Cleared Hot – Full Auto Friday (9/12/2025)

Host: Andy Stumpf
Date: September 12, 2025
Episode Theme:
Andy Stumpf answers listener questions with his trademark blend of candor, humor, and life experience. The focus is on support, responsibility, navigating tough times, and stepping up in uncomfortable situations. No guests this episode—just Andy offering unscripted advice and perspective to real-world problems.

Main Discussion Points

1. The “Michael Protocol” and Learning From Mistakes

[00:30–05:00]

• Background: Andy describes a recent podcast mishap where 37 minutes of recording were unusable because of a missed setting on the Rodecaster audio board by his producer Michael.
  • “37 minutes of my life that I'm not going to get back…you can't control what happens to you in life, but you're 100% responsible for what you do with it and you can control the reaction you have.” [02:35]
• Takeaway: Ownership of mistakes, even when someone else is involved, is key—Andy humorously proposes writing “Extremely Limited Ownership,” a spoof on leadership books, but brings it back to real accountability.
• The New “Michael Protocol”: Double-checking all audio settings before every recording—a lesson in simple processes preventing big headaches.

2. The Philosophy of Merch, Support, and Podcast Purpose

[07:20–20:20]

The Merch Question

• Listener Asks: After buying a Cleared Hot shirt, does Andy want fans to act as brand ambassadors in a particular way?
• Andy’s Response:
  • Immense gratitude for every purchase—shares transparency about his own financial situation (admitting to being “a negative millionaire”) and how decisions on buying and making merch are not trivial.
  • Opens up about behind-the-scenes on t-shirt production, supply issues, and why there hasn’t been much new merch lately.
  • Most popular shirt suggestion: a comic design of Andy’s dog “Javelin” blasting out of a missile launcher.
  • “As long as you are not preying on minors, as long as there is consent involved in what you're doing, I don't really give a shit how you live your life.” [15:40]
  • “What I really would want is for you to live your fullest, most expressive life.” [17:00]
  • Wouldn’t love to see his shirt at an extremist rally, but “people’s ability to be free is way more important than how I feel about what it is they’re doing.”* [17:30]
• Podcast Purpose:
  • Still no fixed end goal or “end state,” but Andy aims for “open and honest conversations with people that interest me, absent influence from outside of that conversation.” [19:09]
  • Maintains a guest list based on genuine interest, not outside political or commercial pressure.
  • “If I step on my dick and I say something that is biased in that nature or one of my biases comes out, I’ll address it.” [20:05]
  • Grateful for the personal growth and friendships that have come from the show.

3. Supporting a Friend Through Divorce and Suicidal Thoughts

[20:30–39:40]

Listener Scenario:

• A listener’s best friend is going through a tough divorce, expressing hopelessness and possible suicidal ideations. The listener wants to help and seeks Andy’s advice; Andy himself has rarely discussed his own divorce publicly but acknowledges its personal difficulty.

Andy’s Advice:

• First, Don’t Assume:
  • “Is this an assumption that you are making, that he's having suicidal ideations, or is he verbalizing these to you? ... Ask the hard question and ask him directly.” [22:05]
    • It may be uncomfortable, but asking directly is essential.
    • There’s a difference in risk between someone talking vaguely about suicide and someone detailing a plan.
• Role of Statistics:
  • Stats can be comforting until “none of it matters if it actually happens to you or someone you care about.” [24:20]
• Practical Steps:
  • Continue to answer your friend’s calls and listen more than you talk.
  • Watch for red flags—if calls stop or decrease, that’s a warning sign.
  • “Your job on those phone conversations is to listen more than to talk.” [25:05]
• Micro-Steps and Empathy:
  • Andy shares from his own darkest moments: some days getting out of bed was the only “win” possible.
  • “A micro step, a micro victory in that moment might be having your feet touch the floor and then from there, you know, let's shuffle to the bathroom…” [34:50]
  • Life is not unending progress; struggle and suffering are natural, and they provide perspective for better times.
  • “Nothing lasts forever—your best days or your worst days—unless you do something to make it permanent.” [33:00]
  • Encourages listeners to keep telling friends it will get better: “He may not be capable of listening to what you’re saying right now, but he hears you. And please never stop telling him that.” [36:00]
• Summary:
  • Be present, ask hard questions, listen, watch for changes, and support as best you can—even if it feels like your words aren’t sinking in.

4. Stepping in on Domestic Violence—What Would Andy Do?

[39:40–51:00]

Listener Scenario:

• A delivery driver encounters what appears to be a man dragging his wife to a car. When confronted, the woman pleads with him not to call the police. The listener asks if he should have called law enforcement or just moved on.

Andy’s Response:

• Preface: Not legal or personal advice—simply what he would do, willing to accept the personal/legal consequences.
• Law Enforcement's Frustration:
  • Andy summarizes law enforcement friends’ stories of repeat domestic violence calls: cycle of arrest, victim retracting charges, escalation, sometimes tragically fatal.
  • "Repeat customers…this is one of the most common stories that I hear from local law enforcement." [41:15]
  • Violence and abuse never decrease; after reconciliation, the baseline only goes up.
• Why Victims Stay:
  • Andy doesn’t claim to understand; says this is a discussion for professionals but emphasizes awareness of the pattern.
• What Would Andy Do?
  • Avoids violence if at all possible, but, “Abusers don’t like being in the spotlight.” [44:55]
  • He would have called the police without hesitation, even if the victim seemed to not want it.
  • “At least there’s a record of that interaction…now there is a legitimate law enforcement contact record of this.” [46:10]
  • Would physically block the abuser from leaving if necessary and respond with proportional force only if attacked.
  • “I believe in doing the right thing even in the moments where it’s the hardest to do.” [49:15]
  • Motivated by the thought of what he’d want done for his own daughters.
  • Rejects the vigilante label—emphasizes getting the professionals involved.
  • Moral: “People like this…they want to operate in the shadows…Take the spotlight and put it on the cockroach…because people like this, who want to operate in the shadows, fuck you.” [48:35]
• Encourages Bystander Intervention:
  • Even just being present and asking questions changes the dynamic, communicates to both victim and abuser that they're being watched.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “I am not really one to tell people how to live their life…What I really would want is for you to live your fullest, most expressive life.” [15:40–17:00]
• “Ownership of mistakes, even when someone else is involved, is key.” [02:35]
• "Ask the hard question and ask him directly...it's going to probably lead to a hard conversation. Yep. And you're totally right to both those things. But it's important." [22:45]
• "A micro step, a micro victory in that moment might be having your feet touch the floor..." [34:50]
• “Abusers don’t like being in the spotlight...Take the spotlight and put it on the cockroach.” [48:35]
• “I believe in doing the right thing even in the moments where it’s the hardest to do.” [49:15]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:30] — Michael Protocol and podcast mishap
• [07:20] — Merch philosophy and transparency
• [15:00–17:30] — Andy’s values: freedom, responsibility, self-expression
• [19:09] — Podcast’s evolving purpose
• [20:30] — Supporting friends in mental health crisis
• [25:00] — Signs to watch for in struggling friends
• [34:00–35:00] — The role of micro-steps in recovery
• [39:40] — Domestic violence bystander dilemma
• [44:55, 48:35] — Abusers, intervention, and be the “spotlight”
• [49:15] — Why it’s important to act, even if it’s difficult

Tone and Style

Andy’s responses are direct, practical, and infused with personal experience. He balances seriousness (especially on issues of mental health and domestic violence) with frank humor and a strong sense of individual freedom and responsibility. Listeners are encouraged to live fully, help others, and step into discomfort for growth and to do what is right.

Summary Conclusion

In this thought-provoking solo Q&A, Andy Stumpf explores uncomfortable but essential topics with compassion, courage, and a healthy dose of humility. Whether discussing podcasting mishaps or the gravity of stepping in to prevent violence, Andy’s advice revolves around personal responsibility, open communication, and doing the right thing—even when (especially when) it isn’t easy.