‘I feel more under fire running a podcast than I ever was as a marine in the military’

Kagan Dunlap says he’s targeted online by furious listeners who blast him for involving himself in veterans’ affairs on his podcast while actively serving in the military

A US Marine Corps officer claims he feels more under fire running a podcast than he ever has felt in the military. It’s all because of the number of haters on social media. Kagan Dunlap says he’s targeted online by furious listeners who blast him for involving himself in veterans’ affairs while actively serving in the military.

The 38-year-old has endured brutal military training designed to test recruits’ physical fitness and mental endurance – with a particular emphasis on resilience under stress. During four deployments, including in Korea, Japan, Iraq, Syria, he took part in extensive field operations, and operational missions, facing significant adversity.

Despite successfully completing training and enduring operational challenges, following incredibly strict protocols, Kagan admits it wasn’t enough to prepare him for the vitriol he faces online.

The hate peaked when he interviewed the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins on his podcast The Kagan Dunlap Show in June. Despite asking questions fielded from veteran listeners, he was slammed for being given the opportunity as he’s neither part of the mainstream media nor a veteran himself.

But defiant Kagan, who served as an infantry Marine for five years and now works in an administrative leadership role, has lined up a second interview.

Braced for another wave of criticism, Kagan quipped ‘nobody that did anything great didn’t get hate when they were doing it along the way’.

Kagan, from Surf City, North Carolina, US, said: “I feel more under fire from running this podcast than I ever did from my normal job in the military.

“I’ve survived tough realistic training in the Marines, which helps build up both physical and mental resilience.

“While deployed to Iraq there were numerous mortar, rocket and drone attacks in the Area of Responsibility, which is quite a sobering reminder of the inherent risks associated with the region.

“Alongside all that I, like hundreds of thousands of other members of the military, have been away from my family for long periods of time and that in itself can be tough to navigate.

“I’m proud to have the privilege to serve alongside so many incredible humans, but there’s not much you can do to support your family when you’re overseas, which can add an element of mental stress to the already stressful environment.

“Despite the decent number of experiences I’ve had, I wasn’t prepared for some of the resentment I’ve received online about the podcast, some of which have been quite excessive.

“We are supposed to be playing for the same team. The veteran and active-duty community can sometimes be a double-edged sword.

“On one side we are all our biggest supporters but on the other side we are also our own worst enemies.

“I’ve been called a paid political prop to push an agenda even though I’m simply trying to help facilitate communication.

“I know that there is currently a lot of division between people in society but I expect better from the veteran and military community because we’re supposed to be setting the example.

“A lot of people were angry after I interviewed the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Me and two friends, who work in the same space as me, were afforded the opportunity to sit down and interview him.

“I talk a lot about military and veteran-related topics. I have a large following of veterans and wanted to act as a conduit to get the answers they want. Some people in the comments were mad because content creators were interviewing the secretary and not mainstream media organizations.

“I was given the opportunity of course I’m going to say yes – it’s a great opportunity. Others were angry that we’re not veterans and were the ones interviewing him.

“Nobody cares more about active-duty service members and veterans than active-duty service members and veterans. But also nobody hates on their own community more than active-duty service members and veterans as well.

“I’m going to be interviewing the Secretary of Veterans Affairs again in September, this time just me and him. Even if I get hate for it, nobody that did anything great didn’t get hate along the way.”

Recording his first podcast episode in 2023 while deployed in Iraq, Kagan is determined to keep creating content despite backlash from some.

Kagan said: “I’ve never experienced combat personally, even though I’ve been deployed four times.

“I was in the infantry in the Marines from 2014-2019. Since then I left the infantry and my job changed to more of an administrative leadership role and also supply chain management and logistics.

“I really like getting to know people’s stories. I think that storytelling is a really big part of military culture.

“I’m sure back in the days of the Romans and the Greeks one of the big things they would do is pass down stories of comradery and heroism from generation to generation to inspire them.”

Not only does he wish to inspire others to join the military, but Kagan also wants to help veterans who’ve served.

Kagan said: “We have a vested interest in helping people get answers to questions that they have because we’re going to be veterans eventually. One of the things we can do is raise awareness on issues or situations that impact our communities as veterans and active duty as a whole.

“We can find ways to help each other when the safety nets don’t work out sometimes. If I can provide an opportunity for something that’s free they can just listen to and if I can have a positive impact then that’s huge for me, and I am grateful for the opportunity.”