Sean Ryan: From Navy SEAL to Podcaster

Career and life before podcasting

• Ryan enlisted in the U.S. Navy at 17, completed SEAL training, and served for about five and a half years. He later worked as a CIA contractor.
• His deployments included Haiti, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He described learning resilience and operating under extreme stress, while also becoming drawn to adrenaline and the culture surrounding high-risk work.
• After leaving contracting, he moved to Colombia and immersed himself in local drug networks—not primarily to sell drugs, he said, but to map the players and build connections. He recalled cocaine use, dangerous situations, and fleeing Medellín after hearing police were watching him.
• He later began therapy and tried to help a close friend overcome opioid addiction. He also described ibogaine treatment as helping him stop drinking and using sleep medication and Adderall. He says he has been sober for more than four years.

Concerns about influence and media

• Ryan suspects some guests and influencers may be positioned to shape conversations, though he acknowledged he has no proof. He also worries that invitations to public events with political leaders can create the appearance that a host belongs to a particular political “team.”
• He described questioning a guest whose claims about Russian nuclear weapons seemed unrelated to the rest of their interview, and choosing not to publish interviews when he could not verify claims or found a guest unqualified.
• He said he supported Donald Trump before the election but has since become dissatisfied, arguing that Trump has not followed through on his promises. Ryan expressed concern about the Iran conflict, U.S. relations with allies, and the country’s long-term global influence.
• He wants to focus less on politics and has discussed a project documenting poverty across all 50 states.

Psychedelics, faith, and reported spiritual experiences

• Ryan said a later psychedelic experience involving ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT was terrifying. He described intense fear, a sense of emptiness and abandonment, and involuntary body contortions. He interpreted the experience as visiting hell, while acknowledging he cannot prove its cause.
• Since then, he says he has experienced nightmares and events he considers supernatural, and has undergone several Catholic exorcism sessions. Priests he consulted describe his situation as oppression rather than possession; Ryan said the process is ongoing.
• He believes psychedelics may have benefits but can also expose people to spiritual dangers. He says these experiences have strengthened his Christian faith, and he plans to devote part of his podcast to exploring the Bible.

Work, family, and guiding principles

• Ryan says his podcast should encourage people to ask questions, stay open to different perspectives, and take responsibility for correcting mistakes.
• He emphasizes that money cannot buy peace or happiness, and that family memories matter more than constant work. He acknowledged feeling guilty that business sometimes competes with time spent with his wife and children.
• He is developing Glacier, a mobile privacy app featuring a VPN, secure DNS, and disposable phone numbers.
• Asked what love is, Ryan answered: “Love is what you’re willing to die for,” and said his family is what he would die for.