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Liberty Risk

Liberty Risk

Written by: Ryan Williams Kevin Kent Nick Betts
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Mostly true tales of barroom brawls, bad decisions, and near misses. From former Navy SEALs to your average badass, every story walks the line between chaos and comedy. It's the stuff that happens when the uniform comes off and the liberty clock starts ticking. Some made it out clean. Some barely made it out at all. Either way, it's one hell of a ride. Pull up a stool. This is Liberty Risk.2025 Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Ep. 83.5 Part 2 • 35 Years as a Navy SEAL: Chaos, Combat & Leadership • Rodney Magallan 🔱🏴‍☠️

    Ep. 83.5 Part 2 • 35 Years as a Navy SEAL: Chaos, Combat & Leadership • Rodney Magallan 🔱🏴‍☠️
    Oct 25 2026
    🏴‍☠️ Want to hang LIVE with Kevin, Nick & Ryan? Join the Liberty Risk Patreon crew: https://www.patreon.com/cw/LibertyRisk Rodney Magallon is back with the Liberty Risk boys, along with guest co-host and Navy EOD veteran Kris Groves, for Part 2 of his wild 35-year journey through the Navy SEAL Teams, U.S. Marshals Service, and CIA's Global Response Staff (GRS). We pick things up with some absolutely insane stories from Rodney's years in Naval Special Warfare, including old-school SEAL Team hazing that would never fly today, getting dragged behind a Humvee, nearly freezing to death in a lake, and military shenanigans that somehow didn't end with everyone getting court-martialed. From there, Rodney takes us through a near-disastrous helicopter mission in the Middle East, blowing an armored vehicle sky-high with a ridiculous amount of C4, dangerous military dive training, and a shooting competition where the old, balding commander absolutely embarrassed a platoon of younger SEALs. We also get into his time training Hollywood actors, including Jennifer Garner, and the difference between looking like an operator on screen and knowing what the hell you're doing. The conversation eventually turns to Rodney's book, Tip of the Spear: It's Not What You Think, and the leadership lessons he's picked up over decades of military service. From growing up in a migrant farmworker family to becoming a Navy SEAL commander, Rodney shares why leadership has nothing to do with rank, why everyone on a team matters, and what it really means to lead by example. It's another round of unfiltered military stories, dark humor, close calls, and hard-earned wisdom from a guy who's spent more than three decades in the special operations community. THIS IS PART 2 OF OUR TWO-PART EPISODE WITH RODNEY MAGALLON! If you missed Part 1, go back and check out his early years in the SEAL Teams, his transition into the U.S. Marshals Service, and his time as one of the CIA's original "Dirty 30" following 9/11. 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ WANT TO GO DEEPER WITH LIBERTY RISK? Join the Liberty Risk Patreon Community for the stuff that doesn't make it into the episodes: behind-the-scenes footage, conversations between breaks, private community chats, merch & partner discounts, and plenty more. 🥃 Black Site members also get invited to our monthly Virtual Cigar Night where you can grab a drink, light one up, and hang LIVE on Zoom with Kevin, Nick & Ryan. No livestream. No audience. Real two-way conversations with the guys, other members of the LR crew, and occasionally a special guest or two. 🤫 If you enjoy the show and want to be more than just a viewer, come join the crew: 👉 https://www.patreon.com/cw/LibertyRisk Get to know Rodney better at the following links. ✖️ Rodney's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tipofthespearbook ✖️ Order Tip Of The Spear on Amazon - https://a.co/d/0emBoVd6 Liberty Risk Hosts: ✖️ Ryan Williams - https://www.instagram.com/invictus5326 ✖️ Kevin Kent - https://www.instagram.com/therealkevinkent ✖️ Nick Betts - https://www.instagram.com/n_betts Liberty Risk Podcast Sponsored by: ✖️ Black Rifle Coffee - https://www.blackriflecoffee.com ✖️ MCON (come hang with us Oct 23-25!) https://mcon.live ✖️ Bingeworthy Snacks Beef Crisps - https://bingeworthysnacks.com ✖️ Bulkhead Energy Drink - https://www.bulkheadenergy.com ✖️ Liberty Risk Merch - https://www.liberty-risk.com/collections/shop-all ✖️ Industry Threadworks (screen printing apparel) - https://www.industrythreadworks.com ✖️ Archive 3PL (fulfillment for E-com brands) - https://archive3pl.com ✖️ Krupto Strategic Media - https://kruptostrategicmedia.com ✖️ K-Squared Advising - https://www.k-squared.cc
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    2 hrs and 26 mins
  • Ep. 83 • Navy SEAL to CIA: The Original Dirty 30 • Rodney Magallan Part 1 🔱🏴‍☠️

    Ep. 83 • Navy SEAL to CIA: The Original Dirty 30 • Rodney Magallan Part 1 🔱🏴‍☠️
    Oct 22 2026
    🏴‍☠️ Want to hang LIVE with Kevin, Nick & Ryan? Join the Liberty Risk Patreon crew: https://www.patreon.com/cw/LibertyRisk Rodney Magallon joins the Liberty Risk boys, along with returning guest co-host and Navy EOD veteran Kris Groves, for Part 1 of a two-part episode covering his wild 35-year career spanning the Navy SEAL Teams, U.S. Marshals Service, and CIA's Global Response Staff (GRS). Rodney takes us back to the late 1980s, when a Navy recruiter's bullshit promise of becoming a doctor somehow landed him in BUD/S Class 143. From there, he takes us through his early years at SEAL Team 4, running operations throughout Central and South America during the height of the War on Drvgs. We get into guarding a downed Chinook in the Honduran jungle, scouting Manuel Noriega's checkpoints in Panama, and the devastating loss of fellow SEALs during Operation Just Cause. After leaving the Teams, Rodney made an unlikely transition into the U.S. Marshals Service, with a few ridiculous detours along the way. But everything changed after 9/11, when he was recruited into the CIA's Global Response Staff as one of the original "Dirty 30," the first 30 federal employees brought in to provide security for CIA operations overseas. After little more than HR paperwork and a day at the range, he was on a plane to Afghanistan, where he was handed a rifle, body armor, and told to get to work. We wrap up Part 1 with Rodney's early CIA operations in Afghanistan, the relentless deployment tempo of the Global War on Terror, and the toll it took on life back home. It's a hell of a journey through old-school Navy SEAL history, special operations, and the early days of the War on Terror, packed with wild stories, military shenanigans, and plenty of laughs. PART 2 DROPS MONDAY MORNING! Rodney returns to the SEAL Teams, earns his commission, and takes us through the next chapter of his extraordinary military career. 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ WANT TO GO DEEPER WITH LIBERTY RISK? Join the Liberty Risk Patreon Community for the stuff that doesn't make it into the episodes: behind-the-scenes footage, conversations between breaks, private community chats, merch & partner discounts, and plenty more. 🥃 Black Site members also get invited to our monthly Virtual Cigar Night where you can grab a drink, light one up, and hang LIVE on Zoom with Kevin, Nick & Ryan. No livestream. No audience. Real two-way conversations with the guys, other members of the LR crew, and occasionally a special guest or two. 🤫 If you enjoy the show and want to be more than just a viewer, come join the crew: 👉 https://www.patreon.com/cw/LibertyRisk Get to know Rodney better at the following links. ✖️ Rodney's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tipofthespearbook ✖️ Order Tip Of The Spear on Amazon - https://a.co/d/0emBoVd6 Liberty Risk Hosts: ✖️ Ryan Williams - https://www.instagram.com/invictus5326 ✖️ Kevin Kent - https://www.instagram.com/therealkevinkent ✖️ Nick Betts - https://www.instagram.com/n_betts Liberty Risk Podcast Sponsored by: ✖️ Black Rifle Coffee - https://www.blackriflecoffee.com ✖️ MCON (come hang with us Oct 23-25!) https://mcon.live ✖️ Bingeworthy Snacks Beef Crisps - https://bingeworthysnacks.com ✖️ Bulkhead Energy Drink - https://www.bulkheadenergy.com ✖️ Liberty Risk Merch - https://www.liberty-risk.com/collections/shop-all ✖️ Industry Threadworks (screen printing apparel) - https://www.industrythreadworks.com ✖️ Archive 3PL (fulfillment for E-com brands) - https://archive3pl.com ✖️ Krupto Strategic Media - https://kruptostrategicmedia.com ✖️ K-Squared Advising - https://www.k-squared.cc
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    1 hr and 46 mins
  • Ep. 82.5 • Building a Brand, Breaking Rules, & Finding Peace • Cody Hightower Part 2 • Platoon Daddy 🇺🇸🏴‍☠️

    Ep. 82.5 • Building a Brand, Breaking Rules, & Finding Peace • Cody Hightower Part 2 • Platoon Daddy 🇺🇸🏴‍☠️
    Oct 15 2026
    🏴‍☠️ Want to hang LIVE with Kevin, Nick & Ryan? Join the Liberty Risk Patreon crew: https://www.patreon.com/cw/LibertyRisk Cody Hightower, better known as Platoon Daddy, is back with the Liberty Risk boys for Part 2 of our two-part episode, and this time we're getting into life beyond the Army, building a business from scratch, the realities of entrepreneurship, and the mental health struggles that don't always end when the uniform comes off. After 20 years in the U.S. Army, Cody is preparing to trade his platoon sergeant duties for full-time entrepreneurship. We get into how he launched Platoon Daddy during the COVID lockdowns, going from designing stickers on an iPad and celebrating five orders to building one of the more recognizable military humor and apparel brands. Of course, running a military-themed apparel company comes with its own special brand of bullshit. Cody shares stories of cease-and-desist letters from the Army, Marine Corps, Crye Precision, and even Philip Morris, along with the challenges of managing employees, fulfillment, trademarks, and the never-ending headaches of running a business. Ryan brings nearly two decades of apparel industry experience into the conversation as we dive into scaling brands, making expensive mistakes, keeping operations lean, and why sometimes the best business advice is to NOT quit your day job. We also get into some hard-earned lessons about money, taxes, SBA loans, and the realities of keeping a business alive when everything seems to be going sideways. The conversation takes a more serious turn as Cody opens up about his struggles with anxiety, PTSD, and traumatic brain injuries following years of military service. He shares his decision to pursue ibogaine treatment in Mexico, what led him down that path, and his hopes of eventually using the Platoon Daddy platform to help other veterans access alternative treatment options. From military retirement and building a recognizable brand to psychedelic treatments, business disasters, and the occasional completely inappropriate Army story, this episode covers a hell of a lot of ground. Plenty of laughs, some hard conversations, and a look at what happens when 20 years of military service comes to an end and an entirely new mission begins. This is Part 2 of our conversation with Cody Hightower. If you haven't watched Part 1, go check it out first! 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ WANT TO GO DEEPER WITH LIBERTY RISK? Join the Liberty Risk Patreon Community for the stuff that doesn't make it into the episodes: behind-the-scenes footage, conversations between breaks, private community chats, merch & partner discounts, and plenty more. 🥃 Black Site members also get invited to our monthly Virtual Cigar Night where you can grab a drink, light one up, and hang LIVE on Zoom with Kevin, Nick & Ryan. No livestream. No audience. Real two-way conversations with the guys, other members of the LR crew, and occasionally a special guest or two. 🤫 If you enjoy the show and want to be more than just a viewer, come join the crew: 👉 https://www.patreon.com/cw/LibertyRisk Get to know Cody better at the following links. ✖️ Cody's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/platoondad ✖️ Platoon Daddy Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pltdaddy ✖️ Plt Daddy Website - https://pltdaddy.com Liberty Risk Hosts: ✖️ Ryan Williams - https://www.instagram.com/invictus5326 ✖️ Kevin Kent - https://www.instagram.com/therealkevinkent ✖️ Nick Betts - https://www.instagram.com/n_betts Liberty Risk Podcast Sponsored by: ✖️ Black Rifle Coffee - https://www.blackriflecoffee.com ✖️ MCON (come hang with us Oct 23-25!) https://mcon.live ✖️ Bingeworthy Snacks Beef Crisps - https://bingeworthysnacks.com ✖️ Bulkhead Energy Drink - https://www.bulkheadenergy.com ✖️ Liberty Risk Merch - https://www.liberty-risk.com/collections/shop-all ✖️ Industry Threadworks (screen printing apparel) - https://www.industrythreadworks.com ✖️ Archive 3PL (fulfillment for E-com brands) - https://archive3pl.com ✖️ Krupto Strategic Media - https://kruptostrategicmedia.com ✖️ K-Squared Advising - https://www.k-squared.cc
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 38 mins
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