Avsnitt
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Sarah and JVL are back together, looking at Trump’s NATO disgrace, wondering if Mitch McConnell is really talking to people on the phone about detailed policy questions, and analyzing the factional fight in the Democratic party between the people trying to elect Democrats and the insurgents focused on displacing the establishment.
Short version: What if Morris Katz is just the left’s Steve Bannon?
Also, there’s some personal stuff at the end.
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Finally: There are more tickets to see Sarah and JVL on September 8 in NYC! We are about to sell out the orchestra section—but we want to sell out the balcony, too. It’s a point of pride. Come hang with us. Tickets are here.
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Tim, Sarah, and Sam Stein (filling in for JVL) take on the political stories dominating the headlines:
• Mitch McConnell is alive and taking calls (maybe, probably?)—despite Laura Loomer’s reports to the contrary..
• Platnerdämmerung; the enormous irresponsibility of the Platner candidacy will have real consequences for his movement and for the country; and the messy road ahead in Maine (even if Platner does the right thing and drops out.).
• In the wake of the Platner debacle, irony is dead as Trump defenders trip over themselves to claim the moral high ground. Case in point: Kevin McCarthy..
• Mallory McMorrow’s failed Michigan Senate campaign exemplifies the challenges of splitting the difference between the moderate and progressive factions of the Democratic Party..
• Plus, the USMNT’s embarrassing loss to the waffle-eating Belgians in the World Cup Round of 16.Ready to transform your customer support? Go to https://decagon.ai/thenextlevel to get a personalized demo and see what Decagon can do for your team.
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Full episodes of the Bulwark Podcast are available to paid members of The Bulwark via YouTube, Substack, and Apple Podcasts.
Sarah Longwell and Bill Kristol (filling in for JVL) take on America’s 250th birthday under Trump—and how far the GOP has fallen from Reagan’s “you can become an American” to 2,000 ICE arrests a day. They break down the right-wing meltdown over the birthright citizenship ruling, Megyn Kelly’s race to the bottom, why the “socialist takeover” panic misses what Democratic voters actually want, and who’s really rising in the 2028 field.
Read Sarah’s Triad newsletter: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-real-reason-the-democratic-socialists-are-surging
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Sarah, Tim, and Andrew Egger (filling in for JVL) discuss:
-The Supreme Court's ruling upholding birthright citizenship.
-NPR's retracted report that Justice Alito was retiring.
-The DSA-aligned Democratic candidates winning primaries in New York City, and whether Democrats are headed for a giant fight over socialism in 2027.
-Rep. Tom Kean's return to Congress after his depression diagnosis.
-The gang pops off on the gut-wrenching story of the false CPS report against Pete Buttigieg
-Fresh polling in the Maine and Texas Senate races.Get 30% off your entire order with Soul at https://GetSoul.com with code THENEXTLEVEL
Join The Bulwark for $86 a year—14 percent off, this week only. Declare your independence today: http://thebulwark.com/july4
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The full episode of Secret Podcast is available to paid members of the Bulwark on YouTube, Substack and Apple Podcasts.
It’s a special show this week where JVL gives Sarah a series of impossible choices. Will she choose institutionalism, or Secretary Mayor Pete? Will she endorse the political analysis of [REDACTED]? What will she do when Cletus says that he doesn’t like democracy and wants minority rule?
Come find out!
Also: There are more tickets to see Sarah and JVL on September 8 in NYC. We’ve moved to a bigger room at the 92nd Y and we need to sell it out. So come hang with us. Tickets are here: https://www.92ny.org/event/sarah-longwell-how-to-eat-an-elephant
Visit https://Hims.com/THENEXTLEVEL to get a personalized, affordable weight loss plan that gets you.
show notes
Catherine Rampell: The Americans Trump Would Rather Not See: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-americans-trump-would-rather
JVL’s Traid: What Was Cletus Thinks About Democracy: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/what-cletus-thinks-about-democracy
Jim Swift: Haitians Prepare for Disaster: https://www.thebulwark.com/i/203693183/forward-together-backward-by-order
This was recorded before Pete's Substack post: https://petebuttigieg.substack.com/p/a-terrible-thing-happened-to-my-family
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Tim is sick, but he's strapping on his football helmet. Tim, Sarah, and JVL cover:
-The mysterious 79 year-old receiving non-public weight loss drugs (and if not Trump, who?)
-The latest revelations from Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman's new book.
-Tucker Carlson supposedly leaving the Republican Party...or is it all a long game to help JD Vance?
-The Trump administration's ongoing capitulation to Iran...and even JD Vance used to think it was stupid!
-The latest National Mall reflecting pool drama.
-How Pete Buttigieg got 'radicalized' by his time in the Biden administration...and Tim's warning for Democrats.
-FINALLY: The Washington Post's monster feature on the cult leader who's been coaching Tulsi Gabbard through her political career.Get your tickets to Sarah's How to Eat an Elephant book tour in September at https://TheBulwark.com/EVENTS.
Ready to transform your customer support? Go to https://decagon.ai/thenextlevel to get a personalized demo and see what Decagon can do for your team.
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The Iran war deal is falling apart (already). Israel is turning on Trump. And the two most insipid trad-Cath poasters in America are podcasting together again.
Plus: JVL (finally) explains his disdain for the NYT’s DEI Trump apologist.
Read JVL's Triad newsletter: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trumps-iran-hawks-found-a-way-to-love-surrender
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JVL, Sarah Longwell, and Tim Miller discuss the Iran "deal" that isn't really a deal—a memorandum of understanding that lifts sanctions immediately and hands Iran $300 billion while punting everything else down the road. Then: the war hawks who drummed up the Iran war—Thiessen, Graham, Levin, the WSJ editorial board — are repositioning and refusing to say they were wrong. Plus: Trump's accelerating decline, the corruption behind the White House UFC fight, and why Trump's DOJ will open a federal investigation on every 2028 Democratic nominee regardless of who it is.
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A super-sized Secret this week:
Sarah and JVL are coming to the legendary 92nd Street Y in New York on September 8. Come and hang out with them in JVL’s back yard! It’s possible he’ll have the championship belt! (Tickets on sale here.)JVL actually thinks the Iran deal might be real this time. He’s got a theory.Sarah has a theory of her own about who leaked to Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan about the Trump administration’s big Situation Room summit on how to handle the Epstein files?JVL makes progress on his continuing quest to bring Sarah around on “the free market” and court expansion. Is this the week the dam breaks?It’s a good show, long show. -
The gang is back together, and the U.S. and Iran are back at war...maybe? Tim, Sarah, and JVL discuss the latest in Iran, Donald Trump storming off of Meet the Press, the 'stolen election' freakout in Los Angeles, Todd Blanche's nomination as Attorney General, and JVL's Triad about former DHS commander Greg Bovino (kinda sorta maybe) eyeing a presidential run.
Plus: Graham Platner, Lindsey Graham's primary in South Carolina, and the gang reacts to a completely wild AI-generated ad of...James Talarico in a dress? Finally, Tim debriefs on his interview with a Silicon Valley vibes-whisperer.
Read JVL's Triad, here.
Watch Tim's interview with Jason Calacanis, here.
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Tim Miller, Sam Stein, and JVL talk about the week's biggest stories: Trump installs a meme stock grifter as acting Director of National Intelligence, the $1.8 billion weaponization slush fund may be dying (or just hibernating), Tina Peters walks free and heads straight to Steve Bannon, Scott Pelley goes out swinging at 60 Minutes, and the leaked Trump-Netanyahu call reveals a president trapped by his own unworkable coalition of MAGA, Iran hawks, and Mark Levin all turning at once.
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Read JVL’s Triad, here: https://www.thebulwark.com/s/thetriad
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Full episodes of The Secret Podcast are available to paid members of the Bulwark, on Apple Podcasts, Substack and YouTube.
Sarah and JVL talk about the ongoing meltdown of Trump’s Freedom 250 event; the inappropriateness of putting a UFC cage fight on the White House lawn; John Cornyn’s sudden understanding of what Trump is; and Bari Weiss’s murder of 60 Minutes.
It’s a good show / short show because we’re both playing hurt today, so forgive us if we’re not at our most dazzling. -
Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller and JVL went live to cover the Texas primary runoff election, Megyn Kelly (maybe?) turning against Trump, and much more.
Visit http://upwork.com/THENEXTLEVEL right now and post your job for free.
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Full episodes of The Secret Podcast are available to paid members of The Bulwark via Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Substack.
Sarah is in the City of Angels; JVL is in the Big Apple;) and they have A LOT to catch up on. Gas is at $4.65. Trump is at -22 in the latest Fox poll. The Senate said no to the billi for his ballroom.
Oh, and maybe we’re going to do regime change in Cuba soon?
Plus: They recap the California live shows and go deep on Tina Peters.
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Tim Miller, Sarah Longwell, and Sam Stein debate whether Democrats should just “let Trump cook” as his approval numbers crater, Republicans start breaking ranks, and the MAGA coalition begins to fracture. Plus: Rubio takes heat over Iran, the gang ranks Trump’s worst cabinet members, and they roast Trump’s gaudy gold makeover of Washington.
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The Secret Podcast is available exclusively to paid subscribers of The Bulwark. You can join on Apple Podcasts, Substack or YouTube!
Last night news broke that President Trump would drop his $10b lawsuit against the IRS if the people who work for him at the Justice Department would create a $1.7b fund out of taxpayer dollars and allow him to appoint five commissioners to run this fund and they would award money to anyone they deemed fit.
Oh, and that the list of people given money would be secret. And Trump could replace the commissioners any time he wanted, for no reason.
The Trump administration is positioning this as a “truth and reconciliation commission.” Which is amazing.
For a decade JVL (and to a lesser extent Sarah) have wanted a truth and reconciliation commission to document accounts of what people did during the Trump era. And now the monkey’s paw has granted their wish.
We get a truth and reconciliation commission designed to help the people who did the Trump era.
As you can imagine, Sarah and JVL have a lot to say about this. Strap in.
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JVL, Sarah Longwell, and Tim Miller discuss the Virginia redistricting ruling, what it means for elections this November, and whether Democrats need to start playing as dirty as their opponents. Plus: the Iran war is a strategic catastrophe that most Americans don't understand yet, and what Bob Kagan—the man who cheered on every Middle East intervention—now thinks about where this is all heading. And Marjorie Taylor Greene has moved to Costa Rica. Seriously.
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For a limited time, Wildgrain is offering our listeners $30 off your first box—PLUS free Croissants for life—when you go to https://Wildgrain.com/THENEXTLEVEL to start your subscription today.
JOIN US! We’ll have some chatty friends joining us on stage for Bulwark Live in San Diego on May 20 and Los Angeles on May 21. For details or to grab your seats today head to https://TheBulwark.com/Events.
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The full episode is available exclusively to paid members of The Bulwark. You can join on Apple Podcasts, Substack or YouTube.
Sarah and JVL had a big show planned for you. Lots of different subjects. Important news. Funny stories. The whole nine.
And then everything derailed as they went SUPER deep on Graham Platner and the meta-debate about him. If you think Platner has electoral upside, you love Nazis. If you have concerns about Platner’s populism, you’re a closet Republican. The internet has spoken!
It’s a whole thing.
Also: This marks the first time in the history of the show that Sarah read JVL’s piece and JVL . . . didn’t even realize Sarah had written something? The shoe is on the other foot, my pretties!
Read JVL’s Triad newsletter: https://www.thebulwark.com/s/thetriad
Read Sarah’s 'The Man Behind the Tatoo': https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-man-behind-the-tattoo-graham-platner-maine-democrat-focus-group
ON SALE NOW: Bulwark Live is coming to San Diego on May 20 and Los Angeles on May 21. Just announced! We’re adding some chatty friends to the lineups for both shows. Grab your seats now to join Sarah, Tim and Sam for an evening of politics among friends and keep an eye on https://TheBulwark.com/Events for more announcements.
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Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller and Sam Stein (filling in for JVL) discuss the Trump administration’s assertion that the effort to protect ships in the Strait of Hormuz is "separate and distinct" from the larger war effort in Iran. Plus, they get into the drama over Ken Martin’s time as DNC chair, the effect the Supreme Court’s recent voting rights ruling might have on the midterms, the wisdom of Senate Republicans allocating $1 billion for the ballroom Trump promised would be completed without public money and how the Senate battleground his shaping up for Democrats this fall. Bonus: Tim coins a new term for presidents hitting historically bad polling numbers.
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Read "The YOLO Presidency" by Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/donald-trump-legacy-history/686817/
Tickets for our Bulwark Live shows in San Diego on 5/20 and in LA on 5/21:
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/bulwark-events -
Full episodes of the Secret Podcast are available to paid members of the Bulwark on Substack, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts.
JVL and Sarah Longwell discuss the signs that voters are starting to regret their Trump vote—and why that doesn’t mean politics is getting any simpler. Gas prices are rising, a gerrymandering arms race is raging and the Supreme Court reshaped the rules. Plus: the Maine race, the rise of populist candidates like Platner, and what The Bulwark actually stands for.
- Visa fler
