POD OF WAR

HOW MAGA'S FAVORITE MILITARY INFLUENCER WEAPONIZES VULNERABILITY

- ANDREW FEDOROV

THEY ENTERED in tight formation. There was Eddie Gallagher, the alleged war criminal Navy SEAL granted clemency by President Donald Trump; Tom Satterly, the Delta Force sergeant major made famous by Black Hawk Down; Christian Craighead, the SAS soldier who led a rescue mission for hostages held by al-Shabaab in Nairobi; DJ Shipley, a second-generation SEAL who served on the prestigious Team Six. And—leading this squad of vets-turned-influencers into the launch event for Tucker Carlson’s new nicotine pouch last December—there was Shawn Ryan.

Ryan’s military exploits are less notable—a short stint as a Navy SEAL, a slightly longer career as a security contractor, both for Blackwater and the CIA. His triumphs as a podcaster, however, are significant. In October 2024, the Shawn Ryan Show hit first place on the Spotify podcast chart. He has hovered near the top ever since. Ryan has more than 4 million subscribers on YouTube—a viewership that nearly doubled last year alone.

Ryan’s style blends the deeply confessional with the darkly conspiratorial. His guests range from MAGA politicians and manosphere mainstays to UFO enthusiasts and exorcists. But the staple of his show is fellow veterans. “We're probably one of the communities that are treated the shittiest,” Ryan told an interviewee in 2023, “flushed down the toilet and forgotten.” Since it debuted on Christmas Eve in 2019, the Shawn Ryan Show has specialized in hosting special forces veterans excavating their deepest traumas. Combining a military ethos with an anti-establishment message has made his show a hit and, in certain circles, made Ryan a celebrity. “People just blow past you to try to get to him,” Shipley told me.