The Bulwark Podcast
Episodes
Ritchie Torres and Ben Smith: Pride and Priors
04 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rep. Ritchie Torres joins Tim Miller to discuss how to win working-class voters, his Dickensian upbringing, and Israel under the microscope of 24-hour...
Bill Kristol: Rally Around the Flag
03 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a good moment for Biden to proudly raise the flag right-side up, and share his love of America—even as his Justice Department's prosecution ...
Ben Wittes and Ron Filipkowski: Guilty!
31 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump collaborated with a slimy crew to break the law, and it may have swung the 2016 election. Russia's election interference was troubling—...
Derek Thompson: Negativity Bias
30 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
America is currently stuck in a negativity vibe, and it's shaping the media we consume, impacting how we look at the economy, and contributing to the ...
David Frum: Complete Chaos
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If Trump were to win, his plans to sabotage the Justice Department and consolidate power would plunge the country into chaos: Our government would be ...
John Heilemann: Piss and Vinegar
28 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If persuadable voters are going to back an octogenarian, they are going to need to see less caution—and more piss and vinegar from Biden to combat T...
Sarah Longwell and A.B. Stoddard: Won't Get Fooled Again
24 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
First off, Nikki, you're canceled. And while Trump's out on bail flaunting his partnership with Putin and showcasing two men charged with murder, too ...
Jasmine Crockett: Nikki Haley and B6
23 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rep. Jasmine Crockett joins Tim Miller to talk about the origins of "bleach blond bad built butch body," what it's like to work with a House GOP that ...
James Comey and Ben Wittes: A Demagogue Our Founders Feared
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Former FBI Director James Comey joins Tim Miller to discuss the choices he made in 2016, the DOJ's self-sabotaging avoidance of the media, and how to ...
Rick Wilson: The Reich Stuff
21 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The "unified Reich" reference was no accident: Trump is aiming to both fire up the base and court public controversy. Meanwhile, Giuliani is hawking s...
Tom Nichols: The Cult Around the Sad Boy from Queens
20 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Trump has embraced the culture war on guns and abortion, but he is somehow being painted as a moderate again. Meanwhile, Giuliani and Abbott served up...
Anne Applebaum: A New Propaganda War
17 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Russia, China, and their authoritarian allies are working overtime to poison the idea of democracy everywhere in the world. It's a theme so heartily e...
Joe Walsh: Red Lines
16 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This election is about being a grownup and making a choice. One candidate is clearly preferable, and a protest vote sends a message to no one. Meanwhi...
Ben Wittes and Brody Mullins: Code Red
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Cohen substantiated 99% of what's needed to prove Trump's hush money reimbursement scheme—and so far, Cohen held his own under the weak defe...
Eddie Glaude Jr.: Biden Needs to Thread the Needle
14 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Joe has to tell campus protesters it's OK to disagree with him—and that they can hold him to account. But if they want to keep the ability to protes...
Will Saletan: Trolls and Liars
13 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today's GOP is not a governing party—it's a grievance and trolling party, and Trump has the nihilist vote all locked up. Meanwhile, Lindsey Graham a...
Mark Leibovich: The Oracle of Washington
10 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Johnson may have seen the light in the SCIF, but is he scheming with Trump for Jan 6, 2025? Plus, imagining Gavin Newsom 2028 if we get to keep o...
Ben Wittes and Ro Khanna: Stormy Rafah
09 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In New York, we are getting the trial we deserve: It's not about high principles and democracy, but the trashy celebrity culture America let into the ...
Adam Kinzinger: A Small Man
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The ex-POTUS who claims he was taken down by the deep state is looking even smaller in court, getting scolded by the judge and sitting through testimo...
Elizabeth Neumann and Geoff Duncan: Republican Voters Against Trump
07 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Two conservatives describe their break with Trump. Former DHS official Elizabeth Neumann saw both the mafia culture up close and Trump's disinterest i...
Bill Kristol and Andrew Egger: Lying Is the Price of Admission
06 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Any apprentice who wants to join Trump's ticket has to prove they won't accept the election results unless Trump wins—and Tim Scott shows he is a wi...
Live from Philly
03 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Will Saletan and (Hubert Humphrey alum) Bill Kristol join Tim Miller before a live audience in Philadelphia to discuss the uncanny parallels to 1968, ...
Gov. Josh Shapiro: We Can Do Big Things
02 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, sits down with Tim Miller in Philly to talk about the kind of language that wins over voters, the campus p...
Ben Wittes and Eric Cortellessa: Trump's Autocratic Agenda
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Trump went on the record, explaining how in a second term, his staff would only be (election denying) loyalists, he'd run a massive deportation operat...
Bakari Sellers: We Are in a Dark Moment
30 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the very hot summer of George, Breonna, and Ahmaud, we seemed to be on the brink of a third Reconstruction. But that moment from 2020 was lost. Now...
Christians and Political Power
29 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Political power often changes the church more than the church changes those in power—the most glaring example is the damage Trump has done to the cr...
Simon Rosenberg: I Think We're Going to Kick His Ass
26 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The polling isn't there yet, but Biden is delivering on the job, MAGA is extreme and dangerous, the GOP is a dumpster fire, and Trump is the ugliest p...
Mark Joseph Stern and Dave Weigel: A Bad Day for Jack Smith
25 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
To Alito, Thomas, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch, the real threat to democracy is not Trump's attempts to steal the election—but the DOJ's effort to hold hi...
Olivia Nuzzi and Dana Mattioli: A Deflated Trump
24 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The one-time most powerful man in the world is now being told when to sit, when to stand, and what he's permitted to say. Scenes from the New York cou...
Frank Bruni: The Age of Grievance
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tocqueville noted that Americans forever brood over advantages they do not possess, but now our grievance culture has run amok. From the aggrieved-in-...
Tom Mauser and Bill Kristol: Columbine, 25 Years On
22 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tom Mauser lost his son, Daniel, in the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. He joins Tim Miller to discuss his long fight against gun violence, sm...
Amanda Carpenter: Welcome to Coalition Government
19 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hey, look: Republicans and Democrats are working together! Meanwhile, Trump is still trying to destroy our institutions, Bill Barr is comfortable play...
Ali Vitali and Will Saletan: An Epiphany on Ukraine?
18 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Johnson shows hints of Reaganism with his new push for a foreign aid bill that includes support for Ukraine. Meanwhile, Republicans in Arizona se...
David Sanger: New Cold Wars
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the United States lived in a delusion that Russia and China could not touch us. And while Americans ar...
Ross Douthat: Elite Outrage Is Not Enough
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Trump wins voters who don't read The New York Times or listen to The Bulwark Podcast, and elite opposition may not be enough to defeat him. Ross Douth...
Bill Kristol and Ben Wittes: The Split-Screen Reality
15 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
While Biden spent the weekend helping fend off Iran's missile and drone attack, supposedly pro-Israel Trump embraced the anti-Israel chant, "Genocide ...
Jonathan Chait: Trump Broke the Scales
12 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Pound for pound, the media treats Trump better than any Democrat. Plus, talking about abortion in a way that wins the most votes, NPR and identity pol...
Isaac Arnsdorf and Joe Perticone: Trying to Finish What They Started
11 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Steve Bannon fueled the rise of MAGA by offering true believers a sense of community and purpose. A new book tells the story of ordinary Americans swe...
Olivia Nuzzi: Kari Lake Is No Meryl Streep
10 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kari Lake can deliver a good performance, but she's not really a true believer, as her flip on the Arizona abortion law shows. Plus, the normal part o...
Adam Kinzinger: Yes, Russian Propaganda Is Infecting the GOP
09 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Two powerful Republican congressmen say some of their colleagues are advancing Russian propaganda, but they're still letting Moscow Marjorie run the s...
Bill Kristol: Pure Oligarchic Greed
08 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Trump's billionaire donors had it so bad under Obama, Clinton, and RINO presidents that they just have to go with the authoritarian. Plus, the return ...
Ron Brownstein: A Republican Realignment?
05 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
While Trump's calling card is stoking white grievance, he's making unprecedented inroads with Black and Hispanic voters. But in a twist, Biden is matc...
Ruth Ben-Ghiat: There Is No Alternative
04 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Republicans can't get off the Trump highway to hell, but business and media elites are also cozying up to him in case he returns to power. Meanwhile, ...
Rep. Jared Moskowitz and Marc Caputo: The Least Productive Congress
03 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The 118th Congress has made history: by removing a speaker, expelling a member, and holding sham impeachment hearings. Without Dem votes, the governme...
Stephen Richer and Will Saletan: Kari Lake Lied
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kari Lake said she'd fight to the bitter end to prove the AZ governor's race was stolen from her, but in court she essentially conceded that it was al...
Bill Kristol: Easter Egg (T)roll
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
MAGA spent the holiday weekend arguing that Trump is more faithful than Biden, and also managed to slip in a possible dog whistle to evangelicals abou...
A.B. Stoddard: Liz Cheney Groupie
29 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cheney makes clear where she comes down on the POTUS rematch and is showing ex-Trumpworld figures how it's done. Plus, the 'Dallas' and 'Dynasty' show...
David Frum: American North Korea
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Republicans have entrapped themselves with the promise of a massive surveillance state for American women. Plus, how Never Trumpers can put Biden over...
Justin Kanew and Justin Fenton: Tennessee, Laboratory of Theocracy
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As local news is hollowed out, rightwing news fills in the gaps. In Tennessee—ground zero for the culture war—Justin Kanew's site, The Tennessee H...
Don Lemon: Elon Is a Troll
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Elon Musk, for all his keyboard courage, couldn't handle Don Lemon's Q and A, but then sicced his Twitter minions on the ex-CNN host after their inter...
Bill Kristol and Joe Perticone: The Quitters
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Gallagher is following Ken Buck out the House door, as they both abandon their jobs, their voters, and any sense of public service. Plus, MTG thr...
Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman: White Rural Rage
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rural white voters wield outsized power in our democracy, yet they are also more likely to support violence as a political tool—and to hold antidemo...
Jake Tapper: American Scandal
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It used to be that politicians who had affairs, took bribes, and paid people off lost their office or lost their base. Tapper joins Tim to discuss his...
Stephen Hayes: Grading Biden
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A recent editorial in The Dispatch rejected both Trump and Biden as acceptable choices in 2024. Tim takes strong exception to that position, arguing i...
Susan Glasser: An Edifice of Lies
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Trump's 2024 lies are not just the familiar ones about a 'rigged election' and 'Sleepy Joe.' He's also unleashing a flood of untruths about Biden and ...
Bill Kristol and Ben Wittes: A Subversive Enterprise
18 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Trump stands and salutes the insurrectionists during the national anthem, and may rehire the treasonous Paul Manafort to help out in '24. Plus, the ...
Amanda Carpenter: Is Trump Depressed?
15 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
He lost, he's low on campaign cash, and he's juggling criminal court dates. Are the bad things he says about America a projection of how he feels abou...
Josh Barro: Dear Fed, Please Lower Interest Rates
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One of the biggest reasons voters are not happier about the economy is because interest rates are much higher than they were few years ago. Plus, publ...
Sasha Issenberg: Politics, Disinformation, and 2024
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2016, the Trump campaign used microtargeting to suppress the Clinton vote. Since then, digital malfeasance has become the dominant subplot in our p...
Evan Osnos: Biden Brims with Confidence
12 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Biden has the air of a man with no doubt about his campaign strategy—which is not exactly soothing to some Democrats and Never Trumpers. Plus, Hur's...
Bill Kristol and Sarah Longwell: Is the Wishcasting Over?
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Old guy Biden got Ezra Klein to back down—and Kristol a little bit as well. Plus, Orbán at Mar-a-lago, the fallout from the "illegal" immigrant lin...
Ben LaBolt and Will Saletan: The Stakes of the Moment
08 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The White House explains why Biden led his State of the Union speech with the threats to democracy at home and abroad. Plus, MAGA's meltdown over Bide...
Tom Nichols: The GOP Needs a Fake Joe Biden
07 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Republicans keep painting Biden as an antifa-loving, Iran-coddling communist as they try to create a moral equivalence with Trump. Plus, McConnell won...
Errin Haines: A Not So Super Tuesday
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Biden campaign is facing a buyer's market among voters and will really have to up its persuasion game, particularly with voters of color. Plus, Ni...
Catherine Rampell: Trump Would Be Bad News for the Economy
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Trump's plans to add tariffs and shrink the labor force— via an immigration crackdown— would likely reignite inflation. Plus, Biden's secret energ...
Bill Kristol and Ben Wittes: We Still Have to Do the Work
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The courts aren’t taking care of Trump and we can’t live in denial about the state of play. Meanwhile, words keep failing him at his weird rallies...
Kara Swisher: A Tech 'Tough Love' Story
01 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tech has allowed some very bad people to do some very bad things—including in the democracy arena. Swisher joins Tim for the weekend pod to share he...
Jamie Weinstein: The Cowardice of Mitch McConnell
29 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
McConnell wouldn't put the stake in the heart of Trump—will that overshadow his legacy? Plus, Dan Crenshaw is not happy, debating Gaza & media b...
John Avlon: Winning Back the House from the MAGA Minions
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The MAGA crew in the House is against majoritarian democracy and thinks bipartisanship is bad—Democrats are the only big tent party now. Avlon expla...
Matt Yglesias and Brian Beutler: The Left Hits Biden Harder than Trump
27 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In our first crossover pod, Tim queries Yglesias and Beutler about Biden's Gaza response, and why Dems aren't holding Kushner hearings—or raising he...
Bill Kristol: A Shot of Hopium
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Voters who backed Haley in South Carolina are not buying the American carnage message, and may represent a kind of gettable voter in swing states. Plu...
Bonus Episode: South Carolina Circus Special
24 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tim is joined by John Heilemann, Jennifer Palmieri, and Mark McKinnon, his former colleagues from "The Circus," for a South Carolina primary preview. ...
Rob Reiner and Dan Partland: God & Country
23 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Christian nationalism is not only a threat to democracy, but also to Christianity itself. Prominent evangelicals, like David French and Russell Moore,...
Glenn Thrush and Tim Mak: Russia's Plots Against the West
22 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A rundown on double agent Alexander Smirnov, and Republicans' eagerness to amplify information sourced from Russia. And in Ukraine, feelings of betray...
Katie Couric: Not A Libtard
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Couric revisits the impact of her Sarah Palin interview, and shares her views with Tim on the evolution of the GOP, the #MeToo movement in the media, ...
Jane Coaston: The Culture War of Absurdity
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Charlie Kirk hates Taylor, pro sports, Disney—and anything normal. Plus, the Alabama ruling on frozen embryos, the House is now the destination for ...
Bill Kristol: A Tacky, Low-Life Con Man
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The vulgar carnival barker used the holiday weekend to hawk crummy, over-priced sneakers, and compare himself to Navalny. Plus, the House skips town b...
Ben Wittes: Putin's Cheerleaders
16 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Alexei Navalny heroically stood up to Putin, but Tucker and MAGA's worst actors can't get enough of the Russian leader—and Russia itself. Plus, anot...
Robert Draper: The Talented Mr. Meadows
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The immunity order Mark Meadows has in the election subversion case could be a big problem for Trump. But his habit of lying could be a problem for Ja...
Rep. Dean Phillips: The Pitch
14 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The congressman states his case for why he's challenging Biden, and Tim Miller grills him.
James Carville: Mock Him
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Much of MAGA thinks Trump was sent by God, but King Cyrus probably didn't wear a diaper. Don't skimp on the mockery. Plus, Dems and male voters, jealo...
Bill Kristol and A.B. Stoddard : Soak Up the Schadenfreude
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A Super Bowl W for Dark Brandon & the Deep State brings MAGA tears. Plus, Mike Gallagher steps aside as no profile in courage, NATO allies are ala...
David French and Bill Kristol: The Age Thing
09 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The special counsel's report on Biden's docs—and a gaffe about Mexico—have placed Joe's age and memory front and center in the campaign. Plus, SCO...
He's Staying on the Ballot
08 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Supreme Court sounded ready to reject a Colorado ruling that barred Trump from the state ballot. Plus, reading the tea leaves on the next phase fo...
Tom Nichols: Citizen Trump
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Supreme Court's legitimacy would really be on the line if it took up Trump's completely lunatic immunity theory after the D.C. Circuit's airtight ...
Jonathan Taplin: The End of Reality
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Four billionaires—Musk, Zuckerberg, Thiel, and Andreessen—are part of an antidemocratic turn in the tech world. This interlocked directorate of Si...
The Fifth Avenue Rapist
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
J.D. Vance has extended Trump's Fifth Avenue immunity claim to sexual assault, espionage, RICO, and election stealing—as he angles for the VP slot. ...
Michael Steele: Let it Rip, Joe
02 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Surprise, surprise, Biden drops F-bombs when he talks about the former insurrectionist president. Plus, Mike Johnson is Trump's punk, and the RNC is b...
We're Talking Real Money
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Trump hasn't re-defamed E. Jean Carroll, so it basically takes about $83 million to get him to shut up. Plus, the big risk in the Georgia case, MAGA...
Joe Klein & John Ellis: A Torrent of Stupid
31 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
MAGA has put Taylor at the top of its enemies list, Greg Abbott is inviting another Jan 6 at the border, and GOP governors have come out for just igno...
Brian Klaas: Why Everything We Do Matters
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The world feels like it's falling apart, and black swan events are on the rise. Is this the result of our unquenchable thirst for optimization and eff...
Will Saletan: The New Nikki
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Haley has taken a hard turn against Trump, and is calling on him to 'man-up' and explain why he grew the debt and why he praises President Xi. Meanwhi...
Edward Luce: Why Big Business Is Caving to Trump
26 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tax cuts and a gutted regulatory state are a big draw for Wall Street. But under a Trump 2.0, it would be the aspiring monopolists—not the publicly-...
Just What Putin Wanted
25 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moscow Mitch capitulated to Trump's electoral interests, Justice Scalia speaks from beyond, Lindsey may have flipped on Trump in Georgia, and reading ...
Benjy Sarlin: Wake up to Reality
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As we pivot from primary season to the general election, Biden is telling Democrats to accept that Trump will be the nominee. Meanwhile, the ex-POTUS ...
Michael Kruse: Trump's Grand Finale
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As a longtime legal combatant, probably no one else on earth is more prepared to leverage four prosecutions than Donald Trump—he's made an art form ...
Will Saletan: A Rogue Presidency
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Trump wants to put his knee on the neck of America with a violent, illegal presidency. Plus, the self-abasement of DeSantis and Tim Scott, Nikki waits...
Amanda Carpenter: The Authoritarian Playbook
19 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump has been making extreme promises on the campaign trail. And unlike in 2016, this time he has a team drawing up the plans for implementing...
Complete and Total Immunity
18 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
No, American presidents don't need to be able to commit crimes to do their job. Plus, Trump is begging to be made a victim of a big, bad judge, and lo...
Tina Nguyen: The MAGA Diaries
17 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The young people who show up at CPAC and Turning Point events are there because of a deeply entrenched grassroots effort to draw in new soldiers of th...