From Gaza to Killer Bees: Twenty Near-Death Lessons with John Spencer

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John Spencer is a retired Army officer, Urban Warfare expert, Chair of War Studies at the Madison Policy Forum and Executive Director at the Urban Warfare Institute. He’s been in some funky situations (including seven visits to Gaza), and encountered everything from terrorists to killer bees. He captures it all in his new book, Twenty Times I Almost Died: Life Lessons from the Edge of Survival. It’s a great book, funny and insightful, and you should absolutely buy it for yourself and the people in your life.

We talk about the badass bond between the IDF and the US Armed Forces, the privilege of being a pacifist, and why John might prefer his kids go to Columbia over the Naval Academy (shudder)

• Chaya Leah was also in the army… Hashem’s army

• The NY Times wants to know if John got his $7,000 from us.

• Pushing back against Jon Stewart:

John Spencer@SpencerGuard

Hi @jonstewart no, no there is not a genocide in Gaza. No those that define genocide have not decided it to be. No court or tribunal. No Israel is not trying to kill a group slowly. I've been to Gaza 7 times since October 7. Interviewed every Israeli leader in their chain of

Mario Nawfal @MarioNawfal

🇮🇱🇵🇸 Jon Stewart called Gaza a genocide. Fetterman disagrees, saying the Jewish community already lived through a real genocide. Stewart pointed to the reported deaths: roughly 1,200 Palestinians killed since the ceasefire. But Fetterman didn’t hesitate: “Yeah. That’s

9:14 PM · Aug 6, 2026 · 302K Views

823 Replies · 1.16K Reposts · 6.5K Likes

• No man steps into the same river twice

• John can’t decide what’s worse, sending his kids to Columbia, or the Naval Academy.

• Oh you don’t believe in war? How nice.

• We ask John about his life, he answers about subterranean warfare.

• A brief detour to Ukraine

• Can you teach resilience?

• Total victory? It’s possible.

• The bond between the US military and the IDF is pretty badass.

• Lies of omission are everywhere.

• Soft times create weak men.

• Children on flights are worse than some wars.