Politically "independent" used to mean you were moderate. Not anymore.  It's no secret that Americans are politically divided, as faith in political parties erodes. In the past, so-called "independent" voters were likely shifting between Democrats and Republicans. But now, especially Gen-Z, are pushing in new directions, far from the center. In this episode, we explore how "independent" became a rallying cry for change on the left and the right.  <a href="https://www.npr.org/people/409798174/danielle-kurtzleben"target="_blank" >Danielle Kurtzleben</a> guest hosts with <a href="https://www.npr.org/people/732818534/elena-moore"target="_blank" >Elena Moore</a>, a political reporter for NPR, and <a href="https://www.uncg.edu/employees/omar-ali/"target="_blank" >Dr. Omar Ali</a>, a professor of African American political history at UNC & author of <a href="https://www.ohioswallow.com/9780821424346/in-the-balance-of-power/"target="_blank" >In the Balance of Power: Independent Black Politics and Third Party Movements in the United States</a>. Want more episodes on political culture? Check out these episodes:<a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/12/05/nx-s1-5629154/woke-is-back-new-era"target="_blank" >Woke is BACK! ...really?</a><a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/02/13/nx-s1-5712786/maga-has-a-dei-policy-just-ask-nicki-minaj"target="_blank" >MAGA has a DEI policy. Just ask Nicki Minaj.</a><a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/02/04/nx-s1-5698282/the-swoletariat-a-history-of-leftist-fitness"target="_blank" >The Swoletariat: a history of leftist fitness</a> Support Public Media. <a href="https://plus.npr.org/"target="_blank" >Join NPR Plus.</a> Follow Brittany on Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/bmluse/?hl=en"target="_blank" >@bmluse</a> For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at <a href="http://npr.org/podclub"target="_blank" >npr.org/podclub</a>. To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below: See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. Learn more about sponsor message choices: <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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