{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The United States Department of Nerds Podcast","title":"He Was Dying… Then the Government Turned Him Into a Weapon | PorTroyal Smith – The Rogue Recordings","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/d8e580e0\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":4255,"description":"He Was Dying… Then the Government Turned Him Into a Weapon | PorTroyal Smith – The Rogue Recordings\nHe was dying.\nThen the government offered him survival.\nThe price? Becoming a weapon.\nIn this episode of The USDN Podcast, we sit down with PorTroyal Smith (Nathan Lebens), author of The Rogue Recordings, to explore a superhero saga grounded in military realism, moral ambiguity, and the true cost of power.\nFrom operating missiles in North Dakota to building a layered narrative about government-created super soldiers, PorTroyal shares the journey behind Shadowalker and Shadowar — and the question that defines the series:\nWhen survival changes who you are… are you still the hero?\nWe discuss:• Military influence in storytelling\n• Weaponized humanity\n• Power and moral consequence\n• The evolution from Shadowalker to Shadowar\n• Writing stories that deepen on a second read\n📚 Featured Works — The Rogue Recordings Series\n📘 Shadowalker (2019)\nKindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08163LFPS\nAudible:\n https://www.audible.com/pd/B0CQMDQSJY/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-380067&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_380067_rh_us\n📕 Shadowar (2025)\nKindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FWJ7K91K\nGoodreads:\n https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18185383.PorTroyal_Smith\nPower always comes with a cost.\nThe USDN Podcast — Where Indie Comics Come to Life.\n#USDN, #PorTroyalSmith, #Shadowalker, #Shadowar, #IndieAuthor, #SciFiFiction, #SuperheroBooks, #PodcastInterview, #WritingCommunity, #Storytelling, #BookPodcast","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/jK77dc0vRU6rdQe3lGzQeHxWXmC-iqPIYcsRvu3WnRw/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8xMDE0/NzI5MzBlZGRiOGQ2/MzFlNGI2NzJiMzc2/MTczOC5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}