Category: Episodes

In the midst of chaos and political turmoil, our children are facing unprecedented challenges—from ICE enforcement creating fear in schools to the dismantling of public education and lingering COVID trauma. Award-winning journalist Anya Kamenetz joins Paul Rieckhoff to expose the secret war being waged on America’s kids and offer pathways to hope, resilience, and collective action.

Paul Rieckhoff breaks down Senator Mark Kelly’s First Amendment victory over Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon’s laser debacle at El Paso airport, and why Beethoven’s Ode to Joy reminds us that hope is the oxygen of democracy.

With AG Pam Bondi testifying before Congress and shamefully defending Trump’s Epstein connections and ICE’s lawlessness, and a major US airport shut down potentially due to drones from Mexico invading Texas airspace, Paul Rieckhoff and independent veteran running for Senate in Nebraska Dan Osborn dive deep into the issues the establishment wants to ignore: the urgent demand for the full release of the Epstein files, the lack of accountability for ICE’s “dark prisons” and domestic incursions, and the “surge pricing” of groceries that is crushing American families. From the FAA halting flights in El Paso due to cartel drones to the “un-American” politicization of the Olympics by JD Vance, this episode is a masterclass in staying vigilant against chaos, corruption, the super rich and demanding transparency from those in power

<14% Detainees Have Criminal Record. Should VA Sec Collins Resign? National Strike vs Trump. Bad Bunny. Chappell Roan Stands vs Wasserman & Epstein. Lindsey Vonn & Ukraine Olympic Controversy

It’s Super Bowl Monday and Independent Americans host Paul Rieckhoff is unpacking a wild 24 hours in America—from a politically charged halftime show and Seattle’s gritty win to dangerous ICE raids, new 9/11 revelations, and the most political Olympics yet. Every episode of Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff (@PaulRieckhoff) breaks down the most important news stories and offers light to contrast the heat of other politics and news shows. It’s independent content for independent Americans in a time when trusted news, politics, inspiration, and hope are in short supply.

Trump is all gas, no brakes on this Super Bowl Friday—from posting a racist video from the White House depicting the Obama’s as apes and escalating his war on the press, to unleashing ICE’s culture of cruelty with gassed protesters, kicked‑in doors, kicked puppies and plans for giant warehouse‑style detention centers that could function as domestic black sites. In this all‑new episode of Independent Americans, Paul Rieckhoff welcomes back the iconic Rachel Maddow for a sharp, extended, urgent and surprisingly hopeful breakdown of what she calls a “mad king” moment—and why the real work now is taking away Trump’s tools of power, from the Justice Department and ICE to the Pentagon and the Insurrection Act.​ Rachel rarely does podcasts, but she does this one hosted by her old friend.

The news is flying. And we’re keeping you ahead of it. And focused on what matters most. Paul is joined by the venerable Chuck Todd—host of the Chuck Toddcast and former moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press and more— for a raw, candid, often funny kitchen-table conversation America needs right now that takes you behind the curtain on media, news and politics. They break down ICE agents leaving “death cards” with white supremacist history, detaining citizens, and now, local cops; Jeff Bezos’s gutting of the Washington Post and layoffs hitting reporters in war zones; and how billionaire power—from Bezos and Musk to Trump—is hollowing out the Fourth Estate and putting our democracy, national security, and truth itself up for sale. They also unpack the TV show Fallout’s dystopian world of bunkered elites and abandoned wastelands, and what it reveals about America’s rapidly-growing anti-corporate mood cutting across all political lines. 

Strap in! Former INDEPENDENT Minnesota Governor, pro wrestler, actor, Navy SEAL and all‑around badass Jesse “The Body” Ventura is finally on the pod—and he’s not holding anything back. In this news-making new episode of Independent Americans, Ventura joins host Paul Rieckhoff for an extended, uncensored and exclusive conversation about Trump’s ICE crackdown in Minneapolis, the raid on his own Roosevelt High School, January 6th, and why he believes America chose “the criminal over the Constitution.” He shares raw stories about his Vietnam service and his parents’ World War II heroism, explaining why that family history gives him license to call Trump’s ICE “the Gestapo” and accuse them of trampling core constitutional rights in his hometown.​

It’s only Tuesday–and this week is already on fire. From ICE stalking kids and now Haitian caregivers, to Trump openly musing about “taking over” the fall mid-term elections and flirting with the Insurrection Act, Paul kicks off this all‑new daily episode with a blistering run through the wildest news of the day: Jill Biden’s ex‑husband charged with murder, Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother, a delayed moon mission, and another massive Russian barrage on freezing Ukraine.​

This Groundhog Day 2026,Paul emerges from the cold of the weekend like the Puxatawny Phil of news in an episode 431 to barrel into the start of February and off a freezing trip to Philly that reflects a growing, nationwide fury at ICE’s abuses. He lays out why he believes ICE’s culture is rotten to the core, details ProPublica’s naming of the federal agents involved in the killing of Alex Pretti, and explains how expanding warrantless raids from Minnesota to Utah are shredding the Constitution in real time. Paul connects this crackdown to Trump’s escalating war on protest and the press, where peaceful protesters are smeared as “domestic terrorists” and “communist insurrectionists” to justify possible use of the Insurrection Act and even active-duty troops against American citizens.​