CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 1:06
Chewing tobacco, cancer risk, and chemicals in our food system
The conversation opens with Chadd’s longtime chewing tobacco habit and the broader anxiety of modern “everything will kill you” health messaging. They quickly connect mouth cancer risk to agricultural chemicals and whether organic practices would change outcomes.
- 1:06 – 3:18
Glyphosate everywhere: industrial farming’s soil damage and the slow path to regeneration
Joe and Chadd pivot to glyphosate residue—starting with California wine—and expand into how industrial agriculture sterilizes soil. Joe references Will Harris and the long, expensive process of converting to regenerative farming, including vivid soil comparisons.
- 3:18 – 8:29
City air, homelessness, and why nature feels like medicine
Chadd contrasts Austin and LA with his life on acreage in the Appalachians, describing city air and constant noise as physically stressful. The discussion turns to visible homelessness and addiction, and how quickly people acclimate to “chaotic environments.”
- 8:29 – 10:28
Rogan’s dream: a ranch studio, tactical course, and bringing guests outdoors
The two bond over the appeal of living closer to nature, and Joe shares plans to build a studio on a ranch. Chadd emphasizes the value of witnessing excellence and encourages Joe’s outdoor-oriented vision for the show.
- 10:28 – 13:22
Land Cruisers, EMP paranoia, and the appeal of older, reliable vehicles
Joe explains how he found Chadd through a vehicle reliability video and they riff on modern cars’ dependence on electronics. Chadd details his collection—Land Cruisers and late-90s diesels—framing old vehicles as both practical and joyful.
- 13:22 – 16:11
Squirrel hunting every day: dogs, breeding lines, and the joy of small-game tradition
Chadd describes squirrel hunting as his daily practice and a lifelong passion rooted in hunting with tree dogs. He explains the primal partnership, the social fun of the hunt, and how breeding and training dogs becomes a multi-decade craft.
- 16:11 – 21:27
First elk hunt setup: New Mexico tags, rifle vs bow, and modern bow tech
Chadd shares he’s heading on his first elk hunt through a veteran-supported invitation, and Joe discusses elk genetics in the Southwest. They compare rifle efficiency to bowhunting’s intimacy, then go deep on Hoyt bows and why modern compounds feel radically different.
- 21:27 – 25:04
Primitive archery, mule deer stalking, and why some animals are impossibly “wired”
The conversation shifts to longbows and the brutal learning curve compared to compound bows. Chadd recounts stalking mule deer to five yards and losing the shot through impatience, while Joe explains prey animals’ constant alertness and “jumping the string.”
- 25:04 – 30:39
Axis deer on Lanai: overpopulation, constant pressure, and hunting as practice
Joe describes hunting axis deer in Hawaii, where there are no predators and massive overpopulation drives year-round hunting pressure. They discuss how that pressure makes the deer ultra-reactive, and why the hunt becomes ideal training before elk season.
- 30:39 – 34:13
Reverse-searing steaks and living close to the land (gardens, bread, spring water)
A lighthearted cooking detour turns into practical technique as Joe coaches Chadd through reverse searing after a Traeger cook. Chadd then describes how his family sources food—homegrown vegetables, homemade bread, family-raised beef, and spring water—framing it as near off-grid resilience.
- 34:13 – 43:23
Wild game realities: raccoon, bear, trichinosis, and sharing meat with the community
They explore what small game and bear actually taste like and why preparation matters, including parasite concerns. Chadd tells vivid Virginia bear stories—Great Dismal Swamp encounters and a bear sliding down a tree—plus how he distributed bear meat to poor neighbors even though he didn’t enjoy eating it.
- 43:23 – 44:57
Yukon River 1000 and sitting with a dying mentor: confronting death up close
Chadd explains returning from a month that included a 1,000-mile unsupported Yukon River kayaking race with a paralyzed SEAL teammate and then immediately losing a mentor to death. He argues that sitting with the dying teaches priorities, humility, and a visceral understanding of life’s limits.
- 44:57 – 50:41
Death as the ‘great foe’: scripture, hospice visions, and the “death reach” phenomenon
Chadd describes reading scripture to his mentor Don Tidwell—who couldn’t read—and witnessing a striking shift in energy and peace. He recounts the mentor’s mysterious reaching behavior and a final moment of sitting upright with arms raised at death, connecting it to hospice accounts of a common “death reach.”
- 50:41 – 1:05:33
Aging, anti-aging science, and whether death is ‘fixable’
From mortality they move to biology: Joe outlines modern anti-aging approaches and the idea of treating aging like a disease. Chadd presses the philosophical question of whether there’s any ultimate solution to death, and Joe cites researchers like David Sinclair and emerging therapies.
- 1:05:33 – 1:10:47
Election and ‘the Almighty calling you’: faith as something received, not chosen
Chadd shifts into a theological claim: the doctrine of election, arguing belief is spiritually granted rather than logically selected. Joe responds with curiosity and skepticism, and the two explore how transformative faith experiences intersect with doubt, meaning, and personal calling.
- 1:10:47 – 1:14:40
From SEAL aspirant to heart surgery to the teams: early identity, grit, and the Hard Charger arc
At Joe’s request, Chadd rewinds to his origin story: an unlikely candidate who couldn’t swim, failed early fitness standards, and was medically disqualified by a large pericardial cyst. He paid for civilian heart surgery, returned to the Navy, and completed SEAL training—earning recognition for determination rather than raw talent.
- 1:14:40 – 1:20:03
Moral collapse, negligent discharge, and the beginning of conversion
Chadd describes a turbulent SEAL career arc: resentment at assignments, spiraling into destructive behavior, and a negligent discharge that nearly injured a teammate. The incident forces a reckoning and launches a chain of events leading toward spiritual searching and eventual conversion.
- 1:20:03 – 1:49:23
The ‘demon barracks’ story: prayer, olive oil, and a sudden inner transformation
Chadd recounts a week of frightening experiences in a German barracks—noises, voices, and an oppressive presence—leading him to call his Christian brother and pastor for help. After a phone prayer walk and anointing the doorframe with olive oil, he claims the environment shifted to immediate peace, which propelled him into reading Matthew and experiencing an overnight change in desires.
- 1:49:23 – 2:46:15
Faith, evidence, and big questions: Shroud of Turin, evolution, ancient history, and cosmic origins
Joe and Chadd range across the friction points between literal scripture and modern science, including evolution, the Shroud of Turin, and biblical text preservation. They also broaden into ancient mysteries—pyramids, lost knowledge, and speculative “non-human” influence—then compare religious miracles to cosmological ones like the Big Bang.
- 2:46:15 – 2:55:35
Voluntary adversity as sanity: fame, training, Yukon hardship, and closing thoughts
The episode closes by tying together meaning, discipline, and psychological health: Joe argues that physical hardship is essential for mental stability, especially under fame. Chadd agrees and reframes toughness as something trained daily and seasonally, not a permanent trait, before plugging Three of Seven Project and ending warmly.
