{"id":6076,"date":"2026-04-16T23:28:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T23:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/hegseths-pulp-fiction-prayer-rfk-jrs-raccoon-penis-with-the-bulwarks-john-avlon\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T23:28:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T23:28:15","slug":"hegseths-pulp-fiction-prayer-rfk-jrs-raccoon-penis-with-the-bulwarks-john-avlon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/hegseths-pulp-fiction-prayer-rfk-jrs-raccoon-penis-with-the-bulwarks-john-avlon\/","title":{"rendered":"Hegseth\u2019s Pulp Fiction Prayer. RFK Jr\u2019s Raccoon Penis. with the Bulwark\u2019s John Avlon."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=\" width=\"100%\" height=\"210\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><b>GOP Blocks War Powers Vote Again. Will Dems Blow It? Independent\u2019s Opportunity. Stock Market Soars. More Boat Strikes. Mamdani Cancels NYC Vets Parade. Queen Latifah: UNITY. <\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Independent Americans host Paul Rieckhoff sits down with journalist, author, and former CNN anchor and Daily Beast Editor John Avlon\u2014now with The Bulwark\u2014 for a fast, insightful, and hopeful conversation about how to fix American politics\u2014before it breaks us. From Iran and the spiraling Middle East crisis, to Trump\u2019s second term, to the Democrats\u2019 brand problem, Avlon brings his \u201cHow to Fix It\u201d mindset to moderates, independents, veterans, and frustrated voters who are tired of the bullshit and hungry for reality-based solutions. They dig into the rise of independent voters, the weakness of the Democrat brand, the failure of both parties to provide real leadership, the dangers of performative extremism, and what Teddy Roosevelt\u2019s \u201cman in the arena\u201d can teach us about citizenship, courage, and showing up in 2026 and 2028.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>They also get personal. Avlon opens up about running for Congress on Long Island, what he learned knocking on doors as a Democrat in a purple district, and why he still believes in persuasion politics in an age of rage clicks and echo chambers. He talks about raising kids in a deeply political household, the strain and purpose of public service, and how patriots can reclaim words like \u201cfreedom\u201d and \u201cdemocracy\u201d from the extremes. If you\u2019re an independent, a disillusioned Democrat or Republican, or just someone trying to stay informed without losing your mind, this episode will give you information, inspiration, and impact\u2014and help you stay vigilant.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-WATCH <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/uuZdMyoh5bo\"><span>full video of this episode here<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Join <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentveteransofamerica.org\/no-more-forever-wars\/\"><span>IVA and stand up to Trump\u2019s Forever Wars<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Learn more about Paul\u2019s work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentveteransofamerica.org\/\"><span>Independent Veterans of America<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Learn more about <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/americanveteransforukraine.org\/\"><span>American Veterans for Ukraine here<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Remember <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/do8wjRtDZJ4?feature=share\"><span>Independent is an Attitude<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Learn more about<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/theheadstrongproject.org\/\"><span> The Headstrong Project <\/span><\/a><span>for Veterans, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.taps.org\/\"><span>Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)<\/span><\/a><span>, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.va.gov\/health-care\/health-needs-conditions\/mental-health\/\"><span>Department of Veterans Affairs resources in your area<\/span><\/a><span>. Seeking support is not a sign of weakness. It\u2019s a show of strength. <\/span><span>If you or a loved one are in immediate crisis, dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Connect with Independent Americans:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>Subscribe on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@independentamericans\"><span>YouTube<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0F1lzdRbTB0XYen8kyEqXe\"><span>Spotify<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\/id1457899667\"><span>Apple Podcasts<\/span><\/a><span>, and all podcast platforms<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Read more at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentamericans.substack.com\"> <span>Substack<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>Support ad-free episodes at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/independentamericans\"> <span>Patreon<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Connect: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\"><span>Instagram<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0 \u2022 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/indy_americans\"><span>X\/Twitter<\/span><\/a><span> \u2022 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/indyamericans.bsky.social\"><span>BlueSky<\/span><\/a><span> \u2022 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>Follow on social: @PaulRieckhoff on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PaulRieckhoff\"><span>X<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/paulrieckhoff\/\"><span>Instagram<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.com\/@paulrieckhoff\"><span>Threads<\/span><\/a><span>, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/rieckhoff.bsky.social\"><span>Bluesky<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8211;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/independentamericans\/posts\"><span>Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community<\/span><\/a><span> of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8211;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentamericans.us\/merch\/\"><span>And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch<\/span><\/a><span> now in time for the new year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/righteous.us\/\"><span>Righteous Media<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And now part of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bleav.com\/shows\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\/\"><span>the BLEAV network<\/span><\/a><span>!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href=\"https:\/\/pcm.adswizz.com\">pcm.adswizz.com<\/a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Independent Americans host Paul Rieckhoff sits down with journalist, author, and former CNN anchor and Daily Beast Editor John Avlon\u2014now with The Bulwark\u2014 for a fast, insightful, and hopeful conversation about how to fix American politics\u2014before it breaks us. From Iran and the spiraling Middle East crisis, to Trump\u2019s second term, to the Democrats\u2019 brand problem, Avlon brings his \u201cHow to Fix It\u201d mindset to moderates, independents, veterans, and frustrated voters who are tired of the bullshit and hungry for reality-based solutions. They dig into the rise of independent voters, the weakness of the Democrat brand, the failure of both parties to provide real leadership, the dangers of performative extremism, and what Teddy Roosevelt\u2019s \u201cman in the arena\u201d can teach us about citizenship, courage, and showing up in 2026 and 2028.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6077,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-episodes","entry"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ia-promo-square-ep494.jpg",1400,1400,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ia-promo-square-ep494.jpg",1400,1400,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ia-promo-square-ep494.jpg",1400,1400,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ia-promo-square-ep494-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ia-promo-square-ep494-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ia-promo-square-ep494-1024x1024.jpg",750,750,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ia-promo-square-ep494.jpg",1400,1400,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ia-promo-square-ep494.jpg",1400,1400,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ia-promo-square-ep494.jpg",1400,1400,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/author\/admin\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/category\/episodes\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Episodes<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Independent Americans host Paul Rieckhoff sits down with journalist, author, and former CNN anchor and Daily Beast Editor John Avlon\u2014now with The Bulwark\u2014 for a fast, insightful, and hopeful conversation about how to fix American politics\u2014before it breaks us. From Iran and the spiraling Middle East crisis, to Trump\u2019s second term, to the Democrats\u2019 brand&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}