The Person Who Believed In Me

Before David Archuleta became a household name as the runner up on American Idol and a multi-platinum recording artist, he was a kid who didn't believe in himself, terrified of being exposed, and convinced that who he was at his core was something he needed to hide. Then he met Ronda Truman Ford, a Nashville mom who opened her home, her heart, and gave him something he'd never experienced before: a place where he could belong without expectations. In this raw and deeply personal conversation, the singer sits down with David Begnaud to share the story of the woman who believed in him when he was too afraid to believe in himself. David opens up about meeting Ronda when he was just 18, exhausted & longing for a home cooked meal and a sense of family. He talks about how Ronda invited him in, cooked for him, held game nights, and made him feel seen not as a celebrity, but as a person. He shares what it felt like to move to Nashville at 24 after serving a two year mission in Chile, still closeted, still codependent, and how Ronda became his accountability partner, his gym buddy, and the safe place he needed to start healing. She never forced him to change. She just made him want to grow. Get more stories that remind you the world is still good. Sign up for our free newsletter: www.thedogoodcrew.com Thank you to Canva for believing in the power of storytelling and helping us bring this podcast to life: https://canva.com Chapters ☀️ Chapters 00:00:00 Intro: The Nashville Mom Who Saw Him Whole 00:01:49 Game Night in Nashville: The First Meeting That Changed Everything 00:04:06 Moving to Nashville: Searching for a Place to Belong 00:06:23 What Do You Want in Return? Learning Unconditional Love 00:10:35 The Dad Who Pushed Too Hard: Growing Up Under Jeff's Control 00:17:53 The Accusation That Shattered Everything: A Family Secret at Age Nine 00:20:50 I Was Used to Being Obedient: Homeschooling and Hiding Who He Was 00:23:48 The Late-Night Conversations: Ronda's Table and the Healing That Began 00:13:23 She Knew I Was Gay Before I Did: The Permission to Be Myself 00:23:48 I'm a Living Contradiction: Being the Mormon Poster Boy While Struggling Inside 00:37:40 The Prayer That Saved My Life: When God Said Stop Asking Me This 00:33:10 Three Engagements to Women: The Desperate Attempt to Be Straight 00:57:36 I Almost Chose Not to Be Here: Writing His Will and the Fear of Failing 00:25:47 Singing at Her Bedside: The Week COVID Shut Down and Ronda Passed Away 00:26:22 Thank You for Giving Me a Safe Place: What David Would Say to Ronda Today 00:50:06 The Paralyzed Vocal Cord That Became His Story: Turning a Flaw Into Fame 00:40:18 From Agnostic to Raves: Finding God Outside the Mormon Church 00:43:29 To the Gay Mormon Watching This: It's Okay to Take a Break 00:49:18 I Can't Keep It to Myself: Why Visibility Matters More Than Silence 01:00:35 Devoted to Being Alive: Making Mistakes On Purpose and Living Without Regret 01:03:10 You Are Not a Mistake: David's Message to Anyone Who Feels Wrong ABOUT THIS PODCAST: The Person Who Believed In Me is hosted by David Begnaud, founder and CEO of Do Good Crew and often called "America's storyteller." In each episode, David sits down with world-class guests to ask one simple question: Who believed in you before the world did? Big names. Honest stories. Relatable takeaways. Different paths — same question. David is also a CBS News contributor and host of the weekly segment Beg Knows America, which airs every Monday morning. Host: David Begnaud Guest: David Archuleta Executive Producer: Olivier Delfosse Associate Producer: Jonah Johnson Booker: Sully Bloch Director of Photography: Foster Parks Live Production Technician: Joseph Gabay & Will Whitley (Statik Creative) Director of Social: Mariah Maull Theme Music: Slipstream Post-Production: Longwave Digital CONNECT WITH US: The Person Who Believed In Me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/believedpodcast

Before David Oyelowo became a critically acclaimed actor and the man who brought Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to life on screen, he was a shy kid who came back from Nigeria struggling to find his place in British life. Then Jill Foster, a theatre studies teacher at his Sixth Form College, saw something in him he hadn't yet seen in himself. In this deeply personal and unguarded conversation, the award winning actor sits down with David Begnaud to share the story of the teacher who changed everything when she cornered him outside a London tube station and said the words he'll never forget: I think you could do acting professionally. And I want to help you with that. David opens up about growing up between two worlds, living in Lagos, Nigeria from ages six to thirteen with a father who bore tribal marks and came from a royal family. He talks about what it felt like to experience life as a black man who was not a minority, and how those formative years gave him an identity so secure that no one could take it away. He shares the story of returning to the UK, discovering acting because he had a crush on his pastor's daughter, and meeting Jill Foster, the teacher who didn't just encourage him, she built him a ladder. She introduced him to the National Youth Music Theatre, helped him apply for funding through the Prince's Trust, coached him through drama school auditions, and gave him access to a world he didn't even know existed. Get more stories that remind you the world is still good. Sign up for our free newsletter: www.thedogoodcrew.com Thank you to Canva for believing in the power of storytelling and helping us bring this podcast to life: https://canva.com Chapters ☀️ Chapters 00:00:00 Intro: The Teacher Who Saw a King 00:01:44 Meeting Jill Foster: The Theatre Teacher Who Changed Everything 00:06:11 The Tube Station Moment: I Think You Could Do This Professionally 00:09:45 Jessica: The Wife Who Said I've Got You, I've Got Us 00:12:31 Playing Henry VI: When a Black King Became a Threat to the Status Quo 00:24:01 The God Whisper: I'm Going to Play Dr. King 00:30:17 Shooting Selma While His Mother Lay Dying 00:33:11 The 2 AM Call: Losing His Father on Day One of Newborn 00:40:55 Lagos, Nigeria: Where the Minority Mentality Was Boiled Out of Him 00:55:01 Newborn: Seven Years in Solitary and the Power of Love ABOUT THIS PODCAST: The Person Who Believed In Me is hosted by David Begnaud, founder and CEO of Do Good Crew and often called "America's storyteller." In each episode, David sits down with world-class guests to ask one simple question: Who believed in you before the world did? Big names. Honest stories. Relatable takeaways. Different paths — same question. David is also a CBS News contributor and host of the weekly segment Beg Knows America, which airs every Monday morning. Host: David Begnaud Guest: David Oyelowo Executive Producer: Olivier Delfosse Associate Producer: Jonah Johnson Booker: Sully Bloch Director of Photography: Foster Parks Live Production Technician: Joseph Gabay & Will Whitley (Statik Creative) Director of Social: Mariah Maull Theme Music: Slipstream Post-Production: Longwave Digital CONNECT WITH US: The Person Who Believed In Me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/believedpodcast

Before Melissa Etheridge became a Grammy-winning rock legend and an icon of resilience, she was a Kansas kid with a wild dream and a father who never told her she couldn't do it. In this deeply personal and unguarded conversation, the multi-platinum singer-songwriter sits down with David Begnaud to share the story of John Etheridge, the man who believed in her when belief was the only thing she had. Melissa opens up about growing up in Leavenworth, Kansas, with a father who came from nothing. A migrant farmer's son who served in the Korean War, earned a teaching credential on a sports scholarship, and became a coach who spent weekends driving his daughter to rehearsals, gigs, and bars filled with grown men so she could play guitar. He never gushed. He never overreacted. He just showed up. And when she sat him down in 1980 to tell him she was gay, he said the words that changed everything: Is that it? Just be happy. There's also a raw reflection on what it means to lose a child, how stress can eat you alive if you let it, and why Melissa had to learn to love her music before anyone else would. She talks about the 2005 Grammys, walking out bald after radiation to sing Piece of My Heart, and why that moment became one of the most powerful of her career. She shares what it felt like to be nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, why her new album Rise is about falling to the earth and tasting the dirt, and how a heroic cannabis overdose sent her on a journey to understand consciousness, plant medicine, and what it means to truly be alive. Melissa talks about her wife Linda, who makes her laugh every single day, why she calls herself a dad mom, and how the Etheridge Foundation is working to bring psychedelic research into the fight against opioid addiction in honor of her son Beckett. She reflects on why life doesn't happen to you, it happens from you, and why the greatest gift her father gave her was the freedom to believe in herself when no one else did. Get more stories that remind you the world is still good. Sign up for our free newsletter: www.thedogoodcrew.com Thank you to Canva for believing in the power of storytelling and helping us bring this podcast to life: https://canva.com Chapters ☀️ Chapters 00:00:00 Intro: The Girl from Leavenworth and Her Dad 00:02:49 The Soldier Who Became a Teacher: John Etheridge's Story 00:05:13 He Just Showed Up: A Father's Quiet Belief 00:07:16 Learning Metaphor from Neil Diamond: Music Lessons with Dad 00:11:57 Is That It? Coming Out to Her Father in 1980 00:15:46 Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Navigating Fame While Gay in the 90s 00:25:45 The Grammy Performance That Changed Everything 00:29:21 The Heroic Overdose: A Cannabis Journey That Changed Her Life 00:36:43 Losing Beckett: The Son Who Taught Her the Hardest Lessons 00:42:47 Life is Happening FOR Me: A New Philosophy After Cancer 00:46:32 Rise: Writing Anthems from the Dirt 00:51:50 The Dad Mom: Parenting Like John Etheridge 01:10:57 If I Could Call Him Today: A Final Thank You ABOUT THIS PODCAST: The Person Who Believed In Me is hosted by David Begnaud, founder and CEO of Do Good Crew and often called "America's storyteller." In each episode, David sits down with world-class guests to ask one simple question: Who believed in you before the world did? Big names. Honest stories. Relatable takeaways. Different paths — same question. David is also a CBS News contributor and host of the weekly segment Beg Knows America, which airs every Monday morning. Host: David Begnaud Guest: Melissa Etheridge Executive Producer: Olivier Delfosse Associate Producer: Jonah Johnson Booker: Sully Bloch Director of Photography: Foster Parks Live Production Technician: Joseph Gabay & Will Whitley (Statik Creative) Director of Social: Mariah Maull Theme Music: Slipstream Post-Production: Longwave Digital CONNECT WITH US: The Person Who Believed In Me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/believedpodcast

Before Nick Cannon became a multi-hyphenate media mogul, comedian, rapper, producer, and host of The Masked Singer, he was a hyperactive five year old kid walking into a storefront Taekwondo studio in San Diego, terrified of the stern man who would change his life. In this deeply personal and unguarded conversation, the entertainment powerhouse sits down with David Begnaud to share the person who believed in him when discipline was the last thing he wanted. Nick opens up about meeting Grandmaster James Wilson, a stoic and accomplished man who was not just a martial arts instructor, but an assistant United States attorney, a minister, and a pillar in a community that rarely saw figures like him. Nick talks about growing up with a teenage dad, being raised in a disenfranchised neighborhood, and how Master Wilson became larger than life to him. He shares what it felt like to learn integrity before he even knew what the word meant, why he wanted to quit more than he wanted to stay, and how the discipline he resisted as a child became the foundation for everything he does today. There's also a raw reflection on being diagnosed with ADHD, narcissistic personality disorder, and lupus nephritis. Nick talks about why he sees diagnoses as chapters, not his whole story, and why therapy has become a space to offload, take inventory, and grow. He shares why he believes he's a machete juggler, why standing in the fire is where he feels most alive, and why slowing down has never been an option even when doctors tell him it should be. He opens up about fatherhood, raising 12 kids, the guilt he carries daily, and why being present matters more than being perfect. Get more stories that remind you the world is still good. Sign up for our free newsletter: www.thedogoodcrew.com Thank you to Canva for believing in the power of storytelling and helping us bring this podcast to life: https://canva.com Recorded January 28, 2026 Chapters ☀️ Chapters 00:00:00 Intro: Nick Cannon 00:03:26 Meeting Master Wilson: The Five-Year-Old Who Didn't Want Discipline 00:07:37 The Superhero in the Neighborhood: Why Master Wilson Was Different 00:13:45 Integrity: The Word That Changed Everything 00:09:08 The Question: Have You Become the Man He Wanted You to See? 00:18:30 Growing Up With Dad: The Teenage Father Who Became His Hero 00:29:13 The Diagnosis Collection: ADHD, NPD, Lupus, and Labels 00:27:39 Therapy as Waste Management: Offloading to Stay Superhuman 00:30:25 The Narcissist Test: When You Try to Give the Right Answer 00:35:40 Standing in the Fire: Why Slowing Down Hurts More 00:37:18 The Machete Juggler: Proving Something to Himself Every Day 00:43:13 MTV and Wild 'N Out: Creating Space for Hip-Hop Culture 00:54:00 The 12 Kids Question: Legacy vs. Lineage 00:55:10 School Pickups and Guilt: The Super Dad Who Can't Be Everywhere 00:57:16 The Relentless Dreamer: Insomnia, Faith, and What's Left to Prove 00:42:35 Where Humans Connect: The Struggle Behind the Success 00:59:40 The Man Master Wilson Wanted: Honorable Over Famous ABOUT THIS PODCAST: The Person Who Believed In Me is hosted by David Begnaud, founder and CEO of Do Good Crew and often called "America's storyteller." In each episode, David sits down with world-class guests to ask one simple question: Who believed in you before the world did? Big names. Honest stories. Relatable takeaways. Different paths — same question. David is also a CBS News contributor and host of the weekly segment Beg Knows America, which airs every Monday morning. Host: David Begnaud Guest: Nick Cannon Executive Producer: Olivier Delfosse Booker: Sully Bloch Director of Photography: Foster Parks Live Production Technician: Joseph Gabay & Will Whitley (Statik Creative) Associate Producer: Jonah Johnson Director of Social: Mariah Maull Theme Music: Slipstream Post-Production: Longwave Digital CONNECT WITH US: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/believedpodcast

Before Charlie Puth became a multi-platinum artist and one of the most technically gifted musicians of his generation, he was a kid who couldn't sing in front of people until he was 18 years old. He was a student who heard everything at 200% volume, who felt sick when sounds were off-key, and who believed the only way he could express himself was if there was music behind him. In this deeply personal and unguarded conversation, the Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, and producer sits down with David Begnaud to share the people who believed in him when he was too afraid to believe in himself. Charlie opens up about growing up with diagnosed OCD, perfect pitch, and a sensitivity to sound so intense that it still makes him nauseous. He talks about his parents, Chuck and Deb, who championed him when teachers told him to stay in one lane, when Catholic school didn't understand his love for Eminem, and when competitive swimming felt like sensory overload. His mom, a Jewish music teacher in a Catholic school, taught him that music could bring people in. His dad took a day off work and sat with him for 14 hours in line for an America's Got Talent audition, only to watch Charlie freeze and say he couldn't sing without something behind him. There's also a raw reflection on why Charlie has resisted vulnerability for so long, why he's terrified of being judged, and why his new album is the first time he's letting people see the imperfect, anxious, overthinking version of himself. He shares what it felt like to hear Taylor Swift mention his name in a song, why sitting with Quincy Jones changed his life, and why the song I Used To Be Cringe might be the most honest thing he's ever written. He talks about his pregnant wife, building a house, going on tour the same week his baby is due, and why the only thing that makes him feel better when the world gets too loud is a melody in his head. Get more stories that remind you the world is still good. Sign up for our free newsletter: www.thedogoodcrew.com Thank you to Canva for believing in the power of storytelling and helping us bring this podcast to life: https://canva.com Chapters ☀️ Chapters 00:00:00 Intro: The Musical Prodigy Who Hears Everything 00:02:39 The Incense, The Nerves, and Sweating the Small Stuff 00:05:30 When Music is Your Only Comfort: The Gift and the Curse 00:08:41 I Used to Be Cringe: Writing the Song That Was Too Honest 00:15:49 The Swimming Pool Story: When Mom Pulled Him Out 00:15:08 Chuck and Deb: The Parents Who Believed When No One Else Did 00:39:51 The Classical vs Jazz Battle: Fighting to Do Both 00:44:55 Mom's History: Why She Fought So Hard for Charlie's Freedom 00:50:05 The Vulnerability He's Been Hiding: Opening Up for the First Time 00:49:21 Taylor Swift, Baby Puth, and the Album That Changes Everything 00:57:19 The Imperfections Make It Human: Charlie's Letter to His Younger Self ABOUT THIS PODCAST: The Person Who Believed In Me is hosted by David Begnaud, founder and CEO of Do Good Crew and often called "America's storyteller." In each episode, David sits down with world-class guests to ask one simple question: Who believed in you before the world did? Big names. Honest stories. Relatable takeaways. Different paths — same question. David is also a CBS News contributor and host of the weekly segment Beg Knows America, which airs every Monday morning. Host: David Begnaud Guest: Charlie Puth Executive Producers: Ellen Rocamora, Olivier Delfosse Booker: Sully Bloch Director of Photography: Foster Parks Theme Music: Slipstream Live Production Technician: Joseph Gabay & Will Whitley (Statik Creative) Post-Production: Longwave Digital CONNECT WITH US: The Person Who Believed In Me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/believedpodcast