Christopher Whitcomb (on the Idaho murders)

Episode overview

Christopher Whitcomb (Broken Plea, Cold Zero, and Black) is a former FBI Hostage Rescue Team sniper, bestselling author, and national security analyst. Christopher joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up in rural New Hampshire, the winding path from teacher and speechwriter to the FBI, and the unbelievable twists of fate that shaped his storied life and career. Christopher and Dax talk about serving on the FBI's elite hostage rescue team, being at the center of historic events like Ruby Ridge and Waco, and why he decided to revisit the Idaho murders after the suspect's guilty plea. Christopher explains the psychological mindset of elite operators, how life-or-death decisions are judged long after the fact, and why pursuing the truth matters even when the official case appears closed.

Episode descriptions and transcript text can contain errors. Verify important details against the original recording.

Short transcript highlights

These brief excerpts are navigation aids selected from different points in the transcript.

1. 0:11When we have FBI agents on, boy, are they, do they not have the craziest stories?
2. 1:13:56Let me rephrase this, because there are things that I know and things that we could speculate.
3. 2:28:38And I hope you enjoyed this live performance of a fact show without any editing.