The Bulwark Podcast

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...

A.B. Stoddard: Dead Ends after Iowa

16 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Almost half of Iowa's caucus-goers voted for someone besides Trump—evidence that a criminal defendant preaching to the choir can only go so far. Mea...

Will Saletan: The GOP Surrenders before First Vote

15 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Republicans are racing to bend the knee before the Iowa caucuses even start, while also looking like they want border chaos. Plus, racial resentment r...

Karen Tumulty: The World's Biggest Victim

12 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As Trump prepares to clean up in the Iowa caucuses, his campaign narrative has gone full 'Trump: The Victim.' Expect more court appearances and more t...

The MAGA Pathology

11 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Chris Christie dropping out shows that one party is at war with the idea of democratic self-government. Meanwhile, Trump's Fifth Avenue comment makes ...

Mark Hertling: Defending American Values

10 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

While North Korea has jumped in to arm Russia, Republicans in Congress are dallying over supporting Ukraine. Plus, presidential hit squads, Lloyd Aust...

Tim O'Brien: The Most Corrupt President. Ever.

09 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Trump is hoping for a market crash on Biden's watch, vowing revenge prosecutions, and plotting on how much he can grift off of foreign countries if he...

Will Saletan: Erasing History

08 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jan 6 insurrectionists are innocent, and the Art of the Deal guy could've taught Lincoln how to negotiate an end to the Civil War—the Republican Par...

Tom Nichols: Claudine Gay Had to Go

05 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard was justified in protecting its academic standards and the institution itself. But people are taking the DEI bait over Gay, instead of seeing ...

What Will the Supreme Court Do?

04 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

SCOTUS will have to take up up the insurrectionist clause, after Colorado and Maine took steps to remove Trump from their ballots. Plus, Trump's absur...

Susan Glasser: The Fever Won't Break

03 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Trump experience can't just be undone—we are a different country now, and we're not going back to the status quo before his presidency. Plus, wa...

Will Saletan: The Guts to Tell the Truth

02 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Chris Christie makes clear he's not dropping out, because Nikki Haley is not the one we've been waiting for. Plus, with House Republicans signaling th...

The Day After: The Night My Father Scared America

22 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

ABC's The Day After, the 1983 drama about a nuclear strike on America, was the most-watched movie in television history. It had a profound impact on ...

Sam Wasson: A Francis Ford Coppola Story

21 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Coppola is like a Method actor behind the camera—living the movie to make the movie. For The Godfather, he became like a godfather. And most famousl...

Yair Rosenberg: Israel Is Not a White Colonial Project

20 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The left is lazily applying American ideas about racial identity and intersectionality to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Atlantic's Yair Rosenb...

Anne Applebaum: The Irreparable Damage of a Second Term

19 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Anne Applebaum discusses a ray of hope in Europe with the defeat of Poland's authoritarian government, while also contemplating the consequences for N...

Will Saletan: Trump Is Anti-America

18 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On the stump in New Hampshire, Trump parroted Putin condemning the American political system. Plus, the tension among Democrats over Israel, Christie ...

Ready for 2024?

15 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It was a year of heroes and zeros, highs and lows, and shocks and fizzles. Mona Charen, A.B. Stoddard, and Will Saletan join Charlie Sykes for a speci...

Jack Smith Calls Trump's Bluff

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The special counsel is short-circuiting Trump's foot-dragging strategy and mining his phone data to uncover a mountain of new evidence against the ex-...

Where Have All the Democrats Gone?

13 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Democrats used to be the party of the common man and woman, but they have taken a back seat to Hollywood, Silicon Valley, and Wall Street. In the proc...

David Frum: A Dark Path

12 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If Trump wins, the first crime of his second term will be committing perjury—when he swears to defend the Constitution. Plus, Republicans aren't rea...

Will Saletan: Political Delusion

11 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kevin swears that Trump will stop with the retribution talk. Meanwhile, the aspiring dictator says it's a hoax that Democrats call him a threat to dem...

Tim Alberta: American Idolatry

08 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Is the Almighty, who made heaven and earth, also biting his nails over next year's election? Tim Alberta joins Charlie Sykes to discuss the evangelica...

A.B. Stoddard: No One Feared Kevin

07 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

And now no one is afraid of Mike Johnson—so he won't be able to lead either. Plus, a Christie-Haley alliance is starting to materialize, Marjorie Ta...

Liz Cheney: A Clear and Present Danger

06 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump will never be the lesser of two evils. We must unite, look beyond partisanship, and vote in ways that will maintain the republic. Liz Che...

Philip Bump: The GOP Stumbles Towards Impeachment

05 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The smoking gun turns out to be a dud, but James Comer and the Republicans move ahead on their evidence-free Biden impeachment inquiry. The Washington...

Will Saletan: The #MeToo Fail

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The progressives both-sidesing the sexual violence against Israeli women and girls has only added to the horrors of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Plus, T...

Adam Kinzinger: Why Trump 2.0 Will Be Worse

01 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Trump wants to weaponize the office of the presidency, and who would stop him? We have a built-in weakness of basing our constitutional norms on the h...

The Banality of Crazy

30 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From Elon to Trump to Kanye, public decompensation is a part of our culture now. Plus, Georgia's inadequate investigation of the potential Trump-relat...

Michael Steele: The GOP's Humiliation Kink

29 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This is the era of political humiliation: From Kevin nursing Trump back to health after Jan 6, to dominatrixes who get paid to mock your political vie...

David French: It's a Cult

28 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Don't underestimate the power of the belief that Trump is part of a prophecy for many evangelicals. And don't underestimate the general lack of knowle...

Will Saletan: Trump’s Pee-wee Herman Moment

27 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Trump wants you to know that he remembers who the president is. Plus, the asymmetry in the hostage-prisoner exchanges, linking reform of asylum rules ...

Amir Tibon: Terrible Choices for Israel

24 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hamas triggered the Gaza war—and signed the death warrants of thousands of Palestinians—when it purposefully targeted civilians on 10/7. Israeli j...

We Are Living in a Post-Rational World

22 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A disconnect from reality has descended on the US: Republicans practice fantasy politics day and night, Trump is out to paint Biden as corrupt, and Am...

Karen Tumulty: The Sununu Effect in New Hampshire

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

New Hampshire voters are famously contrarian, and the non-MAGA set is showing up for Haley and Christie ahead of the first-in-the-nation primary. Plus...

Will Saletan: The Annihilation of Truth

20 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We are in an age where internet randos are beating out reality. Plus, Haley's abortion dance, the cowardice of DeSantis, another Biden panic poll, and...

The Bulwark Live, with Brian Stelter

17 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Fox launched the Big Lie based on a random email from a woman in Minnesota who heard voices in the supermarket. And its viewers wanted to be told that...

Too Crazy for Rudy

16 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

One person we can be certain will not be called as a witness in Georgia: nutty Sidney Powell. Plus, the unsettled Trump trial calendar, one way we may...

Peter Wehner: A Polite Zealot

15 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We may have averted a government shutdown for the moment, but the new speaker of the House believes dinosaurs were on Noah's Ark. Pete Wehner joins Ch...

George Conway: Trump Knows He's a Criminal

14 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Deep down, Trump knows the truth, and is running again to stay out jail—just like authoritarian leaders do in other countries. Plus, the new non-MAG...

Will Saletan: Punish the Vermin

13 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Very powerful and strong Donald Trump is promising his supporters the freedom to go after the people they don't like if he returns to the White House....

Flooding the Zone

10 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jack Smith's office filed an epic motion this week laying out the central role of Trump's lies in the election subversion case. Meanwhile, the ex-POTU...

A.B. Stoddard: Insane and Surreal

09 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Trump wants to melt the constitutional order, but NBC didn't bother to ask the also-rans about that at their debate. Meanwhile, Vivek would've embarra...

Greg Lukianoff: The Canceling of the American Mind

08 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When Gen Z began attending college and demanding protection from speech, the left argued that cancel culture was a myth. But now that the anti-Zionism...

Cassidy Hutchinson: Why I Testified

07 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Next year's election is not a vote for a Democrat or a Republican: It's a vote for the survival of our nation. Cassidy Hutchinson joins Charlie Sykes ...

Will Saletan: Don't Panic

06 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Recent polls have some Democrats reverting to bed-wetting, Christie calls out the deplorables, and Scalise is an election-denying weasel. Plus, Biden ...

Tim Miller: Trump Keeps Telling Us

03 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Trump is glorifying insurrectionist prisoners, Bannon-world is using Confederate code words, and Republicans and a lot of the media are just pretendin...

McKay Coppins: The Last Temptation of Mitt Romney

02 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Romney's journey from the party's standard-bearer to its pariah is also a story of the dramatic transformation of the GOP. And his nomination in 2012 ...

Insurrection and Its Consequences

01 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A Colorado case will determine whether Trump should be kept off the ballot there because of that annoying little insurrection issue. Plus, founding fa...

Adam Kinzinger: Renegade

31 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The former congressman says he wasn't always fighting the good fight, and that he feels some responsibility for the GOP's descent into dysfunction—a...

Our Exhausted Politics

30 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Trump talked about a new Muslim ban and the media barely covered it. Meanwhile, the House only could choose a pro-coup speaker. The biggest danger to ...

Josh Kraushaar: The Pro-Hamas Left

27 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The vast majority of Democrats support Israel, but a very loud, younger segment on the left is lending its support to the terrorist group Hamas—with...

The Bulwark: Live from New Orleans

26 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sarah, Mona, and Sonny join Tim in The Big Easy to talk about new Speaker Mike Johnson, Biden, Israel, and left-wing antisemitism.

Flipping Is in the Air

25 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jenna Ellis will not be the last flip in Georgia, former Trump water carrier Michael Cohen testifies about the fudged books, and the confusing case of...

Jonathan Martin: The Antibodies Resisting the Virus

24 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Remnants of the pre-Trump party are hanging on and putting the brakes on MAGA in the House, B-lister lawyer Jenna Ellis shows her deep loyalty to Trum...

The GOP Is a Failed State

23 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

House Republicans don't have a platform, and in the absence of Trump, they can't pull together. Plus, the anti-Israel left vs Biden, and the fallout f...

John Avlon: Is the Center Finding Its Spine?

20 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Republican threats and bullying have finally gone too far when it comes to Jim Jordan. But what about the red line that has to be crossed for stable g...

A Bad Day for the Kraken

19 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sidney Powell pleaded guilty and agreed to testify for the state in Georgia—Trump's legal woes just took a turn for the worse. Plus, Jim Jordan's ba...

Ryan Reilly: The Sleuths Who Helped Nab Jan 6 Rioters

18 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ordinary Americans pored through reams of digital evidence to ID hundreds of people who stormed the Capitol. And in the process, the sedition hunters ...

Kara Swisher: Jim Jordan, Legislative Terrorist

17 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jim Jordan spent the weekend bullying moderates, but threatening shame on social media and Fox may not be enough. Plus, narcissistic tech bros and the...

Will Saletan: Don't Forget Who Jim Jordan Is

16 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jordan was not just another Republican who voted against the election—he was behind the scenes in strategy meetings plotting how to keep the electio...

Tom Nichols: Testing the System 'Til It Breaks

13 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Republicans elevated fringe players who have no interest in governing, and now they don't have enough members to get the House functioning again. ...

An Undue Risk of Conviction

12 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jack Smith signaled he will be able to prove why Trump held onto the classified documents. Plus, Trump’s claim of presidential immunity, chaos in th...