Subject Matter Expert

Emergency physician Dr. Ashely Alker joins Subject Matter Expert to unpack her new book “99 Ways to Die”—a funny yet essential guide to the risks people actually face and how to avoid them.  We cover everything from heart attacks and strokes to deadly infections and “butt stuff.” Dr. Alker offers practical advice, myth-busting first aid tips, and the early warning signs that should send you to the...

Laser Wars Jared Keller joins Subject Matter Expert to break down the world of military lasers—what works now, what’s still wishful thinking, and how these futuristic weapons fit into real counter-drone, ship defense, and air-to-air protection missions.  We get practical on the financial ramifications of directed energy weapons, magazine depth against drone swarms, and the unsexy limits that matte...

“Naked and Afraid” star Laura Zerra joins Subject Matter Expert to talk about what real survival looks like, far beyond the TV edits.  We dive into her most challenging moments on “Naked and Afraid” and “Naked and Afraid XL,” the mindset that carries you when calories run out, and the fieldcraft that actually keeps you alive. Laura also opens up about her early years hitchhiking and hopping freigh...

Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Charles “Charlie” Faint joins Subject Matter Expert for a wide-ranging conversation about turning intelligence into action for special operations, building leaders who perform under pressure, and reading the world’s most volatile flashpoints.  We unpack how SOF integrates intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance with decision-making at speed, what “good” leadership...

Bowhunter and fitness coach Dan Staton—founder of ElkShape—joins Subject Matter Expert to break down what it really takes to perform in the mountains, from year-round preparation to getting your mind right during a hunt.  We get into mental rehearsal, prioritizing family, and the most challenging hunts he’s ever endured. Dan also reflects on why his mantra, “separation in the preparation,” continu...

Author Geraint Jones joins Subject Matter Expert to take us inside the research behind his World War II nonfiction: ”Voices of Victory” and “The D-Day Tapes,” as well as his novels about Roman Legionnaires.  We dig into how his work collected World War II oral histories, what veterans remembered from D-Day beyond the beaches, and the small details like terrain, logistics, and the damn mosquitoes t...

Award-winning Journalist Kevin Knodell joins Subject Matter Expert to unpack how a Navy fuel leak contaminated drinking water in Hawaii, detailing what residents lived through, what accountability looks like now, and how that crisis connects to the wider Pacific.  Kevin takes us on-the-water with the U.S. Coast Guard and partner nations fighting illegal fishing, how patrols work in the Pacific, an...

Eric Stebner is a retired U.S. Army Ranger who received a Silver Star for his actions during the Battle of Takur Ghar, also known as “Roberts Ridge.” In a Veterans Day special, Stebner joins Subject Matter Expert for a candid conversation about courage, loss, leadership, and life after war. He gives a ground-level account of the fight on that 10,000-foot Afghan peak, remembers his best friend Brad...

Open-source intelligence (OSINT) expert Justen Charters joins Subject Matter Expert to break down how influence campaigns actually spread online and how investigators trace Chinese-aligned networks across platforms.  We get practical on dark-web scams and fraud pipelines, triaging deepfakes and coordinated campaigns in real time, geolocation verification, and cyber cases that shape the world we li...

It’s Halloween week on Subject Matter Expert, featuring the host of Jacked History, Jack Mandaville! In this episode we dive into dark and curious corners of history: animals on trial at the Salem witch trials, the real origins of trick-or-treating, the legend of the Headless Horseman, whether San Antonio’s Menger Hotel earns its “most haunted” rep, and the true stories behind a few truly grim fig...

War pushes families to the edge—and recent aid cuts make hard choices even harder in war-ravaged regions of Africa. ChildVoice CEO Nathan Mandsager joins Subject Matter Expert to explain what aid reductions mean for girls at risk in places like Sudan, Nigeria, eastern DRC, South Sudan, and the Sahel—and what actually lowers danger on the ground. We dig into what is really happening on the ground i...

War correspondent Hollie McKay takes us inside Afghanistan during and after the fall of Afghanistan in 2021, where she was reporting on the ground with little to no safety net. We dig into what life is like for frontline reporters, how life as a conflict journalist can be complicated, and the ethical and safety calculus of reporting in active conflict zones like Iraq, Syria, Ukraine, and Myanmar....

Harvard professor Avi Loeb joins Marty Skovlund Jr. to unpack the newest interstellar visitor, 3I/ATLAS, and to draw a hard line between extraordinary claims and extraordinary evidence on UAPs.  We get specific on what’s actually observed for 3I/ATLAS, how it compares with prior interstellar detections, and the kind of sensors, data, and public transparency that would move the needle on UAP resear...

Marty Skovlund Jr. sits down with tactical hippy Jay Pelletier of Q, LLC for a wide-open, engineering-driven conversation about modern firearms and sound suppression.  We dig into the design thinking behind Q’s "Honey Badger" and "The Fix" bolt action, then get practical about silencers and why innovation doesn't necessarily require reinventing the wheel. Jay also breaks do...

Journalist and author Ian Frisch joins Marty Skovlund Jr. to take us through his new book “Inside the Cartel: How an Undercover FBI Agent Smuggled Cocaine, Laundered Cash, and Dismantled a Colombian Narco-Empire.” This true story is about FBI Special Agent Martin “Manny” Suarez, who spent years undercover infiltrating Colombian narcos. We dig into how Suarez earned trust, smuggled cocaine to keep...

Former Air Force special operations pilot, war correspondent, and current drone-warfare expert Nolan Peterson joined Marty Skovlund Jr. to explain how Ukraine’s drone war reshaped the modern battlefield—from FPV drones and electronic warfare to the operator tradecraft that exploits wind, terrain, and “radio shadows.” He walked Marty through how naval drones (USVs) helped push Russia’s Black Sea Fl...

From the fall of the Berlin Wall to today’s “New Cold War,” former CIA case officer Doug Patteson joins Marty Skovlund Jr. to break down how Russia and China run spies in the AI era, HUMINT vs AI, Russia’s illegals, China’s LinkedIn trap, and corporate espionage. He also discusses tips for the every day person to be more aware and defend against exploitation.  Follow Doug on Instagram: https://www...

What’s life as a paramedic really like? Joshua Skovlund is an Army Ranger-turned-paramedic-turned-journalist who reveals the unvarnished ground truth about what first responders endure in EMS. From brutal 911 calls, overdoses, burnout, split-second decisions, to what the media misses—this episode hits hard. From urban emergencies in Minneapolis to working at a fire department in New Hampshire, Jos...