The Bulwark Podcast

Tracy Alloway and Jordan Ritter Conn: The Global Economic Shock from a Stupid War

21 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Trump keeps jawboning the markets to try to manage the fallout from the war on Iran, but we have yet to see the full economic impact of his foreign p...

Bill Kristol: The Tough Guy Really, Really Means It This Time

20 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Just hang tight: Trump is super close to a deal with an enemy that he handed all the leverage to. Absolutely do not read his steady supply of hollow ...

Ben Rhodes: Trump Is Getting a Terrible Deal

17 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. and Israel started dropping bombs on Iran because the regime, amid mass street protests, appeared to be in a weakened state. But the regime ...

Amanda Carpenter: The Worst President Ever

16 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From Trump's sacrilegious use of Jesus, to his massively corrupt pardon scheme, and his desire to plaster his name on every federal building and inst...

Alastair Campbell: Trump Is a Wanker

15 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Irish are protesting in the streets over the price of fuel, Qatar's GDP is plummeting, and heating bills are skyrocketing in France. And today, e...

Michael Weiss: Iran Is Not Likely to Forget about the War

14 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Iranian regime may be wounded, but it’s likely to seek revenge for the war at some point, maybe even through sleeper cells in the United States...

Bill Kristol: Are the Winds Finally Shifting?

13 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Orbán’s loss in Hungary was so overwhelming he couldn’t cheat his way out of it. But the decisive defeat for both Putin and authoritarianism may...

Jane Coaston: We Have Some Questions, Melania

10 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

No one was really asking about Melania’s ties to Epstein. But after her surprise White House statement to the press on Thursday, the questions are ...

Anne Applebaum: Hungary's Surreal, Post-Reality Campaign

09 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Putin puppet Viktor Orbán—whose nepotistic and corrupt government in Hungary has become the model for the far-right in America and Europe—is fac...

David French and Suhas Subramanyam: The Superpower Folded in Front of the Whole World

08 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Trump showed that he is completely unequipped to be a war leader. He threatened crimes against humanity, and not only let a foe prove it could take o...

Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz: The Dangers Posed by Sam Altman

07 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

AI poses real existential threats. The global economy is dependent on it, it's being deployed in war zones and used for domestic surveillance, and it...

Bill Kristol: POTUS, the Macho Madman

06 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In threatening to bomb Iran to smithereens, Trump seems to be motivated by a combination of frustration, vengeance, and wanting to look like a tough ...

Robert Kagan: We’re Transitioning to a Post-American World

03 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The pro-Iran war hawks keep crowing about how U.S. military prowess is supposedly striking fear in Beijing and Moscow. But what’s really happening ...

Susan Glasser: The President Is Crazy and Delusional

02 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Trump fired Pam Bondi, maybe the most destructive AG in the history of the United States, because she wasn't able to magically and lawlessly jail his...

Josh Barro and Paige Cognetti: The World Is Going to Blame Trump

01 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The war-induced global oil shock is already pushing consumers and businesses to new pain points because of higher fuel prices. Airlines are cutting b...

Jon Lovett: It Is Time to Scream and Yell

31 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Trump has served up so many rationales for why he had to do this war, but helping Iran project even more power in the region was surely not one of th...

Bill Kristol: No Kings

30 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Thousands of soldiers and Marines have arrived in the Middle East to potentially engage in combat on Iranian soil. Trump has done nothing to make the...

Michael Steele: The King of Debt Is Blowing Up the U.S. Economy

27 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In addition to the global energy shock brought on by Trump's war, mortgage rates are surging, and labor costs and prices are rising. And Republicans ...

Al Gore: Trump Has Made a Historic Mistake

26 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

For nearly 50 years, since the Ayatollah seized power in Iran and took Americans hostage, the U.S. has known that the regime could single-handedly sh...

Angie "Pumps" Sullivan and Phil Gordon: The Dumbest People Are Running this Country

25 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Trump's shamelessness has been his political superpower, but the regime in Tehran is seeing a desperate and panicked man doing the opposite of what h...

Jeffrey Goldberg and Joe Weisenthal: Pandora's Box Has Been Opened

24 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A war of choice may evolve into a war of necessity because the brains at the White House apparently did not anticipate that Iran—in response to the...

Bill Kristol: Trump Is in Way over His Head

23 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The man in charge is bluffing, blustering, and trying to manipulate the markets by claiming that the administration is in negotiations with Iran and ...

David Frum: A Very Bad Time for Bozos to Be in Charge

20 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. is at war with the leading state sponsor of terror, and Donald Trump appointed Markwayne Mullin—a man with no counter-terrorism experience...

James Talarico: The Bulwark LIVE from Dallas

19 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

For Talarico, it doesn't really matter whether Cornyn or Paxton wins their runoff battle. Either way, the Texas Democratic Senate candidate says he i...

Ro Khanna: Trump Is in Denial

18 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

POTUS is pretending the laws of supply and demand don't apply when it comes to the price of oil. And his long list of conflicting statements on the S...

Ashley St. Clair and Cameron Kasky: Leaving the MAGA Cult

17 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A former MAGA influencer who saw the underbelly of the immense power and wealth around this administration says never-Trumpers should show compassion...

Bill Kristol: End the War

16 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

As the Iran war enters its third week, the Trump administration looks like it doesn’t know what it’s doing: It did not bother to consult U.S. all...

Tom Nichols: Sinking Into the Mire of a Longer War?

13 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Trump administration is preparing to deploy a Marine expeditionary unit to the Middle East along with more warships. But that development was not...

Sam Stein: The Ridiculously Unserious President

12 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We’re raining hellfire down on Iran and American soldiers have died, but that doesn’t stop Trump from hitting the links, doing a little dancing, ...

Saagar Enjeti: “The Joke Is on Me”

11 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

One of the biggest America First fans tells Tim that he thought Trump 2.0 would be different because like-minded, high-level personnel—including th...

Laura Rozen and Sonny Bunch: War and Dystopia

10 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Before the bombs and the missiles started falling on Iran, Trump sent Jared and Witkoff to try to cut a deal with Tehran. But his two favorite emissa...

Sarah Longwell: No One Should Trust this Government

09 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Unless the administration is keeping some closely-guarded secret about why America went to war against Iran, the only thing officialdom is saying out...

Neera Tanden: Absolute Power Corrupts

06 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Republicans and the Supreme Court have put basically no guardrails on Trump, so he started a global war that is costing taxpayers $1 billion a day. H...

Derek Thompson: Ruling by Emergency

05 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Not only is Trump failing to provide any clarity on why the United States went to war against Iran, the administration is also sticking to its habit ...

Morris Katz: Tax the Billionaires

04 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The starting kit for a unified Democratic Party with the biggest, broadest tent should be calling out the billionaire class that is sabotaging our po...

Mark Hertling and Ruben Gallego: A Rush to War

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The facts on the ground and the ludicrous statements speak for themselves: The administration inadequately planned for the execution of this war. Tha...

Bill Kristol: A Madman's Way of War

02 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Trump cannot enunciate a clear reason for why he's chosen to go to war against Iran, and the administration is not even bothering to coordinate a mes...

Amanda Carpenter: Let the Media Dinosaurs Die

27 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Trump’s head is stuck in the 80s so he may not have noticed that cable is dying. All he can think about is getting his greedy little hands on CNN s...

Jonathan Chait: The World's Worst People

26 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

No matter how often Trump tries to change the subject, he keeps getting caught in his own attempted diversions. He blames Somali immigrants for impor...

Susan Glasser: Trump’s Industrial-Scale Lies

25 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

For just under two hours, Trump in his State of the Union address lied about the state of the economy, the cost of living, his tariffs, and even his ...

Charles Duhigg: What MAGA Can Teach Democrats

24 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Apart from all the lies MAGA is forced to say in defense of Donald Trump, the movement is actually better at political organizing than Democrats. So ...

Jonathan V. Last: Trump's Decadence Is Rubbing off on Americans

23 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

With a shooting at Mar-a-Lago and some real counterterrorism issues associated with Trump's threat of war on Iran, Kash Patel probably had more impor...

Michael Weiss: Trump’s Fee-Fees Are Hurt

20 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Of course, SCOTUS struck down Trump’s stupid tariffs. Nearly every legal expert in America said they were unconstitutional, but we have had to live...

Sen. Tina Smith: The Bulwark LIVE from Minneapolis

19 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The junior senator from Minnesota joined Tim on Wednesday for the first show of a two-night Bulwark run at the historic Pantages Theatre in Minneapol...

Mark Leibovich: Democrats Are Too Afraid of Hurting People’s Feelings

18 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Most Democratic politicians are scared to criticize each other. They also fear dinging former presidents, or the various groups that make up the part...

Rick Wilson: The Shamelessness of MAGA

17 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From FCC Chair Brendan Carr—who keeps trying to silence the political opinions of late night TV comedians, to DHS pressuring social media companies...

Bill Kristol: The Administration’s Stupid Ethnonationalism

16 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The white Anglo-Saxon supremacy in Trumpland is so over the top that even child-of-Cuban-immigrants Marco Rubio claims America’s common cultural he...

Scott Galloway: Time to Send a Message to the CEOs

13 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In addition to protesting and voting, we have another option hiding in plain sight against this administration: our economic power. Scott says resist...

Adam Kinzinger: The People of Minneapolis Won

12 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

ICE failed in its operation in Minnesota because the people would not bend to their terror campaign. Minneapolis residents also maintained incredible...

Ben Wittes: A Defiant Ukraine

11 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Trump may keep telling Ukrainians their country is about to collapse, and Putin may keep bombing their power plants—leaving them miserably cold duri...

Jane Coaston: The Epstein Revelations Keep Getting Worse

10 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Not only did Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick go to the Epstein island, a sultan from the UAE, who sent a “torture video” to Epstein, also atten...

Bill Kristol: MAGA's Grievance Culture

09 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Trump of course hated Bad Bunny's halftime performance, but even he wasn't running the Turning Point alternative at Mar-a-Lago. And a couple of Olymp...

David French: Our State of National Shame

06 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Trump casually posted a racist video and the White House essentially told Americans to calm down. Convicted felons are being treated better than roun...

Marty Baron: Behind the Washington Post’s Demise

05 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The massive layoffs at Jeff Bezos's Washington Post involve more than just the financial situation at the paper. The Amazon founder's real priority i...

Robert Kagan and Marianne Williamson: Slipping Into Dictatorship

04 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump is going to do everything he can to hold onto his near monopoly on power after the midterms. Beyond his scheme to invoke the Insurrectio...

Will Stancil: The Heroes of Minneapolis

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From dads standing guard at school doors, to Costco moms delivering food to people afraid to leave home, and to the ICE spotters patrolling the stree...

Bill Kristol: The MAGA Elites Are Such Frauds

02 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

JD originally made a name for himself as an economic populist but now spends all his time lying and ignoring the woes of the white working class. Ste...

Michael Steele: A Petty, Punk-Ass President

30 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In the wake of the massive winter storm, the power is still out in some places, trees are down, and the death toll continues to rise. And where is FE...

Ta-Nehisi Coates: This Is Armed Identity Politics

29 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Trump has decidedly built a white supremacist army within the government. And this was always the risk when the Department of Homeland Security was c...

Adam Serwer and Bobby Pulido: MAGA Got Proven Wrong

28 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The mass deportation operation was supposed to be about the manly men pulling out all the stops in defense of Western civilization, which they claim ...

Gov. Tim Walz and Jason Zengerle: The Assault on Minnesota

27 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The deployment of dangerous, untrained, and violent federal agents on the streets of Minneapolis met its match in a massive, organized, nonviolent re...

Bill Kristol: The Murder of Alex Pretti

26 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Trump administration’s version of the Stasi murdered Alex Pretti in cold blood because he was exercising his First Amendment right to peacefull...

Mike Murphy: We’re Living in a Nightmare

23 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Trump is taking billion dollar bribes for his ‘Board of Peace,’ where he can pretend he’ll be the head of a new world order in partnership with...

Fiona Hill: Putin and the Art of Manipulating Trump

22 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump is so enamored with Vladimir Putin he doesn't even know the Russian leader is regularly making fun of him in ways that can’t easily be...

Rep. Sarah McBride: Our President's Drunk History Take

21 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In his rambling mess of a speech at Davos, Trump confused Iceland and Greenland, and demonstrated that he doesn't understand how NATO works. The infa...

David Plouffe: Democrats Have to Run Against Their Party

20 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Republican Party may be deeply unpopular, but the Democratic Party is even more so. The Dems' brand is weak despite the success of the off-year e...

Bill Kristol: Trump Is Humiliating Us

19 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The president's demented rant that the United States has to take Greenland because the Nobel committee has not awarded him his much coveted peace pri...

Wright Thompson: The Ghosts of Mississippi

16 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Official Mississippi doesn't really want to talk about the murder of Emmett Till—or teach about the murder of Emmett Till. Almost 71 years later, t...

Sam Stein: Trump Is Trying to Instigate Unrest

15 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

For some reason, the president thinks he is winning the news cycle by occupying a great American city and ordering his agents to violently confront U...

Mark Hertling: The Cowards of ICE

14 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

To the people who have actually served in war zones—and been up close and personal in real do-or-die situations—the masked, heavily armed agents ...

Susan Glasser and Jacob Soboroff: A Dangerous Lame Duck

13 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Trump's low approval ratings may be giving people the idea that he is weak and disempowered. But Trump backed into a corner could well be more uncons...

Bill Kristol: This Is Accelerationist Authoritarianism

12 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Grandpa Trump looked like he was losing the pep in his step at the end of the year. But with him threatening the independence of the Fed, justifying ...

Anne Applebaum and Jacob Frey: Using Lies to Justify Violence

09 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says ICE descended on his city with hopes of rounding up undocumented Somalis. When agents couldn't find any, they start...

Ryan Grim: An Unconscionable Reaction to a Summary Execution

08 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Most law enforcement departments train officers not to stand in front of vehicles—or shoot at moving ones—but masked ICE agents in Minneapolis di...

George Conway: Trump Is a Vampire

07 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Biden and Merrick Garland thought Trump would just go away, but malignant narcissists must be made to go away. And with Congress not fulfilling its c...

Jonathan Blitzer: The Stars Aligned Against Venezuela

06 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Trump wanted to alpha male and take some oil, Hegseth wanted to bomb something, Rubio wanted Maduro gone, and aggrieved Stephen Miller wanted to bull...

Bill Kristol: A Stupid and Insane Foreign Intervention

05 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Toppling the leader of Venezuela looks to be about greed and Trump's vanity. It's not about national security, and is likely to produce bad outcomes—...

John Heilemann: The Year Is Ending a Lot Better than It Started

31 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Only six months ago, the wheels felt like they were coming off of America, and our democracy experiment. But since the Epstein case broke wide open, t...

Julie K. Brown: Hiding the Truth in the Epstein Files

30 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The DOJ is releasing random Epstein documents to distract the public, while also intentionally covering the faces of men in images. It's also pulling ...

Bill Kristol: Trump Has Lost the Plot

29 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After a campaign built on the promise that Trump was going to look out for his voters, he started his administration getting sidetracked by DOGE and M...

Kara Swisher: We're in an 'Eat the Rich' Moment

26 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The year started with America's tech overlords kissing the ring at Trump's inauguration, and it's ending with the public fed up with the ostentatiousl...

Tom Nichols: The Buzz Has Worn Off

23 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Six months ago, MAGA world was strutting around with their chests puffed out. But now, many of them are having a blue Christmas over the infighting, t...

Bill Kristol: This Is Trump's Cover-Up

22 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On the Epstein matter, the current DOJ is not just putting its thumb on the scale for Trump. It's his defense team. Make no mistake: The top two offic...

David Frum: Trump and Epstein Were Best Friends

19 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Of all the images of Trump, the only times he seemed to be authentically smiling in the presence of another person was when he was with Jeffrey Epstei...

Patrick Gaspard: A White House Screamathon

18 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Trump's power of persuasion is failing him on the affordability issue. He even broke MAGA creed on live TV by calling on Americans to trust the word o...

Catherine Rampell and Michael Steinberger: Trump Wants to Cook the Books

17 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

POTUS is firing or censoring the statisticians who collect data on health and climate, as well as the kind of experts who could verify his lofty claim...

Will Sommer: Conspiracy Theorists Are Behind the Wheel in the Republican Party

16 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The people running the Republican grassroots are nativist populists, and it’s a space where opposition to Israel thrives, along with a heaping servi...

Bill Kristol: A Weekend of Tragedy

15 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From the shooting at Brown University, to the Oct. 7-style slaughter in Australia, and the shocking murder of Rob Reiner and his wife—it’s been on...

Alyssa Farah: Trump's Big L in Indiana

12 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Despite death threats and harassment, Republicans in Indiana delivered the biggest political setback to Trump since officials in Georgia wouldn’t he...

David French: MAGA Is Bleeding Numbers

11 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Republican disunity is being obscured by affection for Trump, but just below the surface, MAGA is being pulled apart at the seams. At the same time, t...

Neera Tanden: America's 'Daddy' Is in a Rut

10 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Big boss Trump, who claims the power to run the whole government via executive order and pushes all our allies around, suddenly is a man with no agenc...

Mark Hertling: Trump (Still) Hates Europe

09 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Heaping scorn and disdain on Europe, Trump called its countries decaying and its leaders weak, but the U.S. likely needs Europe more than they need us...

Bill Kristol: This Is Not Democratic Government

08 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

ICE and Border Patrol are kidnapping people in the suburbs near New Orleans based on racial profiling—it’s like the South of 70 years ago. Mini Gr...

Tommy Vietor: The 'Peace' President

05 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Trump is overseeing extrajudicial killings off the coast of Venezuela but nothing was going to stop him from getting a peace prize—even if it’s a ...

Sam Stein: We Got Ourselves a Mad King

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Trump’s use of his pardon power is downright crazy, and that’s not even counting his rescue of a convicted drug kingpin. He’s also sabotaging hi...

Jonathan Lemire: A Bubble-Wrapped Trump

03 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Trump’s rallies have been his signature event, but since he returned to the White House, he has stopped doing them. And his allies are worried he’...

Olivia Nuzzi Breaks Her Silence

03 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There are no shortage of scandals plaguing Washington D.C. right now. One that has captivated much of the political and media professions involves Ol...

Project 2025 Is Coming Back To Bite Trump

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As a candidate, Trump knew to steer clear of Project 2025. But as president, he embraced its deeply unpopular policy goals and it has been driving dow...

Bill Kristol: A Kleptocratic, Autocratic Cabal

01 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Not only are the opportunities for personal financial gain for Trump and his White House cronies driving the administration’s foreign policy decisio...

George Packer: Trump Was a Symptom

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Americans were already losing touch with basic decency before Trump came along—and he exploited that indecency, distrust, and division to win power....