The Shawn Ryan Show

Shawn Ryan spent years as a Navy SEAL and CIA contractor before he ever picked up a microphone, and that background shapes every conversation on this show in ways you can feel immediately. The Shawn Ryan Show has climbed to number four on Spotify's US podcast charts, and its 4.9-star rating from over 44,000 Apple Podcasts reviews makes it one of the highest-rated shows in all of podcasting. The format is long-form interviews, often running two to four hours, with guests who have stories most people never hear. We are talking former special operations members, intelligence officers, cybersecurity experts, historians, and people who have lived through genuinely extreme situations. Shawn asks direct, informed questions because he has actually been in some of these worlds himself, and that creates a level of trust with guests that produces remarkably candid conversations. What really stands out is the range. One week you might get a deep breakdown of a classified military operation, and the next week it is a theologian or a survivor sharing something deeply personal. Shawn treats every guest with the same steady respect regardless of the topic. He does not sensationalize, and he does not rush. The show lets stories breathe. With over 330 episodes since launching, the catalog alone could keep you busy for months. Shawn has also become a vocal advocate for child safety causes, which has earned him a dedicated following beyond the typical military podcast audience. Episodes come out weekly. If you want real conversations with people who have seen and done things most of us only read about, this show is hard to beat.