Built Not Born

#195 - Scott Davis - The Last of the Old Breed | The Last WWII Marines of the Pacific — Their Stories Before They're Gone Forever 🇺🇸🎖️📖 Scott Davis is an oral historian, author, and founder of The Vietnam Experience YouTube channel. Scott's new book "The Last of the Old Breed" captures the firsthand stories of over 130 of the final living Marines from World War II's Pacific Theater — men in their...

#194 - Ed Kressy - Addiction, Recovery, and Why Significance Is What We're All Chasing ⛓️ 💡 🙏 Ed Kressy had a career at Stanford University, a home in San Francisco, a BMW motorcycle, and a life savings. He put all of it in a glass pipe and smoked it away. 20 years addicted to cocaine and meth. Homeless. Arrested. Carrying a loaded .357 pistol through the streets of San Francisco because he beli...

Jordan & Erica - The Hawaii Vacation Guide | Everything You Need to Know Before You Go 🌺🌊🤙 Jordan and Erica are the founders of The Hawaii Vacation Guide — the most trusted travel resource for anyone heading to the Aloha State. They've lived on Oahu and Maui, explored every island, and built a thriving media business during a global pandemic when nobody was traveling anywhere. In this conve...

Built Not Born Podcast - #192 - Steve Maxwell: Jiu-Jitsu for Life | How to Stay on the Mat Forever 🥋💪🔥 Steve Maxwell is a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu black belt, world-renowned strength coach, and the man who introduced Philadelphia to Gracie Jiu Jitsu in the 1990's. Steve opened the first BJJ academy on the East Coast, Maxercise, on 7th and Chestnut in Philadelphia. Steve is back with a message that ever...

Built Not Born Podcast (#191) -Amy P. Kelly - Work Is Personal | Why Authenticity Is Your Competitive Advantage 🎯💼🔥 Amy P. Kelly is a leadership expert, talent development executive, and co-author of Difficult Conversations Don't Have to Be Difficult with Jon Gordon. Amy's new book Work Is Personal challenges one of business culture's most damaging myths — that work and personal don't mix. The...

Built Not Born Podcast (#190) - Bill Whiteside: Operation Catapult | Churchill's Darkest Decision & The 13 Minutes That Saved the World ⚓🇬🇧🔥 On July 3rd, 1940, Winston Churchill ordered the Royal Navy to open fire on French warships anchored in Algeria. Nearly 1,300 allied sailors — men who had sailed on British ships just weeks before — died in 13 minutes. Churchill wept in the gardens of 1...

#189 - Martin Dugard - The Long Run | How a Decade Made Marathons Cool & Changed the World Forever 🏃‍♂️📚🔥 In 1970, 127 people ran the New York City Marathon. 55 finished. No women crossed the line. Within six years, thousands were running — and the world's relationship with fitness had changed forever. Martin Dugard is a #1 New York Times bestselling author known for the Killing Series with...

Dr. Emily Katz Anhalt — Ancient Wisdom for Polarizing Times | Why Humanity Needs Herodotus 📜🏛️🔥 Nearly 2,500 years ago, a Greek historian named Herodotus drew the first line between myth and fact. Herodotus introduced the radical idea that truth must be verified — not just believed. Today, that line is disappearing fast. Dr. Emily Katz Anhalt is a professor of classical languages and literature...

Chris "Bones" Burns - The BJJ Project, Rickson Gracie, Invisible Jiu Jitsu and Why Everyone Needs to Calm the F*ck Down 🥋🔥 He's the algorithm's favorite BJJ instructor — equal parts savage wisdom and sarcasm. Chris Burns is a 3rd Degree Black Belt in Rickson Gracie's lineage who's been chasing the invisible art for over two decades. His take? The sport is cool, but self-defense is the point. And...

Chef Jose Garces - Iron Chef, James Beard Winner & Restaurant Empire Builder on Beating Bobby Flay, & Scaling Culture 🍳🏆 He beat Bobby Flay on national TV. He built a 25-restaurant empire. He's a James Beard Award winner and Iron Chef. But the biggest lesson? It came from watching his mom cook dinner after a factory shift — tired, organized, and making it happen anyway. What You'll Learn...

Guy Kawasaki - "Everyone Has Something to Hide" | Apple Evangelist & Canva Chief on Privacy, Signal, and Protecting Your Freedom 📱🔐 Guy Kawasaki evangelized the Macintosh. He's Canva's Chief Evangelist. He's written 18 books. Now at 71, Guy Kawasaki says this might be his most important book yet — because it's not about making money. It's about protecting yours. What You'll Learn: The "billb...

Rob Jones - "Put Your Legs On" | Paralympic Medalist & 31 Marathons in 31 Days on Defeating the Inner Terrorist 🎖️🏃‍♂️ He stepped on an IED in Afghanistan and lost both legs above the knee. He asked his teammates to kill him. They refused. Nine months later he won a bronze medal at the Paralympics. Then he biked across America. Then he ran 31 marathons in 31 consecutive days. Now he teaches l...

Ann E. Butler - "Wife. Mother. Spy." | 27-Year Undercover CIA Officer & Mom of Five on Secret Missions, Going Into Labor During Ops & Hiding It All From Her Kids 🕵️‍♀️👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Her kids found out she was a CIA agent the night before her retirement party. For 27 years, Ann E. Butler recruited spies, ran covert operations across four continents, and made it home for dinner — all while rais...

Built Not Born 2025 Wrap-Up | 100% Audience Growth, Lessons from My Dad & What's Coming in 2026 🎙️🔥 No interview this week. Just reflecting on an incredible year and looking ahead to what's next. What's Inside: Spotify stats: almost 100% audience growth and 30% follower increase The #1 most downloaded episode of the year (hint: AJ Brown made it happen) Epic guests: Guy Kawasaki, Roger Gracie,...

Coach Gus "Big Dog" Felder - "The Inside Game" | From North Philly High School Dropout to the NFL on Faith, Stoicism & Building Champions 🏈🔥 A teacher told him he'd be "dead or in jail." He became an Executive Director of Player Development at the University of Nebraska, earned three degrees from Penn State, and is now building the next generation of champions. Power Quote: "The world will j...

Roger Gracie - "The Warrior Mindset" | 10x BJJ World Champion on Conquering Fear, Winning the Mental Game & the Tao of a Champion 🥋🏆 Roger Gracie - 10x BJJ World Champion and author of "The Warrior Mindset: The Tao of a Champion" reveals how a kid who was picked last for soccer, afraid to swim, and hid from his sister became the greatest jiu-jitsu fighter of all time. What You'll Learn: Why...

Built Not Born Podcast (Episode 179)- Enri Pjetri: Rome Revealed - Gladiators, Emperors & Michelangelo's Secrets ⚔️🏛️🎨 Roman art historian and tour guide Enri Pjetri takes us through 3,000 years of history walking the streets of the Eternal City of Rome. From the Sistine Chapel to the Colosseum, from Michelangelo to Marcus Aurelius, Enri reveals why Rome is like a lasagna - layers upon layers...

Built Not Born Podcast - Bryan Antonelli: "Seize, Clear, Build Hold" - Transforming America's Most Violent Prisons Former Federal Bureau of Prisons Senior Deputy Regional Director Bryan Antonelli shares 25 years of leadership lessons from transforming America's most dangerous prisons. From Hazelton (where Whitey Bulger was murdered) to Coleman (largest prison complex in America), Bryan reveals how...

Dave Berke: "The Need to Lead" - Former Top Gun Instructor & F-35 Commander on Why Every Problem is a Leadership Problem ✈️ Former Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Dave Berke shares his journey from Top Gun instructor to F-35 squadron commander to combat veteran fighting alongside Navy SEALs in Ramadi. Now a leadership instructor at Echelon Front with Jocko Willink and Leif Babin , Dave reveals...

Built Not Born Podcast (#176)- Amy P. Kelly & Julie Nee: "The Gift of Growth" on Daily Micro-Actions, Building Beliefs, and Why Four Minutes Beats Four Hours Amy P. Kelly and Julie Nee share their latest book "The Gift of Growth" - a daily growth guide proving that four minutes of intentional action beats four hours of planning. Both corporate veterans who've worked with Jon Gordon for a decad...

Episode: Built Not Born Guest: Guy Kawasaki - Former Apple Chief Evangelist, Author of "Wiser Guy" Host: Joe Ciccarone Release Date: September 22, 2025 🎯 Power Quote "Your true scorecard isn't measured in dollars, followers, or fancy titles. It's measured in lives changed, relationships strengthened and personal growth achieved. I hope you made people's lives better. I hope the world is better fo...

Built Not Born Podcast: Jay Papasan - The Rookie Real Estate Agent, Why Busy Means Broke, and Turning Focus Into a Superpower - Episode 174 🏠📈 Episode Description 📖 Co-author of "The One Thing" Jay Papasan returns to Built Not Born for his third appearance to discuss his latest book "The Rookie Real Estate Agent." In this power-packed conversation, Jay reveals the research-backed strategies tha...

End of Summer Recap, Camera Flashes, and Fall Preview - Episode 173 📸☀️🍂 Episode Description 📖 Built Not Born host Joe Ciccarone takes a break from guest interviews to share an end-of-summer reflection and preview the exciting lineup of guests coming in the fall season. Joe opens up about the "best of times and worst of times" summer, sharing the loss of his father Fran and celebrating sending...

Built Not Born Podcast: Jon Gordon - The 7 Commitments of a Great Team, Why Teammates Are Forever, and How Commitments Crush Goals 🚀⚡ Episode Description 📖 Bestselling author Jon Gordon returns to Built Not Born to discuss his latest book "The 7 Commitments of a Great Team" - a book that took him 16 days to type but 54 years to write 📚. From his days as a Cornell lacrosse player to becoming on...

Built Not Born Podcast: Martin Dugard on Taking Midway, Epic History, and the Courage That Changed the World 🚢⚓ Episode Description 📖 New York Times bestselling author Martin Dugard joins Built Not Born to discuss his latest book "Taking Midway" and how he makes history as exciting as a spy thriller 🕵️‍♂️. From co-authoring 12+ books in The Killing Series with Bill O'Reilly to his solo Taking S...