The original The Protectors® podcast, established in 2019, is about resilience, reinvention, and the moments that change the direction of our lives. Hosted by retired federal agent, U.S. Army veteran (OIF 2006), author, and interviewer Dr. Jason Piccolo, the show explores what happens after service, success, failure, burnout, loss, transition, and personal transformation. Through conversations with veterans, leaders, athletes, entrepreneurs, and everyday people who chose a new path, The…
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We catch up with director William Kaufman on how he keeps his action films grounded in real tactics while still making audiences care about the people on screen. We talk New Orleans as a home base, Man Of War as his latest swing, and the teams and habits that make lower budget filmmaking hit like a bigger box office movie. Support the show Make sure to check out Jason on IG @drjasonpiccolo
We sit down with our friend Garrett to talk through a real 24-year CIA career and why it looks nothing like the movie version people expect. We also unpack what happens after retirement and how intelligence tradecraft can translate into business intelligence, networking, and travel security. Support the show Make sure to check out Jason on IG @drjasonpiccolo
We talk with Ward about moving from A-10 fighter pilot life to airline flying and then into a full-time career as a thriller author. We dig into what it takes to write authentic military fiction and how he handles the pressure of writing in the Tom Clancy Jack Ryan universe. Support the show Make sure to check out Jason on IG @drjasonpiccolo
We catch up with Doug Brunt on the leap from cybersecurity CEO to full-time author and the surprising pressures that come with building a second-act career. We also dig into his research-driven storytelling on Emmanuel Nobel and how power can erase people from history. Support the show Make sure to check out Jason on IG @drjasonpiccolo
The ticking clock. The pressure to keep sprinting like you're 30. The moment you realize your resume isn't your identity. Brad and I get into all of it — legacy as parents, discipline that shifts from external rules to internal standards, and what it actually means to build a creative career that depends on self-direction. We also get honest about fitness after 50: staying consistent, adapting,…
We dig into Royal Diamonds , the real mechanics of self-publishing, and what it takes to build a writing career from scratch. Jack's a retired Army colonel who treats writing like discipline — wide reading (Clancy, Griffin, Cussler, Carr, Taylor), professional editing, repeatable process. Then we open the hood on indie publishing as a business: LLCs, cover design, Amazon, marketing. Writing the…
After 536 conversations on Protectors, one thing keeps showing up: every guest has a moment where life demands a pivot. Not always a catastrophe, not always a dramatic turning point — but a real shift where career, identity, or purpose has to change direction. We're still bringing incredible guests, still keeping it human, but we're done glossing over the most meaningful part of the story. We dig…
Support the show Make sure to check out Jason on IG @drjasonpiccolo
• The powerful impact of peer pressure in drinking culture, especially among first responders • How alcohol addiction can become intertwined with personal identity and social connection • The physiological effects of alcohol consumption including weight gain, poor sleep, and depression • Nick's journey from losing his police career due to drinking to becoming a licensed mental health professional…
Tom Young joins the Protectors podcast to discuss his ninth novel and third World War II standalone work, "The Mapmaker," which explores the dangerous operations of the French Resistance. • The novel follows Charlotte Deneau, a French-American woman who uses her artistic skills to create maps of German positions for the Resistance • Charlotte becomes hunted by the Gestapo for her exceptional…