The Next Level

Sarah's back from the book tour! The gang discusses Sarah's Focus Group Newsletter, George W. Bush's fundraiser for Republican Senate candidates (we thought he was staying out of politics?) Then they get into Trump's ban on CNN, MSNOW, and POLITICO from the White House press pool, and whether we still care. Sarah also has some words about Zohran Mamdani sharing a podium with Donald Trump.

Then, the gang talks about a Wall Street Journal columnist who has "TDS" (maybe not the TDS you're thinking of). Also: The FBI was investigating Susan Collins for bribery, Tim is mad at Jared Golden, and JVL wants to discuss the Department of Defense's "Gender-Affirming Care."

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Show links:
Sarah's Focus Group Newsletter about Vivek Ramaswamy
Amy Acton’s ad
Gerard Baker has TDS
Propublica's investigation into Susan Collins and her Super PAC's donors

Sarah and JVL are together again and JVL is raging.

It’s a short show, but a great show.

Also: Sarah talks about the book tour and what it’s like to feel the love you guys have shown her. Be careful; it gets a little dusty. 

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

JVL's on the west coast for Sarah's book event, and he, Tim, and Andrew Egger discuss Mitch McConnell's triumphant (?) return to the Senate, Donald Trump casually floating conspiracy theories over the Butler, PA assassination attempt, and Thomas Massie's articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth. Then, they turn their attention to a New York Times poll with some GREAT news for Democrats in the midterms (with the exception of one issue: AI). They discuss the developments from the world of AI in the last week and how our political leaders should respond. Then: Is Gavin Newsom really thinking about NOT running for president? There's a really, really, REALLY racist Republican running for Texas Railroad Commission, and Tim debriefs on a rather contentious interview he did on The Bulwark Daily.

Show links:

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The Secret Podcast is a special bonus just for paid members of The Bulwark. If you like this preview, become a member at thebulwark.com, on YouTube, or through Apple Podcasts.

JVL and Bill Kristol look at the increasingly messy fight to succeed Trump, from JD Vance and Don Jr. to Tucker Carlson, as Trump keeps the possibility of a third term hanging over the party. Plus, the war with Iran is getting worse, Pete Hegseth’s damage to the military is becoming harder to ignore, and 25 years after 9/11, they consider the unsettling question of what terrorism can set in motion long after an attack is over.

Sarah, Tim, Sam and JVL are coming to South Carolina, North Carolina, and Atlanta in October for Bulwark LIVE. We’re bringing lots of friends.

Tickets are on sale now: https://thebulwark.com/events

Tim, Sarah, and JVL discuss Trump's Labor Day Weekend with his favorite person, Corey Lewandowski's possible ‘light extortion,’ and whether Trumpworld will circle the wagons around him. Plus: why the GOP's midterm convention shows Trump losing his fastball, ABC News's bizarre framing of Rudy Giuliani's Islamophobic comments about Zohran Mamdani, and John Fetterman's total lack of interest in doing the job of a U.S. senator.

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Get your tickets for The Bulwark's Good Fight Tour this October, coming to Charlotte, Columbia, and Atlanta, with special guest Pete Buttigieg joining us in Charlotte.

Today Sarah and JVL try to figure out who’s worse: John Fetterman or Susan Collins. (Give us your answer in the comments.) Also, the Big Orange Arch is coming. And we chew over Doug Sosnik’s recommendations for the Democratic party. It’s a big show.

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Plus: it’s almost Book Week!

Don’t let Teddy Cancun and High Life Clarence win. Order a copy of Sarah’s book now. (If you haven’t already, I mean.)

How to Eat an Elephant drops on Tuesday and the Best Friends really want to get it to #1 on the NYT best seller list. To do that, we have to unseat... a biography of Clarence Thomas by Ted Effing Cruz.

Buy it 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

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

Become a Bulwark member to keep watching the full conversation, plus get access to all our members-only shows and segments.

Show notes:

See Bill Kristol and Doug Sosnik’s conversation: https://conversationswithbillkristol.org/conversation/doug-sosnik-on-two-very-different-elections-2026-and-2028/

Tim, Sarah, and JVL discuss the U.S. Supreme Court letting Trump’s ballroom go ahead (for now), why JVL thinks John Roberts is the Susan Collins of the Supreme Court, and whether Sarah is warming up to tearing down the ballroom in 2029. Plus: Trump says Kristen Welker should be punished for pointing out that his endorsed candidates are losing more often, and JVL wonders whether Republicans will have to be an anti-Canada party now. Later: The gang discusses Bari Weiss’s kinda racist headline about Abdul El-Sayed’s past tweets, why elected Republicans around the country (but especially Ken Paxton) are feeling depressed about their midterm prospects, and an absolutely wild story about a Florida congressional candidates in today’s Morning Shots.

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If you want more of Tim, Sarah, and JVL doing what they do here—looking past the daily Trump spectacle to figure out what survives him, where Democrats have openings, and what the next political era might actually look like—become a Bulwark member and support The Next Level.

Show links:

Read JVL’s Triad (https://www.thebulwark.com/p/lake-america-and-the-dogma-of-trumpism)

Read Andrew Egger’s Morning Shots (https://www.thebulwark.com/p/we-found-her-the-most-absurd-general-election-candidate-te-brown-illinois-florida-congress-fraud-primary-election-putin-whale-orca-polar-bear-russia-ukraine)

Full episodes of The Secret Podcast are a special perk just for paid members of the Bulwark. We put almost every video out for free, because we don't think you can save the country from behind a paywall. This is one of the rare things we do reserve just for members. Come ride with us.

- Full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/py-SBnizZ3U
- Full episode on Substack: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/mark-cuban-thinks-he-could-run-as

JVL is out this week, so Tim and Sarah discuss Mark Cuban’s comments that he could run for president as a Republican (and why Tim isn’t buying it), and Sarah’s conversation with the New York Times discussing her book, and what Democratic voters REALLY want right now. They also discuss the race Rob Sand is running for governor in Iowa. Behind the paywall: Kamala Harris’s 2028 strategy, Hasan Piker discourse, and a fun mailbag segment.

Show notes:

Read Sarah's conversation with the New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/opinion/democrats-fighters-trump-republicans.html

Come hang with the gang—Sarah, Tim, JVL, Sam and friends—during our Bulwark LIVE: Good Fight Tour this October. Tickets are on sale now at: https://thebulwark.com/Events

Let's be together.

Tim, Sarah, and JVL are back together for a JAM-PACKED show. They discuss:

-Dolly Parton's passing and her legacy.
-America's war (not the Iran war, our trade war with Canada), and why the rest of the world can't count on American anymore--even if Democrats win in 2028.
-Sarah's Focus Group Podcast episode from Georgia--which Tim found pleasant (for once).
-The South Carolina primary runoff, and whether having Donald Trump's endorsement is enough to put a political novice in the Senate.
-The first U.S. measles deaths of the year in Pennsylvania.
-Does the Trump administration want to demolish the Kennedy Center? Do WE want them to?
-Why MAGA media is talking about the WNBA and trans issues so much.
-Finally: They discuss JVL's Monday Triad about Trump's completely crazy relationship with Natalie Harp.

Read JVL's Triad

Get your tickets for The Bulwark's Good Fight Tour this October, coming to Charlotte, Columbia, and Atlanta.

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The Secret Podcast with JVL and Sarah is exclusively for paid members of the Bulwark on YouTube, Substack and Apple Podcasts.

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Sarah and JVL did a BIG show today. Sample awesome:

Sen. Darlene Graham says that voters in South Carolina don’t care about Taiwan—they care about boys playing girls sports.

Spoiler: There are exactly zero (0) boys in South Carolina playing girls sports.

Top CIA analyst Julia Curlee served Trump, Biden, and then Trump again honorably. Then she was fired because some MAGA influencers discovered she was trans.

What duty do civil servants owe the country which elected Trump for the second time?

Is Jon Ossoff the one we’ve been waiting for? Sarah has him in her Big Four. And you’ll never guess who the other three are.

People hate Data Centers. So where is the juice for Democrats?

JVL can’t stop/won’t stop beating on tankies and greens.

And the birth of a new feature: Pickleball talk!

We want to hear from you about any/all of this. Let’s ride.

Sarah, Tim, Sam and JVL are coming to South Carolina, North Carolina, and Atlanta in October for Bulwark LIVE. We’re bringing lots of friends.

Tickets are on sale now: https://thebulwark.com/events

Our shows have a habit of selling out. Don’t wait to grab your seats.