Shawn Ryan

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This is a host article.

Shawn Ryan

Shawn Ryan Palmisano is a former United States Navy SEAL, CIA contractor, and podcast host. He hosts The Shawn Ryan Show, a long-form interview programme focused on military, intelligence, and national security topics that reached the top 10 most-listened-to podcasts on Spotify in 2024.

Military and intelligence career

Ryan served in the U.S. Navy SEALs from 2001 to 2006, assigned to SEAL Teams 2 and 8. His service overlapped with the early years of the Global War on Terror following the September 11 attacks. After leaving the Navy, Ryan worked as a CIA contractor in the Global Response Staff (GRS), a programme that provides security for CIA personnel and facilities in high-threat environments overseas.

Vigilance Elite

Following his intelligence career, Ryan founded Vigilance Elite, a tactical training company that offered firearms instruction and combat skills courses. The company also produced documentary-style video content focused on special operations and military topics, which served as a precursor to Ryan's podcasting career.

The Shawn Ryan Show

Ryan launched The Shawn Ryan Show as a long-form interview podcast. The show distinguishes itself through its host's direct experience in the subjects being discussed. Guests are drawn primarily from the military, intelligence, law enforcement, and political spheres.

Notable guests

The show has featured interviews with Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson, Vivek Ramaswamy, Erik Prince (founder of Blackwater), Jocko Willink, Ahmad Massoud (leader of the Afghan National Resistance Front), and Hsiao Bi-khim (Vice President of Taiwan). The geopolitical range of guests, from American political figures to international resistance leaders and foreign officials, distinguishes the show from other military-adjacent podcasts.

Style

Ryan's interviewing approach is direct and no-nonsense. Episodes run long and are conducted in a serious, low-key tone. Ryan draws on his own operational experience to ask detailed follow-up questions that a civilian interviewer would not typically pursue. The show avoids entertainment-oriented banter in favour of substantive, often granular discussions of tactics, policy, and firsthand accounts of conflict.

Cross-show context

Ryan's guest list overlaps with The Joe Rogan Experience in the political and military space. Both shows have hosted Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson, and Jocko Willink. However, Ryan's show is narrower in scope and more operationally focused, whereas Rogan covers a broader range of topics. Theo Von has also hosted several of the same political figures, including Trump and Tucker Carlson, though in a comedic rather than policy-oriented context.

See also

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