EP049 - The Trust Fall w/ Sharon Liese
Kansas City here we come! Well, just Ben this time, revisiting old haunts along the Tomahawk Creek trail with Sharon Liese—Emmy-winning director of THE FLAGMAKERS and TRANSHOOD. Sharon proves you don't need an LA zip code to premiere at Sundance—her new feature SEIZED—a nuanced, complicated portrait of what happened when police raided a small-town Kansas newspaper—was a must-see at Park City this January. A film about justice and freedom of expression is a pressing tale today and Sharon walks us through the messy reality of telling a story where nobody's quite the hero you expect. We dig into the two-and-a-half year journey of making the film, the year it took to get suspicious small-towners to open up, and the 98-year-old newspaper co-owner whose defiant attitude captured on police body cam footage will absolutely wreck you. The serendipity is real: mid-walk, we stumble onto gnome houses on the trail—a callback to Sharon's gorgeous short THE GNOMIST, which was filmed on this very path. We trace her origin story from a Kansas marketing gig to following 12 girls through high school for HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL, getting an agent by name-dropping an RJ Cutler meeting, and the fateful Facebook message that led to Ben & Sharon working together on PINK COLLAR CRIMES. Sharon opens up about TRANSHOOD, following four trans kids for five years on HBO, and the devastating new Kansas legislation that just dropped overnight. The conversation turns to the state of an industry where good storytelling is getting squeezed from every direction and Ben gets real about his eight-year Onion documentary saga. But the vibe stays warm—Sharon's grandkids just moved to KC, the crowded table she always dreamed of is full, and MAD HOT BALLROOM is confirmed as a gateway drug film that changed Sharon's life. Plus: the parents who thought they'd get a VHS tape and ended up on national TV. DISCUSSION LINKS: SEIZED (2026) | THE GNOMIST (2015) | TRANSHOOD (2020) | THE FLAGMAKERS (2022) | HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL (2008) | PINK COLLAR CRIMES (2018) | MAD HOT BALLROOM (2005) | WINNEBAGO MAN (2009) | COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT (2025) TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Introduction and Kansas City arrival 01:00 Meeting Sharon Liese and SEIZED at Sundance 03:00 The Marion, Kansas newspaper raid 05:00 The other side of the story 08:00 Gaining trust in a small town 10:00 Paul and the family filmmaking team 11:00 Walking Tomahawk Creek in Leawood 12:00 Making films where you live 15:00 Driving to Marion the day Joanne died 17:00 Navigating high-profile partnerships 18:00 How we met on PINK COLLAR CRIMES 20:00 Stumbling onto gnome houses and THE GNOMIST 22:00 TRANSHOOD and following four kids for five years 24:00 Kansas trans legislation 25:00 Sharon's origin story and HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL 28:00 Getting an agent and the RJ Cutler name-drop 29:00 Ben's Onion documentary white whale 34:00 Grandkids, the crowded table, and family 36:00 THE FLAGMAKERS and the road to an Oscar shortlist 40:00 Documentary curiosity and the trust fall 41:00 The state of the industry 44:00 Lightning round and MAD HOT BALLROOM 47:00 What Sharon can't stop thinking about 49:00 Where to find Sharon and upcoming festivals