EPISODE 111
Mike Willever of Active Self Protection,
Host of the asp podcast
Mike is a retired Special Agent from Homeland Security Investigations who also worked as a local cop back in the day. Now Mike hosts the ASP Podcast where he deep-dives critical self-defense encounters from both the civilian and public safety worlds. We compare and contrast federal and local law enforcement, and then we talk about some of the aggregate trends and lessons from the interviews he’s done since he started the podcast for Active Self Protection.
Like what we’re doing? Head over to Patreon and give us a buck for each new episode. You can also make a one-time contribution at GoFundMe.
Intro music credit Bensound.com
CLICK BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE NOW ON YOUR FAVORITE PLAYER
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS! PLEASE GO CHECK THEM OUT
Recent Episodes
Closing the Gaps: Building Competence in High Performing-Teams
In high-stakes professions, the things you don’t see can hurt you. In this episode, Mike and Jim break down how gaps and blind spots develop in training, operations, and leadership—often without anyone realizing it. They dive into cognitive load, skill decay, mismatched expectations, and why even good training pipelines struggle to produce consistent results.
Do You Trust Me? Credibility is Currency
Leadership isn’t just about direction—it’s about belief. In this episode, Mike and Jim unpack how credibility shapes a leader’s ability to influence decisions, maintain team cohesion, and drive mission success. Drawing from research, philosophy, and operational experience, they outline the behaviors that strengthen trust and the missteps that erode it.
I’m new to your podcast but listened to episode 111- I’m a woman who has been assaulted but have since learned so much through physical and mental training. Raised in an Air Force family.
Kudos to Mike the former peer counselor. Wow- I could feel his genuine emotion for the topic and wanted to say thank you to him, and men like him who are real men with a sense of morality. Far too rare.
TL