Bulwark+ Takes

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Catherine Rampell and Sam Stein went live to cover the week's financial and economic news. 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 free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Jasmine poses Triad readers’ questions to JVL: How can retirement fund holders avoid Elon Musk’s monster SpaceX IPO? What in the world are Mikie Sherrill and Abby Spanberger thinking? Can James Talarico actually take Texas? All that and more (like how JVL imagines The Bulwark after Trump) in this week’s mailbag. To pr...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Hunter Biden is back online and he’s not just lurking. He’s posting, replying, and diving headfirst into viral Twitter debates with users big and small. JVL, Sam Stein, and Sonny Bunch give their takes on whether Hunter’s unexpected social media renaissance is just chaos…or something more strategic. Could this be a re...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller takes on the Senate vote that kept Trump’s controversial $1.8 billion fund alive, exposing the Republican lawmakers who condemned it in public and then helped save it behind closed doors. Plus, the growing controversy surrounding Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, and Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s lu...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan joins Sam Stein and Will Sommer to discuss his new reporting on the Groypers, the followers of white nationalist streamer Nick Fuentes. Donie spoke to two Groypers who defended Fuentes sexist and racist views. But shortly after they spoke, the two were admonished by Fuentes and faced calls by ot...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com As House Democrats look to reclaim the majority in 2026, DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene joins Joe Perticone to unveil four new Democratic target districts and explains why her party believes the political map is expanding. DelBene discusses emerging pickup opportunities in New Jersey, California, Nebraska, and Florida, incl...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein, Tim Miller, and Will Sommer are back to give their takes on Ivanka and Jared Kushner’s luxury island project in Albania that's sparking mass protests, the candidate in Colorado’s Republican gubernatorial race who claims he performs exorcisms, and the federal insider trading investigation into George Santos....

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller takes on the growing controversy surrounding Delaney Hall, the ICE detention facility facing allegations of abusive conditions, blocked inspections, and a detainee hunger strike. He also examines the confrontation outside the facility involving protesters and Senator Andy Kim. Life inside the Delaney Hall I...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Ben Parker and Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (ret.) discuss Pete Hegseth’s controversial intervention in military promotions, rising tensions with Iran, and Ukraine’s latest strikes deep inside Russia. Then they’re joined by former Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker for a wide-ranging conversation on Ebola, pandem...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Jonathan Cohn talks with oncologist and UPenn vice provost Zeke Emanuel about the breakthrough new pancreatic cancer treatment—what the science actually means, why it took so long, and what Trump’s cuts to federal research funding put at risk. 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 Sam Stein and Semafor's Max Tani go live to react to CBS firing Scott Pelley from 60 Minutes. Pelley's firing comes after he tore into Bari Weiss and 60 Minutes' new executive producer Nick Bilton, accusing Weiss of "murdering" the venerated newsmagazine.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sarah Longwell gives her take on the state of the race in Iowa ahead of Tuesday's primary elections. With Donald Trump's approval numbers slipping, farmers feeling the effects of tariffs, and growing frustration with Republican leadership in the state, Democrats believe they have a real opportunity to compete in races...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com JVL and Will Sommer give their takes on the explosive showdown inside CBS News after Scott Pelley confronted new 60 Minutes executive producer Nick Bilton during his first meeting with staff. According to reporting from Oliver Darcy's Status newsletter, Pelley blasted CBS leadership and declared that Bari Weiss is "mu...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Andrew Egger give their takes on the breaking news that the Trump administration is reportedly pausing and potentially abandoning the controversial $1.8 billion slush fund for January 6 defendants and other Trump allies. Sam and Andrew walk through how the arrangement came together, why judges are now sc...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Will Sommer and Sam Stein went live on Monday at 10am to cover the outrage from Republicans about artists cancelling on America 250 and Trump making it a rally instead, the Proud Boys bringing cookies to a pro-ICE rally, Trump’s former Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino hanging with white nationalists, and James Fishback...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Catherine Rampell and Will Sommer take on one of the strangest stories in American politics: a mystery candidate named Dan Sullivan has entered the Alaska Senate race—as a Republican—to run against the incumbent Republican senator also named Dan Sullivan. Who recruited him, why does his photo look AI-generated, and wh...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Nathaniel Zelinsky, lead counsel in the Kennedy Center case against Trump, joins Bill Kristol for Bulwark on Sunday to discuss the current situation with Trump and the courts. Nathaniel Zelinsky is a senior counsel and member of the Washington Litigation Group’s steering committee . He is an appellate lawyer who has h...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller and Pablo Torre take on the White House calling Tim an Iranian propagandist, how Trump colonized American sports culture—from SEC stadiums to the White House lawn—and why Democrats keep fumbling the ball on sports politics. Follow Pablo Torre Finds Out on Substack or YouTube As always: Watch, listen, and le...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Catherine Rampell welcomes Epstein survivor Annie Farmer to discuss Pam Bondi’s closed-door congressional testimony, the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files, and the unanswered questions that continue to fuel demands for transparency. Farmer shares her firsthand perspective on the investigation, the treatment of survi...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Ben Parker and Sonny Bunch give their takes on the news that a federal judge's ruled that Trump's name must be removed from Kennedy Center. They examine the legal battle, the mass exodus of performers, the uncertain future of upcoming seasons, and how Trump's efforts to remake the Kennedy Center may have backfired. Re...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Catherine and JVL went LIVE at 12:30pm on Friday. Read Catherine Rampell's 'Receipts' newsletter: https://www.thebulwark.com/s/receipts

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller reacts after the official White House account suggested he should be investigated under FARA over his commentary on the Iran war. He also breaks down the Trump administration’s escalating use of the DOJ against critics, including a criminal investigation against E. Jean Carroll, and explains why he believes...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com JVL and Sam Stein give their takes on CBS News firing Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega, and top executives at 60 Minutes. Plus, they break down why the changes at CBS News appear tied to corporate merger politics from Trumpworld and what the shakeup says about the future of independent journalism in America. As always: Wa...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com JVL and Sonny Bunch take on Trump's "Freedom 250" disaster—the washed-up acts already bailing on the Great American State Fair, the UFC cage being built on the White House lawn, and why the whole spectacle looks less like a birthday party and more like something straight out of The Boys. As always: Watch, listen, and...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam and Will went live at 11am ET to cover the week’s biggest developments in the right wing fever swamp.