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It is safe to say that I have wandered a bit. I served in the military, flew some jets, jumped out of most, climbed mountains (I jumped off of them too), taught fitness, owned a gym, and have spent the last few years speaking to organizations and leaders. It has been a journey, and in all honesty, I have no idea where it is going. I seek the things that make me uncomfortable. I move towards things that scare me. I think you should too
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Cruise Ships, Cover-Ups, and Cow Killers | Negligent Discharge Friday | 5.8.2026
05/08/2026
Cruise Ships, Cover-Ups, and Cow Killers | Negligent Discharge Friday | 5.8.2026
Michael and I get into it on this one. Hantavirus headlines, the Doomsday Clock, wind turbines, the Epstein note, and a guy on YouTube paying his bills by getting stung by bugs. I open by confidently passing along bad medical advice from two articles I read. Michael fact-checks me in real time. We agree it's a good exercise in why you should slow down before you repeat anything. From there we get into what Hantavirus actually is, why this isn't going to be another lockdown, and why I think people would push back hard if it were. The Doomsday Clock is at 89 seconds. Not 90. Not 88. Two old guys in suits decided. We talk about why fear-mongering on a quarter clock face stops working at some point, and what's actually happening with all those wind turbines I just flew past for eleven hours that weren't spinning. Then the heavier stuff. The "rape academy" story. Epstein's suicide note. Andrew Mountbottom. Why I don't believe anyone in his orbit is ever going to face accountability in this country, and what that says about a government willing to look away if the math works out for them. Enjoy Join the Cleared Hot Newsletter: Pick up a copy of Drownproof: Today's Sponsors: Firecracker Farm: use code CLEAREDHOT for 10% off your first order. LMNT: Head to to pick up your free sample pack
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The Cost of Telling the Truth | John Kiriakou | Ep. 446
05/04/2026
The Cost of Telling the Truth | John Kiriakou | Ep. 446
John Kiriakou spent 14 years at the CIA. He started as an analyst, went operational, and eventually ran counterterrorism work in Pakistan that led to the capture of Abu Zubaydah. He was the first U.S. government official to publicly confirm that the agency was waterboarding prisoners. For that, the Obama administration prosecuted him under the Intelligence Identities Protection Act and sent him to federal prison for 23 months. He lost his pension. He lost his career. Most of his kids stopped speaking to him. Today he writes books, hosts a podcast, and teaches a course on the history of terrorism. We get into how the agency really works. Recruiting spies. Breaking into a house in a foreign country to plant a bug. The mentor who told him to walk up to a target's front door and sell him out to his face. Then we get into the part nobody at Langley wants to talk about. Torture. Rendition. The innocent people who got grabbed off planes and buses and never got their lives back. We also cover Section 702, the Patriot Act, Iran, Iraq, and why no agency ever gives the power back. Enjoy. Join the Cleared Hot Podcast Newsletter: Today's Sponsors: Black Rifle Coffee: Brunt: Right now, for a limited time, our listeners get $10 off at when you use code "clearedhot" at checkout.
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Learning To Suffer Well | Full Auto Friday | 5.01.2026
05/01/2026
Learning To Suffer Well | Full Auto Friday | 5.01.2026
Four questions this week. The kind that don't have clean answers. A guy whose father murdered his mother is asking how to get back to who he was before. He's not. A 28-year-old still living at home is watching his mom's cancer come back and trying to figure out how to spend the time he has left. A man in his sixties wants to know how to bring up suicide with three friends he's had for 40 years before it's too late. A 31-year-old in his first long-term relationship doesn't feel anything for the woman he's dating but knows everyone around him likes her. I talk about why the people you see online keeping it together aren't keeping it together. I talk about why the snapshot isn't the whole picture. I talk about why the first therapist who wants to sell you his book isn't the last therapist you'll need to find. I talk about going right at the hard conversation instead of around it. And I talk about why bringing the government into a relationship you're already unsure about is the wrong move. Enjoy Join the Cleared Hot Newsletter: Today's Sponsors: Ridge: For a limited time, our listeners get 10% off at by using code "clearedhot" at checkout. Helix: Go to for 27 percent off sitewide!
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Bonus Episode - Drownproof Chapter 1 - Be the Author of your Life, not the Victim of it
04/29/2026
Bonus Episode - Drownproof Chapter 1 - Be the Author of your Life, not the Victim of it
Today's "episode" is the audiobook first chapter of my book: Drownproof. Thank you to everyone who helped make the launch such a tremendous success. Hitting all of the "Best Seller" lists, to include the NYT, was quite frankly, incredibly humbling. You all made that happen, not me. For those of you who have read or listened to it already, well, clearly today's episode is not going to be exciting for you! For those that haven't, this chapter is about a very formative experience in my young life that changed how I viewed my self in the world. That change in mindset altered the trajectory of my life. Pickup a copy of Drownproof (Digital or Print) here: Sign up for the Cleared Hot Newsletter here:
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Working for Kanye, Building "Items" for Delta Force | Justin Klahn | Ep. 445
04/27/2026
Working for Kanye, Building "Items" for Delta Force | Justin Klahn | Ep. 445
Justin Klahn is hard to put in a box. Twenty years inside Nike Innovation. Years embedded with JSOC units building gear that had to actually work. Time consulting with three-letter agencies, DARPA, and the Harvard Learning Innovations Laboratory. A run working directly for Kanye West. He calls himself a problem solver, and the resume backs it up. His new book is Innovator's Handbook. We open on the divorce conversation, the kind of failure neither of us wished for, and what it takes to show up for a partner the second time around. From there it gets wide. The competition mindset that separates the top of the JSOC food chain from everyone else. What it's actually like to sit in a room with Kobe, with Tinker, with Kanye. The Nike origin stories most people don't know — the real Jordan re-signing, the Pantry, the relationship between Phil Knight and Steve Jobs. We dig into the supernatural. Faith. Conspiracy and control. How a guy who advises high-stakes operators stays open enough to consider anything but grounded enough to still get the work done. And we end on the AI workflow he used to write a book in two weeks — and what that says about where the world is going. The Innovator's Handbook: Sign up for the Cleared Hot Newsletter Here: Pick up your copy of Drownproof Here: Today's Sponsors: Montana Knife Company: LMNT: Head to to pick up your free sample pack
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Bladder Control and Geopolitics | Negligent Discharge Friday | 4.24.2026
04/24/2026
Bladder Control and Geopolitics | Negligent Discharge Friday | 4.24.2026
Michael, my dad, and me. Three generations arguing in one room. That's the format today. My dad watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon live at twenty-two years old. He remembers the Iranian hostage crisis when it was happening, not when it was a movie. That perspective matters when we get into where we are now — the rhetoric coming out of the White House, the ceasefire that may or may not hold, a war nobody has explained the objective of. We talked about the leaders we don't seem to produce anymore. Kennedy to the moon in ten years. Hungary voting out a hard-right prime minister by historic margins. Why most good people won't touch politics now — they'll destroy your entire family before you ever reach the ballot. Then the stuff that piles up every week. California's rail to nowhere. AI versus actual brain tissue running video games. ICE changing tactics. Cancer research funding cut by thirty-one percent. Civil War monuments and what you do with history you don't want to celebrate. And yes, my dad tried to break into the neighbor's house. And pissed himself at the rodeo. We get to that too. Enjoy. Pick up a copy of Drownproof here: Today's Sponsors: Firecracker Farms: use code CLEAREDHOT for 10% off your first order. AG1: For a limited time only, go to to get a FREE AG1 Flavor Sampler and AGZ Sampler to try all the flavors, plus FREE Vitamin D3+K2 and AG1 Welcome Kit with your first AG1 subscription order!
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How Fast and Furious Buried an FBI Agent | John Shipley | Ep. 444
04/20/2026
How Fast and Furious Buried an FBI Agent | John Shipley | Ep. 444
John Shipley spent fourteen years carrying an FBI badge. Army aviator first — commissioned by his own father, a retired Vietnam-era lieutenant colonel — until a spinal cord injury at Walter Reed ended his flying career. He walked into Quantico in 1996, drew El Paso, and spent the next decade working narcotics and surveillance on the Mexican border. SWAT. Sniper. Bodyguard details for the FBI Director and the Attorney General. A father of two adopted kids. The kind of agent who refused a $27 million bribe because he didn't want the money — he wanted to keep his oath. And then the government came for him. One Barrett .50 caliber he sold legally to a county deputy years earlier ended up in a Mexican shootout. ATF traced it back. Prosecutors charged him with six felonies. What John didn't know at trial was that the gun store that brokered the final sale was an ATF informant — part of what would later be exposed as Operation Fast and Furious. They let the rifle walk. They knew. And when Mexico asked questions, they handed John up instead. He did two years in federal prison. An entire day of his trial transcript vanished from the record. Presidential executive privilege slammed down on every document that could prove it. John tells the whole story on his own terms — and he's still fighting for the pardon that would give him his rights back. Today's Sponsors: Montana Knife Company: BetterHelp: Sign up and get 10% off at
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Windshield, Not the Rearview Mirror | Full Auto Friday | 4.17.2026
04/17/2026
Windshield, Not the Rearview Mirror | Full Auto Friday | 4.17.2026
Week one of the book being out in the world, and I still don't have the vocabulary for the support. Thank you. Genuinely. If you read it, an honest Amazon review costs nothing and helps more than you'd think. Then we get into the questions. A 25-year-old lawyer writes in about imposter syndrome and getting put on a pedestal for a job he doesn't feel qualified for yet. My take: keep the imposter syndrome. Just find a response that doesn't escalate or deescalate, and move the conversation to them. Next one hits harder. A Marine turned med student on the "vet bro" archetype, the guy in head-to-toe fatigues at the airport, and the social sandpaper that follows. Why one bad interaction outweighs a hundred good ones. Why comparative service and competitive suffering benefit nobody. And why the best counter is just being a good expression of what you used to be. Also covered: what recovery looked like overseas vs. now, why special operations runs like a professional sports team, and my honest take on TRT, dosage, and chasing health span over lifespan. Enjoy Pick up a copy of Drownproof here: Today's Sponsors: Willies Remedy: Order now at and use code "CLEAREDHOT" for 20% off of your first order + free shipping on orders over $95, and enjoy life in the high country. Mando: As a special offer for listeners, new customers get $5 off a Starter Pack with our exclusive code. That equates to over 40% off your Starter Pack Use code "clearedhot" at .
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Giving It All Back Before the Clock Runs Out | John Dudley | Ep. 443
04/15/2026
Giving It All Back Before the Clock Runs Out | John Dudley | Ep. 443
John Dudley is a decorated professional archer, two-time IBO National Champion, World Field Championship medalist, and the founder of Nock On Archery. He's spent close to 30 years inside the archery industry — competing at the highest levels across multiple continents, working with elite manufacturers, coaching everyone from beginners to national team athletes, and building one of the most comprehensive free archery education platforms on the internet through his School of Nock. He's also the host of the Nock On Podcast and turns 50 this June. This conversation covers a lot of ground. We get into the physics and engineering limits of compound bows, why the industry is essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul at this point, and what it would take for someone with an outsider's mind to actually push the technology forward. Dudley talks about the trifecta of archery — mechanical, physical, and mental — and why the kids who aren't standout athletes are often the ones who thrive. We talk about the value of saying no, the cost of too much travel on your family, what Frank Zane taught him about longevity in fitness, and why his long-term goal is to pour every piece of knowledge he has back into the archery community before he steps away. We also get into reaching out to friends when you're struggling, the gap between knowing help exists and actually using it, and the transparency it takes to put your faults on paper. And haircuts. A lot about haircuts. NockOnArchery: Pick up your copy of Drownproof here:
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350 Ops, 200 Bites, and the Future of Healing | Bill Clark & Dr. Bob Harmon | Ep. 442
04/13/2026
350 Ops, 200 Bites, and the Future of Healing | Bill Clark & Dr. Bob Harmon | Ep. 442
Bill Clark is a former DEVGRU military working dog handler — one of the first brought into the program when it launched around 2002. He grew up in chaos. His father was a Vietnam-era Marine door gunner. His mother married five times. His stepfathers were abusive. He played Division I football, joined the Marines, switched to the Navy for a dog handler slot, and ended up spending 13 years at the command across 13 deployments. He ran over 350 operations and logged more than 200 bites. He survived late-stage colon cancer at 37 — linked to battlefield exposures — and now leads executive protection for Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson, who is building what may become the largest stem cell treatment hub in America at his clinic in Gillette, Wyoming. Dr. Bob Harmon calls himself a cow doctor. He started as a large-animal veterinarian out of UC Davis, got pulled into doing clinical trials for pharma companies, and then one day watched stem cells beat like a heart in a petri dish — no electrical stimulation, just cells that had been told what to become. That moment changed the trajectory of his career. He built a veterinary stem cell company that has now treated over 25,000 patients across 60 species. He developed stem cell therapy for the Navy's dolphins and sea lions. And he became the first person in the history of biopharma to take only veterinary data to the FDA and get approval for a human clinical trial. His company, Personalized Stem Cells, is now treating humans under the Federal Right to Try Act and the newly signed Wyoming Stem Cell Freedom Act. We talk about the night Bill's dog Axe took a round through the skull and kept trying to get back in the fight. What it looks like to laze a door from 300 yards and send a dog into a compound full of armed fighters. How big pharma's animal and human divisions refuse to talk to each other. Why your own fat holds young stem cells at any age — even at 92. The difference between your own cells and donor cells. The ten COVID ICU patients who all walked out. How stem cells make their own morphine-like painkiller and could break the opioid addiction cycle. The TBI pilot study coming for veterans. And what it would take to get stem cells on the sideline of an NFL game or in a medic's backpack on the battlefield. Today's Sponsors: Black Rifle Coffee: David: David is offering our listeners a special deal: buy 4 cartons and get the 5th free when you go to
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Fake ManBoobs, Foreign Policy, and the Dildo of Consequence | Negligent Discharge Friday | 4.10.2026
04/10/2026
Fake ManBoobs, Foreign Policy, and the Dildo of Consequence | Negligent Discharge Friday | 4.10.2026
Another week where nothing happened and everything was totally fine. Kristi Noem's husband Byron has been living a secret life involving cross-dressing, fake breasts, webcam models, and a pseudonym — and the whole thing may have been leaked by an immigrant retaliating against DHS. Trump posts that an entire civilization will die tonight, issues an 8 p.m. deadline nobody can explain, then adds God bless the Iranian people at the bottom. We break down why NATO countries aren't obligated to help with offensive operations and why people need to actually read Article 5 before losing their shit. The military fires a dozen generals out of nearly 900 — could be discriminatory, could be trimming the fat, the why matters. Bullet forensics in the Charlie Kirk case come back inconclusive — not exonerating, not damning, just insufficient evidence on the fragment. Pam Bondi is out as attorney general. A megachurch pastor pleads guilty to molesting a 12-year-old and serves six months. A guy films himself torching a warehouse full of toilet paper in Ontario, California. Michael discovers bidets in Japan and won't shut up about it. And I talk about why the real cultural change in this country is going to come from the people running businesses and mentoring the next generation — not from anyone in Washington. Enjoy Today's Sponsors: Firecracker Farms: use code CLEAREDHOT for 10% off your first order. AG1: For a limited time only, go to to get a FREE AG1 Flavor Sampler and AGZ Sampler to try all the flavors, plus FREE Vitamin D3+K2 and AG1 Welcome Kit with your first AG1 subscription order!
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A Mushroom Cloud Over Small Town America | Adam B. | Ep. 441
04/08/2026
A Mushroom Cloud Over Small Town America | Adam B. | Ep. 441
Adam B. is an active-duty police officer in Ohio, a 17-year military veteran, and a former M1 Abrams tanker who deployed to Iraq and Korea. He grew up in the foster care system after being removed from a violent home in Cleveland at age four, was adopted into a rural family that changed his trajectory, and went on to serve in the Army, the National Guard as an MP, work corrections at the Cuyahoga County jail, earn a spot on a SWAT team, and build a career in patrol. This conversation covers a lot of ground. Adam walks through what it was like growing up with 12 siblings in a house that got raided by the DEA. He talks about what drew him to the military, what it felt like to hold a dying child overseas, and why that moment still makes it hard to hold his own kids. He describes working the tenth floor of one of Ohio's roughest jails, responding to a domestic violence murder in front of three children, and why most patrol officers are dangerously undertrained compared to SWAT. Then the conversation turns to East Palestine. Adam was activated with the National Guard and sent to the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment. He stood 200 yards from a controlled chemical detonation with no protective equipment. He watched a mushroom cloud rise and tasted vinyl chloride in the air. Within weeks, his appendix had to be removed. Three years later, he's dealing with memory loss, vision problems, and symptoms his doctors are still trying to explain. Norfolk Southern spent millions lobbying against the very safety regulations proposed after the disaster. Help me become undeniable to the NYT:
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The Biggest Lie Women Were Told | Casey Stumpf | Ep. 440
04/06/2026
The Biggest Lie Women Were Told | Casey Stumpf | Ep. 440
Casey Stumpf is a nurse practitioner with 18 years of clinical experience spanning emergency medicine, military family health at Camp Pendleton, hospice care, and hormonal optimization. She holds a Menopause Society Certified Provider credential and a bachelor's in dietetics from UC Davis. She now runs a practice in California focused exclusively on perimenopause, menopause, and hormonal health for both men and women. In 2002, a study got published before the researchers finished reviewing it. The media ran with one conclusion: estrogen causes cancer. For the next two decades, women were stripped of hormone therapy and told to white knuckle through the worst years of their lives. That same study actually showed women on estrogen alone had 18% less breast cancer. Nobody reported that part. Casey walks through exactly what happened, why the data was misread, and what six decades of fear have cost 75 million American women — only 5% of whom are on hormones today. We get into the real mechanics of what perimenopause does to the brain and body, why testosterone is her favorite hormone for women, the connection between untreated menopause and Alzheimer's, hip fractures, heart disease, and divorce. She talks about sitting bedside through hundreds of hospice deaths and how that shaped everything she does now. We talk about our mom's end-of-life letter, our dad's refusal to age gracefully, and what it means to build your 80-year-old self in midlife. Today's Sponsors: Montana Knife Company: Brunt: For a limited time, our listeners get $10 off at BRUNT when you use code "clearedhot" at checkout. Just head to
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42-Year-Old Privates in the Army and the Purpose of Struggle | Full Auto Friday | 4.3.2026
04/03/2026
42-Year-Old Privates in the Army and the Purpose of Struggle | Full Auto Friday | 4.3.2026
The Army just raised their max enlistment age to 42. I don't know exactly why, but I'd like to. I'm hearing from a lot of people who were considering joining and are now hesitating — and when the rest of the world's allies are saying they don't want to get involved, that tells you something about the moment we're in. This isn't post-9/11. The lines around the block at recruiting stations aren't there right now. We also dig into the big one this week — what's the purpose of life when it's full of struggle and sacrifice? A listener lost his dad at 61. Never made it to retirement. I don't pretend to have the answer locked down, but I'll tell you this: my dad is retired and bored out of his mind. And my sister sat with hundreds of dying people in hospice — none of them wished for more stuff. Every single one wished for more time. Then we close on negative self-talk and why "if a pro can make the shot, why can't I" is one of the worst things you can say to yourself. Not everybody is created equal. That's not pessimism — it's the truth. And the sooner you stop measuring yourself against the best in the world and start measuring against your former self, the sooner you'll actually enjoy what you're doing. Enjoy Today's Sponsors: Ridge: For a limited time, our listeners get 10% off at Ridge by using code "clearedhot" at checkout. Just head to and use code "clearedhot" and you’re all set. Helix: Go to for 20% off sitewide!
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Ride it Until the Wheels Fall Off | Travis Pastrana | Ep. 439
03/30/2026
Ride it Until the Wheels Fall Off | Travis Pastrana | Ep. 439
Travis Pastrana is a 17-time X Games gold medalist, multi-discipline motorsport champion, and the founder of Nitro Circus. He grew up in a Maryland construction family steeped in military service and contact sports, won his first outdoor national championship at 16, bought a house the same year, and has spent the decades since competing in everything from supercross to rally to NASCAR to base jumping. He has had two knee replacements, a hip replacement, over 30 concussions, and once turned 40 fractures across seven bones in his foot into dust on an X Games landing. We got into what it actually means to make decisions at speed — treating cliffs and trees like traffic cones when everyone else backs off. His Daytona 500 run. The NASCAR race where every teammate crashed out and his daughter read him the riot act for finishing 15th. What happened when a group from a certain Army unit showed up at his place and every single one of them landed a backflip on a dirt bike within two tries. The concussion research that found his brain operates differently than most. His seven-year-old daughter telling him she doesn't want to be the best at anything because the people chasing greatness don't seem happy. And the massive open-air wind tunnel he bought from a Mission Impossible set that he can't afford to power. Join the Cleared Hot Mailing List: Pick up a copy of Drownproof: Today's Sponsors: Black Rifle Coffee: Firecracker Farm:
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Jack Reacher, Blow Darts, a Quadruple Amputee Murder Case | Negligent Discharge Friday | 3.27.2026
03/27/2026
Jack Reacher, Blow Darts, a Quadruple Amputee Murder Case | Negligent Discharge Friday | 3.27.2026
Negligent Discharge Friday. Michael and I run through the week's headlines and somehow end up exactly where you'd expect. We kick it off with a full arsenal update — throwing stars, a blow dart gun, and the nunchucks still need names. Then we get into the Alan Ritchson body cam footage. His neighbor jumped in front of his bike, pushed him, and found out what happens when you put hands on a guy built like a refrigerator in front of his kids. No charges filed. Self-defense confirmed. A quadruple amputee professional cornhole player was charged with murder. He was driving a Tesla and shot a man in the front seat. We broke down the mechanics. We had questions. Serious ones. Also some less serious ones. We got into Trump's public comments on Joe Kent and what Tulsi Gabbard said about intelligence authority during her congressional testimony. ICE is standing around airports while TSA agents haven't been paid in six weeks. Delta pulled its congressional perks. Iran apparently sent Trump a gift — oil and gas related. No one knows what it is. Michael's daily screen time is five and a half hours. He lied about it. Twice. On camera. Enjoy Join the Cleared Hot Email List: Pickup a Copy of Drownproof: Today's Sponsors: AG1: Go to to get a FREE AG1 Flavor Sampler and AGZ Sampler to try all the flavors, plus FREE Vitamin D3+K2 and AG1 Welcome Kit with your first AG1 subscription order. Stash: Go to to see how you can receive TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS towards your first stock purchase and to view important disclosures.
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Schools, Cover-Ups, and the Epstein Files | Rich Hy | Ep. 438
03/23/2026
Schools, Cover-Ups, and the Epstein Files | Rich Hy | Ep. 438
Rich Hy is a police detective in the Special Victims Unit in Buffalo, New York, an Army Reserve drill sergeant, and the creator behind Angry Cops, a YouTube channel with over 1.5 million subscribers built over a decade of consistent work. He's a combat veteran with a civil affairs background, multiple deployments, and 21 years of combined service. He's also expecting his first kid. We pick up where we left off the last time Rich was on. The Buffalo schools investigation he blew open landed with an outside law firm, and the results were exactly what you'd expect when the DA's office won't share files, the police department hides behind juvenile protections that don't apply, and evidence gets conveniently deleted. They found systemic issues. Nobody got held accountable. A principal refused a subpoena. A school withheld camera footage showing a second child in an attempted abduction. The investigation acknowledged the problems Rich raised and then did nothing about the people responsible. We get into the Epstein files and why most people are reading them wrong. Rich breaks down the difference between investigative documents and verified evidence. We talk Malibu Fitness, Tim Kennedy, and what it looks like when you own a mistake versus when you try to talk your way around one. Rich walks through a case he caught involving a blind refugee found dead in Buffalo — what the media reported versus what actually happened. We cover ICE operations, the Minnesota shooting, why the how matters more than the what in enforcement, and what happens when politicians throw their own people into the meat grinder hoping for a bad headline. Then we get into taxation, the Revolutionary War starting over a one and a half percent tax, property taxes in New York, the death tax, drill sergeant stories, peptides, Iran, and Rich's new podcast Overserved. Today's Sponsors: Montana Knife Company: Betterhelp: Sign up and get 10% off at
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The Monster Might Be a Sock Puppet | Full Auto Friday | 3.20.2026
03/20/2026
The Monster Might Be a Sock Puppet | Full Auto Friday | 3.20.2026
Full Auto Friday to round out the week! A listener flew from San Diego to Kalispell to tell a woman she was his person. He laid it all out on a couch in my coffee shop. I walk through the two things that I think matter most going into a marriage — communication and patience. A 30-year-old writes in paralyzed by fear. Lifting weights, jiu-jitsu, new restaurants, driving in cities — his brain goes straight to worst-case on everything. What is the difference between irrational and improbable, and why he needs to go talk to a professional who can help him rewire the path his thoughts are carving? I answer a question on how to pick the right jiu-jitsu gym. My wife Leah's advice: look at the makeup of the mat. If it looks like society, you're in the right place. And I finally tell the story of being on the CBS reality show Hunted — union hours, wardrobe continuity, and pretending to play hide and seek in a warehouse in Bakersfield for eight hours a day. Enjoy Pick up a copy of my book Drownproof: Join the Cleared Hot Newsletter: Today's Sponsors: Ridge: For a limited time, our listeners get 10% off at Ridge by using code "clearedhot" at checkout. Helix: Go to for 20% off sitewide!
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Government Overreach, Lying About Your Service, and Rowing to Hawaii | Greg Anderson | Ep. 437
03/16/2026
Government Overreach, Lying About Your Service, and Rowing to Hawaii | Greg Anderson | Ep. 437
Greg Anderson is a former Army Ranger and deputy U.S. Marshal with two decades in law enforcement and combat, a 3rd-degree black belt, and the owner of one of the most thriving Jiu-Jitsu academies in the Pacific Northwest. His first book, Courage Through Adversity, just dropped. He's also about to row to Hawaii. The Row West Pacific expedition is a four-man team rowing a Ronic 45 from the U.S. coastline to Hawaii — no motor, no support vessel, roughly 60 days at sea. Greg explains why he bought the boat, what 3-on/3-off looks like when there's nowhere to stop, and what the trip is actually about. It's not the craziest thing he's signed up for, but it might be the hardest. We also cover what happens when local government decides your Jiu-Jitsu gym is an illegal operation. The answer involves a $40,000 parking assessment, federally protected buttercups, and a mandatory ratio of rhododendrons to parking spaces. Greg pushed back. It worked. He talks about the book — why he wrote it, what he was actually willing to admit in it, and why authenticity isn't a marketing word. Then we get into cops and Jiu-Jitsu, lying about military service, wealth building, and where he thinks the country is headed. Greg's Book - Courage Through Adversity: Andy's Book - Drownproof: Join the Cleared Hot Mailing List: Today's Sponsors: Black Rifle Coffee: LMNT: Head to to pick up your free sample pack
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Iran, The Draft, and Smuggled Ants | Negligent Discharge Friday | 3.13.2026
03/13/2026
Iran, The Draft, and Smuggled Ants | Negligent Discharge Friday | 3.13.2026
Negligent Discharge Friday. Michael now has nunchucks. We're accepting name suggestions. Two names. Because there are two of them. We got into Iran. The strike on the elementary school. Outdated intelligence. The difference between owning a mistake and talking around it. The authorized use of military force and how every administration since 9/11 has abused it. The draft being floated by a president who dodged Vietnam with bone spurs. Gaza and how you fight an enemy embedded in a civilian population. Mandatory service and why two years of serving something bigger than yourself might fix a lot of what's broken. Then Snowden. Hero, villain, or somewhere in between. The surveillance state we already live in. The Patriot Act being one of the most unpatriotic things ever passed. AI deepfakes that take two days and $40 to build. A woman grieving the retirement of her AI boyfriend. And a guy in Kenya getting arrested trying to smuggle 2,200 ants in test tubes through an airport. Enjoy. Today's Sponsors: Firecracker Farms: use code CLEAREDHOT for 10% off your first order. AG1: For a limited time only, go to to get a FREE AG1 Flavor Sampler and AGZ Sampler to try all the flavors, plus FREE Vitamin D3+K2 and AG1 Welcome Kit with your first AG1 subscription order!
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Wellness and Resiliency Are Not the Same Thing | Erica Gaines | Ep. 436
03/09/2026
Wellness and Resiliency Are Not the Same Thing | Erica Gaines | Ep. 436
Erica Gaines came into law enforcement as the Knife Girl — selling switchblades at police conferences, making small talk with cops, building relationships she didn't fully understand. She had opinions. She thought shooting someone in the leg was a reasonable ask. Then she stepped into a use-of-force simulator. One domestic violence scenario, a shock pack on her lower back, and two minutes of chaos later, she walked out shaking. That experience rewired her. She's been inside this world ever since, running TacMobility — bringing neuroscience, stress physiology, and resiliency training to law enforcement agencies across the country. Suicide is the number one cop killer in America. Not line-of-duty deaths. Not ambushes. Not traffic stops. Only half of agencies have any wellness program at all. Of those, only 23% are teaching actual resiliency skills. We get into what that gap costs — and why wellness and resiliency aren't the same thing, and confusing them is part of the problem. We talk about internal law enforcement culture — why officers say the body armor on their back is for their own admin. Why cynicism becomes a slow leak that doesn't stop at retirement. Why the most important thing a cop can do might be building a social circle that has nothing to do with the job. We also get into dispatchers, women in law enforcement, human trafficking in Kalispell, and what happens to your identity the day you turn in your badge. Tacmobility: Today's Sponsors: Montana Knife Company: David: Buy 4 cartons and get the 5th free when you go to
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Pack Light, Fight Hard, Say What Needs to Be Said | Full Auto Friday | 3.6.2026
03/06/2026
Pack Light, Fight Hard, Say What Needs to Be Said | Full Auto Friday | 3.6.2026
Listener Q and A to close out the week. Topics are heavier than usual, but that's how it goes sometimes. -What's in the EDC fanny pack and why -A guy who keeps getting knocked down asks if he should keep pushing toward becoming a Marine -Family drama with the sister-in-law is bleeding into everything, how do you protect what matters without making it worse -A man's mom just got a terminal cancer diagnosis. I lost my mom to cancer. I have regrets about how I handled the end of her life. Enjoy. Pick up a copy of my book Drownproof here: Today's Sponsors: Stash: Don’t let your money sit around—put it to work with Stash. Go to to see how you can receive TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS towards your first stock purchase and to view important disclosures. Fabric: Join the thousands of parents who trust Fabric to help protect their family. Apply today in just minutes at .
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Inside Cartel Conflict and the Reality At The Border | Oscar Hagelsieb | Ep. 435
03/02/2026
Inside Cartel Conflict and the Reality At The Border | Oscar Hagelsieb | Ep. 435
Oscar Hagelsieb is a Mexican-American law enforcement professional known for his lengthy career in U.S. federal service focused on border security, organized crime and cartel infiltration. He grew up in a tough neighborhood on the outskirts of El Paso, Texas, the son of undocumented immigrant parents. His upbringing gave him firsthand insight into both sides of the border and influenced his decision to pursue a career in federal law enforcement. Hagelsieb began his federal service as a U.S. Border Patrol Agent, where he worked in frontline enforcement along the U.S.–Mexico border. In that role he encountered families and migrants crossing for economic opportunity as well as experienced cartel-linked smuggling activity. Building on his effectiveness and his deep understanding of local culture and language, Hagelsieb transitioned into undercover work, infiltrating narcotics and human smuggling networks tied to major Mexican drug cartels. His appearance and background were strategic assets in these operations, allowing him to navigate criminal subcultures and gather actionable intelligence that led to prosecutions. Over time, he rose through the ranks to become the Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) office in El Paso. In this senior leadership position, he oversaw complex investigations into transnational organized crime, cartel logistics, and cross-border smuggling operations, and managed both domestic and international law enforcement efforts. His work and perspective were featured in the documentary Kingdom of Shadows, which examines the human realities of the drug war and cartel influence along the border, providing rare insight into the lived experience of agents operating within these conflicts. Today's Sponsors: Black Rifle Coffee: Brunt: For a limited time, our listeners get $10 off at BRUNT when you use code "Clearedhot" at checkout.
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The Lie Of "Stranger Danger" | Full Auto Friday | 2/27.26
02/27/2026
The Lie Of "Stranger Danger" | Full Auto Friday | 2/27.26
Four questions for today's Q and A that all center on responsibility and perspective. We start with a man in a movie theater watching someone try to enter through an emergency exit, his mind flashing back to the Aurora theater shooting and wondering ever since if he should have acted or done more. From there, a husband blindsided by his wife saying she’s leaving and facing the reality of telling his two young sons. The third question comes from a man recovering from major surgery who feels useless and like a burden on his wife while he heals. We close by tackling whether it’s smarter to openly acknowledge the risks young men and women face online, or ignore what is statistically unlikely but emotionally unsettling. Pre-Order my upcoming book Drownproof here: New Cleared Hot Merch: Today's Sponsors: Betterwild: Right now, Betterwild is offering our listeners up to 40% off your order at AG1: For a limited time only, go to to get a FREE AG1 Flavor Sampler and AGZ Sampler to try all the flavors, plus FREE Vitamin D3+K2 and AG1 Welcome Kit with your first AG1 subscription order!
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The Real Generation Kill | Brad Colbert | Ep. 434
02/23/2026
The Real Generation Kill | Brad Colbert | Ep. 434
Brad Colbert is a retired Marine Master Sergeant with 30 years of military and government service. He served with 1st Reconnaissance Battalion in Afghanistan in 2001 and during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, where he led Marines in combat and was later depicted in Generation Kill. After retiring from active duty, he continued working in support of the Intelligence Community before shifting his focus to leadership, resilience, and veteran advocacy through The Carry On Podcast and the Recon Foundation. We talked about combat, responsibility, and what happens when the uniform comes off. A major part of this conversation was veteran mental health and the reality that too many men are still fighting alone. Brad is working to change that. This episode is about ownership, connection, and making sure the people who served don’t suffer in silence. Find Brad Here: Today's Sponsors: Montana Knife Company: David: Buy 4 cartons and get the 5th free when you go to
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Negligent Discharge Friday | 2/20/2026
02/20/2026
Negligent Discharge Friday | 2/20/2026
Young Michael dove deep on his internet research for this Friday. We spent an hour discussing a variety of topics, and as usual, he did not disappoint: -Black Belts Freaking Out and Punching Purple Belts -Do Weapons Fire By Themselves? -The Reality of Steven Seagal Movies -Social Media Comments and Arrests in Europe -Helicopter Crashes into the Snow -The Epstein File debacle And much more...... Enjoy- Today's Sponsors: Firecracker Farms: use code CLEAREDHOT for 10% off your first order. Fabric By Gerber Life: Join the thousands of parents who trust Fabric to help protect their family. Apply today in just minutes at
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Built to Kill: Writing the Gray Man | Mark Greaney | Ep. 433
02/16/2026
Built to Kill: Writing the Gray Man | Mark Greaney | Ep. 433
Mark Greaney is one of the most successful thriller authors working today — a #1 New York Times bestselling writer who built an entire spy fiction universe with his Gray Man series and helped carry forward Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan legacy. His novels have become global hits, translated into dozens of languages, and turned into major motion pictures on Netflix starring high-profile talent. We dive deep into what separates hobbyists from career storytellers, why meticulous research matters, and how Greaney approaches pacing, character, and realism in a crowded genre. In this episode, Greaney walks us through his journey from early drafts to international bestseller, the hustle behind sustaining a long-running series, and how real-world preparation — from travel to tactical training — feeds the kind of action readers devour but seldom see the work behind. The Hard Line: Today's Sponsors: Black Rifle Coffee: Helix: Go to for 27% off sitewide. Better Help: Listeners get 10% off their first month at
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The Cost of “No Quit” | Full Auto Friday | 2/13/2026
02/13/2026
The Cost of “No Quit” | Full Auto Friday | 2/13/2026
This week’s Q&A tackles a mindset I respect—but one that can turn on you if you’re not careful. Two listeners ask different versions of the same question: can a “no quit” attitude become destructive? One is staying in a marriage he knows is unhealthy because he fears being labeled a quitter. The other can grind himself into the ground at work but doesn’t know how to recognize the point of diminishing returns. The third question comes from a man caught in an emotional affair, wrestling with guilt and the weight of repeating the same mistake that fractured his own family. Pre Order your copy of my new book "Drownproof" here: Today's Sponsors: AG1: For a limited time only, go to to get a FREE AG1 Flavor Sampler and AGZ Sampler to try all the flavors, plus FREE Vitamin D3+K2 and AG1 Welcome Kit with your first AG1 subscription order! Stash: Don’t let your money sit around—put it to work with Stash. Go to to see how you can receive TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS towards your first stock purchase and to view important disclosures.
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When War is The Easy Part | Mike Glover | Ep. 432
02/09/2026
When War is The Easy Part | Mike Glover | Ep. 432
After two years of legal battles and business upheaval, Mike Glover returns to the podcast with a clarity and perspective few men ever earn. Mike spent nearly two decades as a U.S. Army Green Beret and Special Forces sergeant major, deploying to combat theaters, leading reconnaissance, sniper, and operations elements, and later serving as a contractor for the CIA in high-risk security environments. When he hung up the uniform he founded Fieldcraft Survival, turning elite skills into real-world survival training and gear for civilians, law enforcement, and government clients — shaping an entire industry in the process. In this conversation, we talk about what the last two years have actually been like — the legal pressure, the business fallout, and what it’s like to navigate both in public. Mike lays out where things stand now, what he’s learned, and how adversity changes your perspective when it’s no longer theoretical. We also get into what he’s building next, the direction he’s taking in business, and what he hopes the future will hold. Mikes Patreon: Mikes New Endeavor-leave email to be connected when he drops: Pre-Order your copy of my book, Drownproof here: Today's Sponsors: Montana Knife Company: David: Buy 4 cartons and get the 5th free at
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Tough or Stupid? | Full Auto Friday Q&A | 2/6/2026
02/06/2026
Tough or Stupid? | Full Auto Friday Q&A | 2/6/2026
This week’s Full Auto Friday is a return to listener questions and some uncomfortable but necessary conversations. We talk about the fine line between being tough and being stupid, how to deal with shame and guilt after a DUI, what it actually looks like to keep moving forward when you can’t see any progress, and how to reconcile regret over military service in today’s political climate. This isn’t about excuses, self-pity, or rewriting the past—it’s about ownership, perspective, and doing the next right thing even when motivation is gone and the path forward isn’t clear. Today's Sponsors: Firecracker Farm: use code CLEAREDHOT for 10% off your first order. LMNT:
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