Episodios

  • Brian Stelter and Jonathan V. Last: Worst Case Scenario

    Brian Stelter and Jonathan V. Last: Worst Case Scenario
    Sep 18 2025
    The administration wants people to believe that Jimmy Kimmel was pulled off the air because he supposedly crossed a red line when it came to Charlie Kirk—yet at the same time, somehow totally ignore that this is naked government coercion of critics who embrace the time-honored tradition of skewering presidents. And because this is the Trump administration, there's also a corruption angle, namely a local TV station conglomerate trying to curry favor with Trump and FCC Chair Brendan Carr to get a $6.2 billion merger approved. Meanwhile, Vance is openly manufacturing a new, broader conspiracy behind the Kirk assassination, continuing his admitted pattern of just making things up out of whole cloth. It'd be nice if other members of the media noticed.

    JVL and Brian Stelter join Tim Miller.

    show notes

    • Brian's "Reliable Sources" newsletter

    • JVL's Thursday 'Triad'

    • Bulwark Live in DC (10/8) and NYC (10/11) with Sarah, Tim and JVL are on sale now at TheBulwark.com/events.

    • NEW show added to Toronto schedule: Bulwark Live Q&A Matinee show on Saturday, September 27 —tickets are on sale now, here.
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    1 h y 7 m
  • Susan Rice: A Cancer in the Body Politic

    Susan Rice: A Cancer in the Body Politic
    Sep 17 2025
    This country has been dealing with an increase in political violence for nearly a decade, and leaders from across the spectrum need to do everything they can to get us off this terrible path. Declaring 'free speech for me and not for thee,' or getting random people fired for not saying nice things about Charlie Kirk isn't helping to tamp things down. Meanwhile, it looks like Trump is sacrificing U.S. national security interests with his corrupt TikTok and UAE deals, and Russia remains one of the only countries in the world Trump hasn't tariffed. Plus, Democrats must not roll over and play dead on the spending bill like they did in the spring.

    Amb. Susan Rice joins Tim Miller.
    show notes

    • Bulwark Live in DC (10/8) and NYC (10/11) with Sarah, Tim and JVL are on sale now at TheBulwark.com/events.

    • NEW show added to Toronto schedule: Bulwark Live Q&A Matinee show on Saturday, September 27 —tickets are on sale now, here.
    Más Menos
    48 m
  • Joe Manchin: The Man in the Middle

    Joe Manchin: The Man in the Middle
    Sep 16 2025
    The former senator and former Dem has some not-very-nice things to say about Schumer and Obama—as well as progressives—who he blames for hounding Biden to move left and diminishing his will to fight. And while he's proud he helped protect the filibuster while he was in the Senate, Republicans just invoked the nuclear option to get Trump's nominees approved. Plus, what's with all the Confederate flags in West Virginia? And why aren't West Virginians more angry that conditions in the state have not improved since flipping red under Trump?

    Sen. Joe Manchin joins Tim Miller.

    show notes

    • Sen. Manchin's new book, "Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense"
    • Tim's 2021 piece, "An Ode to Saint Joe Manchin"
    • Bulwark Live in DC and NYC at TheBulwark.com/events. Tix for a second Toronto show go on sale for members Tuesday at noon and for everyone else on Wednesday!
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    59 m
  • Bill Kristol: What Does 'They' Mean?

    Bill Kristol: What Does 'They' Mean?
    Sep 15 2025
    The administration is threatening to take away money and power—and maybe even freedom—from some vague Trump opponents because of the Kirk assassination. It doesn't seem to matter that elected Democrats have roundly condemned his murder. And it doesn't matter that Trump himself largely ignored the recent political assassination of Minnesota Democratic legislator Melissa Hortman and her husband. But anyone who is pro-assassination is a foe of The Bulwark. Full stop. A free country by definition must protect the right to self-expression. Plus, the giant nationalist march in London over the weekend, the latest stalling tactic on Russia sanctions, and the right of trans people to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

    Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.

    show notes

    • Today's "Morning Shots"
    • Bill's "Bulwark on Sunday" with Jay Nordlinger
    • Bulwark Live in DC and NYC at TheBulwark.com/events. Tix for a second Toronto show go on sale this week!
    • Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to RocketMoney.com/thebulwark today.
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    1 h y 5 m
  • David Frum: Leveraging Violence as a Tool of Power

    David Frum: Leveraging Violence as a Tool of Power
    Sep 12 2025
    Trump and the people around him want to use the Kirk assassination to suppress their political opposition. And Trump is clearly laying the groundwork for cracking down on people he doesn't like—peaceful protesters, Dem fundraisers—while also offering rhetorical comfort to potential vigilantes on the right. Meanwhile, we are witnessing the danger of having an incompetent person atop the FBI, who alternates his time between posting for clicks and purging the bureau of highly qualified personnel for political cred. Plus, Vance is running for the 2028 nomination every day, the raid on the Georgia Hyundai plant shows the incoherence and stupidity of Trump's economic vision, and as Putin tests the resilience of NATO, the White House is playing politics in Poland.

    David Frum joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.

    show notes

    • Frum's "Trump Is No Nationalist" piece
    • Bill's tribute to Georgia police officer David Rose
    • Bob Kagan's "The Beginning of the End of Nato" Tim referenced
    • The poem, "For Whom the Bell Tolls"
    • Tim's playlist
    • Frum's podcast
    • Bulwark Live in DC and NYC at TheBulwark.com/events. Tix on sale next week for extra Toronto show!
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    1 h y 2 m
  • Erin Ryan: The Murder of Charlie Kirk

    Erin Ryan: The Murder of Charlie Kirk
    Sep 11 2025
    This country has too many guns and too many crazy people. And the social media oligarchs are fanning the flames of violence by constantly trying to piss people off. The Kirk assassination highlights just how dangerous a moment we are living in. America is not free if people are too afraid to speak their minds. Plus, parenting and the surprising gap in what Gen Z women and men think are the highest priorities in life.

    Crooked Media's Erin Ryan joins Tim Miller.

    show notes

    • Tim's latest FYPod episode
    • JVL on Charlie Kirk
    • Andrew on the reaction to the assassination
    • Nancy Mace after the shooting
    • The Wired story on surrogacy
    • Go to https://www.american-giant.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code BULWARK. Thanks to American Giant for sponsoring the show!
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    1 h y 7 m
  • Stephanie Ruhle and Tom Saenz: Why Aren't People Freaking Out?

    Stephanie Ruhle and Tom Saenz: Why Aren't People Freaking Out?
    Sep 10 2025
    If Zohran Mamdani, as NYC mayor-elect, held a dinner with finance bros and threatened them with a huge wealth tax if they didn't sweet-talk him and say how much they agreed with his political vision, the Wall Street community would freak out. Yet, this version of a shakedown is *really* happening at the White House all the time and in response, the country's most powerful and wealthy business leaders can only trip over each other as they jostle for the chance to cut up Trump's well-done steak. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is tripping over its own rulings to green-light ICE's racial profiling in Southern California.

    Stephanie Ruhle     and MALDEF's Tom Saenz join Tim Miller.
    show notes

    • Maggie Haberman pursuing the White House's 'hoax' theory on Epstein
    • Job Garcia's video of his arrest—includes non-visuals when his phone was in his back pocket
    • Bulwark Live in DC and NYC at TheBulwark.com/events. Toronto is SOLD OUT
    • Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/ BULWARK and use promo code BULWARK at checkout.
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    58 m
  • James Bennet: Trump Is Still Hacking the Media

    James Bennet: Trump Is Still Hacking the Media
    Sep 9 2025
    More than 10 years in, journalists still have not figured out how to cover Trump. He understands the media environment better than a lot of reporters, and knows his outrageous acts and statements command attention—and that people will not be able to finish processing one outrage before the next one comes down the pike. But now he's laying down the terms of how he expects to be covered, and media orgs are complying by hiring or giving airtime to MAGA avatars. In the process, journalists are failing to hold the powerful to account. Plus, Dems actually went on offense and got their hands on the Epstein birthday book, and Israel is aggressively embracing the age of impunity.

    The Economist's James Bennet joins Tim Miller.

    show notes

    • James, in The Economist, on his departure from the NYT over the Tom Cotton op-ed (gifted)
    • James on the rules for defending democracy under Trump (gifted)
    • Bulwark Live in DC and NYC at TheBulwark.com/events. Toronto is SOLD OUT
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    1 h y 9 m