The Bulwark Podcast

The Bulwark

Tim Miller and guests discuss the latest political news for the flagship podcast of the Never Trump movement and the reality-based community. Every weekday we provide insightful analysis, political hot-takes, an unabashed defense of liberal democracy and long-form interviews that cut through the "both-sides" BS. Plus a few laughs to help you wash down the crazy. Bulwark+ members can get a totally ad-free version of the show delivered right to their favorite podcast player.

  • 57 minutes 11 seconds
    Ezra Klein: The Resistance, Back from the Dead
    Partly because of the courts and partly because the White House keeps stepping on rakes or trying to break everything, the Dems who were too chill about Trump pre- and post-election have fully moved into 'threat to the Republic' mode. Meanwhile, angry bureaucrats, particularly at the FBI, are digging in. But don't be sanguine because the administration is still trying to take a wrecking ball to the civil service— anything that goes wrong that involves the government though (like that measles outbreak in Texas) they're going to own from here on out. Plus, Trump's dirty energy policy, the challenge of getting his tax cuts through Congress, and Kanye goes all in on Hitler.

    Ezra Klein joins Tim on the weekend pod.

    show notes
    Ezra's forthcoming book with Derek Thompson, "Abundance"
    Ezra's show on YouTube
    Measles Outbreak Mounts Among Children in One of Texas’ Least Vaccinated Counties
    Tim's playlist

    7 February 2025, 8:29 pm
  • 51 minutes 43 seconds
    Michael Steele: Gum Up the Works
    After the dumbest member of the Senate, Tommy Tuberville, was able to block military promotions for months during the Biden administration, Dems should not back down from slowing the roll of Kash and the other remaining abominable nominees. Meanwhile, more federal workers are going to have to speak up—lawsuits don't make good visuals. The nation needs to see the faces of the men and women who are our public servants. Plus, Elon's poll numbers slip, Trump's Gaza gambit is BS, and who is the new DNC Chair, Ken Martin? Michael Steele joins Tim Miller.
    6 February 2025, 7:57 pm
  • 1 hour 2 minutes
    Ben Stiller: 'Severance,' but Real Life
    With Elon's 20-something operatives running the Treasury Department, it's hard not to feel that we've been severed from reality and a better Earth someplace else. Ben Stiller talks with Tim about metaphysics, avoiding politics in public, and advocating for the millions of people displaced around the world. 

    Plus, the origin story of Severance, Adam Scott, John Turturro, and whether the show is a metaphor for life itself. Also, Tim gives a pop quiz, Ben shares his love for the Knicks, and both ponder why there aren't good comedies anymore. 

    Ben Stiller joins Tim Miller.
    show notes:

    Watch Severance
    The Albert Brooks film, 'Real Life.'
    Trailer for "Real Life'
    Ben's New York Times interview
    Video of one of Musk's engineers/operatives

    5 February 2025, 6:37 pm
  • 56 minutes 33 seconds
    Anne Applebaum: Outside the Rule of Law
    If the Chinese hacked the U.S. government the way private citizen Elon has, it would be a major act of cyber warfare. And since Elon is a government contractor, he's now in a position to make policy calls that benefit his own companies and hurt his competitors—following the Russian oligarch model. We are in a completely lawless realm, and this is likely to continue until he is stopped. Meanwhile, government employees are being forced to choose between conforming or protecting the public. Plus, Elon is also sabotaging America's soft power and influence in Africa while he and the other tech overlords plot how to derail Europe's effort to regulate them.

    Anne Applebaum joins Tim Miller.
    show notes

    4 February 2025, 7:38 pm
  • 1 hour 15 minutes
    Will Saletan and Scott Lincicome: A Crime Boss Has Taken Over
    The president of the United States is putting his Jan 6 accomplices in charge of the Justice Department and the FBI, and clearing out any officials who would be willing to investigate the administration. It's anti-democratic, it's a coup, and it's allowing Elon and his 20-something DOGE buddies to act with impunity as they illegally access classified information and the Treasury's payment system. Meanwhile, the White House can't even get its messaging straight on the tariffs as they sabotage our relationship with allies in the process. Plus, the ethnic scapegoating continues and the Dems at the DNC go all Portlandia when they need to be fighting the aspiring authoritarians. 

    Will Saletan and Scott Lincicome join Tim Miller.
    show notes
    Tim's interview with J.J. McCullough on Canada's retaliatory tariffs

    3 February 2025, 8:01 pm
  • 53 minutes 40 seconds
    Andrew Weissmann: A MAGAtocracy and a Babytocracy
    While Republican senators worked to protect Kash Patel from answering some ver-wee hard questions at his confirmation hearing, not one of them had the audacity to suggest that he is the best person to lead the FBI. Meanwhile, the new administration is clearing out some of the most seasoned and effective veterans at the bureau who will be needed during a crisis. Plus, Elon is trying to get our private financial records at the Treasury Department, and Paramount is so worried that mean Mr. Trump would block a merger deal that it's ready to settle his frivolous, written-in-crayon lawsuit against "60 Minutes." Also, Tim makes an earnest plea to Sen. Bill Cassidy from the heart of New Orleans. 

    Andrew Weissmann joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.
    show notes
    Weissmann's and Mary McCord's podcast, "Main Justice"
    Weissmann's Substack page
    Tim's playlist

    31 January 2025, 7:07 pm
  • 1 hour 5 minutes
    Tommy Vietor: Deniability Is All That Matters
    Republican senators don't care that Trump's nominees are lying—like Kash pretending he didn't know a Nazi-adjacent podcaster whose show he's been on eight times—because the confirmation process to them is all a game and truth is irrelevant. And nominees are also mad-flipping on their signatures issues: RFK, Jr. on vaccines, Tulsi on Edward Snowden, and Kash on the Jan 6 cop beaters. Meanwhile, RFK knows embarrassingly little about the programs he'd be administering, Democrats should try combat on for size, and the Fox hosts/reality show stars turned in quite a performance after the first plane crash in 16 years. 

    Tommy Vietor joins Tim Miller.

    30 January 2025, 9:23 pm
  • 40 minutes 53 seconds
    Mona Charen: A Moment of Truth
    Trump is trying to seize powers he doesn't have—like unilaterally rewriting laws and deciding on his own how he wants to spend money Congress appropriated for a particular purpose. Will the Supreme Court stop him? And if it rules against him, will he obey the court's orders? Plus, the money angle behind RFK, Jr.'s conspiracies, and Elon's attempt at a mass buyout is not about making the government leaner and meaner. He's trying to replace good, smart people with lackeys and flunkies, like Tucker Carlson's son. Mona Charen joins Tim Miller.

    Mona Charen joins Tim Miller.
    show notes

    29 January 2025, 7:46 pm
  • 1 hour 9 minutes
    Chris Hayes and Alex Kantrowitz: Trying To Break the Whole Thing
    The directives putting a pause on federal grants and the firing of career DOJ prosecutors is about trying to make the entirety of the federal government the tool of the man occupying the presidency. And it's all illegal and unconstitutional. Meanwhile, Trump is exactly the kind of broken sociopath who can dominate the war for attention—the defining resource of our time. Plus, a rundown on DeepSeek, the new Chinese AI model, and why Bitcoin fans aren't more angry about the worthless, scammy Trump and Melania coins. 

    Chris Hayes and Alex Kantrowitz join Tim Miller.
    show notes

    28 January 2025, 7:56 pm
  • 52 minutes 12 seconds
    Bill Kristol: Trump Loves Fraud
    Gullible Republicans have really been proving what they're made of recently, including Susan Collins, who claims Trump wants to root out corruption, even though his whole life has been a fraud—the water, the university, and "The Apprentice," just for starters. Meanwhile, the presidents of Mexico and Colombia are showing that they're not going to bend over in service of Trump's vanity. Plus, JD's Johnny-come-lately Catholicism, and the tech titans's clash with DEI may be helping the US lose the lead in AI. 

    Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.
    show notes:
    Colombian President Gustavo Petro's statement on Twitter (hit translate post)
    Timothée Chalamet on SNL

    27 January 2025, 7:10 pm
  • 1 hour 2 minutes
    David French: Vengeance and Rage
    Trump launched his first week back in office signaling to loyal followers that they are free to break the law on his behalf, while telling political opponents—including John Bolton and Mike Pompeo—that he'll put their lives at risk. Meanwhile, an office full of white faces is not evidence of a meritocracy, a shortage of VA nurses or prosecutors at the DOJ is not government efficiency, and Putin is different from the man he was during Trump's first term. Plus, the dangers of the word "invasion" in the immigration context.
    David French joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.

    show notes:

    John Mulaney's 'horse in the hospital' skit
    Tweet from Dan Crenshaw that Tim referenced
    David's latest newsletter (gifted)
    Tim's playlist

    24 January 2025, 7:26 pm
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