Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff

Independent Americans host Paul Rieckhoff has been to both conventions for the last twenty years. And for a political nerd and activist like him, they’re always fascinating, sometimes fun, occasionally frightening, frequently historic, and often frustrating. Especially since they’re dominated by the rich, the powerful, and the connected. And especially now—as 51% of the country is not a Democrat o...

Democrats are feeling hopeful right now. And hope is contagious. Americans love hope. We saw that in massive ways in and around the Olympics. We see it at the start of the new school year. The beginning of the new football season. Fall is actually a time of hope. And the hope is contagious right now. But hope is not a course of action. Hope is not a plan. But it is cool. And a lot cooler than weir...

Last week we said we were going to take off this week to get some much needed R&R. 2024 was having none of it. In the span of the last week we’ve had a month's worth of news, crises and developments. From Trump’s abysmal performance at the NABJ conference to a story so bizarre you have to hear it straight from the source to believe it, the news won’t quit. So we won’t either. And oh yeah, by the w...

Welcome back, America. Welcome back to the hottest summer on record. Literally and figuratively. The planet is on fire, our politics are on fire and we’re only getting started. And because of that reason, we’re going to do something we haven’t done since we started Righteous Media and all of the offshoot projects we’ve created along the way. We’re going to take a break. We’re going to shut it down...

Welcome back to our groundbreaking “Meet The 2024 Independent Candidates” series—highlighting independent candidates of all kinds, for all levels of office, from all across America. So far in the series we’ve met Dan Osborn , Shelane Etchison , Jared Young , Marcus Carter and Kodi Sawin .  They all represent the true independent spirit. And we’ve got another great one for you in this episode.  Ame...

Former President Trump narrowly avoided an assassin's bullet. America is on edge. And it feels like we’re all dodging news bullets every day. These are incomparably trying times in America, many are divided, and everyone is concerned. Biden’s campaign continues to disintegrate—and so does international confidence in US leadership and American morale. The most important, most violent and most divis...

Monday morning, in advance of the NATO Summit in Washington DC, Russian missiles ferociously tore through a children’s cancer hospital in Kyiv-sending a brutal reminder to the world. Russia is not sparing anyone. Putin is proceeding to murder innocent children while the world watches. This is why veterans recently started American Veterans for Ukraine and it’s why so many other people have felt th...

In the wake of a catastrophic and nationally demoralizing presidential debate last week, and in advance of July 4th, Independent Veterans of America (IVA) announced its formation with an urgent mission to organize and elect independent veterans to public office across America. The organization is the first in American history to focus specifically on recruiting and electing independent and unaffil...

School is finally out in schools nationwide. The NBA Finals and Stanley Cup are over. Summer is heating up. The war in Ukraine continues. The 2024 election is about to hit a whole new level. And the first presidential debate is here. Strap in, folks. It’s gonna be a doozy.  Your host Paul Rieckhoff ( @PaulRieckhoff ) rips into all of it in this all new episode of Independent Americans . And, digs...

Five years ago, almost to the exact day, Wes Moore came on a new upstart podcast and talked about what made him angry. Specifically, he talked about marijuana laws and how they disproportionately impacted communities of color. These laws ruined a lot of people’s lives over the years. And they made a lot of people angry. But Wes stepped up. Since he was elected as The Governor of Maryland last year...

Willie Geist ( @WillieGeist ) is America’s cool dad. Hosting Morning Joe on MSNBC all week and hosting his own hugely popular Sunday TODAY show on NBC on the weekends. He’s also a devoted husband and dad. He joins us for a Father’s Day special to talk candidly about how he does both so well. He's a leader that America trusts. And we’re gonna need him as we launch deeper into the most insane electi...

Summer is here. And it’s getting hot. In America, around the world, and in our politics. And we’re not afraid of some heat. From the Trump verdict to Menendez and Manchin claiming independence to poop balloons. Yes, poop balloons. It’s already a wild summer.  America, meet Marcus Carter ( @MarcusCarter4FL ). He’s running for Congress in Florida’s 9th District and is up against incumbent Democrat D...

Last week you heard from Bonnie Carroll about her work with host Paul Rieckhoff to create the American Veterans for Ukraine organization. Immediately after recording that show, in advance of Memorial Day, at a historic event at Ukraine House in Washington, D.C., five leading voices from the American veterans community formally announced the formation of a groundbreaking new veterans organization f...

Another Memorial Day is upon us. A reminder of all those we’ve lost. And, a reminder that no matter how high the stakes, no matter how challenging the odds, as the allied forces showed us on D-Day and throughout WW2, and as generations of American service members throughout other points in history, the underdog can win.  The underdog can come back. And win. We should also keep that in mind when it...

This episode we’re headed down south to Texas. America, meet Kodi Sawin ( @KodiforTexas ). She’s running for the Texas House of Representatives in the 19th district and is up against some stiff competition. But her common sense, no nonsense approach might just have what it takes to win as an independent in deep red (but always independent) Texas. Welcome back to our groundbreaking “Meet The 2024 I...

Welcome back to our groundbreaking “Meet The 2024 Independent Candidates” series—highlighting independent candidates of all kinds, for all levels of office, from all across America. In our second episode in the series we met Shelane Etchison , our first independent VETERAN candidate.  This episode we have another veteran. America, meet inspiring union organizer and INDEPENDENT Navy veteran, Dan Os...

Welcome back to our groundbreaking “Meet The 2024 Independent Candidates” series—highlighting independent candidates of all kinds, for all levels of office, from all across America. In our second episode in the series, following independent Jared Young running for Senate in Missouri , we have our first independent VETERAN candidate.  Meet inspiring combat veteran, Shelane Etchison ( @ShelaneEtchis...

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 Luca...

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 w...

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 vot...

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 ele...

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 perspec...

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...

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 w...

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 Am...