The Bulwark

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Democrats tend to defend the institutions that Trump is tearing apart, but Pete Buttigieg says the party should be focusing on the bigger, deeper structural problems the country is facing and the need for political reform. The kind of radical institutional changes he’d like to see include: expanding SCOTUS and the Hou...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Jonathan Cohn talks with epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina about the record-breaking cyclospora outbreak, which foods to avoid, why officials still haven’t found the source, and how cuts to public health could make outbreaks like this more common. Follow Katelyn Jetelina and Your Local Epidemiologist on Substack . As al...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com The Trump administration is going full speed ahead on its authoritarian project to intimidate the media and the business world—and to gun people down in the streets. And in Israel, Netanyahu is allowing settler militias to run amok in the West Bank, killing Palestinians and destroying their villages and property. Rep....

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Will Sommer take on the conspiracy theories surrounding Lindsey Graham’s death and Mitch McConnell’s hospital “proof of life” photo, Jared and Ivanka Kushner’s scandal-plagued Albanian excursion, Libs of TikTok embedding with ICE, and the latest drama from the online looksmaxxers.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Eric and Eliot catch up for the first time in a month after returning from overseas. They break down the latest jackassery, from Graham Platner’s campaign implosion to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gifting revolvers and live, gold-plated ammunition to the heads of state at the recent NATO summit. They assess the NATO summit mo...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein takes on Trump's escalating war on the press: subpoenas targeting NYT reporters over Air Force One security reporting, a rambling 450-word attack on Maggie Haberman, and the irony of Trump attending the White House Correspondents' Dinner just weeks later—while Mark Zuckerberg stays conspicuously silent. As a...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Many Democratic primaries in 2026 have been hashing out America’s relationship with Israel, because Democratic voters' opinions of Israel have taken a nosedive the last three years. Pod Save America and Pod Save the World co-host Tommy Vietor joins Sarah to discuss the role Israel-related politics has played in the 20...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim Miller joined the Deadline: White House panel to discuss Trump’s failed attempt to stop the bipartisan housing bill, the Republican cowardice it exposed, Trump's Qatar jet fiasco, and Graham Platner’s withdrawal from the Maine Senate race. Watch Deadline White House on MS NOW: https://www.ms.now/deadline-white-hou...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller take on Donald Trump’s decades-long habit of defending men accused of sexual assault and misconduct. From Roy Moore and Roger Ailes to Mike Tyson and Ghislaine Maxwell, they roll the archival tape and expose the staggering depth of the GOP’s hypocrisy. As always: Watch, listen, and leave...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sarah and JVL are back together, looking at Trump’s NATO disgrace, wondering if Mitch McConnell is really talking to people on the phone about detailed policy questions, and analyzing the factional fight in the Democratic party between the people trying to elect Democrats and the insurgents focused on displacing the e...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com The Trump administration desperately wants the public to just tune out the shooting death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by ICE agents in Houston. But this roaming army of masked, armed men chasing people down and killing them is tied directly into the administration's criminality across the board. Trump may pardon Stephen...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Catherine Rampell is joined by special guests from Yale's Budget Lab, Natasha Sarin and Martha Gimbel, to break down Trump's refusal to sign a housing bill he once championed, the bipartisan push for tax breaks for seniors, and what happens when the across-the-board 10% tariffs Trump imposed expire later this month.

On this week’s episode, I’m rejoined by renowned critic and film historian David Thomson to discuss his new book, A Sudden Flicker of Light: A Revisionist History of Movies . It’s a bracing tome, given its thesis: That the film screen has fundamentally altered who we are and how we interact with the world, in ways mostly negative. I’ll have more on this book in my newsletter this week, but I reall...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein, Tim Miller and Will Sommer take on the week's weirdest stories: MAGA Manny changes his story on tape—to a puppet. Colorado GOP frontrunner Victor Marx's confessions keep getting darker, and he's still winning. Meghan McCain posts photographic proof that nobody came to her State Fair broadcast. Students for...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Andrew Weissmann joins Sarah Longwell to discuss a big week in legal news: DOJ's stunning concession in a reporter's lawsuit over the Epstein files, the questions senators must make Todd Blanche answer at his confirmation hearing, and the Trump-appointed judge who torched DOJ's demand for the names of every 2020 elect...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Trump had to take two Air Force ones to the NATO summit in Turkey: his new bling Qatari hand-me-down that he wanted to show off and the old baby blue one which he had to use to fly safely home—given the war in neighboring Iran. And at the FBI, Kash Patel’s thievery of taxpayer resources has gotten so out of hand, even...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Democrats swore they'd never do what Republicans did with Trump. Then came Graham Platner. Mona Charen and Will Saletan on the fake oysterman, the vetting failure, and the death of shame—plus Trump's World Cup meddling and the loss Mona says America needed. Bulwark Book Club pick for August: Mark Twain’s Pudd’nhead Wi...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Tim Miller take on JD Vance's rough day in Wisconsin: playing Fraud Czar while his Iran deal implodes, and telling a cookie story that accidentally describes Trump. Plus: Patrick Dempsey passes on a Maine Senate run, and Riley Gaines isn't sure Helen Keller existed. (Will Sommer will be back soon. Pray f...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Catherine Rampell went live to cover the breaking news that Graham Platner has chosen to end his campaign for Senate.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Sam Stein and Adrian Carrasquillo take on the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, shot dead by ICE in the North Houston suburbs. Lorenzo lived in the U.S. for 35 years, built a construction business, and put three sons in college. DHS released a statement nearly identical to the one it issued after Renee Goode's killin...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Roughly 2,000 people a day are being swept up by ICE and put in subhuman conditions. And Stephen Miller's quotas likely contributed to the recent tragic deaths of two immigrants. Meanwhile, Graham Platner is still holding the Democratic Party hostage. What lessons can be learned for Democrats who went along with this...

Catherine Rampell gives her take on Donald Trump's latest attempt to claim credit for Walmart's routine discounts, treating a standard retail promotion like a White House policy victory. From Walmart sales to corporate investment announcements, Trump has repeatedly portrayed business decisions that were already in motion as personal wins for his administration. As always: Watch, listen, and leave...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.) and Ben Parker went live to cover Trump’s press conference at the NATO Summit where called Iran “scum,” said negotiations were over, warned of “a big attack” on Iran, and said a U.S. aircraft carrier was struck by “the Islamic Republic of Japan.” Plus, Mark and Ben break down Trump’s comm...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Trump's Versailles peace deal feels truly dead. Iran fired missiles at tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. answered with strikes promised to be "more intense" than last month's—and Tim asks the question nobody in the administration can answer: why? Plus: JD Vance's Iran victory lap ages badly, Trump trolls Melon...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.thebulwark.com Tim, Sarah, and Sam Stein (filling in for JVL) take on the political stories dominating the headlines:— Mitch McConnell is alive and taking calls (maybe, probably?)—despite Laura Loomer’s reports to the contrary.— Platnerdämmerung; the enormous irresponsibility of the Platner candidacy will have real consequences for...