The Bulwark

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Andrew Weissmann discuss the Justice Department’s dismissal of charges over damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, potential recourse for Olympian David Hearn, and Trump’s response. They also examine Todd Blanche’s Senate confirmation prospects, the proposed “anti-weaponization” fund and tax-imm...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.) and Andrew Egger (filling in for Ben Parker) went live to cover reports that the U.S. missile supplies are dwindling, the Russian missile attack on Ukraine, the cyberattacks across several U.S. states, and Oman’s role in a potential deal with Iran.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller joins Nicolle Wallace on Deadline: White House to discuss Donald Trump’s declining approval ratings, voter frustration over the economy and the war in Iran, and Democrats’ midterm opportunities. They also consider the limits of Republican campaign spending and the party’s response to abuse allegations again...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sarah’s on vacation, so Sam, Tim, and JVL discuss:-Live results from the (unexpectedly close) Michigan Senate primary, and discuss what an Abdul El-Sayed or Haley Stevens win would mean for November.-The horrifying child abuse allegations against Rep. Max Miller, and his disastrous CNN interview.-Trump’s anger at Jean...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller and producer Ansley Skipper test how much political news made it through Tim’s vacation bubble, from Trump’s White House correspondents’ dinner insults and the Fauci diaries to Canada tariffs, RFK Jr.’s cooking show, and a bizarre lettuce-recall controversy.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Rep. Chuck Edwards faces House Ethics censure over harassment allegations involving young staffers—Christmas tree visits, 30 tubs of ice cream, matching guns, a custom Adam Sandler puzzle. Will Sommer and Sarah Matthews dig into the creepy details, the power dynamics on the Hill, and why GOP colleagues are staying qui...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Altman wants a supercomputer to talk to his kid so he doesn’t have to. Elon thinks Grok can make a better Odyssey than Christopher Nolan. And Silicon Valley has been cultishly hyping AI so much that they’ve lost the plot. Regular people are sick of all the synthetic slop, they don’t trust the tech titans, and thei...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Andrew Egger and Bill Kristol went live to cover the DOJ dropping more Reflecting Pool cases, Senate Republicans advancing Todd Blanche’s vote out of committee, Max Miller defiantly staying in for bid for re-election, and Oman and Iran potentially coming to a deal over the Strait of Hormuz.

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 Trump’s chaotic press conference in the Oval Office on Monday, where Trump defended Rep. Max Miller amid domestic violence allegations and lashed out at his longtime friend and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro over her failed Reflecting Pool vandalism case. Is Jeanine Pirro abou...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Will Saletan dismantles RFK Jr.'s disastrous CNN interview, exposing one false claim after another on COVID, vaccines, Anthony Fauci, Donald Trump, and the media. From conspiracy theories to blatant contradictions, the secretary of Health and Human Services spends more time attacking Dana Bash than defending his own c...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Both the left and center-left are acting like the other faction within the party is the enemy—and not Donald Trump. Democrats need to keep their eye on the ball: Trump and the corruption, lying, and incompetence across his administration. In the past couple of days, the massive dishonesty has included Doug Burgum’s do...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Will Sommer, Sam Stein and Andrew Egger went live to cover the growing calls on the right for GOP Rep. Max Miller to resign, whether Jeanine Pirro will be fired over the botched Reflecting Pool case, Tucker speaking with foreign agents, and the audience collapse among right-wing MAGA media figures.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Will Saletan fact-checks the GOP's Fauci diary attacks, debunking RFK Jr.'s vaccine claims, Fox News's selective editing, and conspiracy theories about lab leaks, school closures, and vaccine sabotage—showing why these "gotcha" moments collapse under scrutiny.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Join Bill Kristol and Ron Brownstein as they cover Trump's awful polling, Democrats' chances in the Senate, and whether we could see a blue Tsunami in November.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Mona Charen speaks with The Atlantic’s Idrees Kahloon about how Trump’s immigration, university, trade, fiscal, and foreign-policy agenda could weaken the foundations of long-term American prosperity and global influence. They also discuss China, alliances, executive power, political corruption, and Kahloon’s reconsid...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sonny Bunch and Bill Kristol take on the dismissed felony vandalism case against Olympic canoeist David Hearn—who was accused of damaging the Reflecting Pool—after government officials acknowledged problems with the work itself. They consider what the case reveals about political pressure, government misconduct, the c...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com At the end of one of the most expensive Democratic primaries for Senate in American history, Abdul El-Sayed appears to be pulling away. We've been talking to Democratic primary voters in Michigan about El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens, and what they like (and don't like) about each candidate. Jonathan Cohn , author of...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sarah Matthews joins MS NOW’s Nicolle Wallace to break down Trump’s Cabinet meeting, his continued defense of January 6th rioters, and why his obsession with 2020 could hurt Republicans in the midterms. BBC They also discuss Trump’s falling poll numbers, the chaos inside his administration, and how the Texas Senate ra...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com The Washington Post is in turmoil once again. Opinion editor Adam O’Neal is stepping down after just over a year, raising fresh questions about Jeff Bezos’s controversial overhaul of the newspaper’s opinion section to focus more on “personal liberties and free markets.” Will Sommer sits down with Semafor media editor...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sarah and JVL have a super-sized, instant classic: * The Trump administration is using ChatGPT for everything. * Why are Cornyn and Tillis even bothering with their fake protest of Todd Blanche? * The Dem Senate map is looking . . . possible? * Trump has raised $800 million from “donors” since coming back to office. *...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Join Catherine Rampell and JVL as they cover the week's biggest economics and finance stories.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Jasmine poses Triad readers’ questions to JVL: What do you think about the DSA? What can be done to protect the 2030 census from Republican meddling? Why does the right crave authoritarianism? Why did The Bulwark change its website? All that and more (like JVL’s hidden backstory as an opera singer) in this week's mail...

This week, I’m joined by Sugar showrunner Sam Catlin to discuss the second season of Apple TV’s underappreciated gem. If you haven’t watched the show, you should; season one is available in full and the penultimate episode of season two airs today. It’s a neo-noir with a sci-fi twist, a show about how media can shape us as people, and one of the best-acted programs on television. (Seriously: There...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com President Trump’s approval rating is collapsing, and new polling shows voters are increasingly unhappy with his handling of the issues that matter most: the Iran war and the economy. Sarah Matthews gives her take on the three new polls showing Trump stuck in the low 30s, with voters questioning his decision to launch...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com JVL and Andrew Egger discuss Todd Blanche’s stalled attorney general confirmation, as Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis seek assurances that the Trump administration will not revive a proposed “anti-weaponization” fund for allies and January 6 defendants. They also consider Trump’s response, Blanche’s political str...