Explore every episode of the podcast The Next Level

Will Sommer joins Sarah and JVL for a wild, wild show. They congratulate Kash Patel on his engagement, discuss JVL's Triad on the White House reporter-turned-press staffer from Real America's Voice. Then: Megyn Kelly's ghoulish rant against Cornell's Jane Doe, and whether we're happy to see John Roberts experiencing public shame. Finally: Two VERY weird campaign ads, one filled with weird innuendo, and the other featuring Angela Paxton announcing her vote for her cheating ex-husband. They wrap up by discussing a long New Yorker article about the Heritage Foundation's groypery turn.

show links:

• Read JVL's Triad
• Emma Green's New Yorker feature on the Heritage Foundation

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A quick note: Bulwark+ Memberships are 30% off for our October sale, a discount so large that JVL and Sarah would like it known they personally object to it. Please take advantage of this terrible business decision while you can: https://thebulwark.com/surprise

Full episodes of The Secret Podcast are available exclusively to paid members of the Bulwark. Join on Substack, YouTube or Apple Podcast.

Sarah and JVL are back apart, as God intended. And there’s lots happening:

- The new jobs report is bad!

- Should Democrats try to impeach Pete Hegseth?

- Trump is sending a third aircraft carrier to the Middle East.

- And then there are the two interviews. JD Vance seems to be living in one world while mush-brain Donald Trump is living in another reality.

Plus: Trump’s DoJ wants to go after the real villains of Watergate: The prosecutors who investigated poor, innocent Richard Nixon.

Also: JVL needs help picking a so-bad-it’s-awesome family movie.

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You asked, we listened! Bulwark LIVE: Charlotte featuring Pete Buttigieg & The Gang—will be live streamed on Sunday, October 18 starting at 7pm EDT.

Paid Bulwark members will be able to tune in from home for this exclusive members-only live streamed event. At Bulwark LIVE we can promise you a night of politics with lots of laughs—and maybe a few tears too. We’ll keep you sane.

If you live in Carolinas or Georgia and want attend one of our Bulwark LIVE: Good Fight Tour stops from Oct 16-20 details and tickets are available at https://TheBulwark.com/Events.

Tim, Sarah, and JVL are all together in-studio. It turns out things are so bad for the GOP, even JVL is hopeful. They discuss Marjorie Taylor Greene calling BS on the GOP's 'caravan' tactic, whether Pete Hegseth could be the administration's fall guy for the Iran war, and a new Marist poll showing Democrats with an almost-too-good-to-be-true lead on the generic congressional ballot.

Later: Did Scott Jennings REALLY talk to Mitch McConnell for 30 minutes? Can Democrats get to 56 Senate seats? The gang has thoughts on how Democrats should handle oversight investigations in 2027. Plus: Bo French is racist AND wants mass executions, and finally: the gang discusses some interesting rumors about Candace Owens.

Read JVL’s Triad.

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Live from benefit supporting the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, Tim Miller, Sarah Longwell, and JVL dig into the quieter tactics behind Trump’s deportation crackdown, what Sarah’s Ohio focus groups are saying about Vivek Ramaswamy, Sherrod Brown, John Husted, and Amy Acton, and just how big the 2026 Senate map could get. Plus, as conservative media struggles to defend Trump, the trio holds a contest to see who can do a better Scott Jennings impression.

You can help, too: https://thebulwark.com/springfield

Full episodes of The Secret Podcast are available exclusively to paid members of the Bulwark on Apple Podcasts, Substack and YouTube.

JVL is already in Ohio. Sarah is about to run to the airport. It’s a wheels-off kind of show. This week:

- The government seems to have lied to a court again.

- JD Vance was the leaker who threatened national security.

- Mary Peltola gets caught in context collapse.

- Trump had compromat on Susan Collins.

- JVL feels guilty about cutting a promo.

And then there’s the big one: The story of the Massachusetts lesbian bar that wasn’t woke enough. It’s a solid B-/B episode!

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Donate here to our Benefit for Springfield—funds go to the Haitian Support Center: http://thebulwark.com/springfield

Want that Woke Bill Kristol tee? Get it at The Bulwark Store: https://store.thebulwark.com/collections/insider-collection/products/short-sleeve-t-shirt

Sarah’s THANK YOU note to the Bulwark family: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/you-guys-are-the-best

How to Eat an Elephant debuted at #2 on the NYT best seller list. We knocked Ted Effing Cruz out of the top spot! Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible. Let’s keep the momentum going: 

Get Sarah's book 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

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

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.

• The president of the United States accused the Democratic party plotting to assassinate him and . . . everyone just pretends it didn’t happen.
• Diesel prices are going to the moon.
• Trump wants to demolish the Kennedy Center.
• Joe Manchin came back from the grave to endorse Susan Collins.

• And there’s a 90 percent chance that AI doesn’t kill everyone alive.

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:

• Read JVL’s Monday and Tuesday Triads on the AI race, and how our political leaders can respond.

• Get your tickets for our September 25 show in Dayton, Ohio to benefit the Springfield, OH Haitian community. 
  
  
• Get your copy of How to Eat an Elephant, Sarah’s first book! 

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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.

Tim, JVL, and Andrew Egger discuss:
-(Yet another) story of a former Trump voter seeing a loved one run into the immigration policies he voted for.
-The faux outrage from MAGA-world at Sen. Jon Ossoff pointing out that Donald Trump and Natalie Harp travel together a lot.
-Karoline Leavitt leaving the White House, and who might come next.
-The Florida primary, and how Trump's hand-picked candidate MIGHT fumble the state away this fall.
-Pete Hegseth traveling to Iowa. Is HE running?
-Andrew breaks down the latest weird trend on right wing twitter: Postpartum Depression truthers.
-Tim welcomes Nancy Mace to the YouTube content game.

For Bulwark+ Subscribers: The pre-sale for this fall’s Good Fight tour is ON. We’re heading to Charlotte, Columbia, and Atlanta in October. Get your tickets HERE, or first, become a subscriber HERE.

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Full episodes of The Secret Podcast are available only to paid members of The Bulwark. You can join on Substack, YouTube or Apple Podcasts!

Lots of stuff this week.

(1) There are still balcony seats left for the Best Friends Show in NYC on September 8. Come sell out the 92nd Street Y with us! You can get tickets here.

If we sell this show out, JVL will do something nuts.

(2) Sarah, Tim, Sam and I are coming to South Carolina, North Carolina, and Atlanta in October. We’re bringing friends. Tickets go on sale August 21, but Bulwark+ members get access to an exclusive presale on August 18—so join!

(3) Then there’s the news:

• Trump is trying to put his name on the Kennedy Center again. Grandpa is so thirsty.
• Karoline Leavitt is taking her talent for baldfaced lying to the private sector. Who will be the lucky news organization to buy the privilege of having her lie to its audience? And what lucky liar will inherit her spot behind the podium?
• JVL loses his mind over the revelation that after DHS agents murdered Alex Pretti, the federal government launched far-reaching investigations against . . . liberal activist groups in Minnesota. This story will take your hate-fire to 11.
• Sarah was always right about the Wisconsin Democratic primary.
  • Why don’t progressives say a little prayer of thanksgiving for winning a big race in Minnesota with Peggy Flanagan while not having to defend Francesca Hong? Take the W.
  • Also: JVL has some nice things to say about Bernie while Sarah is totally getting there on AOC.

(4) And then there’s the feelings talk. JVL has a lot of them. About Flash and mortality and his gratitude to all of you guys.

(Also: (5) We have news about Rebecca taking us home.)

This isn’t an Instant Classic level show, but it’s a good one. Top quintile for sure.

Tim, Sarah, and JVL are BACK TOGETHER after a month apart. They discuss:

-Bill Cassidy’s pathetic, weepy floor speech before casting the deciding vote to confirm Todd Blanche as Attorney General.
-What Tucker Carlson is up to these days…from interviewing Hunter Biden, to a monologue that sounds a LOT like the prelude to a presidential campaign.
-DSA-aligned Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong, and the stakes of experimenting with a DSA-aligned candidate in a swing state like Wisconsin.
-Democrats like AOC saying that ‘Woke 1 was crazy,’ and how much of an ‘apology’ Democrats owe for ‘Woke 1.’
-Sarah is raring to talk about the WNBA and its growing role in America’s culture wars.

Read JVL's criminally neglected Triad newsletter.

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Full episodes of The Secret Podcast are available exclusively to paid members of The Bulwark. Join on Substack, Apple Podcast or YouTube!

JVL and Tim did a GIANT show this week.

• Uncanny Callista Gingrich.
• Thom Tillis publishes his burn book.
• Tucker’s running for president.
• Burrito discourse.
• And more!

Seriously: Instant classic. This one goes in the vault.

Read JVL’s Triad newsletter: https://www.thebulwark.com/s/thetriad

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Sam joins Tim and JVL to discuss:
-Live results from the (unexpectedly close) Michigan Senate primary, and discuss what an Abdul El-Sayed or Haley Stevens win would mean for November.
-The horrifying child abuse allegations against Rep. Max Miller, and his disastrous CNN interview.
-Trump's anger at Jeanine Pirro after she dropped vandalism charges related to the reflecting pool.
-Todd Blanche advancing out of the Senate Judiciary Committee
-Finally, they discuss JVL's triad about democratic socialists (meh) versus social democrats (better), and how Democrats can stop letting Republicans set the narrative of this election.

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Sarah and JVL have a It’s a super-sized, instant classic:

The Trump administration is using ChatGPT for everything.

Why are Cornyn and Tillis even bothering with their fake protest of Todd Blanche?

The Dem Senate map is looking . . . possible?

Trump has raised $800 million from “donors” since coming back to office.

And JVL finally explains why he’s obsessed with 60 Minutes investigative reporter Ross Douthat.

Plus: Emo JVL needs your advice in the comments!

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Sarah, JVL, and Catherine Rampell discuss:

- Mitch McConnell's SECOND proof of life photo, and what's really going on with him.

- The White House Correspondents' Dinner do-over, Trump's comments about Kaitlan Collins, why anyone goes to it anymore, and how the whole thing seems to be playing into Trump's hands.

- The drama inside the Democratic National Committee, and how (and whether) having a strong national party committee matters anymore.

- The proposed new primary calendar for the 2028 Democratic primaries.

- The final stretch of the Michigan Senate primary.

Paid members of the Bulwark get access to FULL episodes of the Secret Podcast. You can join via Apple Podcasts, Substack and YouTube.

Big show today: It’s the dawn of Streamer JVL? 

Plus: Some questions for Tom Homan about shooting January 6 insurrectionists; Haley Stevens and authenticity; and the Mitch McConnell conspiracy theory. Also, a conversation about raising good men.

But the big topic is the Department of Defense suddenly removing the names of four dead soldiers from the Iran war casualty list because they were killed after Trump declared a ceasefire in April—because there are now apparently two distinct Iran wars. Even though neither of them is, for legal purposes, a “war.”

This episode is sponsored by The New York Times.

Sarah, JVL, and Will Sommer (sitting in for Tim) discuss:

• Whether Laura Loomer is one of the adults in MAGA-land? I'm Ron Burgundy?
• The state of the Iran War.
• The ridiculous AI advertisement being run by a Ted Cruz-aligned outside group in Florida (and the whacky candidates in the ad).
• The unfolding special Republican primary for Senate in South Carolina
• The Michigan Senate race...and how all of the online conventional wisdom stacks up with reality.

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Sarah Longwell and Sam Stein (filling in for JVL) discuss Trump’s tedious (and still scary!) election speech, the documents that undercut his election claims, JD Vance’s cringe appearance on Joe Rogan, Trump voters’ brutal reactions to Vance, and Democrats’ missed opportunities at the Todd Blanche hearing.

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: https://www.92ny.org/event/sarah-longwell-how-to-eat-an-elephant

The whole gang is back together, for the last time until August. Tim, Sarah, and JVL discuss:

- Two more killings by ICE officers. JVL asks whether we're getting numb to this. No one on this show is numb.
- Trump's aborted plan to toll the Strait of Hormuz--and whether it was an act of war.
- Sarah lets Todd Blanche (and Republican senators) have it.
- After JVL's wifi goes bad, Tim and Sarah discuss Tim's interview with Pete Buttigieg, and why Tim is glad Josh Shapiro isn't wading into intra-Democratic turf wars.

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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.

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.

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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

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.

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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

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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

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.

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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

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

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.

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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.

Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to https://quince.com/thenextlevel for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller and JVL are going LIVE to cover yet another indictment of Jim Comey by the Trump administration.

NOTE: If you're getting this late—we apologize! Something went wrong and some of you may not have received this episode on the day that it was originally released (Tuesday, April 29). We will try to track down and punish the gremlins responsible.

Make today a good day, and get yourself some Soul gummies. Right now, Soul is offering 30% off your entire order. Go to https://GetSoul.com and use the code THENEXTLEVEL

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Read Ben Parker’s exclusive reporting on Trump’s plan to put his own face on US passports: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/exclusive-state-dept-finalizing-plan

Read JVL’s Triad newsletter: https://www.thebulwark.com/s/thetriad

JVL and Sarah Longwell talk about the firing of the Navy secretary mid-conflict and the bizarre “Trump-class battleship” saga, exposing a pattern of impossible promises and chaotic leadership. Plus: the Spirit Airlines bailout and what it says about Trump’s commitment to “capitalism.”

Full episodes of the Secret Podcast are available to paid members of the Bulwark on Substack, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts.

Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller and JVL celebrate JVL’s Webby win (sort of), and cover Tucker Carlson’s sudden “regret” turn and what it means about MAGA, Donald Trump Jr. as a 2028 front-runner, and the continued disaster in Iran. Plus: the ongoing dysfunction inside the administration, including the latest turmoil surrounding Kash Patel.

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Don't miss the Triad this Friday when JVL will answer all your pressing questions on the news of the day. Leave your questions here: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/triad-mailbag-april-25-2026

JVL and Sarah Longwell discuss a bizarre week where markets surge amid global chaos, Trump feuds with his own allies, and confusion over Iran keeps escalating. They also break down a blowout Democratic win, surging fundraising, and what it all signals for the midterms—plus a growing fight inside the party over Israel and its future direction.