Searching For Heroes With Benjamin Hall

As Benjamin closes out the theme of solitude, he introduces the next theme: forgiveness. Does forgiveness benefit society better than the victim? If it doesn't erase pain, does it restore what has been lost? Does forgiveness come from the pressure to be noble?  Over the next few weeks Benjamin will have deep conversations to uncover the answers to these questions, while also exploring his own thou...

Solitude Chapter 4: Is spending time alone the answer to redirecting our attention? As Benjamin concludes this chapter on solitude he's joined by the author of The Point of Vanishing, Howard Axelrod. After suffering a traumatic eye injury, that left him blind in one eye, Howard felt disconnected from the world around him. His solution for reconnection was to pack his bags and move to the woods of...

Solitude Chapter Three: Ben and Principal Investigator of The Solitude Lab, Dr. Thuy-Vy Nguyen, explores the misconception that solitude is the absence of connection, as opposed to the positive presence of self. Dr. Nguyen provides insight on how intention is a moderator between solitude and loneliness, understanding the difference between choosing to be alone vs. being in a state of isolation. La...

Solitude Chapter 2: Imagine spending 76 days alone in a life raft, facing sharks, raft punctures, starvation, severe dehydration, and relentless sun. After Steven Callahan's boat was struck during a storm in the middle of the ocean, that's exactly the situation he found himself in. Armed with only a short spear gun, a solar still to desalinate seawater, and a safety manual, Steven faced a host of...

Imagine being dropped at the edge of Antarctica, the launch point for a 570-mile ski expedition to the bottom of the world. That’s where Chris Fagan and her husband Marti found themselves in 2013, beginning a grueling, 48-day, unguided journey to the South Pole—one that would ultimately earn them a Guinness World Record. Along the way, they faced periods of profound silence: on good days, a serene...

When Searching For Heroes first launched, Ben’s mission was simple yet powerful: to offer listeners hope and strength through stories of extraordinary resilience — from those who faced unimaginable tragedy to others who found joy after profound grief. That mission remains at the heart of the podcast, but now Ben is expanding the vision. In this new chapter, the podcast will dive deeper into the ma...

For most Americans, the 4th of July means beaches and BBQs — but on that day in 2012, Army Staff Sergeant Monte Bernardo was fighting for his life in Afghanistan. After stepping on an IED, Monte lost both legs and his left arm, beginning a long and grueling recovery. With the help of his family and the Semper Fi & America’s Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides lifetime support for critical...

Danny Combs' son, Dylan, was just two when he was diagnosed with autism. Although Dylan wasn't able to say "I love you, Dad" until he was six years old, he had started building complex LEGO sets by himself, with no instructions, three years prior. In speaking with his son's therapists, Danny wanted to highlight the fascinating skills his son possessed — but the primary focus was always on what Dyl...

She became an atheist at just fourteen years old due to the suffering she saw in the world and problems she observed within the Catholic Church. Fast forward to now, she's a nun who has fully devoted her life to Christ and her mission: finding God in the midst of misery and providing a safe space for those who have been hurt by members of the Church. Sister Theresa Aletheia Noble, co-creator of Si...

Roughly 133 million people in the U.S. struggle with chronic illnesses every day, and yet they're rarely talked about.  Struggling with a chronic illness can oftentimes feel isolating when the pain endured is invisible, or when it feels impossible to explain what it's like to live in constant fear that severe pain could be on the horizon. For Tina Medlin, who's been living with Crohn's disease for...

Bonnie Carroll was living in Alaska with her husband, Army Brigadier General Tom Carroll, and thought life truly couldn't get better. However, that mindset crumbled when her husband's National Guard plane never landed — killing him and seven of his fellow soldiers in 1992. The grief Bonnie felt after losing the love of her life was insurmountable, but she refused to let this pain settle without fi...

What is it like to tell two parents that their child won't live to see their 12th birthday? It's a question nobody wants to know the answer to, and yet is a challenge pediatricians face every day. Recently, after one of his close family members got diagnosed with a brain tumor at just eight-years-old (one that is, thankfully, noncancerous), Ben was struck by the child’s bravery—as well as the calm...

Last week, Benjamin had the remarkable opportunity to be in Rome for the Papal Conclave—a historic event with the announcement that Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost would become the first American pope in the history of the Catholic Church. Benjamin sits down with theologian and FOX News Contributor Jonathan Morris to reflect on witnessing Pope Leo XIV accept this extraordinary honor i...

April 30th marked 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War. While Vietnam veterans are now honored and respected, that wasn’t always the case. When many returned to American soil in the 1970s, they weren’t welcomed as heroes—instead, they were often met with blame, regardless of whether their service was voluntary. Now, half a century later, Vietnam veteran Jim Dickson and the Atlanta Vietnam Vet...

Before the age of 16, JT Mestdagh had undergone over 16 serious surgeries -- with many believing he shouldn't have survived his first years of life. Despite the challenges, JT has been able to take every challenging, bad day, and turned it into one worth living. JT joins Ben to discuss how living with VACTERL syndrome, a rare combination of several birth defects, severe dyslexia, and short-term me...

On this Easter Monday, Ben revisits his conversation with disaster psychologist and disaster ministry expert Dr. Jamie Aten, on faith and resilience. Dr. Aten dives into complex questions surrounding faith, tragedy, and resilience — and explains how his experiences and extensive research have allowed him to merge his understanding of the three. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoice...

On Monday, April 15th, 2013, while crowds cheered on runners at the 117th Boston Marathon, no one could anticipate the events that would unfold. Two pressure-cooker bombs would detonate in a terrorist attack near the finish line, killing three people and injuring more than 260 others.   Among the injured was Marc Fucarile, who was supporting a friend when the second bomb went off right beside him,...

Imagine being accused of a murder you didn’t commit — and spending over 20 years behind bars, knowing the real killer was still free. That was Troshawn McCoy’s reality.  As one of the Marquette Park Four, Troshawn was coerced by Chicago police into falsely confessing to a double murder and robbery. Despite zero physical or forensic evidence, he was sentenced to 55 years in prison. Decades later, n...

When Sergeant Alfred Brenner and his military dog Grief were hit by an IED in Afghanistan, he wasn't focused on the pain his severe injuries were causing - but on the fact nobody was calling out for his partner, Grief. In the months to follow, Sergeant Brenner underwent many physical challenges while recovering. But nothing would come close to the pain he endured learning to live without Grief --...

He was only thirteen years old when he began being groomed by the mother of a young boy who was in his Cub Scout troop. Years of abuse would follow, and even after he was free of his abuser, James Dold struggled immensely with the trauma he endured and how he was to move forward. Instead of letting this fear and pain drag him down, he turned to advocacy that has changed the world. Today, James joi...

Friday, March 14th, marked three years since Ben and his team were struck by a Russian missile in Ukraine. While Ben's first year after the accident was spent in intense recovery as he learned how to walk again, the time since has been an enlightening period of reflection -- as he looked back on how much his life has changed since 2022, and how much he's learned about people, resilience, and resol...

"As long as a writer is read, he is alive." - Victoria Amelina   37-year-old author, Victoria Amelina was documenting the pivotal work Ukrainian women were doing in the Russia-Ukraine War when she was tragically killed in a Russian missile attack. Instead of letting her words be lost, her husband, friends, and colleagues came together to ensure her work was shared with the world. With the help of...

Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent, a 40-day period where Christians around the world offer a sacrifice to God.  Actor, Mark Wahlberg and Benjamin discuss the meaning of the Lenten season in their lives and the beauty in letting go to make room for your faith.   Mark also shares how the Hallow app reconnects believers to their faith.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com...

Can faith breed resilience, or vice versa? And how does resilience differ across various communities, cultures, and continents? From battling stage IV colon cancer to surviving Hurricane Katrina, Jamie Aten, Ph. D., has both experienced and witnessed intense suffering. And though this seems like it would have hardened Dr. Aten's outlook on the world, it instead made him curious — ultimately leadin...

February 24th marks three years since Russia invaded Ukraine, beginning a brutal war that continues raging. While we take this day to honor Ukraine, a country that wasn't expected to last a month against Russia and yet continues fighting, we also take it to remember the innocent lives that have been lost, and pay respect to those who continue fighting. One of those people is Ambassador Oksana Mark...