The Global Show with Dave Benson

Rewind week. Back in early 2023 Tom Paolino sat down with us fresh off a Facebook message from a lawyer turned screenwriter, a GoFundMe campaign, and a dream of shooting a feature film in Buffalo on a shoestring budget. He hadn't shot a single frame yet. Since this episode aired, that film, One of the Good Ones, premiered at the Dunedin International Film Festival right here in New Zealand, th...

Mary Madeiras grew up in a chaotic New York household, escaping into old movies thatplayed through the night. That love of story led her to become a three-timeEmmy Award-winning television director, working on General Hospital, AnotherWorld, and some of the most watched daytime television in the United States. But that was only the first half of her story. In this episode we go deep into both live...

Pen Densham has lived one of the most extraordinary creative lives in Hollywood history. He rode a live alligator on film at age four, talked his way backstage to photograph the Rolling Stones as a teenager, left school at 15, moved to Canada at 19 with nothing but ambition, and went on to write Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, work on Rocky II with Stallone, revive The Outer Limits and The Twilight...

What if humanity has already discovered some of its greatest ideas… and then forgotten them? In this episode of The Global Show, Dave Benson sits down with Jack R. Bialik, author of Lost in Time: Our Forgotten and Vanishing Knowledge, to explore one of the most fascinating and unsettling ideas about human civilisation: progress is not always a straight line. Jack has spent more than 10 years resea...

This week on The Global Show , Dave Benson is joined by Israel Reyes , an international cybersecurity and national security expert whose work spans cyber risk, cyber intelligence, critical infrastructure, operational technology, cyber resilience, data sovereignty and national security. Israel has worked across Mexico, the United States, Russia, China, Australia and New Zealand, and brings a truly...

This week on The Global Show with Dave Benson , Dave is joined by author Erik Foge , a writer whose love of history, intelligence work, and moral dilemmas has shaped a series of novels where the past is never as simple as it looks. Erik shares how a childhood trip to Washington, D.C. sparked a lifelong fascination with government, history, and the Central Intelligence Agency. From calling the CIA...

What happens when a military veteran, law enforcement officer, radio personality, voice actor and storyteller decides to build a production company with his daughters? In this episode, Dave sits down with Mak Taylor, Tania Taylor, Mellysa Taylor and Molly Taylor for a fascinating conversation that spans decades of entertainment, broadcasting and family collaboration. Mak shares stories from his ea...

In this powerful and deeply moving episode, Dave Benson speaks with Amy Shaw, a John Maxwell certified speaker, modern impressionist artist, grief guide, end of life concierge, author of Navigating Goodbye , and founder of Walk the Red. Amy’s story is extraordinary. After building a large family of ten children, four biological and six adopted, she and her husband Brian received devastating news....

This week on The Global Show with Dave Benson, we revisit and upgrade Episode 29 with filmmaker, producer, podcast host and mental health coordinator Celine Beth Olsen. This conversation felt too important to leave behind in the old format. When it first came out, the show still carried more of the comedy led opening style. Since then, The Global Show has grown into a more serious podcast focused...

Diane Sismour joins The Global Show with Dave Benson to talk about a lifetime of storytelling, writing from the age of 12, building characters from real life, and the creative journey that led her into screenwriting. In this conversation, Diane shares how writing helped her through major life changes, how she balanced creativity while raising a family and running businesses, and why she often wrot...

What does it really take to break into Hollywood… and stay there? In this episode of The Global Show, filmmaker, producer, and creative strategist Richard Tucci shares his journey from rejection to working alongside some of the biggest names in the industry. From being rejected twice by USC Film School to finally earning his place… to working under Penny Marshall… to producing documentaries, reali...

From addiction, abuse, and prison… to launching a record label. This week’s episode of The Global Show with Dave Benson is one of the most raw and powerful conversations I’ve had. Jonathan, also known as Phantom, shares his journey from survival to purpose. A high school dropout who battled addiction and hardship, now building Fugitivus Records and releasing music with real meaning. Watch the full...

Most creators and entrepreneurs underestimate how much their own stories and fears shape their success or their failure. In this episode, Remy Blumenfeld shares the defining lessons from a life that spans television, entrepreneurship, and personal transformation. From building groundbreaking TV formats to surviving a life threatening illness and kidney transplant, Remy reveals how those experience...

What happens after success… when everything changes? This week on The Global Show with Dave Benson, we sit down with Elias Reidy, a multi platinum artist, musician, voice over actor, and creative force who has evolved far beyond the traditional path of the music industry. From working with EMI Music and Universal Music to redefining himself, Elias shares what it really takes to stay relevant, crea...

A short while ago, I sat down with former FBI agent Brian Grohoski, who spent over 20 years working some of the most confronting cases imaginable. In this episode, we go deeper into one of the hardest topics to talk about… human trafficking. This is not the version you see in movies. It is not always violent. It is not always obvious. More often than not, it starts with trust. We unpack what human...

What does it really take to create a successful independent film? In this episode of The Global Show , actor and filmmaker Tom Paolino joins me to talk about the journey behind his film "One of the Good Ones" , now available on Amazon Prime . We talk about what it actually takes to build an indie film from the ground up. The culture on set. Balancing humour with serious storytelling. And...

In this episode of The Global Show with Dave Benson, we sit down with podcaster, composer, and creative thinker Dan Swift. Dan is the host of the podcast Time We Discuss, a show dedicated to helping people navigate one of the most difficult questions many of us face. What should we actually do with our careers? During the conversation, Dan shares the story behind launching his podcast after his wi...

The Global Show with Dave Benson is a high energy independent talk show built around comedy, creativity, and honest conversation. The show celebrates the most interesting and often overlooked creators from YouTube, film, music, comedy, and beyond. They said he couldn't do it, then he became the first Black deafblind journalist in the world. Stephen McCoy reveals how he turned lifelong challeng...

In this episode of The Global Show, Dave Benson sits down with George Ellzey Jr, an actor, director, and founder of Rome Productions, to unpack a journey that started in pre med and evolved into a powerful creative career in film. George shares the reality behind breaking into the industry, including early rejection, finding the right mentorship, and discovering that his true passion was storytell...

From investigating human trafficking and public corruption to stepping into Hollywood, this episode features the remarkable journey of former FBI Special Agent Brian Grehoski . Brian shares what it’s really like behind the scenes of federal law enforcement, the realities of human trafficking that most people misunderstand, and how those experiences shaped his transition into acting and screenwriti...

Welcome back to The Global Show with Dave Benson. This week we unpack influencer culture, outrage economics,YouTube becoming a digital shopping mall, and why everyone now performs for thealgorithm. Then we sit down with David Mackey. After 24 years in broadcast television at ABC 13, David madea decision most people avoid. At 50, he walked away and rebuilt his life fromthe ground up. From newsroom...

Billionaires claiming poverty. Influencers running for Congress because of visions. A 24 hour trip to Japan for content. And somewhere in all of this… The Beatles may or may not have lived in a yellow submarine. Welcome back to The Global Show. This week’s monologue takes aim at the algorithm elite. MrBeast says he has negative money. Trisha Paytas sees Congress in a vision. Piper Rockelle enters...

From the Valley to the Screen | Adam Goudchaux on Storytelling, Addiction, Hollywood & “On the Record” What does it take to survive Hollywood, lose everything, and then write your way back? In this episode of The Global Show, screenwriter and filmmaker Adam Goudchaux shares the raw and honest story behind his journey from growing up in the San Fernando Valley to building a career in film. From...

Genre Fusion, Vampires, Westerns & Breaking the Rules of Film This week on The Global Show , I sit down with filmmaker Victoria Wharfe McIntyre for a conversation that goes completely off the traditional filmmaking map and then keeps driving. Victoria is developing a bold new proof of concept that fuses Gothic, erotic, vampire, romance, and Western storytelling into one unapologetically origin...

Welcome to a new chapter of the show. In this episode of The Global Show , Dave Benson opens 2026 with a new name, the same face, and a sharp, funny take on a world that clearly did not calm down over the holidays. The episode begins with a fast-paced monologue unpacking everything from Gen Z cancelling numbers, whales rejecting humans, Matlock interrupting live TV, AI birdbaths, robot exoskeleton...