Brigadier General (Ret.) Craig Nixon argues that the collapse of trust is too big for any one organization to solve. If you're building a trustworthy alternative to an ad-funded platform, this conversation is about the part of that work you can't do alone.
Craig spent twenty-nine years in the Army, commanded the 75th Ranger Regiment in Afghanistan and Iraq, and helped run the special-operations campaign that Stan McChrystal later turned into Team of Teams. His argument: progress comes from linking the people already working on different pieces of the problem.
Disclosure: Craig and Keiron co-founded the Trust Foundation together, the nonprofit where this show's work began.
The paired essay, Bring a Network to a Wicked Problem, is at https://www.sparkoftrust.com/p/bring-a-network-to-a-wicked-problem
Reach Keiron directly: keiron@sparkoftrust.com
Spark of Trust — Igniting the Trust Revolution.
Episode Timestamps:
00:00 A promise kept to the second, and work no one finishes alone
00:33 Spark Of Trust - A Spark With Craig Nixon
01:03 Meeting Brigadier General Craig Nixon: the Rangers, JSOC, and the trust apocalypse
02:35 What trust actually means, learned in the Rangers, and the tax a society pays without it
08:20 From Sarajevo's Olympics to chaos, and why AI is speeding up the fall
14:50 The crisis inside our institutions, and where public trust still holds
27:06 The best raid force ever built, and why it still wasn't winning
34:45 Why a wicked problem needs a network, not a better hierarchy
38:57 Inside the room: egos, inherited trust, and the raids that went from seventeen a month to three hundred
46:19 The boss who covers your mistakes, and the trust that has to flow both directions
50:06 Why Craig came back for another fight, and the three-question rule behind it
57:25 Building the Trust Foundation, and why success is a lagging indicator
1:04:10 The Talmud line behind the show, and what everyday people can do this week
If this conversation named something you've been feeling, share it with someone who needs it. And follow the show wherever you listen. It helps the right people find it.
Connect with Spark of Trust
https://www.youtube.com/@SparkofTrust
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sparkoftrust https://www.instagram.com/sparkoftrust/
https://www.facebook.com/sparkoftrust
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/spark-of-trust/id6807994008
https://open.spotify.com/show/3XYhVqgSkTCGMpUYiRZDAQ?si=befe38707d834864
Our guests' views are their own, shared to encourage honest conversation. They don't necessarily reflect those of Spark of Trust or the host, and nothing here is legal, financial, medical, or professional advice.
Until next time, keep being the spark that ignites the Trust Revolution.
