Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Independent Americans is a daily news and interview show hosted by Paul Rieckhoff, a former Iraq War soldier and independent political voice. Each episode breaks down major issues facing the United States and features conversations with influential people across the political spectrum. Rieckhoff takes on Republicans, Democrats, and everyone in between, speaking to listeners who feel politically unrepresented. The show is produced by Righteous Media.
Episodes
Trump folds to Putin — again. Zelensky emerges as leader of the free world. Hegseth’s “Culture war bender” and firing squad livestream stunt.
Donald Trump is in full spray-and-pray mode. One day he's threatening Iran and Cuba, the next he's cutting a diesel deal with the Kremlin and backstabbing Ukraine again. Vladimir Putin ignored Trump's latest ceasefire within hours, and the Wall Street Journal editorial board noticed. Most Americans and most American veterans still stand with Ukraine. The president does not speak for them. In this
Trump says Ukraine needs a new president. Independents say America does.
PLUS: Newsom, the 25th, and a failure of imagination by the democrats heading into the midterms.
Trump floated the idea that Ukraine needs a new president because Zelensky keeps hitting Russian oil refineries and that's driving fuel prices up. Paul Rieckhoff flips the frame: Ukraine doesn't need a new president — America does. From a creek in the Catskills, with his boys skipping rocks in the bac
Could Texas go blue? Paxton’s scandals, Trump’s war, and a Senate race Trump owns. PLUS: The pre-midterm Iran strike debate. Media Blitz Pod
Texas is still red. But Ken Paxton is a scandal-plagued candidate standing on that stage only because Donald Trump put him there — and Trump knows it. With a forever war in Iran dragging on, home heating oil hitting six dollars a gallon in the northeast, and a barrel of crude at $105, Republicans are watching their own base turn on them. Paul Rieckhoff joins Katie Phang alongside The Atlantic's Jo
IVN.US Crossover special: EXCLUSIVE - Paul Rieckhoff on the Let Vets Vote lawsuit.
Paul Rieckhoff walks his kids to their public school on primary day in New York City — and has to explain to his seven-year-old why Dad, an Iraq veteran and 9/11 first responder, isn't allowed to vote. That's the story behind the Let Vets Vote lawsuit, and in this crossover special with the Independent Voter Podcast from IVN.US, Paul sits down with Chad and Sean to lay out the full strategy. One m
Adam Kinzinger: Will Trump attack the 2026 elections? Why GOP support is finally cracking. Can Talarico flip Texas?
Adam Kinzinger is back. The former GOP congressman, Air National Guard lieutenant colonel, January 6th committee member, and founder of Country First sits down with Paul to answer the question nobody in corporate media wants to touch head-on: will Donald Trump attack the 2026 elections, and if he does, what will it actually look like? Kinzinger lays out why a blowout is the best defense against an
Hegseth, Vance, Rubio: The 2028 Pentagon primary is already on. Ukraine's brutal winter ahead. October 7th at three years. Media Blitz Pod
Pete Hegseth wasn't on the USS Abraham Lincoln when sailors were stuck at sea for more than a year, running short on rations, reporting suicide attempts, and watching supply bases get taken out by drone strikes. He showed up for the homecoming photo op. Paul Rieckhoff joins Connell McShane at News Nation to call it exactly what it is — a 2028 presidential campaign being run out of the Pentagon, wi
WTF Wednesday: Trump’s unhinged Iran speech: “Let Them Take Out Los Angeles.” Shapiro backs open primaries in PA. Indy vets Bengs, Achilles Lead in SD and ID.
President Mayhem is off the rails, and he's getting more desperate by the day. On this WTF Wednesday edition of Independent Americans, Paul Rieckhoff breaks down Trump's unhinged Iran remarks — publicly suggesting it would be "a very small price to pay" to let Iran take out Los Angeles and San Diego — and why that kind of talk about American cities can never be normalized, no matter how
Trump runs home to Alabama. GOP internal polls worse than public. Independents below 10% on Trump — the sleeping giant stirs. Media Blitz Pod
Trump is retreating to friendly turf while the ground shifts under the whole rigged two-party system. Paul Rieckhoff takes you inside a Media Blitz week — a CNN hit with Erin Burnett and a News Nation sit-down with Chris Cuomo and independent Senate candidate Seth Bodnar — to lay out what the polls, the propaganda machine, and the president's travel schedule are actually telling us one month out f
Trump's Iran war rolls on as Iraq War officially ends. Hegseth auditions for President. Paul sues New York over closed primaries. Media Blitz Pod
The last American troops have left Iraq. Donald Trump actually did what Obama and Biden wouldn't. But the present under the tree is a new, unauthorized, never-ending Iran war that most of the country opposes, 19 Americans dead since Operation Epic Fury began, carriers hung out to dry in the Gulf, and a Congress that has been steamrolled for a generation. Paul lays out the uncomfortable truth no el
Veterans Sue New York Over Closed Primaries. Hegseth Purges 20% of Generals. Iraq Ends After 20 Years — Iran Just Beginning. Media Blitz Pod
The rigged two-party system just picked a fight with the wrong people. Paul Rieckhoff and Independent Voter Project attorney Chad Peace are taking New York State to court over closed primaries that force 270,000 New York veterans — and 2.7 million nationwide — to surrender their independence just to cast a meaningful vote. It's a First Amendment fight, a constitutional fight, and a fight that star
Friday Football: Connell McShane. How to fairly cover Trump’s America on TV.
Hegseth calls the press treasonous. From Fordham to Imus to NewsNation. Preparation beats panic. And a love letter to NYC.
Pete Hegseth just labeled the press treasonous. The White House calls reporters the enemy of the state. And somewhere between the hot takes and the hate mail, working journalists still have to show up every day and tell Americans the truth. On this Friday Football edition, Pau
Let vets vote. 3.1 million New Yorkers locked out of primaries. Rieckhoff & IVA files landmark lawsuit to blow up closed primaries.
Paul Rieckhoff is on the courthouse steps in Foley Square, filing suit against the state of New York. The question in front of the court is as old as the republic and as urgent as this news cycle: does the right to vote derive from citizenship, or from joining a political party? In New York, 25.4% of the electorate — 3.1 million voters — is shut out of the primaries that actually decide most elect
Trump’s Iran quagmire meets the Midterms. Independent vets lead the charge while Democrats play catch up. Latino Voters in Texas Turning on the GOP. Media Blitz Pod
Paul Rieckhoff joins the MSNBC table with Nikki McCann Ramirez of Rolling Stone and former Harris senior advisor Mike Nellis to break down the political sucking chest wound of Trump's Iran war — and how it is bleeding into every corner of the 2026 midterms. From Texas, where Republicans are burning nine figures to defend a state that was never supposed to be competitive, to Nebraska, Kansas, South
“Why I’m Suing the State of NY.” The #1 threat to America isn’t Trump — it’s AI. OpenAI meddles with three federal sites. Iran War sucking chest wound hits GOP at the pump.
The number one threat to America isn't Donald Trump — it's AI. That's Paul Rieckhoff's argument on episode 635, and the New York Times just handed him fresh evidence: OpenAI's own technology went rogue this summer and meddled with three US government websites without the lab's knowledge. NATO, the UN, Congress, the World Bank — the institutions built to hold the line — can't keep up. Congress isn'
Will Trump’s Iran War drag down the whole GOP? Tillis, Murkowski, Collins, Rand Paul break ranks.
The Iran war isn't just a foreign policy story anymore — it's the political story that's about to reshape 2026. Trump's own base is fracturing, GOP pollsters in Iowa are quietly warning that R+15 districts are within the margin of error, and a war powers vote just came within a single vote of passing as Tillis, Murkowski, Collins, and Rand Paul crossed the aisle. Meanwhile, John Fetterman lined up
Iran’s President in NYC. Xi in DC. AI Without Guardrails.
How one independent could change everything in the senate. And the 45% of Americans nobody's talking about. Media Blitz Pod
Iran's president is on U.S. soil, giving a UN speech and taking shots at America — while Iran is actively trying to kill Americans in the region. Xi Jinping is inbound to Washington for meetings with President Trump. And at the same UN, the CEOs of OpenAI and Anthropic are
Friday Football: The collision of sports and politics with Joshua Robinson, Wall Street Journal Sports editor.
Trump and the World Cup, Iran War Blowing up F1, Congress vs Football. Plus: Why AI can’t solve chess. Ranch dressing diplomacy.
Sports may be the last thing left in American life that everyone watches at the same time. Eight of the top 10 live broadcasts last year were the NFL. That kind of reach is why politicians, presidents, luxury conglomerates, and the MAGA machine have all decided the fiel
Bob Chew: Colorado’s Independent Navy Vet taking on Hickenlooper — and the Republicans and Democrats. 52% reject the duopoly. $8T in debt and counting.
Colorado has become one of the clearest case studies in America of what happens when voters lose faith in the rigged two-party system. A mere 25% of the state is registered Democrat. 23% is Republican. The remaining 52% — a majority — reject both. Into that opening steps Bob Chew: former Navy officer on a nuclear submarine during the Cold War, engineer, entrepreneur who grew a company from four em
Hurricane Season 2026. Trump hits the UNGA. Cuba, Iran, the media—all in the path of the storm.
Zelensky brings light to NYC. TrumpTV is Here! Independents vs GOP Dark Money. Giants Crash out in LA vs the Rams. We All Bond in the Suck.
Hurricane season is here, and the biggest storm making landfall this week is Hurricane Trump. Paul Rieckhoff opens episode 630 from New York City as the UN General Assembly turns into a global stage for threats, propaganda, and pressure campaigns. From the UN
AI is THE national security issue. Is Trump gonna hit Cuba now? Is space war next?!?
Hegseth Has Been Hiding Iran Dead #s. War on the Moon? Trump Bans CNN, MSNow, Politico. Ovechkin is an Agent of Putin. UNGA Week. Ed Sheeran Speaks Out.
Paul Rieckhoff is solo from New York City with Trump, Zelensky and Netanyahu all in town for UNGA, and the news cycle already on fire. AI researchers are sounding the alarm that models are breaking containment. The Pentagon quietly undercounted Am
Trump’s Iran War a “Sucking chest wound.” Seven Republicans break on war powers. Canada to the EU. Diesel over $6. 45% of US voters now Independent. Media Blitz Pod
The Iran war has cascaded from the Strait of Hormuz to the Bab el-Mandeb to your grocery bill, and the president has two bad choices left: capitulate or escalate materially. Paul Rieckhoff runs the ground truth with a sharp panel breakdown of what's actually happening at the pump, in the Freedom Caucus, and inside a House that just adjourned two weeks early while calling itself the most productive
Is Trump losing control of everything? Massie moves on Hegseth. The Fed hikes rates. Ukraine goes all-in. Plus: Ed Sheeran walks into a buzzsaw. Media Blitz Pod
Is Trump losing control of everything? That's the through-line this week as the system starts pushing back on multiple fronts at once. Paul Rieckhoff breaks down Thomas Massie's articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — a Pentagon leader more obsessed with grooming standards and fitness optics than with getting the job done in Iran or telling Congress the truth. Inside the b
Can Ed Sheeran bring peace to the Middle East? Congress shuts down two weeks early. 19% Approval for Trump. The Iran War Grinds On. PLUS: Friday Football!
Congress has left the building — for two months. No AI legislation, no check on an Iran war the American people never signed up for, no oversight while Trump threatens Cuba, threatens Greenland, watches the Fed raise rates, and lets his son throw a Russian-funded wedding party. Trump sits at 19% approval. J.D. Vance and Pete Hegseth are already jockeying to succeed him. Republicans are scrubbing h
“They’re getting rich, you're getting screwed.” Russia feeding Iran intel to kill Americans. LSU, Lane Kiffin, and the death of College football. Media blitz pod
Russia is quietly feeding Iran the intelligence it needs to kill American service members, the munitions stockpile the administration swears is full is demonstrably empty, and the sailors on the USS Lincoln haven't seen their commander in chief set foot on the deck. Meanwhile the president's son is accepting gifts from a foreign "close friend," the attorney general is running interferenc
Polygraphs, Purges, and the Snake Pit Inside Hegseth’s Pentagon. What is the Pentagon Doing About AI?
The 60 Minutes Propaganda Machine. No Pressers Since May. with Dan Lamothe
The Pentagon has gone dark. No press conferences since May. No real embeds in an active shooting conflict. Four-star generals pushed into retirement with a short phone call and no explanation. An Army Secretary out. Polygraphs on the table. And a 60 Minutes segment that played less like accountability journalism and more l
Hegseth’s Hollowing Out Of The Pentagon. 80 Generals Purged. A Downed Jet, A $100k Missile, And A 60 Minutes Propaganda Play. Media Blitz Pod
An institution at war is being hollowed out from the inside. As many as 80 generals and admirals have been fired or had their promotions blocked. Trusted mentors with decades of combat leadership have been purged with no explanation. Key positions sit empty for months while deployments stretch to record lengths and munitions run short. Paul Rieckhoff joins MS NOW's Alicia Menendez and Pentagon rep
25 Years Later, The Truth Finally Drops. 170,000 Pages, A Seventh Bell, And Cancer Cases Tripling. If They Lied, They Should Go To Jail. Media Blitz Pod
Twenty-five years. That's how long it took for the truth about the air at Ground Zero to finally reach daylight. This week New York Mayor Zoran Mamdani released more than 170,000 pages of city records confirming what first responders, downtown residents, and Stuyvesant High School kids have known in their bodies for a generation — the air was not safe, leaders knew it, and they lied. Paul was ther
“The Worst Thing I’ve Ever Seen. And The Most Beautiful.” 9/11 - 25 Years Later With Connell McShane.
Twenty-five years later, Paul Rieckhoff finally tells his own 9/11 story in full. Sitting at Ground Zero with Fox Business correspondent Connell McShane, Paul walks through the days he'd quit his Wall Street job, linked up with fellow New York National Guardsmen, and searched the shattered bottom of the Winter Garden while truck horns signaled another possible collapse. It is the worst thing he ha
9/11 - 25 Years Later with Rob Serra. The Air Was Never Safe. Mamdani Docs Reveal What They Knew And When. Why Trump and All Politicians Should Stay Away.
Twenty-five years on, the story of 9/11 is being hijacked again — by politicians running for cover, by a president inventing himself into the rubble, and by an algorithm that feeds our kids conspiracy theories instead of history. FDNY firefighter and first-responder advocate Rob Serra returns to Independent Americans for the conversation we've had every year since this show started, and this one h
They Chose Wall Street Over The Firefighters: The Ground Zero Toxin Lie Exposed. Trump’s Prime-Time Flop Up Against The NFL. “Every Day Is Like A 9/11 For Ukraine.” Media Blitz Pod
On the week of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Paul Rieckhoff broadcasts from Lower Manhattan with the memorial lights going up over his shoulder — and a fresh wound reopened. A new report confirms what first responders, Stuyvesant students, and downtown families have said for a quarter century: city leaders knew the air was toxic and told the public it was safe anyway. They prioritized reopening th
25 Years After 9/11. Mamdani Drops Toxin Docs. “They Lied, We Died.” Plus: Mullen On Afghanistan. The Digital Dunkirk. Abbey Gate. Admiral Mike Mullen (Replay)
Standing blocks from Ground Zero on the week of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Paul Rieckhoff opens with the news dropped by New York City Mayor Mamdani: thousands of documents confirming what 9/11 first responders have known and shouted about for 25 years. The government and city leadership were not truthful about the toxins, the danger, or the risk. As a first responder himself, Paul is not surpr
“Tactical Penetration” and Rieckhoff’s Unplanned Moment on the Moment with Katy Tur. JD Vance’s Gold Star Fumble. Hegseth’s Popularity Plummets. Media Blitz Pod
Labor Day weekend, the end of one summer and the start of the most consequential fall in American politics in a generation. Paul brings you a rapid media blitz from New York — Brooklyn Bridge behind him, football season in front of him, and a country lurching into an election cycle where the rigged two-party system is asking independents to save it from itself. Only about 9% of independents approv
Republicans Run From Hegseth. Lawler Breaks Rank. Pentagon Purge Continues. The Question Slotkin Asked That Nobody's Answering. Media Blitz Pod.
One week out from the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the Pentagon is being gutted in plain sight. Pete Hegseth is on plan — arguably ahead of it — and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, one of the last circuit breakers inside the building, is gone. The USS Lincoln is limping into Thailand because the Iranians blasted our assets and the Navy can't get sailors safely home to San Diego. Republicans who privatel
Pentagon In Chaos. Driscoll Out. Promotions Frozen. Hegseth Paying Trolls On X. Plus: Independent Senate Candidates Achilles, Bengs And Bodnar On The Rise. Media Blitz Pod
The Pentagon is in open chaos and the man in charge is the reason. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll — a Ukraine hawk, a drone-defense innovator, and a close ally of JD Vance — just walked into the Oval Office, resigned to President Trump personally, and told him exactly why. Pete Hegseth has frozen flag officer promotions, is reportedly paying people inside the Pentagon to troll Americans on X, and is
Iran Ceasefire Going Nowhere. Ukraine’s Kinetic Sanctions Bleeding Russian Oil. Trump’s Weak Hand In China. With Preston Stewart (REPLAY)
Iran was supposed to be over. It isn't. The ceasefire is going nowhere, 40% of the Navy is parked in the region, the tab is past $29 billion and climbing, and new reporting suggests as much as 70% of Iran's missile capacity is still standing. Meanwhile Ukraine just took the largest drone and missile barrage of the entire war and corporate media couldn't be bothered to lead with it. Paul sits down
Admiral James Stavridis Former NATO And SOUTHCOM Commander. (Replay) Trump's Iran Roller Coaster, Masked ICE Agents In The Airport Terminals, And The Looming Cyber Tower Nobody's Watching.
The waters are rough and Americans deserve a pathfinder who can actually read the map. Admiral James Stavridis — former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, former SOUTHCOM commander, and author of 2084: A Novel of Future War — returns to Independent Americans to cut through the noise on Trump's Iran roller coaster, the redirection of masked ICE agents into airport terminals, and the looming cyber threa
General Barry McCaffrey (Replay). America Is The Bad Guy. Can Nato Survive Trump?
Plus: The Last Us Troops Leave Iraq. “Who Talks Like That?” The Four-Star General on Trump’s Greenland Threats, Davos Humiliation, and ICE Moving Like It’s Mosul.
General Barry McCaffrey has seen more war and more national security decision-making than almost anyone alive. A retired four-star, four combat tours, three Purple Hearts, veteran of the National Security Council under three administrat
Hegseth’s Culture War Is Breaking The Military. Push-Ups, Purges, And A Navy Stranded At Sea. Why Was The Army Chief Fired Days After Questioning A Kid Rock Flyby? Media Blitz Pod
Paul Rieckhoff sounded the alarm on Pete Hegseth before he was confirmed, and everything he warned about is now playing out in real time. The acting secretary of culture war is purging leaders, driving out women and Democrats, extending deployments without honor, and turning the U.S. military into a loyalty test for MAGA. The USS Lincoln has been stranded at sea for nine months. Two more destroyer
Independent Vets Surging In Idaho, Montana, Nebraska & South Dakota. Achilles Up 5 On Risch. Plus: Abbey Gate 5 Years Later: 13 Empty Seats. Zero Accountability. Media Blitz Pod
Five years after the bombing at Abbey Gate, 13 Gold Star families are still waiting for a real, bipartisan accounting of what happened during the withdrawal from Afghanistan — and of the two decades of war that led to it. Paul Rieckhoff sits down with Connell McShane on News Nation for the weekly Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Wednesday hit and refuses to let the anniversary pass as another partisan food f
Trump vs Canada. RIP Dolly Parton. Plus: Joe Cirincione. (Replay) 6,000 Warheads, Seven Minutes to Launch. Trump's Finger on the Nuclear Button.
The Cold War is over. The weapons are not. The United States and Russia still hold roughly 6,000 nuclear warheads each — most on hair-trigger alert — and one person, the president, can launch them inside seven minutes with no vice president, no secretary of defense, no Congress, no court. Paul Rieckhoff opens with the news of the moment — Trump's escalating economic war on Canada and the passing o
Rosie Perez. (Replay) The Queen of Boxing Talks Politics. Weinstein’s Reckoning. Beating Trump. Mental Health. Why Latino Voters Won’t Vote Socialist. Raise Better Boys.
Rosie Perez has spent her whole life getting back up. From a brutal childhood to an Oscar nomination, from Do the Right Thing to Birds of Prey, from AIDS activism in the Giuliani years to the front row of every big fight, she has refused to be anyone but herself. In this replay conversation, Paul sits down with the queen of boxing to talk about the Weinstein verdict as a historic reckoning, the me
Is Trump Already Stealing the Midterms? Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania in the Crosshairs. Calling Colbert to Run in South Carolina. Media Blitz Pod
Trump is not hiding the ball. He is telegraphing, in plain sight, that his number one strategic priority is dismantling the next election — because free and fair voting is the one circuit breaker his power can't survive. This episode drills into the emerging steal-the-midterms playbook aimed squarely at Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, the hypocrisy of a president attacking mail-in voting while
Hegseth Campaigns in Iowa as the USS Lincoln Rots at Sea. Trump's Crypto Show While America Burns. Data Centers: The New Third Rail. Media Blitz Pod
A Secretary of Defense stumping at a congressional campaign event in Iowa. A carrier crew stretched past the breaking point with no embedded reporters to tell the story. A crypto press conference from the White House on the same day primary voters were talking about gas prices, housing, and the Iran war. Paul Rieckhoff pulls together a week of his MSNBC, CNN, and NewsNation hits to connect the dot
EXCLUSIVE: Jesse “The Body” Ventura is Back! And Unloading! Is He Running for President? The Trumps: “A Family Of Cowards.”
The “Illegal” Iran War, His Favorite Wrestler. DJT in the WWE Hall of Fame. Hegseth, Klobachar, The Debt, USS Lincoln, Socialism’s Surge, La Casa De MSNBC. And The Indy Senate Candidates On The Cusp Of Doing What He Did.
Jesse Ventura returns to Independent Americans and does what only Jesse can do — say the quiet part loud. He rips into an illegal war in Iran that Congress refuses to vote on, a $
3 Million Independents Locked Out of Voting in Florida’s Closed Primary.
And Dems Nominated Another Socialist for Senator. And a Former Republican-turned-Dem who Can’t Win. Darline Graham Knows Nothing. Calling Stephen Colbert!
Three million independent Floridians were barred from every contest on this week's ballot. More than 640,000 of them are veterans. That is not a glitch — it is the design of a rigged two-party system that closes the books a month early and dare
Beating The Machine. Wildfires And Why Spokane Is Looking More And More Independent. With Danny Tarkenton
Independent Veteran For Spokane Prosecutor on: Open Primaries Real World Impact, 60,000 Displaced Neighbors, And What Right Looks Like. Why The Uss Lincoln Story Should Scare Every Veteran.
Spokane County spent the primary season choking on wildfire smoke — 800 structures gone, 60,000 people displaced, plumes visible from the parade route — and voters still showed up to the ballot box. In the midd
Engine 65’s 9/11: Five Floors, a Bad Knee, and a May Day That Saved Their Lives. Firefighter Al Barry Tells All.
Twenty-five years on, the loudest lesson from 9/11 is still the quietest one: appreciate every damn day. In this replay from the Independent Americans archive, Paul Rieckhoff — combat veteran, 9/11 first responder, and founder of IVA — hands the mic to his friend firefighter Rob Serra and Al Barry of Engine 65. Al walks us floor by floor up the North Tower stairwell, through the May Day at 22, thr
9/11: 25 Years Later (Replay) - Ground Zero Firsthand. “From Blue Sky Into Armageddon.” FDNY (Ret) Rich Naviasky On 9/11, Deutsche Bank, And The Illness The Job Wouldn’t Cover.
Twenty-five years on, the stories from 9/11 are the ones we cannot let calcify into a slogan. In this replay conversation, Paul sits down with retired FDNY firefighter Rich Naviasky — a Squad 18 brother, English major turned accidental fireman, and one of the countless first responders who walked from a gorgeous blue sky straight into what he calls Armageddon. Rich takes us minute by minute from h
Senator Joe Manchin & Heather Manchin. Their Plan To Break The Two-Party Machine. Why Montana Could Change Everything.
The Independent Movement's Tipping Point. How One Senate Seat And Two Or Three House Seats Are All It Takes To Break Both Parties.
For the first time on Independent Americans, Senator Joe Manchin and Heather Manchin sit down with Paul Rieckhoff to lay out exactly how they plan to break the grip of the rigged two-party system. Joe Manchin knows what one honest vote can do — he was the deciding vote
The 9/11 Kids Washington Forgot with Lila Nordstrom. 50,000 Students in the Exposure Zone.
Sent Back to School While the Fires Still Burned. Why Isn't Women's Health Covered by the 9/11 Health Program? 25 Years of Political Theater.
Twenty-five years on, Washington still frames 9/11 as a story of heroes and villains — and quietly counts on the rest of us to forget the civilians in between. Paul sits down with survivor advocate Lila Nordstrom, who was a high school junior three blocks fr
Rob Serra: 9/11 Hero On The Broken Promise. 257 FDNY Dead From 9/11 Illness.
Another Firefighter Lost 30 Minutes Ago. Why ‘Never Forget’ Became A Punchline. His 9/11 Anniversary Message: “Don't Be A Dick”. Inside The Deutsche Bank Fire. The Halloween Attack. The Illnesses Still Killing First Responders.
Rob Serra is a legendary FDNY firefighter whose first day on the job was September 11, 2001. He's spent the twenty-plus years since burying brothers, fighting his own gover
935,892 Independents Locked Out of Connecticut's Closed Primary Today. PLUS: Bankhead the Dem Montana Senate Spoiler Handing Trump Another Seat.
Most Americans checked out for August. Paul Rieckhoff didn't. From a beach house on Long Island, he cuts a fast, urgent episode to hit what the corporate media won't touch: today is primary day in Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, and Wisconsin, and across those four states 21 of 22 U.S. House races are effectively decided before November ever arrives. Connecticut is the sharpest example — the only
Hegseth On Thin Ice. Trump Family Getting Rich Off Defense Contracts While Troops Die. The MAGA Civil War Is On. Media Blitz Pod
Pete Hegseth is on thin ice, and the reason should worry every American with a family member in uniform. U.S. commanders are reportedly picking and choosing which Iranian missiles to intercept and which to let fall. Our stockpiles of Tomahawks, ATACMS, and Patriots are draining. Ukraine's civilians are dying for lack of munitions. And the response from the White House is to hunt down leakers, blam
Extremes Take the Primaries, the Middle Gets Left Behind. El-Sayed Squeaks Through in Michigan.
Democrats Drop Out in Idaho and South Dakota. Media Blitz Pod
The rigged two-party system delivered another round of primary results this week, and the pattern is impossible to miss: the extremes keep winning the nominations while roughly 44% of Americans who identify as independent get shoved further to the margins. In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed squeaked past Haley Stevens in a race that was suppos
Mamdani BOE Quietly Crushes NYC Open Primaries. Tucker, MTG & Massie’s Third Party. Al-Sayed Doesn’t Understand Weapons.
Brian Bengs—Indy Vet For Senate in South Dakota: the Dem Dropping Out & His Head-to-Head vs GOP Incumbent Rounds
The independent movement is surging — and the machine is fighting back. In episode 594, Paul Rieckhoff breaks down the biggest under-covered story of the week: Mayor Mamdani's Board of Elections quietly rejected 42,000 petitions from New Yorkers demanding open primaries, a direct sh
Dems’ Far-Left Michigan Mandani Wins. Why El-Sayed Will Struggle With Independents.
"Let's F***ing Go." Dem Drops Out in South Dakota: Brian Bengs vs Mike Rounds Is On. Two Independent Vets Win in Washington While Their County Burns.
Michigan is not Manhattan. That's the through-line of this one. The Democratic primary in Michigan handed the U.S. Senate nomination to Abdul El-Sayed, a far-left progressive in a state where roughly 17% of voters are independent and Mike
WTF WEDNESDAY: Spokane Is Burning. Ballots in the Fire Zone. Four Independent Vets on the Line.
PLUS: The Pentagon's Body Count Bookkeeping Trick. Blanche Ready to Weaponize DOJ. Democrat Spoilers in the Way in Montana, South Dakota. A Marine Vet in Tennessee Steps Up.
Spokane is burning. Three wildfires have merged into the Spokane Complex, torching more than 8,000 acres, destroying over 700 structures with a final count that could top a thousand, and forcing 65,000 people under evacuation
A Huge Primary Day for Independents. Four Indy Vets on One Ballot in Washington State. Another Trump Head Fake Iran Deal.
Plus: "Independents Aren't Real"? Kasich's Partisan Slander, Manchin's New PAC, and 45% of America Says Otherwise.
Trump says he's close to an Iran deal. He's been saying he's a week away from a Putin deal for a year and a half. Paul Rieckhoff calls the head fake for what it is, warns the media not to fall for it again, and lays out the chaos Congress is trying to jam through before its
Kasich Put On Blast: “Antiquated Views”. “All Gas, No Brain.” Trump's Iran War Tanks the Economy.
Governor John Kasich went on national TV and told Paul Rieckhoff, to his face, that independents aren't really independent — that come November they'll just go back to the bench and put the old jersey back on. Paul's response is the spine of this episode: that's an antiquated way of looking at America in 2026. Sixty percent of young people are unaffiliated. Fifty percent of veterans are unaffiliat
Trump’s Slush Fund Standoff & Blanche's Epstein Problem. Cornyn Unleashed - GOP Breaks Over Iran.
Trump's approval with independents just hit 24%. Republicans are going home to their districts and getting an earful about an unauthorized, unconstitutional, and wildly unpopular war with Iran that is now pulling in the Saudis, the Egyptians, and Iranian proxies from Iraq to Yemen. Paul Rieckhoff calls it what it is — a sucking chest wound — and lays out why Senate Republicans are finally breaking
Trump: “We’ll Beat The F—- Sh— Out of Iran”. The War Is a "Black Hole" — and Dragging Republicans Down With Him.
9/11 Families Telling Mamdani to Stay Away For 25th Anniversary Next Month. Media Blitz Pod
The Iran war is overflowing. Saudi Arabia is now actively engaged. Egypt is getting hit with drone strikes. Roughly 50,000 American sons and daughters are in harm's way — and Congress has authorized none of it. In this episode, Paul Rieckhoff broadcasts from the Huntsville, Madison County Veterans Memorial
EXCLUSIVE: The Democrat Is Out In Idaho. It’s now an I vs an R for Senate. Independent Vet Candidate Todd Achilles On The Blockbuster News.
The Iran War, Skyrocketing Prices and Jim Risch—A Really, Really Old Opponent. Like Really Old. Defending Public Lands. Independents Are Not The Spoilers. The Shuttle Trailblazer, Southern Nice and Space City Week Continues.
The Democrat is out in Idaho. That single sentence rewrites the 2026 Senate map. Independent veteran Todd Achilles is now in a one-on-one race against three-term incumbent Ji
Senate Confirms Clayton as DNI. Charlamagne tha God: America “Moonwalking” into Trump Midterm Attack.
Lindsey Graham Funeral—Zelensky in DC. The Dem Spoiler in Montana. Space City Week Continues. Media Blitz Pod
From the 100 degree shadow of the Saturn V in Huntsville, Alabama at NASA, Paul Rieckhoff delivers a no-BS field report on a week when the stakes continue to get higher. President Zelensky is in Washington, Senator Lindsey Graham laid to rest, and the bipartisan opening to finally pass a
Governor JB Pritzker. Can He/Dems Reach Independents? Trump’s Nasty WHCD Remarks, The Bears Leaving CHI, Mamdani, Open Primaries and 2028.
The Insurrection Act and The Role of Governors. How to Win Over the Other Side. WNBA All-Star Game. Rocket City, USA, NASA and Trash Pandas.
Trump is federalizing National Guard troops, threatening Chicago, New York, and LA with domestic deployments, and using the White House podium to launch personal attacks at anyone who pushes back. Governor JB Pritzker is one of the few Democrats actually figh
No Embeds, No Briefings, No Truth. “A Head for an Eye” Rubio Won’t Rule Out Hitting Civilians. Media Blitz Pod
The Secretary of State went on television and refused to rule out striking civilian targets. "A head for an eye," Marco Rubio said — boasting about sending a country back to the Stone Age. At the same time, the Pentagon has cancelled press briefings, killed reporter embeds with combat units, and gone dark on casualty numbers. Paul Rieckhoff joins Katy Tur on MS Now to lay out what that c
Reality Check Time For Trump? $95 Billion, Four Coffins, and a Stupid Rally In Georgia.
Iran Now Less Popular Than Iraq, Vietnam, Or Afghanistan. Media Blitz Pod
A president who never served is once again diminishing the cost of war — calling traumatic brain injuries "just headaches," parading a fallen soldier's family at a political rally, and standing next to a Secretary of State who openly floats a "head for an eye" doctrine against Iran. Meanwhile, MSNBC repor
Why Isn’t Barron Trump Going to Iran? The Stories of the KIA. Iran, Mali and the Saudi Nuke Deal.
Mamdani vs Netanyahu and Why The Answer to the Extreme Right Isn't the Extreme Left. Media Blitz Pod
Four young Americans are dead. The Secretary of Defense is asking Congress for more money after months of all gas, no brakes. The Saudis are quietly telling the world they don't trust Trump to neutralize Iran — so they're going to build their own bomb. And now the Washington Post reports the admini
Trump’s Iran Quagmire. Hegseth in the Hotseat. More Dead Soldiers. Again.
Another War, Another Congress That Can’t Stop It. Media Blitz Pod
Six months in and Americans already revile this war more than they came to revile Vietnam. Trump went all gas, no brakes — no declaration, no authorization, no plan — and now Pete Hegseth is on the Hill with his hat in hand asking Congress for the money he swore he didn't need. Meanwhile Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton of North Ca
Arizona Tests Trump. McCain's Revenge & More Indys than Dems in AZ.
Hegseth’s $37 Billion Ask. Three Weekend KIA Troops Identified. Media Blitz Pod.
Arizona is where the MAGA machine keeps breaking its teeth, and this episode explains why. Paul Rieckhoff files a rapid recap from inside 30 Hudson Yards after two hours in the Hegseth hearings and a night of primary results — with 34% of Arizona voters registered independent (more than Democrats), a Trump-aligned And
Testosterone Tests For The Military, Summer Smoke Storms, Diarrhea Lettuce, Water Park Injuries with Dr Vin Gupta
Dr Vin Gupta on How To Stay Healthy in Trump’s Summer of WTF.
Every six months, Paul brings in a doctor the country can actually trust. This time it's Dr. Vin Gupta — pulmonologist, ICU physician, Air Force Reserve major, and one of the sharpest independent voices on public health in America. They open with the human cost of Trump's Iran policy as a third service member's death is confirmed, then
Breaking: Two US Service Members Killed By Iran In Jordan. Quick Response Pod
Two US service members were killed and one is missing after another Iranian strike on American forces in Jordan. That brings the confirmed US KIA count to sixteen since the start of a war that Paul Rieckhoff calls unauthorized, unnecessary, and increasingly unpopular — a war Trump owns, and one the White House and the Pentagon show no sign of winding down. Two more families are getting the most de
Trump Declares War On The Midterm Elections. Trump’s Prime-Time Election Speech — And What Comes Next.
Plus: The Iran Forever War Grinds On. Hegseth’s Blue Angels “Morale ”Stunt. Quick Response Pod
Donald Trump has been telegraphing this punch for months, and now it’s landed. In a prime-time address to the nation, the president laid the groundwork to undermine free and fair elections this fall — the single greatest threat to his power. Paul Rieckhoff breaks down why this speech matters, why it wasn
“It Will Be His Case For War Against the Midterm Elections.” Rieckhoff’s Warning Before Trump’s Big Primetime Speech Tonight. Quick Response Pod.
From a smoky, humid Times Square with the Canadian wildfires blanketing the city, Paul Rieckhoff delivers a quick-response warning ahead of Trump's primetime address. His read: this isn't a State of the Union or a policy rollout. It's the same rhetorical build-up we saw before the strikes on Iran and Venezuela — a president throwing rationales at the wall to justify an attack. Except this time, th
The Low-T SECDEF? Hegseth’s Weird, New Thing. World Cup Down to Argentina and Spain. Quick Response Pod.
Pete Hegseth is running the Pentagon like a locker room. He's blocking women from the top ranks of the U.S. military while opening the door for men to get tested and juiced up on testosterone boosters. Read that sentence again. This is the state of civilian leadership at the Department of Defense in 2026, and Paul is not letting it slide past as just another weird headline. It's a window into how
Trump’s Forever War Hits Home. More Threats. And Another Ice Killing.DC Guard Extended Through 2029.
Plus: Independents Under Attack: The Fight For South Carolina. E.Jean Carroll Finally Receives Justice. United Removing Middle Seats.
Trump's forever war isn't in Venezuela or Greenland anymore. It's on the home front. National Guard deployments in Washington have been quietly extended through 2029, ICE has killed two more people during vehicle stops in a single week, and Trump is now planning a p
ICE Kills Again. Trump’s War with Iran is Back on. Again. Lindsey Graham Is Gone — Pass the Sanctions.
Plus: DOJ Issues Subpoenas for NYT Qatar Plane Coverage. Jay Z is back. World Cup Final Four. MLB Allstar Game is Something Good.
No guests today — just Paul Rieckhoff, coming to you from a brutally hot New York City with the five I's to keep you cool: independence, integrity, information, inspiration, and impact. The top story is a shock: Lindsey Graham, the 71-year-old South Carolina senator and
The Platner Post-Mortem: Rieckhoff Takes On the DNC Establishment
Paul Rieckhoff joins the roundtable to dissect the wreckage of Graham Platner's Maine Senate campaign — alongside Bangor Daily News political editor Michael Shepherd, former DNC chair Jaime Harrison, and Puck's Leigh Ann Caldwell. Paul called this one early: Platner was a ship with holes in it from the start, and progressives were so desperate for a gravelly-voiced tough guy that they were willing
The Worst Ceasefire Ever, Trump's Stumbles & the Qatar Jet.
A quick-hit media blitz — Paul Rieckhoff's back-to-back TV appearances in one place. First, on NewsNation Now, Paul unpacks Trump's expanding conflict with Iran: the worst ceasefire ever, missiles still flying, the Strait of Hormuz unsecured, and the regime controlling the tempo while our military gets sucked into what he calls a "sucking chest wound" that's dragging down the economy and
Platner Collateral Damage Continues. Iran War Overflows Again. Trump Embarrasses at NATO.
The Democrats Will Not Save You in Maine—or Anywhere. Cuba is Next. Sen Mitch McConnell is MIA. Independent is Not “a Schtick”. World Cup. And New Professional Women’s Baseball League!
Trump's forever war is expanding faster than anyone in the mainstream press is willing to say out loud. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has quietly invited more than 60 countries to a meeting framing Antifa as a tra
Platner: Out. Trump’s War: On. Chaos in Maine. Chaos in the Middle East.
Two stories broke in the same news cycle, and both are gut punches for anyone who cares about accountability. In Maine, Democratic Senate candidate and former Marine Graham Platner has withdrawn after a Nazi tattoo, ugly online history, and rape allegations from two women who went on the record. Paul was skeptical from day one — and lays out why Platner ducked every veteran interviewer who might h
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