Bulwark+ Takes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Ben Parker and Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.) break down the latest developments in the Iran war, including reports that AI-generated intelligence nearly led the U.S. military to board a Chinese vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. They discuss the dangers of relying on false intelligence, the importance of human oversight,...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Join George Conway, Andrew Egger and Catherine Rampell as they cover the protests at the Kennedy Center.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Bill Kristol talks with Nathaniel Zelinsky, the lead counsel challenging Trump’s efforts at the Kennedy Center, about the president’s demolition threats, the judge putting new limits on what the administration can do, and what happens if Trump simply refuses to obey a court order. Zelinsky explains why this fight over...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Will Sommer give their takes to The Daily Wire’s bizarre new movie, Run Hide Fight: Infidels . They dig into the film’s deeply anti-Muslim premise, its portrayal of liberals, LGBTQ students and campus progressives, and the strange political fantasy at the center of the story. Will explains the chaotic pl...

Trump is threatening the future of the Kennedy Center if he doesn’t get the recognition he wants. Andrew Egger and George Conway give their takes on Trump’s push to put his name on the institution, his talk of demolishing the building, and the surreal image of Trump looking at a mock-up of the Kennedy Center in ruins. They also discuss the growing clash between the Trump administration and the cou...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com A quick note: Bulwark+ members make shows like the Trio possible, including the substantial workplace hazard of making Will Sommer investigate all these weirdos. Join today and help us keep Will where he belongs: several Chrome tabs deeper into the internet than any sane person should be. Tim Miller, Sam Stein and Wil...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Gas prices are surging and this time, the outlook is getting even uglier. Tim Miller is joined by Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, to break down why oil prices are climbing, why diesel prices are hitting record levels, and why Americans could be facing $7 and $8 diesel this winter. De Haan expl...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Ben Parker and Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.) give their takes on the rapidly expanding Iran war, from attacks on U.S. military installations and disruptions to oil supplies to the growing conflict with the Houthis and the strain on American forces across the Middle East. They discuss the potential economic consequence...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein is joined by Chris Whipple, who wrote in Vanity Fair about the remarkable political transformation of J.D. Vance, from a young Trump critic at Yale Law School to Trump’s vice president and a potential MAGA successor. They dig into Vance’s behind-the-scenes efforts in 2016 to help Hillary Clinton defeat Trump...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Trump is raging at the Supreme Court after his own appointees helped block his administration’s mail-ballot rules, and George Conway joins Sam Stein to discuss the ruling, Trump’s extraordinary attack on the justices he picked, and what could come next as the midterms approach. Then things take a sharp turn as they wa...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Bill Kristol and guest host Ben Parker break down the latest New York Times/Siena polling showing Democrats with a significant advantage on the generic congressional ballot heading into the midterms. They discuss why Democrats are now leading Republicans on the economy, cost of living, immigration, and foreign wars. T...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Republicans spent their midterm convention warning that communists are coming for America. Will Saletan runs their own definition of “communism” against Donald Trump’s promises of $5,000 checks, government stakes in private companies, admiration for China, and even his jokes about being “the greatest communist in hist...

Sam Stein and Andrew Egger cover the breaking news that the Supreme Court has blocked Trump's executive order on mail-in ballots. 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 Catherine Rampell and Andrew Egger take on the pure Trumpian madness engulfing the Kennedy Center, which could close as early as Tuesday after Trump’s takeover drove away donors, performers, and audiences. Now his handpicked board says Trump may be the only person who can “rescue” it—and has laid out ten different (in...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Marc Polymeropoulos and Michael Weiss give their takes on the ProPublica report that a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin secretly bankrolled Donald Trump Jr.’s lavish Bahamas wedding. They examine the counterintelligence implications of a Putin-connected figure giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to the pre...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Will Sommer dig into the bombshell ProPublica report that a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin secretly bankrolled Donald Trump Jr.’s lavish Bahamas wedding. Then, they take a critical look at 60 Minutes’ investigation into the booming business of lobbying for presidential pardons, including its un...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Will Saletan take on Mike Johnson’s defense of Republican congressional candidate Brandon Herrera despite the gun YouTuber’s grotesque comments about women and children—and the stark contrast with how Democrats police their own candidates. They also dissect Donald Trump’s proposed $5,000 payout if Republ...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller takes on two political moments from the weekend that caught his attention. First, he discusses the backlash from a Texas Republican candidate over viral photos of Indian American students celebrating a football game at the University of Texas, and why Republicans should be forced to answer for openly racist...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Bill Kristol and Richard North Patterson trace how America went from a seemingly conventional political system to Trump’s second term, where the institutions and powerful people expected to serve as guardrails have often failed to stand up to him. They look at the GOP’s transformation, economic insecurity, the capitul...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller takes a closer look at Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, whose record as a doctor is under new scrutiny after a New York Times investigation found that he sued more than 700 patients over medical debt, with 81 ultimately arrested after missing court dates. Plus: Marshall’s views on healthcare and vaccines, his su...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Sonny Bunch unpack Sonny’s experience covering the Republican Party’s bizarre midterm convention in Dallas where they almost didn’t let him in the arena. Sonny walks through the convention’s strange credentialing saga, the overwhelming focus on Donald Trump, and an event that seemed less like a tradition...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Ben Parker and Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.) break down the latest escalation across the Middle East, including an attack on Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline, a critical alternative route designed to move oil around the Strait of Hormuz. With the pipeline damaged and the Houthis taking control of key positions along...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Catherine Rampell and JVL break down the latest inflation numbers and why the Trump administration is desperately trying to convince Americans that rising prices are actually good news. Inflation hit 3.4% in August, real wages are falling behind, consumer confidence is sinking, and diesel prices have crossed $6 a gall...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Will Sommer and Andrew Egger dig into Katie Miller’s previously undisclosed financial stake in Elon Musk’s xAI and why it may shed new light on her relentless promotion of Grok. Miller has posted hundreds of times repeatedly attacked OpenAI, Anthropic, and other AI companies while boosting Grok as the AI for “true pat...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Join Tim Miller, Sonny Bunch, Lauren Egan and Andrew Egger as they cover JD Vance's midterm convention speech live.