Independent Times is the source for independent voters' no-spin news and analysis. Welcome to the first podcast built for America’s largest voting bloc: 43% of voters now identify as independent, outpacing both Democrats and Republicans.

Host Lisa Singer, joined by co-hosts Leyla Gullen (FOX24 News Now) and Bryan Gallo (Emmy-winning producer), unpack:

• Why most Americans reject Red vs. Blue labels
• How independents have swung every election since 2004
• Frustration with a system that locks 27 million out of primaries
• The power of independents to heal a divided nation

Independent Hero of the Week: Dr. Jackie Salit, author of Independents Rising, co-author of The Independent Voter, and co-director of ASU’s Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy, shares her 30+ years advocating for independent voters to unite America.

Timestamps:

00:00 | Title Sequence

00:44 | Opening Clip: Family Guy Sketch

01:17 | Welcome & Introductions by Lisa, Bryan, and Leyla

02:48 | Video Clip: Independent voters – America’s largest voting bloc

03:43 | Discussion: Analyzing the 43% independent voter majority

04:42 | Video Clip: Independents are a rising new force in our politics

05:54 | Key Question: What do independent voters actually want?

08:40 | Video Clip: Who are independent voters?

12:18 | Discussion: The power of independents to swing an election

13:44 | Video Clip: Exploring the phenomenon of "split-ticket voters"

16:19 | The purpose of the Independent Times podcast

19:01 | Independent Hero: Featuring Dr. Jackie Salit

19:33 | Wrap-up & Outro

Don't Miss Out! Join the Independent Times community on our website:

www.IndependentTimes.news

Find Us Everywhere! Follow us on all social media platforms:

@IndyTimesNews

How to Listen! Available on all podcast platforms:

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Independent Times is the source for independent voters' no-spin news and analysis. Welcome to the first podcast built for America’s largest voting bloc: 43% of voters now identify as independent, outpacing both Democrats and Republicans.

Host Lisa Singer, joined by co-hosts Leyla Gullen and Bryan Gallo, investigates the history and the enormous barriers facing independent political candidates.

We unpack:

• You are America's largest voting bloc, yet true independent politicians are nearly extinct.

• The Legacy of Ross Perot and other disruptors like Ralph Nader, and whether independents risk being "spoilers."
• The Rare Breed: Why only 25 out of 7,386 state legislative seats are held by independents and zero in the U.S. House.
• The Forward Movement: Andrew Yang's crusade to fix the system using ranked-choice voting and open primaries to give voters real choices.
• The Two-Party Grip: How confusing ballot rules, lack of funding, and state-by-state election laws keep 3rd parties out.

Independent Hero of the Week: Andrew Yang, the founder of the Forward Party, on how “changing the incentives” with open primaries and ranked-choice voting forces politicians to represent the nation’s majority, not the extremes of each party.

Timestamps:
00:00 Title Sequence
00:44 Seinfeld Clip – Kramer asks, “What’s the deal with politics?”
00:58 Intro by Lisa, Bryan, and Leyla – the rarity of independent politicians
02:55 Ross Perot's Presidential Bid (1992 Clip)
05:44 Bernie Sanders Presidential Bid (montage)
07:03 Bernie Sanders on Joe Rogan to discuss the minimum wage (clip)
08:25 Angus King explains that most Maine voters are unenrolled (clip)
09:40 The Statehouse Scarcity
10:05 Andrew Yang makes the case for universal basic income (clip)
11:15 Andrew Yang, The Forward Party, and Local Wins
11:42 Andrew Yang makes the case for the Forward Party (clip)
14:20 The Barrier: Sore Loser Laws & Party Flipping
14:24 NYC 2025 Mayoral Race, Cuomo and Adams switching to independent (clip)
15:22 Is the Two-Party System in the Constitution?
18:00 Steve Kornacki on how independents vote (clip)
19:15 RFK Jr. flips to independent in the 2024 election (clip)

20:47 Unaffiliated independent voters explain why (clip)
24:19 The best reform ideas for independents (clip)
26:26 Andrew Yang is our independent hero of the week
26:59 Independent Hero: Andrew Yang's TED Talk
28:27 Outro

Independent Times is the source for independent voters' no-spin news and analysis. Welcome to the first podcast built for America’s largest voting bloc: 43% of voters now identify as independent, outpacing both Democrats and Republicans.

Don't Miss Out! Join the Independent Times community on our website:

www.IndependentTimes.news

Find Us Everywhere! Follow us on all social media platforms:

@IndyTimesNews

How to Listen! Available on all podcast platforms:

Search "Independent Times" on your favorite podcast app

Independent Times is the source for independent voters' no-spin news and analysis. Welcome to the first podcast built for America’s largest voting bloc: 43% of voters now identify as independent, outpacing both Democrats and Republicans.

The Founding Fathers established the free press as the "Fourth Estate," a vital check on government power. Today, with only 16% of Americans subscribing to a newspaper and one to two papers closing weekly, that pillar is crumbling.

Host Lisa Singer and co-hosts Leyla Gullen and Bryan Gallo uncover what's at stake and how independents can help save this essential safeguard of democracy.

We unpack:

• The Core Fight: From Thomas Jefferson's scandal to Nixon's Watergate, why the battle between politicians and the press is constant.
• The Laws That Bind: Key historical laws, the Sedition Act, the Espionage Act, and modern challenges like Florida's weakened protections that make investigative reporting harder.
• Journalism's Shield: The landmark Supreme Court cases of NYT v. United States, The Pentagon Papers, NYT v. Sullivan "Actual Malice" standard, and why they are under threat.
• The Cost of Truth: The financial and legal risks facing journalists and how the Privacy Protection Act of 1980 offers limited defense.
• Independent Hero of the Week: The American Journalism Project (AJP), which invests in nonprofit news organizations to sustain local news.

Timestamps:

00:00 | Title Sequence

00:45 | Clip: “JFK on the Vital Role of a Free Press”

01:20 | The free press as the "fourth estate" and its current struggle.

03:26 | The Partisan Press: Jefferson/Sally Hemings scandal (1802)

03:59 | The eternal love-hate relationship between politicians and the press.

06:34 | Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's Watergate investigation.

12:21 | Florida and Texas are weakening protections for journalists

14:56 | Historical Laws Limiting the Press: Sedition Act, Espionage Act

16:05 | Julian Assange and the Espionage Act Danger

20:12 | Privacy Protection Act of 1980 to shield work product

23:49 | New York Times v. United States (1971)

26:02 | New York Times v. Sullivan – The “Actual Malice” Shield (1964)

28:41 | Donald Trump calls for "opening up" libel law protections

30:07 | Independent Hero of the Week: The American Journalism Project

32:13 | Final thoughts, next week's topic, and call to action.

Don't Miss Out! Join the Independent Times community on our website:

www.IndependentTimes.news

Find Us Everywhere! Follow us on all social media platforms:

@IndyTimesNews

How to Listen! Available on all podcast platforms:

Search "Independent Times" on your favorite podcast app

️ Independent Times – Season 1

Independent Times is the source for independent voters' news and analysis.

Independent Times is the source for independent voters' no-spin news and analysis. Welcome to the first podcast built for America’s largest voting bloc.

Today, we tackle a crisis: A 2025 YouGov poll shows only 29% of independents trust the media. How did we go from the unified trust of Walter Cronkite to a polarized "sea of spin?"

Host Lisa Singer, along with co-hosts Leyla Gullen and Bryan Gallo, explores the history of media failures and provides practical tools to help independent voters navigate the news with confidence.

We unpack:

• The Great Shift: The crucial moments from the Pentagon Papers triumph to the Fairness Doctrine's demise that fueled today's partisan media environment.
• Trust Killers: How major media failures, including the Iraq WMD reporting and the 2008 financial crisis, damaged the public's faith.
• False Balance & Narrative: How the push for "performative neutrality" prioritizes political narratives over facts, as Margaret Sullivan's critique shows.
• The Local News Crisis: The dire impact of social media and ad revenue cuts, leading to over 3,200 newspaper closures since 2005.
• The Fix: Practical steps for independents, including diversifying sources and using news literacy tools to spot bias.
• Independent Hero of the Week: Alan Miller, founder of the News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan nonprofit empowering students to spot fact from fiction.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 | Title Sequence
• 00:45 | Clip: Walter Cronkite & The Unifying Force of the Press
• 01:22 | Intro: 29% Independents Trust the Media
• 03:37 | Clip: The Presidential Battle with the Free Press
• 05:30 | The Press as Watchdog: The First Amendment & The Fourth Estate
• 07:38 | Clip: The Katharine Graham Story (Courage in Publishing)
• 09:30 | The End of Trust: History Behind the Erosion of Media Credibility
• 10:51 | The End of the Fairness Doctrine (The Birth of Partisan Media)
• 11:32 | Clip: The Fairness Doctrine: A Brief History
• 13:48 | The WMD Disaster: How the Media Failed on the Iraq War
• 16:41 | Clip: Judith Miller and Jon Stewart on the NYT Coverage of WMD
• 18:10 | The Price of Partisan Narratives: Prioritizing Narrative over Truth
• 21:12 | Clip: Margaret Sullivan on Hillary Clinton’s Emails
• 22:09 | Major Media Mistakes (Woodward, Caliphate, FOX/Dominion)
• 23:52 | Clip: FOX News Massive Settlement with Dominion Voting
• 25:12 | The Ethics Failure & What Journalists Must Adhere To
• 28:17 | The Bleeding Out: Social Media & The Death of Local News
• 29:44 | The Fix: Practical News Literacy Tools for Independent Voters
• 32:47 | Clip: On Media Literacy
• 35:15 | Independent Priorities: The Cost Battlegrounds (Health & Finance)
• 36:50 | The Human Cost of Frustration
• 37:48 | Finding Clarity in the Spin & Independent Hero of the Week
• 40:15 | Final thoughts, next week's topic, and call to action.

Don't Miss Out! Join the Independent Times community on our website:

www.IndependentTimes.news

Find Us Everywhere! Follow us on all social media platforms:

@IndyTimesNews

How to Listen! Available on all podcast platforms:

Search "Independent Times" on your favorite podcast app

S1 E5: Why We Don’t Trust Government And How To Fix It

Independent Times is the source for independent voters' no-spin news and analysis. Welcome to the first podcast built for America’s largest voting bloc: 43% of voters now identify as independent, outpacing both Democrats and Republicans.

Trust in government is at historic lows, with a 2025 study showing that 65% of young Americans are open to radical change, driven by economic anxiety and the perception that leaders prioritize the interests of elites over the public good.

Host Lisa Singer, along with co-hosts Leyla Gullen and Bryan Gallo, bridges the gap between widespread distrust and the government's essential functions.

We Unpack:

• The Defining Divide: We clarify the core ideological platforms. Democrats view the government as the solution and a safety net, as seen in FDR's New Deal; Republicans view the government as the problem and advocate for lean, free markets, as exemplified by Reagan's philosophy.
• The Great Erosion: We trace the collapse of trust from the post-WWII peak of 80% to the present day, fueled by historic betrayals such as the Vietnam War lies, Watergate, and the devastating 2008 bank bailouts.
• The Economic Urgency: We examine the current financial crisis, characterized by rising delinquencies and family farm bankruptcies, and why economic stagnation threatens to push citizens into the arms of "strongmen."
• The Fix: With 86% of Americans fed up with gridlock, independent voters are the key to change. We share practical steps to restore accountability, starting at the local level.
• Independent Hero of the Week: Braver Angels, a grassroots organization dedicated to bridging the partisan divide and rebuilding trust one conversation at a time.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 | Title Sequence
• 00:44 | Clip: “All In The Family” Archie Debates Politics
• 01:32 | Intro: Churchill's Cynical Defense of Democracy
• 03:53 | The UN Defense of Democracy
• 05:55 | What Makes America a Democracy?
• 07:16 | Clip: President Obama on Public Service
• 08:15 | Democracy vs. All Other Forms of Government
• 12:28 | Threats of Polarization and Lack of Accountability
• 13:28 | Economic Stress, Delinquencies, and Bankruptcies,
• 14:03 | Clip: Everyday Americans are Struggling
• 15:16 | What Breaks a Democracy?
• 17:01 | Brief Moments of High Trust (1812 to Post-WWII Peak)
• 16:16 | The Great Shift: FDR's New Deal Revolution
• 19:21 | Clip: The Great Depression
• 21:35 | The Ideological Divide: New Deal vs. Reagan
• 25:46 | Clip: Ronald Reagan on The Tonight Show (1975)
• 27:11 | Betrayal: Lies from Vietnam to the Iraq War
• 28:35 | Clip: 60 Minutes on the 2008 Bank Bailouts Clip
• 29:59 | Independents: The Key to Fixing Gridlock
• 33:52 | Independent Hero of the Week: Braver Angels
• 35:52 | Final thoughts, next week's topic, and call to action.

Don't Miss Out! Join the Independent Times community on our website:

www.IndependentTimes.news

Find Us Everywhere! Follow us on all social media platforms:

@IndyTimesNews

How to Listen! Available on all podcast platforms:

Search "Independent Times" on your favorite podcast app

️ Independent Times – Season 1

Independent Times is th...

Independent Times is the source for independent voters' no-spin news and analysis. Welcome to the first podcast built for America’s largest voting bloc: 43% of voters now identify as independent, outpacing both Democrats and Republicans.

With trust in government at a record low of 22%, it's time to ask a critical question: What is our civic duty in fixing this mess?

Welcome back to Independent Times. Host Lisa Singer, along with co-hosts Leyla Gullen and Bryan Gallo, explores the "core covenant" of American citizenship, from George Washington’s promise to the JFK ideal. We argue that the independent majority is now responsible for restoring the republic.

We Unpack:

• The Core Covenant: The history and definition of the bargain: government provides protection and liberty, and citizens provide accountability and engagement.
• Duty vs. Responsibility: We examine the crucial role of independent voters in revitalizing a self-governing republic by fulfilling their civic duty and responsibility through active engagement, drawing inspiration from historical movements that leveraged the First Amendment to demand accountability.
• The First Amendment Superpowers: We demonstrate how independent changemakers throughout history, such as the Women's Suffragists and Civil Rights Protestors, activated their rights to force systemic change and held officials accountable:
• The Ongoing Fight: We examine the modern threat to voting rights, including the 79 restrictive laws passed since 2020 and the persistence of closed primaries in 22 states.

Timestamps:

00:00 | Title Sequence

00:44 | Clip: “JFK’s Famous Inaugural Address Passage, 1961.”

02:14 | Intro: George Washington's Core Covenant of Citizenship

05:16 | The Paradox of Apathy; Why Citizens Check Out

06:33 | The Price of Freedom Is Eternal Vigilance

07:49 | Clip: “The West Wing, Margaret Mead Quote.”

10:12 | The Purpose of Government is Human Happiness

11:29 | Clip: “Dave Chapele Hosts SNL: Douglass/Lincoln Lesson.”

14:06 | Superpowers of the American Citizen: The First Amendment Toolkit

15:15 | Civic Duty vs. Civic Responsibility: Formal vs. Proactive

17:49 | Clip: “Inn 2024 Frontline PBS Revisits 2020 Voters.”

19:24 History Proves Engagement Works: Voting and Protesting

20:46 | Clip: “BBC Interview With MLK on Peaceable Assembly.”

25:24 | Power to the People, Voting Rights Restrictions

27:42 | Clip: “Voting Rights Rollbacks, Shelby vs. Holder.”

30:19 | Clip: “LBJ Voting Rights Act Speech to Congress, 1965.”

32:11 | Our Independent Hero of the Week: The League of Women Voters

35:51 | 4 Things Independent Voters Must Do RIGHT NOW

Don't Miss Out! Join the Independent Times community on our website:

www.IndependentTimes.news

Find Us Everywhere! Follow us on all social media platforms:

@IndyTimesNews

How to Listen! Available on all podcast platforms:

Search "Independent Times" on your favorite podcast app

️ Independent Times – Season 1

Independent Times is the source for independent voters' news and analysis.