Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Independent Americans is a weekly news show hosted by Paul Rieckhoff. He’s a fighter, a patriot, and an independent political and media force to be reckoned with. After serving as a soldier in Iraq in 2004, Rieckhoff emerged as one of the most dynamic political and social leaders in America. In every episode, he breaks down the most important issues facing our country. And he interviews the most influential and compelling people. He’s taking on Republicans, Democrats—and everyone in between. If you’re in the angry middle, Independent Americans reminds you that you’re not alone. We’re all in this together. Join the Independent Americans movement and subscribe now. Produced by Righteous Media.
Episodes
Welcome to the first installment of our groundbreaking “Meet The 2024 Independent Candidates” series—highlighting independent candidates of all kinds, for all levels of office, from all across America.
America, meet Jared Young (@VoteJaredYoung). Jared is the independent candidate for Senate from Missouri running against Republican incumbent Senator Josh Hawley and underperforming Democrat Lucas Kunce. It’s a monumental task but h...
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The spring offensive is here. The spring offensive of news, chaos, war and misinformation. The spring offensive, attacking democracy foreign and domestic. A spring offensive before the summer storm. A storm of the century.
It’s a storm that’s sweeping across Ukraine. It’s sweeping across America. It’s sweeping across the globe. And despite the fear and the chaos and the turmoil, every once in a while there’s a glimmer of hope. A l...
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April is here. March Madness is over. UConn are champions. South Carolina are champions. But the madness isn’t stopping. The madness is just getting started.
And now, it’s REALLY getting interesting. As long predicted and examined on #IndependentAmericans, independents will determine the 2024 election. AND the future of American politics. Donors may be supporting Kennedy, but will independent voters follow? Not most. But maybe eno...
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Independent Political Strategist Bill Hillsman has masterminded some of the most effective and innovative election campaigns in the modern era. Hillsman first rocked the political world when he helped elect the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone in 1990 in one of the biggest political upsets in decades. In 1993, Hillsman took over a floundering Minneapolis mayoral campaign four weeks before election day, resulting in Sharon Sayl...
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Few people have studied America and what it means to be an American more and at a deeper level than our guest in this one. He has dedicated his life to documenting the stories of the people, the history and the cultures that have shaped us all. And as we enter what is one of the most tumultuous years of our collective lives, it’s a good moment to take a bead, catch our breaths and get some perspective.
Ken Burns (@KenBurns) returns...
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This week, it’s time for real talk. Overdue real talk. On America’s terrible withdrawal from Afghanistan. On accountability for those failures that resulted in the 13 American servicemembers dying at Abbey Gate. On the fragile independent brand. On disgraced New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez considering running as an independent (Yes, really). On newly self-proclaimed independent Robert Kennedy Jr’s latest wild pick for his VP slot. ...
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In case you missed it, newly-self-proclaimed independent RFK Jr. floated some VP names. Aaron Rodgers and Jesse Ventura. Exactly what the independent movement does NOT need.
And our Paul Rieckhoff is going to dig into why. He’ll also share the backstory behind why Kennedy’s involvement in a scheduled panel at the South By Southwest conference on independents led to its implosion. This episode was supposed to be a recording of that...
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Welcome to a special State of the Union recap special edition episode of Independent Americans.
Normally, the State of the Union address is a civics lesson, pageantry and performance. Normally, it doesn’t move the needle.
But last night was different. It was the most important SOTU in a generation. Voters were watching. Including millions who are still on the fence. And especially independent Americans.
And so was Paul Rieckhoff...
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Welcome to Independent Americans. And welcome to March.
The weather is changing. It’s warming up and spring is so close you can almost smell it. But instead you’re probably smelling something different in the air. Something a lot less pleasant. It’s a smell that’s always been pervasive in Washington, DC and also on television and the airwaves. But in the last couple of years the smell has gotten out of control. It’s everywhere. It...
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The story that remains underreported is how much Trump ISN’T getting. He’s a freight train as nominee—but still NOT getting 30%. AND, he’s continuing to struggle with moderates in his own party and especially with independents (as revealed most vividly in New Hampshire). It continues to underscore his general election weakness. Which is revealed (AND increasing) with Haley in.
And on the other side, Biden is inevitable—but failing...
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February 22, 2024 • 9 mins
This episode is a little different. It’s a quick hit episode from host Paul Rieckhoff (@PaulRieckhoff)--with a reading of his recent op-ed that appeared on Smerconish.com (co-authored with John Opdycke(@jbopdycke, the President of Open Primaries). It highlights the influence of independent voters in the New Hampshire primary, making specific note of independent’s support of candidates Nikki Haley and Dean Phillips. While neither ca...
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The Super Bowl is over and the Chiefs are the champs. MAGA is sad about that for some reason, but don’t worry they’ll have something new to be upset about soon enough. From mysterious new Russian space nukes, to Biden’s old age to another looming government shutdown. It’s a lot. And then throw Trump’s 91 felony indictments on top of that and it’s nearly impossible to keep track of.
But never fear vigilant listener, we’ve got just t...
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It’s Super Bowl week in America. And it’s a Super Bowl year of politics and national security. And as the world focuses on America’s big game, it’s also focused on America’s dysfunction. And so are we. The border deal has collapsed, funding for Ukraine and Israel is stalled, and the election division across the country is reaching peak levels of nasty and stupid. It’s an especially ugly time in America–as America again thrusts itse...
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It’s Super Bowl time in America. And 2024 is a year-long Super Bowl FOR America. Stakes have never been higher. And just like for a Super Bowl team, leaders will be the difference.
And Alex Vindman (@AVindman) has been a QB for America stepping up in the biggest moments for years now. He was thrust onto the national scene back in October of 2019 as the news was revealed that Trump had tried to shake down the then unknown President...
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The New Hampshire primary is over–and independents were a huge factor. Just as they will be in the general election in November. Who did they vote for? What do they care about? And who can appeal to them now—and in the future? And what’s next for Nikki Haley, Trump, Biden and the rest in this chaotic sprint to the summer nominating conventions?
Michael Smerconish (@Smerconish is back on IA to chop it up with Paul on all that. And, ...
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Content warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence, combat, death, sexual assault, violence against children and more.
Dorin Cohen grew up in Ashkelon, Israel and most recently lived in Kibbutz Kfar Aza with her husband, Itamar, and her two young boys, Adam and Jonathan, where they survived nearly 30 hours in their bomb shelter on October 7. Dorin has a Bachelor's degree in Law from Ono Academic College and is curren...
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Ambassador Marc Ginsberg grew up in Israel, became America’s first jewish ambassador to an Arab nation, and currently leads The Coalition for a Safer Web, a non-profit dedicated to combating cyber terrorism and extremist incitement. He’s a diplomatic powerhouse and deeply respected expert on the Middle East. Mike Novogratz grew up catholic in Virginia, served as a helicopter pilot in the US Army, was formerly President of Fortress ...
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As we head into what is almost sure to be a rocky 2024, we wanted to get you the best look ahead possible. So we brought back a fan favorite. A guest who isn’t afraid to make bold predictions. And a guest who’s smart enough to back them up. He’s a master of marketing, business, media and politics. He’s the great Prof G, Scott Galloway (@ProfGalloway), and he’s here to break down what the next few months will look like and why the m...
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2023 has been a big year for independents. And most of the time not in a good way. From Kyrsten Sinema to RFK Jr. to No Labels, 2023 was a steady succession of negative hits to the independent brand in all of the usual ways. Spoilers and grifters jumping on the bandwagon after being kicked off of all of the other wagons. Hangers on. Pretenders to the throne. Whatever you call them, we saw them all in 2023.
And yet, there was one br...
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If you’ve watched him, you love him. And you may feel like you know him. But you really don’t. In this episode, you’ll learn that the man behind the characters is even more amazing. And you’ll love him, respect him, and admire him even more. Just like the last three times he’s joined us. It’s the perfect holiday conversation. For whatever holiday you celebrate.
Yes, my friends, FESTIVUS is back!
A Festivus for the rest of us.
And...
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