We brought Brian Recker on the show because a ton of people were curious about his views on guns and the Second Amendment. Brian's a former Marine officer, a father, a self-described stubborn Christian, and the author of a book about why the concept of hell is a toxic doctrine. He also doesn't own a gun and favors common sense gun control. So we knew this one was going to be interesting.

What we got was one of the best conversations we've had on this show. We got into the myth of redemptive violence and why Christians keep backing every American war, John Brown and whether violent resistance can ever be justified, how the Second Amendment was never designed to protect Black people or marginalized communities, the killing of Alex Pretti and the hypocrisy of conservatives who support gun rights until the wrong person is armed, arming trans communities and why Brian sees beauty in marginalized people exercising their rights even though he personally chooses nonviolence, the militarization of police and how you can draw a direct line from fugitive slave patrols to modern law enforcement, and why the left has a massive messaging problem that keeps alienating the exact people it should be reaching.

Brian came in not agreeing with us on a lot and we didn't agree with him on everything either, but we had an actual conversation about it without anybody feeling like an enemy. That's the whole point of the show and this episode is a perfect example of it.

Brian's book: Hell Bent

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Edited by Matthew Boerger

Ammon Bundy was acquitted of all federal charges in two major trials, spent two years in federal prison, and had $5 million in assets seized through lawfare. He supports BLM, condemns the killing of George Floyd, argues for open borders, and thinks ICE raids separating families betray the constitution. His old conservative allies turned on him for it. We had to talk to this guy.

Most people know Ammon from the 2014 armed standoff at the Bundy Ranch in Nevada and the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. Since then he's run for governor in Idaho, built the People's Rights Network, and ended up on a political island because he refused to tie himself to MAGA or any one party. An Atlantic profile on Ammon is actually what got our attention and led to this conversation.

We got deep into the backstory of both standoffs, the killing of LaVoy Finicum and why the same people who protest police killings stayed silent on that one, the Alex Preti shooting and how the Second Amendment crowd immediately turned on a guy who was armed at a protest because the politics didn't line up, Ammon's firsthand experience in federal prison watching the system keep inmates divided by race so a single guard can control a hundred men and how that maps directly onto how the 1% controls the rest of the country, the Baby Cyrus medical kidnapping case and how the Idaho establishment used a defamation lawsuit to take his home, his businesses, and hit him with a $53 million judgment to shut him up, why the federal government controls over 80% of Nevada's land while it sits on some of the richest mineral deposits in the country and remains one of the poorest states, and his views on immigration and why he believes our duty is to convince people, never to use force against them.

Whether you agree with Ammon on everything or not, this is a dude who has actually bled for what he believes in and hasn't changed his principles when it got inconvenient. We think you're gonna get a lot out of this one.

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Edited by Matthew Boerger

In this episode, Jordan talks with Stephen Jones of Ships Co. about martial arts, creativity, masculinity, and what it means to build something with actual character in a space that often rewards posturing. They get into the culture around jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai, why so many people feel alienated by the politics and ego that can come with combat sports, and how Stephen carved out a different lane by making gear that feels playful, personal, and rooted in his actual values. The conversation also moves through self-defense, escalation of force, community, the strange gifts and downsides of social media, and the way martial arts can teach humility, patience, and discipline far beyond the gym. It’s a thoughtful and easygoing conversation about staying grounded, making good work, and refusing to become the kind of person the culture expects you to be.

If you want to support the show, head to our Patreon for exclusive merch, extra content, and to help us build a more inclusive gun community.

Edited by Matthew Boerger

In this episode, Jordan sits down with Connecticut gubernatorial candidate Adrian Bonenberger for a conversation about community, decentralization, gun rights, and what real local resilience could look like in a moment when trust in institutions feels thinner than ever. They dig into Adrian’s proposal for a large voluntary state guard in Connecticut, why he sees it as a way to rebuild civic responsibility without coercion, and how local organization could strengthen disaster response, public safety, and community ties at the same time. The conversation also gets into the failures of both parties on guns, the difference between root causes and political theater, and why so much of what people call security now depends on systems that feel farther and farther removed from the people they’re supposed to serve. It’s a thoughtful, wide-ranging episode about power, responsibility, and what it might look like to build something more durable close to home.

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Edited by Matthew Boerger

Jim from Pipehawk Consulting joins the show for one of those episodes that goes everywhere and still somehow works. We bounce from workplace stories and dry humor into heavier conversations about Trump, authoritarian creep, historical revisionism, 3D printing laws, mesh networks, drones, and the gear that’s actually worth spending money on. Along the way, we get into medical kits, tourniquets, civil disobedience, and the weird reality that practical preparedness matters a lot more than internet posturing. Equal parts useful, ridiculous, and bleakly funny.

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Edited by Matthew Boerger

This week, we talk with Alexandria Augustine, an organizer who’s been on the ground protesting ICE in Los Angeles and Minnesota, building mutual aid networks, and dealing firsthand with the fallout of state repression. What starts with dark humor and chaos turns into one of the most serious conversations we’ve had yet, covering tear gas exposure, arrests meant to cripple organizing, the way government power chips away at rights in practice, and why more people are being radicalized by what they’re seeing up close. Alexandria also gets into the real work behind community defense, from food drives and medic training to helping people find their place in movements that need more than just outrage. By the end, the conversation expands into something bigger about community, political awakening, and what it means to live through a moment people will study later as history.

If you want to support the show, head to our Patreon for exclusive merch, extra content, and to help us build a more inclusive gun community.

Edited by Matthew Boerger

In this episode, Jordan speaks with Jake Hanrahan, founder of Popular Front, about independent journalism, censorship, and political division. He explained why YouTube’s demonetization pushed him to rethink documentary work and launch Away Days, a project focused on underground subcultures without moral framing.

Jordan and Jake discuss culture-war politics, performative activism, and why most Western movements misunderstand what real escalation looks like. They also cover gun rights, civil liberties, and the inconsistency of defending principles only when they benefit your side.

The episode closed on media incentives, AI, shrinking attention spans, and the importance of building real-world discipline and community instead of living online.

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Edited by Matthew Boerger

In this episode of A Better Way 2A, Andrew and Jordan pick back up after an unplanned break that included SHOT Show, a necessary hair cut. We get into a dark and absurd game of "would you rather" while we through where humor crosses a line and why context matters more than people want to admit. We end up talking about casual ignorance versus real malice, checking people in public, male friendships and why saying “I love you” shouldn’t be controversial, plus the strange collision between internet personas and real-life interactions at events like Shot Show. This ones basically us hanging out and seeing what happens but we're sure you'll dig it!

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Edited by Matthew Boerger

In this episode, Jordan talks with Greg Lickenbrock, Senior Firearms Analyst and Technical Advisor at Everytown for Gun Safety, who has also spent years working inside the firearms industry as an editor and writer.

They unpack how the Train SMART curriculum was developed, why firearms safety education so often becomes entangled in partisan politics, and where Train SMART intentionally overlaps with, and diverges from, traditional NRA-style training. Jordan shares his firsthand experience taking the SMART Guide to Owning a Gun class, including what surprised him, what felt different, and why its focus on mental health, suicide prevention, and protecting children stood out.

The conversation expands into broader questions about distrust between gun owners and advocacy organizations, evidence-based approaches to reducing gun violence that rarely get prioritized, and whether meaningful collaboration is possible when political incentives reward conflict over results.

A candid, long-form discussion about gun safety, harm reduction, and the limits and possibilities of working across ideological lines.

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Edited by Matthew Boerger

In this episode, Andrew and I sit down with Ben Spangler from Tactical Forge and Spangler Forge a firearms instructor, competitive shooter, knife maker, and content creator whose work centers on training, safety, and real-world application. We talk about identity, politics, and gun culture, and about the gap between how these topics are debated online versus how they show up in real life. The conversation covers media narratives, incentives that shape public discourse, and why discussions often break down when complexity gets replaced by simplified talking points. It’s a straightforward conversation about disagreement and what it takes to have more useful, grounded discussions across differences.

If you want to support the show, head to our Patreon for exclusive merch, extra content, and to help us build a more inclusive gun community.

Edited by Matthew Boerger