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The Protective Intelligence Fall Podcast List

While I am certainly more of a reader than a listener (to podcasts at least) I have had the honor of not only supporting the production of the Ontic Protective Intelligence Podcast over the last year but also being a guest on many podcasts.

Our podcast series has come a long way since producing our first episode in July 2020. Although I have the easy part of talking to interesting people, and in some cases, legends in the security business, it’s truly a team effort behind the scenes, with logistics, editing, and sound checks. Heck, even our bumper music was built from the ground up, much like the Ontic platform. It’s been a fun ride — and we’re just getting started.

The Ontic Protective Intelligence podcast has featured New York Times best-selling thriller writers, like Brad Thor and Jack Carr, along with protection experts like Scott Stewart, Frank Rodman, Denida Grow and Mike Trott, driving legend Tony Scotti, and technical surveillance expert Rob Kimmons. We also had the pleasure of visiting with Carol Leonnig, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, and Tom Mars, the former General Counsel at Walmart, who had some interesting things to say about leadership.

In all of my years (I wouldn’t dare share the number) in the protective intelligence industry, our guests leave our audience with a new outlook that wasn’t previously considered. They have opened our eyes to unique topics, and in some cases, serious topics like the protection for sporting events, the craft of surveillance, armored cars, polygraphs, contingency planning, snipers, situational awareness, and mass shooting analysis.

As an author, I more frequently get asked for reading lists. Adding to the one I did last year and another I did more recently for summer reading. But as more and more people turn from reading to tuning into podcasts, I figured I’d start a seasonal podcast list as well (many of which I’ve had the honor of being a guest on). Check out the list below.

  1. SPYCRAFT 101, hosted by Justin Black — Spycraft 101 features interviews with authors, historians, and former members of the military and intelligence communities who shed light on how espionage and covert operations have shaped our modern world. I joined an episode to share my personal connection and what it took to finally solve who pulled the trigger on the Cold War-era murder of an Israeli diplomat, Colonel Joe Alon.
  2. The Fearless Mindset, hosted by Mark Ledlow — Mark is the founder of Ledlow Security Group. On his podcast he interviews some of the Industry’s best and brightest to learn about the tactics and strategies they use to protect the world’s wealthiest families so you can stay safe during these unprecedented times. I joined Mark to talk about protective intelligence back in October of 2020.
  3. Danger Close, hosted by Jack Carr — Jack Carr spent 20 years as a Navy SEAL, where he served as a Team Leader, Platoon Commander, Troop Commander, Task Unit Commander and a sniper. Now, he’s a speaker and the author behind the bestselling Terminal List series. On his podcast Danger Close, Jack takes fans beyond the books with conversations from real-life warriors, tactical experts and fellow writers about the world of the Terminal List, real conflicts, gear and a ton more. I sat down with Jack to discuss some of my most high-profile cases, my early days in law enforcement, and a lot more.
  4. TenFold More Wicked, hosted by Kate Winkler Dawson — Kate goes deep on true crime. It’s a unique blending of narrative nonfiction storytelling with investigative journalism, a deep dive into the lives of victims…and killers. And how they made history.<I’ve also been on Kate’s shows in the past, helping her make sense of cold case murder investigations.

I’d encourage you all to tune in regularly, whether it be to the podcast series I’ve shared above or our own Ontic Protective Intelligence Podcast Series (a slight bias towards the latter). Whether you have worked in the protection industry for four years or forty, continue to push your thinking beyond what’s expected. After all, protection never rests.

Fred Burton