Award-winning Journalist Kevin Knodell joins Subject Matter Expert to unpack how a Navy fuel leak contaminated drinking water in Hawaii, detailing what residents lived through, what accountability looks like now, and how that crisis connects to the wider Pacific.

Kevin takes us on-the-water with the U.S. Coast Guard and partner nations fighting illegal fishing, how patrols work in the Pacific, and what is real and what is hype concerning Chinese aggression.

Kevin Knodell is a Hawaii-based reporter known for deep field work across the Pacific and the Middle East. He has embedded with the U.S. Coast Guard throughout the South Pacific and covered Hawaii’s military fuel water pollution crisis for Honolulu Star-Advertiser; his work highlights how decisions made far away shape daily life on the islands. He has previously written for The Daily Beast, Foreign Policy Magazine, Playboy, The Nib, Coffee or Die Magazine, Vice and others. He is the co-author of the graphic novels “Machete Squad” and “The 'Stan.”

In this episode:

• Hawaii’s Red Hill water crisis and Navy accountability

• How patrols actually work on Pacific fisheries enforcement

• How illegal fishing can be a canary-in-the-coal mine for other illegal activity

• How U.S.–China competition is impacting the world

• What it was like reporting in the Middle East

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• Read Kevin’s Reporting

New here? Welcome to Subject Matter Expert, hosted by Marty Skovlund Jr., featuring top experts across diverse and relevant fields without regard to political bias. If you're looking for an echo chamber, this isn't it!

In each episode, Marty dives deep into high-impact topics with guests who have been there, done that, offering nuanced insights and practical takeaways, while highlighting their unique stories, knowledge, and experiences.

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• ⁠Send Me: The True Story of a Mother at War⁠

• ⁠Violence of Action: The True Stories of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the War on Terror⁠

Eric Stebner is a retired U.S. Army Ranger who received a Silver Star for his actions during the Battle of Takur Ghar, also known as “Roberts Ridge.”

In a Veterans Day special, Stebner joins Subject Matter Expert for a candid conversation about courage, loss, leadership, and life after war. He gives a ground-level account of the fight on that 10,000-foot Afghan peak, remembers his best friend Bradley Crose, and reflects on the men who didn’t come home.

We also talk about the culture of the 75th Ranger Regiment before and during the Global War on Terror, what keeps soldiers alive in combat, and what it means to come home and keep leading.

Master Sergeant (Ret.) Eric Stebner is a decorated Army Ranger with a Silver Star for his actions on Takur Ghar and a long career in the 75th Ranger Regiment. He served across the Global War on Terror and later mentored the next generation of Rangers—he was my platoon sergeant when I arrived at 1st Ranger Battalion in 2006. He’s known for calm leadership under fire, a relentless focus on team over self, and for honoring fallen servicemembers like Bradley Crose through his efforts with 4VR RIP.

In this episode

• A firsthand account of Takur Ghar/Roberts Ridge

• Remembering Bradley Crose and the Rangers who fell

• Ranger culture, training, and the habits that matter in combat

• Leadership lessons from the Ranger Regiment

• Veterans Day reflections and life after service

Support Veterans

• Learn more about 4VR RIP

• Follow 4VR RIP on Instagram

New here? Welcome to Subject Matter Expert, hosted by Marty Skovlund Jr., featuring top experts across diverse and relevant fields without regard to political bias. If you're looking for an echo chamber, this isn't it!

In each episode, Marty dives deep into high-impact topics with guests who have been there, done that, offering nuanced insights and practical takeaways, while highlighting their unique stories, knowledge, and experiences.

Subscribe & Follow

• Subscribe to ⁠Subject Matter Expert on YouTube⁠

• Subscribe to ⁠Subject Matter Expert Clips on YouTube⁠

• Follow ⁠Subject Matter Expert on Instagram⁠

• Follow ⁠Marty on Instagram⁠

Buy Marty's Books

• • ⁠Send Me: The True Story of a Mother at War⁠
• • ⁠Violence of Action: The True Stories of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the War on Terror
    

Open-source intelligence (OSINT) expert Justen Charters joins Subject Matter Expert to break down how influence campaigns actually spread online and how investigators trace Chinese-aligned networks across platforms.

We get practical on dark-web scams and fraud pipelines, triaging deepfakes and coordinated campaigns in real time, geolocation verification, and cyber cases that shape the world we live in. We also hit ethics, from doxxing red lines to how new platform rules shape what evidence you can collect.

Justen Charters is the founder of Unchartered, a digital investigations and training firm specializing in uncovering hard-to-find data and identifying key risks related to individuals and organizations. He is a former journalist who is now a veteran OSINT practitioner whose career began covering ISIS and Iran before expanding into fraud, extremism, and foreign influence. He builds workflows to track malign networks across languages, platforms, and borders.

• ​Follow Justen on LinkedIn
• ​Follow Justen on X
• ​Check out Justen’s company Unchartered

New here? Welcome to Subject Matter Expert, hosted by Marty Skovlund Jr., featuring top experts across diverse and relevant fields without regard to political bias. If you're looking for an echo chamber, this isn't it!

In each episode, Marty dives deep into high-impact topics with guests who have been there, done that, offering nuanced insights and practical takeaways, while highlighting their unique stories, knowledge, and experiences.

Subscribe & Follow

• ​Subscribe to ⁠Subject Matter Expert on YouTube⁠
• ​Subscribe to ⁠Subject Matter Expert Clips on YouTube⁠
• ​Follow ⁠Subject Matter Expert on Instagram⁠
• ​Follow ⁠Marty on Instagram⁠

Buy Marty's Books

• ​⁠Send Me: The True Story of a Mother at War⁠
• ​⁠Violence of Action: The True Stories of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the War on Terror