The Bulwark

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim, JVL, and Will Sommer discuss the drama inside Turning Point USA, the trad husband hypocrisy circus surrounding Elijah Schaffer, and the jaw-dropping Wall Street Journal exposé on Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski—luxury jets, fake badges, blankie tantrums and all. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bu...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sarah and JVL discuss the Wall Street Journal exposé on Kristi Noem, Corey Lewandowski, and the internal fight over whether ICE raids should be loud and viral or quiet and deniable. They talk about why humiliation has become the price of loyalty in Trump World, why Biden is suddenly polling better than Trump on the ec...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com In addition to protesting and voting, we have another option hiding in plain sight against this administration: our economic power. Scott says resistance should also include unsubscribing—from one or more streaming platforms, from LLMs, or from ride hailing platforms. Stick it to the CEOs who are enabling Trump and ta...

Remember that weird moment in the 2024 campaign cycle where Donald Trump started referring to how much he loved and identified with “the late, great Hannibal Lecter”? That was odd, right? I discussed that and more with Brian Raftery, whose new book Hannibal Lecter: A Life is both the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for the love consuming your heart and a fascinating portrait of a bizarre creation fro...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Andrew Weissmann explains to Sarah Longwell why Pam Bondi’s bizarre hearing indicates deep problems at the Justice Department. From the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files to the FBI’s raid on Georgia’s Fulton County election office, they discuss what’s happening behind the scenes—and whether core legal standards are...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com ICE failed in its operation in Minnesota because the people would not bend to their terror campaign. Minneapolis residents also maintained incredible discipline in their resistance and totally let Trump down by keeping a check on any potential riotous behavior. Meanwhile, the El Paso airport closure shows the administ...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sen. Mark Kelly joins Sam Stein to explain just how close the country came to a constitutional crisis. He discusses the grand jury’s rejection, the chilling effect on retired service members, and why he believes this fight is far from over—including what Mike Johnson and Republican leaders are (and aren’t) doing about...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com When the White House starts moving military lawyers into immigration courts, you want people who’ve actually been there to explain what that means. Ben Parker, Retired General Mark Hertling and former JAG officer, combat advisor, and federal prosecutor Margaret Donovan break down what happens when you pull legal advis...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim and JVL go through various moments from Pam Bondi's hearing in the Congressional Oversight Committee, in which she evades, lies, and covers for Donald Trump. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams, and event archives exclusively for Bulwark+ members. Add...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com The DOJ tried to criminally indict six lawmakers for reminding service members to obey the Constitution, and a grand jury refused to go along. But even after the charges failed, Speaker Mike Johnson suggested they “probably” should have been indicted. JVL and Andrew Egger discuss what the failed prosecution says about...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Trump may keep telling Ukrainians their country is about to collapse, and Putin may keep bombing their power plants—leaving them miserably cold during one of the harshest winters in years— but Ukrainians are not giving up, and they’re not backing down. On the streets of Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odessa, Ben found defiance, t...

Donald Trump claims to be a champion of faith, but his own words tell a different story. Will Salatan puts Trump to the ultimate test: The Bible. From the 10 Commandments to the Sermon on the Mount, see how Trump’s recent speeches stack up against the actual moral instructions of the scripture. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams, and...

JVL, Catherine Rampell and Paul Krugman take on the January jobs report. Follow Paul Krugman on Substack . As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams, and event archives exclusively for Bulwark+ members. Add Bulwark+ Takes feed to your player of choice, here . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or g...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com JVL, Sarah Longwell, and Tim Miller relish Trump’s losing streak—from +6 approval to –14—and why slipping GOP support could signal a Bush-style collapse. They also get into inflation backlash, the White House’s “Don’t Be a Panican” spin, and the early cracks forming inside MAGA. Is this the start of a 2006-level wave?...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Not only did Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick go to the Epstein island, a sultan from the UAE, who sent a “torture video” to Epstein, also attended Trump’s first inaugural. That would be the same country where the royal family secretly bought half of the Trump family’s crypto venture—right before he was inaugurated a...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein, Tim Miller, and Will Sommer break down the bizarre, disturbing, and increasingly influential world of “looksmaxxing” and the internet personality at its center, Clavicular. The trio give their takes on how a 20-year-old influencer built a massive following by bone smashing his face, abusing steroids and met...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Catherine Rampell give their takes on why Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick faces zero consequences for lying about his contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The files reveal family trips, business deals, and charitable donations between Lutnick and Epstein, contradicting his claims that h...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com JVL, Sarah Longwell, and Adrian Carrasquillo give their takes on the record-breaking Super Bowl halftime show by Bad Bunny. The Puerto Rican superstar delivered a joyful, confident, massively popular performance and MAGA promptly lost its mind. The trio break down why Bad Bunny’s show worked, why Kid Rock’s conservati...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Trump of course hated Bad Bunny's halftime performance, but even he wasn't running the Turning Point alternative at Mar-a-Lago. And a couple of Olympic skiers expressing disapproval of ICE or calling for love and respect for immigrants and their fellow Americans sent MAGA into hyperdrive—with calls for the athletes to...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Mona is joined by the Atlantic’s Peter Wehner to discuss the psychology of MAGA and why defeating them must be the precursor to depolarization. Watch, listen and leave a comment . Ad-free editions of The Mona Charen Show are exclusively available for Bulwark+ members. The Mona Charen Show is a weekly, one-on-one discu...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Eric and Eliot welcome back friend of the show Kori Schake, Senior Fellow and Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, to discuss her new book, The State and the Soldier: A History of Civil-Military Relations in the United States. They explore Kori’s critique of Samuel Hunti...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller takes on a stunning National Review series that details the scale of Trump’s crypto corruption—dwarfing anything ever alleged about Biden—and explains how Trump’s crypto business operated as a pay-to-play system for foreign money, why Republican oversight collapsed, and why it matters that conservatives are...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Senior CNN political analyst Ron Brownstein joins Bill Kristol to discuss the Democrats chances of winning the Senate during the 2026 midterms. As always: Watch, listen, and leave a comment. Bulwark+ Takes is home to short videos, livestreams, and event archives exclusively for Bulwark+ members. Add Bulwark+ Takes fee...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Last year, Principles First was hit with bomb threats serious enough to bring in law enforcement, simply for standing up on principle. It was a sign of how dangerous American politics has become when dissent is treated as a threat. John Avlon and Heath Mayo of Principles First examine the erosion of democratic norms o...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller, Catherine Rampell, and Will Sommer give their takes on the rise of the infomercial wing of the GOP. From ShamWow and MyPillow to the ambassador selling blood-flow vitamins and miracle sleep aids, they unpack how selling stuff became a political credential and why Trump’s brand of politics made it inevitabl...