The Bulwark Podcast

By The Bulwark

What's The Bulwark Podcast about?

Charlie Sykes and guests discuss the latest news from inside Washington and around the world. No shouting, grandstanding, or sloganeering. Conservative, conscientious, and civil.
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LAST EPISODE

Tim Miller: Never Should Me...

02.03.2023

Too many normies STILL won't say "Never Trump," but Paul Ryan may be coming around. Plus, Kari keeps pretending to be governor, Hugh Hewitt is leg-humpy, and Charlie wants Dark Brandon to go out in a flak jacket and pop ...

The Bulwark Podcast episodes:

02.03.2023 Tim Miller: Never Should Mean Never Too many normies STILL won't say "Never Trump," but Paul Ryan may be coming around. Plus, Kari keeps pretending to be governor, Hugh Hewitt is leg-humpy, and Charlie wants Dark Brandon to go out in a flak jacket and pop ...
02.02.2023 Elie Honig: Is Trump Untouchable? Merrick Garland likes to say that no one is above the law, but the DOJ's own guidelines make it clear that some people are more equal than others. And no one exemplifies the disparities in our criminal justice system better ...
02.01.2023 Charlie Savage: The Real Witch Hunt? Trump has longed complained about a deep state plot to smear him with the Russia investigation, but the Durham probe of that investigation comes off as highly partisan, unethical, and loony. Charlie Savage joins Charlie Sykes today. Learn more about ...
01.31.2023 Julian Zelizer and Kevin Kruse: History Is Under Assault History became more politicized in the Trump era and the conservative media ecosystem has helped amplify untruths. Princeton's Kevin Kruse and Julian Zelizer join Charlie Sykes to explain the value of learning both our good and bad history. We can ...
01.30.2023 Will Saletan: Policing the Police Training and diversity are not enough — cops who break the law must be prosecuted. Plus, the normalization of political violence around Jan 6 and the attack on Paul Pelosi, and Steve Bannon goes deeper on election denialism. Will Saletan ...
01.27.2023 Tim Miller: Deep Inside Tucker Carlson's Navel Republicans are so out of touch, their public brand is in trouble. Plus, MTG is Queen of the GOP, Schlapp is too sleazy for Gaetz, and party types are praying for a Trump heart attack. Oh, and Tim Miller tells ...
01.26.2023 Michael Weiss: A Watershed Moment for Ukraine It took a lot of arm-twisting, but the West has finally committed to arming Ukraine with battle tanks — not only to boost its defenses, but also to take the fight to the Russians. And Crimea is now in play. ...
01.25.2023 Jonathan Alter: How the Documents Hurt Biden Biden has been seen as scandal-free, but his classified docs case may cost him a big political asset: the benefit of the doubt. Plus, Trump's map in the '24 primaries looks smaller. And the fallout from the arrest of a ...
01.24.2023 David Weigel: MAGA v MAGA Republicans may have underperformed in the midterms, but the RNC chair fight is not about changing the party's direction. For the base, it's about out-suing the "cheating" Democrats. Plus, the free-for-all in Chicago's mayoral race, and the Oscar noms. Dave ...
01.23.2023 Will Saletan: It's In Your Nature to Destroy Yourselves The pro-life movement, undaunted by the midterms, is pushing for more restrictions— and the political backlash will be severe. Plus, give Ukraine the tanks, and don't invite Donald Trump to your funeral. Will Saletan's back with Charlie Sykes for Charlie ...
01.20.2023 Catherine Rampell: Psychotic Feral Cats with Machetes Republicans are back to extortion and holding the debt ceiling hostage after adding $4.7 trillion to the deficit during the Trump years — and that was before the pandemic. Why risk financial market chaos? Catherine Rampell joins Charlie Sykes for ...
01.19.2023 Michael Schmidt: "I Didn't Know They Made People Like That" Before John Kelly became chief of staff, he thought the chaos at the White House was due to the people around Trump. Instead, each day was about getting through the day without Trump doing something illegal, immoral, or damaging to ...
01.18.2023 Bill Kristol: Glimmers of Hope The shift in attitudes about defense and foreign policy in Germany has been dramatic since the war in Ukraine began. Plus, will ripping off a dying dog be the tipping point for George Santos? Bill Kristol — fresh off a ...
01.17.2023 David French: Our Religious Freedoms Are Not Hanging by a Thread New York Times-bound David French tells Charlie Sykes how he re-thought same-sex marriage, how he felt he was living in a bubble, and how religious liberty is more strongly protected than it's ever been. Plus, the inevitability of George Santos. ...
01.16.2023 Will Saletan: Performative Garbage RonAnon Johnson wanted to get beat up on "Meet the Press" — so he could weaponize it. Plus, the active moving backward from MLK's dream, Trump gets the ultimate whataboutism, debt ceiling dangers, and a football confession. Will Saletan's back ...
01.13.2023 Michael Steele: Slapping Matt Schlapp Former RNC Chair Michael Steele had a front-row seat for the start of the ugly transformation at CPAC. Racist rhetoric has now been normalized, and they're not even pretending anymore. Steele joins Charlie Sykes for the weekend pod. Learn more ...
01.12.2023 Adam Kinzinger: Detoxing from Congress Watching from a distance, former Rep. Kinzinger tells Charlie Sykes that House moderates have a lot of power they're not willing to use, while the Freedom Caucus —AKA "The Terror Club" — is willing to shoot hostages. Plus, McCarthy will ...
01.11.2023 Aaron Blake: Kevin McCarthy Is Keeping a Secret Without his secret pact, Kevin McCarthy likely would not be Speaker. Now, the American public — and members of Congress — are in the dark about the terms of McCarthy's agreement. Plus, will Joe Biden's classified documents sink a prosecution ...
01.10.2023 Olivia Nuzzi: Has Trump Become Norma Desmond? Trump rarely leaves his 'weird' smelling, moldy mansion, he seems bored and tired, and D-List MAGA are his main loyalists now. Plus, Olivia and Charlie go all in on the parallels to the film, Sunset Boulevard. Olivia Nuzzi joins Charlie ...
01.09.2023 Will Saletan: Expect More Hostage-Taking in the House McCarthy paid the ransom, Bannon is openly supporting violence in Brazil, and even normie Republicans are prepared to put the US economy at risk. Plus, Charlie and Will disagree on Hakeem Jeffries' speech. Will Saletan's back with Charlie Sykes for ...
01.06.2023 A.B. Stoddard: A Desperate Man The hijackers have the energy in the House, Biden is quietly succeeding, no-mentum Trump's biggest fear is being ignored, DeSantis is a closet wimp, and George Santos doesn't respond to his name — is his name fake too? A.B. Stoddard ...
01.05.2023 Nick Confessore: The Theater of Elise Stefanik Rep. Elise Stefanik was a star pupil and the future of the GOP — now she's joined the kids in the back of the class, whose only role in Congress is to generate outrage. Plus, Trump turned the party into ...
01.04.2023 John Avlon: The Bomb Throwers Just Don't Care McCarthy thought he could appease the kamikaze caucus with cash and playing along with Stop the Steal — surprise, they'd rather ruin everything if they can't rule. CNN's John Avlon joins Charlie Sykes on today's pod. Learn more about your ...
01.03.2023 Tom Nichols: Of Course They All Hate Each Other The House Republican caucus is a jackal pack, with George Santos — the poster boy for our era of grift — along for the ride. Plus, 2023 is starting with green shoots of optimism, including a battered, bruised, and tired ...
01.02.2023 Andrew Weissmann: The DOJ and Trump's Attempted Coup The clock is ticking down on whether to bring charges against Trump for what was essentially a "simple" scheme — a president wanted to stay in power even though he lost the election. Former DOJ prosecutor Andrew Weissmann joined Charlie ...
12.30.2022 Susan Glasser and Peter Baker: Trump's Hostile Takeover of the Government During his four years in office, Trump kept testing the weaknesses in our Constitutional system — and January 6 was the culmination of his war on the institutions of American government. Susan Glasser and Peter Baker's book, "The Divider" captures ...
12.29.2022 Maggie Haberman: Trump Is Damaged and He Causes Damage to Others Donald Trump is the product of an exacting and brutal father who undermined him in private, and his damaged childhood has impacted him ever since. In this encore episode from October, Maggie Haberman, author of "Confidence Man," told Charlie Sykes ...
12.28.2022 Jennifer Senior: Steve Bannon Is an Asymmetric Threat Steve Bannon is a card-carrying member of the coastal elite, but he's trying to light a bonfire under American democracy. An intelligent, well-read man in the same category as Tucker Carlson, Bannon's genius is in polarizing people. The Atlantic's Jennifer ...
12.27.2022 Nick Confessore: Tucker and the Most Racist Show in the History of Cable News Tucker Carlson regularly borrows conspiracy theories from the racist right, and counsels his viewers that immigrants, nonwhites, and non-Christians are trying to destroy them and everything they love. Meanwhile, his show brings in more advertising revenue than any other Fox ...
12.26.2022 Michael Fanone: We Were Literally Fighting for Our Lives Former DC police officer Michael Fanone joined Charlie Sykes for our first live show, and recalled the events of Jan 6 — when he was seriously injured defending the Capitol. A one-time Trump voter and Fox News fan, Fanone is ...
12.23.2022 Tim Alberta: The Political Poisoning of the Evangelical Church On this Christmas weekend, we revisit our conversation with Tim Alberta about the morphing of evangelicalism from a spiritual disposition to a political identity, a development Alberta calls "heartbreaking." He tells Charlie Sykes that Evangelicals are turning against each other ...
12.22.2022 BONUS EPISODE: The Bulwark Goes Across the Movie Aisle The Across the Movie Aisle pod returns to Pandora for James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water. Is the sequel — 13 years in the making — worth the wait? Plus, the streaming programming crunch. Sonny Bunch, Alyssa Rosenberg, and ...
12.22.2022 Eric Edelman: A Struggle Between Democracy and Tyranny Zelensky didn't hit a wrong note, and he embodied the Ukrainian people's will to freedom on the floor of the US Congress. Plus, from a realpolitik perspective, the degradation of Russian military power via US aid to Ukraine is a ...
12.21.2022 BONUS EPISODE: The Symmetry Between Zelensky's Visit and the Jan 6 Report The fight against Putin and the fight against Trump are cousins, so how poetic is it that Zelensky and the January 6 report both show up on nearly the same day? Plus, is Trump getting too tired to fight? Bill ...
12.21.2022 Gen. Mick Ryan: The War in Ukraine, 10 months In Putin likes to say the West is weak, but he isn't even fighting NATO, and he's losing. But the war in Ukraine is at a transition point — and Russia, with a new commander, will emerge from the winter still ...
12.20.2022 Will Saletan: He Wanted the Violence The January 6 committee never wavered from its main goal: to make sure Trump never holds power again. Plus, the Lauren Boebert-MTG feud, and overestimating the power of the internet age to stop political candidates from telling very big lies. ...
12.19.2022 The Next Level Takes Over The Bulwark Tim Miller checks in from Turning Point's event in Phoenix on the role of "Gays Against Groomers" in the culture war. Plus, George Santos as Tom Ripley, and the Musk crowd's "Free Speech for Me and Not for Thee." JVL, ...
12.16.2022 Symone Sanders-Townsend: Let Joe Run The case for Biden to run again, the hate-mongering GOP, and the expectations around Kamala vs the realities of the vice presidency. Symone Sanders-Townsend joins guest host Tim Miller for the weekend pod — and also chats about why she ...
12.15.2022 Derek Thompson: An Abundance Agenda for the Future The success of Operation Warp Speed has been orphaned by both sides — the left won't credit Trump for any policy success, and too many on the right won't get vaxxed. Plus, crypto had a magical pull in an era ...
12.14.2022 Dan Vallone: The History Wars Are Not What They Seem Americans are less divided than they think about how schools should teach about our nation's history. Conflict entrepreneurs are stoking polarization and cherry picking extreme opinions as majority views. More in Common's Dan Vallone joins guest host Mona Charen today. ...
12.13.2022 Elaina Plott Calabro: MTG Is More Cunning than You Think Marjorie Taylor Greene tried on Jesus and CrossFit before she got to MAGA. Now, the party leadership needs her more than she needs them because the base thinks she's Elvis. The Atlantic's Elaina Plott Calabro joins guest host JVL for ...
12.12.2022 Adam Kinzinger: The Torch Is Now with the DOJ (Encore Episode) Even with some key figures refusing to testify, the Jan 6 committee still was able to tell the story of crimes that were committed that day. Plus, Kevin McCarthy — after all his necessary butt-kissing is complete — will be ...
12.09.2022 Tim Miller: Nazis Bad, Constitution Good Brittney Griner is home, Sinema does the Angus King thing, Republicans pass on a "Get Out of Jail" card, and a huge win for same-sex marriage. Plus, every Democrat should get schooled by the Warnock and Shapiro campaigns. Tim Miller's ...
12.08.2022 A.B. Stoddard: A Most Delicious Circular Firing Squad Republicans need someone to blame besides Trump, so Laura Ingraham is turning on the RNC, Kellyanne is turning on Jared, and a rump group in the Senate is turning on McConnell. Plus, Democrats are a little too high on hopium. ...
12.07.2022 Mark Leibovich: DeSantis Is Not the Savior Republicans are big mad about Herschel's loss, but they won't name the guy who got this production off the ground. Meanwhile, low-energy Trump is plotting how to take out the charmless but ruthless DeSantis. Mark Leibovich joins Charlie Sykes on ...
12.06.2022 Kori Schake: Rejecting Authoritarianism The protesters in Iran have the wind in their sails, China is no longer likely to overtake the US as the world's dominant economy, and Ukraine gets to determine when it's time to negotiate. Kori Schake joins Charlie Sykes on ...
12.05.2022 Will Saletan: Saying the Quiet Part Blaringly Out Loud Trump has upped the ante from sedition to Nazis and terminating the Constitution — and yet Republicans continue to shrug. Plus, the anti-science fever is spreading, and the genius behind the marketing of Herschel Walker in Georgia. Will Saletan's back ...
12.02.2022 Tim Miller: A Week Full of Nazis Kanye not only ruined the cover story on Trump's Nazi dinner, he also wrecked Tucker's plan to make him a conservative icon. Plus, prematurely clearing the field for DeSantis, Trump's judge gets slapped down, and Hunter's laptop will be a ...
12.01.2022 Dana Milbank: Even Kevin McCarthy Doesn't Trust Kevin McCarthy If he can round up the support to be speaker, McCarthy is still going to have to fend off Trump trying to muck things up from Mar-a-Lago, as well members of his caucus threatening repeated no-confidence votes. Dana Milbank joins ...
11.30.2022 Ben Wittes: The Worst Story We Told Ourselves Was True January 6 was not merely a conspiracy to break windows and storm the Capitol — for some, it was a conspiracy to resist the lawful authority of the United States. Plus, Musk's vandalism of Twitter is destroying something precious. Ben ...

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