The Bulwark Podcast

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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.

Recent Episodes
  • Jon Favreau: Funny and Horrible
    Dec 20, 2024 – 01:08:18
  • Heather Cox Richardson: The Reality Show-ification of the Government
    Dec 19, 2024 – 47:35
  • Mark Hertling: Putin's Weakness
    Dec 18, 2024 – 46:22
  • Tom Nichols: Don't Descend into Darkness
    Dec 17, 2024 – 58:09
  • Bill Kristol: Fake Nicey-Nicey Sh**t
    Dec 16, 2024 – 36:45
  • Anne Applebaum: Planning for a Techno-Oligarchic Regime
    Dec 13, 2024 – 44:20
  • Matt Yglesias and Tyler Austin Harper: Popularism v Populism
    Dec 12, 2024 – 01:12:07
  • Adam Kinzinger and Pat Ryan: Bring It On
    Dec 11, 2024 – 01:06:29
  • Susan Glasser: A Lame Lame Duck
    Dec 10, 2024 – 52:32
  • Bill Kristol and Michael Weiss: Catastrophic Success
    Dec 9, 2024 – 57:14
  • Jamelle Bouie: Bad at Being President
    Dec 6, 2024 – 49:00
  • David French: We Are in the Bad Multiverse
    Dec 5, 2024 – 01:03:58
  • Rep. Mikie Sherrill: Who Will Be In Charge of Our National Security?
    Dec 4, 2024 – 51:30
  • Michael Weiss and Thomas Zimmer: Competent and Radical
    Dec 3, 2024 – 01:09:05
  • Bill Kristol and Elaina Plott Calabro: A Sordid Lot
    Dec 2, 2024 – 01:17:59
  • Jonathan Chait: A Scary Clown
    Nov 27, 2024 – 52:23
  • George Will: Democracy Rests on Persuasion
    Nov 26, 2024 – 50:46
  • Bill Kristol: We Were Right To Be Alarmed
    Nov 25, 2024 – 52:50
  • Sarah Longwell and Jonathan V. Last: The Lonely Boy Club
    Nov 22, 2024 – 59:23
  • Sam Harris: Our Democracy Is Already Unraveling
    Nov 21, 2024 – 58:04
  • Marc Caputo and Dan Goldman: Trump v. the United States
    Nov 20, 2024 – 53:45
  • Jen Psaki: Don't Speak to Me
    Nov 19, 2024 – 43:01
  • Bill Kristol: A Power Play for Autocracy
    Nov 18, 2024 – 54:35
  • Amanda Carpenter: Lessons from the Tea Party Era
    Nov 15, 2024 – 47:58
  • Rick Wilson and David Brooks: MAGA to the Max
    Nov 14, 2024 – 52:04
  • Osita Nwanevu: Democrats Need A Better Story
    Nov 13, 2024 – 52:48
  • Jon Lovett: The Worst People Are Happy
    Nov 12, 2024 – 55:25
  • Bill Kristol: A Pro-Putin America First
    Nov 11, 2024 – 43:32
  • BONUS EPISODE with James Carville: We Are the Opposition
    Nov 9, 2024 – 24:56
  • Ben Wittes: Americans Elected a Serial Criminal to Be President
    Nov 8, 2024 – 47:46
  • Tom Nichols: This Is What They Want
    Nov 7, 2024 – 48:39
  • Sarah Longwell and Jonathan V. Last: Election Debrief
    Nov 6, 2024 – 01:11:14
  • David Frum: Pride in the Fight
    Nov 5, 2024 – 44:23
  • Bill Kristol: Maybe It's Dobbs, After All
    Nov 4, 2024 – 40:08
  • Ann Selzer: How Could This Be?
    Nov 3, 2024 – 21:10
  • Mehdi Hasan: Memory-Holing the Worst President
    Nov 1, 2024 – 55:26
  • Adam Kinzinger: All the Little Bros
    Oct 31, 2024 – 47:08
  • Alex Vindman and Lakshya Jain: No More Petty Tyrants
    Oct 30, 2024 – 01:07:54
  • Robert Draper: The Prosecutor
    Oct 29, 2024 – 48:19
  • Robert Kagan and Bill Kristol: It's Already Happening Before our Eyes
    Oct 28, 2024 – 49:43
  • Bret Stephens: Pray Kamala Wins
    Oct 25, 2024 – 51:39
  • David French: 2017 Trump Is Gone
    Oct 24, 2024 – 51:35
  • Jeffrey Goldberg and Catherine Rampell: The Un-American
    Oct 23, 2024 – 01:03:00
  • Mitch Landrieu and Will Saletan: Trump Lives in the Mud
    Oct 22, 2024 – 52:41
  • Mallory McMorrow and Bill Kristol: Imagining a World Where Trump Is Irrelevant
    Oct 21, 2024 – 52:32
  • Live from Philadelphia (Again)
    Oct 18, 2024 – 47:22
  • Bob Woodward: The Threat Is High
    Oct 17, 2024 – 38:14
  • Susan Rice and Mondaire Jones: The Dictator Hugger
    Oct 16, 2024 – 51:51
  • Tom Nichols: He's Bait for the 25th Amendment
    Oct 15, 2024 – 56:49
  • BONUS EPISODE with Jason Calacanis: The Civil War in Silicon Valley
    Oct 15, 2024 – 44:49
Recent Reviews
  • todd denier
    Socialist Dems Love Tim Too
    It just goes to show- a silo is only a silo when ideas can’t be shared because we allow it Love the guests & quiet questions by Tim
  • SPALLENPDX
    Thank You
    My spouse has been watching Tim Miller and his guests for sometime. I had to find another news source since the election and MSNBC capitulated. You’re great and I’m recommending to others.
  • Che Block
    For the definition of woke
    See Gurdziev / Gurdjieff
  • LinnSven
    Tim Miller, my favorite INTP
    I consider Tim the Brene Brown of American politics. For this, he is the best podcaster in any genre. I'd listen to him cook, interview authors or run QVC. What we need is authentic inquiry with no regard for ratings capturing.
  • pataphysician
    No pod people here
    Top of the ramparts. A wider range of input and insight delivered with less frat house noise than certain unnamed yuppies and their materialist comforts (I have yet to hear a word about Mr. Miller’s love of plushy socks & etc.). Good stuff.
  • LJ N
    Amazing!
    I love Tim and even more when he delivers certain parts under his breath. 😆 Amazing insight.
  • V-Spain
    Great delivery
    I like Tim as a interviewer/commentator but I like his delivery so much I actually listen to him read the sponsor commercials!
  • Billybill1984
    Right, right?
    It’s great when you have guests on right because they say what they wanna say right and everybody learned something right and maybe you think of something you never thought about before right?
  • Cronogeo
    Voices of reason
    Tim has blended common sense, reason, caring , experience a bit of humor. To cut through the insanity of these times. Thanks
  • Zxcvy457
    Alyssa
    Disappointed, she’s clearly wanting to return to Trumps organization
  • pnagar
    Less relevant now
    I like Tim and Sarah, but I think The Bulwark is not much relevant now. 4 more years of bashing MAGA, we already have tons of podcasts doing that. Your USP was Never Trump guess what after 4 years, Trump will never be president again. Please clarify what your goals are in the new political reality.
  • Prometheus---
    Jamelle Bouie
    Jamelle Bouie is second only to Andrew Weismann as to being wrong about the futures of Trump and MAGA. Whatever these people write/say about Trump, I can count on it not happening. They live a world that ought to be not the real World. Textbook is and ought denialism. They are so wrong they reside in the opposite World. "God, writes the philosopher Richard Swinburne, is justified in allowing “Hiroshima, Belsen, the Lisbon Earthquake or the Black Death” so that men and women can live in a real world rather than a toy one.” Terry Eagleton
  • gybuse
    The best
    Tim…..your music…..so touching. Sometimes it brings me to tears. B
  • Stealth Health
    Go Forward- Not Backward
    I think the Democrats need to spend less time looking in the rearview mirror and applying the circular firing squad and more time presenting concrete positive things for the future of various segments of the country. One case in point is the need to offer jobs in rural areas. I would say the Democrats could do a lot worse right now than proposing a national rural healthcare financing scheme that creates new modern rural hospitals all over the country and all of the jobs that go with it. Healthcare cannot be exported by and large and is a perfect job creation opportunity. Love your show, but think now is the time for your show to take a leadership position in the future of the country and the future of the Democratic Party.
  • hdsaoirse
    Sometimes
    Tim, sometimes you really piss me off but sometimes I really love you.
  • strikefan
    Biden pardon
    Biden is right to pardon his son. You are wrong to criticize.
  • Car knowledge
    Biden pardon - good for him!
    Did it occur to you that they’re going to fabricate “evidence” and continue to torment hunter and the rest of the Biden family starting Jan 20 2025? Yes, people make sacrifices to serve in the federal government but they’re NEVER obligated to help string up their own family members!
  • makeupmyname
    Republican colors coloring your view.
    Re pardoning Hunter, Tim/Bill, you speak as though if you were in Biden’s shoes you’d do things differently. I seriously doubt it. Yes, Biden says he wouldn’t pardon his son, and he changed his mind after much mental struggling. Going on about “public service” and “sacrifice” are principles that — if you honestly gave thought — you both might find, in similar circumstances, easier said (on a podcast) than done.
  • Janet Bean
    Love your show, but…
    I look forward to your show every day. Keep it up! Your anger at President Biden for pardoning his son was a bit overly emotional for me. I get the frustration that he said he wouldn’t do it, but he acted upon his constitutional authority. Biden is not a Republican. Don’t expect him to act like one. He is, however a dad and with the very terrifying Trump prospects he didn’t want to spend his golden years with his son in prison. Can’t blame him. Bigger fish to fry.
  • JenNS9860
    You guys need help.
    I almost don’t want to tell you, for fear of correction, but you guys HAVE to get outside your bubble and talk to other Americans. You have no idea what they (we) feel like and what is important to us. Spoiler, we’re not uneducated or uninformed. We’re Bill Clinton liberals and the party has left us.
  • pokerchick69
    Respect
    You are awesome. Your inputs on MSNBC are thought provoking and you make me feel better. Most of my family are maga. It is especially painful for me as a lesbian mom to have my daughter be a Trump supporter. So thanks for everything. Donna
  • sailToccata
    Refuge of Sanity
    Tim, et al, give me a bit of terra firma to figure out bewildering times.
  • cacyak
    Sam Harris really?
    I was giving your show a try because I love hearing you on PSA, but after Sam Harris said trans women are women, defund the police, and climate activism are LUNACY on the far left. What on earth. No. Get a grip.
  • Arm chair critique
    We are not alone
    I am a lifelong Democrat, but always center-left. I voted against Bill Clinton in 1996 and wished I had done so in 1992. So character has always been important to me. I would always vote for stability, responsibility and expertise over demagoguery or lawlessness attached to what ever ideology. But this space feels increasingly isolating and vacant of late. In my daily life I rarely run into anyone who is rational and informed about this political moment. The only way I can preserve some relationships is just to avoid the triggering topics. The Bulwark has been my daily mainstay and support through the last incredible (scarcely to be believed) decade of American politics. I “get” these folks, even though they are more conservative than I and I think they would get me. These are times too terrifying to face alone.
  • bc61425
    Sam Harris as a guest is the point
    The criticisms of his expressed views are the crux of his views and opinions: if you express your own views you have shaped through facts, studies and statistical interpretation, you are not viewed on a spectrum of opinion but rather an absolute which is you are anti-x.
  • ktgerg
    Convert
    I’m a huge Pod Save America fan (since 2017), but The Bulwark is now my favorite podcast (second only to Ric Rubin’s Tetragrammaton 😉). There’s just too much to love here…..bravo and keep up the great work.
  • Uslayme2021
    Balanced view and great guests
    I have been an Independent voter since my first election to vote in 1984. My husband of the same age was strict GOP voter. Both of us can’t tolerate MAGA and living in Ohio, despise what gerrymandering has done to our Statehouse. We now vote a straight Dem ticket these days except the open primary when we voted Haley. We appreciate the journalism and views even if we sometimes disagree. Excellent music too!
  • Nashville Stu
    Dynamic Trio
    Bloody hard to resist. It’s like id ego and superego with each of you trading parts along the way in hilarium. It’s also—philosophically speaking—really cool watching JVL evolve his Socratic spirit over these last few years. Muy importante. And heartening.
  • JJ62sadface
    Trump Nominees
    Not enough concern about Tulsi Gabbard !!! Seriously
  • A_Trap
    Sam Harris - EESH
    Love you Tim - thank you for challenging Sam Harris in that interview. He really had some narrow and frankly ignorant points and you challenged him respectfully.
  • AZariesfire
    Love the Bulwark in all its forms!
    Love the Bulwark. Tim is fantastic and I love the guest selection. Sam Harris has a hard time backing up his arguments, but is still intriguing. Love all the guests on the roster!
  • Diane1948
    Sam Harris
    Was not familiar with Sam Harris prior to this podcast (sorry) that was so thought provoking I almost couldn't drive and listen at the same time. I finally found someone (as well as Tom Nichols) who gave voice to all the chaos banging around in my head over this election. Thank you, Tim! Yours is the podcast I would take with me if/when I am banished to a remote corner of the world.
  • Fk nickname requirement
    Sam Harris
    One of the most arrogant, narcissistic uninformed guests Tim Miller has ever hosted. Not only does he admit to desiring a more prestigious label, as an intellectual, but spent the majority of the pod tearing down, labeling and disparaging a huge variety of forever-in-the-media players (L, R, Ctr) in what I perceive to be his attempt to justify his perpetual climb to a loftier public reputation. Ack! Distasteful, to put his spew in the mildest of terms. Tim —-do better.
  • SAC333333
    Sam Harris amplifying the trans debate
    I wish more people would listen to Ta-nehisi Coates on the Kara Swisher podcast … at some point these people are mad that trans people exist. The scapegoating of trans people is insidious and widespread. If we can’t win people over unless we leave trans rights in the closet ( or worse) the we don’t deserve leadership positions. History will remember what was said during this so called “reckoning”
  • Homer Duke
    Great conversation
    Sam Harris has armed me with a new way of talking about trans issues. Fantastic show.
  • Sixth decade here
    Great show, but one star off
    Sam Harris was plain obnoxious with his attitude towards transgender people and claiming there was a huge activist movement behind rights for transgender people that somehow sabotaged the election or the Democratic Party. He’s smoking whatever Elon is smoking on that subject.
  • Mysteries & True Crime!
    Life long Democrat and love Tim!
    I still give The Bulwark and Tim a 5 star, but I was so saddened by your guest, Sam Harris!! * Please warn us next time you have an anti -Trans guest.* Hopefully an anomaly. I found you on MSNB during Trump 2016. Then so glad to find your podcast during 2024!! I love the “fight” of never-Trump Republicans mixed with their acknowledgment of the true cruelty of the MAGA cult. I have never been offended by one of your guests before, and no longer feel I can recommend your show to my grieving Democrat friends. You handled the interview very professionally, but I felt like I was listening to Fox News. Thoughts from a loving mother of two Gen Z daughters, one who is Trans-female and one who is a lesbian.
  • Aly Murobou
    Sam Harris is unbearably whiny
    Love your show but I wish you would have push back harder against Sam Harris. His anti trans and misogyny rhetoric is breaking through too much for him to sound like a reasonable pundit. Love the show otherwise!
  • CherrySpringer
    Becoming Transphobic
    I literally unsubscribed today. 11/21/2024 the guest was transphobic while trying his best to be nice. It was gross. Calling them “biological men.” Saying “most women don’t want a trans women” or “men’s parts” in their bathroom. Stop looking at private parts in the bathroom. Some people just need to pee. At the gay bars in Colorado we all go in whatever room we want and no one gets mad, no one is harmed and everyone’s peeing in peace. Stop blaming trans people for the fact we have a painful ignorant voting public. Trans people didn’t give Trump the election. Billionaires did. Stop coming for people on your side.
  • ldeene
    Great information!
    I love this podcast! Tim has great guests and does an excellent job of getting the details to its listeners!!
  • xxxfor_Petes_sake
    Thank you for not making me feel crazy
    You’re the only smart people who seem to be honest right now.
  • marynute
    Love this show
    Since I’m looking for any silver lining with Trump’s return, I’d say this podcast might help us thru this nightmare. I love Jen Psaki, but she needs to retract her comments re: trans people and their mental health. It may have been unintended, but it was cruel.
  • sibil bink
    PROPS to the Bulwark crew
    Great guests, the best interviews. Fearless, committed political journalism. But my favorite thing is that they dont think they know all the answers, unlike some of the more senior pundits and pollsters out there. I admire their honesty, integrity, and willingness to acknowledge when they are wrong and to revise their views. The Bulwark coverage post-election has helped get me through this tough time.
  • MCH Deb
    Jen Psaki -
    Happy with the shift moving forward reaching for more 💙 voters - it’s hard but needed ☮️
  • Briard girl
    Playlist
    Love your podcast but love your music as much. Is there a way to get a play list? Thank you for all you do.
  • LBW214
    Favorite political pod
    Before the election, I listened to 5 or 6 political podcasts, but now this is the only one I can even think about engaging with. Before the catastrophe, Tim was the only one who didn’t talk about concerned democracy supporters as bed wetting sissies. Always so worried about polls! Relax! And Tim’s brilliant and often sobering analysis is somehow less triggering than others because he talks like a real “not in the bubble” person. His vulnerability is so relatable. He often says what so many of us are thinking. I shared the Lovett episode with many of my friends. The best people are on the side of democracy.
  • Doglvr24
    Thank you for being vulnerable
    I love this podcast. I am not super politically intelligent and find this podcast educational and easy to listen to. The episode with the crying was my favorite. I cried along with them and appreciated their vulnerability and openness!
  • SquindifilusMonch
    Always Great
    Tim and co are the last reasonable (real) conservatives on the planet. Always a good show and the guests are insightful.
  • CJMcMac
    Tim and Bulwark Keep Me Sane!
    Tim - we need you!! Thank you for moving through it all, hard as it’s been. Fantastic guests this week (especially the feels with Jon Lovett!) And we’re counting on you to be our sanity coach as this Star Wars Cantina of whack-jobs parade in front of us! We’ll get through it - and we’ll rely on you and your awesome team and guests to keep us sane (seriously!!) Thank you Tim - we love you!!!
  • slickywilly407
    Updated to FIVE stars. Friday 11/15 show; take notes!
    Updated review: I have to bump this up to 5 stars. Tim has a great array of guests and is always willing to listen to what they have to say, even if he disagrees. He’s been great at dissecting where the democrats went wrong this past election, and doing a lot of self-reflection for all of us on the side opposed to Trump. BUT MY REAL REASON FOR THE 5 STAR REVIEW: Amanda was on this past Friday, and I LOVED the shout outs for Paramore!!! I’m in my early 40s (as I suspect she and Tim are) and… I FEEL SO SEEN! I also cannot believe that a music connoisseur such as Mr. Miller has only heard one Paramore song!!! I suggest he listen to the album “after laughter” from start to finish. Then listen to “this is why.” After that please dive into the rest of their catalog, as well as Hayley Williams’ solo stuff. And bring on Amanda more frequently for her music takes, please!!! My old review: I like Tim. He’s arrogant enough to assume the host chair and he fills it very well. Charlie was awesome and truly “old school,” with the golden radio voice. Tim doesn’t have that, but he’s got a lot of connections and admits when he falls short (as he said to JVL in the Douthat interview). ALL THAT SAID: why 2 stars? The ads! It’s absolutely INSANE! This WAS my shower podcast…until the ad blocs became 10 minutes in length and they decided to plunk 2 down in the midpoints of the show. They aren’t even discrete ads, it’s the same 2-3 that repeat several times in a bloc: nicotine pouches, “pajama class” zoom/ms teams knockoff software, etc. It absolutely ruins the flow of the show and no, I don’t want to pay for bulwark plus. On top of all that: the music at the end further wastes my time. If I wanted a music podcast, that’s what I’d listen to. Perhaps Tim can share his play lists Obama style somewhere for those who care? TLDR: keep the skip button handy if you want to listen to this, and prepare to get arthritis using it. It’s a shame because there are interesting guests and content at times. But the formatting, ego and money grubbing are over the top.
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