 in donations. The experience opened Ron's eyes to the power of storytelling and television as tools for raising awareness and support for animal rescue efforts. That exposure planted the seed for what would eventually become The Donkey King television series.

In this special simulcast episode of The Neil Haley Show and Celebrity Interviews Live from the Grotto, Neil Haley welcomed acclaimed actor, choreographer, director, and Broadway veteran Christopher Windom for an in-depth conversation about his extraordinary career in theater, dance, film, and education. From performing on Broadway to choreographing major productions and feature films, Windom shared the journey that transformed a young boy with endless energy into one of the most respected creative professionals in the performing arts industry today. Christopher explained that his artistic journey began in St. Louis, Missouri, where his parents encouraged him to channel his energy into productive activities. Dance ultimately became the outlet that captured his imagination and provided him with focus, discipline, and purpose. At a time when male dancers often faced stereotypes and criticism, Windom pushed through the challenges because he recognized the value that dance brought to his life. Beyond movement itself, dance taught him responsibility, confidence, and perseverance while providing a sense of belonging that would remain with him throughout his career. After years of training and studying musical theater in college, Windom made the leap to New York City. Like many aspiring performers, he arrived with dreams of making it on Broadway. Unlike many, however, success came surprisingly quickly. Within weeks of arriving in New York, auditions began turning into callbacks and callbacks became professional opportunities. Windom credits much of that success to maintaining structure and discipline in his life. Rather than waiting for opportunities to appear, he created his own daily curriculum of dance classes, acting lessons, and voice training, ensuring he was always prepared when opportunities arrived. One of his earliest major professional accomplishments came with the national tour of Damn Yankees. The experience held special significance because he had seen the production as a student and boldly declared that he would someday perform in it. That dream became reality when he earned a place in the touring company. The opportunity validated years of hard work and reinforced the importance of persistence, preparation, and believing in one's goals even before they seem achievable. Windom's Broadway career continued to grow through productions such as Fosse, where he worked alongside legendary theater figures including Ann Reinking, Chita Rivera, Gwen Verdon, and Bebe Neuwirth. Sharing the stage and rehearsal room with such iconic performers provided invaluable mentorship and insight. The experience taught him not only about performance excellence but also about professionalism, storytelling, and the collaborative nature of theater. Working with artists of that caliber helped shape his understanding of what it means to create meaningful work that resonates with audiences. As his career evolved, Windom found himself increasingly drawn toward choreography. While many performers focus exclusively on their own role, he discovered a passion for shaping entire productions through movement and storytelling. Rather than viewing choreography as a position of authority, he viewed it as a responsibility to support other artists and help tell a larger story. His ability to communicate, collaborate, and inspire performers naturally led him into leadership roles within productions. Over time, choreography became as important to his identity as performing itself.

In this powerful episode of Million Dollar Minutes and The Neil Haley Show, hosts Neil Haley and Ryan August welcomed former BYU Hall of Fame linebacker, exercise physiologist, and brain health researcher Dr. Larry Carr for an eye-opening discussion about football, brain injuries, CTE, mental health, and revolutionary research that may change the future of neurological recovery.Dr. Carr's journey began on the football field. Starting at just 10 years old, he played football throughout his childhood, high school, college, and eventually professionally in Canada. While many athletes relied on physical gifts, Dr. Carr credits much of his success to preparation and intelligence. As he explained during the interview, he spent countless hours studying film and learning opponents' tendencies because he knew he couldn't rely solely on athletic ability.Despite his success, years of repetitive head impacts would eventually take a toll.As he entered his 50s and approached age 60, Dr. Carr began noticing significant cognitive and emotional changes. He described a gradual decline that affected nearly every aspect of his life. Depression, anxiety, memory issues, emotional instability, and cognitive struggles became increasingly difficult to manage. At the time, public awareness surrounding CTE and football-related brain injuries was still limited compared to today.Seeking answers, he visited neurologists who ultimately informed him that he showed signs of significant brain damage related to years of football participation. The diagnosis was devastating.Dr. Carr explained that this period represented one of the darkest chapters of his life. His relationships suffered, his marriage was strained, and he struggled to understand why he was changing so dramatically. Determined to find answers, he began researching brain injuries extensively and eventually connected with renowned CTE researcher Dr. Ann McKee in Boston.When Dr. Carr met with Dr. McKee, he hoped she might have a solution. Instead, she delivered difficult news. At the time, there were no proven treatments for CTE. Medications could potentially manage symptoms, but no therapies existed that could address the underlying neurological damage.However, Dr. McKee pointed him toward a research study being conducted through the Department of Veterans Affairs involving photobiomodulation therapy, a form of light therapy being used to help veterans suffering from brain injuries.That recommendation changed everything.Dr. Carr became the first former football player enrolled in the study. Researchers evaluated him through multiple treatment phases, including sessions using specialized light therapy devices designed to stimulate brain function and neurological repair.The results were remarkable.According to Dr. Carr, improvements appeared in nearly every category researchers measured. Depression decreased. Anxiety improved. PTSD symptoms lessened. Cognitive performance improved. Emotional stability returned. Most importantly, he regained quality of life and began feeling like himself again.He credits the treatment with saving both his marriage and his future.Inspired by these outcomes, Dr. Carr dedicated himself to studying how this technology could help others. His research eventually expanded into athletics, where he began examining the effects of repetitive head impacts on football players.One of the most important points discussed during the interview was Dr. Carr's belief that concussions alone are not the primary issue.Instead, he explained that repetitive acceleration and deceleration forces may be equally damaging. Every tackle, collision, or sudden stop causes the brain to move inside the skull. Even without a diagnosed concussion, these repetitive forces may create inflammation and neurological stress over time.

In this fascinating episode of The Neil Haley Show and Celebrity Interviews Live from the Grotto, host Neil Haley and co-host Greg Hanna sat down with author and former covert operative Robert “Tosh” Plumlee to discuss his book Deep Cover: Shallow Graves and the extraordinary experiences that shaped his life. The conversation explored intelligence operations, Cold War history, psychological warfare, government secrecy, and Plumlee's perspective on some of the most controversial events in modern American history.Plumlee began by sharing how his journey started at an incredibly young age. After running away from home and joining the Texas National Guard as a teenager, he learned military skills that eventually led him into special operations and intelligence-related work. He explained how he became involved with aviation training and later flew missions connected to Cuba during the late 1950s. According to Plumlee, these operations involved transporting weapons and supplies during the Cuban Revolution, placing him in situations where different geopolitical interests often collided.Throughout the discussion, Plumlee emphasized that many covert operations are far more complex than the public realizes. He described an environment where intelligence agencies, military interests, political agendas, and international conflicts frequently overlapped. He argued that history often reveals layers of activity that remain hidden for years or even decades.One of the most intriguing portions of the interview focused on psychological warfare programs and intelligence training during the Cold War era. Plumlee described specialized training exercises designed to explore human behavior, influence, perception, and persuasion. He recounted experiences involving what participants believed were demonstrations of mental influence and psychological conditioning. These exercises, he explained, were part of larger efforts to understand how communication, propaganda, and psychological operations could affect human decision-making.The conversation then shifted to the role of media and communication in modern society. Plumlee discussed the importance intelligence organizations historically placed on controlling information and communication channels during times of conflict. He argued that whoever controls information often has significant influence over public perception and behavior. According to Plumlee, psychological warfare remains relevant today, although the methods have evolved alongside technology and digital media.Greg Hanna asked Plumlee why he ultimately decided to share his story publicly after decades of silence. Plumlee responded that transparency can be a powerful form of protection. He compared hidden truths to wounds that only heal when exposed to sunlight. Over the years, he testified before government investigations and committees, believing that some aspects of history deserved public examination rather than remaining permanently hidden.The discussion also touched on historical controversies, including allegations surrounding intelligence operations, political influence, organized crime connections, and government secrecy. Plumlee expressed concerns about classified records that remain unavailable to the public and questioned why certain historical documents continue to be withheld many years after the events occurred.As the conversation continued, Plumlee reflected on broader societal issues. He spoke about the consequences of political division, hostile rhetoric, and the impact of fear-based messaging. In his view, societies that constantly promote anger and hostility risk creating environments where violence and extremism can flourish. He warned that the words leaders use can have lasting effects on individuals and communities.When asked if he feared retaliation for speaking openly about controversial subjects,

On this episode of Celebrity Interviews Live from The Grotto, host Neil Haley interviews Jennifer Jones, an author, activist, and performer who made history as the first African American Rockette.Jennifer shares her remarkable journey from a young dancer inspired by Broadway to breaking one of the most significant barriers in American dance history. She discusses her years performing with the legendary Rockettes, her transition to Broadway, and her mission today to inspire young people through storytelling, speaking, and children's books.

Actress, boxer, and four-time World Games gold medalist Jenae Noonan has spent a lifetime defying expectations — from knocking out a model in 36 seconds at her first boxing match to becoming one of the world's most decorated Pancration athletes. In this candid conversation with host Neil Haley, Noonan traces her unlikely journey from MySpace-era social media promoter to semi-pro soccer player to combat sports champion, sharing what it felt like to compete in a world that wasn't yet ready to put women on the main card — and how she kept fighting anyway. She also opens up about her decision to retire at the end of 2024, driven not by defeat but by love — for her adopted special needs son and for the life she still wants to live.But her biggest fight was waiting just around the corner. Within weeks of hanging up her gloves, Noonan received two separate cancer diagnoses — skin cancer and breast cancer — delivered over the phone without warning and without answers, sending her into two weeks of funeral planning and quiet devastation. On February 12th of this year, she rang the bell: no sign of disease. Rather than return to competition, Noonan is channeling that experience into Rise, a rebranded coffee community designed to help cancer patients raise funds and find support through a simple, powerful model. Her message is clear — the toughest opponent she ever faced wasn't in the ring, and winning this one has given her a platform worth far more than another gold medal.

On this powerful episode of Celebrity Interviews Live at The Grotto, Neil Haley welcomes author Keith Zlomsowitch, whose life became intertwined with one of the most infamous criminal cases in American history — the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.Keith shares his firsthand account of dating Nicole during her separation from O. J. Simpson, the escalating harassment and stalking that followed, and the long-lasting emotional impact that shaped his life.His book, Stalked: It Could Have Been Me, offers a deeply personal look at love, danger, fear, and survival.❄️ How It Began — Aspen, 1992Keith recounts meeting Nicole in Aspen, Colorado while he owned multiple Mezzaluna restaurants.What started as a spontaneous introduction on a ski deck turned into an immediate connection. Nicole revealed she had separated from her abusive husband but did not initially disclose his identity.Their relationship progressed quickly — until O.J. Simpson confronted Keith at his Beverly Hills restaurant, making his presence and hostility unmistakably clear.

Veteran character actor Jasper Cole joined Neil to talk about his latest film Final Recovery, a project 15 years in the making and his first-ever lead role in nearly four decades of acting.After building a respected career as a supporting actor in projects like Get Out, Jasper stepped into the spotlight as the lead in this emotional thriller, calling it his “baby.” The film is currently available on Amazon and Tubi.Final Recovery blends thriller and horror elements while remaining deeply character-driven. Originally written as a straight drama by Jerry Lee Davis, the script evolved when director Harley Wallen came aboard and introduced darker tones.The film stars:Charlene TiltonCherish LeeJasper Cole in his first lead roleJasper praised Charlene Tilton's performance, noting audiences will see her in an entirely new light compared to her earlier television fame.

In this festive Christmas in July edition, Greg Hanna welcomes Hallmark favorite Andrew Walker to discuss the heartwarming new series Christmas at Sea airing on the Hallmark Channel.Andrew joins the show while actively filming a Christmas movie — in the middle of summer heat — proving that for Hallmark stars, it truly is Christmas all year long.

On this episode of The Neil Haley Show, Neil sits down with award-winning filmmaker and actress Elena Wohl to discuss her acclaimed dramedy series Middlehood — a bold, honest, and often hilarious exploration of midlife from a woman's perspective.The conversation dives into the cultural shift surrounding midlife identity, marriage, career reinvention, aging parents, and generational differences — topics that resonate deeply in today's world.Midlife From a Woman's PerspectiveThe emotional reality of turning 50Questioning long-term marriagesCareer burnout and reinventionThe internal fear of starting over

In this special simulcast of The Neil Haley Show and Celebrity Interviews Live from The Grotto, host Greg Hanna welcomes J. Randy Taraborrelli, New York Times bestselling author, to discuss his latest book on John F. Kennedy.After decades of writing about the Kennedy family, Taraborrelli turns his focus directly to JFK himself — offering a deeply researched and newly revealing portrait of the man behind the myth.

Kenny Nolan joined the show to talk about his long-awaited new album Peaceful Mountain, released on StarVista Music. After decades of writing iconic hits for other artists, Kenny is once again stepping into the spotlight with deeply personal, inspirational music.

On this powerful episode of Talk Nutrition, Kelly Springer and Neil Haley welcome award-winning filmmaker Susie Singer Carter to discuss her deeply personal and nationally recognized documentary, No Country for Old People.Susie never set out to make a film about nursing home abuse. It was born from heartbreak.

In this powerful segment of the Neil Haley Show, Salima Lin, Managing Partner at IBM Consulting, joins Neil to unpack the most critical findings from the IBM Institute for Business Values' Enterprise 2030 study. With 80% of business leaders expecting AI to significantly contribute to their revenues by 2030, the gap between expectation and execution has never been wider — and Lin knows exactly why. Only two in ten executives can clearly articulate where that AI-driven revenue will actually come from, and that disconnect, she argues, is the defining challenge of this era. Lin lays out a clear three-part playbook for C-suite leaders: build AI-first workflows from the ground up rather than patching technology onto outdated processes, embrace speed over certainty, and above all, invest deeply in people.The conversation takes a refreshingly human turn as Lin and Neil challenge the tired narrative that AI is simply a job killer. Lin makes the case that leaders who use AI to drive growth — rather than just productivity — will create new roles even as routine tasks evolve. She points to IBM's own internal transformation as proof, citing four and a half billion dollars in savings unlocked through AI and automation, along with tools like the Ask HR agent that deliver instant answers to employees around the clock. IBM is also backing its words with action, committing to skill 30 million people by 2030 and offering free AI training to 2 million learners by 2026. For anyone wondering what it truly means to become an AI-first enterprise, this conversation with Salima Lin is the place to start.

Billboard charting artist Evan Craft joins The Neil Haley Show to discuss his powerful debut book chronicling an extraordinary cycling journey across South America that redefined his purpose and faith. Craft opens up about the pivotal moment at age 25 when he performed for 80,000 people in Colombia and felt a profound disconnect, realizing he couldn't have a meaningful moment with such a massive crowd and questioning whether he had already peaked. Inspired by his best friend who cycled across the United States, Craft decided to combine cycling with purpose by inviting two Venezuelan Paralympic athletes on the journey, creating a tour that would cycle from place to place while raising money and awareness. The musician shares the remarkable story of how these athletes, both missing their right legs, arrived in Chile without proper prosthetics, leading to a faith-testing moment when Craft had to find a way to provide them with new prosthetics despite financial constraints.In this inspiring conversation, Craft explains his "extra mile mindset" philosophy, drawn from biblical teaching about going beyond what's expected to spark curiosity and open doors for conversations that can lead people to faith. He reveals his unexpected path into Latin Christian music, which began when he studied Spanish to communicate with Central American immigrants at his father's homeless shelter in Los Angeles, and how saying yes to opportunities in Tijuana churches launched a career he never planned. Craft candidly discusses his lowest moment during the bike ride when he blew up at his friend after cycling for four hours without food, confronting his own limitations as a leader, and how that experience taught him humility. The artist emphasizes the importance of leaving everything better than you found it, whether relationships or professional work, and encourages listeners to act now on their dreams because "time is batting 1,000 and the clock is ticking," reminding everyone that he's doing this at 57 because he won't be able to at 67.

Omaha Steaks' Chef David Rose joins The Neil Haley Show to share expert tips for conquering Thanksgiving dinner with organization, efficiency, and less stress. Rose emphasizes that success in the kitchen starts with a clean, organized workspace and a detailed food prep schedule planned days in advance, including thawing the turkey three to four days early and planning marination times carefully. The chef's key strategy involves making desserts like cheesecakes and bread pudding ahead of time, preparing sides that can be easily reheated, and creating a precise oven schedule—turkey at one o'clock, ham at two o'clock, rolls at three—so everything arrives hot and delicious at the dining table simultaneously. Rose stresses that home cooks don't need to make everything from scratch, encouraging a combination of beloved classic dishes with high-quality pre-made options from Omaha Steaks, allowing hosts to spend less time cooking and more time enjoying family.In this informative conversation, Chef Rose highlights Omaha Steaks' comprehensive holiday offerings, from pre-brined turkeys and hams to sides like garlic mashed potatoes and green beans, plus indulgent desserts like caramel apple tartlets. He announces exciting news that Omaha Steaks' Filet Mignon has earned the prestigious USDA Certified Tender designation, a honor specially reserved for the most tender beef cuts, making it perfect for holiday tables. Rose shares his personal Thanksgiving plans to host approximately 70 Jamaican friends and family coming from California, New York, and Georgia for a potluck celebration where he'll only prepare four dishes—a remarkably light load for the culinary expert. Throughout the conversation, Rose positions himself as viewers' "culinary guru," reminding listeners that Omaha Steaks provides beautiful cook guides and over a hundred recipes he's personally published to guide home cooks to greatness, with everything available at OmahaStakes.com.

America's Got Talent Season 20 winner Jessica Sanchez joins The Neil Haley Show in an emotional interview reflecting on her incredible 20-year journey from childhood dream to champion. Sanchez shares the surreal experience of hearing host Terry Crews call her name at the finale, describing how she became "a total mess on stage, just sobbing, full of joy and excitement" after achieving what she had dreamed about since competing on AGT Season 1 as a 10-year-old. She opens up about the moments of doubt during the competition, especially seeing all the amazing talents and wondering what would happen, but ultimately finding the inner strength to believe in herself throughout the entire process. The win becomes even more remarkable considering she competed and won while nine months pregnant, adding an extraordinary layer of challenge to an already demanding competition.Sanchez discusses the physical and mental challenges of maneuvering vocally through each performance while pregnant, explaining how she had to figure out how to deliver at the highest level despite the complications. She expresses deep gratitude to her fans who voted for her, stating she wishes she could give each one "the biggest hug and just thank them a million times over and over again." Looking ahead, Sanchez is excited about two major life changes: delivering her baby and becoming a new mom, while also pursuing music full force and continuing to inspire others to believe in themselves. Her powerful message resonates throughout the interview—never give up, no matter how long it takes. From a 10-year-old with a dream to a champion two decades later, Sanchez's story proves that perseverance, self-belief, and dedication can turn childhood dreams into reality, even when the journey takes 20 years.

Former Jacksonville Jaguars offensive lineman Marques Ogden delivers a raw and inspiring conversation about the parallels between professional football and entrepreneurship on The Neil Haley Show. Ogden, who played alongside defensive legends like Marcus Stroud and Hugh Douglas, discusses how the NFL taught him that success requires relentless work ethic, cultural fit, film study, and the ability to learn from mistakes rather than repeat them. He reflects on his journey from Howard University—an HBCU that produced nearly 10 NFL draft picks in his class—to being drafted by the Jaguars, emphasizing that making an NFL roster requires proving yourself daily regardless of draft position. However, the conversation takes a dramatic turn as Ogden reveals how after building the largest African-American owned subcontracting company in Baltimore City worth $25 million, his ego and toxic leadership destroyed everything by 2013.Ogden shares the painful details of hitting absolute rock bottom—filing for bankruptcy with 177 creditors and $5.5 million in debt, going through divorce, living in a roach-infested apartment, and working as a custodian when spoiled milk and garbage spilled on him in September 2013. This moment became his wake-up call to finally take accountability for his failures. After two and a half years of grinding, he secured his first paid speaking engagement in April 2016, and a transformative mentorship with Mel Robbins in 2018 taught him the crucial difference between motivation and inspiration. Over the past seven years, Ogden has spoken for over 85 Fortune 500 companies and built a podcast, "Get Authentic with Marques Ogden," that has garnered nearly 800,000 downloads since July. He emphasizes that entrepreneurship success comes from consistent grinding, building genuine relationships, and being vulnerable enough to share your authentic story—including all your failures and struggles—because that's what makes you relatable and inspirational to others.

Former Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Treyvon Hester joins The Neil Haley Show to share his incredible journey from being tutored in middle school to becoming an NFL star. Hester opens up about the academic and athletic challenges he faced transitioning from high school to the University of Toledo, where he had to sit out his first year as a gray shirt due to academic eligibility issues. This setback became the motivation he needed to take his education seriously, ultimately earning a criminal justice degree while becoming a four-year starter, team captain, and one of Toledo's first draft picks since 2004. He discusses being drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the seventh round (242nd pick) in 2017, the honor of wearing the silver and black, and the valuable lessons learned from playing alongside defensive legends.The conversation reaches its peak as Hester recounts the legendary moment that secured his place in Philadelphia Eagles history—blocking a field goal attempt during a wild card playoff game against the Chicago Bears that sealed the team's victory. He describes the split-second decision to "sell out for the play," the confusion when the ball deflected off his hand, and the eruption of celebration when he realized the kick had missed. Now in his second year as a coach at Penn Hills High School, his alma mater, Hester reflects on coming full circle and working to inspire the next generation of young athletes. He emphasizes the importance of gratitude, taking advantage of opportunities, and not allowing negativity to shape your life, sharing wisdom gained from both his triumphs and challenges in professional football.

In this inspiring episode of the Neil Haley Show, host Neil Haley and co-host Greg Hanna sit down with Cedella Marley, daughter of reggae legend Bob Marley, to discuss the groundbreaking immersive show "Bob Marley: Hope Road" now playing in Las Vegas. Cedella opens up about the creative vision behind this first-of-its-kind production that combines live performances, storytelling, and multi-sensory elements to transport audiences into her father's world. She explains how the show goes far beyond a typical tribute concert, creating an interactive journey through Bob Marley's music, message, and enduring cultural impact. Cedella shares the importance of having her father's grandchildren, Shasta and Zuri, audition and earn their roles as DJs in the production, demonstrating the family's commitment to merit over nepotism and ensuring the next generation understands that success must be earned.Throughout the conversation, Cedella reflects on why Bob Marley's music continues to resonate with audiences across all ages and backgrounds fifty years later. She discusses the universal themes of love, unity, hope, peace, and revolution that make her father's work timeless, noting how songs like "Nations Were Against Nation" speak directly to today's global challenges. Cedella emphasizes that her father's authenticity—singing only about experiences he lived through—is what gives his music its power to connect with people worldwide. She shares her personal philosophy that hope is the most important thing she's learned in life, especially as the world faces disasters and challenges. With over a thousand five-star reviews already, "Bob Marley: Hope Road" is touching audiences through joy, movement, and connection, featuring remarkable remixes by Salaam that make classic songs sound as fresh as if they were recorded today.

The stars of NBC's One Chicago franchise—Jesse Schramm from Chicago Med, Hanako Greensmith from Chicago Fire, and LaRoyce Hawkins from Chicago PD—join host Neil Haley for an exciting roundtable discussion as the interconnected series returns for another season premiering October 1st at 8 PM Eastern. The trio reveals what fans can expect from their respective shows, with Schramm discussing her character Dr. Hannah Asher's pregnancy storyline and ongoing recovery from addiction, Greensmith teasing Violet's increased responsibilities following a romance gone sour, and Hawkins exploring Atwater's loneliness in his personal life while serving as the invisible bridge his unit depends on after being disbanded at the end of last season.In this engaging conversation, the actors share insights into their characters' development and the challenges facing their teams this season. Schramm describes Chicago Med's dramatic opening with a collapsed dance floor flooding the hospital with patients while doctors simultaneously deal with personal health diagnoses. Greensmith highlights Chicago Fire's nail-biting incidents and phenomenal special effects while navigating new challenges and responsibilities. Hawkins explains how Chicago PD is digging deeper into who the characters are and where they're from, using their roots to motivate stories while the writing room breaks traditional formulas. All three actors express excitement about what they believe will be their best seasons yet, promising fans compelling drama, character growth, and the high-stakes action One Chicago is known for.

Retired NASA astronaut and Air Force Colonel Terry Virts joins The Neil Haley Show to discuss his unprecedented journey from commanding the International Space Station to launching a Democratic campaign for U.S. Senate in Texas. Virts shares compelling stories from his time in space, including the surreal experience of watching Russian forces attack Ukraine from orbit while serving as commander alongside Russian cosmonauts, demonstrating the ultimate test of bipartisanship. The former F-16 combat pilot explains how his teenage experience as an exchange student in Finland near the Soviet border shaped his commitment to defending democracy, and why he believes recent political developments have pushed America toward flirting with the same authoritarianism he once opposed.In this candid conversation, Virts outlines his vision for representing all Texans regardless of political affiliation, focusing on middle-class issues with healthcare reform as his top priority. He discusses the need to increase the supply of doctors by expanding residency programs, provide free preventative care including vaccines and cancer screenings, and address the impending loss of Affordable Care Act subsidies affecting millions of working-class Texans. Virts also reveals why he fired his Washington D.C. consultants who advised him never to mention Donald Trump by name, explains his strategy of traveling the state for in-person town halls and appearing on both Fox News and Newsmax, and shares his belief that Texas isn't as Republican as people think—it's mostly non-voting, making voter turnout the key to Democratic success in a state that hasn't elected a Democrat statewide in over 30 years.

Mary Amons, formerly of The Real Housewives of DC, opens up about her experience on the short-lived but infamous Bravo series that was canceled after just one season following the Salahi White House crash scandal. Amons reveals that none of the cast knew the Salahis were planning to crash the White House state dinner, though producers were suspicious enough to break the fourth wall and film them asking for the invitation. She shares behind-the-scenes insights about working with production, including her hands-on involvement in setting up scenes and camera work, which stemmed from her genuine interest in the filmmaking process. Fifteen years later, Amons reflects on how different the reality TV landscape was in 2010, when social media wasn't the powerful platform it is today and Bravo offered no structured support to help cast members leverage their exposure after the show's abrupt cancellation.The conversation takes a personal turn as Amons discusses navigating divorce while raising five children, acknowledging the trauma her reality TV experience caused them—something she learned about in their therapy sessions. She explains why she wasn't ready to capitalize on the opportunities that briefly appeared after the show, admitting she needed time for professional and personal growth. Now, with her children grown and supportive, Amons is focused on her thriving design business and an exciting new partnership with Baker Furniture, where she'll be speaking about timeless design at the Washington Design Center. She's finally ready to launch the lifestyle brand she's envisioned for years, drawing on her classic, Ralph Lauren-inspired aesthetic. With a recent full-page article in Us Weekly marking the show's 15th anniversary bringing renewed attention, Amons discusses the challenges of organizing a reunion with cast members scattered across the globe and her commitment to maintaining a "kinder, gentler" approach to reality television that prioritizes family and authentic connection over drama.