NEW EPISODE · JUNE 15, 2026 · EP 550
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Vol. V · No. 550Monday Edition
Righteous MediaSince 1776. Est. 2019

Episode 297

Reflections on 9/11: 2024 Edition

This year, as we pay respect to the 23rd anniversary of 9/11, your host and 9/11 First Responder, Paul Rieckhoff has a lot to teach us all. About what happened on that day.

The Brief

→ Four things from today’s episode
01

Why a UFC event at the White House will cost taxpayers an es. Why a UFC event at the White House will cost taxpayers an estimated $10-12M in security and overhead alone

02

"Wasteful barbaric desecration". the WBD framing for how this money could feed hungry American families instead

03

The Orbán parallel. how corruption, not ideology, ultimately toppled Hungary's strongman

04

Paul on training in MMA in the military. and why a lifelong UFC fan still calls this the bastardization of the people's house


This year, as we pay respect to the 23rd anniversary of 9/11, your host and 9/11 First Responder, Paul Rieckhoff has a lot to teach us all. About what happened on that day. About what it means. And maybe most importantly, what it will mean for the future. 9/11 was a moment that horrified the world. But in that same moment, it galvanized us. It unified us. And it helped define the trajectory of nearly everyone’s life from that point forward.

And so on this anniversary, we reflect. On where we’ve been and where we’re headed. 

Meanwhile this week, the historic and divisive presidential debate showed us all what the future might look like. For better or worse. And we’re digging into it from a uniquely independent perspective—yes, to include the Taylor Swift news. 

But also this week, just blocks from the World Trade Center site, there was another vision of the future being presented. An independent and unifying future. One we can all share in, and one that  you—as a listener of this show—are already a part of.