Tucker Carlson - Revolution, World War 3, WTC Building 7 and Supernatural Phenomenon | SRS #115

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[Music] Tucker Carlson welcome to the show thanks for having me man you’re welcome thank you for being here well I wanted to come I’ve been looking forward to this for so long I haven’t told anybody cuz I didn’t want to jinx it and um and now here we are jinxed it I was super psyched I saw your tape I was like well that guy is real unlike most people on the internet and I texted you got your number I was like that guy’s not to brag but I was like that guy’s gonna be a success thank you thank you he not lying like everybody else yeah we uh so yeah we got we actually got connected through buck ston so oh is that what it was yeah our mutual friend buck so I I got to I got to give Buck a shout out man Buck I love that thank you you’re amazing did you work with him no we did we never actually worked uh at say at the same time we met you know how we met we met he had reached out to me uh because of the Eric Prince interview and I heard him on the radio kind of talking about that interview and and uh and then we got connected and became buddies and uh so yeah and then it developed into yeah that’s wild put us in contact so I love that yeah me too but um so we got a lot of stuff to cover today in a short amount of time and uh but I’d love to I’ve not heard your life story on any other interview and so I’d love to kind of start there if you’re willing it’s not that interesting that’s what I talked about I’m not super I’ve seen a lot of interesting stuff I my story is not that interesting I was born in San Francisco well hold on hold on hold on we’ll get there but uh let me give you a quick introduction great Tucker Carlson you are one of the leading voices in American politics you host the Tucker Carlson show a brand new long form convers ational podcast Time Magazine has called you the most powerful conservative in America after spending decades in cable news you launched an online Media Company TCN to provide an alternative to corporate media that is dedicated to telling the truth about things that matter clearly and without fear Tucker Carlson hosted Fox News Channel’s Flagship Prime Time cable news program Tucker Carlson tonight it was and still is the highest rated program in cable news history before that you hosted other programs on Fox News MSNBC and CNN you’re the author of two recent New York Times bestsellers Ship of Fools in the long slide husband been with your wife 40 years 40 years 19 congratulations that’s that’s incredible she was 15 I was 33 it was weird father to four children yep three girls one boy exactly in the last year you’ve shattered viewership records and reshaped the media landscape by bringing your interviews and Reporting online you’ve recently interviewed Donald Trump Vladimir Putin Elon Musk and many more of the biggest names in news and politics around the world you’re 22 years Sober Sober 22 years and a man of God I I would never call myself a man of God but I I definitely believe in God yeah I am a Christian yes so am I missing any I’m sure I’m missing a lot oh I mean that that’s all half true but um yeah I turn 55 tomorrow so it’s a little it’s it is weird I I’m not I try not to be too reflective because that’s just a well you can fall down and not get out of but um I basically just had the same job my whole life and um just kept getting fired or having you know the mediums that I worked in disappear like magazine and newspapers cable news broadcast television that all just kind of went away yeah you know as the country changed so I do feel blessed to have not a second act but like a ninth act um I do really feel fortunate I am fortunate um not for the money even or especially but for the chance to do something that I like and that I think is sort of productive and I have a lot of energy and I need to channel it into something that’s not not negative or self-destructive and so I’m just really grateful you don’t want to be a middle-aged man as I am without an outlet yeah well you’ve definitely had a superb career and continue to what what is it that you think that uh people gravitate I’m not self-aware I refuse to be self-aware I don’t even like mirrors um so at all which you can probably tell from my appearance um so I I have literally no idea but I do think that especially in the LA I mean I think a lot of things but in the last few years it’s become clear to me that the categories that I thought were real are not and that it really is a contest of in fact a war between the truth and deception and so I and I believe you know I don’t always know what the truth is and I’ve certainly repeated a lot of things that were lies mostly unintentionally I try not to lie I have lied but I try not to but I’ve certainly said a ton of things that were wrong um but I am trying to tell the truth I am not the whole truth all the time you don’t have to say everything you think you shouldn’t but you can’t lie and uh and I think that people can feel that it’s what it’s why I’m sitting right here it’s why I was attracted to your podcast someone sent me a clip and I was like and I actually love the content I thought it was interesting and open mind but mostly I thought it was real and I think that you can perceive that on like a gut level like I know when someone’s lying to me I don’t always know what he’s lying about or why he’s lying but I can smell deceptionist we all can from our instincts instantly and I’m I don’t have any special powers of any kind I don’t have a crazy high IQ or I really don’t have that many skills but I would say my main skill is I believe my instincts like I don’t think they lie to me they’re not trying to sell me something not trying to get elected they’re there to serve me I really believe that that’s true of all people and animals I love animal so I see this at work in animals as well and um I don’t hesitate to follow my instincts ever and the extent that I have I’ve gotten in trouble so again I don’t always know what those instincts mean as I say to my children they are uniring but imprecise like they’re absolutely real 100% of the time the question is how do you interpret them do you know what I mean I do it I I know exactly what you that’s probably why you’re still alive because you know what I’m talking about right exactly yeah every time I don’t and I go against it yes I regret it you know oh oh I could write a book on the counter instinctual moves I’ve made that turned out to be disasters or the conclusions that I reached against my own I mean this was the thing for me with the VA I don’t know anything about I was not against vaccines particularly and I grew up in a town in La Hoya California that was sort of the whole town was based on the polio vaccine that the sulk Institute Jonas sulk Institute was there I was not against vaccines I hadn’t really thought about them I thought they were I guess miracles of science that’s what I was told I don’t even know what I think of vaccines now but um I’m skeptical but with the co VA I all I knew I didn’t know anything about mRNA technology of course I still am not an expert on that but I know a lot about human deception because that’s been my job my whole life and also I’m just I try to pay attention to whether something is true or false and the behavior of the people selling me that was so transparently dishonest I didn’t know that the VX wouldn’t work which it didn’t of course I didn’t know that it would cause harm which it did but I did know that the people selling it were Liars like I knew that instantly and I know some of them but I could just tell by their behavior they’re lying and I was like I don’t know what this is no one in my family’s getting this we’re not doing this and I’m not doing this period period like I figured that out the first day yeah that’s not true I did not figure it out I still haven’t figured it out but I felt it so strongly and I just obeyed and I think that works I think it does too yeah um you know something I wanted to ask you to rewind a little bit I ask everybody who’s in a successful marriage this question you’ve been with your wife 40 years I think you said you’ve been married for 33 years yes in a country where divorce is the commonality what would you say the secret to a successful marriage is I mean luck Destiny Providence plays a huge Ro you you know you’re not the author of your success or entirely of your failures I would say also there’s a lot that happens in life that is not the product of choices that you made Free Will is overrated I’m becoming more calvinist by the day just watch it you know does the 5-year-old get leukemia because she did something wrong like no a lot of things you spent a lot of your life in wart people you know who died did they deser you know what I mean it’s like you don’t things happen that are not for good and bad that are not sort of up to you and so a lot of having a happy marriage is just marrying someone with whom you’re compatible and you change I met my wife in 1984 and it’s a completely different country and we’re different people but we’re different in the same way who’s respons you know who did that I didn’t really I hear people say marriages are hard I’ve never had a hard time in I’ve always enjoyed it there are hard times you got a lot of little kids you’ve got little kids it’s like pretty hard but I was I’ve always been happy to be married to her and more happy as the years go by but to the extent that you can control these things like pick the right person do not marry a stripper they’re all crazy I’m sure some are nice I’ve known some who are nice I’m serious but they’re damaged try to marry a girl who likes her dad I think that’s important or who did like her dad when she was little why do you think that’s important I’ve never heard anybody say that cuz I’ve noticed it I’ve noticed it I’ve noticed it a lot and up close I mean this is I’m not guessing it I could be completely wrong this is just an observation of mine but girls who like their dads or who like their you know everyone’s disappointed by his dad or her dad in later life like you learn that your dad’s human and holy [ __ ] I can’t believe he’s human thought he was God so there’s no that’s natural but you know when you’re eight if you’re deeply disappointed in your dad especially as a girl yeah that leaves a mark and I’ve known women who had terrible relationships with their fathers who were wonderful people and well balanced people but it’s it’s harder for sure and if a girl has a completely contentious relationship with their father and has been betrayed by him and the family abandoned by him you know that can really have an effect whereas a woman who you know grew up really loving her dad and feeling secure in his leadership as a dad and his love as a dad that girl is more secure and less jumpy and she’s not you know thinking that every argument is going to lead to divorce the thing about damage in childhood is it’s hard to sort of let go of those patterns and products of divorce like me for example it takes a while to realize that like you know you have a disagreement that’s okay it’s not the end of the world you’re not going to like get divorced you know so that’s I think that’s important second like just resolve not to get divorced I do think that’s important I’m not a particularly virtuous person at all actually but I did when I got married I had been I had lived through a divorce as a child I was like I’m not doing that like period my wife came from a stable family and she was like divorc like what it was not even a thing but I resol olve like I’m not doing that and so that I think is helpful to decide here are the boundaries like whatever we’re doing we’re not splitting up but I would say the main thing is spending time with your wife when your kids are little which is really hard it’s so hard and you love your kids and so it’s very tempting or it’s natural actually to divert your attention from your spouse to your children because they’re your children and and that’s natural and you should do that but it’s also very easy indeed it’s the natural course to ignore your spouse in favor your children cuz children are instantly affirming your spouse is complicated you’ll you can be with a woman for as I have 40 years and still only get like 65% comprehension of what she’s saying cuz she’s a woman so she can’t really understand you know what I mean I do which is of course the beauty of it that’s why it’s interesting and fresh and like a challenge and cool and you learn a lot and if she was just like you you would learn nothing it’s just narcissism it’s masturbation but because she’s so different from you it’s like what it forces you out of yourself to figure it out but the Temptation for men is to be like okay I have a choice of hanging out with my 5-year-old it’s like Dad you’re so great and my wife was like kind of pissed at me for reasons I don’t really understand she’s just crazy so I’m going to just go off for the kids cuz that’s like the sugar high that’s like plus they’re my kids so I can justify it if you keep doing that you will destroy your marriage and it’s so vital for men to force themselves to work through the crazy your wife is not well she’s kind of crazy of course but she’s not deeply crazy actually she’s probably wise and to force yourself to get over that hump which is the first 10 minutes you’re like I can’t what the are you saying leave me alone you’re crazy to get past that and realize no actually she’s trying to tell me something that’s really important and be humble enough to hear it and assess it rationally and that’s a process it’s painful at first and have found the two techniques that practical techniques that work are long walks because you’re not facing each other so if there’s a dispute you don’t have to look into each other’s eyes it’s too intense you know it’s like big cats can’t stare at each other without eating each other um if I’ve never had a problem in my marriage I couldn’t walk off and then the higher level of that is the dayong in bed Summit meeting for like big issues so if you have like a long not a minor but like a long-standing issue a family problem for example like what do we do about that that’s very complicated I don’t know what to do and I think we kind of disagree and I’m pissed at you about it and it sort of simmers that’s when you check into a hotel for a weekend and you get room service you get butt naked and you sit in bed and you talk about it indirectly in the way you do on a sensitive subject you don’t Dive Right In MH but you get comfortable and you stay there until it’s solved I’ve never heard that one either that’s great in our family we call these Summit meetings we have a couple famous ones that have solved like big problem don’t have big problems we never had big problems but like you know there are things where you have a difference of opinion MH and you don’t want to fight so you don’t fully articulate it but you’re just like you know it’s always the same she’s crazy he’s an [ __ ] she’s crazy he’s an [ __ ] it’s like you know it’s like those the defaults right and um and so it’s but you realize that she’s not crazy and you’re probably slightly less of an [ __ ] than she assumed you were and you just need to talk it through and that just it takes time and it also takes some balls to face female dissatisfaction like I don’t care the bravest man I don’t care how many terrorist doors you’ve breached facing off against a pissed-off wife is the scariest thing you’ll ever do it’s scarier than jumping out of an airplane no man wants to do it that’s why they Golf and you to make yourself do that is really hard that’s called leadership actually that’s that is M leadership and um and it’s so worth it it’s so worth it but you never want to do it the man’s impulses to run away every single I don’t care how honorable you think you are yeah you’re not going to like abandon her go get a pack of cigarettes and not come back okay though that happens but you’re going to abandon her in subtle easy to justify ways mostly by hanging with your kids you know I’ve seen a lot during my time as a navy seale and a CIA contractor and I’ve learned even more hosting this show the one thing I can tell you for sure is that it pays to be prepared right now with our national debt surging to unfathomable levels Global tension rising in the corruption in Washington ask yourself are you prepared financially me I’m buying gold and silver so I’m not caught off guard by the next recession or global conflict and I’ve teamed up with one of the top gold Ira companies gold Co to make that happen so I want you to go to sha likes gold.com or call 855 936 gold you’ll get a free 20 24 wealth protection kit from gold Co plus you may qualify for up to 10,000 in bonus silver while supplies last so go to shaikes gold.com or call 855 936 gold and get your bonus silver today once again that’s 855 936 gold or visit shaikes gold.com performance may vary consult with your tax attorney or financial professional before making an investment decision Today’s Show is sponsored by helixsleep.com sleep especially as you get older is critical especially that deep comforting sleep go to Helix sleep.com and take the Sleep quiz I took it and was matched with the midnight Luxe Helix knows that everyone’s unique so they have several different mattress models to match based on your body type and sleeve preferences once you match your mattress comes right to your door shipped for free when you receive your Helix mattress you’ll be amazed at how well you’ll sleep and if your back needs need some extra TLC like mine you’ll love their hybrid design that combines individually wrapped steel coils in the base with premium foam layers on top it’s the perfect combination of comfort and support they have a 10-year warranty and financing option so a great night’s sleep is never far away Helix is offering 20% off 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the measure of happy kids they like each other um and you want kids who are like calm and reasonable and happy and not addicted to drugs have a happy marriage and it’s I think it’s that simple I really I think it’s that simple man that’s um that’s great advice thank you it’s worked for me you have many people that’s probably going to help that’s amazing well it’s pretty simple but don’t run away they all want to run away I felt that so many times I can’t deal with this I’m out of here I’ve got important things to do I love the marry a girl that loves her dad dad it’s something I’ve never heard of and and well I had a really close friend I want to reveal too much it’s like a someone really close to me who married like a truly crazy woman it’s a relative of mine like actually crazy it’s like flamboyant like there’s no it’s not a close call this is like a crazy malicious narcissist drug addict like actual and this is a very smart person and I said to him once like we’re on a hunting trip we’re sitting in a Duck Blind actually and I said just I don’t want to hurt your feelings or is this all kind of person and it’s too close and all this but like why’d you do that she’s completely Bonkers and bad and he said to me they’re upsides s what he said they’re upsides and she was hated her dad you know she hated her dad and but there were upsides if you know what I mean and for the purposes of like a weekend you know men are really easily controlled it’s totally true they’re very easily controlled they’re such simple organiz isms and um and so yeah but if it’s a choice between you know like a hot weekend in Reno or a lifetime of happiness like you can lead them through predictability reliability good leadership providing protecting doing the things that men are on this Earth to do you can lead them to a pretty awesome sex life just to be blunt but it is not worth like I don’t care how crazy she is in the sack or whatever you do not want to marry an unhappy crazy person like at all I mean this is obvious but um the consequences of that are are I’d rather have cancer you know yeah yeah not to be too blunt no that was great stuff so we have a subscription account it’s on patreon one of the things that I give them the opportunity to do because they’ve been so good to us they’ve been here since the beginning they’re our best supporters our top supporters and uh so I give them an opportunity to ask a question oh I love it every interview and um so this is from Michael Cummings if you had to make one statement about who you believe really runs this country what would it be it it depends what you mean by who it’s really a class of people it’s the people who were the beneficiary of our fake meritocracy the people with most merit badges the people who bought into the the lie that undergirds the current disaster which is if you come up through these Legacy institutions and gather the degree or the resume or you know you go to whatever Horus man and then Andover and then Yale and then HBS and McKenzie and like you know you go up through whatever that the tokens of achievement that we hand out to a certain class of people that you will be a wise leader and that’s demonstrably untrue of course they’ve mismanaged all the big things the things that matter the economy or foreign policy and they’ve destroyed the family too um so really the worst people so but but it’s the products of that system a group I’m highly familiar with uh that have wrecked everything but are still currently in charge and um the struggle between Trump and Biden is not a struggle between two guys two elderly men with different world views no it’s a struggle between classes of people these are symbols right they’re not I mean they’re people of course in the case of trump is a person Biden is not fully human anymore because he’s got dementia but whatever I shouldn’t say not fully human but he’s not fully functioning here yeah he’s not a totally autonomous being anymore he doesn’t have personal sovereignty anymore but whatever but it’s not even about them even if he did it wouldn’t it’s not about them it’s about classes of people and who should be running the country should it be the people you know this this this leadership class which really is the product of a quite elaborate grooming system that’s come up over the last century but really accelerated post-war past 80 years um or like the rest of people who live here should they have a voice too should they have any power so but but that’s who’s running it and um it’s quite a large group actually and uh I am you know I grew up if not in then certainly adjacent to that group so I I’m quite knowledgeable about it and I’ve lived around it so I I know it when I see it instantly know it when I see it and um I didn’t question it really as much as I do now now I find it completely repulsive and immoral and really disgusting actually but I I didn’t always feel that way because I didn’t fully understand it but um but the reason that it’s so hard to describe who’s really in charge and why people often decide like you know well it’s got to be Bohemian Grove or you know some small group of people the reason that it’s so hard to really pinpoint who’s making the decisions is because it’s quite large and diffuse it’s an entire class of people with similar instincts and similar vested interests in things and um and they unfortunately just have an awful lot of power you know and they control the monopolies that Define our economy do you think that are these people you’re talking about are they controlling the country or are they controlling the world well that’s a really interesting question and I I don’t know if there if I’ve arrived at a really clear answer but it’s well certainly obvious at this point that borders are overrated you know as as meaningful distinctions between you know do countries matter no I mean globalization was originally conceived as an economic system a much more efficient economic system where like it’s cheaper to do one thing in that country it’s cheaper to do this thing in that country and why don’t we just Network them effectively and that’ll be a much more efficient economy and we’ll grow GDP which we claim is a an accurate measure of something I guess of wealth it’s not but let’s just say that was the thought and but what it turned into because governance does tend to follow economics what it turned into was uh a leadership system so in other words you know what we thought was just like a way to get cheaper Electronics from the Far East turned out to be effectively world’s government you know of course strictly speaking World Government not officially world government in the way that we sort of people feared 40 years ago the un’s going to run everything it’s much more informal than that but much more durable than that so it’s a network of businesses governments Intel agencies for sure and NOS that determine what’s allowed and what’s not allowed and it’s as someone who travels a lot abroad and has you know on and off my whole life I I I don’t know that it has amounted to much but I definitely been a lot of places as you have the most noticeable Trend and I traveled a lot as a kid so I’ve sort of seen the difference the most noticeable trend is the homogenization of everything everything looks the same the attitudes are all the same everyone has the same you know fashionable attitudes that are really top down delivered and the world has just sort of lost its its differences there are some exceptions there are some places you go I really want to go to North Korea now because I have any love for this you know stalinism I of course I don’t I hate it but I I do sort of want to be a place that’s a little bit different from other places M because I I don’t I actually believe in diversity in the truest sense like I I think differences are are fine I actually like them I appreciate them I think we need them I think nature creates differences God creates differences so I I I resent the fact that everything is the same but that is one measure of the power of this class it’s International it’s completely International um so the whole idea of like a Sovereign Nation putting one country’s interest before another countes that’s that’s like completely alien to the way the leadership class thinks completely you know I just well things go to [ __ ] here I’ll move to Singapore and if they you know the Chinese do to Singapore what they did to Hong Kong then I’m in Abu Dhabi and if things go to [ __ ] there then I’m in wherever the next place is do you know what I mean Baker’s Bay you know whatever it’s like a it’s a way of thinking and uh it’s hard to defeat that you know yeah yeah it’s uh man it just seems so complicated and then be but it’s a conspiracy of instinct it’s it’s it’s almost like you saw this with the co vacs like I I was watching this and I was like what the [ __ ] is going on like why is everybody saying exactly the same thing are there talking points that went out well of course there were actually talking points that went out and there was a conspiracy to bribe hospitals and churches and all these different groups to like you know stick with the with the message the same message but it was it was more than that it was just like a certain sort of person reaches the same conclusion the people and really a lot of it’s economic it’s like the people who’ve derived the greatest benefit from American society or Global Elite society as it currently exists are almost to a person the least productive people in the society people who like loan money at Interest really I mean I guess there’s a role for finance I guess in a society but tell me how people who loan money for a living should be you know the most revered and the most highly rewarded no they probably shouldn’t be actually the people who make things who innovate in a true sense who actually improve human life people who say profound things create beautiful things like they should be rewarded so it’s all the the truth is the people in charge are the least impressive they’re the least important if they want away tomorrow if like I don’t know Susan Rice and Janet Yellen the treasury secretar is like a like a freaking [ __ ] and a like bad person if she went away tomorrow would that like would that be bad or like it wouldn’t have any make any difference she’s never done anything and so that class of people which is disproportionately benefited from our system has a lot to lose a lot the most to lose like if if I’m a super competent diesel mechanic you know diesel engines are going to be around for a long time sorry you’re not going to do Long Haul Trucking on an electric motor sorry just we’re not anytime soon so like if I can fix a diesel engine like I just my value is demonstrable probably not going to be unemployed actually but if you’re Janet Yellen and you’re like an economist who knows nothing about economics and your whole life is getting paid off by the Banks which hers has been you’re not really needed actually you’re a net drain on society and so someone like that has a lot to protect like a lot like the whole edifice of [ __ ] could just like come crashing down on her right yeah so she’s a lot jumpier than your average diesel mechanic why why do you think I mean you’re talking about how old is Janet Yellen she’s got to be several hundred years old at Janet Yellen who’s like a criminal and she literally was fed Shar and she took payoffs from the banks really for speeches why aren’t they people like her people like Pelosi people like Mitch McConnell why what why don’t they hit this point where they’re they go I’m going to enjoy all of the corrupt money that I’ve accumulated over the 80 years that I’ve been doing this what why is there ever a time when they when when enough is enough for them I mean they’re going to well the worship of money is a sin of course um but it’s also a lie it doesn’t make you happy it doesn’t f the void doesn’t get you to heaven and to repeat the most tired of all cliches that you never hear anymore you can’t take it with you yeah so um it’s just a lie it’s a disease and it’s a moral disease and it’s one that no one mentions anymore it’s a greed is not only fine it’s celebrated well it’s disgusting I’m just going to remind everybody of that it’s not bad to have enough it’s bad to have too much actually and um but no one believes that anymore at all yeah and it’s considered like you’re a socialist or something if you say greed is bad well no you’re not I’m is I hate socialism not a socialist and thankfully I’ve been like a public right-winger for so long I don’t think anyone thinks actually thinks I’m a socialist I’m a right winger I always have been I guess whatever that means now but um but a greed is bad it’s not a virtue it’s a vice and they’re all boted with greed of course and they think that the more you accumulate I don’t know what happens you become it’s it’s a actually it’s a function of power more power you have the more you feel like God but you’re not God you’re just like some ungainly primate feeling his way through the dark you know like we all are and um and you’ll you’ll be negatively rewarded for those attitudes at some point very soon so it’s sad on one level but it’s also if your whole leadership class is just about serving itself it’s it’s all about greed and hubris which it is um you’re going to have like really terrible leadership and we do and it’s only about leadership by the way yeah I mean you’re in the military I don’t need tell you but bad leaders result in death like that’s obvious right it’s less obvious at the scale of like 350 million people in our society but it’s still true it’s true in the family a bad dad wrecks the family wrecks his daughters yeah right y very true let’s move into let’s move into your life story so we’re going to start at childhood yeah hit your news career and then and then we got a whole bunch of rabbit holes to go down great but where’d you grow up I was born in San Francisco California Children’s Hospital same hospital geogy was born in not to brag in 1969 spring um uh we moved to Los Angeles my mother’s from San Francisco my father’s from Boston moved to LA my dad worked for ABC News in Los Angeles um when I was like six my mom split and ultimately moved to France I guess I never saw her again what hold on what do you she just left she left she left yeah when I was six boohoo poor me how many uh one brother who I’m very close to have always been extremely close to my best friend and uh who’s a year and a half younger than I am so we grew up with our dad and we moved what did your mom did she tell you she was leaving or you just came home she was gone or she my dad worked for ABC News and he had been quite successful as a reporter and he got into some dispute with management which is a family trait and basically um actually was pretty funny he you know in television you get free clothes from the Wardrobe department and so you get measured for suits every year whatever and he never got his suits and so he called the Taylor I’ll never forget this when this happened I was in first grade and he calls the Taylor he’s like are my suits coming where my suits and the guy you know six weeks ago and the guy’s like actually I’ve been told not to make your suits by management cuz you’re getting get fired that’s television for you you know you learn from the tailor you’re getting fired so he got fired and and he was like he got a job in San Diego at a CBS affiliate in San Diego called kfmb and we moved my brother and I and our housan and the dogs or Springer Spaniels we like got in the car and drove to San Diego and my mom just wasn’t there and we lived in a hotel for a while and um for quite a while and then we moved to a town called La Hoya which is a little bit north of San Diego very pretty town and when I was in first grade and I live with my dad and my brother and our dogs and we had like the best time I mean it was sad one of the reasons I don’t talk about it very often because it sounds like oh I had such a hard life but I really had a great life and I love my dad I worship my dad and I still do and I see him every day and I love him and uh and my brother I always love my brother so um we had really happy life and quite eccentric but quite happy and then what did I mean what would your what would what would your dad say when you would ask where where he never attacked her um he never attacked her he would you know she just kind of split and she you know whatever I don’t want to I don’t want to get into the wo was me stuff she was I don’t think she liked us for some reason and never not clear but she was she was pretty clear about that and I you know she was involved in drugs and alcohol and stuff and um was quite she was a sculptor so she was pretty eccentric and our family was definitely not like every other family at all and but I thought in a good way but definitely more kind of cerebral and like you know we didn’t play sports or go to sports games or watch television we would just have like extremely long dinners with random people always in the house and talk about books and ideas and the news and all this stuff and like you know it’s just a different time everybody Smoked Cigarettes everyone you know liked art and it was a kind of world that just just absolutely does not exist now but I really enjoyed it but there was um you know a high level of eccentricity was tolerated you know um and I think that’s very good it makes creativity possible um you know like we yeah it was just different different attitudes very very different attitudes all gone now but it was it was it was cool I had a wonderful childhood actually and I became extremely close to my father and my brother and my father my mother was from a a very affine family my father was an orphan and uh who had lived at the home for little Wanderers in Boston as a child you know in the early 40s and so your mother came from a Alon family and my father was a completely self-made guy who you know never finished high school and joined the Marine Corps at 17 and was a very tough human being like actually tough not fake tough but legit tough and but a very decent guy in a hyper intense intellectual and self-educated but with the motivation that comes from knowing that you didn’t like graduate high school he went to jail and so he was like he keep a book on on the dashboard of his car for red lights like he’s that guy and um just very intellectually engaged I mean he could sit at a table and often did you know smoking cigarettes recounting a book he had just read like in detail and my brother and I would just be Spellbound and we would have I mean I’m not joking we would have like 6-hour dinners not kidding and it was just great it was great and uh and a very outdoorsy person loved camping and nature and hunting and fishing and very much about nature and dogs and and books so that was a wonderful childhood he got remarried to an amazing woman who just passed away and um really a beautiful soul and how old were you when he got remarried like 10 maybe something like that I think I was 10 and uh he very much reserved the right to raise us he had very eccentric opinions not eccentric he turned out to be right about almost everything but he had a deep distrust of school he was an actual intellectual like is an actual intellectual like deep knowledge and but a freeth thinker and he thought that Conformity made you dumb and you should be free to explore like what the truth is and um so you know he was totally opposed to school like completely opposed to school very unimpressed that I went to college never I don’t think he know knew the name he paid the bill which I was grateful for but he never like asked like what college do you go to or what’s going on in college you know it’s like it was just like it was like the unspoken thing it was almost like I was like you know I don’t know having some creepy sex thing in my life don’t talk about it um he was not impressed by anything fattish or anything you know group think the herd Instinct just made him sick he was like a true individual probably not right about everything but right about a lot of the big things and completely unafraid to take well really of anything but physically unafraid he was like the only dad in La Hoya who would like you know like punch you out of the red light if you got was like I just like not you know that didn’t happen where we lived it was a very affluent community and a lot of polite people and and my father was you know not someone to try with but very very kind to my brother and me very kind totally tribal in his thinking like there’s our family and there’s everyone else like total Mafia out Outlook like complete not in a bad way like not wanting to get in anyone’s business but like [ __ ] with the family you die that that kind of attitude like it’s US versus everybody else which was a great way actually to grow up so anyway he got remarried and then in 1984 I think then when I was a child I went to boarding school on the East Coast when I was uh 14 I went to boarding school he sent me to boarding school uh in New England where he was from because he was like get out of this fake inherited money world go be cold well I went to another inherited money world of course in New England but but he we had a house in Maine where we spent the summer and he believed in like cold climate hard work he’s extremely Swedish so like you know it’s good to be around snow and pine trees and like you should suffer you know that kind of stuff so um went to boarding school and then he uh ran for mayor of San Diego for some reason and lost and um then immediately after that went to work for the US government and worked in and around the US government for like the next 35 years what was he doing in government he went in to run something called Voice of America and the idea was he’d been a journalist this is in the regular Administration and this was our sort of voice to the world Voice of America was like the you know big radio broadcaster was really an instrument of the Intel agencies which I didn’t quite realize at the time but um so he ran that for years and was this was this Mocking Bird by chance I mean I you know I don’t know it’s what’s so funny is you don’t get things as a child and I I so revered and respected and do rever and respect my father that you know I don’t know um but I have no idea but I know that when the Iran Contra thing happened he got caught up in that sort of I mean I was in boarding school I guess when that happened but I remember reading it like my dad’s name like what you know broadcasting messages on behalf of the contras or something like that and I remember saying to my father like what and he’s like that’s all [ __ ] probably not a [ __ ] whatever anyway just a wonderful man I had lunch with them every day of my adult I every week of my adult life I always had lunch with them every Friday and we just had we’d gamble for lunch always bring Dice and we’d Gamble and ate at the same place same table for decades and uh just a great guy very earthy extremely powerful life force the one story that’s sort of not to go on about it I’ve often thought about writing a book about it because it was so unusual but then I was like I don’t want to do that because it’s too personal but um this was my father in one short story when I was in college I think I was a junior in college he had been snoring and my stepmom said you’re snoring my father’s a big man you know prone to overeating just like me and he was snoring really bad and she’s finally like you got to go to the there’s something going out here snoring and he hates going to the doctor he’s like the only one of his friends still alive he never went to the doctor smoked unfiltered cigarettes his whole life he was like he’s fine I’m fine you know he’s that guy so he finally goes to the doctor and the doctor looks down his throat and goes holy [ __ ] and gives him an emergency tracheotomy in the examining room because he had such a huge tumor in his throat and he had was such a heavy smoker they’re like you got throat cancer well turned out to be tuberculosis that he caught in China but they didn’t know that at the time so I get a call at school your father is throat cancer you know and he’s in surgery so I’m in school in I’m in I was in college yeah I was in Connecticut I fly down to Washington I get to the hospital just as my father’s getting out of out of the recovery room my stepmom’s a was really the kindest person I’ve ever met and um really a great person he really loved her and so he’s getting wheeled out and he’s in this gurnie and he’s got of course he can’t talk he’s got a hole in his throat he’s recovering from surgery and my brother and I are there like you know trying to keep from you know crying in front of my dad but like our dad’s dying you know he’s got throat cancer holy [ __ ] out of nowhere and he sees us and he you know he’s like hey guys you know like we can’t talk hey guys and he looks down and he sees his wife and he sees her I’m watching his face he sees her butt and he reached out and grabs her butt just thought he’s just an animal it’s like he’s just learned that he’s going to like die of throat cancer but he just can’t he just couldn’t control himself and I saw that I thought I said to my brother I like that man is the strongest life force of anyone I’ve ever met and he’s just you can’t defeat him doesn’t matter he could be in prison and he’d still be the same man so I I don’t know why that the strength of spirit required to grab your wife’s butt you get out front surgery I just think just an incredible illustration of who he is so anyway I admire him what kind of stuff were you into as a kid were you into sports or outdoors I love the outdoors and we went you know we spent the summer in this little town in Maine um so weird that we did that we’re the only people who went from La Hoya California to Western Maine which is not fashionable at all um but my father had had gone there as a child on hunting trips with his adopted father so he liked it so we went there but um I we lived on the beach so I was into surfing I was passionately into marijuana you know as you are when you grew up in Southern California in the 70s and ‘ 80s I no longer I think it’s stupid now but I was into it then I loved reading there was a huge premium on reading in our house like read books remember my father once said of my mother like the one criticism he leveled against my real mother who was smart um actually after she died in France I didn’t know she lived in France but she died and um all this drama happened after she died but the point is I got uh a couple of like correspondents from her whatever I really didn’t know much about her but I got all this correspondence this was 13 years ago when she died and I was like wow she was really smart I didn’t quite quite realize that and so I said to my father like wow I got all this correspondence from her real mother and pretty high cute person wow I didn’t know that and he goes yeah she read magazines like the most like she read magazines like what a waste you know what I mean she read magazines like it was the New Yorker but it’s just a magazine people read books like serious people read books so and I’m the beneficiary of his Library which was vast and and the word eclectic is overused but it literally is e IC it’s like crazy and just every interesting book ever actually read and underlined like not these are not decorative books these are like books he read wow on every topic and not just books but like transcripts of Trials he’s very interested in a couple of topics and really like American Indians he’s really interested in the Indian Wars and on different tribes he knew a lot about it passionately interested in the Lincoln assassination for some reason and had the transcripts of you know Mrs sharat’s tribe and uh like actually the B the transcrip like bound from 1865 and just a lot of stuff like that and uh he’s like in in a in a more honest world he would qualify I think as a historian but anyway yeah she read magazines so funny wow that’s the meanest thing she was like addicted to drugs and she abandoned her family she read magazines if I remember correctly you wanted to you were trying to get into CIA yes Vladimir Putin reminded me I don’t know how you knew that yeah I applied to CIA when I was a senior in college what did you want to do for the CIA operations yeah it was completely different completely different organization well who knows what it was actually I don’t know I mean I was operating on the basis of a lot of my father’s friends served as operations officers some really wonderful guys um who I guess I probably shouldn’t name but who were always at our house and were just legit interesting people and smart people um but you know everything changed after 911 you worked for CIA so I don’t need to tell you but I think that the explicit paramilitary part was much smaller and these were like spycraft guys a lot of them probably involved in who knows what they’re involved in but they were definitely literate and smart and interesting and they lived in all these countries and we had just traveled a lot and my dad was really interested in the world and um you know we never like went to Florence or something we always would go to weird places and he was just interested in how people lived in different cultures and learning about him and he’s just interested in everything amazing teacher so um these guys had lived that life you know they had been there when this happened or that happened or you’d been you know chief of station in Jerusalem or something it’s like these guys have really lived a life and I thought I want to live that life I want an interesting life that’s what I wanted I want an interesting life and we grew up in a pretty affluent circumstances not crazy private plane r or anything but you know I didn’t worry about money that wasn’t really a factor no one ever talked about money which is one of the Privileges of having it you don’t talk about it and in our culture you don’t talk about it at all and any circumstances so um I didn’t really think about money at all I was just like I want an interesting life so I applied to CIA and that whole application process then this was 1990 and I should just say for the record that I like had no idea what the CIA was actually and I didn’t believe any of the I think kerit Roosevelt actually lived right down the street from us are you kidding no oh man that’s cool but I didn’t know but that’s just the world you live in in northwest DC like I didn’t I never thought any of it was bad and the people who did think it was bad were like these fervid left-wing America haters and I was like [ __ ] those people like they don’t they’re all gome Chomsky type they don’t know anything and I was a child and I was just dismissive and the cold war was going on so it was really a binary it was like are you for the US or the Soviet Union well that was not a hard one for us we’re for the United States and so when I applied to CIA and I’ve taken a lot of crap including from Putin like oh you’re from a CIA family well yeah obviously my father worked in conjunction with CIA I mean that’s what that is um and I tried to join the CIA but I’m not being false about it I am a sworn enemy of the CIA at this point no doubt about that I’ve been the target actually uh repeatedly so you know I’m not ashamed to say any of this I’m not some secret agent or something and I would have been terrible as an operations officer because I’m not good at keeping secrets I hate bureaucracy I just wanted a life that was interesting I wanted to see stuff I didn’t want to run anything I still don’t I just wanted to see stuff I wanted to end my life at the table with my children and say you know I was there you I was actually there when that happened you know and it was interesting and like the version you’ve heard is not quite right cuz I was there that’s what I wanted out of my life and I got it but in another way so I got ding from ca for drugs I’ll be totally honest I had done cocaine within the last calendar year because I was in college and I was like an idiot and there were lots of drugs and I did drugs I wasn’t a drug addict but I did drugs and the rule was at the time at least this this what they told me who knows what the truth was like you’ve you know we have a rule that if you’ve done certain drugs within 12 months you can’t join I personally think that the personality assessment tests I took a lot of them I’m sure you’ve taken these with like a thousand questions and you have to answer true or false do you remember that you got to think about fuzzy bunnies pass that so funny one of I’ll never forget this going home they would literally tell us that guys just think about fuzzy bunnies when they’re taking this test those tests are insane and I took mine at like Georgetown or GW University Auditorium with all these most of them are military guys actually trying to move over into operations at CIA and they told us they sent me a letter said bring a number one pencil which was a mind [ __ ] but I didn’t realize that so I say to my father I have to bring a number one pencil he’s like well you better go to the stationary store we lived in Georgetown in you know on Wisconsin Avenue and see if that’s walking there I was like I’d like a number one pencil please and I’m like there is no such thing as a number one pencil so I go home and I say to my father I’m like I couldn’t get a number one pencil and he’s like well just try it with the number two pencil so I show up and we sit down in this giant Auditorium to take all these tests and like all the military guys you know they’re so like got to follow the rules excuse me sir I couldn’t find a number one pencil and everyone’s like I couldn’t either you know and I I’ll never forget that CIA guy administering the test is like you couldn’t find a number one pencil okay well then I guess a number two will do and I do think it was like an elaborate you know mind [ __ ] but anyway you take all these you answer these questions as you know and I’ll never forget one of them was and they’re they’re repetitive they ask you the same question in a different form and one of them was I am fascinated by fire I’ll never forget that and I went home and I said to my father like pop one of the questions was I am fascinated by fire like you’d have to be a [ __ ] lunatic to say yes cuz you’re clearly a psycho right and my who knew a lot about the subject goes yeah but the psychos don’t know their psychos so it reveals like through repetition and the time there’s a time limit you you don’t have time to think about it you just have to like well you know all this of course but it was amazing anyway I didn’t get into CIA and thank God I would have been awful and um I don’t agree with the mission so it the whole thing would have been terrible so I’m so grateful I didn’t and then I was getting married and I didn’t have a college degree I was a senior in college and I was like and my father-in-law who a good man with a job was like you need to have a job before you marry my daughter so I went to my father as usual and I was like and I applied to work in a boarding school in Morocco and they were like no I just wanted to do something interesting and he’s like you should go into journalism I did that I didn’t have any credentials and but I could write I was literate and I said okay so he got me a job at a his assistant’s wife worked at this magazine so I got a job as a basically a fact Checker at this magazine and I like loved it right away that was August of I got back from my honeymoon I went to work I’d never really had a job when I went on my honeymoon I worked at a gas station where’ did you me your wife first day of 10th grade at the boarding school that we went to her dad was Headmaster and I had been there in nth grade and she showed up in 10th Grade we had a switch of Headmasters and I was standing on the quad I’ll never forget I was like oh that holy [ __ ] that girl’s cute wow and uh so I was just on that like that was just on that like right away September 23rd 1984 I’ll never forget that I was like wow I was actually dating someone else but I was like that’s the girl wow you remember the day that’s awesome September 23rd 1984 I’ll never forget it and I was like a very non-ideal person I mean I’m like kind of an [ __ ] now I was really an [ __ ] then like actual it’s like super arrogant dumb you know doing drugs just being like a compl complete overbearing jerk arrogant really arrogant and uh which is my nature I try to fight it but um yeah but we just had this weird chemistry so it it worked what you mentioned you into drugs you’re 22 years sober congratulations yeah uh what was the what was it that got you sober was it a scare did you hit rock bottom I didn’t really I mean I was hosting Crossfire actually at the time and and so I had been successful um young and it wasn’t really drugs I mean I I was not you know I did a lot of drugs but that’s just because of the world that I was in like that was not I mean it’s embarrassing to say it now because drugs are so clearly bad like really bad and all these people now die of drugs and that was not the case when I was a kid like drug addicts died of drugs junkies died of overdoses but like no one you’d ever know would ever die of drugs at this point I know a lot of people about of drugs so it’s it was it’s a different landscape it’s a different attitude now so it’s embarrassing to say that but I was not a drug addict I just was like into adventure and experimenting with stuff and the world I was in that was pretty much acceptable I hate to say it but it was true that’s just true so same with cigarette smok excuse me cigarette smoking was encouraged so it was different time but it wasn’t the drugs it was that though you know like some drugs really wear you out like cocaine you know not good and and hard to live a productive life if you’re like going to bed at 7:00 in the morning or whatever which I didn’t do a ton but you know some um but it was booze that is what got me and it was just you know just Progressive I was 33 and I just I mean I had my wife was pregnant with our fourth child and uh I was fairly functional I mean I did a daily TV show and was fairly well known kind of famous actually at that point and so you know kind of killing it but I do think the physiology of it which I don’t understand really but it if that’s real like your body responds to alcohol differently as you age and I would start to get these hangovers it was debilitating and then and I’m busy I’ve got a lot of children I’ve got stuff to do and I would just like not hesitate to have a cocktail or three in the morning I just wouldn’t I’m just like a no dick around kind of guy I guess and I don’t feel good so like there there’s a screwdriver for that and um and that’s a very bad pattern to get into obviously so but anyway I I quit when I was sitting at my desk on Sunday morning um and I at this point I I we had gotten an ice maker in a refrigerator which we’ never had and that’s a if you’re struggling with drinking don’t get an ice maker cuz it’s just too easy like where you go and you click the yeah we don’t even have one now actually never I don’t know why we’re sort of low Tech on kitchen equipment but whatever in this one house that we had we got an ice maker and I was like wow look at that clink clink clink clink clink and then you could like someone taught me about Scotch I knew nothing about Scotch I was always a bourbon guy or whatever but someone I sat and drank a quart of scotch with a friend of mine he’s like Scotch is really good just drink a quart of it so we did we’re up in Maine it didn’t matter you know it was in the summertime but then I got back to Washington in late August and or mid August and you know I have this job and then I get home from the job it’s like click click well I’ll try some scotch and the next thing you know you’re like shitfaced at home and partying was like that’s not good and I had a couple of moments where I lost one actually at the White House Christmas party in uh 2001 I got too drunk to talk and stuff like that it’s just embarrassing but I woke up this one morning at the last day of August 2002 and my wife was 10 days away from giving birth to our fourth child and I was sitting at my desk like smoking a cigarette at home feeling bad and I just heard this voice I don’t know if it was a voice it was from God and it was the clearest possible instruction if you keep doing this you will lose your wife and children and I haven’t always been a great husband or father but I’ve always wanted to be I’ve always really cared a lot and it’s easy to care about people who are you know loving and fun to be with as my family is so it’s it’s not hard but I I’ve always cared a lot and I just had this dead certainty that if I kept on this path I would lose my wife and children no one had complained about my drinking really what were you doing when you got that voice when you heard it I was sitting at my desk smoking a camel unfiltered I’ll never forget it looking out my window at my lawn and feeling just like enervated and crappy and cloudy as you do when you’re hung over and I just had this feeling and I was like wow I think I I’m an alcoholic I had lost control I I’m leaving a few things out nothing dramatic but I didn’t crash a car but I I I blacked out a couple of times which I didn’t I didn’t know what that was like actually black out I always hear people say that but like I didn’t remember how I got home from a restaurant for example with my college roommate or I would I had a friend over another college roommate that summer wonderful guy his wife and children just a beautiful family and Beautiful People great people like not people you’d want to be like snarfing drunk in front of and I remember sitting in my backyard in Washington and and making gen and tonics I’m quite a good gen and tonic maker and but it’s the kind of thing you want to have a couple cocktails with your buddy and his wonderful wife and they’re just really great people and next thing I know I’m like shitfaced I’m like I don’t really actually want to be shitfaced I can’t believe I got [ __ ] like what is that I was losing control mhm this is all very and then I you know some other stuff like that or I stay you know I had a friend in town and he’s like let’s do a couple lines and you next thing I know it’s like 700 in the morning and I’m like what I can’t do this [ __ ] anyway the bottom line is I uh I quit I never had another drink after that and I went into like not medically serious but for me pretty serious withdrawals and that I was like what I’m having alcohol with I knew nothing about this okay I didn’t know that there were alcohol withdrawals like I just didn’t know you’d think cuz of my mother I would know this but I didn’t know anything and and my brother was a you know a problem Drinker also but I didn’t think of myself as is a problem Drinker I was like well my brother’s out of control he later quit too but when I started to go into withdrawals from alcohol like shaking hands can’t sleep sweating a lot and I have to host this TV show and I’m like I was addicted to alcohol holy smokes like how did I not know that um and then so I never drank again and and I and unlike most people who quit or many people who quit I’ve never wanted to drink again you know I just never I once I got past like the first six months um I I just felt so much better I was so grateful I’m so great I I’ve enjoyed being sober a lot and that’s a huge blessing that’s not for me it’s not like I have a especially strong character I don’t if you put a tray of Fig Newtons right here you would see how weak I really am it’s just on this one thing the booze and drugs it’s like I don’t want that at all and so I never went to AA I didn’t go to AA I’ve been to one AA meeting in my life and was 3 weeks ago and it was because Russell Brand who I really love was at my house and we’re he goes to AA all the time and I said why do you go to AA and he’s like I just love the people and people are so honest and I thought I said to him I thought you went to AA to keep yourself from drinking again like you’re right on the edge which I’m not at all like you couldn’t force feed me alcohol like I just don’t want it and he’s like no no no go be for the for the the beauty of being around truth and people who are just totally unafraid to say who they really are and there’s something wonderful about that that’s like the best thing there is that’s that’s Liberation like that’s actual Liberation and I was like I got to go to AA so I went to an AA meeting and I loved it and I’m going back I just I’ve been traveling and all this stuff but I ran into a buddy of mine literally on the road trucks parked next to each other he like going to AA and I was like I’m going to I’m going to go you know text me I had to travel but I was like when I’m back next week just text me when you go I want to go you know whatever it’s not that interesting but that’s my experience of it I was delivered from that um and I I don’t know why but I’m just so so grateful and my brother too my brother was an actual Drinker like whoa I mean no more than I was but he’s like way more boisterous and like Swedish than I am and he’s he’s a punch you out guy and uh wonderful person but he woke up one morning he’s like I’m never drinking again and he never did WOW almost 20 years ago so it’s like we both have been so blessed that way you know there’s a lot of people out there struggling with addiction and alcoholism so do you have any any words of wisdom for somebody that’s looking to make the change well I was dealing with this this morning yeah it’s one of the great privilege no I I di there’s no formula right but um re rehab doesn’t work for most people of course at all it works for some but um I was just giving someone advice about this which I do a lot because I really care about it I love sobriety I really love it I know it’s not a sacrifice for me it’s like the greatest thing that there is so um I’m in a good place to tell people about it because I really believe it and I got off so easy uh I really did I was I got off easy oh my gosh uh but what I always say is quitting drinking is a huge decision it’s not it’s not it’s it’s a huge life change everything changes when you do that a b it is can be extremely painful physically which nobody ever talks about they’re always like oh you drink to whatever yeah for sure you drink because you’re insecure you’re afraid you’re lying you’re a narcissist drinking makes you a narcissist it’s all about you right but another reason that no one ever mentions that you drink is because you have a physical need for it it’s physical too so when you quit drinking I always I told someone this this morning um you need to be prepared for feeling very shitty and very shaky and having your sleep disrupted and feeling like you’re going to have a panic attack at all times and like that’s all real and you should just know that going in and the third thing I always say is that it’s so great to be sober because you don’t have to lie at all and there’s no shame in that I always tell my children this and I really believe it it’s a foundational belief for me that we’re not good at lying about ourselves and that everyone already knows who we are so no matter what it is whatever ever the secret is that you’re hiding and you think you know I’m I’m gay but no one knows or you know I’m an alcoholic but no one knows or I used to smoke cigar like at my in-law’s house no one knows are you kidding everybody knows whatever your dumb little secret is that you think is like uniquely horrible that secret is shared by hundreds of millions of other people on this planet and has been since the beginning of time it it that is our common humanity is our our basic flaws and that those things are already known everyone already knows you’re secretly gay alcoholic secretly whatever it is you’re insecure you know what I mean you know you’ve got a big butt and you’re trying to hide it like everyone already knows that and a lot of them love you anyway so once you realize that you’re you’re free I don’t have you know it doesn’t mean you should stop trying to be better or if you should never stop trying to be better but you don’t need the shame is like so unnecessary there’s almost nothing you could do that would Shock Me personally having watched people really carefully for many years there’s no variety of human sin that is shocking at all they’re all sad but they’re not shocking it’s not like well you’re really plowing new ground there you banged your sister all I can’t believe it seen it seen it you know what I mean it’s like there’s nothing you can do that is shocking and there are a lot of things you can do that are wrong of course and but they’re not you can admit everything you can admit everything and the people who love you will still love you and when you know that it’s like you are bulletproof it’s like what are you gonna do to me yeah you know what I mean I do I do and sobriety gets you there I can’t think of one thing that changed for the worse when I got sober and I’ve only been sober for 2 and a half years how is it a struggle I mean for me it wasn’t it I mean I I kind of told you breakfast you know that was I I I didn’t even mean for it to happen I mean I used to put away probably two fifths a day you know of two fifths yeah I would wake up two fists of liquor yeah and have mini bottles everywhere all over my car oh so you were full-blown oh yeah oh yeah and um were you able to work yeah and on pills and on coke and uh and on sleeping pills and um and I remember going to my therapist and telling her oh that’s that’s she thought I was trying to kill myself for sure and um so i’ you know I’d me I’d e my I eased my way off of benzo and sleeping pills and painkillers and and you got off benzo alone alone it takes ball for years it takes balls I mean it it was I don’t even care I mean it would I would be working for the agency and I I I mean it we’re all insomniacs and it was just take whatever the [ __ ] you can just to try to get some sleep and then and then it became you know then that that starts the cycle but yeah I kick that stuff and then um a lot of people die getting off benzos yeah like alcohol I think those are the only two categories where withdrawal can kill you heroin no crack no M benzos and alcohol can literally kill you and kill a lot of people yeah did you know that were you like afraid I didn’t know that yeah well I didn’t know that yeah no I I did not I mean this was around 2015 and um that I started kicking all of that [ __ ] and it uh I had a suicide attempt uh can’t believe we’re going here but I’m not surprised at all with that much yeah uh partying yeah parked the car in the garage left the engine running reined the seat back and was like let’s check out and uh it didn’t work believe it or not obviously I’m sitting here um but so I kicked the booze so but what was the immediate aftermath of that was that like a did that shock you back into life you realized I didn’t I didn’t believe it so I woke up in my bedroom in my town home and my whole town home smelled like gas so I came down the stairs and there was a pistol that I had gotten out of the safe which I never used and all my clothes were on the couch in front of the TV so I think that maybe I was pondering killing myself on the couch and then oh you were loaded when you did this oh yeah blacked out I don’t know how I got back from from the bar uh and then I went to the garage and I touched the door handle and it was hot to the touch and I was like oh [ __ ] maybe there’s a fire in there and so I was I was like well if I open the door then maybe it’ll maybe that’ll be it I’ll be done well I open the door and that didn’t happen and I walked in my [ __ ] car was still running the seat was reclined all the way down I was like holy [ __ ] I was still [ __ ] up but you know I was I didn’t want to open the garage cuz my dumb ass thought wolf a spark flies this whole place is going up now I’m kind of in it you know and and which is stupid cuz the Pistons are firing in my car but the car had gotten so hot that the gas tank melted and gas was Dripping on way yeah I’m not [ __ ] you gas was drip I didn’t know this at the time but gas was Dripping on to the exhaust L Muffler what kind of car an Audi so I open the you know I open the garage turned the car off I told you I was I’d been in therapy allog together three and a half years twice a week called my therapist called Peggy Matthews the woman I told you about that had started that nonprofit and they’re like yeah you tried to kill yourself and uh I was in denial yeah so reason I knew the gas tank melted is when I had to when I took off later that day uh just to you know go get something uh my girlfriend at the time followed me to make sure I was all right and my [ __ ] Muffler was You Could See Fire coming off of it so then I she had called me told me I looked and sure as [ __ ] there was gas dripping on the damn Muffler yeah so that started kind of my let’s wake up and uh yeah this show is sponsored by better help this year has flown by I can’t believe we’re already almost halfway through when life goes f it’s important to take a moment to celebrate your wins and make plans for the rest of the year therapy can help you take 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is offering more than 40 free online courses and the most important and enduring subjects you can learn about the works of CS Lewis the stories of the Book of Genesis the meaning of the US Constitution the rise and fall of the Roman Republic or the history of the ancient Christian church with Hillsdale colleges online courses all available for free that’s right free I personally recommend you sign up for ancient Christianity in this 11 lecture course you’ll study the inspiring stories of Christ in the first four centuries of Christianity the course is self-paced so you can start whenever and wherever go right now to hillsdale.edu SRS to enroll there’s no cost and it’s easy to get started that’s Hillsdale edu SRS to register so that’s one of the wildest stys I’ve heard actually what you just said that you didn’t even know that you did it because you’re a blacked out MH what effect like once you realized what had happened and you call your therapist and she confirms the obvious with the evidence suggest like what effect did that have on you I mean I just never realized I was capable of suicide you know and so I called called my therapist I called Peggy I called my best friend Dave Rutherford uh who lived down the road from me uh also a former clca Guy and um still in denial still [ __ ] up if you know what I mean I mean I haven’t even slept it off and uh but you know it you know I’ve I can’t let my dad down that’s Spirit that’s always been like that’s what carried me through all the [ __ ] that I’ve been through getting into the SEAL Teams I I could never like I felt like I let my dad down so many times in childhood up to leaving just from being a uh [ __ ] turd that I just I couldn’t let him down anymore and that just stuck with me from 18 to today and um that’s a great motivator yeah and uh and uh but anyways you know moving forward wait can I just ask you one question though so you said you didn’t think you were capable of that which is like a horrifying thing to realize about yourself I’ve realized that about myself on different levels I didn’t think I would ever do something like that I just did but where do you think that that came from do you think the impulse to destroy yourself Came From Within or do you think it was something from outside you that entered you both I think it was both i’ um I’ve been it was a there was a lot of things that I didn’t think I was capable of doing that were all happening around this time you know and and you know I kind of told you about my lifestyle and living in Colombia and and there was a lot of Shame you know I was going through a lot of Shame and trying to create a new identity after leaving the agency and the and the SEAL Teams and starting from nothing so that was all in there and um and I mean we talked about it this morning at breakfast you know I mean you it’s like athletes pro athletes they they get done and it’s like well now what the [ __ ] am I going to do and that’s how I felt and I felt very unaccomplished again and it just it just really like bothered me there was a lot of a lot of processing that was going on at that time but but yeah then so I I had kicked everything eventually within a couple months and um vodka was gone I had I had switched to wine and and um the old switch to Wi s there and uh and then uh years later I went and did psychedelic treatment and I didn’t even go down there for that and I just came out of it and I haven’t had another drop of alcohol sents just in one day it’s like in a week I did Iain 5 Meo DNT I came I came home and I just it’s that experience almost it’s like it showed you everything that’s poison in your life it was like a new intuition that I had developed over the course of a week of just I gu I guess you’d call it healing right yes and uh and uh yeah it just did you go by yourself no I went I wanted to go by myself and then uh I I went to it was very private though I didn’t want anybody around you know that knew me and um and uh cuz I didn’t know it was going to come out either and um but yeah it’s it’s like it showed me toxic people in my life not to be afraid to say no to people anymore and alcohol Aderall Aderall is the one thing I kept on after my suicide attempt and uh and even like I guess I can’t say caffeine but uh coffee like I haven’t had any coffee and then um cannabis I would use to sleep kick that for about 6 months but um but uh that’s the only one that didn’t stick was the cannabis and you know sometimes I need that to sleep so so yeah that’s my journey to sobriety were you afraid I assume you didn’t have like an extensive history of hallucinogenic experiences no so were you afraid that you would freak out yeah I I I did a lot of drugs and um I was always scared of psychedelics and and stuff that makes you hallucinate cuz I you don’t know what’s going to rise and and uh but I I had hit this I had I mean I when I did it I felt like I had pretty much conquered the the veteran PTSD traumatic like I I I had reinvented myself successfully and the new the new problem for me was I just had a uh my son he was about four or 5 months old I believe and I just I just like business just kept creeping into my mind and I was like man I don’t I just want to [ __ ] be in the moment with my wife and kid I don’t want to be thinking about who my next guest is or how am I going to how am I going to I I just didn’t want to I wanted to be able to shut that down and and uh and so and I started getting real panicky because as the show’s growing people see that and then people want to be around you and not all those people are good and a lot of people want to [ __ ] use you and and and hey oh really I’m I know I haven’t talked in 20 years but now I want to be your best friend again hey how’s it going you know like all that [ __ ] just started getting to me and I felt super [ __ ] guilty like man I’m sorry like I cannot shout out another nonprofit I can’t shout out another business like I I do everything I can to to to to bring awareness to like good [ __ ] and businesses and lift veteran businesses on my show and like that’s that’s what I can do other than that like you’re just taking time for my family and and but I always felt guilty saying that and which is weird because I didn’t have somebody I did I never had somebody like Rogan to amplify my business I had to do this [ __ ] by my [ __ ] self and and but I know how hard it is and so I wanted to help guys Elevate their business by bring bring an exposure to him by this show but then it then it just nothing’s ever enough you know and you feel guilty like saying and resentful if you’re being used yeah and and so I did that and it did it got me back in the moment with my family it gave me it it it gave me like this new ability to be like yeah I’m not doing that you know sorry like and it it made me realize like Sean they don’t give a [ __ ] about you they just care about what you can do for them and if you can’t do it guess what they’re going to go to the next person and then they’re going to go to the next person and then they’re going it’s not about you it’s just what you can give them and um most of the time and uh so it helped me like come to peace with a lot of that stuff and business and then all the alcohol funny I have a bar over here but uh I do too I have a huge bar um but every yeah you know you have a huge bar I didn’t even notice that I’m so tuned out from alcohol that I don’t I don’t really notice it’s weird I get a lot of [ __ ] about that because I’m always talking about sobriety but you know it’s it’s it’s well it’s a measure of how little control it has over you exactly I can’t watch someone smoke a cigarette without my mouth watering really though it’s been 10 years yeah 10 years today I quit 10 years today congrats thank you um and I’ve lost interest I don’t I tried to smoke a cigarette last year I thought I’ll start smoking again why do I I care cuz I I do love smoking but I didn’t want to actually at all uh but for some reason if I watch someone smoke a cigarette I’m like it’s so cool it’s so diseased but I feel that way it’s pavlovian yeah yeah yeah but let’s get back to you enough I wasn’t I don’t like talking about me but um that was wonderful I’m so glad that you did actually that’s wonderful I do think as I often say to people around me the one person I know don’t trust is me and I think it’s important to to say that and like we’re we’re and I did do H Jes as a kid I didn’t have any positive experience at all I learn anything other than the value of Sanity but one thing I did learn was for sure I learned at like 14 or 15 was there’s a lot of stuff floating around inside you that I personally don’t have any interest in being in touch with because it’s um but I think it’s important to know or to have some sense of what you’re capable of not be ashamed of it but just know like under certain Circumstance the one thing that drives me insane is people like I would never do that I think whatever it is you would do that you know under certain circumstances don’t lie about yourself or to yourself you know that’s a damn good point well I think it’s a blessing to know that and to survive something like that why did you survive I mean that’s I’m sure you’ve pondered this a lot but oh yeah I mean well I mean I chalk it up to I chalk it up to God and and Jesus and and uh which we talked about that at breakfast you know and and there’s all these weird I used to call them coincidences you know now I don’t call them coincidences I think it was it was just how I’m supposed to play out I agree with that strongly so that is the one cool thing about making it past 40 is you start to see how non-random everything is you know when you’re when you’re a kid it really is like driving fast at night they’re just like lights going past you and you don’t it’s hard to interpret what they are and like everything’s just happening and like for the first time but with age I mean the downside is you do have to wake up to take a leak like that’s real I can tell you but um the upside is so much better than the downside you like at least at this stage of my life you you start to see like coincidences really I don’t think so like doesn’t mean you’re conspiracy nut it’s just like you notice patterns yeah yeah they aren’t coincidence no no no that’s such a childish thing to tell yourself you don’t realize how childish it is because you’re a child but with age you’re like okay kids and that’s why young people they can’t deal with that actually even the open-minded ones certainly it’s true of me when I was younger I was like conspiracy nut crazy you know what I mean oh Kennedy was assassinated as part of a plot you know it’s like okay I didn’t believe any of that yo UFOs you know whatever but you you learn the hard way or you learn inevitably in any case with age that how little you understand how unreliable you are how narrow your field of vision is you just you learn a lot and it’s good to know yeah yeah it’s um yeah I would I would recommend that psychedelic treatment to everyone it’s just been it’s so powerful I’ve seen it change so many lives too well it you know it’s hard to argue with the the fruit the tree Bears you know yeah man I had the opposite experience I was like wow I’m never doing that again yeah yeah I think it all comes down to intentions well with that 100% and children should not be taking glucogenic drugs like what again it’s just time and place it’s just different time different place different attitudes people don’t understand how much things have changed even I forget like the current and I’m not even judging in either direction I’m just saying the current attitudes that we have as of you know miday 2024 have evolved to this point these are not the attitudes that we had 20 years ago or 40 years ago they’re just not they don’t bear any resemblance to those attitudes so things do change a lot and when you’re marinating in it it’s the frog and the hot water metaphor like you don’t you don’t feel it but you look back and you’re like really how did people do stuff like that cuz everyone thought it was fine or they did or there was an tcid agreement not to talk about it or what whatever but attitudes have changed so much in this country that it’s you can’t even talk about it because it’s like it doesn’t sound first of all it doesn’t sound real and it’s just horrifying by current standards but that I have lived it so I can say we have very different attitudes than we used to have for good and bad yeah yeah all right so back to you you got into journalism yeah when did you really see your career just start to I’ve never had had a career or thought of myself as having a career I don’t think that now I never will think that I don’t I don’t I’m not a career person and um I reject the whole idea of careers and um I just don’t I wasn’t raised like that no one had a career you know it’s like we just didn’t think that way it’s just like are you doing something interesting or not you know that was just kind of the only measure and do you think it’s meaningful do you enjoy doing it um so I have always felt that way I have had a lot of different jobs within journalism like almost pretty much every job you could have and I’ve been better at some than others and enjoyed some more than others but they’ve all been branches of the same tree and uh and my views on it have changed a lot I I began began is because of my father and my great-grandfather was a well-known journalist also so I really felt like well this is what I was made to do and it’s honorable no one’s more honorable than my father so this is inherently honorable bring information to people um being their eyes and ears and some cases their voice you know that’s like what’s what’s better than that like there’s nothing to be ashamed about in what I do that’s I’ve always thought that my whole life and then you look around and you’re like every other person who does this job is a total piece of [ __ ] actually and I I’ve concluded that cuz it’s true when did you realize that oh 2016 okay when the world changed yeah and you hate to give Trump credit for I love Trump personally but he’s not worthy of that credit it was there are a lot of things going on and he was the embodiment of a lot of different things we’re all sort of people but we’re also symbols kind of and that’s true of him as well but whatever everything changed that year and particularly the world that I lived in which was permanent Washington I mean that’s I moved there at 15 or 16 and in 2016 I was 47 so that’s a lifetime and um I had you know strong views about a million different things I was paid to strong views and they came to me naturally but one thing I never really did was question the foundations of the system I questioned neocon foreign policy in 2002 when I went to Iraq to see the outcome of this thing I had advocated for and and that changed my view completely but um my views on the whole system uh were not were sort of in place from childhood up until 2016 to an embarrassing degree I just didn’t understand that a lot of the things that I was living around and participating in were really wrong and I heard people say that but I thought they were dumb and like what do you know you don’t live here I live here I raised my kids here like this is my city I know everybody I know the city like the Physical City and the culture of the city I know it really well and I loved it and I thrived there and I came there with like no record of success or college degree or like anything impressive and I did fine you know I sent my kids to private school and I was you know fairly successful and waiters and Valley Parkers are nice to me and like you know you just live a comfortable happy life and a really beautiful place the residential parts of northwest DC are really beautiful and not that expensive actually it’s just a nice life nice people I loved it and I defended it uh relentlessly for decades and then in one year I came to see a lot of it and I it’s it wasn’t about trump it was about the reaction that he provoked was so unreasonable and defensive MH and um and low it was low and none of the things that they claimed to believe in they actually believed in it was purely self- protection they couldn’t defend the way things worked Trump was not especially articulate in diagnosing the problems at all he didn’t understand the problems he wasn’t from there I’m from there like I know what the problems are or I thought I did but Trump would say things and they would freak out and they would refuse to give a legitimate answer this is my neighbors I’m talking came met of my friends and the whole city and um and I was like i’ never seen anything like it I lost all respect I was like you’re really smart people these are high IQ people and these are Achievers these people went to you know the top schools which I did not go to but I’d certainly been around it a lot long enough to lose respect for it and but these are capable people and also nice people who love their children and are in mostly successful marriages and make sure their lawns are moded and like they’re not bad people they’re good people They Don’t Spray graffiti they’re not jumping the turn Styles they’re not raping old ladies like these are these are the pillars of our society and they can’t answer basic questions like why are we doing it this way and they refused to and they attacked him in very unreasonable ways without even reut rebutting his critique and I have no respect for that at all not as a conservative or even an American just as a man who’s got rational faculties I’m like that’s not good enough actually I catch you doing something and you attack me you don’t even answer my charge you’re disgusting to me and I noticed this on many different levels immigration NATO I never questioned NATO a single time my dad worked with NATO it’s like NATO they defend us from the Soviets and I never one time thought well wait a second the Soviet Union collapsed on my honeymoon which was August of 1991 I was in Bermuda in Tucker toown and it collapsed I remember reading it uh on the beach at the mid ocean Club in the New York Times International Herald Tribune digest or whatever wow failed coup it collapsed that was 1991 this was 2016 I’m not good at math but a long time later and we still have this defense Alliance to prevent the Soviets from invading Germany when the Soviets don’t exist and Russia is not going to invade Germany doesn’t want to what’s the point of NATO which totally fair question which i’ never thought of and Trump in his like autistic way is like why do we have NATO holy [ __ ] people went crazy what you you Putin tool or whatever it’s like no I never mention Putin why do we have NATO like what’s the answer answer the [ __ ] question and they couldn’t and that that right there I’d never had a single opinion about NATO other than NATO good like not one opinion I didn’t know much about NATO and it was the Defenders of NATO’s inability to defend NATO that to me it sounds obscure but it’s not obscure it’s Central I didn’t know that I now do but that to me was a turning point in my life I was like why can’t you answer the question why are you getting mad I have a lot of children so I’m familiar with these phenomena right did you you know what I mean you ask a straightforward question I demand a straightforward answer period And if you’re lying to me the question becomes why why are you lying why you attacking me I didn’t do anything why are we threatening to kill Julian Assange or trying to put Ed Snowden in prison yeah you know you’re the criminal actually he’s the one who told me that you were a criminal he’s not the criminal you are that’s my opinion about life not just about the US government anyway so that was that completely changed my view and because Trump was involved who again I just say it again because I mean it I love Trump personally I know him quite well and have for you know long before he ran for president because I was in the media and I’ve always enjoyed him you know and I do to this day but it was not about trump it was much deeper than that and it was very easy to be like oh you’re a trump siant well of course I’m not a siant to anybody other than maybe my wife I’m an enthusiastic sycophant fine that’s allowed but I’m not an ass kisser and I never have been so that’s not a fair response the question hangs in the air what’s the point of NATO and a million other questions why not have a border wall or whatever and they had no answer for any of it and they were wildly defensive and in a period of just a few months I lost all respect for them and all desire to live in that city which was shocking because I’m on the record um I can just tell you I what My Views were and I expressed them a lot in print and on television this is a great City with great people you know we make mistakes and Head Start doesn’t really work and I got it Federal government’s too big I agree but fundamentally these are people who are trying their best and they’re pretty impressive people and they make mistakes and these programs last too long but you know they’re not evil okay they’re trying hard they work hard and they’re smart and in a few month period I was like actually none of that’s true they’re not good people at all at all because now we all know that this whole Enterprise is [ __ ] and they refuse to get better they refuse to admit it and as a former alcoholic I know the process of just admit it just admit it I’m kind of a loser it’s all right you can you can say that because it’s true when everyone knows it already just admit it and get better they refused they’re still defending the Iraq War they’re still defending the in indefensible Vietnam War still pretending we didn’t know the Japanese were going to attack Pro Harbor like there’s too many lies like I can’t de with this many lies actually and it’s very unhealthy to live in a society that is defined by lies it corrodes your soul it’s bad for you you go to hell actually you’re living in hell when you live that way and all of this came to me in this short period of time and I couldn’t quite articulate it but I felt it so strongly it affected my sleep and um and it really just changed my life forever and so I would say and for the better for the happier but but it’s a burden to have all of your pre existing beliefs explode in a short period of time you know it’s like wow it’s like being kicked out of a cult you’re like I can’t believe I live there you know what I mean I think a lot of us know what you mean at this point well and and I have to say I know you don’t like talk about yourself but it’s especially relevant to you and men like you who went and you know were asked to risk your lives and to kill other human beings and to really give up everything for the sake of this thing and and the disillusionment that I have noticed in men like you who’ve really done a lot for this Enterprise and then come to the obvious conclusion that it’s not exactly what it seems I can’t imagine living with that I I honestly can and I sort of get the suicide rate I’m just being honest I I get that I mean how much of that I know this is a very complicated subject that you’re deeply involved in but how much of the Despair and and up to and including suicide comes from guys realizing wow maybe that wasn’t worth it it’s it’s it’s a it’s a hard question to answer because there’s so much going on you know what I mean it’s it’s I’m I’m it’s it definitely plays a role but it’s not the whole role I believe that you know there’s there’s there’s just there they’re now calling especially for like Special Operations guys that have Just DE it over and over like we were talking about my interview with Tom Spooner guy’s done over a thousand hits meaning he’s hit a thous plus targets I mean a thousand I think it’s totally disgusting to do that to anybody to ask any man to do that that’s too much I’m I’m sorry and then they kick you out but it’s it’s what you did it’s how you did it it’s addiction to Adrenaline it’s culture of being in that life it it’s a very toxic [ __ ] culture it’s it’s the competitiveness that’s ingrained in you from from the time you show up day one week one of training it’s who’s the fastest runner who’s the fastest swimmer who’s the best shot who’s killed the most people who’s gone on the most Ops who’s gone on the most high-profile Ops who’s got the most jumps who’s the it’s it’s all that all that all the time you every day you have to prove yourself to be there which we had talked you know at at at breakfast about egomaniacs in my community and I I’ve thought a lot about this and I think that’s where it stems from I think it’s it’s it is the competitive nature is ingrained in you and in in in striving for Perfection on day one week one of training when you’re going to to become a special operator though and and I do that’s so clearly true and nicely put you obviously thought about it a lot I would just revise something that I said at breakfast which was to describe people like that as egomaniacs I or narcissists I do think this is so obvious it’s just coming to me in the last few years but like egomania is really insecurity masked you know people who are comfortable with themselves who really are deeply first of all you can feel it immediately someone is actually kind of content inside mhmm it conveys very it’s a smell and I can smell it like that and it’s the opposite of egomania people like that do not like the man you’re talking about Tom Spooner is that correct so I watched that that guy just through the screen I could feel that that man’s like has achieved a high level of contentment or peace or he’s he’s wrestled with things and settled a lot of things inside him so I could just feel that coming off just on the screen I could feel that I don’t know if that’s true I don’t know I never met him but that the I got that Vibe right right through my phone watching that um cuz I think it’s that obvious and it is the opposite of the way that people we describe as egomaniacs behave which is constantly reminding you how great they are well you know someone who actually thinks he’s done an okay job or is at peace inside is never going to remind you that he’s great because he doesn’t occur to him he’s focused on you or whatever he doesn’t need to do that like what you’re compensating you feel like [ __ ] if you’re doing that actually and competition makes you feel bad of course am I actually the fastest I don’t know you know that’s why I have to tell you that I am yeah and um it’s sad when you start to see it that way I don’t like e manics I don’t like people who can’t stop talking about how great they are I actually hate that more than almost anything but in the last few years I’ve decided like no you should feel sad for people like that and famous people and seals let’s just be honest are famous people they’re celebrities in our culture they are universally loved and respected I mean that’s just true it was this kind of obscure thing that like President Kennedy thought up but now it’s like a huge part of our culture they’re Hollywood celebrities like basically same thing famous people for some reason the more famous they get I’ve lived this among this my whole life the more insecure they get it’s so interesting the more they’re praised the more they feel insecure about who they really are maybe they don’t believe I don’t know what it is but that is absolutely pH if you subject someone to constant agulation over time you’ll make him hate himself I I think yeah I think a I think uh a lot of this comes from I’ve talked about this a lot before but there’s very few people that you meet in media that are the same person that they are on camera is off and yeah and cuz they’re frauds you’re one of them you’re you’re the same person I hope so and it’s it’s it’s just refreshing time to be more than one person well you too busy it’s it’s it’s I think a lot of people like they they they get to a certain point in life by being a character they wear a [ __ ] costume they’re a character it’s a facade and then they get [ __ ] trapped in that facade no you know and they can’t get out of it and so there’s nothing real about them yes it’s and and now that they found Success Through Being a [ __ ] character now they’re trapped forever well that’s why they have bad marriages cu the one thing that you can’t like you’ll never fool your wife you know what I mean like you’ll never fool you’ll never impress her with that stuff ever she knows who you are and what happens is and I have a PhD in this having seen it so many times the distance between how a man is treated in public and the way he’s treated at home becomes intolerable for him and I had a friend a wonderful man who very famous person who ended up leaving his great wife he was in his 50 like one of the hottest 55-year-old wife around and super nice it’s like it was the kind of thing where it’s like why would you leave her and uh I was in with him in private one time years ago and I and I he’s like uh going back to my wife and I was like going he literally moved out he was like maybe 53 or 4 and he moved in with like a 29-year-old the kind of thing where everyone’s like what is that you know don’t do that and he did it and he had to go back to his wife and he’s like the amount of [ __ ] I’m going to have to eat I mean for real I’ve humiliated her my daughters want to kill me but I’m going back cuz I really miss her and I was like why did you do that and I thought he was CU I was younger and I was dumer and I thought he was cuz she’s just full smoke show and she did [ __ ] to me in the sack you can’t even believe and you know not one word about that nothing to do with sex he literally said when I get home my wife is like have you taken out the trash is exactly what he said and all day people kiss my ass and treat me like a celebrity and I get home my wife was like okay yeah Mr celebrity guy and he goes I couldn’t deal with it and this young woman it wasn’t even it had nothing to do with the sex I she was hot or whatever but he it doesn’t last right it does not that important really she treated me like I was Jesus and I just wanted that how self-aware is that wow that’s a high level of self-awareness that he was able to say that out loud and and admit that it’s ohol that’s so embarrassing but he admitted it and I’ve never forgotten that and I there’s something about flattery that is way more destructive than criticism I won’t have it in my world like at all not one word of it any flattery you’re done criticism is fine as long as it’s sincere and meant to edify rather than tear down constructive constructive that’s right um but flattery is by nature Sinister it’s dishonest and it’s meant to weaken you and nothing weakens you faster than the things that feel good obviously you know this as a as a former part of here but but but flattery is a is a kind of moral cocaine you think it makes you strong but actually it’s hollowing you out inside so anyway that stuff wrecks your marriage because your wife is never long-term going to go along with that at all at all yeah yeah so don’t get wrapped up in your own [ __ ] oh I would be even more psych I mean I think it’s such a threat that I would just be absolutely like there’s all kinds of things you tolerate with people around you who work for you who your friends your family you know of course people are flawed they do flawed things fine but you have to decide there are few things you’re not going to tolerate and one is like crazy Addiction because crazy Addiction carries people into places that they well as we both know you know it changes them in ways that are hard to fix while they’re still partying okay and the second you can never tolerate is flattery ever that is an absolute threat to you any ass kissing is a threat to you it’s better to get punched in the face than be flattered because there’s there’s no good motive for that someone’s lying right to your face in the stealthiest most feline way oh you’re so great oh you’re so great you’re so great if anyone says anything like that to me ever no you’re done except for you well no it just to and luckily I come from a family where Compliments are just not a thing like it’s love is a thing I love you is a thing honesty is a thing but ass kissing is not a thing in my family at all so good when I want to go back to Media yeah and so one of the things that I really wanted to chat with you about is when did you kind of notice the weaponization of mainstream media start to happen I mean you know it’s like you’re too close to things you don’t get it at all um I didn’t realize how totally corrupt that there is no ideal at the center of it that in any conceivable way benefits the public Public’s interest democracy any of that informing the public they can make informed decisions on who to vote for like is the last thing from anyone’s mind and it’s actually it’s actually the most corrupt institution in the United States by far what do I know it’s the only one I’ve worked in but I can say it’s it’s fundamentally corrupt like there’s no non-corrupt part period period um and I realized that you know incrementally over time it’s the kind of thing I’m still realizing I don’t consume anything like period anything at all I don’t want it in my head mhm I don’t want FL in my head and I don’t want lies in my head of course they both manag to end up there but I have a pretty tight screen cuz I just don’t want that so um yeah it’s totally and utterly corrupt and and that’s why I I’m coming to this late in life and I’m coming to a cold from working in the institutional media for over 30 years to all of a sudden not in the last year and um so there are a lot of things that are obvious to you and your viewers and that are not obvious to me that I’m just learning I’m like wow it’s I really do feel like the last Chinese Soldier you know like coming out like the war’s over really and everyone’s like yeah it’s been 20 years you know that’s like how I feel but I’m Amazed by podcasts I just think talk about it on a likely Vector for truth a podcast when podcast first started I mean I was not even aware of it of course cuz I’m like such in a different world but um I became over time aware there was things called podcast and I was like well that’s not going to work because the one thing we know about information is it’s being diced into smaller pieces and ultimately Tik Tok will be our only news source like Tik Tok didn’t exist but like the idea that like 15 seconds a video would be your source of information that seemed obvious because that was the trend line shorter faster shallower more pictures fewer words you know like those Trends were really obvious and they were real but the idea that people would sit in listen to something for like hours it’s the opposite of what was happening in my world and I was like who would listen to that who would ever listen to that meanwhile Not only was the media which is a source of all of her information uh degrading and becoming not only more corrupt but more obviously corrupt but our educational system was in like completely collapsed the Humanity’s collapsed there’s no education like none that’s not an overstatement I have a lot of children they have a lot lot of friends young people work for me no one learns anything in college like at all it’s it’s only brain in the humanities I’m sure electrical engineering is different veterinary school is different you know but but in the sort of broad middle of like I’m going to take English History Communications media Stu you know all it’s all fake and so that was happening and what I didn’t perceive is that all of that stuff was moving to podcasts I I guess cuz I have such a dark and pessimistic temperament thank you scavia I didn’t I assume that because the products that people were consuming were getting worse that people had lost their desire for good products I guess I guess I assume that without thinking of it but it turned out that like no they were just getting it from a different place like there’s a hunger to learn there’s a hunger not to be lied to people can tell on they don’t know exactly what the truth is I have no idea exactly what the truth is about anything but I know the direction it’s coming from and I definitely know lying and there’s a natural human desire to be lied to and to like what is that to understand things curiosity is a human thing curiosity died in the media they’re now officially opposed to curiosity just asking questions is a crime in fact it’s my crime I have noticed just asking questions oh what I will never be embarrassed to ask questions like sorry you can’t make me embarrassed of asking questions yeah my motive is irrelevant by the way my motive happens to be fairly pure I am interested but even if my motive was Sinister it doesn’t change the fact of it that answering questions is never bad period whatever but as so as the mainstream media the big media companies were becoming like just arms of the government and just like full North Korea media landscape like no one knows anything it’s all lies that is where we are I can say that with great Authority having worked there my whole life um there was this incredible Renaissance happening in the most unlikely of mediums this podcast and not just about politics but about history it’s incredible I mean there’s no way if you go to Trinity College norford Connecticut where I went not an impressive place um but even if you go to I don’t know pick a School Dartmouth probably not going to learn that much about legitimate history you can learn it instantly in podcast millions of people are you Le about the fall of Rome 470 you know what happened why did that happen or just the details the Punic Wars name it it’s on there yeah and then that is the world headquarters of free thinking and honesty man of all the trends and again this is right in my world this is Media that’s my world of all the trends in the last 30 years that is the last one I would have predicted and the most hopeful it’s incredible how do you like doing it well I absolutely love it because it’s how I grew up I mean do you like it do you like podcasting better than I’ve done a total of two podcasts in my life I mean I’ve been on well in the last year i’ never really been on first of all I I work for a big Media company we have our own world of promotions or media relations I think the last company I work for called it that but it’s just the PR department okay and we have our own way of doing things and it’s huge company billion multi-billion dollar company and they have a way of doing it and all these like 28-year-old girls are telling you what you you know got to do an interview with New York Times magazine you know whatever um so I’d never done podcast like podcasts that’s not even on the radar they didn’t know that existed really they thought like Esquire where I used to write or New York Times magazine they thought that was really impressive it’s not impressive at all no one reads that crap no one believes that the people who do you don’t care about because they’re dumb by definition they read the New York Times and believe it what you’d have to be like a pretty delusional low IQ character to be in that position right now no I’m serious I’ve written a lot for the New York Times like I used to read the New York Times every day but it’s absurd and everyone knows it’s absurd and if you don’t know it’s absurd then I don’t care about your opinion like I’m not even going to argue that with you so um I had never done podcasts really and I did like a hunting podcast in Maine once cuz I knew the guy or whatever but I never done podcast so the last year I’ve done all these podcasts and I loved it it was so fun and it was and it was fun because it’s exactly how I grew up like this is like the most natural thing this is how I grew up this is what we did for entertainment sit around the table and talk about what you think and what you’ve read and and be as honest as you can be like one of the I hate to say this I guess I’m not say this but one of the beauties of growing up you know as a young child with like no women in the house say whatever you want there’s no one to offend you know what I mean it’s like how I grew up so um you say whatever you want and you can be as honest as you want like there’s just dudes you know it’s like you going to offend your dad no probably not what what he hasn’t he seen are you going to offend your little brother who cares you can just really be honest and I love that like the happiest times of my life and and our family is that way and we have exceedingly long dinners we play games at the end we just it’s just fun and everyone’s like everyone can say exactly what they think like I just I’ve always lived that way at home so a podcast is like not different from that really and our so I’ve done two EP so it took me you know I’m very uh much a non- genius so it takes me a while to like figure out the obvious and after a year of doing like cable news interviews on the internet which did fine you know it’s fun I like interviewing people um it finally occurred to me like the most fun I’ve had in the last year I’ve done two things that I really enjoyed since getting fired one was being able to travel around to different countries and interview people there I couldn’t do that because I was stuck in a studio every night I really love that so I want to keep doing that and I am and the second thing I’ve really enjoyed is going on other people’s podcasts I just enjoyed it you know it’s just fun and why is that not fun it’s fun and why don’t I do that and why don’t I do it like at my actual dining room table in my barn when my son’s engagement party was or like where my family actually eat like why not do that and I don’t I’ve had a makeup artist my whole life as I told you and like that’s a little embarrassing to admit that I used to tell me my kids your dad was makeup um when they were little but why do that I am probably should be ashamed of how I look but I’m actually not really I’m married to the same girl really care and so why not just do exactly what I would do anyway and we’ve always had we don’t have TV at our house and we don’t go to the movies or we don’t like our entertainment is meals like that’s always been our entertainment always and we take them really seriously always have people for dinner we always have 10 12 people at the table it’s not you know not super exciting but for us that’s our entertainment that’s what we do and that’s what we’ve always done or since the day week we were married we’ve done that and that’s as I’ve noted exactly how I grew up so why not just do that like why is that not great it is great yeah I’ve only done it twice okay I interviewed Aaron Rogers who I loved it just a really good guy and I interviewed a friend of mine called Dave Smith who’s a comedian but kind of a really smart guy um who has the same instincts I have about a lot of things and I’m just done two and I and I have L it and I’m doing three week for the foreseeable future and why not incredible well don’t you I mean I I always I don’t always but I usually get to the obvious conclusion last I start with like let’s do something really elaborate and unlikely and probably certain to fail and like over time you’re like you know probably didn’t need to do that you know what I mean yeah I do I think that about the last thing I’ll say I can’t stop talking that’s one of my main faults but I always think that I always you know you see these numbers and like no one’s dating much less getting married much less having kids and like men and women don’t understand each other it’s all it’s all real it’s like the central tragedy of our time but I always think it’s it’s kind of not that hard like does she smell good is she nice she have cute butt in your opinion this is a very subjective question do you find her attractive probably just like if she’s a decent person you probably just marry her and make the commitment and try hard and conceive a bunch of kids that’s actually not that hard either having done it and um like it’s just not hard it’s like animals do this and they’re like pretty happy so just like take that route don’t overthink it you know what I mean yep I do a little bit ago you were talking about all the lies yeah that we had we had I mean with Co the media yeah Iraq I mean Iraq alone you know and I’ve heard you talk about 911 a little bit I’d love to dive in on that but with building seven but I mean I even Iraq I mean I was I was all about it when we were there I thought we were there for the right reasons I think the whole country thought at least at the beginning uh that we were there for the right reasons and then you know and then I mean I wasn’t a big picture guy was a hit this target right in front of you guy and now looking back and seeing chy ties to halberton and and for those that don’t know halberton was the biggest Logistics comp it was the only logistics company to my knowledge that was I mean they did they built they built the barracks they built the Chow Halls they cooked the food they cleaned the [ __ ] they supplied the [ __ ] they did vehicle fuel they they did they did the laundry they did every logistical thing you can possibly imagine they basically built an entire City’s infrastructure out and when you look at that when you look back at that and and nothing was really accomplished there other than pulling Saddam out then you start looking at at 911 which could have been prevented and what isn’t a [ __ ] lie well um you know I would say from you know the summer of 1914 until present you know really the modern era uh the beginning of the first world war till now um most of the big the big perceptions that we have about that are wrong at at every sort of stage so I I don’t um I don’t you know I don’t know the answer to most of the questions where I’m going with this I mean even I just interviewed this guy he was a he’s an he’s an Afghan resistance fighter yeah and I brought him on and he is telling us and this has been confirmed by another CIA targeter which is going to be confirmed it’s leading on the whole Rabbit Hole of interviews we’re now giving the Taliban 40 million do a week did you know that I’m not surprised at all $40 million a week we spent 20 years 20 plus years fighting over there the Taliban Al-Qaeda and now just on the drop of a hat 40 million a week which we’ll find out in a later interview it’s actually upwards of 87 million a week yeah I mean there you know it’s it’s everything has been a [ __ ] lie yeah it’s it’s endless and um yeah I mean I have thoughts about every single thing you said I mean I guess the most obvious respon is one let’s let’s start declassifying some documents why are there any 911 what was that actually and I I don’t know the answer I have a lot of theories about it um I was not fighting any wars of course I was just a journalist but I was definitely as well I don’t I was in you know I was paying close attention um in Washington and in various locations around the world to how that unfolded at the time and um so but what but why in the world would any 9911 document remain classified yeah and thousands are and and the fact that they are has styed a series of lawsuits by the families of people who killed at 911 against the Saudi government now whether those suits are Justified or not I I have no idea but um I really don’t know what I think about all of that I suspect there’s a lot of lying there too but what’s the possible rationale in keeping any of that classified and the truth is and this is true in our private lives as well as in our country’s life um secrecy AB bets dishonesty of course it’s like I don’t want my wife to see my phone why why you know what I mean a buddy of mine once said to me have you heard of Life 360 and I was like yeah the thing where all your family members he goes yeah my wife tried to get me on that no [ __ ] way and I was like why well there no one’s business there’s an invasion of private I started laughing we in hunting I started laughing I said wow you’re by the way I love privacy you know I do I think privacy is a prerequisite to humanity like if no privacy you can’t be human I I believe in privacy however secrecy is a slightly different thing and and a Sinister thing actually why in a democracy would we have big secrets particularly decades down the road or 80 years down the road in the case of Kenedy assassination 61 years down the road well of course the only reason is to keep misdeeds hidden that’s the only reason period it’s not sources and methods sorry yeah you know so anyway um let’s just declassify it and find out and of course that’ll never happen because there is deception at the heart of that now I don’t know exactly why I have some thoughts on it but I can’t I don’t know if they’re true or not so I’m not going to articulate them but um you know there’s definitely still a lot of lying about that and people sense it and whether they’re right in their specific theories or not I I can’t say but their right to be very suspicious of 9/11 absolutely and we can prove that because there are many thousands of documents still classified that is proof that there’s something a miss that there’s lying period it’s true of the Kennedy assassination it’s true of everything that U remains hidden from us what what could possibly be the pretext for hiding what our government is doing if it is in fact our government if this is an exercise in self-government if this is a whatever you want to call it constitutional republic democracy whatever if the people rule what possible justification could you have from hiding something from me cuz it’s my government well of course the answer is cuz it’s not government it belongs to the people who run it the organization exists for its own sake not for yours you just pay for it and that like kind of justifies Revolution right there now I’m not rooting for revolution don’t want one a lot of people will die I don’t know if it’ll work they rarely improve anything they leave lasting scars I’m very anti-revolution however as an academic matter you have the groundwork for one because the system itself is based on a lie and the LIE is that the government serves the people and that of course is not true it oppresses the people and uses them as Canon fodder and as bank accounts for its own sake and that’s not a system that can continue very long because it’s it’s it’s fundamentally rotten I want to dive into I don’t want to believe any of this but the evidence has convinced me I I’ve heard you talk several times on building seven and I never looked into that until until right before this interview uh just because of time and so that building got reported being down 26 minutes before it actually fell and you can’t totally normal yeah right there’s a woman on BBC conspiracy theorist there’s a woman on TV talking on BBC talking about oh I’ve seen it yeah talking about how the building is already down is already collapsed and it’s right behind her let me 26 minutes later the building collapsed what do you think what what do you think first of all how dare you for noticing it’s really your fault for noticing that I think and I think you’re a bad person for noticing it okay just to be clear um that’s the official position of Washington shut up I don’t know the answer of course I’m not a structural engineer a lot of people think what happened to building seven seems imp a lot of Structural Engineers have written this and think that seems impossible it seems impossible to me too but I don’t know all I know is that in as is as in the case that I described with NATO and Trump if your answer to sincere question like how did that happen is shut up it’s to attack me for asking the question that I know you’re rotten I know you’re serving evil I mean that’s the Hallmark of it you’re attacking me for asking an obvious question really cuz I’m not a slave I don’t work for you I’m a free man in a supposedly free country therefore I have an inali right which is to say given by God right to ask obvious questions or even non- obvious questions any question I want you can’t attack me for that certainly can’t punish me for it but they will so that just tells you that they’re bad period now how bad I I don’t know the answer to that in what ways or exactly are they bad I don’t know but they’ve already showed me they are bad so and those by the way are like people I know personally and live near and whose bidding I did unwittingly for years so like I have a kind of bitterness and intensity about my feelings on the subjects that are just real as I’m sure you do cuz you fought their Wars know what I mean I didn’t fight their Wars I just watched it’s enraging yeah do you do you I feel like we’re being pushed into Civil War yes oh of course who do you think is pushed I mean it’s all on Instinct with the with the weaponization of media social media Bots I mean all this all all the lies in the division I mean of course who do you think is pushing it or are we already in it well we’re already in it we’re in a we’re in we’re in definitely an Undeclared conflict it’s a conflict of course um this Happ another country you would see this was you know Strife of some kind I mean what who knows what to call it but of course I mean that’s it’s the oldest it is a strategy I think it’s I don’t think it’s ever fully articulated anywhere by anybody but it’s a conspiracy of like-minded instincts as I noted at the beginning people from the same class the beneficiaries of our current system um understand what people all understand intuitively which is divide and conquer like fight amongst yourselves hey white guy it’s a black guy’s fault black guy the white guy is impressing you or whatever you know racism is America’s biggest problem right okay racism is non- America’s biggest problem um that’s for sure or whatever the thing or the Israel protests you know the biggest thing happening in America is a fight over a fight in a far away country huh no over 100,000 people just died in fentel this year like what I’m not taking position on the Israel thing I I’m coming at this from very limited interest actually and I’m not against Israel like nice country to visit I wish everybody well just in general I do I I want to try to but if you’re telling me that that conflict is the biggest thing happening in my country you know [ __ ] you actually cuz no it’s not and that doesn’t make me pramas or anti-israel or pro-israel or Pro it doesn’t even matter like I’m American like what so if you’re filling up my Airwaves in my brain with that um first of all you’re not serving my interest because you’re not telling me about what’s happening in my own country and my own family and second you’re very likely trying to divert my attention mislead me scramble my priorities that’s not they cannot be my top priority cuz I’m not from that country my top priority is my family in this country and my family been hundreds of years I think I have a right to say that okay and you’re trying to scramble my priorities you’re trying to make me think that something that’s not the most important thing is the most important thing and why you trying to do that and um you know we can only guess but uh it’s bad it’s Sinister that is absolutely Sinister and again coming from the news business a lifetime in it I know that there’s a reason I don’t know what it is and I also don’t know if the people pushing it know exactly what it is a lot of these things happen as they do in our daily lives on the basis of instinct not forethought I don’t have a plan well I have no plans I never have any plans I’m not a planner I don’t believe in planning that’s why I don’t believe in careers I don’t believe in any of it that’s not how my life is unfolded I’m not doing what I thought I would be doing God has a plan I don’t so I really feel that so I don’t think that there is like some conspiracy necessarily but there’s a conspiracy of like-minded instincts when when I’m I’m just guessing we’ve not talked about this but and I bear no anger toward transvestites or transsexuals or whatever we’re calling them at all I feel no anger at all I feel sadness and I actually don’t even feel that much other people’s weirdnesses have never bothered me cuz I grew up in a weird world but I know the my reaction the first time somebody told me that a man can become a woman I was like that’s [ __ ] crazy no I want to tell you about this business venture I’ve been on for about the past 78 months and it’s finally come to fruition I’ve been hellbent on finding the cleanest functional mushroom supplement on the planet and that all kind of stemmed from the Psychedelic treatment I did came out of it got a ton of benefits haven’t had a drop of alcohol in almost 2 years I’m more in the moment with my family and that led me down researching the benefits of just everyday functional mushrooms and I started taking some supplements I found some coffee Replacements I even repped a brand and you know it got to the point where I just wanted the fin finest ingredients available no matter where they come from and it it it got to this point where I was just going to start my own brand and so we started going to trade shows and and looking for the finest ingredients and and doing that I ran into this guy maybe you’ve heard of him his name’s lar Hamilton and his wife Gabby Reese and they have an entire line of supplements with all the finest ingredients and we got to talking turns out they have the perfect functional mushroom supplement it’s actually called performance mushrooms and this has everything it’s USDA organic it’s got chaga craps Lion’s man Miaki this stuff is amazing for energy balance for cognition look just being honest see a lot of people taking care of their bodies I do not see a lot of people taking care of their brain this is the product guys and so we got to talking and our Valu seemed very aligned we’re both into the functional mushrooms and after a lot of back and forth I am now a shareholder in the company I have a small amount of ownership and I’m just look I’m just really proud to be repping and be a part of the company that’s making the best functional mushroom supplement on the planet you can get this stuff at layered superfoods.com you can use the promo code SRS that’ll get you 20% off these performance mushrooms or anything in the store they got a ton of good stuff once again that’s layered superfoods.com use the promo code SRS that get you 20% off you guys are going to love this stuff I get guarantee it over the past several years vigilance lead patreon has fueled what you now see today the Sha Ryan Show because of our patrons and their support has enabled us to produce the best quality Productions that you see weekly including our small team that continues to grow I’ve done a complete restructure of vigilance Elite patreon in 2024 by adding new and improved tiers and giving them a unique name tier one is now known as the Seeker tier two is known as the protector and tier three is now known as the defender in our newest tier tier four is known as the Patriots one of our top benefits by joining tier one is getting early access to all of the Shawn Ryan shows this includes both audio and video our tier 2 option houses the old school tactical training library that is still used news today along with our newest benefit a behindth scenes take of the Shawn Ryan Show I also include my file notes that give 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actually can’t happen it’s not actually true mhm there were a lot of people some of whom I know who were like yeah that can happen so why did they think that and I thought what I thought because we have different instincts actually now who knows why maybe it’s genetic maybe it’s social ization I have no idea all I know is the world was divided as it is on so many issues into people who had one gut reaction versus people who had another gut reaction and people have a very specific gut reaction which and I think across the board is destructive let’s let’s destroy something those people are in charge let’s break it whether it’s Ukraine or whatever they’re into breaking things not into breaking things at all I hate breaking things I hate vandalism I hate graffiti I hate watching beautiful buildings collapse from lack of care or attention like I hate that I believe in preserving things and Building Things and creating things making I made this here’s what I made that’s the highest level of expression and for some reason we went up with this leadership class it’s all about breaking [ __ ] let’s just get rid of it let’s just break it oh the grid do you know how complex a power grid is you know how it took a hundred years to figure out our [ __ ] power grid really smart people with Specialties you can’t even understand wattage amperage you don’t know the difference ACDC you don’t know the you know anything about electricity and you’re going to replace our grid you don’t know anything you have no skills that’s a that’s a gut reaction I can’t understand like I approach any everything with like a profound sense of my own ignorance I don’t know how that works so I’m not going to break it and so people with this weird and destructive Instinct that’s what it is it’s not a conspiracy an instinct have taken over all the levers of power and I I think it’s like a spiritual Force that’s my personal view I can’t prove it but I I really believe it but maybe it’s not maybe it’s something else but that’s what I perceive and well that’s what I think it is too I mean nothing anymore makes any damn sense if I’m convinced that when we when we die we will see that every everything that we know or think we know yeah is a lie I totally agree yeah well I I know that that’s true I tell you how I know but I do know that that when we die we’ll know we’re going to well it’ll all make sense I do I know that for whatever it’s worth so sorry but um I yes that is absolutely true when we die and I was talking to a friend of mine recently who is like a new friend of mine but I really love that’s the cool thing about this moment is like you’re meeting all these people who are so deep and honest it’s like it’s wonderful it almost makes up for everything s but I was talking to someone recently and he said to me he goes not excited to die I’ve got all these kids or whatever I don’t want no one wants to die but kind of Psych to like understand what all this is I’ve had this conversation several times oh yeah yeah I feel that way you do totally and I’m looking forward to death at all I’m I happen not to be afraid of it you want the answers I know what makes sense yeah and I know I know as a dead certain fact that that awaits so do you think that do you think that the kind of pushing us into Civil War scenario do you think that is to distract us or do you think that’s to dismantle the entire United States or both again I I don’t know that anyone anywhere I was with cl Schwab this winter you were with cl swab I was with I just s of casually dropped that Sean I was with CL Schwab Schwab to me no I was at I spoke at an event in the Middle East he was at in um whatever I don’t know CL but I got to see him up close you know and uh he’s like an idiot he’s like an elderly idiot it seems a little scile like doesn’t have any idea what he’s talking about at all he’s totally unimpressive and it was just another reminder that the closer you get like a Tori Anan for example who basically started the current war in Ukraine she’s like this kind of sad f dumb girl you know actually and the closer you get the more you realize the people running things are like mediocre their buffoons they they have no idea what they’re doing Tony blinkin I mean really anyway um no I don’t think there’s like a conspiracy I doubt they’re smart enough to like articulate it and write it down or anything like that but it’s just like again they just they are weak people they’re motivated by rage and envy V they are not the people who built the current society that we live in anything worth having they did not build from our beautiful train stations to our power grid to any of our infrastructure to Harvard University to our legal code to anything that’s great about America they didn’t you know protect the national parks they nothing to do with the Yellowstone like they didn’t they didn’t create anything they’re not capable of it and they’re mad about it and they’re mad in the way that primitive envious people are mad you know they don’t celebrate Beauty they destroy Beauty you see this a lot it’s one of the main motivators of evil in my view and they just want to tear it down just want to tear it down they’re mad about it like they couldn’t have done that dead white men okay who created our entire Society like everything all our founding documents everything and they hate them most why do they hate them actually why would you be mad why are you mad at James Madison like he’s long gone Thomas Jefferson own slaves okay unlike Muhammad you know or whatever you know they come they come up with these pretext to justify their hate but really it’s just Envy cuz they’re not capable people they have no skills like Tony blinkin yeah like Tony blinkin couldn’t change a tire on your truck like he’s a [ __ ] idiot like actually it’s not a surprise that he’s mismanaged the world he’s out there like playing guitar in Kiev which he calls keev because he’s just like a he’s like a child they all are and they’re mad about the fact that they’re fraudulent and weak and helpless actually supply chain breaks down they all St to death like they know that and they’re mad about it and um and so they want to wreck the things that others built this is like the oldest story there is you think that’s that’s what it is of course it’s why the vandals sacked Rome of course you built you built this great it’s why people spray graffiti on beautiful buildings in New York City you didn’t build this neither did your ancestors you’re a [ __ ] [ __ ] you couldn’t build anything so you tear it down of course it’s the oldest impulse there is vandalism it’s all vandalism man and vandalism is committed by vandals and vandals are by definition primitive and they may have gone to HBS they may be rich but they’re still Primitives actually they’re not capable of any of this that’s why and they have no appreciation for beauty at all they hate Beauty it’s the first thing and look at their architecture it tells you they hate Beauty look at their Modern Art it’s anti- Beauty it’s ugly on purpose because they don’t have the ability to create something beautiful because they’re totally non-creative actually and non-creative people are hostile to Beauty creative people love beauty of course it’s what they to create themselves just like self-made people are not afraid of going bankrupt because they can build it again you’re entirely self-made person if someone took away the studio build another one because you would because you know you have that power inherited money people who’ve created nothing they’re living off the creation of others are terrified of losing anything because they know they can’t replace it so our leadership class that’s a [ __ ] great Point our leadership class is basically with the inherited money stage of Empire where we’re all living on the labor of people who are long dead and we know we can’t recreate it we could not create our power grid right now we don’t have enough Engineers to do that and so all these fantasies will soon Crash and Burn and I would include EVs and Ai and all the other energy devouring acronyms that we’re now in love with all those need to be powered by electricity and our current grid can’t do it not even close to do it like I’m not good at math but even I know that yeah and so at some point someone is going to need to move from the world to the theoretical AI EVS all these stupid ideas their stupid justifications climate change what whatever whatever they are going to need to move to like the field of like physical engineering how do we create enough electricity how do these competing imperatives of like stopping climate change we can control the weather because we’re God how does that mesh with the idea that none of us are ever going to have to work again because computers will make the decisions for us AI well they they they’re going to need like practical answers and this class of people who run our country are totally incapable of coming up with those answers because they have no skills and that’s why they’re destroying it I mean it it’s so obvious what’s happening and cuz history is this is the same story anyway man do you think we’re going into World War II really close to it as you know really really really close the fact that anyone would even consider getting within a thousand miles of [ __ ] around with a nuclear exchange just shows you that um the the core impulse here is suicide that’s what really that’s what all of us is and that’s why I personally think it’s spiritual I think it’s the word demonic is suddenly being overused it’s everywhere because it’s real but um yeah if you see a human movement that’s anti-human the push toward nuclear war for its own sake is by definition anti-human I would say AI is anti-human by definition transgenderism is anti-human by definition transhumanism is anti-human do people act against their own long-term interest probably not actually so it’s probably not human I mean I’m like looking at this like very artistically very simply trying to reduce it to its most basic elements and like any movement that’s anti-human is probably not human is it probably did Dogs act against their own Collective interest do caribou do porcupines do single cell amoeba to see cucumbers no none of them do no animal does that because it’s not natural animals are part of nature they do natural things people are subject to the supernatural so they do things that are not natural like kill themselves that’s why we’re the only species that kills itself right so when you kill yourself whether slowly or all at once you’re you’re being acted on by forces outside of you spiritual forces obviously I’m just trying to apply logic [Laughter] here you had mentioned several times that you think that the UFO UAP type phenomena stuff is all spiritual I think I I and I don’t I mean look I should just State about every topic like I don’t know [ __ ] nobody knows [ __ ] yeah that’s well that is the root of all wisdom as my father always say when we kids the root of all wisdom is knowing what an [ __ ] you are and I think that is totally and knowing how ignorant you are and how limited your foresight is and all that so I don’t know but yeah I would bet my my house on it at least some of it is I mean I’m sure some of it’s like advanced technology that we possess US Government clearly does possess a lot of technology that is not publicly known about or available or only in fragments I mean that’s clearly true you’ve done a lot on this um I mean that’s why I first out to you cuz you did such an amazing segment on that I was like shocked by it how great it was that’s why I’m sitting here so you know all this and clearly that’s part of it but there are other things that are clearly not they baffled the US government here’s what I’m really surprised by and I’ve actually stopped Gathering string on as we say in reporting stopped Gathering string on this gathering information because I’m satisfied that I know enough and I don’t really want to know that much more cuz what I think I know is you know this doesn’t help me at all to know that so so that’s the conclusion I’ve reached I’m usually pretty curious I’ve stopped being curious about this because I don’t want to know anymore but um you you truly don’t want to know anymore about it N I think I know I think I know what’s up so I can’t prove it so probably not going to articulate it but I think I know what’s up yeah but can you articulate it well I think it’s I think it’s a you know I think it’s a really old story you know I think it’s a really old story so that’s what I think what is it well one you know I’m a Christian and I am fairly sincere about it I try to be sincere about it um more sincere than ever for sure but one thing that you notice about all every world religion I’m familiar with I’m interested in that topic there are commonalities between religions you know Jesus is unique and I believe in Jesus so I’m not I don’t believe in any kind of pantheology okay I don’t think they’re all equal or anything like that I think mine is correct I think that sorry but there are commonalities that are very striking between all world religions I’m aware of and all creation myths and one of them and this is of course true for Christianity very true is that the belief that um supernatural beings take physical form they all believe that the Greek myths Jesus most famously um but that they take physical form that they’re not just like some ethereal they’re not just Shadows floating around specters fog that they’re physical like they’re as real as the arm of your chair and um and that they reproduce with people again Christianity believes that Jesus a maculate conception spirit reproduces with human woman that’s that’s what the story is it is described in Genesis as well in Genesis 6 again it’s not just the religion of the ancient Hebrews or the religion of the modern Christians um it’s Hinduism as well and um the animist religions the religions of to the extent we understand them or know about them of the American Indians all the same so if if every culture in the world that we know about has left any kind of written or physical record is reaching the same conclusions about something maybe there’s something there H mhm and maybe it’s not so crazy to think that what everyone else has always thought since the beginning of time which that there is this combination in cases of you know human beings and the spiritual realm whatever that is I can speak about it with no Precision at all because I don’t understand the specifics of it but I know that um it has been written about since people have been writing and uh so it’s a little weird to think that in 1945 really the day we dropped that first bomb on Hiroshima um from then until now which is it’s just a just a a speck of time in the Continuum of history for that one period we’ve assumed that’s not true but everyone else has always assumed it is true I’m kind of going with everyone else on that just on the odds okay it’s a very long-winded way of answering your question but I think that’s kind of what we’re looking at I think that I think there’s I think there’s some evidence that that’s real so and I don’t want to fully articulate it because it sounds like so out of the realm but it’s not out of the anyone else’s realm in fact it was at the very center of everyone else’s realm until like just the other day so I don’t think it’s a crazy thing to think and I and I and I happen to believe that’s true so whatever but I can’t prove it so I’m I’m certainly not an evangelist on the subject at all and I also don’t know how that helps anybody to say it so I’ve like tried not to talk about it because because I don’t I don’t know it’s true and I don’t really know what you do about it if it is what was than say your prayers what was it that uh you know what was it that led you to believe talking to a lot of people I got really interested in it and since that is my job that’s literally my job is to call people and see them and have dinner with them and talk to them me that’s what I’ve done my whole life so it’s it’s like that’s just natural for me it’s not a hobby it’s my profession I don’t I hate to use the word reporting because it’s been so discredited by the Liars oh we’ve done a lot of reporting here at NBC News we’ve done a lot of reporting [ __ ] liar you know you you talk to some flak at CIA who told you a bunch of Lies which you’re now repeating to me and my kids so shut up you’ve been done reporting I hate to use the word reporting but just like just like satisfying your curiosity by trying to identify who might know talking to a bunch of people about it assessing who’s telling the truth maybe they’re wrong anyway but you can kind of feel whether someone’s telling the truth and there’s there are ways to know or to get closer to knowing whether someone’s tell just talk to a lot of people and I’ve done that because I got really interested in it um sort of by accident I never thought I’d be interested in this at all and so I talked to a lot of people and I was really shocked by what credible people told me they could all be wrong of course you know I don’t I can’t prove it yeah but I became completely satisfied I’ll say that that they were not lying and that they were right or in the vicinity of right you know I always assume the details are wrong I was a police reporter for a while and you interview someone like a a shooting you know you’ve obviously seen shootings but most people don’t see shootings so you think if you saw a shooting you’d like remember every detail with the shooting they get them all wrong you know people don’t aren’t good at detail okay that’s just true but they are good at themes they’re good at themes like they remember the guy’s fat he may have been 400 lb he may have been 280 he was fat like if everyone says the guy was fat he was fat like that’s we do we can’t say that and so if everybody you talk to is saying this is really upsetting I don’t know what this means but here’s what I know here’s what I heard someone say I was in a meeting or here’s what you know what I mean it was that kind of stuff and I didn’t talk to anybody in the UFO Community I’m not even sure what that is I know I don’t trust any I I don’t trust anybody actually you know what I mean like it’s not my job to do to trust people so it’s my job to to assess whether what they’re saying is right or not so I talked to people who I thought had firsthand knowledge I talked to a number of them and then I was like whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa I’m out because I don’t need to go farther than that I mean I I think that the real struggles are unseen that is absolutely a part of Christian theology I didn’t fully appreciate it at all it’s a part of every theology in fact it is theology that is theology the belief that the real struggles are in the spiritual realm that has been a constant belief since the beginning of history recorded history everybody has thought that except us in the west since 1945 I just want I can’t say that enough so once you get perspective on this question you’re like okay that may sound crazy to someone who thinks buying [ __ ] on Amazon is the meaning of life but to every other person in the world we may disagree about what the truth is we I’m sure we will but we will never disagree with the fact that there’s a lot of [ __ ] going on that we cannot see or measure with our senses um that is absolutely true and of course looking back you like have experiences and we talked about this in great detail at breakfast you look back and you’re like okay that’s what the duh like the only surprise is not that it happened but that it took you Blockhead so long to see it clearly and then to admit it there’s like some got to say one thing and then I’ll I’ll stop I’m so I cannot keep a straight trajectory with my thinking sometimes but um what I find so striking about the UFOs this is the main takeaway I have is like there’s this debate like is this stuff these phenomena which are clearly obviously real I mean there’s no debate about that there’s a lot of [ __ ] that people can’t explain in the sky and underwater we know that fact is this so the debate is is this government technology is it from outer space or is it some spiritual realm here I’ve already told you my view of it but what I find so interesting we know the government’s lied about it they’re lying about it now that’s a fact there’s no way around that they’ve absolutely lied about it in very elaborate ways I really struck here’s my current thinking on it the main effort that the US government has put into its disinformation it’s lying on this topic has been not to mislead you on the technology like they’re not telling me they don’t have anti-gravity technology it sounds from watching your podcast that they do which I believe no problem believing that their main interest in is in convincing that the Supernatural is not real that’s and if you watch and there are people in the media who specialize in spreading these lies on behalf of the government I’m not going to name anybody but like some of them work at the New York Times if you once you realize what the point of the exercise is it’s crazy and I hope you’ll assess all the factchecking and the skepticism on uaps through this lens the main thing they want you to believe is the Supernatural is not real then you have to ask yourself like why that’s interesting it is so interesting why is that important to you why do you care if I think the Supernatural is real like why why why is that first of all why is it how dare you as my government try to get involved in my spiritual beliefs that’s totally not your area so get the [ __ ] out of there okay a but B why has that been so important for 80 years for you to convince me the super natural is not real why why is that and of course I can’t answer the question but my gut level response is well because if it is real whatever they’re telling you is not real and if they’re punishing you for saying something you know for a fact it’s not real you’re not allowed to say that oh not cuz it’s they don’t have no problem with me lying because they lie they lie for a living so lying brings no sanction you can lie all you want what you can’t do is tell the truth that is a fact so once you know that you can sort of reverse engineer their lies and know with some certainty that whatever they’re telling you is not true is in fact true that’s exactly the truth exactly the truth but then you have to ask motive like it’s not a profit motive like does it make them Rich to deny that there’s Supernatural forces no what is that and I don’t know the answer but um the obvious answer is well because they sort of know they’re working for Supernatural forces actually and I think that’s probably true and they they the US government is millions of people is is there a specific reason or a handful of reasons or is this a hunch did you believe that they’re working with the supernatural realm or have a relation I can’t prove that I mean I I I’m I’m suggesting that I’m not saying it because I can’t prove it but I’m suggesting it and if you’re asking whether I believe it the answer is yes um but I think I believe that for two reasons one because I told that directly by a couple of people who things seem knowledgeable um and I attach some weight to that though not conclusive weight I don’t know I don’t know I wasn’t there maybe they’re super sophisticated Liars maybe they’re telling me the same lie for some reason maybe it’s all part of a disinformation campaign all the Geniuses on the internet the really smart kids seem to think it’s oh you’re falling for the disinformation okay thanks son um I know a lot about my disinformation campaigns okay uh but it’s like one of my few areas of expertise um having participated in many unknowingly uh so either they’re totally lying or they’re telling the truth but the other reason that I think that is for the reason just stated which is that their main goal when I hear a bunch of lying I first I want to recognize that it’s lying it’s untrue like I know that’s untrue then I want to ask what’s the nature of a lie what exactly are they trying to get me to believe or not believe that’s really important what is it like what’s so important to them they’re going to all this effort spending all this money getting all these journalists to repeat knowingly or not repeat their lies like why why are they doing that it takes time to do that it’s a big effort to lie it’s much harder to lie than tell the truth so why bother and then third question you have to ask is like so like what is that what does that mean and I don’t of course I don’t know the answers but it’s very suggestive I one thing I do know and and if you look at it if you look at like the New York Times or Popular Mechanics or any of the I say Popular Mechanics I getting that wrong I think it’s Popular Mechanics but there are a bunch of different stories that have run over time debunk debunking certain claims about uaps UFOs and some of them are quite vement and sophisticated and mean too people believe in this stuff aren’t just wrong they’re crazy they’re conspiracy theorists they’re like pedophiles kind of in a way I mean that’s kind of the like why would you attack someone for that like yeah do you know what I mean I’m I’m like why do you care like I’m not a Buddhist I’m not mad at Buddhists I’m I’m I’m totally in line with what you’re saying I mean we we had but why are they doing that there so many signs too you like we talked this morning about my my my experience about you know getting slapped in the face by God basically right and ever since then I’m I’m I I take a minute I step back and I try to find the symbolism and what I’m seeing at the moment yes and and I had told you I have a lot of pretty much everybody on my team is extremely well-versed in the Bible yeah and uh and they bring me up to speed in a hurry and but I mean even just those are the wisest people I’ve discovered yeah I didn’t know that but everywhere there’s nowhere you can look and go that makes sense anymore it nothing makes any sense at all the the the confusion of genders it’s everywhere I mean I I I was in DC what was it last June when we had when we had the big Pride party on the White House lawn and men were flashing their titties I look at that as symbolism now that’s that is some type of evil force that’s in there the this Easter this Easter was transability day exactly on Easter with with Easter bunnies and Easter eggs and the White House letterhead declaring that day trans visibility day that’s a symbol the pope that’s a pretty clear symbol yeah yeah Theologian or anything but when you replace Easter with day I think maybe you’re making a statement about Transcendent matters it’s not just about politics MH but the shit’s everywhere it’s everywhere you look yeah and and only the Bible readers are prepared to understand it that’s what I’ve because everything is the opposite of what you were told so you were told that all the Bible readers were the most superstitious and inflexible and stupid and lacking wisdom and Common Sense and they couldn’t see reality and like that’s what I grew up I mean even though we like went to church occasionally or whatever of course we hated religious people because all affluent Americans hate religious people in the world that I grew up in because they’re like superstitious and dumb and they’re embarrassing and they’re like kind of middle class or poor whites and they’re like I mean I’m so ashamed to say that but I and I I was never against them really but I just didn’t I don’t know you just don’t question what you were taught really kind of you know mhm and then it turns out that like those are the only people who know what’s going on they’re the best people I I’ve known that for a while they are the best religious people are the best people like there’s no it’s not even close who else who else helps other people just for who else prays for their enemies anyone anyone no just Christians that’s it so anyway I’ve known that for a while that they were the best people and of course I’m married to one so I knew that but what I didn’t know was that they’re the only W they’re the only wise people they’re the only ones who know what’s up and that they’re just like way smarter than everybody I didn’t know that I had no idea and the last couple years I’ve been like holy [ __ ] they’re the only people who know what’s going on and you had the greatest line this morning I won’t reveal personal I talked about but you talking about something like super crazy that happened to you and you went to a Christian who works for you who was just like well yeah of course like that that happens all the time and you said to them people who really understand the stuff it’s like not a shocking event it’s I think you said it’s like Tuesday cuz they know that this is real Y and that what a mind [ __ ] that has been no it’s so great though well you know it with everything that’s going on and and as disgusted as I am in in the country and and the citizens yeah and the government and I’m starting to get an eye into that as the as the show grows and I I see I see how I see how disgusting yeah it actually is in there and um and and they are it’s just [ __ ] horrible and this show is definitely I mean this show kind of radicalized me a little bit which is not easy radicalizing me but um uh so yeah no you are definitely doing your part to tell the truth which I thank you I love that it gives me hope though in a weird weird way now that I can kind of see through this [ __ ] and real okay none of this makes sense and it actually makes sense that none of this makes sense because it’s all been written it’s in that D it’s in the book know it’s in the book and it’s playing out right now and anyways it but the fact that honestly it’s the only thing that brings me any hope because I don’t think we’re getting out of the sh no of course not but right but that’s I mean that shouldn’t be surprising either I mean again I just can’t believe that in the end when it really gets intense as it is now that it’s Christians it’s people actually believe the Bible are the only ones with wisdom who understand what’s really going on they’re not shocked at all and they’re not panicked either like they get it it’s so interesting who have and that that itself is a Biblical principle the last shall be first the most you know the the humble among you will be exalted it’s like it’s everything’s the opposite of what you thought it was you know Victory is defeat defeat Christianity is defeat being tortured to death is actually Victory it’s like it’s Inc it’s just but once you start even if you’re not a Christian which I think you should cuz it’s true but even if you’re not you can acknowledge just having lived here for a while that that is absolutely the way things work it’s interesting too you know and and I’m I really like the fact that you don’t do email social media any of that [ __ ] and somebody else handles all that stuff and you’re only you’re only T correct I’m sorry you sound I sound so entitled and like I don’t deal with that I’m so powerful I don’t have a briefcase what I think that’s just that sounds like you’re just taking control of your own mental health well I don’t believe I’m not a luxury guy I’m not just saying this I’m I’m not especially rich but um I’m not a luxury guy at all I mean ask anybody who knows me or lives near me or with me I’m not into that like I don’t care I drink my coffee black sleep in my truck it’s fine with me I’m not I’m really committed not to being ins snared by luxury but I do think a more profound form of luxury is reducing the noise a little bit in your life if you can do that you know more nature more quiet more one-on-one conversations fewer distractions less frenetic have to do this stuff more thoughtfulness like I don’t achieve it that’s for sure I’m constantly texting people like I have a lot of chaos not chaos but I have a lot of like stacked up nonsense I have to do in my life but everybody does but if you can reduce that by 10% or 20% like that’s worth more than a private plane which I don’t have um but do you know what I mean I do well I mean when I heard that it inspired me so I’m I’m going to do the exact same thing well you’re already doing it I mean you don’t go to you don’t drive you know over the tribor bridge into an office building to work for somebody else like that that is the ultimate luxury yeah if someone said I’ll pay you $50 million a year to commute through Midtown Manhattan for 2 hours to work for some company controlled by its HR department apartment or I’ll pay you 150th of that to work at home I don’t think any wise person would choose the 50 million cuz it’s not worth it it’s not about money yeah where I was kind of going with this is is my perspective of reality may be a little off um or maybe it’s way off but I’m not in I never watch the news anymore I get I get my news from other sources me too and right here and um but so I’m a little removed from whatever the latest agenda is that they’re pushing but it seems like to me and I love this conversation by the way but it seems like to me that we’re approaching the final Division I mean it seems like it seems like the race [ __ ] is kind of cooled off a little bit and the and the and the gender stuff is cooled off and I mean all the things the defund the police BLM antifa the war the it’s all seems to be starting to die down a little bit and what I’m seeing and maybe this is just because I’m that interested in it is you’re seeing a massive wave of Christianity coming and you’re also seeing a massive wave of Satanism and it seems like we’re approaching the final division you’re seeing pedop files on the rise sex trafficking human trafficking I mean the US is the number one consumer of kitty porn on the planet and and and you just see this good and evil just yep going farther and further apart and it’s becoming at least from from my point of view you know it’s I couldn’t agree more I couldn’t agree more vehemently and I don’t have too many you know great insights into things or prophetic feelings you know I’m very conventional but the one thing that I really felt strongly a couple of years ago was really strongly I felt it overwhelmingly like from outside me um was that there’s there’s some form of religious revival coming I felt that really strongly and I’m like extremely secular person obviously I say [ __ ] every other word I’m sorry that I do that I shouldn’t I definitely grew up that way um so like for me to have that Insight but I wow I overwhelming and I said it to a couple of friends of mine who were very Sly like what but I felt it and that has turned out I think to be true and I have no idea where it’s going and I I get a lot of people coming to my barn like every day literally every day and leaving me big stacks and stuff on the end times and I think history ends I think we all sort of sense history ends it’s but it’s also really clear that we don’t know when it ends so I kind of resent that a little bit because it’s like what are you God like you know the future we don’t know the future we can’t know we’re not going to know the future okay that’s very clear and I believe it but we are clearly moving towards something big who doesn’t feel that everybody feels it and and it is the Divide is spiritual and um I try to be mindful of my own sort of sectarian limitations like when you’re one thing you think everyone else should be that thing or whatever and I really am a Christian or attempting to be but I think it’s enough to say the people who know they’re not God who show reverence before a power bigger than themselves like those people are on our side I that’s how I personally feel and I think you need to believe in Jesus I think that okay but I am also willing to believe that as a functional matter that people I had an experience this is like I’m will offend a lot of people but it’s real I was flying in the Middle East recently and I was on one of those planes with a a the double-decker planes 83 80s I think with a big plane and I go back take a leak and it’s like everyone’s asleep or whatever on the plane and there’s like that little barer is like an open area and there’s a guy he looked to be South Asian looked Pakistani to me but maybe not I had to be 70 years old and he’s got his prayer mat out and he’s praying there’s no one around and he’s praying in the middle of the flight everyone’s asleep and I’ve never been particularly pro-islam in fact I was very anti-islam for a long time and I thought to myself I’m not a Muslim I’m never going to be a Muslim I disagree with Islam in a lot of ways but a guy who’s taking his time taking time out in the middle of a [ __ ] flight when everyone’s asleep to acknowledge that he’s not God and bow before his God I don’t think that man’s my enemy on a deep level I just don’t I’m sorry call me like a a tool of Muhammad or something I’m not I’m a Christian but like how is that guy my enemy he’s a massive Improv over everyone in DC who thinks they’re God like I do think that I’m sorry I do there’s something about the humility of acknowledging I’m not in charge I can’t see the future I’m not I’m totally imperfect that is the most important thing and I that’s how I kind of see the spiritual divide that said Christianity seems to be growing in power even as the church is collapsing into absurdity church leaders not all but a lot of them are totally corrupt I don’t know what’s going on with the Pope I’m not Catholic so I’m not going to comment on that but like who doesn’t look like Christianity to me it’s another symbol on the other hand the number of Catholics some of my closest friends are cathol a lot of my closest friends are Catholic they’re the most fervent sincere On Target Christians I know I’m just just saying that they are I I’m sorry maybe their theology is wrong I don’t know it’s not up for me to judge but they are serious Christians and they mean it and their life is bearing the fruit of those beliefs in other words as the church like the structure collapses some of the members of the church seem even stronger have you noticed this well I mean it it goes back to what we were talking about this morning the church is not and I’m new at this oh me too oh gosh the church is not a brick and mortar structure no the church is the living body of Believers in God in Jesus Christ and that is it there is no Club there is no I’m in this camp and you’re in that camp you’re either in the church or you’re not I agree it’s not a [ __ ] brick and mortar I totally agree but you see it all of a sudden you see it I mean I made it like 50 years more than 50 years in this country without really talking I mean it where I worked you know in the media television you know people come in and like talk about whatever some threesome they had or they’re doing meth over the weekend I’m like people are pretty far out you know in TV because it’s like it’s all theater kids it’s all people who project and share too much so I just worked in a world where people just would like tell you their deepest Secrets like at a drop of a hat I don’t think I ever one time heard someone mention a spiritual dimension in his life ever that was totally verboten like that was the one thing you could not talk about I’ve never heard anybody talk about spirituality it was so embarrassing like your freaky sex life not embarrassing the idea you might pray highly embarrassing wow and that’s just well that’s just the world I’ve lived in I mean I’m just I’m not I’m hardly bragging about it I’m I’m ashamed of it it’s ridiculous actually but that is just true true and for the record I was not into meth or freaky sex [ __ ] you know at all very conventional person but I was around that a lot and all of a sudden in the last few years just random sort of normal secular American people are like you know I was praying about that or I think God’s doing this or like wait what we were not okay I have a good memory that’s like my one superpower we were not having these conversations in my world 5 years ago nobody yeah so what is that there’s something going on and of course that’s the way it work God works you know evil is not unchallenged clearly we’re under the oppression of evil not just the Biden Administration which is just a manifestation of it but there’s something way bigger trying to hurt people for the sake of hurting people with climate change or manufactured famines which they clearly you know clearly that’s going on and you know so farma stuff all just all is evil right it’s very obvious and everyone watching this I think knows of course everyone knows what I’m talking about but that’s not going to happen in a vacuum that can’t happen that’s not how it works that’s not how the universe works that’s how God works so as that stuff rises in power so does God who’s more powerful and I know how the story ends he wins so like that’s true I’m Not Afraid um at all so but it’s cool to see it do you feel that way do you feel like it I do God good is showing or God is showing his face more I mean is that absolutely I mean I just we talked to he literally just grabbed me by the collar and was like and uh yeah and ever since he got my attention uh I’m all in and I it it it’s there’s nothing that gives me hope there’s no presidential candidate there’s no politician there’s nobody there is no human that gives me hope it’s all part of the and and and who knows maybe I’m wrong maybe I I don’t think I’m wrong but you know I I look at all these things that we’re seeing with the with the with the gender Wars with the race Wars with the division with the right and left with the with the Easter Sunday is now transvisibility day the pope is saying that gay marriage is great look I don’t I don’t give a [ __ ] about gay marriage but it I’m sorry but it’s the pope is not the man to change the Bible or the word of God and and or just take three steps back what is that it’s like don’t get lost in the weeds of the details like yeah that’s not that’s [ __ ] up you no you know you’re you’re you’re serving the other team I’m sorry you are but I look what I’m getting at is I look at all this stuff as symbology and and it’s it’s it’s symbolizing that all the stuff that I had to miss dismissed for years is very real it’s the it’s the only thing that is real actually yep it’s it’s so it gives me when I see this stuff it still pisses me off and enrages me and and the Easter thing like really threw me oh yeah but at least they’re showing their face going they murdered the president of the United States and a lied about it so right okay so like this has been going on a long time long before we were born in fact it’s been going on for all time and I will say this about the Christians to their great credit they’re not shocked at all like what did you you think you thought some politician was going to save you you’re worshiping people now you don’t worship people they’re people no one’s going to save you in this life that’s a lie and by the way shame on you for believing it you fool yeah like that’s that’s how they feel about it and and the like the rest of us the dumb people like me are like I can’t believe it’s not real like they’ve been lying to me I can’t believe it all the stories you told me are there’s no Santa seriously and the Christians just like what of course it’s fake like are you kidding we don’t fight against you know it’s not against men like this is it’s this it’s the same thing that’s been going on again for all time that every other civilization has believed in as its core belief except us and we’re like shocked I can’t believe it that our stupid post-war materialist theology turned out to be fake who could have guessed yeah yeah but but that’s what gives me hope you know totally seeing all the symbology totally and also you’re kind of commanded or you are commanded to be hopeful and cheerful and joyful and if you’re not then that’s kind of on you then you know what I mean then you obviously don’t believe it I mean I I never I mean I stopped going to church during covid for that exact reason when the Priestess at our church was like which is itself like nuts but whatever um the denomination I grimit was nuts I didn’t quite realize how nuts until Co and then the recor of the church is like well we can’t have Services because I’m afraid of getting Co and dying and it’s like you’re afraid of dying really you’re afraid there a whole religion was not to be afraid of dying like the whole point of our religion is that we don’t need to be afraid of dying like what’s the other point I don’t know do we have another point I think that is the point and so if you’re afraid of dying but I remember being so shocked by that and I went home and said to my wife I was like we’re not going to church again this chick says she’s afraid of dying I was like what and we were both like almost in cuz we really did grow up in this church and I was like we were both so shocked and then looking back four years later I’m like I can’t believe we were shocked like how dumb were we how naive were we yeah of course people are deceptive and they but lies are always exposed like in the end and you don’t they’re not going to win they may have some temporary you know ground gaining offensives but they’re not going to win yeah are they no they’re not can I say one last thing since I know a lot of these people who the people I’m always railing against and I hate them and all stuff but like they’re totally suffering now they’re miserable like if you I think if you looked inside Tony blink and soul you would not find anything interesting or profound at all at all it’s as like Bal as you imagine it it is this is my guess but I think you would find a lot of turmoil and unhappiness and insecurity barely sublimated rage unhappiness chaos yeah you know and I think that is true of all these people you think Joe Biden is happy or his creepy fake Dr wife or any of these people Gavin Newsome you really think he’s like got a joyful life like these people are living in hell now actually and so I do think that should be a marker if you’re looking at who to believe who to put your confidence in not your faith put your faith in no man but your confidence I think the first thing you have to assess is is this person happy is joyful because if he’s not he’s clearly on the wrong path he’s following a lie knowingly or not like I think it’s a fairway to assess yeah yeah that’s a damn good point so so if you wake up in a society run by unhappy women and the weak Men Who make them unhappy these are not people worth following that’s a damn good point we’re producing unhappy women that’s the only thing that we produce now our steel industry has died we don’t produce good cars but we do produce a lot of unhappy women a ton like a surf it actually can’t even export them at this point sorry it’s true if you looked at export you can’t export them yeah it’s like no one wants to no one wants them well well Tucker I think uh I need to get a flight to catch her soon and and uh Sor I should probably stop talking I don’t have a boss now though so I think it’s great you know it’s um that’s what gives me hope it sounds like that’s what gives you hope and I wanted to oh I have tons of hope I have tons of Hope is there anything else that gives you hope or is it just spirituality which alone is great life I mean yeah there’s so much I mean I didn’t lose any children during the turmoil and a lot of people I know I don’t mean lose like died though a lot of children have died actually a lot uh have killed themselves with drugs or or through suicide but um the faster you know form of suicide uh but I didn’t Lo a lot of people I know a lot like part of the purpose of one of the Hallmarks of evil maybe the Hallmark of evil is division pulling people apart destroying relationships killing love and um a lot of really good people including people I love have lost children to this the child disowned the parents damn and the surface level explanation is that you know it’s different politics and people different politics can’t be friends or including parents and children with different politics but it’s way deeper than that it’s not about politics of course spiritual you there was no moment in my life up until recently where like politics would prevent a friendship or a relationship that just wasn’t a thing was not a thing like you vote Democrat I vote Republican we hate each other like when when did that happen so it’s not political it’s spiritual and a lot of people have had their families destroyed including a lot of people I know really good people too good parents all of a sudden they had a child who was like [ __ ] you I’m never talking to you again racist or whatever you know what I mean DN yeah and there’s I mean I’d rather die than have that like that’s the worst thing I can imagine is losing a child losing contact with a child having a child disown the family and we have not had that at all we’ve had just the opposite our F not bragging I am bragging you say what gives me hope that gives me hope my children are their people are not perfect but our family is closer than it’s ever been and I mean I don’t care you can fire me from a million jobs you can take all my money and if I have that I mean that’s enough for me and I’m not just saying that I really mean it from the bottom of my heart and so it’s hard to be too upset the thing that the last thing I’ll say is that that I think one of the great Temptations and deceptions that we face is living at 40,000 ft all the time especially in this business that you and I are now both in because you’re constantly thinking about what’s going on you’re following things like oh my gosh all the things that I loved are degrading the institutions will that you specifically served with everything um you know you can’t have confidence in them they’re falling apart they have been distorted or perverted and they’re serving some bad purpose it’s like overwhelming it’s so upsetting it’s like it can make you despondent and make you feel powerless and helpless which is I think part of the purpose of it is to make you feel like holy [ __ ] I give up but that’s only one perspective that’s the macro perspective you look at America America this this country that we’re from and they we’re going to die in it’s not it’s not doing well at all like at all however the other way to look at it is the people that I love I love more than I ever have I’m closer to than I ever have been the family that I’m respons responsible for is thriving not even materially but in love and like that’s incredible I and I love this country I really mean it I really love America and I always have but I would trade a thousand countries for the people that I love because in the end America to me is the people that I love not just my blood relatives but the people in my Orbit and they are all thriving again they may know have cancer Al or alcohol you know people have problems okay big big problems but in their honesty with each other in their commitment to each other loyalty to each other their love expressed love for one another their kindness their understanding their tolerance for each other it’s all increased and like that that’s part of the story too that may be a bigger story actually than the Federal Reserve or the [ __ ] war in Ukraine you know what I mean yeah I do man thank you for sharing that and and uh we’re out of time or you’re going to miss your flight and and am I really yeah no you’re not I can talk good freaking animal but um but I just I just want to say thank you for well I loved it and thank you for what you’re doing I’m not can I just brag end on one bragging note sure I saw the video somebody sent me one of your videos never heard of you I had no idea I don’t watch podcasts or I didn’t then and I saw this and it was an interview as I told you this morning with this contractor son of a contractor who had seen some stuff at a at a military base whatever it was super interesting but your interview style I was like that guy is honest that’s totally real right there and I’m good at that I can tell and I was like that guy’s going to be successful I just knew I knew nothing about you I just saw that and I was like that guy’s going to succeed and you have thank you and I called that thank you that means I know that’s ugly to brag about it but I can’t help it I knew that I appreciate that thank you and uh and uh I forgot I have one other gift to give you everybody gets one thank you I wear it with pride or without pants let me little something for the ride home glasses there you go I can’t take these you know why why not I think you know why oh no those are legal no cuz I I’ll eat them I turned 55 I can’t e [ __ ] gummy bears are you joking like how old are you give them to the driver thank you you’re welcome that was awesome but uh no thank you for coming and man I hope to see you again Tucker totally I wish you the best come text me when you’re in my neighborhood I will awesome thanks man I appreciate [Music] it no matter where you’re watching Shan Ryan Show from if you get anything out of this please like comment subscribe and most importantly share this everywhere you possibly can and if you’re feeling extra generous please leave us review on Apple and Spotify podcasts

Truly Right View: Advocating for Free Speech in the Age of Political Censorship

Introduction: What is Free Speech Today?

In a world where political discourse is dominated by big tech, cable news, and social media influencers, free speech is constantly under threat. From censorship of conservative viewpoints to the silencing of dissent on controversial issues, we are witnessing an alarming trend of restrictions on the most fundamental rights of any citizen in our Constitutional Republic: the right to speak freely.

But what does free speech truly mean in today’s context? Are we protecting it, or are we allowing authoritarian ideologies like socialism, communism, fascism, and dictatorships to erode it?

The Constitutional Perspective: Why Free Speech is Non-Negotiable

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution is crystal clear: “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech.” The Founding Fathers understood the importance of free speech in preserving a free society. Without it, the ability to challenge government, expose corruption, and advocate for truth would be crushed.

Yet today, under the guise of protecting people from “misinformation” and “hate speech,” powerful institutions are curbing our ability to express ideas that do not conform to their narratives.

Do we not see this as a slippery slope toward authoritarianism?

Shouldn’t we, as citizens, be the ones who decide what we can or cannot hear, not a centralized body or corporation?

Social Media and Cable News: Platforms or Gatekeepers?

Social media was once hailed as the bastion of free speech. It allowed ordinary individuals to share their thoughts, advocate for causes, and hold the powerful accountable. However, over the years, major platforms like Twitter (now X), Facebook, and YouTube have become gatekeepers rather than facilitators of free expression.

Algorithms favor certain ideologies, while alternative viewpoints—especially those with a more conservative or constitutional slant—are shadow-banned, demonetized, or outright censored.

Does this not resemble the tactics of monarchies, communistic or fascist regimes that control what their citizens can see and hear?

Shouldn’t a true democracy allow the free flow of ideas, even if those ideas challenge the status quo?

Social Media Influencers: Fighters for Freedom or Puppets of Censorship?

Many social media influencers, especially those aligned with constitutional values, have become modern-day warriors for free speech. Yet, they face intense backlash, censorship, and de-platforming for voicing opinions that challenge globalist or left-leaning narratives.

How many times have we seen influential voices banned simply for questioning government policies, election results, or health mandates?

Isn’t it concerning that only a select group of elites can decide what is “acceptable” discourse?

While some influencers fall in line with these restrictive policies, others have emerged as champions for free speech, using their platforms to resist censorship and uphold constitutional rights. The question is: Will we support these voices, or will we allow them to be drowned out by corporate and governmental censorship?

The Dangers of Socialism, Communism, and Fascism: A Threat to Free Speech

At the heart of socialism, communism, and fascism lies a common tactic—control over speech. These ideologies have historically sought to suppress dissent, limit expression, and create a monolithic narrative that favors those in power.

Look no further than authoritarian regimes past and present, where dissenters are imprisoned, media is state-controlled, and free speech is criminalized. Can we really ignore the striking similarities between these oppressive ideologies and the current state of political discourse in America?

Is the suppression of speech today not a precursor to more draconian measures tomorrow?

Should we not fight to preserve the right to freely express political, social, and economic ideas?

The Truly Right View: Defending Freedom in the Digital Age

At Truly Right View, we believe in the unwavering defense of free speech as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. We reject the encroaching influences of socialism, communism, fascism, and any form of dictatorship that seeks to undermine this fundamental right.

Our platform is dedicated to bringing you uncensored news, analysis, and commentary from a truly constitutional perspective. We provide a space where voices that have been silenced or marginalized can be heard, and where you—the citizen—can engage in the free exchange of ideas.

Join the Fight: Sign Up for Our Channel and Newsletter

Do you value free speech?

Do you believe that the right to express your thoughts, opinions, and beliefs should never be compromised, no matter how controversial they may be?

If so, we invite you to join the fight for free speech by subscribing to the Truly Right View channel and newsletter. Stay informed on the latest developments in free speech advocacy, political commentary, and constitutional rights. Together, we can stand against the creeping influence of censorship and authoritarianism.

Why wait for others to defend your rights?

Become part of a movement that fights for the truly free society envisioned by our Founding Fathers.

Will You Speak Up or Stay Silent?

In the end, the future of free speech rests in our hands. We can either stand idly by as it is eroded by corporate and governmental overreach, or we can take action to protect and preserve it.

Will you speak up for your rights, or will you allow them to be taken away piece by piece?

The choice is yours.

Subscribe to the channel for Truly Right View today, and support our patriots shop together, let’s ensure that free speech remains the bedrock of our Constitutional Republic.

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Tucker Carlson – Revolution, World War 3, WTC Building 7 and Supernatural Phenomenon | SRS #115

Truly Right View: Advocating for Free Speech in the Age of Political Censorship

Introduction: What is Free Speech Today?

The Constitutional Perspective: Why Free Speech is Non-Negotiable

Social Media and Cable News: Platforms or Gatekeepers?

Social Media Influencers: Fighters for Freedom or Puppets of Censorship?

The Dangers of Socialism, Communism, and Fascism: A Threat to Free Speech

The Truly Right View: Defending Freedom in the Digital Age

Join the Fight: Sign Up for Our Channel and Newsletter

Will You Speak Up or Stay Silent?

Tips on How to Start Feeling Better with Dr. Casey Means | EP 584

Biden in Germany for Russia-Ukraine War Talks With European Leaders

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