In this episode of the Alpha Human Podcast, Lawrence Rosenberg talks with Jay Feldman, host of The Energy Balance Podcast, who offers a deep dive into the bioenergetic perspective on health, challenging prevailing dietary paradigms, particularly the skepticism around high-carbohydrate diets and the necessity of carbohydrates. Feldman methodically deconstructs the myths that carbohydrates are non-essential and that our ancestors had limited access to them, presenting evidence that ancient diets were likely rich in carbohydrates, which are crucial for optimal metabolic health and energy production.

Feldman also tackles the misconceptions about sugar and fructose, providing a nuanced explanation of their metabolic effects and disputing the common belief that sugars are inherently harmful. He emphasizes the body's ability to utilize carbohydrates efficiently, arguing against the notion that high carbohydrate intake inevitably leads to insulin resistance or metabolic disorders. 

Additionally, the conversation explores the metabolic implications of low-carb and ketogenic diets, underscoring the bioenergetic view that carbohydrates are the body's preferred energy source. Feldman argues that this preference is not just about survival but about thriving, with optimal energy production and metabolic health being the key benefits.

Links:

Jay's Website: https://jayfeldmanwellness.com/ 
The Energy Balance Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@JFwellness
www.alphahuman.org

Studies/Articles:

In Defense of Low Fat: A Call for Some Evolution of Thought:
https://deniseminger.com/2015/10/06/in-defense-of-low-fat-a-call-for-some-evolution-of-thought-part-1/

Neanderthals carb loaded, helping grow their big brains: 
https://www.science.org/content/article/neanderthals-carb-loaded-helping-grow-their-big-brains

Humans were apex predators for two million years:
https://phys.org/news/2021-04-humans-apex-predators-million-years.html

Jay Feldman, Host of the Energy Balance Podcast: Is Sugar The Cure?

Andrew Bustamante is a former covert CIA intelligence officer, US Air Force combat veteran, Fortune 10 corporate advisor, and self-professed improvement junkie. As an Intelligence Officer with the CIA, Andrew planned, organized and executed offensive and defensive cyber operations against a wide range of targets and has been involved in independent operations and joint initiatives with FBI, NSA, DIA, and their foreign service counterparts. He is also the founder of EverydaySpy, an education and training platform that teaches the espionage tactics of the world's elite intelligence agencies and how these techniques can benefit anyone that is seeking to gain a competitive advantage. Andrew is also the author of the book "Everday Espionage, Winning in the Workplace" and the is the host of The EveryDay Espionage podcast.

Andrew is determined to educate the public on the unique training he received in becoming a master of covert espionage, replete with the skills necessary to convince foreign nationals to betray their countries and divulge the information, knowledge, and secrets they are entrusted with. The benefit of learning the tradecraft of a spy has tremendous value far beyond recruiting double agents, as these same techniques allow those who study the art of espionage to build influence, predict human behavior, and develop high-value relationships in business and in our personal lives. 

Developing bulletproof relationships demands an awareness of what Andrew calls "the 4 motivations" - Reward, Ideology, Coercion, and Ego (RICE). Studying how to leverage these motivators is how agents persuade targets to shift their allegiance and spy for America. Such influence over relationships is the true power of espionage and it necessitates a thorough understanding of human nature and the tactical use of behavioral psychology, amongst a number of other skills taught by the CIA at "The Farm," a training facility at Camp Peary, VA where clandestine officers attend the agency's Field Tradecraft Course. 

Additionally learning how the mind processes information, the art of cognitive conditioning, and what Andrew refers to in his training program as operational thinking (OPTHINK)  allows practitioners of his methods to exert total control over their environment, their network, and the people they interact with. This includes learning the difference between information and intelligence, compromise and collaboration, perception and perspective, and why being the "dumbest" guy in the room helps you become the smartest player in the game.
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Links:
Andrew Bustamante: https://andrewbustamante.org/
EveryDay Spy: https://everydayspy.com/
EveryDay Spy on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/EverydaySpy/videos
EveryDay Espionage Podcast: https://everydayespionage.libsyn.com/

Alpha Human Podcast

Ex-CIA Intelligence Officer Andrew Bustamante - The Power of OPTHINK

Dr. Dale Comstock is an ex-Delta Force operator, Green Beret, and 82nd Airborne LRRP who spent 35 years combatting U.S. enemies abroad as a member of the Army Special Forces and as a mercenary working with America's allies targeting high-value terrorists, their leaders, and financiers. He has been decorated twice for Valor in combat and has been at the tip of the spear in every conflict where America's special forces have been deployed, from Grenada and the invasion of Panama (where he and his team raided Modelo Prison to rescue American Hostage Kurt Muse) through to the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond. Dale has a Master's Degree in Business and a PhD in Alternative Medicine, holds black belts in Jiu-Jitsu, American Open Karate, and Extension Fighting, is a former professional boxer, MMA fighter, and competitive bodybuilder, and has been featured on the NBC TV series “Stars Earn Stripes” and Discovery Channel’s “One Man Army.” He is also the author of American Badass - The True Story of a Modern-Day Spartan.

After joining the Army in 1981 and finding out that Ranger school slots were limited and that he wouldn't have a chance to get in at that time, Dale joined the 82nd Airborne, and after he and his platoon won the DIvision's ARTEP (field evaluation) they were selected out of 15,000 paratroopers to become the first Long Range Reconnaissance Platoon since Vietnam. While there, Dale had a chance encounter with a Delta Force Operator that would change the trajectory of his career forever, after a rare sighting of what was considered America's secret weapon, a member of the covert unit of warriors who were hand-selected as the best of the best, he was determined to find out if he had what it took to join the ranks of the military's elite special forces.

Dale would not only go on to become a Tier One Operator as a member of "The Unit," he would also become a U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret, all while making time to fulfill the commitment he made to his parents year's earlier to get a college education by earning a Masters Degree in Business and a PhD in Alternative Medicine. As a relentless high-achiever, the words spoken to Dale by his Command Sgt. Major early upon completing the Delta Force Operator Training Course and being assigned to an assault team with the additional responsibility of becoming the team's breacher (which demanded subject matter expertise in ballistic, explosive and manual entry techniques), would reverberate at the core of his philosophy for years to com ... "Selection is a continuous process, and just because you are here today, doesn't mean you're guaranteed a job here tomorrow. If you don't put out 110% effort every day, then there is no place for you here. Immediately I rogered-up and vowed to meet everyone's expectations every day I was there"

Today, Dale is living a lifestyle many only dream of, he's an entrepreneur living on the island paradise of Bali where he also runs a number of business ventures ... "I am one of 2% of the population, I have achieved everything I've ever set out to do. I am living the dream fulfilled what I've always imagined I want, I'm doing it, You know, how cool is that? And am I done? Hell no. Because you know what, you have to keep setting goals, and that bucket list. I keep doing that. And why do I keep adding to the bucket list? Because I'm like a shark, I stop swimming. I drown, so I got to keep moving."
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LINKS:
Dale Comstock - https://daleamericanbadass.wixsite.com/mysite  
Dale Comstock on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Dale.AmericanBadass.Comstock/
American Badass - The True Story of a Modern-Day Spartan - https://amzn.to/3jkgaCa

Delta Force Operator and Green Beret Dale Comstock - A Modern Day Spartan

Douglas Laux is an ex-CIA operative who was assigned to some of the most dangerous warzones in the Global War on Terror and he's the New York Times Best Selling Author of "Left Of Boom: How A Young CIA Case Officer Infiltrated The Taliban And Al-Qaeda." Doug also created, wrote, produced, and starred in the Discovery Channel’s Finding Escobar’s Millions, and was part of the Bravo Channel series Spy Games. For the work he performed in penetrating terrorist organizations around the world, Doug has been recognized for his heroism and dedication to our country by Senator Sherrod Brown, as well as Congressmen Warren Davidson, Jim Banks, and Governor Ron DeSantis. 

Upon arrival at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, Doug Laux expected to be immersed in a Jason Bourne-style training program, however, his introduction to the world of covert operations was not filled with either action or intrigue, instead, he began his new career as a desk jockey doing admin support for Case Officers, sending reports, making copies of files and responding to diplomatic cables. What Doug wanted more than anything was to be thrust into the world of Black Ops, requesting (and in some instances demanding) that he be sent to Afghanistan, a place most Case Officers had no interest in visiting, let alone being deployed to as an undercover operative. Although his overtures to be sent to the front lines were initially rebuffed, Doug's relentless pursuit to break the types of cases that made international headlines wore his superiors down and he was finally sent to "The Farm," the CIA's training center where recruits learn the art of clandestine operations. Soon after graduating from the Field Training Course, Doug got his wish and was assigned to Afghanistan, and was enrolled in language school to learn Pashtu, after which he was sent to the most dangerous warzone on the planet.

When Doug first arrived at the Wadi FOB (the base's real name was redacted) in Afghanistan in 2010 he immediately noticed a massive strategic oversight, the Agency had a special branch dedicated to tracking Al Qaeda (AQ), even though there was only about 100 AQ in Afghanistan at that time, yet, astonishingly, there was no unit dedicated to keeping tabs on the Taliban,  despite the fact that there were tens of thousands of them present and killing hundreds of Americans every year. Worse, when it came to developing intelligence, Agency Case Officers were more like journalists where, instead of developing precise intelligence on enemy activity, merely reported on attacks. Without being given any initial targets or objectives, Doug quickly learned that there was an IED network operating in the area that was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of U.S. soldiers, and without being given any guidance or encouragement, decided he would make dismantling the Taliban's explosives operation his primary mission.

Doug immediately set out to aggressively recruit sources. He learned the country's southern dialect to better understand the culture, grew a beard, dressed as an Afghan, and attended the village Shuras regularly. Before long, Doug had convinced the locals to start trading money for Intel, and with early successes piling up, he became more ambitious and started working to develop sources directly within the Taliban itself, including those in the command structure. Doug's bold efforts led not only to the identification of "The Wolverine," his code name for the head of the IED network in Afghanistan, but the infiltration of the explosive supplier's organization as well by Taliban leaders who were on Doug's payroll.

Links:
-
Douglas Laux - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Laux
Left of Boom: How a Young CIA Case Officer Penetrated the Taliban and Al-Qaeda - https://amzn.to/30PZOZE
2 Minute Window Productions: https://2minutewindow.com/

Douglas Laux: Hunting The Wolverine, a Warzone CIA Operative Goes Left of Boom

Will Chesney served 13 years with the Navy SEALS and SEAL Team Six as an operator and Combat Attack Dog Handler. Will and his dog, a Belgian Malinois named Cairo, took part in hundreds of missions together, including Operation Neptune Spear, the mission that led to the killing of Osama Bin Laden. Will has been awarded the Silver Star and a Purple Heart, stemming from injuries sustained during a grenade attack while out on a raid and now helps veterans who, much like himself have suffered the effects TBI  (traumatic brain injury). Will is also the author of "No Ordinary Dog: My Partner from the SEAL Teams to the Bin Laden Raid," and the young adult version "Warrior DogThe True Story of a Navy SEAL and His Fearless Canine Partner."

While on deployment with SEAL Team Six, Will had an opportunity to work closely with combat attack dogs (CADs), Belgian Malinois that are trained specifically to operate with the SEALs and are ingrained in their deployment as integral members of the team. The breed is more compact, muscular, and agile than the German Shepards typically used in law enforcement. Upon first witnessing the CADs performance on deployment, both in their ability to uncover IEDs and as manhunters, Will marveled at the CADs' speed, strength, and agility, and saw first hand how their handlers, a Master at Arms (the Navy's Military Police) worked them while on and off the battlefield, and how they became crucial to the effectiveness of many of the team's raids and missions, and, most notably how these dogs saved the lives of his SEAL brethren, even sacrificing their own lives to save the operators they hunted with. 

Looking to take on a new challenge, Will, a dog lover who grew up with Rottweilers and Pit Bulls jumped at the chance to take on the role of a CAD handler. This was no small decision, and one that most operators avoided, as this was double the responsibility you had as a SEAL, as a CAD handler, you still had all the duties one must carry out as an assaulter, along with the additional obligation of taking care of an exceptional, and highly trained military working dog. After working and training with a new crop of CADs, the dog that was assigned to Will was a majestic looking Malinois that would change Will's life forever. 

Will trained, handled and cared for Cairo and the two became inseparable, conducting hundreds of missions together, but as phenomenal as these dogs are as special operators, much like their SEAL counterparts, they are not indestructible, and Cairo came as close to losing his life as was possible when Will and his team chased a group of Taliban fighters fleeing a bomb-making operation. Cairo ended up being shot in the chest and the leg and was flown back to base with Will by his side and underwent emergency surgery. Miraculously, Cairo not only survived, he and Will would ultimately be called upon to be part of the historic raid to take down Osama Bin Laden. This is not only the story of two exceptional and resilient warriors, it's the story of two friends who saved each other's lives, both during and after the war.
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Links:
No Ordinary Dog: https://amzn.to/3gHiQZ7
Warrior Dog: https://amzn.to/31iIJb8
Will Chesney on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noordinarydogbook/
Will Chesney on Instagram: @willcheeese

Navy SEAL Will Chesney - The Dogs of War

Steven Kotler, is the Executive Director of the Flow Research Collective, and one of the world’s leading experts on human performance. He is a New York Times bestselling author who has been nominated for two Pulitzer Prizes, his books include The Future is Faster Than You Think, The Rise of Superman and Stealing Fire, and he's also an award-winning journalist who has been featured in Time, Wired, and Forbes. Kotler is also one of the world's foremost authorities on the science of "flow," a state where we become so deeply immersed in an activity that the conscious mind dissolves and we access a higher intelligence, entering a zone where awareness and action become synchronous, and our performance superlative. 

Man has been attempting to induce the type of euphoric altered states that allow us to tap into a greater power by freeing us from the confines of our conscious mind for thousands of years, mostly through rituals, fasting, and mind-altering plants, an experience the ancient Greeks referred to as "ecstasis." Today, the tech giants of Silicon Valley seek to boost creativity and tap into a greater, more connected intelligence using everything from wireheading to smart drugs and experiences like "Burning Man."  Google has gone one step further by institutionalizing the practice of achieving flow by building a multi-million-dollar mindfulness center, where they attempt to harness the “communal vocational ecstasy” of Burning Man's rituals in the desert. 

However, of all the organizations looking to better understand the phenomena and train for flow, it is the US Military that is investing most in pushing the boundaries of what is possible. In its pursuit of creating a super-soldier, the U.S. Military, JSOC, and DARPA have all sought to capitalize on what special operations forces, and the Navy SEALs, in particular, have come to understand - that when a team of operators are deployed on a mission, their consciousness merges, with each member of the team executing their actions in synchronicity, without the burden of having to communicate. 

In addition to their work with Advanced Brain Monitoring, a Neuro-diagnostics device company,  the SEALs train for flow at a facility known as "The Mind Gym," where they are tested to better learn how to regulate brain waves, cardiac rhythm, even their core body temperature using advanced biometrics, as well as John Lilly's sensory deprivation tanks. The effects on learning when in a flow state are nothing short of astounding, as the Navy found that by training SEALs to induce "physiological and neurological relaxation and then introducing new content." they were able to reduce the time for learning a new language from six months to six weeks! 

Beyond the push to create super-soldiers or Silicon Valley-like masters of the corporate universe, Kotler and his Flow Research Collective want to make the knowledge and insight acquired on flow-states and how to induce them available for anyone keen to increase their performance. As such, they have identified 17 triggers to entering "the zone" and have made a tremendous amount of content and studies available for free. And, their flow training program is producing results that are off the charts including 490% faster skill acquisition and a 430% increase in creative problem-solving. 

For those that want to understand just what they are truly capable of achieving, and experience what warriors, artists, and shaman have chased for thousands of years, ecstasis is no longer shrouded in the realm of ritual and mystery, thanks to Kotler and exponentially accelerating technologies, "flow" is fast becoming a replicable skill-set … and perhaps the most highly prized ability of all.
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Links:
Steven Kotler: https://www.stevenkotler.com/
Flow Research Collective: https://www.flowresearchcollective.com/
Stealing Fire: https://amzn.to/31F0Rfq
The God Gene: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_gene
Combat Flow: https://bit.ly/3aoo4GG

Steven Kotler: Why Navy SEALs, Silicon Valley & Extreme Athletes Chase Altered States

James Olson, former Chief of Counterintelligence for the CIA, served for over 30 years in clandestine operations against the Russian KGB and the espionage efforts of China, Cuba, North Korea, and Iran, and was awarded the Intelligence Medal of Merit and the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal for his efforts. Olson is currently a professor at Texas A&M's Bush School of Government where he teaches Counterintelligence (CI) to America's next generation of spy hunters. Jim is also the author of Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying, and To Catch a Spy: The Art of Counterintelligence.  

Olson honed his skills as a spy during the cold war and came up during the final years of James Angleton's grip on counterintelligence at the agency. Angleton was the first Chief of Counterintelligence at the CIA, and was a cold warrior who became so obsessed with the Russian threat against the USA that he became consumed by it, seeing moles and Soviet spies everywhere, and falling victim to what he called the "wilderness of mirrors." Angleton alienated many in the CIA with his relentless witchhunts culminating in his ousting in 1974, and a severe backlash against counterintelligence budgets and personnel ensued. Bereft of proper staff and training the Agency’s CI efforts were so hobbled that by the mid-1980s America had become infested with spies operating unencumbered on US soil, with the FBI arresting eight hi-profile traitors run by foreign intelligence agencies in 1985 alone.  

This led to renewed interest in beefing up America's CI efforts and the creation of the CIC (Counter Intelligence Center) in 1988 which James Olson was tapped to become deputy director, and would later lead. With Olson's rise as Chief of Counterintelligence at the CIA, and with the lessons of the Angleton era still burned in his memory, he made penetrating spy rings operating in America and converting foreign intelligence officers into American assets a relentless pursuit, making his mantra of "Be Offensive" the most important principle in his Ten Commandments of Counterintelligence. 

Few Americans are aware of the extent to which foreign intelligence agencies are damaging America's companies, infrastructure, and political system, with the greatest threat coming from Russia, Cuba, and China. The magnitude of China's espionage operations against the United States is nothing short of staggering, "they are voracious" warns Olson, from military and industrial technology, to agricultural methods and medical secrets, "they'll go after it all." in an effort to enhance the Chinese economy. 

For China, espionage is strictly business, driven mainly by the ambition to steal American technology, data, and intellectual property in an effort to gain a corporate, industrial, and military advantage. However, for Russia, the attacks are ideological, personal, and vengeful, according to Olson. Their offensive is born out of animus over the collapse of the USSR and the hatred for U.S. hegemony still held by former KGB spies and veterans of the cold war who have remained in the intelligence community or who have found their way into the governing power structure of modern-day Russia. Surprisingly, of all the intelligence operations ever conducted against the U.S., it was neither Russia nor China whose efforts caused the most damage, the true masters of the game turned out to be the Cubans, the communist threat sitting right at America's doorstep.
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Links
James Olson: https://bush.tamu.edu/faculty/jolson/
To Catch a Spy: The Art of Counterintelligence: https://amzn.to/34daODQ
Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying: https://amzn.to/3kSN25Q
Ex-CIA author takes hard look at spying in the U.S. - https://bit.ly/3iTBeP2

Ex-CIA Counterintelligence Chief James Olson: The Assault on America's Secrets

Special agents Steve Murphy & Javier Pena are the real DEA Narcos who together with the Columbian National Police (CNP), and the support of tier-one special operators from the U.S. NavySEALs and Delta Force, ended the reign of the world’s most notorious narco-terrorist, Pablo Escobar, and dismantled the infamous Medellin Cartel, one of the largest and most violent narcotics trafficking organizations in history, which at the height of its power generated $26 billion annually by smuggling 15 tons of cocaine per day into the United States. Murphy and Pena's pursuit of Pablo Escobar was recently the subject of the hit Netflix series Narcos, the first 3 seasons of which, are based on their efforts to bring the cartels in Colombia to justice. Murphy and Pena are also authors of the book "Manhunters – How We Took Down Pablo Escobar."
 
After cutting their teeth on the traffickers running in along the Texas-Mexico border and Miami, agents Pena and Murphy would be sent to the front lines of the war on drugs in Columbia, the source for 80% of the world's cocaine, to advise and help guide the country's fight to defeat the cartels and end the out-of-control violence that their reign of terror had ignited. Priority number one was taking down Pablo Escobar, the populist, charismatic head of the Medellin Cartel who also led the terrorist group known as "Los Extraditables," an alliance of the country's drug lords whose goal was to pressure the Columbian government into ending its extradition treaty with the United States, their motto being "We prefer a grave in Colombia to a prison in the United States."[

Escobar's campaign of terror made him public enemy number one, forcing him to manage his drug empire while on the run, while turning the streets of Medellin and Bogota into a warzone. Escobar formed an army of poor, teenage sicarios from the ghettos of Medellin and ordered the execution of hundreds of police, paying a $100 bounty for the murder of any member of the CNP. The devastation was total, beyond the wanton execution of cops, Escobar had green-lighted thousands of car bombings, the assassinations of presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento, and Columbia's attorney general, Carlos Mauro Hoyos Jiménez, along with the downing of a jet airliner, Avianca flight 203, placing a bomb on-board that killed all 103 passengers.

The hunt for Escobar went on for years, encompassing 15,000 raids and thousands of innocent lives, yet he continued to avoid capture, relenting to the public outcry to end the violence, the politicians that ran Columbian government signed off on a deal that saw the drug lord keep his billions and surrender to a prison specially built by Escobar himself, a thinly veiled palace nicknamed "La Catedral," where he, his lieutenants and sicarios were to spend a mere 5 years in the most luxurious jail ever constructed. 

Although the CNP, DEA, and DIJN were devastated by the deal, feeling their efforts to stem the bloodshed and bring down Escobar had been wasted, and the murder of so many left unavenged, they would eventually get a second opportunity to destroy the Medillian cartel and decapitate the head of the snake when Escobar and his people made a daring break from his gilded cage after the Columbian National Army raided the prison in an attempt to transfer Escobar to a maximum security facility after embarrassing the ruling politicians by continuing to run his narcotics empire in brutal fashion, including ordering the deaths of his rivals and personally murdering his own people, from the confines of La Catedral ... and the manhunt was back on.

Links

Steve Murphy & Javier Pena: https://www.deanarcos.com/
Manhunters: https://amzn.to/3b7Rj0Z
Pablo Escobar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Escobar

Alpha Human Solution Podcast

DEA Agents Steve Murphy & Javier Pena: The War on Narco-Terror & Pablo Escobar

Sean McFate is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington DC think tank, and a professor of strategy at The National Defense University and Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He served as a paratrooper and officer in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division under Generals Stan McChrystal and David Petraeus and was a private military contractor raising armies for U.S. interests abroad. McFate is also the author of "The New Rules of War: How America Can Win Against Russia, China, and Other Threats" (which was named a “Book of the Year” by The Economist) as well as "The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean for World Order."  He also writes military thrillers, his latest novel, High Treason, had the  #1 New York Times bestselling author James Patterson announce that: “Sean McFate just might be the next Tom Clancy, only I think he’s even better," and he's been lauded as a new Sun Tzu by the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Admiral Jim Stavridis.

In his books, "The Modern Mercenary" and "The New Rules of War," McFate makes a compelling case for the demise of state hegemony, and his treatise lays bare a disturbing reality, the world order that has existed since the end of the 30 years war and the Peace of Westphalia is in its final days as 70% of the world's nations teeter on the brink of imploding, at risk of descending into fiefdoms run by warlords, terrorists or narco-criminal mafias, in the very least these states are incredibly fragile and although many will not descend into anarchy, most will likely simmer with conflict, yet be kept from being torn asunder by competing domestic and foreign interests, a controlled chaos that Sean McFate refers to as "durable disorder."

Durable disorder is plunging the globe into a form of neo-medievalism, and a return to a free market for force rife with expeditionary conflict enterprisers and private military contractors (PMCs) that are dramatically changing the way in which conflicts are being fought, with wars of the future being waged in the shadows via mercenary armies, cyber warfare, and influence operations. 

Economic warfare, lawfare, and the weaponizing of information will all be outsourced and executed by PMCs. Furthermore, the most opportunistic expeditionary conflict entrepreneurs will fight at the behest of rogue regimes, warlords, billionaires, and corporations, as nations give up their monopoly on the use of force. Currently, even the wold's largest, most powerful, and technologically advanced military on the planet, the United States Armed Forces, can no longer go to war without the overwhelming support of PMCs. Up to 50% of U.S. military support, security, and services in Iraq were carried out by contractors, and up to 75% of military-related personnel in Afghanistan have been sourced from the private sector, a reality that would have been unthinkable just two decades earlier. 

The global war on terror, the increasing economic, political, and cultural instability of much of the world's nations, and the exponential quickening of the globe's descent into durable disorder demands that we plan, purchase, and prepare to manage conflicts and win wars with a completely new set of rules, a fresh strategy that recognizes that the wars of the last few hundred years, especially the world wars of the 20th century, are a relic of the past, and that the stealth wars of tomorrow will be ignited and exacerbated by non-state actors, and exploited by the likes of Russia and China with all sides leveraging private armies, contract warfare, and modern-day mercenaries.

Links:

Sean McFate: https://www.seanmcfate.com
The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean for World Order: https://amzn.to/32vQTyw
The New Rules of War: Victory in the Age of Durable Disorder: https://amzn.to/2RxxZ3S

Author Sean McFate: Contract Warfare, Private Armies & Mercenary Wars

Joanna Zeiger an Olympian, professional triathlete, and the 2008 Ironman 70.3 World Champion who placed 4th at the Sydney Olympics in the Triathalon. Joanna is also the founder of Race Ready Coaching where she mentors endurance athletes in running, cycling, and triathlon. Joanna earned a Ph.D. in Genetic Epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University and is the founder of the Canna Research Group, a consortium of researchers and medical professionals who study the relationship between cannabis and chronic pain. Joanna is also the author of she is the author of "The Champion Mindset, An Athlete's Guide to Mental Toughness."
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Links:
Joanna Zeiger: http://joanna-zeiger.com/
The Champion Mindset: An Athlete's Guide to Mental Toughness: https://amzn.to/2FVFrDJ
Race Ready Coaching: https://racereadycoaching.com/
The Mental Toughness (Sisu) Quiz: http://sisu.racereadycoaching.com/
Canna Research Foundation: https://cannaresearchfoundation.org/

World Champion Triathlete Joanna Zeiger:  Mental Toughness, Confidence & the Perfectionism Dilemma

Michael Kurcina is the Founder of Spotter Up, a tactical gear website that doubles as an immense resource of information, reviews, articles, and podcasts featuring former or active-duty members of the Special Operations community, master-level shooters, special agents, case officers, athletes, and outdoor enthusiasts who share their knowledge on everything from guns and ammo, to prepping and Survival, martial arts, Fitness, Nutrition, and Health. Michael is also the author of "We Fight Monsters: Wisdom And Inspiration That Speak To The Warrior's Soul."

In this episode of The Alpha Human Podcast, Lawrence Rosenberg and Michael Kurcina discuss his journey as the son of a brilliant engineer who worked with the CIA during the Vietnam War and a Vietnamese woman from a small village who left the country before the fall of Saigon to grow up in San Jose immersed in books and fighting as a kid searching for meaning. As Michael grew into a young man, he became a warrior looking for a war, fueled by violence and an intense need to test his mettle, brawling in bars and on a path to prison, he would eventually rise from being broke and jobless to reenlisting in the military at age 39, two decades after an injury ended his career with the Marines.

We delve deep into Michael's book "We Fight Monsters" a journey into his musings on what it means to be a man and face death, fear, love, war, as well as how to be free, how to dare, and how to be reborn, as seen through the eyes of his journey of self-discovery. Along the way we discuss Michael's views on why cultural elites and "intellectual doubters" seem to be bent on destroying what it means to be a man, fomenting a self-hating, weak society - why men aspire to be Gods and are often plagued by anger, and how we can use the "seeds of pain" born of the trauma wrought by violence, grief and hate to build a positive and rewarding life.

We also explore the genesis of Michael's vision for Spotter Up as a source of knowledge for those who much like himself are part Man of Action, Man of Intellect, Man of Emotion, and Man of Spirit (gunfighter, writer, warrior, and monk), and who through dedication to the Whole Man Concept of Paideia and Michael's Chessman ideal, can find their way to the top of the mountain that we all envision conquering.

Links -

https://spotterup.com/
We Fight Monsters: Wisdom and inspiration that speak to the warrior's soul - https://amzn.to/3dDCcPR

Michael Kurcina, Founder of Spotter Up - Gunfighter, Writer, Wildman, Monk

The Alpha Human Podcast features interviews with the mavericks, thought leaders, and innovators who defy conventional wisdom and shift the paradigm on how to optimize our skills, actions and mindset … those who lead the way to a better, brighter, and more powerful world to come for mankind. 

We are dedicated to sharing the unique knowledge acquired by trailblazers, high achievers, and subject-matter experts, who through insights into novel concepts, advances in the application of their craft, or for having reached a stunning level of excellence in their field, can help us move closer to realizing the apex of our potential.

Hence, our motto ... Victory Through Insight!

Lawrence Rosenberg is the host of The Alpha Human Podcast and the author of 4 books on sales, strategy, and peak performance, including 'Chase the Championship', 'Competitive Persuasion: Why Dealmakers, Closers & Negotiators Rule the World', 'The Ultimate Art of War', a unique edition of Sun Tzu’s legendary treatise that presents the master strategist’s brilliant aphorisms in stark fashion and bold relief, and 'Sell The New Gap – How to Unlock your True Value as a Sales Professional', which decodes complex consultative selling, and positions salespeople to rapidly win deals using intel and deep market insight.

Jay Feldman, Host of the Energy Balance Podcast: Is Sugar The Cure?

The Alpha Human Podcast

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