Scott MacFarlane. 82nd Airborne Heads to Iran.

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Our troops, our national security, our allies,

the laws of war, human rights, civil rights, equal rights,

free speech, a free press, democracy, none of that is a priority frame.

And then they're never going to change because he's on a mission

to be the flag bearer for the culture war in America

and from America to the world.

It's like nothing we've ever seen

and nothing like anything we should accept

because we are all less safe because of it

and our enemies are celebrating.

Welcome to Independent Americans.

Welcome to episode 475.

I am your host, Paul Reikoff.

It is Wednesday, March 25th.

Opening day for baseball is here.

And I am coming to you from New York City, USA.

Of course, the home of the mighty New York Yankees

and the weather here today is still gloomy.

High in the 40s.

But it is opening day today and tomorrow, technically.

And it's going up to 70 degrees.

And since this opening day, today's artist is, of course,

John Fogarty because he of course did Center Field,

maybe the best baseball song of all time.

And it comes off his album, Center Field,

which was the third studio album by Fogarty,

his third solo album.

It was released in January of 1985.

An album that also had the old man down the road

and rock and roll girls.

And the song, of course, mentions lots of baseball references,

including Centerfielders like Joe DiMaggio,

Willie Mays, Ty Cobb.

Fogarty, of course, also founded Clayton's Clearwater Revival.

Hard to say, but important to remember

one of the greatest bands of all time

with Doug Clifford's two cook.

And of course, his brother, Tom Fogarty.

If you don't know, Fogarty was actually drafted

for Vietnam in 1966.

The same day he got the draft.

He went into the recruiter office for the US Army Reserve,

who signed him up immediately for training as a supply clerk.

He did some time in the reserves.

And after being faced with four or five years of more duty,

he tried to sabotage his fitness by not eating,

smoking some weed, and planting a syringe in his belongings.

But he was granted an honorable discharge

and got out in 1968 and went on to write Fortunate Sun,

a song about war, maybe the most classic Vietnam anti-war anthem.

It's never been more perfect than for right now.

As thousands of American sons and daughters

had deeper into war in Iran and beyond.

It is opening day and baseball.

But it's also opening day for a new front in Trump's forever war.

But we're going to keep swinging and we're going to keep bringing you hits

like Demagio, Mays, Cobb, and all the others.

And the five eyes I'm going to bring you in every show

or like a murderer's row of news and politics.

Independence, integrity, information, inspiration, and impact.

And our guest is going to bring that batting clean up.

He is the biggest free agent in the media market

that just left what used to be kind of like the New York Yankees of the media.

But isn't anymore to go to an expansion team

or maybe to go to the Savannah bananas.

Something that's totally disrupting the media landscape.

But it's former CBS journalist Scott McFarlane

who is here again if you're a regular listener of you where you know Scott.

He's not somebody you just heard about recently,

but he is back on the show.

And he is now Chief Washington correspondent for Midas Touch Network.

You don't know what Midas is.

We're going to talk about that.

But it's a big move for media.

It's a big move for the news.

And he is coming up.

We're also going to talk about January 6th

and how Trump may have shared a classified map

with people on a plane on the way to Mar-a-Lago.

Yes, really.

But before Scott steps up into the batter's box,

we've got to line up of issues that we've got to get through.

On this opening day, especially,

it is a time to stay vigilant.

All right, every team in Major League Baseball

is in first place right now.

That's the fun of opening day.

But our show, this show, is moving up in the ranks too.

We're not at number one yet,

but we are number 25 in Israel.

We are number 61 in the United States,

123 in Canada,

number 85 in the Philippines.

As this show continues to span and expand around the world

and around the country,

thank you to all of us,

to all of you for helping us

reach more people,

independent Americans around the country

and around the world.

But even on opening day,

we've got to get to the important stuff

and to today's top topic.

All right, leading us off is, of course,

the expanding war in Iran and Trump's forever war.

And there is now breaking news,

courtesy of our friend Dan Lamath

at Washington Post and others

that, depending on, has approved orders

for a couple thousand paratroopers

from the 82nd Airborne to deploy to the Middle East.

It looks like 2000 or so are headed to the Middle East.

If you watch or listen to this show,

you know that already.

Because Dan Lamath previewed it on this show,

almost exactly two weeks ago.

He told you that the 82nd Airborne

had training canceled

and they should be on your radar

for deployment for the Middle East.

They are on their way now.

Some of them are already there

and they could be headed into

the Strait of Hormuz,

Carrag Island, or somewhere else in the region,

any minute now.

The pieces are in place.

If I were a betting man on polymarket,

which I'm not in contrast to many of the folks in the White House,

I'd say that this could happen

after Friday when the markets close

and before Congress comes back in session from their break.

There's a window there

that I think is maybe most likely

for Trump to push forward with boost on the ground.

Something that most Americans don't support,

something that Congress hasn't approved,

but nevertheless,

he is all gas, no breaks,

and thousands more of America's sons and daughters

are headed into a combat zone.

No matter how you feel about Trump,

no matter how you feel about this war,

please keep those men and women

in your thoughts and prayers

and their families,

who this is so personal for.

It's their brothers, sisters,

their sons, daughters,

their mothers, and fathers.

At least 2000 more from the 82nd Airborne are in route.

On these issues, I will continue to keep you updated here.

Of course, and on social media,

I will bring you the latest,

bring you analysis

and help you,

especially when it comes to troop deployments

and the unfolding war in the Middle East.

I will help you.

Stay vigilant.

All right,

related to Iran,

important numbers that folks may not be tracking on.

But Senkom tells Stars and Stripes,

which is important to support now,

if you're talking about independent media,

media that also continues to be in

and in headsets crosshairs.

Stars and Stripes continues to put out good information,

including that a total of 290 service members

have now been wounded so far

in what they're calling Operation Epic Fury.

The majority of those 255 have returned to duty,

which is good news.

The number of seriously injured remains around 10.

We will continue to track on this.

And what kind of injuries?

We know there will be traumatic brain injuries.

We don't know what kind of toxin exposures,

these folks could experience.

And we hope that this is really just the end of it,

but that is unlikely,

especially if Trump pushes the 82nd

and the Marines into the strait of Hormuz.

There's already a human cost that is being felt

and heard more broadly around this country.

And CBS News talked to the husband

of Army Master Sergeant Nicole Amher,

who was killed in the drone strike in Kuwait

in the first week of the war.

This is the human cost that people need to understand,

process, and share.

Because we can't forget about those brave men and women

who are serving,

and especially those who died.

We'll check out this clip.

And you had just heard that?

I found the new souls,

and when that came across,

I panicked.

I freaked out how it was somewhere between 11 and 2

when at 239 I sent her a text.

I said, I'm getting worried.

I'm getting worried.

I'm forgetting reports of the sustainment

unit.

Three casualties, five injured.

If I could any, do you hear something from me today, my love?

And that one half later,

we were walking up my driveway.

That's the human cost of war.

One that we should be thinking about every day

as Trump continues to barrel forward

without responding to the will of the American people,

which is overwhelmingly against this war,

overwhelmingly against boots on the ground,

and overwhelmingly against the $200 billion

in extra funding that they're asking for.

There's also now updated recruiting info.

Stars and Stripes also had this story.

Those in their late 30s and early 40s,

that means you, you can now join the army.

Yes, the army is increasing its maximum

and the Lisbon age to 42 this month.

Bring it in line with most of the other military services,

but now folks up to 42 years old,

with or without prior military service can enlist

in the regular army, the guard, and the army reserves.

They've also removed the waiver from marijuana possession.

They said this is a reflection of our times,

but here's what it is.

It is a way to expand the base of recruits

just in time for more forever war.

So if I were going to ramp up the resources

for an ongoing forever war,

I would raise the recruiting age and lower the standards.

This is something they've been doing

and they will continue to do while they simultaneously

say they're meeting recruiting numbers,

but quality will be at issue

and it's something we should focus on.

Also focus on the fact that there is breaking news from the times

it says the Saudi prince may have pushed Trump

to continue the war in Iran.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman saw this as a historic opportunity

to remake the region.

Of course the Saudis would like to take out Iran.

Of course they'd like us to do it

and we shouldn't be surprised if Trump has been influenced

by the Saudis.

Keep your eye on this and let's hear more

about who's whispering in his ear

and where he and his sons could potentially profit.

Meanwhile, Trump is doing very Trump-like things.

In Scott McFarland in his sub-stack today

that we'll talk about more coming up

had a headline that you need to know about.

The House Judiciary Committee Democrats say

newly released documents indicate that Trump

showed a classified map to passengers

on a trip to his Mar-a-Lago golf course.

We don't know what the map was of.

We're going to talk to Scott McFarland about that,

see if he knows.

But this would be perfectly on-brand.

If Trump was sharing a classified map of say,

I don't know, military operations in the

Strait of Hormuz with oil company executives,

we don't know who it was.

But we will find out and Scott McFarland

may be among the first to let us know.

It's another way we especially need

to celebrate independent media,

support independent media,

ask the hard questions,

especially in a time of war and stay vigilant.

All right, meanwhile,

Hegseth continues to flail and sink.

I think he's crumbling under the pressure

which continues to rise.

He doesn't like doing press conferences,

but he's been doing them thankfully.

He hasn't been asking a fielding questions

from folks like Dan Lamath or the AP

or stars and stripes nearly enough.

He's going to the Daily Caller Newsmax and others.

But here's a clip yesterday

that shows you, I think, how he is scrambling.

This is not a rack in Afghanistan.

This is not a president who's interested in

in vague end states.

He's been very clear with us about what we need to accomplish,

creating the conditions for them never to have

a nuclear capability.

And that's exactly what we're doing in historic fashion.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you.

Appreciate you, Richard.

Mr. President.

He says this is not a rock in Afghanistan.

This is not a president who's interested in vague end states.

He says it's been very clear about what we need to accomplish.

I think that Hegseth is the only person

who thinks that.

And most importantly, if you're explaining, you're losing.

And I think right now Hegseth, especially when it comes to public trust

and owning the narrative is losing.

But he's not really focused on the war.

He's focused on a lot of other things.

He's always focused on one thing, the culture war.

That's why I've called him the acting secretary of culture war.

Because in the midst of all the combat and the midst of more troops

in the Middle East, he released this video,

focusing on making the Chaplain Corps grading it.

Check this out.

As I reported to you in December,

in previous administrations, our Chaplain Corps

was infected by political correctness and secular humanism.

The core functions of the Chaplain Corps were changed

and watered down until they were viewed by many as nothing more than therapists.

Faith and virtue were traded for self-help and self-care.

We started correcting that drift then, and today we're going further.

Now, again, he posted that this week, just a few days ago,

as thousands more Americans are launching into a war zone,

into a region divided by religious differences for generations.

He's focused on religion and more of it.

Because of course he is.

Because he's the acting secretary of culture war.

Always, even during real war.

Now, by the way, I'm all for dropping the rank of Chaplains,

but it's not a priority for our troops right now as they fight and die with more on the way.

The USA today had a good piece on this, and they had a quote from an expert who said,

ideology can be smuggled into an institution through administrative bureaucracy.

This is a good piece by Breonna Frank, a link to it in the show notes.

But this is really important.

It's an example of how ideology is being smuggled

into the Department of Defense through administrative moves.

He keeps focusing on making the Chaplain Corps great again.

His focus is on fighting.

His focus is on fighting for God.

Then for Trump, and then for his extreme vision of America.

But our troops, our national security, our allies,

the laws of war, human rights, civil rights, equal rights, free speech,

a free press, democracy, none of that is a priority frame.

And they're never going to change because he's on a mission to be the flag bearer for the

culture war in America and from America to the world.

It's like nothing we've ever seen and nothing like anything we should accept

because we are all less safe because of it and our enemies are celebrating.

Meanwhile, because of everything he's doing, there's a story in defense one that says

that defense workers morale has plunged under Trump.

Only 9% of army civilians found Heggseth's leadership motivating.

I would like to know who those 9% are that find Heggseth motivating.

But here's the takeaway, 91% of army civilians do not find him motivating.

That should be troubling, especially in a time of war.

Now meanwhile, Trump and Heggseth shameful and undemocratic war on the free press continues.

We'll talk about that more coming up with Scott McFarlane.

But there's breaking news from the Washington Post that the Pentagon has announced it's

going to move journalists from their dedicated workspace inside the Pentagon and require them

to work from a separate facility. This is days after a judge found the new media policy

unconstitutional. They are focused on moving the press as far away from them as possible.

And they are spending more time focused on attacking the press than preparing our homeland

against real enemies because the threats at home continue to rise.

And they're focused on attacking the woke and attacking the press and attacking Harvard.

Instead of attacking, I don't know, Putin.

But Putin is celebrating our enemies are celebrating and threats remain high at home.

There was an explosion out of a lero refinery in Port Arthur, Texas.

Big, huge explosion. Now, an investigation is underway to find the cause.

But I think it's a reminder that there are many countless possible targets in this country

that are vulnerable to attack. I have no information that leads me to believe that that was an attack.

But it's a reminder that our refineries, many of our infrastructure targets here in America are

vulnerable to pipe bombs, to suicide bombers, to drones. A drone's are continue to be a threat

that I will remind you to look out for. If you haven't heard it, go back in here.

My episode with Nolan Peterson from a couple weeks ago are drone specifically.

Also, check out my recent episodes with Admiral James Trevides from Renato Commander.

And yesterday's episode with Mark Hartling, I will continue to bring you military adjacent and

military voices that can help you understand the threats and cut through the bullshit

and help you understand the truth of what's happening. And of course, help you stay.

Every day the world gets a little weirder, and a lot more awesome.

Cool stuff daily takes a look at everything from mining and space to the latest in the fight

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you needed to know. Join us for cool stuff daily as we take a quick look at science, tech, and the

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because the future is happening fast and it's way too fun to miss.

All right, some rare good news that I got to hit on. Afghanistan freed an American detainee

after US pressure. Dennis Walter Coil is a researcher that's been held in Afghanistan since last

year after the United States declared Afghanistan a state sponsor of wrongful detention.

He was finally released. That is good news. A reminder Afghanistan continues to be an

incredibly violent and repressive place. And at least on this show, I don't want to let it become

forgot to stand. Afghanistan is below the radar for too many Americans, but there's a big

issue, a very big issue that is unfortunately below the radar that I'm going to tell you more about

right now. Now, I've been warning you about election attacks and how I believe that Trump will

do all he can to disrupt the November elections. He said so out loud. He's telegraphing his punches.

But now Steve Bannon is openly sharing not just that goal, but the plan. Check this out.

We can use what's happening with these ice helping out helping out at the airports. We can use

this as a test runs, a test case to get to really perfect. Ice is involvement in the 20,

26 midterm elections, sir. Now, I've been warning about this for months now.

I think there's a total failure of imagination when it comes to what Trump wants to do to prevent

free and fair elections in November. I said you should not assume that there will be free and

fair elections in November. I said that you should anticipate that Trump will attack the elections

in November. He said so publicly in the state of the union and yesterday and Bannon is broadcasting

it right out loud. He's telling you that they want to use ice. He's telling you that the airports

are a warmup. He's telling you that this is the blueprint and the game plan. And you should definitely

focus on this. Do not let it fall below your radar because right now, as ice continues to run rampant

across America, now Mullin has been confirmed as the HS Secretary, which I don't think will improve

the culture. Ice is now at the airports. Many of them are standing around and doing nothing,

which is being well documented. I think that ice might be an acronym for idiots chilling everywhere.

If you have your own thought on a better acronym than that, but for now, I will use idiots chilling

everywhere, but it's going in some places about how we should expect it. And check out this video

that's, of course, gone viral.

I hope you're so fucking proud of yourselves. You fucking assholes. You're on video now, too.

Yeah. Shame on you. You fucking un-American people.

These are ice agents at a San Francisco airport, detaining a mother,

traveling with her young daughter. This is what folks are most worried about. Ice coming in,

detaining people, being disruptive, being violent, being undisciplined, because they remain,

in my view, undisciplined and unconstitutional. And they've now been deployed at airports from

Chicago, Ohio, to Houston's Hobby Airport, JFK, LaGuardia, Louis Armstrong, and New Orleans,

Luis Muñoz, Marin International Airport, in Puerto Rico, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh,

Fort Myers, Florida, with likely more to come. But despite the lack of focus recently from many

Americans, ice remains undisciplined, unchecked. And I believe unconstitutional. And if you're not

angry about that, you're not paying attention, because they continue to rip our country apart.

They continue to poke every American in very, very vulnerable ways, like at the airport,

when you're trying to move around spring break with your family. I think the last thing you

probably want to see is ice agents ripping people off of planes, but that is happening.

And we should most definitely understand that this could be a warm up for what could happen

at the elections. I want to talk to you about not just what's happening now, but what's happening

next and help you, of course, stay vigilant. All right, we got to stay vigilant, of course,

around veterans issues, always and around politicians of either party, Democrats or Republicans,

or no party, the very few of them that exist in Washington, when they do stupid things.

And at times of war, especially, they do stupid things. I brought you our chicken hot club,

led by folks like Lindsey Graham and John Fetterman. And I also have brought you our assholes of

the week and our assholes of the day. And I got one for you today. It's definitely our asshole

of the day. And a week full of them, this one takes to cake. His name is Brandon Herrera. He is a

candidate, seeking to replace an embattled incumbent in Texas. He owns a copy of mine comp.

He's been a podcaster. He claimed that Abraham Lincoln didn't free anybody. And he poked fun

at veterans suicide rates. House Republican leadership is still backing him, which I think

is an embarrassment. But in the 2024 election, he got scrutiny over his comments on a podcast

that he co-hosts talking about veterans, suicides. At one point, he said, and I'm going to quote him,

I often think about putting a gun in my mouth. So I'm basically an honorary veteran.

This man said this, I often think about putting a gun in my mouth. So I'm basically an honorary

veteran. He thinks that's funny. Veterans suicide takes 17 lives every day. And there's nothing

funny about that. There's nothing to poke fun up there. And if he doesn't understand that,

he has no place in Congress. He's most definitely our asshole of the day, our asshole of the week.

And when it comes to veterans, he could rank up there for asshole of the year. If you're a veteran

that is struggling, that needs help, that needs support, it just wants to reach out. I will always

have resources in the show notes here. You can text 988. You can reach out to me. But especially

in times of war, we veterans need to look out for each other. All of you listening and watching need

to look out for our veterans. And we need to stay vigilant around people who say stuff that's not

only dumb and ridiculous, but dangerous. So stay vigilant America, and especially stay vigilant

if you're voting down there in Texas. All right, Trump, all gas, no breaks. Nothing is slowing

him down as he forges forward with boots on the ground. Meanwhile, in other parts of the world,

Ukraine continues to fight on without adequate support from our president, which is shameful and

disgraceful. A real enemy in Putin continues to try to take over Europe and threaten his enemies

and threaten our allies. And today is day 1493 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

And overnight, it was a massive attack on Ukraine from Russia with over 550 drones unleashed

across the country, one of the largest of the war. It was an overnight attack that went into the

day, 550 drone striking city centers across the country. Several people were killed, at least

40 wounded. We continue to get information coming out, apartment buildings, hospitals,

a UNESCO World Heritage Site, all got damaged. But it was also followed by daytime strikes, which

are very unusual, and an overnight strike that had 34 missiles and 392 drone attacks. But daytime

strikes have been unusual, and this one was massive. It's another reason why we need to stand

with our friends in Ukraine, because they're pretty good at this missile and drone thing. They've

had a couple years of it to home their craft and their experience, and they can help us now,

not just in the Middle East, but especially here at home. So continue to stand with our friends

in Ukraine. Continue to track on this. Don't let it fall below your radar, and most of all,

stay vigilant. All right, in politics, a quick story I want to hit on that you should be vigilant

about. The tech companies continue to hurt and screw our kids. It's not getting a lot of focus

nowadays because of the whole war thing and ice. But meta has been ordered to pay $375 million

over child safety violations. This is one of the company's first major losses in New York times.

Had the story New Mexico jurors found that meta had misled consumers about the safety of its

platforms, enabling sexual exploitation of young users. This is dangerous stuff, but it's a

historic victory for kids and for families who paid the price for meta's decisions to put profits

over kids. These tech companies need to be held accountable. The leaders need to be brought

before Congress. It should be bipartisan. We'd love to have the attention of the president on it.

But in the meantime, keep yourself vigilant, keep your children vigilant, especially when it comes

to technology. And I'll continue to focus on it whenever I can and help you. Stay vigilant.

All right, before we get to Scott who's coming up who is one of the best reporters in America

has exciting news about a new move and about the future of independent media. Something that I've

obviously been focused on. And if you listen or watch your focused on, let's hit on a quick thing

in culture that's pretty fun and exciting. He still hasn't agreed to run for Senate in South

Carolina versus Lindsey Graham. But I'm going to keep working on it. But Stephen Cobair has some very

cool news about something he's going to do next. He's not going to run for Senate as an independent

in South Carolina or at least yet. But he's got some other plans that he announced on a Twitter

on an ex post with with someone you may or may not know. Jackson, the guy who created the Lord

of the Rings, a movie. Check out this clip, this surprise clip and an announcement from Stephen Cobair.

It took me a few years to scrape my courage into a pile to give you a call. But about two years

ago, I did. You liked it enough to talk to me about it. And ever since then, the two of us

have been working with the brilliant Philip of Boyens on how to develop the story. And we recently

took it to a Richard Brenner at New Line and Pam Abdy and Mike Deluca and Warner Brothers.

And I could not be happier to say that they loved it. And so that's what we're going to be working

on. And testing now, are you sure you've got the time now because, you know, that I did not think

I would have the time as much as I love it. I knew I couldn't do that and do the show at the same

time. But it turns out I'm going to be free starting this summer. So isn't that fortunate?

Isn't that isn't that a you catastrophe right there? So if you'll excuse me, I've got to finish

the television show and I've got to write a movie script. But I will see you all in the shire.

Hopefully you could hear or see that. But Stephen Cobair and his son are developing a brand new

Lord of the Rings movie. The announcement came Tuesday on the studio's social media accounts.

Cobair has worked with Jackson before. If you don't know this, Cobair had a small role

in the 2013, the Hobbit, the desolation of Smog. He also directed Jackson and Lord of the Ring

Stars, Ian McClellan, Bergen Morgus, Virgo Morguson, and Elijah Wood in the 2019 short film, Daryl Gorn,

which is set in JR Tolkien's Middle Earth. So Cobair is going to be doing some fun stuff.

And I think he deserves it after standing up for our democracy and taking all this shit

in the last couple of days. Look out for that, especially if you're a fan of Tolkien,

and especially if you're a fan of Stephen Cobair. Thanks again to everybody who's new here that saw me

on Stephen Cobair a couple of weeks ago. The Instagram post now has I think over four million views

and it's bringing many new people to this show. And I hope to have Stephen Cobair as a guest on my

show soon. Stay tuned for that coming up in the next couple of weeks. I hope. Finally in sports.

There's some big news. It is opening day, but there's a lot of basketball news. March Madness

continues tomorrow. And the NBA Board of Governors has approved a vote for the league to expand

and explore applications for expansion teams in Las Vegas and Seattle. The 30 voters owners voted

in favor of it. The bidding process could generate offers in the seven to ten billion dollar range.

They could start playing as early as the 28 29 season. And the team is looking to expand

beyond 32 teams. Seattle and Las Vegas have always been the front runners. Seattle hasn't had a team

since the Supersonics. Vegas has had a lot of success with their WMBA team and other teams

moving there like the Oakland A's. And multiple officials have said it's not when it's if.

I think it's great for basketball. It's great for America. And I've always said

independence are kind of like Seattle basketball fans. We root for the game, but we don't have a team.

So Seattle will have a team soon. And we will have more and more leaders by the day because our

independent movement is continuing to grow. And especially the independent media movement.

And it is March madness. It is opening day. And we've got a a news free agent slugger that is here

to help us lead off opening day and go into a whole new season of media and politics. The great

Scott McFarlane is here and it's time for us all on this opening day in America to stay vigilant.

Okay, independent Americans around the country and around the world. These are really crazy times.

And it is an important time for independent voices, independent journalists, independent

perspective. This is independent Americans after all. So we have a very important returning

champion at a very important time. He you know him because he's been a regular guest on this show

when he was at CBS covering the Justice Department January 6th and much more. He has now left CBS

and joined Midas Touch Network, which we will talk about in a second. But he's one of the best

investigative journalists out there, a guy who's always on the beat, a guy who's relentless.

And I think embodies the five eyes of this show, especially the integrity. As we enter into March

madness, an opening day of baseball and much more. The great and powerful Scott McFarlane is

back on independent Americans. Welcome back, sir. Pulse, favorite place to be. Thank you for having me.

You got the best microphone in the business. I said this and one of the best voices.

I love I already love this new phase of Scott McFarlane because you should be watching on YouTube.

He's kind of leaned up against the bar, like which makes him feel very relatable, which I think is

part of why you're so trusted. But congratulations on the new move, man.

It's a change, but hopefully it's not a change in content. I mean, we're going to do the same thing.

There's a absolute infinite number of stories out there to pursue. There aren't enough people.

There aren't enough journalists independent or otherwise to find them. So we're just going to find

as many as we can and communicate them the way you do. Just straight to the point, right to the camera.

Here's what happened. Don't need bells or whistles or big TV studios. Just just get to it. Get

right to it. Yeah, I want to dig into that because Anderson Cooper and CNN and many others are

kind of following our lead and it's been like hyper speeded in the last couple of weeks.

I want to talk about what you're hitting your sub stack today about Trump and this map. I want to

do an update on January 6th and we'll get to something good. But let's start with I ask everybody,

where are you Scott and how are you? It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks for you, but where are you

and how are you? I'm not where I was a couple of weeks ago. A couple of weeks ago, I was the justice

correspondent for the CBS television network and I am not. I stood down from that position. I decided

to go in a different direction. I'm not sure there's a lot of people through the history of mass media

who have stepped down from the position of network television correspondent voluntarily,

but I saw where this is going and people have been communicating to me what they found value and

what they seem to find the most value and there were the things I was doing between the broadcasts

when I was talking directly to them with an urgent update right into my phone. So it felt like

we go down that road further. Maybe we can provide more immediate value and go directly to people

with what's happening versus going through all the things you have to go through to put on a fine

broadcast. There's production time, there's incredible lighting and audio work that's done

behind the scenes, but all of that takes time and perhaps it breaks down some of the intimacy you

want to have with people when you're telling them something important or something controversial

or something that they need to know that that is time sensitive. You want to just get right to it.

Yeah, you've been doing that throughout your career, but especially I think in the last

couple of months and I know that I am one of your fans and followers and I have consumed that

content as quickly as you can put it out. Let me ask you, I won't take offense that you went to

a cable news network before you came here, but you did go to Midas and you've been making the rounds

and talking about this. Let me just start by asking you, why do you leave CBS? I mean, I like

many are concerned about CBS. Even the last time I booked you, I'm like, I love Scott, but he's

at CBS and CBS is changing, but just straight up, why did you leave CBS? A lot of folks are leaving

CBS because of the changes. Barry Weiss is in charge. It's going in a different direction,

but why did you leave CBS? Nobody was putting any heavy hand on me. I had unscripted bandwidth at CBS.

We have a 24 seven streaming platform when I was at CBS and they still have it. There's nothing

in the teleprompter. There's nobody telling you what to say. You can speak whatever you think

you're reporting needs to include. On January 6, 2026, I was on a lot on our CBS radio affiliates,

on the CBS television stations, the be it local affiliates, and on our streaming platform,

a whole bunch talking about it. One of the things it's important to note is those linear,

traditional media mass audience programs. Think about your morning shows. Your evening news

cast, the things that are in prime time, the news magazines, the Sunday morning round tables.

Those are not always available to you all the time. You can't always get space to tell a piece of

news you may have to the millions of people who watch Good Morning America that today shows CBS

mornings. You kind of have to fight for that airtime. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't,

but if you don't win, your reporting doesn't quite have the reach it would otherwise have.

So it felt like because I was playing so aggressively in the independent space,

well, there is limitless bandwidth there. There's never a day where they say we don't have room for

your reporting, but it's more you don't have to wait till a certain time of day to share the reporting.

It is clearly moving in the direction of independent media because people want to consume

their news the way it's being disseminated as quickly and as conversational and as declared

of least possible. And so you leave CBS, which is kind of like a big free agency move on the

landscape here. That's how I would describe it, right? CBS radio goes down right behind you,

right? So that, you know, it's kind of collapsing behind you in terms of its reach and I would

argue it's independence. You go to Midas, Midas for folks who don't know is a rocket ship. I mean,

I think six million on YouTube in many ways, the future of what media looks like. Also,

very low cost, very high revenue. These guys are making a lot of money. They're reaching a lot of

people. But also, and I'm going to ask you to explain, it seems like a future where you can eat what

you kill. You know, if your YouTube audience grows, it's yours. You can decide editorial. You can

decide creative. Now, they are left of center. You know, I'm curious to see how you want to address

that. But they have massive reach that seems to be accelerating at a rate that almost nobody can

compare with. So if your goal is getting to as many people as possible and having creative and

editorial control, and, you know, have a slice of the pie that you're baking, it seems like a smart

move. But how would you describe it? Think about the places that are drawing large and growing

audiences. Think of the platforms that have either sturdy, resilient, or accelerating audiences.

These are audiences that want news. They want information. They want things they can't find on

their phones right now elsewhere. Things they can't find if they Google it in 10 seconds.

So news is bulletproof. News is always going to have an economy to it. You're always going to be

able to earn a living off of it. So long as what you're providing is something that's enterprises.

And not a commodity that is found anywhere else. I think the people who are strongest in the

news business are once or telling you something. You just can't find elsewhere. They'll be an

audience for that no matter what type of platform you're on. The mightest touch network audience

is ravenous for news. They're ravenous for updates. They're not people who are looking necessarily

to have information that reinforces their opinion. They're looking for news to form an opinion.

And I think those opinion uniquely strong over the last decade in the news space. Think Fox News.

Think of the today show. Think of the New York Times. Think of the mightest touch network.

Their audiences expect news even if there's an opinion page like the New York Times has.

Even if there's some edgy host Sun Fox News in prime time. If still is news gathering,

that's bulletproof economically. Yeah, and you can see the success. I mean, Don Lemon, Joe Rogan,

Sean Ryan, you know, the Ben Shapiro's of the world seems to have been more right of center.

If you look at Megan Kelly and others who made it successful on their own, but I think there's

an important part for folks to understand here too, which is you own it, right? Like you own your

IP, you own your editorial, like you're not, you don't have to go to CBS and have them

just slice it up and take a chunk. And I mean, I don't know what the comparative numbers are,

but you're probably reaching millions of people now versus maybe a couple million on CBS.

Like the reach is multiple times higher. And the growth trajectory is the opposite of where

network and cable news are going, right? I view and I view it through a righteous prism because

I've been doing this for a quarter century. My information and my stories and the information,

my sources are caring to share that hits the bigger audience. And you can't tell you how many times

in the news business when I was in a local radio in New York state upstate New York when I was in

television and Detroit when I was at the CBS television network or NBC, where sources would

give me a pretty good commodity, a good piece of information. And there just wasn't a way to find

a home for it. Well, what does that do to the source? Like I can't, then I thought I can't trust

Scott. I can't trust this news is going to get out through Scott. Now we have a different dynamic

where information is verified. It's something I could, I feel comfortable reporting. There's always

going to be a home for it. And when independent media operates with that mindset,

independent media has and will continue to thrive. You'll find a boat for every passenger,

you'll find a river for every boat. But I also, I think it's important to emphasize Paul because

you and I have done this for a bit. It hopefully does feel and sound the same. If I was,

if I had any success at CBS and NBC and the success you certainly have had, it's because you're

talking the same way off the air as you do on the air. This is the same way I would tell a story

to my cousin, to my buddies, to my wife and independent media picked up on that pretty quick. And

that's why it succeeds. And we can go deeper. I mean, I love, you know, your January six coverage

is a great example. You might get a one minute pop on CBS. I've had half an hour, 45 minute

conversations where we can pull apart the story and really go deeper. So I've always been excited

about the opportunity to that. The authenticity is obviously key. I hope Ben and Brett will come

on from might as soon as we can talk about it because I think it's really an important inflection

point for the business of media. And at the same time, we're walking into a war that's going to

require independent media and accountability. And CNN, it just looks like a crazy version of,

you know, Larry King meets meets a podcast. It looks like a dumpster fire when we need

CNN to be what CNN used to be. It's now chasing you guys and might as and so many others. So

we can go deeper in the weeks to come. I sit in that space. So it's interesting to see your journey

because I've had conversation with other media partners and buyers. We're all, you know,

navigating this. But I think you have the opportunity to be a proof of concept of what the future

looks like where folks can get a lot more Scott, Scott McFarlane. So let's do that. Let's go

to what I think is the top topic.

I know I don't have a lot of time with you, but you had a story on your sub stack. I'm sure

you're covering it on might as the alert was how judiciary committee Democrats say newly released

records indicate Trump showed a classified map to passengers on a trip to a golf course.

So we're at a war and Trump is doing a very Trumply thing potentially and showing a classified

map to passengers on a plane near the golf course. Explain please what we need to know.

Yes, how do we get ourselves back in this world where Trump's classified records

controversy if not scandal is expanding? Well, you'll recall Paul, the Republicans on the

Judiciary Committee's in Congress decided to launch an investigation that has been named

Arctic Frost looking back at the work of special counsel Jack Smith. Republicans argue

was an overreach by Smith to malign then candidate former president Trump. Now the Democrats have

called all of this theater in a Don Quixote-esque fight towards nowhere because Jack Smith's work

was righteous enough to secure grand jury indictments of Donald Trump from citizens.

That notwithstanding the investigation has surfaced some records that Democrats got to look at

to and they're making the argument today that some of those records indicate Trump may have shared

a classified map while in route to his golf course in 2022 for others to look at and that he had

certain records in his possession during his ex presidency that only six Americans were cleared

to look at that classified that secretive and they also are alleging that there may have been some

business motive for him to have those records and the Department of Justice has knocked down

those allegations saying it is a political statement if not vendetta by the top Democrat on the

House Judiciary Committee Jamie Raskin emphasizing that they think Jack Smith may have put in

misleading or false information in his files to malign Trump. We're back to this argument again

and respectfully the White House at some point wants to drive home a message whether it's about

Iran gas prices food prices TSA every time there's a headline about something different that does

catch us to public attention they're getting off message Scott do we know what it was a map of

don't know what it's a map of but that's also part of the inquiry the Department of the

sorry the Judiciary Committee Democrats are launching they want records by Tuesday Paul

about what that map was they want to know what was shared who saw it it might be a military

map of targets in the Strait of Harmoose I mean it's entirely relevant to what we're having

happen now as we send two thousand more troops from the 82nd Airborne to backstop a couple thousand

from the Marines and we may have boots on the ground any minute now right I mean this is entirely

relevant to exactly what's happening and whether or not we can trust a commander-in-chief

with sensitive information and his minions I mean we know headset as you signal this is a real problem

when our enemies are watching and celebrating so we'll look to your reporting on that let's go

below the radar something that I never want to lose track of you always stay focused on January 6

every time you come on the show you give us an update what is the most important thing for folks

to know about all the tentacles that are January 6 including recent arrests and the

spew of January 6 perpetrators that are everywhere now two big themes here Paul first of all my

chronic reminder you people watching you know this is true it's a current story it's not a piece

of history January 6th the lack of accountability the freeing of January 6th imprisoned police

beaters has reignited the controversy and made it a part of the fabric of American politics there

are Democrats and Republicans who simply don't trust each other because of the delta over what

the response has been to January 6th it is still a contagion in American politics what's more

the victims feel retraumatized by the partners the victims feel retraumatized by the lack of

acknowledgement by some Americans that this really wasn't thing they don't like the whitewashing

and there's still this concern about political violence if it's not if it's not punished

does it incentivize more political violence the other nugget I think is the January 6th plaque

small thing but it's not a small thing it was put on a wall because the Senate and one

Republican in the Senate said it's about time to hang this plaque Tom tell us of North Carolina

but it's in an obscure location you know those of us who work in the capital know where it is it's

on the west front near the worst of the attack on police but it's not an area tourist can easily

get to it's not a high traffic area it feels hidden to some of the people who support the plaque

I expect this week if not today Paul for another group of House Democrats perhaps those January

6th committee members are those who are still viscerally connected to their experience to go

have a service at the plaque Republicans are not participating in those things and I think that

speaks volumes to where we are with the denialism of the horrors of a piece of American history

well it was also front and center in the confirmation hearings of Mark Wayne Mullin right who's

now sworn in in his DHS secretary and probably doesn't want to talk about January 6th but it still

remains I think a national security priority and we'll look to your reporting on that let me ask you

now that you're in this new roll Scott you're a target I never saw the White House come after you

before but the White House press secretary came after you specifically which I'm sure has the

Midas guys printing more money with the additional traffic that's now going to YouTube and to your

page but this is also you know a new level for you like you're now powerful or impactful enough

that they're hitting you and they often punch downward frankly what's your reaction to the latest

White House attacks on you personally I've been catching grief from many many public figures ever

since I started covering January 6th because that rewriting of January 6th began on January 7th

so as somebody who covered it methodically and comprehensively I've been catching you know

nasty grams for years so kind of not phased by it not surprised by it I don't mind that they're

calling attention to this because I think there is an important public discussion to have about when

when a network television journalist goes to work for a non-traditional that were remarkably

successful be the organization let's talk about it the FCC chair Brendan Carr posted something

actually quite light although I'm not sure what his motive was or what he was trying to communicate

he he posted something to the effect of you know same job different duty station and yeah I think

that's exactly right it's the same job I'm just at a different duty station doing it one with a

mass audience that wants news but I have a responsibility if there's going to be an awful lot of people

in the world of linear media we're going to have to find a different way to communicate news to

audiences very soon I mean very soon and I have to carry this correctly to model a good pathway

for people in journalism to find audiences and to find a good way to communicate the things they

need to communicate for everybody's good and well-being so I've got to be a good steward of this

and what we're going to do to drive interest to get on a program like yours to drive people to

subscribe to YouTube and sub-stack and all those other platforms is to let the reporting

drive the audience nobody wants my opinion Paul they don't even want my opinion in this house

about things so it's not really a good a much of a currency for me to carry well we want I want

your opinion I want your reporting I think you know this is the biggest free agent pickup of the

season so far they get a rock star you get rocket fuel and and I think it's going to be really

exciting and important to watch let me finish with something good I got to let you go because maybe

you're doing alive it might as which they do often which is powerful too something good

it's opening day of baseball I think that is something good it's a special opening night because

the Yankees are playing the Giants we need hope we need unity opening day is a day when everybody in

America thinks their team can win the world series and hope is a form of resistance it can be

contagious so I just want to celebrate the goodness that is opening day of baseball in America

and the start of a Yankees season that I hope will end in a world series over to you my friend in

these trying times what do you got this something good two things and I'll be quick first of all

it reminds me of things that still bring me joy I was a kid about your age to Paul in the 1980s you

could just stare at baseball cards for an hour study all the stats I knew every stat of every member

of the 1985 and 87 St. Louis Cardinals didn't have phones back then so that you you had to move through

time and as a baseball geek I don't know it was just part of the experience and part of the culture

I worry some of that's gone now but I love the visceral affinity America has for baseball I still

have it too and secondly if you don't mind just indulge me for a more personal privilege I left CBS

news and I left some of the greatest teammates I've ever had and it's hard that's the hard part

of independent journalism is you do leave people behind who you adore and I had the greatest producer

in the history of television news my teammate Julia Burnham who is a sped a special

of purses I've ever worked with and I don't get to work with her anymore just know when people go

independent there is there's a sacrifice you leave by relationships that that strengthen you

and made you better well I feel like this is like I don't know like the first Japanese players to

hit MLB like you're gonna blow this up in a way that's gonna bring it into whole new directions

and I think a lot of those folks at CBS are gonna be following your lead and a lot of folks in

in traditional media are gonna follow your leader they're gonna wish they did I'm excited to see

your reporting I'm grateful for your leadership and your tenacity I've always respected your

tenacity and your integrity I'm excited about this new chapter and I'm just happy to get more

Scott McFarland covering the shit that matters so thank you for staying vigilant thank you for

supporting my show and coming on independent media when a lot of folks wouldn't I'm excited for

an opening day of a new season of baseball but also a new opening day for you in this new chapter

man best of luck to you uh and go get him let's do it again all right come back again soon man

baseball all right uh my thanks to Scott McFarland in a very busy week for making a stop here it shows

how he does prioritize independent media before he left CBS he was a regular on this show so I'm

very happy for him I'm excited to see what happens uh with Midas and with independent media

as you know this is independent media I'm not owned by anybody we have no corporate masters nobody

edits uh or or has any influence on anything I say except Chris who helps me uh tighten

up a bit but uh I'm gonna continue to speak truth to power bring you the stories that matter and

focus on what I think is most important and what you think is most important so continue to share

your feedback let me know what you think what you want me to focus on and tell me any guests that

you like to recommend you can hit me up on all social media platforms uh and on our website

independentamericans.us coming up uh we will have uh Ken Casey from the drop kick Murphy's will be

here tomorrow ahead of the No Kings protest which will be happening around the country and around

the world this weekend a Henry Rollins will be coming up in a couple of weeks we have Rokana

the congressman from California will be coming up and great actor Jeffrey Wright will join us

and others stay tuned for more announcements around that if you haven't heard

our recent episodes uh with uh Admiral James Javiti's from Monday please go back and check that out

Gerald Mark Hurtling from yesterday check that out and Mick Foley WWE legend I know we've been

pumping out episodes fast and furious but if you missed it Mick Foley this weekend a really important

and thoughtful and inspiring episode want I'm really proud of and Mick spoke spoke exclusively

to me here on independent americans so check it out and spread the word and especially on youtube

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moving up the charts and shoutouts to all of you who've been helping us do that uh especially

the new youtube members that joined up in the last couple of days are joining the vigilant the

very vigilant the most vigilant uh you're going to help us bring this independent media farther and

wider in the days to come as the march madness continues america is more divided than ever before

but that might be changing and here in independent americans we are working to bring light to contrast

the heat of all the other political shows so if you're now among the 45% of americans who are independent

this is your show or if you're just independent curious if you're joining us for the first time because

you're part of the mightest network or you follow scott McFarlane welcome because our independent

movement is hope for the future country of our party people of our politics light over heat

challenging the status quo especially in media i know i go on corporate media and i go on partisan

media but i am also building independent media and you're helping us do that and feeling a new

movement that spans across our society this is what the future of media and the future of politics

looks like and we're going to try to bring the hope the hope that is the the oxygen of our democracy

and i hope you enjoyed this episode with scott McFarlane if you did share it far and wide invite others

to declare their independence especially as traditional linear media dies and

fails us in times of war especially we need independent media that you can trust and you're helping

us do that so stay vigilant my friends and know that eternal vigilance is the price of freedom

you know you're not alone in your vigilance we're all vigilant and we're all in this together and

we're building it together i'm your host Paul Reichoff thank you for tuning into independent

americans i will see you tomorrow happy hump day happy opening day of baseball good luck this

season to whoever your team is and good luck especially to my new york yankees let's go yankees

enjoy opening day until next time stay vigilant america stay vigilant

if i can say one thing i've seen the children of the revolution and the good trouble they can break

he says the red and blue i can't any depended he's an addict

dude

and i went in to see a red rake and i could rather go he tells me to left and write our dreams for

fools without a clue and when you wait it's time to grow power by righteous media