The "Shawn Ryan Show" is hosted by Shawn Ryan, former U.S. Navy SEAL, CIA Contractor, and Founder of Vigilance Elite. We tell REAL stories about REAL people from all walks of life. We discuss the ups and downs, wins and losses, successes and struggles, the good and bad in a respectful but candid way with our guest. We're better than entertainment, we're the REAL thing. Please enjoy the show.
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AJ Gentile is an American producer, writer, actor, and YouTube personality best known as the creator, host, and writer of "The Why Files," a channel that delves into conspiracy theories, mysteries, and unexplained phenomena with engaging storytelling and a skeptical lens. Before gaining fame on YouTube, Gentile worked in Hollywood as a producer and writer, contributing to projects like The Naughty Show (2011) and Stoned Science (2018), and provided voice-over work, including roles in The Legend ...
David Rutherford is an internationally known motivational speaker, best-selling author, world-championship performance coach, and award-winning podcast host. He is also a former Navy SEAL Medic and Instructor who served for eight years in the NSW community. After his honorable discharge from the Teams, he went to work for Blackwater as an international curriculum development and training specialist. In 2005, he launched his motivational performance company, Froglogic Concepts, to initially help ...
Henry L. (Dick) Thompson, Ph.D., is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and legendary MACV-SOG operator known by the codename "Dynamite." Serving as a recon team leader from 1968 to 1970, he led over 20 high-risk black operations deep into enemy territory in Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam during the Vietnam War's secret campaigns, earning a reputation for bravery in brutal firefights and hand-to-hand combat. After 21 years of military service, including roles in Special Forces, Airborne, a...
Matt Gialich is the Co-Founder and CEO of AstroForge, an asteroid mining company founded in 2022 that aims to extract platinum group metals from near-Earth asteroids to redefine sustainable mining practices. With over a decade of experience leading high-performing engineering teams, Gialich holds a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. His career began at Toyon Research Corporation as an analyst developing novel navigation algorithms, fol...
Blake Scholl is the Founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic, a company he started in 2014 to revive commercial supersonic flight with the Overture airliner, designed to fly at Mach 1.7 and carry 64–80 passengers. A Carnegie Mellon University computer science graduate (BS, 2001), Scholl began his career as a software engineer at Amazon, later owning a $300 million P&L at age 24, and co-founded Kima Labs, acquired by Groupon in 2012. Inspired by seeing Concorde in a museum, he self-taught aerospace...
Dr. Dan Schneider is an Adjunct Professor of Theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville and an Associate Staff Member at the St. John Henry Newman Research Centre for Theology at Maryvale Institute in Birmingham, England. A former U.S. Army attack helicopter pilot, Gulf War veteran, and amateur boxer, Schneider has nearly two decades of experience in Catholic evangelization and teaching. As a founding member of Liber Christo, a movement with Fr. Chad Ripperger, he provides resources for p...
Baiju Bhatt is the Founder and CEO of Aetherflux, a space-based solar energy startup launched in 2024 that aims to beam power from orbit to Earth using infrared lasers. A first-generation American of Gujarati descent, Bhatt co-founded Robinhood in 2013 with Vlad Tenev, serving as co-CEO until 2020 and Chief Creative Officer until March 2024, helping to revolutionize commission-free trading. He holds a BS in Physics and an MS in Mathematics from Stanford and previously started two finance compani...
Brian Armstrong, born in San Jose, California, is the co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, which he launched in 2012 with Fred Ehrsam. A Y Combinator alumnus, Armstrong grew up in a middle-class family and earned a B.A. in Economics and Computer Science from Rice University in 2005, followed by an M.S. in Computer Science in 2006. Before founding Coinbase, he worked as a software engineer at Airbnb developing anti-fraud tools and founded UniversityTutor...
Joe Pyfer, born in Vineland, New Jersey, is an American professional mixed martial artist competing in the UFC's Middleweight division, nicknamed "Bodybagz" for his devastating knockout power. Raised in a challenging environment marked by abuse and homelessness, Pyfer began training in martial arts at age four, starting with jiu-jitsu and judo, and later wrestling in high school. Turning pro in 2018, he captured the Art of War and ROC middleweight titles before earning a UFC contract on Dana Whi...
Simone Ledeen is a national security expert and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Policy, where she oversaw U.S. defense strategies for countries including Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, and others. With an MBA and finance background, she served as an advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq and later as Executive Director at Standard Chartered Bank, leading the launch of its multi-national financial crime compliance program. Ledeen has held ...
Isaiah Taylor is the audacious visionary behind Valar Atomics, an El Segundo based startup on a mission to reinvent atomic energy and fuel the future of mankind. Isaiah Taylor dropped out of high school at 16 to start a business and write software for the world's largest hedge fund, but his real obsession, inherited from his physicist great-grandfather, is nuclear energy. After ten years of obsessive research, Isaiah founded Valar Atomics with a radical plan to reboot the atomic age with mass-ma...
Gavin Newsom, born in San Francisco, California, is the 40th Governor of California, serving since 2019. A Democrat, he was Lieutenant Governor (2011–2019) and San Francisco’s youngest mayor in a century (2004–2011), gaining national attention for issuing same-sex marriage licenses in 2004. Diagnosed with dyslexia at age five, Newsom graduated from Santa Clara University in 1989 with a BS in Political Science. He founded PlumpJack Group in 1992, growing it into a multimillion-dollar enterprise w...
Shawn Ryan Show has donated to the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund. Donate & Get Involved - https://cftexashillcountry.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=4201 Augustus Doricko is the founder and CEO of Rainmaker Technology Corp., a company focused on cloud seeding and weather modification. A Thiel Fellow and rising figure in climate tech, Doricko has recently faced public scrutiny following the major floods in Texas. His team conducted a brief cloud seeding operation on July 2 in a li...
Katherine Boyle is a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz and cofounder of its American Dynamism practice, investing in sectors such as defense, aerospace, manufacturing, and infrastructure. She serves on the boards of Apex Space and Hadrian Automation, and is a board observer for Saronic Technologies and Castelion. Previously, she was a partner at General Catalyst, where she co-led the seed practice and backed companies like Anduril Industries and Vannevar Labs. She was also a reporter at The...
Charles Hoskinson is the CEO and Founder of Input Output Global (IOHK), the company behind the Cardano blockchain, a proof-of-stake platform hosting the ADA cryptocurrency. A mathematician by training, Hoskinson co-founded Ethereum in 2013. He launched IOHK with Jeremy Wood in 2015, raising $62 million in a 2017 ICO for Cardano, initially targeting the Japanese market before global expansion. Hoskinson advocates for decentralized governance, as seen in Cardano’s 2024 Voltaire framework and 2025 ...
Jay Cal is a former British special forces operator who served in the elite 22 Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment following a distinguished career as a Royal Marine Commando. After passing the grueling SAS selection process—known for its 90% dropout rate—Jay went on to serve in high-stakes operations including counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, and covert reconnaissance. A seasoned operator, he embedded with Delta Force and later served as a trainer for Navy Special Warfare Development Group’s G...
This episode delves into the controversial Senate proposal to sell millions of acres of U.S. public land, championed by Senator Mike Lee, despite widespread public opposition. Guest Braxton McCoy, a veteran and public lands advocate, explains the historical significance of these lands, the potential devastating impact on wildlife, ranchers, and public access, and challenges the stated rationale of "affordable housing." The discussion also uncovers alleged political tactics, dark money influences, and the critical issue of water scarcity in the Western states.
Katarina Szulc is an investigative journalist and the host of Borderland: Dispatches, a show delivering raw, on-the-ground reporting from the front lines of Mexico’s cartel war. With a sharp lens on organized crime, corruption, and cross-border conflict, she brings listeners real-time snapshots of a rapidly evolving crisis that’s reshaping both Mexico and the United States. Reporting from across North America—Mexico, the U.S., and Canada—she’s known for her fearless fieldwork, unflinching interv...
Scott Nolan is the CEO of General Matter, enriching uranium in America to reshore domestic nuclear fuel capacity and power the American energy production needed to lead in AI, manufacturing, and other critical industries. General Matter is backed by Founders Fund, the first institutional investor in SpaceX, Palantir, and Anduril.Scott is also a partner at Founders Fund, where for the past 13 years he led hardtech investments across energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, aerospace, and defense. C...
Hsiao Bi-khim | 蕭美琴 is Taiwan’s Vice President, sworn in on May 20, 2024, alongside President Lai Ching-te. A seasoned diplomat, she served as Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the United States from 2020 to 2023, becoming the first Taiwanese official to attend a U.S. presidential inauguration since 1979 when she attended Joe Biden’s in 2021. Known as Taiwan’s “cat warrior” for her deft diplomacy, Hsiao strengthened U.S.-Taiwan ties, advancing arms sales, trade agreements, and Taiwan’s global pres...
Erik Prince is an American businessman, former U.S. Navy SEAL, and the founder of Blackwater, a private military company established in 1997. A graduate of Hillsdale College, Prince heads Frontier Resource Group, a private equity firm, and promotes economic development in emerging markets. He hosts the podcast Off Leash with Erik Prince , launched in 2023, and founded Unplugged, a privacy-focused smartphone company. Prince, a vocal advocate for privatizing military operations and deregulation, h...
Alex Wang is the CEO and co-founder of Scale AI, a leading data platform accelerating the development of artificial intelligence applications. Founded in 2016, Scale AI provides high-quality training data for AI models, serving clients like OpenAI, Microsoft, and the U.S. Department of Defense. A former software engineering prodigy, Wang dropped out of MIT to build Scale AI, which is now valued at over $13 billion. Recognized on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in AI, W...
Augustus Doricko is the founder and CEO of Rainmaker, a next generation cloud seeding company. He is a UC Berkeley dropout, Thiel Fellow, and member of the El Segundo hard tech scene. Rainmaker uses weather resistant drones to increase precipitation and novel radar hardware to measure how much man-made precipitation is created. Rainmaker’s first priority is reversing the desertification of the American west, and ultimately to terraform deserts into abundant, green, arable land. Shawn Ryan Show S...
Timothy Alberino is an author, researcher, and explorer known for his bestselling book Birthright (2020), which offers a groundbreaking perspective on biblical narratives in the context of artificial intelligence, transhumanism, and UFO disclosure. Often called a modern-day Indiana Jones, Alberino has traveled globally to investigate alternative history, megalithic architecture, ancient giant mythologies, and the UFO phenomenon. His expeditions include leading searches for lost Incan cities in P...
Dino Mavrookas is the Co-Founder and CEO of Saronic Technologies, a defense tech company pioneering AI-powered autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) to strengthen U.S. and allied naval capabilities. A former U.S. Navy SEAL with 11 years of service and eight combat tours, Mavrookas enlisted after 9/11 and gained firsthand insight into the importance of technological superiority in complex operational environments. He founded Saronic in 2022, and under his leadership, the company has raised over $850...
Larry Vickers is a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Army, with extensive service in the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Delta Force). After retiring, he became a leading firearms instructor, CEO of Vickers Tactical, and a key consultant for firearms manufacturers like Heckler & Koch and Wilson Combat. Vickers is also known for his YouTube channel, Vickers Tactical , where he reviews firearms and shares expertise with millions. As a historian and collector, he brings a wealth of k...
Dave Mustaine is the co-founder, frontman, primary songwriter, and sole consistent member of the thrash metal band Megadeth. A pioneer of the American thrash metal movement, Mustaine formed Megadeth in 1983 after his departure from Metallica, where he served as lead guitarist and co-songwriter. With Megadeth, he has released sixteen studio albums, sold over 50 million records worldwide, earned six platinum certifications, and won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2017 for the title tr...
Steven L. Kwast is a retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General and the Co-founder and CEO of SpaceBilt, a company reimagining the entire spacecraft lifecycle to enable scalable, sustainable space infrastructure. A 1986 U.S. Air Force Academy graduate in astronautical engineering, he served 33 years, commanding units like the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing in Afghanistan and the Air Education and Training Command. A combat-tested F-15E pilot with 3,300+ flight hours (650 in combat), he also holds a...
Jon Truett is a former British Army soldier with a 23-year career, including 20 years serving in the elite 22 Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment of the United Kingdom Special Forces. Enlisting in the Parachute Regiment in 1998, he passed the grueling SAS selection process in 2002 and participated in numerous high-stakes operations, including multiple deployments in Iraq combating insurgent networks. His service spanned complex global conflicts post-9/11, involving counter-terrorism, hostage resc...
Tom Homan is the U.S. Border Czar under President Donald Trump’s second administration, appointed in November 2024 to oversee border security and interior enforcement operations. A career law enforcement officer, Homan served as Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from 2017 to 2018, where he implemented stringent immigration policies. With over 4 decades of experience, including roles as a police officer and Border Patrol agent, Homan is a leading advocate for enfor...
