Bulwark+ Takes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com JVL and Jonathan Cohn give their take on the shocking changes coming from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services. The federal government is now recommending fewer vaccines for American children, including RSV and Hep B, while flu, COVID-19, and rotavirus vaccines move to “shared clinical decis...

Senator Mark Warner joins Sam Stein to give his take on the Trump administration’s dramatic actions in Venezuela, congressional oversight, and what comes next. Warner warns that extracting a foreign leader, sidelining Congress, and talking openly about “running” other countries reflects an imperial mindset that America has spent decades trying to move away from. As always: Watch, listen, and leave...

A recording from The Bulwark’s live video reacting to the news that Tim Walz is dropping out of the MN Gov race. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thebulwark.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Will Saletan takes on Donald Trump’s post-invasion claims about Venezuela and Maduro, putting Marco Rubio into a series of awkward Sunday show cleanups on war powers, oil, and pardons that exposes just how much of Trump’s story doesn’t add up. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to sh...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Bill Kristol and Sarah Longwell discuss Bill's thoughts on possible paths 2026 could take—from a democratic rebound to a far darker slide. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams, and event archives exclusively for Bulwark+ members. Don’t care for video? Use t...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Sonny Bunch take on new reporting on Donald Trump’s health—from repeated cognitive tests and confusing medical disclosures to visible signs of aging and a White House press operation that won’t give straight answers. Read the WSJ article: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/as-signs-of-aging-emerge-trump-respond...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein, Mark Hertling, Sarah Longwell, Ben Parker and Joe Perticone cover the breaking news about the Venezuela regime change operation and react to the Trump administration’s press event. Please note: The population of Venezuela was incorrectly stated during this conversation as "about 90 million." It is about 30...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com The Bulwark team makes their predictions for 2026—from MAGA infighting and Trump’s fading grip on power to economic fallout, media chaos, a midterm backlash, and changes to Trump’s cabinet. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams, and event archives exclusivel...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com From the Trump–Elon Musk Twitter war that briefly melted everyone’s brain, to the election of the Bulwark Pope, and the moments of real tragedy and moral collapse, the year of 2025 delivered a nonstop barrage of chaos, absurdity, and consequence. The Bulwark team looks back at the craziest, most astonishing moments of...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Mark Cuban joins Jonathan Cohn to give his take on why America’s healthcare system is broken and what it would take to fix it. Cuban breaks down prescription drug pricing, the role of PBMs, and how his Cost Plus Drug Company is making medications affordable for millions. Cuban also weighs in on system reforms, transpa...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller and Sam Stein give their takes on the Trump cabinet after a full year of chaos, incompetence, and outright danger. From “livable” appointments to the "worst of the worst" category, they rank every cabinet member and argue over who did the most damage in 2025. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. B...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller and Sarah Longwell take on Stephen Miller’s string of Christmas posts—a window into his obsession with immigration, his warped view of American history, and the dark instincts shaping the Trump administration’s policies. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos,...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com DHS is using Norman Rockwell’s art to sell an anti-immigrant message and his family is furious. Catherine Rampell sits down with Daisy Rockwell, Norman Rockwell’s granddaughter and a writer and artist herself, to talk about why these images are being misused, what Rockwell actually believed, and get her take on how no...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Bill Kristol sits down with Ryan Goodman to discuss new and upcoming Epstein document releases. They’ll cover which records to watch for next, what the disclosures do—and don’t—tell us so far, and whether the U.S. Department of Justice is dragging its feet, playing procedural games, or protecting powerful interests. A...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Ben Parker is joined by Derek Owen and R.M. Schneiderman to discuss their deeply reported investigation into how the FBI rebuilt its counterintelligence capabilities after decades of failure—and how Trump-world politics, Kash Patel, and shifting priorities could put America at risk. Read more from Owen and Schneiderma...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Jared Poland give their takes on a curious White House claim. After repeated questions about Donald Trump’s bruised hand, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was caused by constant handshaking and aspirin use. So we decided to test it. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is...

A holiday classic, Bulwark-style. From foreign jets to fake honors, we rewrote The 12 Days of Christmas to keep track of Trump’s greatest hits in 2025.The 12 Days of Grift-mas, annotated: 1 giant Qatari jet : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy5lp4v594o 2 peace awards: * FIFA Peace Prize ( https://www.thebulwark.com/p/screw-it-lets-rename-the-moon-trump-institute-of-peace-kennedy-center-coin-eps...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Donald Trump’s first year back in office is in the books, but how accurate were The Bulwark predictions from this past year? Sam Stein is joined by “Judge” Mona Charen to put our 2025 forecasts under the gavel. From Trump’s health and pardons to government shutdowns, MAGA infighting, and political chaos, we revisit wh...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com While most Americans were with family, Trump spent the night before Christmas Eve rage-posting threats at TV networks he doesn’t like. Tim Miller was on MS NOW Reports to disuss. Watch MS NOW Reports: https://www.ms.now As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams,...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Sarah Longwell made a mistake. They decided to take on their haters and read mean comments from the internet about each other. What followed was a mix of roasting, self-reflection, interruptions, hair discourse, Seinfeld heresy, and the comment section doing what it does best. As always: Watch, listen, a...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller and JVL take on a Manhattan Institute focus group that exposed open praise for grotesque “strongman” politics, overt antisemitism, and casual acceptance of extremist figures like Nick Fuentes. Read JVL's Triad newsletter on the focus group: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/behold-the-focus-group-from-hell-city-...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Bari Weiss just spiked a 60 Minutes story on the notorious CECOT prison, sparking outrage inside CBS and across the media world. Sam Stein and JVL are joined by Semafor’s Max Tani to break down what happened, why Weiss made the call, and how Trump’s shadow looms over CBS News. Read more in Morning Shots As always: Wat...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein, Catherine Rampell and Sonny Bunch take on Trump’s trade wars, the bourbon bust in Kentucky, and how tariffs, retaliation, and broken alliances are hammering an iconic American industry. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams, and event archives exc...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Jack Cocchiarella take on US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’ struggling through his appearance on Meet the Press as he stumbles through excuses for the heavily redacted Epstein files. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams, and event archi...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) joins Bill Kristol to discuss the Trump administration’s attempts to slow the release of the Epstein files. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams, and event archives exclusively for Bulwark+ members. Don’t care for video? Use the contro...