Change Agents with Andy Stumpf

Today's guest is Zachary Levi. He famously played the title role in the NBC action series Chuck, and has been in films including Shazam!, Tangled, Harold and the Purple Crayon, American Underdog, and others. His most recent movie is a remake of the John Wayne western, Angel and the Badman, and co-stars Neal McDonough and Tommy Lee Jones. Levi is also spearheading a new film studio and artist community in Texas called Wyldwood Studios.

Video Chapters:

(00:00) Intro: Can AI Replace Human Art?

(11:28) How Hollywood Is Using AI

(18:42) Becoming an Actor & Hollywood's Broken System

(26:30) Leaving California for Texas

(31:38) Angel and the Badman & Remaking John Wayne

(39:00) Mental Health, Vulnerability & Ibogaine

(48:37) Inside Wildwood & Final Thoughts

Angel and the Bad Man trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hwFBZ6475g

Wyldwood Studios: https://wyldwood.com/

Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original

Sponsors:
Firecracker Farm
Use code IRONCLAD to get 15% off your first order at https://firecracker.farm/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mariana van Zeller is an award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker renowned for her investigative reporting on global crime and black-market networks. She was the host and executive producer of National Geographic’s Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller, which explores illicit trafficking networks worldwide. She hosted the podcast “The Hidden Third”, which looks at grey markets and stories from “the hidden third of the world.”

Her latest documentary “Super Scam Me” does a deep dive into the world of romance scams.

The Hidden Third: https://www.youtube.com/@MarianaVanZeller

Watch the Super Scam Me trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWSVmS1TTb0

Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original

Chapters

(00:00:00) Cold Open

(00:01:36) Reporting Live on 9/11 at 24

(00:10:58) Inside Muck Media: Trophies From the Underworld

(00:14:07) Embedded With Syrian Jihadis

(00:30:11) Trapped in the Niger Coup

(00:35:36) The Stories Too Dangerous to Tell

(00:42:19) Super Scam Me: Going Undercover

(00:47:03) Deepfakes & the Fake Four-Star General

(00:55:46) Why Black Markets Never Die

(01:01:50) Blindfolded by the Cartel

(01:08:42) Why CEOs Scare Her More Than Cartels

(01:14:39) Closing Thoughts

Sponsors:
Firecracker Farm
Use code IRONCLAD to get 15% off your first order at https://firecracker.farm/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brittany Butler is a novelist and former CIA targeting officer. Her latest book, The Patriot’s Daughter, is out now.

Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original

Video Chapters:

(00:00:00) From Spy to Suburbia

(00:01:32) The Patriot's Daughter: Disinformation and a Divided America

(00:13:00) Social Media, Publishing, and Staying Authentic

(00:19:22) From Pageants to the CIA: Becoming a Targeting Officer

(00:25:11) Iraq, Afghanistan, Bin Laden, and Spy Shows vs. Reality

(00:32:58) Leaving the CIA and Dating a Spy

(00:42:26) Iran: Where Things Stand and What Comes Next

(00:52:47) Writing After the CIA and Final Thoughts

Sponsors:
Firecracker Farm
Use code IRONCLAD to get 15% off your first order at https://firecracker.farm/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This interview was recorded in July. In the interview, she said, “There is a science-based history of Russia trying to develop a pneumonic plague super-weapon.” This weekend, that exact scenario may have unfolded.

This week, this story broke: "The United States is watching a case involving a laboratory worker who died at a plague research institute in Siberia, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio."

https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2026/10/05/rubio-us-watching-closely-after-death-at-russias-siberia-plague-institute/

Annie Jacobsen is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestselling author known for her research and writing on topics related to national security, defense, and intelligence.

Her investigative work has focused on some of the most secretive areas of government and includes the titles Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base, The Pentagon's Brain: An Uncensored History of DARPA, America's Top-Secret Military Research Agency, Operation Paperclip, and Nuclear War.

Her latest, Biological War: A Scenario is out now.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/783250/biological-war-by-annie-jacobsen/

Sponsors:
Firecracker Farm
Use code IRONCLAD to get 15% off your first order at https://firecracker.farm/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shane Smith the is the editor in chief of VICE News and co-founder VICE. He has spent his life reporting from some of the most dangerous places on earth, including, recently Iran.

He currently hosts the podcast Shane Smith Has Questions which is available on the Vice News YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw613M86o5o7FTxZSOHKVDMEBIucGiLFE

Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original

Sponsors:
Firecracker Farm
Use code IRONCLAD to get 15% off your first order at https://firecracker.farm/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices