The Bulwark Podcast
Episodes
Biden’s Kyiv Moment
20 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Biden went to an active war zone, Lindsey Graham shows his old McCain-sidekick self, DeSantis weighs in on Ukraine, the Michigan GOP disconnects from ...
David Frum: The GOP’s Obnoxiousness Problem
17 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The text messages in the Dominion case show that Fox was intentionally pushing lies about 2020 — lies that led to violence. And Trump is one step aw...
Ben Wittes: Jack Smith at Ramming Speed
16 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Pence is erasing his own profile in courage by trying to resist special counsel Jack Smith's subpoena, a Mar-a-Lago document prosecution is still...
Michael Kranish: The Trump/Kushner/Saudi Vortex
15 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In early 2021, both Kushner and Trump needed a game plan for making money. MBS — who both men had helped to consolidate power and literally get away...
Damon Linker: How Not to Fight Wokeness
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Even people who aren't racist and aren't anti-trans can get rubbed the wrong way by the heavy-handed puritanical approach of the woke movement. Plus, ...
Will Saletan: The Weekend of the UFOs
13 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What is flying above us? Is it more than sky garbage? Meanwhile, the House GOP radar is against whatever Joe Biden does. Plus, Trump's opinions about ...
Tim Miller: It Was Dumber than You Might Have Imagined
10 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The weaponization committee hearing was an embarrassing bust. Plus, James O'Keefe's love of musicals, the karma of calling DeSantis a groomer — and ...
Tom Nichols: The Kook Bench
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The drunken heckling caucus around Marjorie Taylor Greene is not out of control — it did exactly what its voters sent them to do. And Tucker Carlson...
A.B. Stoddard: Dark Brandon Rising
08 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Biden's shrewd State of the Union address played rope-a-dope with Republicans, and he relished the scrum. Plus, Trump goes classic and pulls the groom...
Mark Hertling: What My Oath Means
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The balloon set off a performance theater among members of Congress that was unbecoming of their rank and office, Lt. Gen Mark Hertling tells Charlie ...
Will Saletan: Popping the Red Balloon
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It wouldn't have mattered how Biden had handled the balloon — Republicans would have said he was weak. Plus, the art of donning an AR-15 pin to trig...
Tim Miller: Never Should Mean Never
03 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Too many normies STILL won't say "Never Trump," but Paul Ryan may be coming around. Plus, Kari keeps pretending to be governor, Hugh Hewitt is leg-hum...
Elie Honig: Is Trump Untouchable?
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Merrick Garland likes to say that no one is above the law, but the DOJ's own guidelines make it clear that some people are more equal than others. And...
Charlie Savage: The Real Witch Hunt?
01 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Trump has longed complained about a deep state plot to smear him with the Russia investigation, but the Durham probe of that investigation comes off a...
Julian Zelizer and Kevin Kruse: History Is Under Assault
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
History became more politicized in the Trump era and the conservative media ecosystem has helped amplify untruths. Princeton's Kevin Kruse and Julian ...
Will Saletan: Policing the Police
30 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Training and diversity are not enough — cops who break the law must be prosecuted. Plus, the normalization of political violence around Jan 6 and th...
Tim Miller: Deep Inside Tucker Carlson's Navel
27 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Republicans are so out of touch, their public brand is in trouble. Plus, MTG is Queen of the GOP, Schlapp is too sleazy for Gaetz, and party types are...
Michael Weiss: A Watershed Moment for Ukraine
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It took a lot of arm-twisting, but the West has finally committed to arming Ukraine with battle tanks — not only to boost its defenses, but also to ...
Jonathan Alter: How the Documents Hurt Biden
25 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Biden has been seen as scandal-free, but his classified docs case may cost him a big political asset: the benefit of the doubt. Plus, Trump's map in t...
David Weigel: MAGA v MAGA
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Republicans may have underperformed in the midterms, but the RNC chair fight is not about changing the party's direction. For the base, it's about out...
Will Saletan: It's In Your Nature to Destroy Yourselves
23 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The pro-life movement, undaunted by the midterms, is pushing for more restrictions— and the political backlash will be severe. Plus, give Ukraine th...
Catherine Rampell: Psychotic Feral Cats with Machetes
20 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Republicans are back to extortion and holding the debt ceiling hostage after adding $4.7 trillion to the deficit during the Trump years — and that w...
Michael Schmidt: "I Didn't Know They Made People Like That"
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Before John Kelly became chief of staff, he thought the chaos at the White House was due to the people around Trump. Instead, each day was about get...
Bill Kristol: Glimmers of Hope
18 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The shift in attitudes about defense and foreign policy in Germany has been dramatic since the war in Ukraine began. Plus, will ripping off a dying do...
David French: Our Religious Freedoms Are Not Hanging by a Thread
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
New York Times-bound David French tells Charlie Sykes how he re-thought same-sex marriage, how he felt he was living in a bubble, and how religious li...
Will Saletan: Performative Garbage
16 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
RonAnon Johnson wanted to get beat up on "Meet the Press" — so he could weaponize it. Plus, the active moving backward from MLK's dream, Trump gets ...
Michael Steele: Slapping Matt Schlapp
13 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Former RNC Chair Michael Steele had a front-row seat for the start of the ugly transformation at CPAC. Racist rhetoric has now been normalized, and th...
Adam Kinzinger: Detoxing from Congress
12 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Watching from a distance, former Rep. Kinzinger tells Charlie Sykes that House moderates have a lot of power they're not willing to use, while the Fre...
Aaron Blake: Kevin McCarthy Is Keeping a Secret
11 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Without his secret pact, Kevin McCarthy likely would not be Speaker. Now, the American public — and members of Congress — are in the dark about th...
Olivia Nuzzi: Has Trump Become Norma Desmond?
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Trump rarely leaves his 'weird' smelling, moldy mansion, he seems bored and tired, and D-List MAGA are his main loyalists now. Plus, Olivia and Charli...
Will Saletan: Expect More Hostage-Taking in the House
09 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
McCarthy paid the ransom, Bannon is openly supporting violence in Brazil, and even normie Republicans are prepared to put the US economy at risk. Plus...
A.B. Stoddard: A Desperate Man
06 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The hijackers have the energy in the House, Biden is quietly succeeding, no-mentum Trump's biggest fear is being ignored, DeSantis is a closet wimp, a...
Nick Confessore: The Theater of Elise Stefanik
05 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rep. Elise Stefanik was a star pupil and the future of the GOP — now she's joined the kids in the back of the class, whose only role in Congress is ...
John Avlon: The Bomb Throwers Just Don't Care
04 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
McCarthy thought he could appease the kamikaze caucus with cash and playing along with Stop the Steal — surprise, they'd rather ruin everything if t...
Tom Nichols: Of Course They All Hate Each Other
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The House Republican caucus is a jackal pack, with George Santos — the poster boy for our era of grift — along for the ride. Plus, 2023 is startin...
Andrew Weissmann: The DOJ and Trump's Attempted Coup
02 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The clock is ticking down on whether to bring charges against Trump for what was essentially a "simple" scheme — a president wanted to stay in power...
Susan Glasser and Peter Baker: Trump's Hostile Takeover of the Government
30 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
During his four years in office, Trump kept testing the weaknesses in our Constitutional system — and January 6 was the culmination of his war on th...
Maggie Haberman: Trump Is Damaged and He Causes Damage to Others
29 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump is the product of an exacting and brutal father who undermined him in private, and his damaged childhood has impacted him ever since. In ...
Jennifer Senior: Steve Bannon Is an Asymmetric Threat
28 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Steve Bannon is a card-carrying member of the coastal elite, but he's trying to light a bonfire under American democracy. An intelligent, well-read ma...