Show Notes
Brian Driscoll became acting director of the FBI through what he believes was a clerical error in 2025. He was then asked to hand over the names of thousands of FBI employees who worked the January 6 investigations, which would have placed their careers and safety in jeopardy. He resisted and became a legend in the bureau. Brian told Michael what pushing back cost him, and why he calls "it is what it is" the most accepted form of surrender. They discussed:
(00:00) Cold open(00:51) Becoming accidental FBI director(04:37) The illegal vetting call he failed(09:43) The request for the names of thousands of agents(18:04) From 9/11 to investigating the mob in NYC(32:22) Inside the elite Hostage Rescue Team(39:48) Lessons from elite teams: Be brilliant at the basics(49:05) How he protected the FBI(55:35) Fired with no reason given(59:44) How he led the FBI through crisis(66:48) Why standing up was worth being fired(71:41) The motorcycle journey afterward(76:56) Starting over
Sponsors:Vuori: Get 20% off your first purchase at vuori.com/TWOPCT. Exclusions apply.MacroFactor: Try MacroFactor free for 14 days in the Apple or Android app store with code TWOPCT.Lagoon: Go to lagoonsleep.com/TWOPCT and take the 60-second sleep quiz to find your perfect pillow.
Visit Two Percent, the #1 health and wellness Substack newsletter: https://www.twopct.com
Host: Michael EasterExecutive Producer: Robbie HiserMusic: The Heater ManagerGraphics: Jackie Philips
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from Two Percent with Michael Easter
Up to half of Americans say their sleep is bad, and the rules for fixing it keep piling up. Michael speaks with David Samson, an evolutionary anthropologist at the University of Toronto and author of The Sleepless Ape, about why modern people sleep longer and better than hunter-gatherers yet worry about it far more, why our body clocks are the real mismatch, top sleep myths, and which sleep advice is worth following. They discuss:
Most of us avoid anything we might fail at. Michael speaks with Dr. Marcus Elliott about Misogi, his yearly challenge with about a 50 percent chance of failure, and why we overestimate the cost of failing, the benefits of Misogi, and what the data on elite athletes still can't measure. In addition to creating the modern Misogi, Marcus founded P3, the world's top sports science lab. They discuss:
Michael speaks with Harvard evolutionary biologist Dan Lieberman, author of Fed Up. They talked about how humans didn't evolve to think about what to eat, the history of food and humans, what Dan learned trying popular diets for the book, biggest diet myths, and where Dan lands on exercise and weight loss. They covered:
A lot of us think of quitting as a path to failure. Michael speaks with Lindsay Crouse, the former New York Times writer, editor and producer, lifelong distance runner and author of The Case for Quitting, about when perseverance backfires, how to tell meaningful suffering from the pointless kind, and the signs it's time to walk away. They discuss:
Michael speaks with Tim Wu, the Columbia law professor and author of The Age of Extraction, about how media and tech platforms learned to harvest our attention, why convenience is among the most powerful forces of our time, and what the easy option can take from us. They discuss: