Podcast
Mike Drop
Hosted by Mike Ritland · EN
Mike Drop, hosted by former Navy SEAL and bestselling author Mike Ritland, is a no-holds-barred platform that dives deep into the stories and experiences of extraordinary individuals. Known for his candid and unfiltered approach, Mike interviews guests ranging from special operations veterans and elite athletes to renowned authors and thought leaders, offering listeners a exclusive glimpse into the human side of those who have excelled in their fields. Whether it's discussing the intense challenges of combat or the resilience required to overcome personal adversity, Mike Drop provides a space where real conversations happen.
70episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Green Beret Exposes the Government's Chinook Shootdown Cover-Up | Ep. 294 | Pt. 1
2d ago01:00:20Tap to summarizeRetired Army Sergeant Major and Green Beret Terry Wilson spent 24 years in uniform with the 7th Special Forces Group, racking up 11 combat deployments and nearly 11 years total downrange. He is now the CEO of Tactical Edge Coaching and Consulting, where he works with high performance men to become better leaders in all aspects of their life. In this episode we get into the daily troops in contact grind of Helmand Province, watching a Chinook get blown out of the sky a couple hundred meters away, recovering bodies from the crash site through the night, losing a teammate to an IED within days, the brutal reality of the Afghanistan withdrawal, and hitting rock bottom after losing his son before faith and fitness gave him a way back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Ibogaine, Iran, and the Epstein Files: A Recon Marine Gets Unfiltered | Ep. 293 | Pt. 3
6d ago01:08:04Tap to summarizeRetired Marine Force Recon Gunnery Sergeant Ryan Kuperus closes out his conversation with Mike Ritland with the kind of honesty that makes people uncomfortable — and that's exactly the point. From a brutally candid take on the "silent professional" myth and what weak leadership actually looks like, to a raw account of his ibogaine experience in Mexico and what it revealed about his relationship with his kids, Kuperus doesn't hold back. He also weighs in on Iran, Israel, the Epstein files, and why he thinks the Monroe Doctrine is the only foreign policy that makes sense. And after nearly losing everything to a court-martial he should never have faced, he found his next mission: The Reason Outdoors, a nonprofit using hunting and the backcountry to pull veterans back from the edge — one hunt at a time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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When Leadership Fails in Combat: Lessons from Helmand Province | Ep. 293 | Pt. 2
1w ago01:12:58Tap to summarizeRetired Marine Force Recon Gunnery Sergeant Ryan Kuperus returns for part two with some of the most harrowing combat accounts you'll hear. From a near-fatal friendly fire incident involving Cobra attack helicopters, to navigating an IED-saturated district center while rescuing a shattered sniper team, Kuperus pulls no punches on what it actually costs when leadership fails on the ground. He also recounts the operation that quietly identified a Taliban shadow governor in northern Helmand — the kind of mission that rarely gets told. The conversation shifts into a candid reckoning with the military's promotion system, the compounding damage of poor senior leadership, and why the men who fight hardest are often the ones the institution fails most. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Recon Marine Exposes the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps for Stolen Valor | Ep. 293 | Pt. 1
1w ago01:13:38Tap to summarizeRyan Kuperus is a retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant with 17+ years in infantry, recon, and Force Recon. Medically retired after multiple combat deployments and enough kinetic stories to fill a book. From leading teams in Now Zad to pulling his own guys out of multiple IED strikes, this one gets raw fast. We talk leadership failures in combat, hunting, ibogaine, and why the system chews up warriors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Life After SAS & Training America’s SWAT Teams | Ep. 292 | Pt. 3
2w ago01:02:21Tap to summarizeFormer SAS operator Phil Singleton reflects on life after the Regiment. He shares his candid thoughts on the Falklands War, his decision to leave the SAS, and the remarkable journey that followed — from bodyguard work in Saudi Arabia to becoming a U.S. citizen, training American law enforcement with Heckler & Koch, and building his own international tactical training company. Now in his 70s, Phil offers unfiltered perspectives on geopolitics, Britain’s direction, America’s strengths, and the simple “Rastafarian lifestyle” he lives today. This episode closes with honest wisdom, humor, and hard-earned life lessons from a true warrior and veteran. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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From SAS Selection to Storming the Iranian Embassy | Ep. 292 | Pt. 2
2w ago00:57:05Tap to summarizeFormer British SAS operator Phil Singleton shares hard-earned insights from his distinguished career. He offers a firsthand account of the 1980 Iranian Embassy Siege in London, detailing the planning, explosive entry, chaotic assault amid fire, and the realities of hostage rescue. Singleton also reflects on his experiences during The Troubles in Northern Ireland, the rigorous SAS selection process, endurance testing, and other deployments including Belize, Brunei, and the Falklands. With candid perspectives on leadership, adaptability, counter-terrorism, and the human side of elite operations, this conversation delivers unfiltered veteran insight and operational history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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SAS vs. P Company: Inside British Tier One Selection | Ep. 292 | Pt. 1
2w ago01:07:17Tap to summarizePhil Singleton spent years operating in the shadows — tier one SAS, Operation Nimrod, the Iranian Embassy siege — and then quietly disappeared into a second career training thousands of law enforcement officers across the U.S. as Training Director for Heckler & Koch. He doesn't carry a cell phone, doesn't chase recognition, and until now has been one of the most quietly consequential British operators most Americans have never heard of. This week Phil pulls back the curtain on what it really took to earn that winged dagger, what it was like to storm a foreign embassy in the middle of London on live television, and why — at 72 — he's perfectly content stacking bananas in a grocery store produce aisle with zero regrets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Nuclear Power, $39 Trillion in Debt, and a Broken VA: Adam Schwarze's Senate Blueprint | Ep. 291 | Pt. 3
3w ago01:04:38Tap to summarizeIn the final installment of this three-part conversation, Adam Schwarze lays out his policy vision with the same directness he brought to the battlefield. From making nuclear energy his Senate legacy to dismantling deficit spending and bureaucratic rot, Adam doesn't speak in talking points — he speaks from experience. The conversation also gets into opposition research, the corruption baked into federal elections, the U.S.-Israel relationship, term limits, and why the VA system may need a complete rethink. Raw, informed, and unfiltered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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From Ship Boardings to the Senate Floor: Adam Schwarze on Iran, COVID, and Running for Office | Ep. 291 | Pt. 2
3w ago01:05:45Tap to summarizeAdam Schwarze—Marine infantryman turned Navy SEAL officer, Harvard-educated warrior-scholar, and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Minnesota—sits down with Mike for part two of a raw, unfiltered conversation. From completing BUD/S as a seasoned combat veteran to conducting 75–100 real-world ship boardings in the Middle East, Adam's operational resume is as uncommon as his path to politics. The conversation cuts through the noise on Iran, the lessons learned from splitting forces across Iraq and Afghanistan. Adam also breaks down the ground-level mechanics of running a grassroots Senate campaign in one of the few states where money and name recognition don't automatically win. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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WAR With Iran Would Be a DISASTER... And Nobody Wants to Admit It | Ep. 291 | Pt. 1
3w ago01:01:30Tap to summarizeAdam Schwarze enlisted in the Marines three weeks after watching the Twin Towers fall live from his senior year English class and never really stopped fighting. Nine deployments, 70 plus countries, classified undersea SEAL operations, and now a grassroots Senate run in Minnesota with no establishment backing. This one gets into all of it, the rocket shots in Iraq, the brother who died in his arms, what it actually took to cross from Marine infantryman to SEAL officer, and why he believes boots on the ground in Iran could turn into another Middle East disaster. The conversation gets brutally honest about what veterans understand about Iran that politicians don’t. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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