Common Thread - Episode 13.1 (Greg Bennick)

About this episode

Rory Van Grol interviews Greg Bennick about his book, personal growth, and the influence of Ernest Becker's ideas on their lives.

Rory Van Grol and Greg Benoit are back after a brief hiatus! This episode of Common Thread features an in-depth conversation with Greg Bennick, the vocalist of the legendary Seattle hardcore band @trialseattle. Greg Bennick is also an accomplished speaker, author, and filmmaker. The interview kicks off with a conversation about Bennick’s book, “Reclaim the Moment - Seven Strategies to Build a Better Now,” which is a book about how to use authenticity and human connection to facilitate personal growth “Reclaim the Moment “ serves two audiences, people who want to retrain their mind to be more focused on possibilities and mentally present in the moment, and people who want to improve their workplace dynamics and community leadership skills." The conversation shifts to discuss the two Gregs mutual interest in the life and works of Ernest Becker. Becker is an anthropologist who wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “The Denial of Death,” a book that proposes that all individual and collective actions, including the entirety of human civilization, are a defense mechanism against our awareness of our own mortality. The two Gregs discuss how Becker’s ideas have influenced their life…

People in this episode

Hosts: Rory Van Grol, Greg Benoit

Guest: Greg Bennick

Topics covered

• music
• interviews
• society
• culture
• health

Keywords

• authenticity
• human connection
• personal growth
• Ernest Becker
• nonprofit work
• documentary films

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Reclaim the Moment - Seven Strategies to Build a Better Now, Flight from Death: The Quest for Immortality

Books & works: Common Thread, Reclaim the Moment - Seven Strategies to Build a Better Now, Reclaim the Moment, Pulitzer Prize, The Denial of Death

Places: Seattle, ROCHESTER, ITALY

More episodes of Common Thread

• Common Thread - Episode 17 (Colleen Butterfield) · March 21, 2026 · 1h 21m
• Common Thread - Episode 16 (Chad Posick) · February 7, 2026 · 1h 27m
• Common Thread - Episode 15 (Knifetwister Records - Raph Copeland) · January 24, 2026 · 1h 16m
• Common Thread - Episode 14 (2025 In Review) · January 14, 2026 · 1h 13m
• Common Thread - Episode 13.2 (Greg Bennick) · December 17, 2025 · 33 min
• Common Thread - Episode 12.2 (Will Cleveland) · October 29, 2025 · 52 min