Episodes

  • Sam Stein: This Is the Country They Want

    Sam Stein: This Is the Country They Want
    Jul 3 2025
    Republicans are creating, and celebrating, an immigration police state financed by their megabill. Our cities will be militarized, we'll have prison camps, more masked agents, and more dehumanization—like their sicko alligator hats. And the motivation all seems to be so Trump has a win and the Dems don't. But this is Stephen Miller's administration now. Expect net zero migration, less tourism, less international business, and a lower GDP. As we head into Independence Day, it's hard to see the Jeffersonian aspirational promise of America right now. Plus, the administration's freeze on some air defense weapons to Ukraine, how a younger Sam used to think about Bill Kristol, and Candace Owens's potential influence on geopolitical affairs.

    Sam Stein joins Tim Miller for the holiday weekend pod.

    show notes

    • This week's TNL
    • Adrian on how deportations are impacting the Latin music industry
    • Will Sommer's new piece that Sam referenced
    • Thomas Jefferson's letter to Roger Weightman
    • Tim's playlist
    • Tim's July 4th playlist

      Food relief organizations to support, mentioned in the Nick Kristof interview

    • Helen Keller International
    • Edesia Nutrition in Rhode Island
    • Mana Nutrition in Georgia
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    53 mins
  • Galen Druke: Americans Do Not Like Trump's Deportations

    Galen Druke: Americans Do Not Like Trump's Deportations
    Jul 2 2025
    Trump has moved public opinion against his own immigration policy platform by sending masked agents out to nab people off the street. So, Democrats should skip the last war, and instead push for laws requiring ICE agents to show their faces and wear their names on their badge. And another no-brainer for the midterms, in light of the Big Ugly Bill: they should also grab the green eyeshades and talk up the dangers from the debt and deficit. Plus, the electoral calculations behind slashing Medicaid, a Democratic primary draft for 2028, and what was Murkowski thinking?


    Galen Druke joins Tim Miller.

    show notes

    • Galen's podcast

    • Galen's Substack
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • E. Jean Carroll and Sarah Longwell: Such a Bad Man

    E. Jean Carroll and Sarah Longwell: Such a Bad Man
    Jul 1 2025
    Ever the journalist, E. Jean took assiduous notes about her two civil suits against Donald Trump, the only occasions he has been held liable for his lies since he became president. And while the origin story of her cases is situated in an infamous department store dressing room, she managed to find a high comedy in the courtroom—her description of Alina Habba is one for the ages. Plus, as the reconciliation bill was moving toward final passage in the Senate, Sarah and Tim discussed the preposterous Frankenstein bill, how Republicans are not listening to their voters, and the worthlessness of Lisa Murkowski.

    Sarah Longwell and E. Jean Carroll join Tim Miller.

    show notes

    • E. Jean's new book, "Not My Type: One Woman vs. a President"

    • E. Jean's Substack

    • Subscribe to "Bulwark Takes" for our reactions to breaking news
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    1 hr and 26 mins
  • Bill Kristol: Limp Opposition

    Bill Kristol: Limp Opposition
    Jun 30 2025
    Thom Tillis finally showed some backbone and opposed Trump—because of the giant Medicaid cuts in the Big Fugly Bill—but now he has to self-deport from the Senate. Meanwhile, the bill funds a giant internal police force for Trump, and gives a handout to the Dr. Strangeloves of Silicon Valley who don't want AI regulated. It would also cripple wind and solar energy, which even the ex-shadow president says is insane and destructive. Plus, ICE's racial and ethnic targeting, the plutocrats are the biggest suck-ups, and Peter Thiel—the man who gave us JD Vance—isn't sure he wants the human race to continue.

    Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.
    show notes

    • Bill's "Bulwark on Sunday" interview with Tom Joscelyn

    • Douthat's interview with Thiel
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    55 mins
  • Nicholas Kristof: Gratuitous Cruelty

    Nicholas Kristof: Gratuitous Cruelty
    Jun 27 2025
    A miracle food paste that fights malnutrition in children, that taxpayers have already paid for, is collecting dust in warehouses. Donated drugs for parasitic infections remain undistributed and are nearing their expiration dates. American-purchased ambulances sit idle because they have no gas. USAID was shut down in the name of government efficiency, but instead, we've spent at least $6 billion to dismantle it—and we've killed a lot of kids in the process, despite what Elon and Marco Rubio say. Plus, Elissa Slotkin on her 'Economic War Plan,' and the challenges for Dems on housing, and connecting with the working class.

    Nick Kristof and Sen. Elissa Slotkin join Tim Miller for the weekend pod.
    show notes

    • Nick's piece on the waste Elon created
    • Nick on the elegant and cheap solutions to global hunger
    • The response to readers upset that Nick writes about dying kids in Africa
    • "Chasing Hope," Nick's memoir
    • Kristof Farms
    • Tim's playlist

      Organizations to support
      Helen Keller International
    • Edesia Nutrition in Rhode Island
      Mana Nutrition in Georgia
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    1 hr and 13 mins
  • Michael Weiss and Jonathan Cohn: Animal House at the Pentagon

    Michael Weiss and Jonathan Cohn: Animal House at the Pentagon
    Jun 26 2025
    Trump was so awestruck by Israel's intel infiltration and air supremacy over Iran that he just had to give himself an executive producer credit. And he's casting his appointees to help create a Hollywood ending—including using his Val Kilmer-esque SecDef to spike the success of the long-teased, "secret" military operation. At the same time, Trump is having trouble leveraging the intelligence community's confirmation of what happened in Iran since he's spent a decade undermining its credibility among his supporters. Plus, NATO gets a little cringe toward Daddy Trump, Ukraine doesn't get the same credit as Israel, and the low-down on the Republican bill that would close rural hospitals and cut healthcare for 11 million people.

    Jon Cohn and Michael Weiss join Tim Miller.
    show notes

    • Jon's latest on the reconciliation bill
    • Michael on Israel's intel infiltration and air dominance over Iran
    • The Dutch queen mocking trump
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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • Derek Thompson: Winning Without Anger

    Derek Thompson: Winning Without Anger
    Jun 25 2025
    A DSA candidate winning a Democratic primary in New York City is not an ideal laboratory for other Dems to draw lessons from, but Mamdani sounded authentic, he successfully juggled our fragmented media environment, and he had the right message for this cost-of-living moment—as well as the proper amount of party heresy for this anti-establishment age. Meanwhile, the Republican tax and budget bill is shockingly out of step with the affordability crisis we are living through. Plus, the dangers of the coming AI wave, Ozempic may be one of the most astonishing medical breakthroughs in the last 100 years, and would shortening the NBA season reduce player injuries?

    Derek Thompson joins Tim Miller.

    show notes

    • Derek's Substack

    • Derek's and Ezra's book, "Abundance"

    • "Plain English," Derek's podcast

    • Tim and Bill on the NYC mayor's race
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Nicolle Wallace: The Silence of Republicans Is the Bigger Threat

    Nicolle Wallace: The Silence of Republicans Is the Bigger Threat
    Jun 24 2025
    While Trump and his administration are the ones politicizing the rule of the law, ignoring due process, and annihilating democratic norms, it's Republicans leaders saying and doing nothing in response that poses a bigger threat to our country and democracy. Meanwhile, when it comes to the Middle East, we don't know who Trump is talking to—or listening to. Plus, when Bush 43, McCain, and Jeb pushed for immigration reform, the romantic idealism of Aaron Sorkin, and the sounds of kids and dogs.

    (An unfiltered) Nicolle Wallace joins Tim Miller.

    show notes

    • Nicolle's new pod, 'The Best People'
    • Matt Gaetz arguing with his mom via text

    *Get $35 off your first box of wild-caught, sustainable seafood—delivered right to your door. Go to: https://www.wildalaskan.com/BULWARK
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    56 mins