Claim OwnershipBulwark Takes
Subscribed: 2,994Played: 222,898
Subscribe
© Bulwark Media
Description
The news cycle doesn’t slow down, and neither does The Bulwark. Bulwark Takes brings you bite-sized takes on the news of the day from the entire Bulwark team, including Tim Miller, Sarah Longwell, and Bill Kristol, and more.
936 Episodes
Reverse
Tim Miller sits down with ESPN’s Seth Wickersham to talk football, politics, and Seth’s new book, American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback. They get into how the NFL became a culture-war stage, the league’s bizarre “socialist” structure, owners who change politics to suit their stadium deals, why evaluating quarterbacks is still a coin flip, the Manning dynasty, race and the rise of black quarterbacks, and the chaos inside college football’s coaching carousel.
Get 40% off access to Calm’s entire library at https://Calm.com/BULWARKTAKES
Buy American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback: https://www.amazon.com/American-Kings-Quarterback-Seth-Wickersham/dp/1368099181
NOTE: This is a special preview of Tim and Sam's members-only Q&A. To listen to the whole thing, become a paid Bulwark member on Apple Podcasts, Substack or YouTube!
Tim Miller and Sam Stein take on Tim’s wild Jubilee experience—the secrecy, the debate tactics, the generational clash, and the moment things actually boiled over.
Watch Tim on Jubilee here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSOz63coD7M
Get 40% off access to Calm’s entire library at https://Calm.com/BULWARKTAKES
Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.) joins Bill Kristol to reflect on what Thanksgiving means for the military, sharing his favorite stories from years of service, including the traditions, the meals, and the special efforts to bring a taste of home to troops and military families.
Learn more about Operation Gratitude: https://www.operationgratitude.com
Read Mark's article, "How the Military Celebrates Thanksgiving": https://www.thebulwark.com/p/how-the-us-military-celebrates-thanksgiving
1Sam Stein and Will Sommer take on the bizarre rise of James Fishback—the 30-year-old ex–hedge fund analyst who inflated his résumé, ran sock-puppet schemes, and is now throwing bombs in Florida’s GOP primary against Trump’s pick, Byron Donalds.
Be sure to read Will's newsletter on Fishback: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/james-fishback-ambitious-duplicitous-semi-fictitious-florida-governor-candidate
Tim Miller joins MSNOW’s Deadline: White House to take on the growing alarm inside the GOP as Trump racks up losses and what MTG’s resignation means for the GOP and the 2026 elections.
Check out Deadline: White House on MSNOW: https://www.ms.now/deadline-white-house
Tim Miller and Pablo Torre break down how Riley Gaines went from a college swimmer to a full-blown MAGA political figure—how her story was reshaped by conservative media, why her rhetoric escalated, and why severe abuse allegations inside her own program barely get mentioned.
Read the full story at Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/11/riley-gaines-anti-trans-lia-thomas-ncaa-trump/
Watch PABLO TORRE FINDS OUT on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PabloTorreFindsOut
..and subscribe to PABLO TORRE FINDS OUT on Substack: https://www.pablo.show
Sam Stein, Andrew Egger, and POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney are going live to discuss the dismissal of the indictment against James Comey.
Tim Miller and Will Sommer break down Candace Owens’ continuing conspiracy saga—from her claim that France and Israel sent a hit squad after her, to her bizarre insistence that Charlie Kirk was the “real” casualty of a multinational plot.
Read more Will Sommer his newsletter False Flag
Sam Stein is joined by Erin Banco to discuss the 28-point Russia-Ukraine peace plan and the secret Miami hotel meeting sparking confusion in Washington as officials scramble to understand how a Russia-leaning proposal came together.
Read Erin’s scoop in Reuters, “Trump officials’ meeting with Russian in Miami spurs questions about Ukraine proposal”
Sam Stein and Jack Cocchiarella take on new polling showing Trump’s economic approval slipping lower than ever, with voters rejecting his spin and his team fumbling explanations on inflation and tariffs.
Tim Miller join MSNOW’s The Weekend (with The Bulwark’s own Catherine Rampell) to discuss Trump’s weird Mamdani meeting, why MTG suddenly bailed on Congress, and what the looming Epstein Files release could shake loose.
Check out The Weekend on MSNOW: https://www.ms.now/the-weekend
Bill Kristol and Catherine Rampell talk the real state of the economy, new polling on how voters think Trump is handling it, and why Vance is suddenly diverging from Trump on key economic points.
After the shutdown froze key agencies, the U.S. is now stuck with permanent black holes in the economic record from missing jobs numbers, missing inflation data, and missing surveys that can never be recovered. But this crisis didn’t start with the shutdown. Andrew Egger talks to Catherine Rampell to get her take on the data series that have been deleted, defunded, or censored under Trump.
Read Catherine’s article here.
Sarah Longwell and Sam Stein take on Donald Trump's surprisingly friendly meeting with Zohran Mamdani, with Trump praising the future mayor of NYC and Mamdani calling him a fascist to his face. Plus, Sarah and Sam answer your mailbag questions on the future of the Bulwark, Sam's non-traditional management style, and Sarah's possible future run for office.
Sam Stein, JVL and Andrew Egger take on Marjorie Taylor Greene’s shocking resignation announcement: why she did it, why it blindsided GOP leadership, what it says about Trump’s grip on the party, and whether this is the start of something bigger.
Sen. Mark Kelly joins Sam Stein for his take on Donald Trump’s posts calling for him and other lawmakers to be tried for sedition and executed, why the video on unlawful military orders was originally released, and how his wife Gabby Giffords’ survival of a politically-motivated shooting shaped his response.
Bill Kristol and Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling discuss why the proposed U.S.–Russia “peace plan” would reward Russian aggression, undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty, alienate U.S. allies, and the dangerous misunderstanding of Ukraine’s history.
After Lauren Egan wrote her newsletter Meet the Most Hated Democrat in America (https://www.thebulwark.com/p/meet-the-most-hated-democrat-in-america) about Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson has become the unlikely villain of the left, he reached out and wanted to come on and explain himself.
All the attention was because he won’t redraw the state’s congressional map. He argues that pushing for an 8–0 Democratic map could backfire, thanks to a 2021 court ruling that reshaped Maryland’s entire redistricting landscape.
The CDC just updated its website regarding vaccines and autism, backtracking on a promise RFK Jr. made to Senator Bill Cassidy during his confirmation. JVL and Jonathan Cohn explain what the CDC actually said, review the scientific evidence on vaccines and autism, and give their takes on the implications this could have on public trust in health agencies.
Get 40% off your order during Soul’s Black Friday-Cyber Monday sale at https://GetSoul.com with promo code BULWARKTAKES
Sarah Longwell sits down with Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher to break down the Texas redistricting ruling and why a Trump-appointed judge delivered a major surprise. They dig into what this means for 2026 and why the fight over fair maps is far from over.
Get 40% off your order during Soul’s Black Friday-Cyber Monday sale at https://GetSoul.com with promo code BULWARKTAKES
Take our quick survey and help us make The Bulwark even better. https://bit.ly/bulwarkvideo
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States
When I tried to play this, the audio was cutting in and out, making it impossible to listen to. Please fix.
Don't defend John Bolton. He is a war criminal at the end of the day. He deserves to be behind bars or worse.
Am I the only one that thought orange Mussolini was falling asleep while putting was talking?
Good old Uncle Tim!!
I had to turn this episode off. I kept missing words Bill was saying because he's audio is so poor. Audio quality matters Bulwark.
Does anyone know why some of this episodes are getting numbers in the title now? I haven't found a rhyme or reason for which get a number and which don't, and the inconsistency is beginning to bug me.
I am sick and tired on Sam Stein's foul mouth. It is so difficult to listen to him and his loud nasty tone full of awful language. BTW, I am a deep democrat, just feel his style is revolting.
Can Sam Stein lighten up and be less aggressive and vulgar his words? When he is host, I now turn the podcast off, just can't handle listening to that anymore.
Bill's sound clarity is awful.
Vance's comments in Munich were not merely astonishing but Appalling.