Preacher. Breacher. FBI Teacher, with Eric Robinson | Ship's Log #46
Project Candor
70 views
“I have never regretted going into an interaction with a victim, informant, or criminal, and employing curiosity.” — Eric Robinson
Episode Summary
For 12 years, Eric Robinson stood in a pulpit. For the next 24, he carried a badge. In this episode he tells Jeanne how a Baptist pastor from western New York walked into the FBI Academy having never held a gun — and spent the next two and a half decades working white-collar fraud, public corruption, counterterrorism, and crimes against children, all while serving 15 years on SWAT. The throughline that connects both lives turns out to be a single skill: getting people to talk.
It's a heavier resume than the conversation feels, and that's the point. Eric explains how agents survive the worst of the job by telling each other stories, why he treats an interrogation like a normal conversation instead of a table-slamming standoff, and how he stays self-aware enough not to believe the whole world is as dark as his caseload — “you're a bird watcher; of course you find the birds.” Along the way, he shares some of his most memorable stories: the couple who got caught making out in the middle of his sermon, the church that held services in the Lucille Ball Theater, and the confession he got just by pressing play on a pile of recorded calls that caught a boyfriend cheating.
The episode closes with Two Truths & A Lie — a protective detail for an FBI director, a great-grandfather interned in WWI for preaching in German, and two Attorney General award cases — and Eric's memoir, Irreverent: From Saving Souls to Chasing Sinners with the FBI, coming this fall. We won't tell you which headline was the lie. You'll have to listen.
Eric's Bio:
Eric Robinson spent 12 years as a Baptist pastor before trading the pulpit for a badge and giving 24 years to the FBI as a special agent, SWAT operator, and firearms instructor. He worked everything from white-collar fraud to counterterrorism — and somehow kept his humor through all of it. Now retired, he's turning those years into a memoir. Turns out the same curiosity that made him a good pastor made him even better in an interrogation room.
Eric's Links:
Website: https://preachertobreacher.com
LinkedIn: LinkedIn: eric-robinson-9220053a4
Instagram: Instagram: _eric_robinson
Book: Irreverent: From Saving Souls to Chasing Sinners with the FBI (memoir, releasing fall 2026)
Eric's Call to Action:
Follow Eric on Instagram (@_eric_robinson) for his latest content, and visit preachertobreacher.com to sign up for updates on his upcoming memoir, Irreverent.
0:00 — Cold open
0:15 — Intro
1:15 — Eric Robinson joins the conversation
2:26 — Leaving the pulpit: what to keep, what to carry
3:33 — The church in the Lucille Ball Theater
6:47 — The FBI fire hose: nothing like the training
8:22 — Five complaints: FBI shows vs. reality
10:48 — Carrying the heavy cases and staying intact
15:39 — Reading people: ministry meets interrogation
26:08 — Can people be rehabilitated? Bailing the sinking ship
30:22 — The confession he got by pressing play
33:43 — The memoir: “Irreverent”
34:02 — Two Truths & A Lie
40:35 — Inside the Jon Burge case
42:28 — Connect with Eric: preacher to breacher
43:47 — Words of wisdom: the power of curiosity
45:18 — Smooth sailing: closing
🎙️ Project Candor — Ordinary People. Unexpected Stories.
Every person has a story you’d never expect.
Hosted by Jeanne Andersen, Project Candor features honest conversations with ordinary people who have lived through extraordinary moments — stories of resilience, humor, adventure, reinvention, and unexpected turns in life.
⚓ On Project Candor you'll hear:
• Deep-dive conversations
• Human stories and life lessons
• Veterans, entrepreneurs, creators, and unsung heroes
• The signature “Two Truths and a Lie” segment
══════════════════
🌐 PROJECT CANDOR LINKS
Website:
https://projectcandor.com
🎧 Listen Everywhere:
https://projectcandor.com/listen/
⚓ Apply to Be a Guest:
https://projectcandor.com/be-a-guest/
Instagram:
Instagram: project.candor
Facebook:
Facebook: projectcandorpodcast
LinkedIn:
LinkedIn: projectcandor
══════════════════
🔔 Subscribe for new episodes and unexpected stories from everyday people.
#ProjectCandor #Storytelling #Podcast
Preacher. Breacher. FBI Teacher, with Eric Robinson | Ship's Log #46
Project Candor
70 views
“I have never regretted going into an interaction with a victim, informant, or criminal, and employing curiosity.” — Eric Robinson
Episode Summary
For 12 years, Eric Robinson stood in a pulpit. For the next 24, he carried a badge. In this episode he tells Jeanne how a Baptist pastor from western New York walked into the FBI Academy having never held a gun — and spent the next two and a half decades working white-collar fraud, public corruption, counterterrorism, and crimes against children, all while serving 15 years on SWAT. The throughline that connects both lives turns out to be a single skill: getting people to talk.
It's a heavier resume than the conversation feels, and that's the point. Eric explains how agents survive the worst of the job by telling each other stories, why he treats an interrogation like a normal conversation instead of a table-slamming standoff, and how he stays self-aware enough not to believe the whole world is as dark as his caseload — “you're a bird watcher; of course you find the birds.” Along the way, he shares some of his most memorable stories: the couple who got caught making out in the middle of his sermon, the church that held services in the Lucille Ball Theater, and the confession he got just by pressing play on a pile of recorded calls that caught a boyfriend cheating.
The episode closes with Two Truths & A Lie — a protective detail for an FBI director, a great-grandfather interned in WWI for preaching in German, and two Attorney General award cases — and Eric's memoir, Irreverent: From Saving Souls to Chasing Sinners with the FBI, coming this fall. We won't tell you which headline was the lie. You'll have to listen.
Eric's Bio:
Eric Robinson spent 12 years as a Baptist pastor before trading the pulpit for a badge and giving 24 years to the FBI as a special agent, SWAT operator, and firearms instructor. He worked everything from white-collar fraud to counterterrorism — and somehow kept his humor through all of it. Now retired, he's turning those years into a memoir. Turns out the same curiosity that made him a good pastor made him even better in an interrogation room.
Eric's Links:
Website: https://preachertobreacher.com
LinkedIn: LinkedIn: eric-robinson-9220053a4
Instagram: Instagram: _eric_robinson
Book: Irreverent: From Saving Souls to Chasing Sinners with the FBI (memoir, releasing fall 2026)
Eric's Call to Action:
Follow Eric on Instagram (@_eric_robinson) for his latest content, and visit preachertobreacher.com to sign up for updates on his upcoming memoir, Irreverent.
0:00 — Cold open
0:15 — Intro
1:15 — Eric Robinson joins the conversation
2:26 — Leaving the pulpit: what to keep, what to carry
3:33 — The church in the Lucille Ball Theater
6:47 — The FBI fire hose: nothing like the training
8:22 — Five complaints: FBI shows vs. reality
10:48 — Carrying the heavy cases and staying intact
15:39 — Reading people: ministry meets interrogation
26:08 — Can people be rehabilitated? Bailing the sinking ship
30:22 — The confession he got by pressing play
33:43 — The memoir: “Irreverent”
34:02 — Two Truths & A Lie
40:35 — Inside the Jon Burge case
42:28 — Connect with Eric: preacher to breacher
43:47 — Words of wisdom: the power of curiosity
45:18 — Smooth sailing: closing
🎙️ Project Candor — Ordinary People. Unexpected Stories.
Every person has a story you’d never expect.
Hosted by Jeanne Andersen, Project Candor features honest conversations with ordinary people who have lived through extraordinary moments — stories of resilience, humor, adventure, reinvention, and unexpected turns in life.
⚓ On Project Candor you'll hear:
• Deep-dive conversations
• Human stories and life lessons
• Veterans, entrepreneurs, creators, and unsung heroes
• The signature “Two Truths and a Lie” segment
══════════════════
🌐 PROJECT CANDOR LINKS
Website:
https://projectcandor.com
🎧 Listen Everywhere:
https://projectcandor.com/listen/
⚓ Apply to Be a Guest:
https://projectcandor.com/be-a-guest/
Instagram:
Instagram: project.candor
Facebook:
Facebook: projectcandorpodcast
LinkedIn:
LinkedIn: projectcandor
══════════════════
🔔 Subscribe for new episodes and unexpected stories from everyday people.
#ProjectCandor #Storytelling #Podcast