SOFREP Radio

Matthew Betley served ten years in the Marine Corps as an officer, and is now fulfilling his dream and what he describes as his life's purpose as a military thriller writer. He's now three books into the Logan West series, the latest of which is "Field of Valor." He hopes to see the Logan West series receive similar critical acclaim to Brad Thor's Scot Harvath series as he keeps putting out quality books each year. You'll hear how the character of West is inspired by some of Betley's own life, and what inspired Betley to pick up a pen in the first place. Matthew also talks about his own personal battle with alcohol addiction, and the joy of now living life sober and as a family man. Matthew will also be on the road the rest of this month signing books and meeting readers, so check out those dates at MatthewBetley.com. Get the latest book autographed, and be sure to tell Matthew what you thought of the interview! Also on the episode we have an in-depth discussion on the Satmar sect of Hasidic Jews protesting Israel this past weekend in New York City, which leads to a talk about religious cults. We later have a conversation about the size and scope of government, and political ideology. To top it off, we answer your emails sent to [email protected], and give a Throat Punch for the week.

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2017-2018 thus far has marked some excellent in-studio appearances on SOFREP Radio by some of America's best known military thriller writers. So we figured we'd spotlight some of these on this special episode. Clips on here include: - Brad Thor telling us the inspiration behind Scot Harvath, the protagonist of his novels. Also, his origin story and what drove him to become a writer - A.J. Tata getting into the creation of Jake Mahegan, the protagonist of his own series. - Anderson Harp on North Korean leadership from Kim Jong-il to Kim Jong-un, and a tragic story from 9/11 All of these episodes are available in their entirety at SOFREP.com/radio - we hope you enjoy these highlights. As always, send us your emails to [email protected], and be sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter @SOFREPRadio.

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In 1964, journalist and Army veteran Daniel Ford embedded himself with the Green Berets in Vietnam, and in the process met some remarkable men. One of the men who stood out was military interpreter Philippe Drouin, best known as “Cowboy,” who was the inspiration for Daniel’s latest book. We discuss Ford’s experience with Cowboy, the story of Cowboy’s life, the influence of John Wayne to his persona, and his untimely death. “Cowboy: The Interpreter Who Became a Solider, a Warlord, and One More Casualty of Our War in Vietnam” came out last month and is available now. Daniel has written dozens of other great books documenting conflicts all over the globe, and you can check out all of his work at DanFordBooks.com. Also on this episode: we get a listener reaction from Israel sent to [email protected] in regards to our show with Dan Gordon. We react to top North Korean official Kim Yong-chol coming to New York, which was going on right as we recorded. Of course, we also recap Memorial Day and the first ever Verses and Curses tour stop here in New York City at the unofficial flagship bar of ours, Emmett O’Lunney’s.

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There's a lot of laughs to be had this episode, and that's likely because we're joined by the often times hilarious Leo Jenkins. From serving as an Army Ranger medic, participating and sometimes competing in a wide array of athletics, and travelling around the country and even internationally in a van, to say Leo Jenkins stays active would be a massive understatement. His latest undertaking though is the Verses and Curses Tour where he'll be joined by two other combat vets, touring the country and reading poetry. This all starts Memorial Day at Emmett O'Lunney's in Midtown Manhattan and continues throughout the East Coast, and you can see those stops over at VersesAndCursesTour.com. Leo's latest book is in fact his own works of poetry called "With a Pen" which you'll hear all about. Leo also gets into earning his "blood wings" in Airborne School, and his new life as a father.  On this episode you'll also hear about Lt. Gen. Austin "Scott" Miller being named the next commander for our forces in Afghanistan, as well as the news of President Trump pulling out of meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Once again, if you're on the East Coast, go out an support the boys on the Verses And Curses Tour. I'll be at the New York stop hanging with the guys including Jack Murphy and Jim West who plan to read. We hope to see you there!

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Dan Gordon is no doubt a favorite guest on the show. We receive a great response every time he joins us, but it's been 2 years since he was last on the podcast. An appearance from the IDF Captain and Hollywood screenwriter was long overdue, but most especially because he's still active in working with the IDF, and just got back from Gaza. Dan was there in the thick of the action, and gives us a very detailed report of what actually went down, and what he views as a great deal of horribly inaccurate and one-sided media reporting. He gets into names and backgrounds of terrorists killed who attacked Israel on the day of the Embassy moving to Jerusalem, as well as the controversy of a baby killed amid the protests. There's also some levity though, as Dan tells us a hilarious story of a violent confrontation with Clint Eastwood during the filming of Dan's movie "Passenger 57." As some of you already know, Dan wrote a great two-book fiction series based upon terrorist attacks utilizing tunnels called "Day of the Dead," and he more recently partnered with Sam Sorbo (the wife of "Hercules" actor Kevin Sorbo) on a project. "Let There Be Light" is both a film and book that they worked together on about one man's journey to faith, some of which is based loosely around Dan's life which he gets into with us. Be sure to check those out. Also on this episode we react to Tim Kennedy's recent comments on The Joe Rogan Experience about Army recruitment, and Special Forces recruitment in particular, being drastically low. You'll also hear Jack's enthusiasm (being sarcastic here folks) to the prestigious Royal Wedding. All that and more on SOFREP Radio Episode 354.

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You'd be hard pressed to find someone more well versed on African national security than Eeben Barlow. We've covered Barlow's history on this site for years, and now for the first time get the chance to speak with him on this two-hour episode. As a former South African Defense Force Lieutenant-Colonel, co-founder of private military company Executive Outcomes, and an expert author, Barlow has been there and done that. On this show with Barlow we cover the history of foreign intervention in the region, accusations of racism regarding the men who fought for South Africa, and why African sources need to be better trusted to deal with their own national security than foreign governments from Eeben's perspective.  This leads us to to more recent failures of U.S. involvement in the region like the Benghazi attack, and the Niger ambush. Barlow has written several books, some of which are now out of print, but we're excited to hear that "Executive Outcomes: Against All Odds" has just been re-printed as a revised edition. This new edition of "Executive Outcomes" along with "Composite Warfare: The Conduct of Successful Ground Force Operations in Africa" are currently available through Bush War Books who ships internationally, and these are definitely suggested reading by Jack Murphy. Along with this discussion, we read your emails sent to [email protected]. Keep those coming, as well as those much appreciated five star written reviews on Apple Podcasts. Let us know what you think of this episode on our Twitter @SOFREPRadio. We'd love to have Eeben back, because even at this length we've just scratched the surface.

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Emerson Knives is a brand that's trusted by everyone from Navy SEALs to NASA astronauts, and that's why you've seen their products in the Crate Club and receiving rave reviews on The Loadout Room. The story of how the company's founder Ernest Emerson got into crafting these knives is fascinating, and you won't want to miss it. Ernie is also a skilled martial artist, and was there when mixed martial arts first got it's start in America. You'll hear all about this along with some emotional stories of Emerson knives being a literal lifesaver in dire situations. Also on Episode 252 we report on the situation on the ground in Israel with the announcement of the U.S. embassy being moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Jack also discusses the recent DOD video recreating what went wrong in the Niger ambush of our Special Forces. We discuss Benghazi and Extortion 17 from there. We love reading your emails, and check out what's being sent to [email protected], and a listener inspires a Throat Punch of the Week.

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The title of this episode may have some of you puzzled, wondering if we've gone off the deep end. However, there is some surprising research being done using MDMA (ecstasy) therapy on combat veterans, and it's in the early stages of proving to be very effective. Pulitzer prize winning writer on veterans affairs David Philipps recently put out a piece titled "Ecstasy as a Remedy for PTSD? You Probably Have Some Questions" for The New York Times. Dave joins us to get into the findings of studies being done, who is funding them, and where he sees this going. I can promise you'll learn something new after listening. We also tackle the crucial foreign policy news of the past week. This includes the freeing of three American detainees being held in North Korea, and them meeting with President Trump, as well as the crushing of the Iran nuclear deal. We also discuss the strong possibility of Gina Haspel becoming the first female CIA director, and the strong praise she's received from the likes of Jack Devine, a SOFREP Radio favorite, in his piece for NBC News.  That piece is titled "Gina Haspel says CIA won't restart its torture program. Congress should believe - and confirm - her."

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John Robb is a former Air Force Special Operations pilot and author. What many know him best for though, is his expertise on technological trends. We go very in-depth this interview regarding social media's impact on major world events since it's existence, especially in recent years. These events include things like the Arab Spring, the #MeToo movement, and of course the election of President Donald Trump. We also talk about the real world impact from technological innovations like facial recognition and data collecting. John is a fascinating guy, and you'll want to read his work if you haven't already. The site John pens is called Global Guerrillas, and you can follow him on Twitter @JohnRobb. As always, let us know what you think of the interview by writing us a review on Apple Podcasts, or shooting us an email at [email protected]. Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram @SOFREPRadio for all of the latest with the show.

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John Robb is a former Air Force Special Operations pilot and author. What many know him best for though, is his expertise on technological trends. We go very in-depth this interview regarding social media's impact on major world events since it's existence, especially in recent years. These events include things like the Arab Spring, the #MeToo movement, and of course the election of President Donald Trump. We also talk about the real world impact from technological innovations like facial recognition and data collecting.

John is a fascinating guy, and you'll want to read his work if you haven't already. The site John pens is called Global Guerrillas, and you can follow him on Twitter @JohnRobb. As always, let us know what you think of the interview by writing us a review on Apple Podcasts, or shooting us an email at [email protected]. Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram @SOFREPRadio for all of the latest with the show.