# “Don’t Lose Hope”with Admiral Bill McRaven. Plus: #1 National Security Threat Is K–12 Education.

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff-981737/don-t-lose-hope-with-admiral-bill-mcraven-plus-1-national-security-threat-is-k-12-education
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff-981737/don-t-lose-hope-with-admiral-bill-mcraven-plus-1-national-security-threat-is-k-12-education.md
Podcast: [Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff](https://stenobird.com/podcast/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff-981737)
Published: 2026-06-29T21:33:07+00:00
Episode link: https://bleav.com/shows/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff/episodes/dont-lose-hopewith-admiral-bill-mcraven-plus-1-national-security-threat-is-k-12-education/
Audio file: https://pdrl.fm/c39fb6/pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/1385/injector.simplecastaudio.com/c67dcf2c-bdc6-42d2-91a1-db918b8e8626/episodes/5c07ce0a-8df3-41e0-ba41-137d88feae44/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=c67dcf2c-bdc6-42d2-91a1-db918b8e8626&awEpisodeId=5c07ce0a-8df3-41e0-ba41-137d88feae44&feed=8GTvjwcf
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Duration seconds: 1937

## Resource

Paul sits down with retired Admiral Bill McRaven — Navy SEAL, former SOCOM commander, former University of Texas system chancellor, and one of the clearest voices in American public life — for a conversation built for this moment. McRaven doesn't flinch. He calls K-12 education the number one national security threat facing the country, lays out exactly where the administration's 28-point Ukraine plan goes wrong, and walks troops through the moral and legal architecture of what an illegal order really is. In a week when the commander in chief is calling combat-veteran senators traitors and floating executions, McRaven offers something different: dignity, decorum, and ground-truth analysis from a man who has actually carried the weight.

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## Transcript

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