45% of our listeners are veteran, law enforcement, or first responder.
That's 7–8x the podcast industry average for this segment. Hosted by Paul Rieckhoff — combat veteran, national security expert, founder of IAVA (400,000+ members), and a regular contributor on MS NOW, CNN, and NewsNation. If you're building a brand that belongs in veterans' hands, IA is the most efficient way to reach them at scale.
Vet / LEO / FR share
45%
Listener self-survey
IAVA member base
400K+
Paul founded it
Monthly downloads
113K
+48% in 4 weeks
Host social reach
200K+
X / IG / Threads / LI
01
Paul Rieckhoff, combat veteran & founder of IAVA.
Combat Veteran · National Security Expert · Founder of IAVA · MS NOW · CNN · NewsNation Contributor · Host of Independent Americans.
Combat veteran. First Lieutenant, U.S. Army / NY National Guard — infantry platoon leader in Baghdad, Operation Iraqi Freedom. Army Commendation Medal.
National security expert. Regular commentator on foreign affairs, defense, and veterans policy across national television, radio, and print.
Founded IAVA — 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, and PBS NewsHour. Author of Chasing Ghosts (Penguin, NYT bestseller).
Named one of The Hill's Top Lobbyists for his work advocating for veterans and national security policy on Capitol Hill.
Named to TIME 100 Most Influential Pioneers. Annual host of The Cabinet for the Army–Navy Game.
Paul only reads ads for products he uses. Veterans notice the difference. That's why our code-redemption and pixel-attribution metrics track 2–3x the category benchmark on host-read campaigns.
Why this matters to your brand
Veterans are a high-intent, high-LTV demo most media plans underweight. They research before buying. They tell their units, their chapters, their communities. Trust compounds. IAVA's 400K+ member base is Paul's first-generation audience — they trust what he reads.
02
The audience, broken down.
All service branches represented. Concentrated in military cities. Civilian crossover skews high-HHI, 25–54, battleground-state-resident.
Weekly downloads grew ~48% across the last four full weeks. For Q2 buyers, this is a buy-now window — lock in before CPMs catch up to audience.
Weekly Download Velocity
Four most recent full weeks · source: Simplecast · +48% period growth
04
YouTube — a second front door.
Every episode publishes on @independentamericans on YouTube — full video, clips, guest interviews. Views grew +347% January to March, peaking at 562K in March. Sponsor reads run 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. Veteran-aligned marquee interviews (Adm. Bill McRaven's episode had a 17.14% CTR — the highest on the channel) are exactly the inventory Veteran-Premium sponsors attach to.
05
Why your brand converts here.
i
Trust, not algorithm
Veterans don't trust strangers in ads. They trust Paul. He founded the org that represents them. He's been in their shoes. That's a different conversion engine than display or social.
ii
High-LTV segment
Vets research before buying. Brand-loyal once they convert. They share — within their unit, their chapter, their community. You're not buying one listener, you're buying a network.
iii
Distribution stack
One flight, five channels: podcast audio + YouTube + Paul's 200K+ social + 400K IAVA member base + MS NOW / CNN / NewsNation when your category intersects with national news.
06
The guests.
A sampling from the American Icons playlist. When a veteran-brand sponsors IA, your ad runs adjacent to conversations with this caliber of guest.
🎖 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
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
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.
Interview episodes with Sen. Angus King, Michael Steele, Katy Tur, Ron Perlman, Rachel Maddow. Catalog compounds for months.
#
EP
Episode
08
Rate card · monthly packages.
Veteran-Premium is the lead tier for brands targeting our 45% veteran / LEO / first-responder audience. Every buy covers audio + YouTube.
Veteran-Premium Monthly ★
For vet / LEO / FR-targeting brands
$10,000/ month
Vet-owned price: $8,500/mo · 15% program discount
Mid-roll on every new episode (~22 / mo)
Audio + YouTube bundled
Host-integrated read (Paul uses the product in context)
Verified vet-founded or first-responder-founded brands automatically qualify.
15% program discount on Veteran-Premium tier, plus priority category review. Because the mission matters.
Commit length
Veteran-Premium
Vet-Owned (15% off)
Baseline
Commit discount
Month-to-month
$10,000
$8,500
$6,500
—
3-month commit
$9,500
$8,075
$6,175
5%
6-month commit
$9,000
$7,650
$5,850
10%
Annual exclusive category
$8,500
$7,225
$5,525
15%
Why monthly packages, not CPM spots. At daily cadence, spot-by-spot buying creates slot auctions and leaves inventory on the table. Monthly packages guarantee coverage and let Paul plan reads in context.
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 (incl. GI Bill)
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)
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
If you're building a brand that belongs in veterans' hands, IA is the most efficient way to reach them at scale.
— The pitch, short version
Let's talk
Flights go live in seven days from signed IO.
Q2 2026 is open for new veteran-category partners. Propose a couple times this week and we'll have a 15-minute call on the books. Vet-owned brands receive priority review and automatic 15% discount.
