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This edition of The Neil Haley Show opens with a conversation with actor Mika Abdalla about her role in the coming-of-age film Snack Shack, streaming on Paramount. Abdalla, whose breakout came on the Netflix series Project MC2 after an early start in commercials and an American Girl movie, described Snack Shack, directed by Adam Rehmeier and loosely based on his own childhood, as a warm throwback to the coming-of-age movies of the 1980s and 1990s. Centered on two young best friends running a poolside snack stand over one eventful summer, the film casts Abdalla as the girl who moves to town and shakes things up. To prepare, the director flew the cast in early to live their characters' lives around town, soaking up the era's cars, fashion, and music, and she reflected on the bittersweet, temporary closeness of friendships formed on location and on set. With the industry ramping back up after a slow stretch, she said she is excited to find her next project. Find her on Instagram at Mika Abdalla.
Neil's team then aired a Storehouse Media Group simulcast, with Neil away, featuring mortgage expert Phil Gantz, the driving force behind Next Wave Mortgage, on helping first-time buyers, especially younger people daunted by home prices. Gantz's guidance was to get your financial house in order first, steering clear of late payments and building savings, then to explore the down payment assistance programs that can bridge the gap, some carrying credit-score minimums around 640. He explained that lenders run applications through automated underwriting from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and that the depth and history of one's credit can matter as much as the raw score, so an established borrower with a modest number may fare better than a newcomer with a higher one. His bottom line, offered as professional perspective rather than personalized advice, was that there is no perfect moment and real value in starting sooner.
The hour closes with a Criminally Good with Sherrie and Jen simulcast, presented by Storehouse Media Group, welcoming retired Washington State Trooper Carlos Rodriguez, author of The Ugly Underneath. Rodriguez spent roughly eight years on the state's Missing and Exploited Children Task Force before retiring in 2020, and his book confronts the emotional toll of investigating crimes against children rather than the cases themselves. He spoke about compartmentalization as a survival skill for first responders, from officers to ER staff, and about its hidden cost when those mental boxes are never reopened and processed, quietly straining health and family life. After relocating to San Diego, where he now works for a school district, he lost his old support structure, sought therapy, and, at his counselor's encouragement, began writing to help others. He framed the book as a lifeline for those doing this difficult protective work and their families, a way to tell spouses and children that a loved one's distance was never their fault, and to help fellow first responders know they are not alone. He made the case for accurate language, explaining why he favors the term child sexual abuse material over one he believes minimizes the reality, and acknowledged how easily people shut down when the subject comes up, arguing that the topic has to be discussed, in a measured way, if society is going to confront it and support both the investigators and the survivors who need help to heal. Writing about two hours a day for roughly a year, he shaped those sessions into the book, and he closed by honoring the many people who step away from their own families to protect other people's children, urging listeners to support that mission. He also noted his former task force accepts public donations through the Washington State Patrol website. The Ugly Underneath is available online, and you can find Mika Abdalla's Snack Shack on Paramount.