Most FBI agents don't live a life undercover with criminal motorcycle clubs or extremist groups or ever play the part of a hitman or commit to roles involving public corruption, or be an active member of a regional SWAT team, but FBI Agent Scott Payne has done ALL of the above as well as assignments that are still classified. The guy is a natural story teller! We also talk about his new book, CODENAME: PALE HORSE, his willingness to teach his techniques, his love of SWAT and ensuring the next generation of hard chargers get the best training possible. Instagram: scottpaynebigcountry

Most FBI agents don't live a life undercover with criminal motorcycle clubs or extremist groups or ever play the part of a hitman or commit to roles involving public corruption, or be an active member of a regional SWAT team, but FBI Agent Scott Payne has done ALL of the above as well as assignments that are still classified.

The guy is a natural story teller!

We also talk about his new book, CODENAME: PALE HORSE, his willingness to teach his techniques, his love of SWAT and ensuring the next generation of hard chargers get the best training possible.

Instagram: scottpaynebigcountry

From battling meth, heroin and alcoholism to training Arizona police officers on cycles of dependency, self destruction, and addiction, Shane Watson talks about his head first dive into every drug imaginable only to wake up in one of America's most known jails. Shane shares how he went through withdrawals from behind cell walls yet somehow not only survived but thrived! It was a long road of recovery. Along the way, Shane accrued over 3,000 albums, so we had to talk about music as well.

Enjoy!

Reach out to Shane via Silverladder.com

Instagram @silverladder

Youtube channel silverladderdotcom

Imagine being a 19 year old soldier and you get selected to guard Saddam Hussein during his final months of life.

The Army may have plucked this play right out of the Silence of the Lambs movie script: Was "Tucker" their Agent Starling?

8 hours a day sitting with, at the time, public enemy number one, a man who committed unspeakable acts, atrocities, and directed many others to do the same, sits in front of a 19 year old American soldier day in and day out for months. Eventually, the two talk.

For "Tucker" (Not even close to his real name) it was his reality. I knew this guy for a few years before I ever knew the stories he tells me on this episode.

Some may get mad hearing these stories, but remember, human beings build bonds when they are in close quarters. Jokes are shared. Stories of home life are told. Grandfatherly advice is given. Great manipulators groom the eager ear. Dictators contort stories into falsehoods. A caged man can seem less and less of a threat the more words he speaks.

"Tucker" opens up about all of it. Many of you will be surprised to learn what the trial and final moments of Saddam's life were like through the eyes of his favorite American guard.

Ego-free actor, Bailey Chase and I talk about his incredible acting career spanning two decades through television and the movie screen, his fleeing Los Angeles to a more grounded, easy living town in the South, his exposure to crack cocaine during his teen years, his path to earning a psychology degree while playing football for arguably one of the most overrated colleges in the country. (I'm kidding. I'm sure DUKE is an accurately ranked college.)

He and I follow the Art of War tenant that goes something like this: "The enemy of my enemy is UNC Tarheels."

Alright y'all, enjoy!

Bailey Chase @baileychase:

-HOMESTEAD

-Buffy, The Vampire Slayer

-Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice

-Longmire

-Saving Grace

-Criminal Minds

-S.W.A.T.

-Chicago PD

-CSI

-Law and Order: SVU

and a lot more.

TAKING UP THE SWORD by Randall Bennett

What does Black Sabbath, Pantera, and MS-13 have in common?

Listen to this episode and find out!

"My music is violent so I don't have to be." -CJ Ortiz

CJ Ortiz jumps on the mic to tell stories of metal music, the power of motivation/action, his friendship with co-host "Pat Mac" (Pat McNamara- The University of Badassery Podcast) as well as the origin of Mara Salvatrucha 13 gang and their connection to the metal scene.

@metalmotivator

Ever heard of the Greek mob operating in the South?

Ever heard of them being tied to political corruption?

Ever heard of a mayor being arrested on federal charges for bribery?

What begins as buying drugs in an undercover operation slowly becomes a full blown infiltration of the Greek mob, the arrest of a metropolitan mayor, and the crimes in between.

Check out Matt Pitcher on IG @retdetmattpitcher