Gus Gusentine || A Navy SEAL Commander on Faith, War, and Identity

Gus Gusentine || A Navy SEAL Commander on Faith, War, and Identity

Author: Scan Media, LLC August 28, 2026 Duration: 1:15:36
A Navy SEAL commander on identity, faith, and why we fight the wars we fight.Captain Robert "Gus" Gusentine spent nearly 30 years in the Navy, commanding SEAL Team 10 and leading special operations forces from the Philippines to the Pacific. He joins Corey to talk about faith, painting, moral injury, and what it means to defend your identity without losing your soul.Calls to Action✅ Leave a rating and review: lovethepodcast.com/politicsandreligion✅ Subscribe on Substack: coreysnathan.substack.com✅ Watch and subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@politicsandreligion✅ Share this episode with someone who reads the news and someone who's given up on it.Key Takeaways:Identity is the last citadel of the soul. Gus argues that when you back someone into a corner over their identity, there's nowhere left for the conversation to go. That's why wars of religion cut so deep.Faith and religion aren't the same fight. Drawing on a mentor's line, "we never go to war over faith, we always go to war over religion," Gus distinguishes belief itself from the practice and politics built around it.Moral injury outlasts the battlefield. Gus and Corey discuss what happens when service members carry out orders that conflict with their conscience, and why caring for that wound is a command responsibility.Art forces you to see differently. Gus talks about painting as a discipline that trained his eye long before it trained his hand, and how that same habit of seeing applies to leadership and writing.About Our Guest:Captain Robert "Gus" Gusentine served nearly 30 years in the Navy, including as an exchange officer with Germany's Kamphschwimmer Company, commander of SEAL Team 10, operations chief (J3) for Special Operations Command Pacific, and commander of Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines. After retiring in 2014, he led the Strategic Leaders International course at the Naval Special Warfare Schoolhouse, teaching senior military officers and diplomats from around the world. He is also a painter and writes on Substack alongside Roger Herbert.Links and Resources:gusentineandherbert.substack.comrvgusentine-art.comHome Base Veteran and Family Care - homebase.orgConnect with usSubstack: coreysnathan.substack.comYouTube: youtube.com/@politicsandreligionInstagram, Threads, Bluesky, X, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn: @coreysnathanPartnersProud to be part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts examining what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.Clarity, charity, and conviction can live in the same room. Yes, really. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In a world where discussions about faith and government often devolve into shouting matches, Talkin‘ Politics & Religion Without Killin‘ Each Other offers a different space. This podcast from Scan Media, LLC operates on a radical idea: that we can deeply disagree on fundamental beliefs while still respecting each other as people. It’s a show built for those who feel exhausted by the performative outrage and tribal warfare that dominate news and social media, who suspect there’s more nuance to every story than the extreme voices allow. Each episode models the kind of dialogue that seems in short supply-conversations where curiosity replaces condemnation and listening is the first step, not a lost art. You’ll hear explorations of how spiritual values intersect with civic life, examinations of current events without the predictable partisan spin, and genuine attempts to understand perspectives that challenge the hosts' own. The goal isn’t to reach a bland consensus, but to prove that thoughtful, even passionate, debate doesn’t require personal animosity. If you’re looking for a podcast that tackles the subjects we’re told to avoid, but does so with humility and a commitment to civil discourse, this is that rare find. It’s for anyone who believes these conversations are too critical to be left solely to the screamers and who wants to engage with the messy, important intersections of news, religion, and spirituality without leaving their humanity at the door.
Author: Episodes: 50

Talkin‘ Politics & Religion Without Killin‘ Each Other
Podcast Episodes
Yeah, Woke 1 Was Crazy || But That Laugh Will Not Do [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:18
"Woke 1 was crazy," AOC said on national TV, and then she laughed. Corey wants to know what that laugh leaves out.This morning, Corey published a new essay on Substack about what the woke era actually cost: friendships,…