The Next Level

This week’s Next Level starts out as a Secret Podcast episode, before Tim and Sam crash the stage. They discuss Sarah’s interview with Pete Buttigieg, why Jon Ossoff might be history’s choice for 2028 whether he likes it or not. Plus: some hopium on some key races across the South. Then the crew turns to Vivek Ramaswamy’s despicable ad featuring Amy Acton’s estranged mother, and whether JD Vance might be (shudder) underrated in 2028. who they most want to see hauled before Democratic committees in 2027, with Elon Musk, RFK Jr., Todd Blanche, and Jared Kushner all making the list.

Sarah and JVL talk about:

And that’s before they get into Senate polling numbers looking really bad for Republicans. You want schadenfreude with a side of hopeium? The best friends have you covered. 

Show notes:

• If you have questions for Tim, Sarah and JVL, send them to [email protected] and they may answer them on an upcoming episode of TNL.

Note: We're doing something a little different today. Paid members of the Bulwark get exclusive access to a extra, super, jumbo-sized TNL with a play-by-play breakdown of Katie Zacharia's disastrous press conference. It's a lot of fun, and you should definitely join to see it. You can join on Apple Podcast, Substack and YouTube.

Tim, Sarah, and JVL are back together for a super-sized, off-the-rails show. They wish Kimberly Guilfoyle well after she was forced out of the Trump administration, dig into the background of our new White House Press Secretary, discuss the DHS raid on Rep. Ilhan Omar's home, discuss the right-wing meltdown over James Talarico's absence from the campaign trail, and gloat about the GOP pulling resources out of some key House races.

Then, they go behind they paywall, and it REALLY gets fun: They watch Katie Zacharia's entire White House press briefing (all 15 minutes), and give their minute-by-minute commentary. Then: Sarah and JVL ask Tim whether he's reconsidered his stance on a take that got MANY Bulwark listeners mad a few months ago.

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Get free shipping and 365 day returns with Quince, at https://Quince.com. Tell them The Next Level sent you!

The Secret Podcast is available exclusively to paid members of The Bulwark on Apple Podcasts, Substack and YouTube.

Elon Musk threatened to destroy Trump’s Republican allies. Now he’s spending hundreds of millions to keep them in power. Sarah Longwell and JVL discuss Musk’s humiliating surrender, the billionaires lining up behind Trump, the MAGA smear campaign against James Talarico, and why Trump’s desperate deal with Putin represents a stunning display of American weakness.

Plus, Sarah has some ideas about holding Trump’s wealthy enablers accountable, and JVL has some big news.

Full episodes of The Secret Podcast are available exclusively to paid members of The Bulwark. You can join on Apple Podcasts, YouTube and at https://thebulwark.com. If you want to join, you're in luck: We’re running a 30% off October Surprise sale, so it’s a great time to get the full Secret Podcast and all of our members-only reporting.

Sarah and JVL break down Jon Ossoff’s Terminator-style destruction of Mike Collins. Seriously: It was so brutal that someone should have stopped the debate.
Then it’s off to:

Definitely a top quartile show.

Want a Woke Bill Kristol tee? Get it at The Bulwark Store.

Will Sommer joins Sarah and JVL for a wild, wild show. They congratulate Kash Patel on his engagement, discuss JVL's Triad on the White House reporter-turned-press staffer from Real America's Voice. Then: Megyn Kelly's ghoulish rant against Cornell's Jane Doe, and whether we're happy to see John Roberts experiencing public shame. Finally: Two VERY weird campaign ads, one filled with weird innuendo, and the other featuring Angela Paxton announcing her vote for her cheating ex-husband. They wrap up by discussing a long New Yorker article about the Heritage Foundation's groypery turn.

show links:

Head to Brodo.com/THENEXTLEVEL for 20% off your first subscription order and use code THENEXTLEVEL for an additional $10 off.

Visit https://Wildgrain.com/THENEXTLEVEL to get $30 off your first box, plus free croissants for life.

A quick note: Bulwark+ Memberships are 30% off for our October sale, a discount so large that JVL and Sarah would like it known they personally object to it. Please take advantage of this terrible business decision while you can: https://thebulwark.com/surprise

Full episodes of The Secret Podcast are available exclusively to paid members of the Bulwark. Join on Substack, YouTube or Apple Podcast.

Sarah and JVL are back apart, as God intended. And there’s lots happening:

- The new jobs report is bad!

- Should Democrats try to impeach Pete Hegseth?

- Trump is sending a third aircraft carrier to the Middle East.

- And then there are the two interviews. JD Vance seems to be living in one world while mush-brain Donald Trump is living in another reality.

Plus: Trump’s DoJ wants to go after the real villains of Watergate: The prosecutors who investigated poor, innocent Richard Nixon.

Also: JVL needs help picking a so-bad-it’s-awesome family movie.

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You asked, we listened! Bulwark LIVE: Charlotte featuring Pete Buttigieg & The Gang—will be live streamed on Sunday, October 18 starting at 7pm EDT.

Paid Bulwark members will be able to tune in from home for this exclusive members-only live streamed event. At Bulwark LIVE we can promise you a night of politics with lots of laughs—and maybe a few tears too. We’ll keep you sane.

If you live in Carolinas or Georgia and want attend one of our Bulwark LIVE: Good Fight Tour stops from Oct 16-20 details and tickets are available at https://TheBulwark.com/Events.

Tim, Sarah, and JVL are all together in-studio. It turns out things are so bad for the GOP, even JVL is hopeful. They discuss Marjorie Taylor Greene calling BS on the GOP's 'caravan' tactic, whether Pete Hegseth could be the administration's fall guy for the Iran war, and a new Marist poll showing Democrats with an almost-too-good-to-be-true lead on the generic congressional ballot.

Later: Did Scott Jennings REALLY talk to Mitch McConnell for 30 minutes? Can Democrats get to 56 Senate seats? The gang has thoughts on how Democrats should handle oversight investigations in 2027. Plus: Bo French is racist AND wants mass executions, and finally: the gang discusses some interesting rumors about Candace Owens.

Read JVL’s Triad.

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Live from benefit supporting the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, Tim Miller, Sarah Longwell, and JVL dig into the quieter tactics behind Trump’s deportation crackdown, what Sarah’s Ohio focus groups are saying about Vivek Ramaswamy, Sherrod Brown, John Husted, and Amy Acton, and just how big the 2026 Senate map could get. Plus, as conservative media struggles to defend Trump, the trio holds a contest to see who can do a better Scott Jennings impression.

You can help, too: https://thebulwark.com/springfield

Full episodes of The Secret Podcast are available exclusively to paid members of the Bulwark on Apple Podcasts, Substack and YouTube.

JVL is already in Ohio. Sarah is about to run to the airport. It’s a wheels-off kind of show. This week:

- The government seems to have lied to a court again.

- JD Vance was the leaker who threatened national security.

- Mary Peltola gets caught in context collapse.

- Trump had compromat on Susan Collins.

- JVL feels guilty about cutting a promo.

And then there’s the big one: The story of the Massachusetts lesbian bar that wasn’t woke enough. It’s a solid B-/B episode!

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Donate here to our Benefit for Springfield—funds go to the Haitian Support Center: http://thebulwark.com/springfield

Want that Woke Bill Kristol tee? Get it at The Bulwark Store: https://store.thebulwark.com/collections/insider-collection/products/short-sleeve-t-shirt

Sarah’s THANK YOU note to the Bulwark family: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/you-guys-are-the-best

How to Eat an Elephant debuted at #2 on the NYT best seller list. We knocked Ted Effing Cruz out of the top spot! Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible. Let’s keep the momentum going: 

Get Sarah's book on Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/how-to-eat-an-elephant-one-voter-at-a-time-sarah-longwell/6a0996cb43d2ef5b?ean=9781250464170&bkshp-astro=t

...or get it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/How-Eat-Elephant-Voter-Time/dp/125046417X