The Shawn Ryan Show

Shawn Ryan is a former Navy SEAL and CIA contractor who started interviewing people from all walks of life, and the YouTube audience showed up in a massive way. With a 4.9-star rating from over 44,000 reviews, The Shawn Ryan Show has become one of the most trusted long-form interview podcasts on the platform. The guest list spans military veterans, intelligence operatives, investigative journalists, politicians, cybersecurity experts, and historians. What makes the show work is Shawn himself. He is calm, respectful, and clearly does his homework before every interview. There is no gotcha journalism here. Guests feel safe enough to share stories they have never told publicly, and those moments produce some genuinely remarkable episodes. The show covers serious subjects, from covert military operations to political corruption to technological threats, but Shawn keeps things accessible. You do not need a military background to follow along or find it interesting. Episodes run about two hours and release weekly, with 338 episodes in the catalog. The production is clean and professional without being overly slick. For listeners who are tired of shallow celebrity interviews and want conversations with real substance and stakes, this podcast consistently delivers. It has grown explosively on YouTube because the content is simply that compelling.