Going in Blind with Zach Tidwell

Learn the Navy SEAL mindset that separates the elite from the rest.

Marty Strong shares how he survived BUD/S at 125 pounds. Marty Strong is a career Navy SEAL and author who proves that elite endurance isn't about physical size. We discuss his journey through BUD/S selection as a lightweight candidate and how he developed the mental resilience required to endure impossible conditions.

Beyond the training, we explore the psychology of quitting and why modern society is losing its edge. Marty details his experience pulling a 250-pound sled in the Arctic Circle, offering a masterclass on overcoming fear and finding purpose through hard work and grit. Subscribe for weekly deep dives into human potential, and let me know in the comments what part of Marty’s story resonated most with you.

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review, subscribe to the channel, and share this with someone who needs to hear it.

Timestamp:

0:00 Arctic Sleds and Arctic Lessons

1:36 The Anatomy of an Operator

4:02 Reflections from the Instructor Stand

7:03 The Psychology of Quitting

11:37 The Truth About Fear

19:48 The Evolution of Special Operations

30:04 Life After the Teams

40:30 The Complex Landscape of Extremism

1:23:49 Bridging the Vocational Gap

Stay curious. Connect with Marty Strong: Website: martystrong.com

Warriors Haven: warriorshavenusa.com

Connect with Zach: Website: zachidwell.com

Why are we captivated by the darkest sides of humanity—from serial killers to true crime?

In Episode 109 of Going In Blind, Zach Tidwell sits down with Dr. Melissa Kim Corter, a depth psychologist and certified medicolegal death investigator who has researched missing persons cases, psychopaths, narcissists, and the collective shadow.

In this deep dive, Dr. Melissa breaks down Carl Jung’s concept of the "Shadow Self" and explains why violent predators operate like cosmic "black holes"—impossible to study directly without looking at the path of chaos, trauma, and debris left in their wake. They explore the mind of Jeffrey Dahmer through myth and forensic analysis, uncovering how societal blind spots and an extreme fear of intimacy fuel predatory behavior. Plus, hear what really happens on the job as a death investigator, the delicate science of establishing time of death, and why original fairy tales were designed to build psychological resilience rather than shield us from the truth.

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Darkness that Delights: Meeting Dr. Melissa Kim Corter

01:32 – Jungian Depth Psychology & The Shadow Self Explained

04:15 – Personal Shadow vs. The Collective Unconscious

11:08 – Individuation: Unfolding into Your Authentic Self

13:40 – Why We Overreact: Triggers, Complexes & Ego Gatekeepers

20:30 – Basements, Woods, and an Early Curiosity for the Unknown

30:05 – Synchronicity: Meaningful Coincidence or Protective Instinct?

33:20 – Dissertations on Psychopathy: Why Society Craves True Crime

36:26 – Bringing a Real Homicide Report to First-Grade Show & Tell

42:33 – Serial Killers as "Black Holes": Tracing the Path of Debris

45:12 – Jeffrey Dahmer & Cultural Blind Spots: Fear of Intimacy

53:30 – Monsters as Modern Omens & Cultural Warnings

58:30 – Why Original Fairy Tales Were Brutal (And Why We Need Them)

01:13:00 – Behind the Scenes of a Medicolegal Death Investigator

01:20:45 – Compassion, Forensics, and the Sacred Care of the Body

01:22:28 – The Complicated Science & Law Behind Time of Death

01:24:20 – Connecting with Dr. Melissa Kim Corter

👤 Connect with Dr. Melissa Kim Corter

Website: https://www.melissacorter.com

Connect with Zach Tidwell & The Show Website: https://zachtidwell.com

When injury ended Christian Straka’s professional tennis career, he redirected his focus to mental performance. He’s since coached some of the world’s premier athletes, been the Global Mindset Coach of Adidas Runners, and created the first-of-it’s-kind course connecting mindfulness to athletic performance, which he’s still teaching at the University of Southern California(USC).

Topics include identity shifts, how aversion and want drive our feelings around an event, how awareness affects athletic performance, the power of visualization and pregame routines, how meditation and mindfulness shape our perspectives, why people don’t want to do the work they know they need to do, building resilience through doing the hard thing, and more.

Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction: Christian Straka on Mindfulness & Elite Performance

00:02:03 Losing Your Identity After Sports & Major Life Changes

00:10:16 Why Attention Is a Trainable Performance Skill

00:17:04 Attention vs. Thinking: The Hidden Difference

00:28:26 Visualization, Mental Training & Sports Psychology Myths

00:36:28 Ancient Mindfulness Traditions vs. Modern Psychology

00:43:22 Meditation, Identity & Learning to Notice Experience

00:57:46 Where Beginners Should Start Learning Mindfulness

01:05:21 Understanding Thoughts, Emotions & Awareness in Real Time

01:13:06 Building Resilience by Doing Things You Don't Want to Do

You can find Christian on his website: straka.la

Follow And Support The Show

Follow, rate, and review the show wherever you listen. And if that happens to be on YouTube, like this video too before sharing the episode with family and friends.

Website: zachtidwell.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556533676388

Instagram: @ZachCTidwell

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-tidwell-9076852ab/

X: @ZachCTidwell

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-in-blind-with-zach-tidwell/id1787306128

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/51IxT43v95otwaXDkyr6FW

YouTube: @ZachCTidwell

#GIB #GoingInBlind

Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm.

Cam Smith is an American Olympian who competed in the first-ever Ski Mountaineering (Skimo) events during the 2026 Winter Olympics. He is also an accomplished mountain and trail runner who has competed at the national and world levels , both as an individual, and as part of Team USA. And he instructs adaptive athletes as an instructor at the Adaptive Sports Center in Crested Butte, Colorado.

In this conversation you’ll learn how an average athlete becomes an Olympian, how an elite athlete’s skill gaps can be bridged by obsession, just how different the Olympics is from other elite athletic events, where reality doesn’t align with Olympic expectations, how challenging it is to return to normal life after the Olympics, and more.

Timestamps:

00:00 Meet Cam Smith: Winter Olympian, Endurance Athlete & Adaptive Sports Instructor

02:59 How Cam Found Endurance Sports After Moving to Colorado

07:58 From Finishing Last to Chasing the Olympics

09:35 Ski Mountaineering (Skimo) Explained: Olympic Rules & Race Format

14:56 Life After the Olympics & Preparing for the 2030 Olympic Cycle

17:54 What Competing at the Winter Olympics Actually Feels Like

25:44 The Psychology of Achieving a Lifelong Dream

29:05 The Mentor Who Helped Make an Olympic Dream Possible

35:15 Post-Olympic Blues, Grief & Finding Perspective

40:08 The Mindset Behind Elite Endurance Performance

48:03 Adaptive Sports, Purpose & Lessons Beyond Winning

54:15 Final Reflections on Service, Growth & Living Fully

You can find Cam in the following places:

Instagram: @CamFromCB

Adaptive Sports Center: adaptivesports.org

Follow And Support The Show

Follow, rate, and review the show wherever you listen. And if that happens to be on YouTube, like this video too before sharing the episode with family and friends.

Website: zachtidwell.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556533676388

Instagram: @ZachCTidwell

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-tidwell-9076852ab/

X: @ZachCTidwell

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-in-blind-with-zach-tidwell/id1787306128

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/51IxT43v95otwaXDkyr6FW

YouTube: @ZachCTidwell

#GIB #GoingInBlind

Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm.

Families of people struggling with addiction often do everything out of love: bailing them out, paying the rent, trying harder and harder to fix it. After four decades of working with addiction, Dr. Michael Barnes has reached a difficult conclusion: those loving solutions can become part of the problem.

Dr. Barnes is a licensed marriage and family therapist, author of "When the Solution Becomes the Problem," and a former professor at the University of Colorado Denver. Over 40 years in the field, he has worked with families at every stage of addiction, from those facing it for the first time to those who have organized their entire lives around it for generations.

In this conversation, we explore the part of addiction that rarely gets talked about: what it does to everyone around the person who is using. We look at why "just stop enabling" feels shaming when no one teaches families how, how transgenerational trauma shapes what feels "normal" at home, and why many people who started using young need habilitation, not rehabilitation. Along the way, Zach shares his own experience with alcoholism, rehab, and the guilt and shame that fuel the cycle.

Those lessons now shape Dr. Barnes' trauma-integrated approach to family programming, where the whole family heals together: learning to manage fear, rebuild boundaries, and move from codependency to prodependency.

00:00 Podcast Intro

01:26 Meet Dr. Michael Barnes

06:24 What Is Transgenerational Trauma?

11:36 How Families Organize Around Addiction

13:50 Why "Just Stop Enabling" Feels Like "Just Say No"

19:28 The Family Mobile: How Addiction Affects Siblings

25:33 Rehabilitation vs. Habilitation

33:44 Sober, But Emotionally 15

38:15 Addiction as a Chronic Disease

40:50 What Is a "Family in Recovery"?

48:39 The Two-Second Test

54:27 Codependency vs. Prodependency

58:16 The Basketball & Tennis Ball Analogy

1:03:26 There Is No Such Thing as an Unmotivated Family

1:04:40 When Dr. Barnes' Son Was Hit by a Car

1:15:31 How Addiction Treatment Has Changed in 40 Years

1:24:43 Where to Find Dr. Barnes

Learn more about Dr. Barnes and his work: https://www.drmikebarnes.com/

Want To Know More About Zach

Website: zachtidwell.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556533676388

Instagram: @ZachCTidwell

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-tidwell-9076852ab/

X: @ZachCTidwell Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-in-blind-with-zach-tidwell/id1787306128

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/51IxT43v95otwaXDkyr6FW

#GIB #GoingInBlind #Addiction #Recovery #Codependency #FamilyTherapy #Trauma #MentalHealth

For over 20 years, Dr. John Poothullil has challenged one of the most widely accepted doctrines in modern medicine: the idea that Type 2 diabetes is driven by "insulin resistance."

Dr. John is a retired physician, author, and researcher whose career has spanned internal medicine, endocrinology, hunger physiology, and cancer prevention. After witnessing firsthand the devastating complications of standard diabetes care in his own family and clinical practice, he embarked on a decades-long journey to re-examine the core mechanics of metabolic health.

In this conversation, we explore a provocative question: with over 50 hormones and 200 distinct cell types in the human body, why would only three specific cells become "rebels" against insulin? Dr. John breaks down why Type 2 diabetes is not an issue of cellular resistance, but rather a problem of substrate oversupply triggered by modern agricultural shifts, hyper-processed carbohydrates, and lost biological signaling.

Those insights reveal how the natural instincts we all had as toddlers—chewing, flavor detection, and intrinsic satiety cues—can be reclaimed to reverse metabolic dysfunction, rethink drugs like GLP-1s, and rebuild our relationship with food from the inside out.

Timestamp:

00:00 Podcast Intro

01:33 Meet Dr. John Poothullil

04:00 How Insulin Actually Works: The Doorbell Analogy

06:40 Why Endocrinologists Blame the Cell

08:08 The Body as a Hybrid Engine: Fuel Selection

09:50 Why Would Only 3 Cells Pick on Insulin?

12:35 How Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Got Confused

16:15 Medical Codes, Subscriptions & Treating Symptoms

20:40 Writing to the NIH: Challenging the Dogma

25:10 Why Lowering Blood Sugar Doesn't Stop Complications

28:15 The Agricultural Revolution & Grain-Based Diets

31:50 Undersupply vs. Oversupply

32:44 Fat Cells, Triglycerides & Fuel Switching

37:35 What Toddlers Know About Eating That Adults Forget

40:35 The Trap of Ultra-Processed Carbohydrates

46:00 The Real Reason GLP-1 Drugs Help People Lose Weight

55:30 Natural Sugar, Chewing & Dopamine

1:00:00 Why Nature Designed Food to Be Chewed

1:02:15 Retraining Your Control Center

1:07:20 The Solution Is Behavioral, Not Another Prescription

1:14:00 Cosmetic Obesity vs. Medical Obesity

1:18:20 What Healthy Eating Actually Looks Like

1:20:30 Final Thoughts & How to Learn More

Learn more about Dr. John and his work: https://drjohnonhealth.com/

Want To Know More About Zach.

If you’re new to the show and haven’t heard his incredible story, go back and listen to the show’s trailer, or visit Zach’s website zachtidwell.com, where you can also reach out to have him speak at your company or event. To get the big news when his book going to print, join his email list on the website. Follow And Support The Show Follow, rate, and review the show wherever you listen. And if that happens to be on YouTube, like this video too before sharing the episode with family and friends.

Website: zachtidwell.com

#GIB #GoingInBlind #Type2Diabetes #InsulinResistance #MetabolicHealth #Nutrition #GLP1 #HealthAndWellness

Dr. Philip T. Meade is an industrial engineer, CEO of Gallaher Edge, and former Associate Director of Spaceport Integration & Services at NASA. Following the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, he was tasked with helping rebuild NASA from the inside out to prevent similar tragedies from ever happening again.

Dr. Mead's experiences led him on a decades-long journey of studying people, culture, and organizational systems. In this conversation, we explore a fascinating insight: the same aspects of human nature and organizational behavior that contributed to the Columbia catastrophe also create friction and breakdowns in businesses, personal relationships, and even our internal dialogue.

Those lessons now shape Dr. Mead's work, where he helps organizations navigate cultural transformation, strategic positioning, and mission-driven systems that build high-performing teams at every level.

Topics covered include:

• Why Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart—and why it was preventable
• What really causes organizations to fail
• Why good people make bad decisions
• The hidden beliefs that drive workplace behavior
• The immense pressure that contributed to the Columbia disaster
• Lessons from NASA that apply to every business
• How leaders can build cultures that consistently perform
• The biggest human challenges facing organizations today

Learn more about Dr. Mead and his work: https://www.gallaheredge.com/

Want To Know More About Zach

If you’re new to the show and haven’t heard his incredible story, go back and listen to the show’s trailer, or visit Zach’s website at zachtidwell.com, where you can also reach out to have him speak at your company or event. To get the big news when his book going to print, join his email list on the website.

Follow And Support The Show

Follow, rate, and review the show wherever you listen. And if that happens to be on YouTube, like this video too before sharing the episode with family and friends.

Website: zachtidwell.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556533676388

Instagram: @ZachCTidwell

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-tidwell-9076852ab/

X: @ZachCTidwell

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-in-blind-with-zach-tidwell/id1787306128

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/51IxT43v95otwaXDkyr6FW

YouTube: @ZachCTidwell

#GIB #GoingInBlind

Rear Admiral (Ret.) Dr. Tim Gallaudet is a key figure in the UAP, UFO, and USO space, advocating for serious research, transparency, and disclosure at the highest levels, including through his work with the U.S. UAP Science Advisory Council under direction of the White House.

Tim entered the public UAP conversation after speaking out about a 2015 U.S. military encounter involving a formation of unidentified flying objects during a naval training exercise aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt off the East Coast of the United States. The incident became associated with the now-famous "Go Fast" video and the same contested airspace described by Ryan Graves in his testimony.

In addition to discussing his experience commanding some of the world's first aquatic drone fleets—both in the U.S. Navy and later as Administrator of NOAA—Tim shares his firsthand account of the Go Fast incident, why the Navy treated it as an urgent flight-safety issue, how the email and video related to the event were later wiped from Navy systems, and the confirmation he received from Jay Stratton (head of the United States' UAP Task Force at the time) that the craft were neither U.S. technology nor technology belonging to any known foreign adversary. We also discuss undersea UAP and USO reports, submarine sonar encounters, transmedium objects, nuclear-related UAP patterns, emerging technologies in ocean and space exploration, the ODNI UAP Science Advisory Council, partnering with NASA and adventurer-philanthropists like Victor Vescovo to advance research during funding cuts, ocean drones, deep-ocean mapping, and his new book on leadership, Holding Fast in Heavy Seas. Timestamps

0:00 – Introduction: Tim Gallaudet on UAP, USOs, and the Go Fast Incident 2:27 – How Tim Gallaudet Entered the UAP Conversation 4:51 – The "Go Fast" Event and the Navy's Missing Email 13:08 – Why the Navy Removed the Evidence 18:11 – USOs, Transmedium Craft, and Underwater Encounters 24:55 – Could the Oceans Be the Key to the UAP Mystery? 34:45 – Ocean Drones, NOAA, and Exploring the Deep Sea 53:36 – Inside the U.S. UAP Science Advisory Council 59:35 – Nuclear Sites, Undersea Data, and the Search for Answers 1:08:09 – Scientific Integrity, Government Pressure, and Leadership 1:19:48 – Veterans, Resilience, and Holding Fast in Heavy Seas

You can find Tim and his book on his website: https://www.timgallaudet.com/

Follow And Support The Show

Follow, rate, and review the show wherever you listen. And if that happens to be on YouTube, like this video too before sharing the episode with family and friends. Website: zachtidwell.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556533676388 Instagram: @ZachCTidwell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-tidwell-9076852ab/ X: @ZachCTidwell Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-in-blind-with-zach-tidwell/id1787306128 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/51IxT43v95otwaXDkyr6FW YouTube: @ZachCTidwell #GIB #GoingInBlindPodcast theme music by Transistor.fm.

Dr. Brad Montagne(PSc.D) is a functional medicine practitioner with 40 years of experience, specializing in chronic illnesses.

Topics covered include how compromised bodies open the door the infection and how Candida is most often a culprit in these scenarios, Lyme Disease and how it was developed as a bioweapon by the American government, endocrine disruptors, herbicides, and microplastics, how the body becomes inflamed and the impacts of inflammation in the body, how conventional medicine and the American food system are broken, why the gut is the root of so many chronic illnesses, how toxicity arises in the body, how mold, spores, and mycotoxins affect everything inside us, declining birth rates, infertility, hormone imbalances and hypothyroidism, and more.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to Dr. Brad Montagne

01:27 Functional Medicine vs. Conventional Medicine

06:03 Medical Education, Philosophy, and Root-Cause Care

12:02 Dr. Brad’s Functional Medicine Training

16:06 Chronic Illness, Lyme Disease, Candida, and Leaky Gut 23:40 Lyme Disease Coinfections and Testing Limitations

29:00 Comparing Lab Tests, Live Blood Analysis, and Muscle Testing 34:17 Bioenergetics and How Muscle Testing Is Used

40:07 Environmental Toxins, Herbicides, and Patient Evaluation

43:45 Why Nutrition Is Central to Chronic Illness 46:40 Obesity, Hormones, and Metabolic Dysfunction

49:20 Exercise, Lifestyle Medicine, and the Modern Food Supply 53:03 ADHD, Autism Labels, Diet, and Behavioral Symptoms

57:18 Dietary Restrictions, Food Intolerances, and Personalization 01:00:04 Detoxification, Mold, Binders, and Systemic Toxins

01:08:54 Autophagy and Common Detox Misconceptions 01:11:37 How Candida Can Become a Gut Health Problem

01:15:04 Fertility, Hormones, Miscarriage, and Live-Birth Claims 01:20:02 Organic Food, Farmers Markets, and Food Freshness

01:23:57 Community, Helping Others, and Personal Faith 01:26:10 Final Reflections and the Value of Open Conversation

01:31:42 Closing Remarks

You can find Dr. Montagne at haelthfullyu.com

Follow And Support The Show

Follow, rate, and review the show wherever you listen. And if that happens to be on YouTube, like this video too before sharing the episode with family and friends.

Website: zachtidwell.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556533676388

Instagram: @ZachCTidwell

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-tidwell-9076852ab/

X: @ZachCTidwell

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-in-blind-with-zach-tidwell/id1787306128

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/51IxT43v95otwaXDkyr6FW

YouTube: @ZachCTidwell

#GIB #GoingInBlind

Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm.

Ashlea Dillard is a firefighter/paramedic turned hypnotherapist, ketamine-assisted therapist, neurosomatics practitioner, and Licensed Professional Counselor(LPC). The wear-and-tear of being a firefighter was taking it’s toll on Ashlea, at a time when she was already pursuing her graduate education in the mental health space, and it took her down an entirely different path. We delved into hypnotism and hypnotherapy, what percentage of the population can be hypnotized, how hypnosis sessions work, regression therapy, epigenetics, and generational trauma, neurosomatics, the limbic system, fight or flight, why reprogramming the nervous system is critical when addressing mental health challenges, psychedelic therapies and plant medicines, ketamine-assisted therapy, and so much more.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction & Meet Ashley Dillard

01:24 Leaving Firefighting After 10 Years

03:48 Burnout, Compassion Fatigue & Quality of Life

06:02 “You’re Not Gonna Make It”

06:46 Transitioning Into Mental Health

08:51 Disconnecting From Your Humanity to Survive

11:27 Ketamine & Psychedelic Assisted Therapies

14:00 First Responder Culture & Coping

18:22 Getting Into Hypnotherapy

29:25 Understanding Regression

32:07 Ashley’s Personal Regression Experience

35:49 Regression, Early Memories & Grief

40:24 The Nervous System & Survival

53:06 Understanding the Nervous System

1:03:51 Psychedelic Assisted Work

1:25:14 Working With Veterans

1:28:00 Final Thoughts & Closing

You can find Ashley in the following places:

Website: https://ashleadillard.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCb_NKej6NBIiZm_xZLTjhng

Website: zachtidwell.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556533676388

Instagram: @ZachCTidwell

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-tidwell-9076852ab/

X: @ZachCTidwell

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-in-blind-with-zach-tidwell/id1787306128

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/51IxT43v95otwaXDkyr6FW

#firefighter #firstresponders #mentalhealth #trauma #hypnotherapy #GIB #GoingInBlind