Independent Americans   ·   Media Kit No. 01 · Q2 2026
The Righteous Media Network · For Brand & Performance Buyers

The podcast for the 62% of Americans who reject both parties' extremes.

Hosted by Paul Rieckhoff — combat veteran, national security expert, founder of IAVA, and a regular contributor on MS NOW, CNN, and NewsNation. A daily show that's grown +48% in the last four weeks to 113,000 monthly downloads, with a listener base that over-indexes heavily on veterans, law enforcement, and first responders. This kit walks you through the audience, the numbers, and what a flight looks like.

Monthly downloads
113K
Simplecast · verified
News podcast chart peak
#13
Apple Podcasts news charts
4-week growth
+48%
Mar 23 → Apr 13
Vet / LEO / FR share
45%
Listener self-survey
Host social reach
200K+
X · IG · Threads · LI
Catalog
499
Episodes to date
01

The host.

Paul Rieckhoff

Combat Veteran · National Security Expert · Founder of IAVA · MS NOW · CNN · NewsNation Contributor · Host & Founder of Independent Americans.

  • Combat veteran. First Lieutenant, U.S. Army / National Guard — infantry platoon leader in Baghdad, Operation Iraqi Freedom.
  • National security expert. Regular commentator on foreign affairs, defense, and veterans policy across national television, radio, and print.
  • Founder & former CEO of IAVA (Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America) — the largest post-9/11 veteran advocacy organization in the country. 400,000+ members, chartered by Congress.
  • Regular contributor on MS NOW, CNN, and NewsNation. Frequent guest on Morning Joe, Deadline White House, PBS NewsHour, and Katy Tur Reports.
  • Author, Chasing Ghosts (Penguin, NYT bestseller). Opinion writer for WSJ, NYT, WaPo, The Atlantic.
  • Named one of The Hill's Top Lobbyists for his work advocating for veterans and national security policy on Capitol Hill.
  • Founder, Righteous Media — parent network to Independent Americans, IVA, AVU, and Operation Liberty. Named to TIME 100 Most Influential Pioneers.
Recent Press & TV
MS NOW · CNN · NewsNation · PBS NewsHour · NYT · WSJ · The Atlantic · Morning Joe · Deadline White House · The Bulwark · Katy Tur Reports
Military & Civic Credentials
Army Commendation Medal · OIF combat service · IAVA founder (400K+ members) · Annual host of The Cabinet for Army–Navy Game
02

The audience.

Our listeners self-survey at 45% veteran, law enforcement, or first responder — roughly 7–8x the podcast industry average for this segment. Independent-leaning, high-HHI, battleground-state concentrated.

Composition
Vet / LEO / FR 45%
Age 25–54 62%
College+ 68%
Male 54%
US-Based 95%
Median HHI $95K

Age / HHI / education / gender from listener self-survey; veteran share from explicit survey question. Verification against host analytics pending.

Geographic Concentration
New York CityMedia / Finance
DC metroPolicy / Veterans / NatSec
Los AngelesMedia / Culture
PhiladelphiaPA Battleground
Fayetteville, NCFt Liberty / Bragg
San Diego, CANavy / Marines
Colorado SpringsAir / Space Force
Norfolk, VANavy East Coast

Above-average index in AZ · GA · MI · NV · NC · PA · WI — all seven core 2026 battleground states.

03

A show in momentum.

Weekly downloads have grown ~50% in the last four full reporting weeks. For Q2 ad buyers, this is a buy-now window — lock in before CPM catches up to audience.

Weekly Download Velocity
All episodes combined · four most recent full weeks · source: Simplecast
Starting Week
2026-03-23
25,896 downloads
Peak Week
2026-04-13
38,199 downloads
Momentum
+48%
Four full weeks, organic
04

YouTube — a second front door.

Every episode also publishes on @independentamericans on YouTube — full video, clips, and guest interviews. 500 videos shipped in the last 5 months. Views grew +347% January to March, peaking at 562K in March alone. Sponsor reads travel across both the audio podcast and the YouTube feed at no incremental cost.

Views · last 5 mo
1.19M
2.34M impressions
Watch hours
30.5K
~3.5 years total
Subscriber growth · 5 mo
+277%
3.4K → 12.9K subscribers
CTR
4.65%
Above 4% YT benchmark
The episode multiplier. Full-length guest episodes are 10% of uploads but drive 73% of YouTube watch hours. A single marquee interview (Ventura, Maddow) generates 6–10K hours and 850–970 subscribers each. Your sponsor read on one of these episodes travels further than almost anything else on the channel — which is why the premium package prioritizes host-integrated reads on those drops.
05

One host, five distribution channels.

When Paul reads your ad on IA, that's 113K monthly downloads. When he posts about your brand, that's another 200K+ of his personal social reach. When he's on MS NOW, CNN, or NewsNation talking to something adjacent to your category — that's national cable distribution most buyers can't afford to buy directly.

Combined confirmed social reach
201,310
Verified via public profiles · 2026-04-23
IAVA community
400,000+
Veterans and military families in the IAVA member base Paul founded
06

The guests.

A sampling from the American Icons playlist. When a brand sponsors IA, your ad runs adjacent to conversations with this caliber of guest — the Venn diagram of who the audience trusts and who Paul can get on the mic is the real asset.

Politics & Policy

Gov. Wes MooreGovernor of Maryland · Combat veteran
Sen. Angus KingU.S. Senate · Maine (I)
Pete ButtigiegFmr Secretary of Transportation
Michael SteeleFmr RNC Chair · Fmr LG Maryland
Chuck HagelFmr Secretary of Defense · Vietnam vet
Meghan McCainPolitical commentator
Andrew YangFounder, Forward Party

Media & Journalism

Rachel MaddowMS NOW · Anchor & author
Katy TurMS NOW · Katy Tur Reports
John AvlonThe Bulwark · fmr CNN anchor
Barbara StarrNational security correspondent
Connell McShaneAnchor & journalist
Kevin BaronDefense One · natsec editor

🎖 Military Leaders & Medal of Honor

Adm. James StavridisFmr Supreme Allied Commander Europe
Gen. David PetraeusFmr CENTCOM · Fmr CIA Director
Adm. Bill McRavenFmr SOCOM · led Bin Laden raid
Adm. Mike MullenFmr Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Gen. Barry McCaffreyU.S. Army (Ret.) · NSC / Drug Czar
Gen. Mark HertlingFmr CG, U.S. Army Europe
Gen. ZabelSenior Army leader
Gen. Shawn HarrisSenior military leader
Flo GrobergMedal of Honor recipient · Army
Chris FussellFmr Navy SEAL · McChrystal Group
Jake WoodTeam Rubicon co-founder · Marine

Culture & Icons

Ron PerlmanActor & outspoken advocate
Sarah Jessica ParkerActor & civic voice
Jeffrey WrightActor · Westworld, American Fiction
Stephen ColbertHost, The Late Show
Henry RollinsMusician · author · activist
Jon BernthalActor · The Punisher, We Own This City
Samantha BeeComedian · fmr Full Frontal
Norman LearTV legend · All in the Family
Jason AlexanderActor · Seinfeld
Bradley WhitfordActor · The West Wing, Get Out
Chuck DPublic Enemy · civil rights
07

Recent breakout episodes.

A sample of the last month's top performers — policy, natsec, culture, and evergreens. Interview episodes compound in the catalog for months.

# EP Episode
08

Rate card · monthly packages.

Packages match our daily publishing cadence — every buy covers all new episodes in the month, across both audio and YouTube, no slot auctions, no cherry-picking. Underlying CPMs: $25 pre-roll / $45 mid-roll / $20 post-roll.

Baseline Monthly
For general brands
$6,500 / month
Privacy · finance · DTC consumer · health · food · education · B2B crossover · cannabis · candidate ads
  • Mid-roll on every new episode (~22 / mo)
  • Audio + YouTube distribution bundled
  • Paul-voiced host-read (not a tagged ad)
  • Script review + 5-day turnaround
  • Weekly pixel + promo-code reporting
  • Makegood if >20% under projection
Veteran-Premium Monthly ★
For vet / LEO / FR-targeting brands
$10,000 / month · $8,500 vet-owned
Military gear · vet-owned CPG · GI-Bill education · military-family financial services
  • Everything in Baseline, plus:
  • Host-integrated read (Paul uses the product in context)
  • Priority mid-roll slot (first, not rotated)
  • 1 social post / mo from Paul (200K+ reach)
  • Veteran Audience Geo report (quarterly)
  • 15% auto-discount for vet-owned brands
Baseline Add-ons (monthly)
Pre-roll on all new eps
+$2,000
Post-roll on all new eps
+$1,500
Back-catalog top-50
+$1,000
Single Paul social post
+$1,500

Full-stack bundle (pre + mid + post + 1 social): $10,500/mo — saves $500 vs à la carte.

Commit length Baseline Veteran-Premium Vet-Owned (15% off) Commit discount
Month-to-month$6,500$10,000$8,500
3-month commit$6,175$9,500$8,0755%
6-month commit$5,850$9,000$7,65010%
Annual exclusive category$5,525$8,500$7,22515%
Why packages, not spot CPMs. At daily cadence, spot-by-spot buying creates auctions and leaves inventory on the table. Monthly packages guarantee coverage across every new episode and let Paul plan reads in context — which is how host-read performance actually happens.
09

What we take and decline.

Categories we take
Privacy & security — VPNs, password managers, identity protection
Personal finance — budgeting, lending, neo-banks, insurance
DTC consumer goods — apparel, home, grooming
Health & wellness (non-controversial, vetted)
Mental health (non-predatory, credentialed)
Education & learning
Food & meal delivery
Veteran-owned brands (priority review)
B2B SaaS with consumer crossover
Civic tech & legal tech
Cannabis (legal states, compliant)
Candidate campaign ads (vetted, compliant with network rules)
Categories we decline
Crypto / memecoins
Gambling (beyond established sportsbooks)
Weapons / ammunition
MLMs
Prescription pharma
Supplements with unverified efficacy claims
Brands tied to insurrectionist rhetoric
Media competitors — case-by-case
10

How a flight works.

i

Discovery call

15 minutes. We align on goals, audience overlap, creative direction. You get the full media kit, a rate card tailored to your category, and a sense of whether we're the right fit.

ii

Brand approval

Paul reviews the brand personally. If he won't use it, he won't read it — that's the whole reason the ads work. IO signed. Creative brief exchanged.

iii

Launch (7 days)

You approve the final script. Paul records. We QC. The first spot airs within seven business days of signed IO, on every new episode for the month's flight — audio and YouTube both.

iv

Weekly reporting

Pixel + promo-code performance shared weekly. If the month falls more than 20% under projection, we add a makegood month at no charge.

Paul only reads ads for products he uses. Our listeners know the difference — and so do the brands who buy host-reads and see them convert at 2–3x category benchmark.
— Righteous Media · Ad Sales
Let's talk

If we're a fit, we can have your flight live in seven days.

Q2 2026 is open for new category partners. Replies come straight to Paul's inbox — propose two or three times this week and we'll get a 15-minute call on the books. Happy to send the deck first if that's the easier path.