Every week, former fighter pilots and current entrepreneurs Neal Rickner & Mike Smith provide unfiltered insights into the biggest stories in startups, energy, and national security.
All content for Hardpoints is the property of VALOR Media Network and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Every week, former fighter pilots and current entrepreneurs Neal Rickner & Mike Smith provide unfiltered insights into the biggest stories in startups, energy, and national security.
This week on Hardpoints, Mike returns from an epic, no-internet, log-hopping backpacking trip in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, while Neal hustles through high-stakes fundraising and startup networking in Austin. The two dive into a whirlwind of hot-button issues—from Trump’s military moves in D.C., Epstein-fueled political distractions, and the looming Putin summit in Alaska, to Israel’s Gaza strategy, wildfire devastation in the West, and the dangerous heat building in the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way, they debate the future of ESG, swap takes on GPT-5, and flag a brewing Supreme Court fight over same-sex marriage. Equal parts adventure recap, unfiltered political analysis, and tech talk—this episode is as unpredictable as the news cycle itself.
Hardpoints
Every week, former fighter pilots and current entrepreneurs Neal Rickner & Mike Smith provide unfiltered insights into the biggest stories in startups, energy, and national security.
