NEW EPISODE · JULY 2, 2026 · EP 565
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Vol. V · No. 565Friday Edition
Righteous MediaSince 1776. Est. 2019

Episode 475

MacFarlane Moves to the Frontlines

The 82nd Airborne deploys to Iran, Trump flashes a classified map en route to golf, and CBS's best investigative reporter jumps to independent media — signaling where democracy's last line of defense really lives.

The Brief

→ Four things from today’s episode
01

Ken Burns on why the founders would be shocked not by a stro. Ken Burns on why the founders would be shocked not by a strongman but by a Congress that abdicated Article I

02

The Wounded Knee medals reversal and what Burns calls "obvio. The Wounded Knee medals reversal and what Burns calls "obvious racist editing" of American history

03

Renaming forts back to Confederate generals. traitors, in Burns' words — and the cost of that message

04

Baseball as a barometer of America. immigration, Jackie Robinson, and why every player wears 42 on April 15



Scott MacFarlane. 82nd Airborne Heads to Iran. Trump Shows Classified Map En Route To Golf. Bannon Calls Ice-Airport Ops Election Test. CBS to Meidas – A Massive Message to the Media. Mullin In at DHS. Meta Fined $375m Over Kids’ Safety. MLB Opening Day.

On opening day of baseball, Independent Americans host Paul Rieckhoff breaks down Trump’s expanding forever war in Iran, new deployments of the 82nd Airborne, and the rising human cost most politicians and media are ignoring. From troops headed into combat zones to ICE crackdowns at airports, Russia’s latest massive drone and missile barrage against Ukraine, tech companies exploiting kids, and a shameless candidate joking about veteran suicide, Paul connects the dots on how Trump’s culture war at home and forever war abroad are making America less safe—and why this is a time to stay vigilant.​

Then, one of the best investigative reporters in America, Scott MacFarlane, returns with breaking insight on January 6th cases, new revelations about Trump allegedly showing a classified map en route to Mar-a-Lago, and what his headline-making move from CBS News to Meidas Touch Network really says about the future of media and democracy. Scott and Paul dig into why independent, enterprising journalism is the last line of defense against disinformation, how legacy TV is collapsing while independent media explodes, and what it means for all of us heading into an election year, a growing war, and a season of political violence risk.