The Bulwark Podcast

Smart, Conservative, Never Tribal

About the show

Charlie Sykes and guests discuss the latest news from inside Washington and around the world. No shouting, grandstanding, or sloganeering. Conservative, conscientious, and civil.

The Bulwark Podcast on social media

Episodes

  • The Next Level Takeover!

    December 16th, 2021  |  55 mins 39 secs
    ari fleischer, ben shapiro, bob woodward, brian kilmeade, conservatives, covid, fox news, insurrection, jake sherman, journalists, laura ingraham, masks chris cuomo, media bias, text messages nmark meadows, truth and lies, vaccines, white house

    Sarah, Tim, and JVL sit in for Charlie. Trump knows his supporters better than anyone around him. He knew they'd be fine with an insurrection.

  • Amanda Carpenter: Jan. 6 Committee Is Bringing It

    December 15th, 2021  |  44 mins 46 secs
    back the blue, broadband, capitol, electric cars, elon musk, fox news, infrastructure, insurrection, jeffrey clark, joy behar, jr., laura ingraham, liz cheney, mark meadows, megan mccain, police, rocket, sean hannity, space, television, the view, trump, west virginia, whoopi goldberg

    Trump aggressively shut down protesters for his Bible photo-op, but let the insurrection run on for more than three hours. We've passed 'what did they know, and when did they know it?' We're now at 'when did they start planning it?' Amanda Carpenter joins Charlie Sykes on today's podcast.

  • Charlie Warzel: Out of Office

    December 14th, 2021  |  48 mins 35 secs
    40 hours, 9 to 5, alienation, american community, downsizing, employees, employers, family life, financial insecurity, gen z, great resignation, individualist mentality, layoffs, office culture, productivity, rat race, remote work, sleep, technology, work habits, work-life balance, worker power, working life

    The way we work isn't working — fewer, more focused hours on the job can actually be more productive. And just because tech makes it possible to work at any time doesn't mean we should. Will the Great Resignation change our workaholic ways? Charlie Warzel joins Charlie Sykes on today's podcast.

  • Damon Linker: Can Journalists Save American Democracy?

    December 13th, 2021  |  48 mins 6 secs
    authoritarians, biden, china, chris wallace, cnn+, dana milbank, democracy, facebook, facts, foreign policy, fox news, hong kong, jan. 6, jay rosen, journalism, kkk, lies, msnbc, neo-nazis, person of the year, pew research center, populism, power point, putin, russia, science, social media, summit for democracy, taiwan, time, trump, tucker carlson, twitter, ukraine

    Journalism traditionally treats the two parties as equals, but Republicans are fabricating an alternate reality and sabotaging democracy. Can reporters be "partisans for democracy" without rooting for the Democrats? The Week's Damon Linker joins Charlie Sykes on today's podcast

  • Tim Miller: This Is Madness

    December 10th, 2021  |  53 mins 37 secs
    2020, all i want for christmas, bibi, bible, black lives matter, christ christie, covid, debate, delaware, democracy, dopesick, dr. oz, dupont, elliot page, jussie smollett, kissinger, lafayette square, mark meadows, netanyahu, new york city, noncitizens, pennsylvania, photo-op, power point, protesters, racial justice, republicans, sackler, schultz, senate, theranos, trump, voting rights

    Republicans are siding with Putin over NATO, top candidates are flocking to Bannon's podcast, and New Yorkers are handing the GOP a Christmas gift by giving noncitizens the right to vote. Tim Miller joins Charlie Sykes on today's podcast.

  • Bart Gellman: Stealing Democracy Right before Our Eyes

    December 9th, 2021  |  41 mins 58 secs
    2020, 2024, affirmative action, arizona, bart gellman, biden, black people, bosnian war, civil war, constitution, democracy, democrats, electoral count act, great replacement theory, hispanics, insurrection, jan. 6, latinos, michigan, muslims, nyfd, pennsylvania, presidential election, serbia, slobodan milošević, state legislatures, supreme court, the atlantic, the bronx, trump supporters, tucker carlson, university of chicago, violence, voters, white people, white population, wisconsin

    Trump's official power as president wasn't what got him so close to toppling the 2020 election. It was his ability to convince supporters that black is white, and up is down — and they're preparing for next time. The Atlantic's Bart Gellman joins Charlie Sykes on today's podcast.

  • Ben Wittes: You Have to Speak Up, Merrick Garland

    December 8th, 2021  |  49 mins 22 secs
    2010, abortion, attorney general, biden, candidates, china, christine o'donnell, department of justice, dr. oz, editorials, edward levi, eric greitens, focus groups, fred hiatt, gerald ford, herschel walker, house, human rights, josh mandel, justice department, merrick garland, midterms, president ford, pro-choice voters, putin, republicans, roe v wade, russia, senate, supreme court, the washington post, todd aiken, ukraine

    If the attorney general wants to restore norms at the Justice Department, he's got to talk about it. He's got to give speeches on democracy, voting rights, and accountability. He has to sell the message. Ben Wittes joins Charlie Sykes on today's podcast.

  • Jonathan Allen: Georgia Will be Ground Zero in the Midterms

    December 7th, 2021  |  41 mins 34 secs
    atlanta, bob dole, brian kemp, central california, churchill, dan rostenkowski, david perdue, fame, fdr, fox news, georgia electorate, georgia voters, herschel walker, house ways & means, jan. 6 committee, japan, joe biden, john eastman, kamala harris, maga, marc short, mark meadows, metro atlanta suburbs, mike pence, nunes, ossoff, pearl harbor, redistricting, social media, stacey abrams, trump, warnock, wwii

    Stacey Abrams sees good odds in the Georgia's governor's race, while the Republican candidates are stuck in the amber of Trump's Big Lie. Plus: Nunes' job change shows that being on Fox is the new path to power. NBC News' Jonathan Allen joins Charlie Sykes on today's podcast.

  • David Frum: Big Macs, Russia, and Afghanistan

    December 6th, 2021  |  46 mins 14 secs
    afghanistan, anti-vax, biden administration, big mac, bob dole, chocolate shake, comey, corey lewandowski, corruption, covid, election, filet-o-fish, hacking, healthy eating, hospital, jeff sessions, mark levin, mark meadows, mcdonald's, michael flynn, michelle obama, obesity, penn & teller, republican party, russia, russian troops, sam nunberg, sanctions, sarah palin, south carolina, starvation, taliban, trump, trumpism, ukraine, wokeism

    The build-up of Russian troops on the border is alarming. Afghanistan is facing mass starvation. Meanwhile, Trump country is not only anti-vax, it's pro-obesity. Get fat to own the libs. David Frum joins Charlie Sykes on today's podcast.

  • Bill Kristol: It's Still the Economy, Stupid

    December 3rd, 2021  |  44 mins 22 secs
    abortion, build back better, dan quayle, economy, europe, governors, inflation, kamala harris, kevin mccarthy, marjorie taylor greene, midterms, nancy mace, rapid covd test, roe, ron klain, social spending bill, spending bill, symone sanders, tony evers, trump, vice president, white house chief of staff, wisconsin, working americans

    It's not just The Bulwark saying the Democrats have a branding problem — Democrats are saying it too. So, cool it with the culture talk, control inflation, and as Bill Kristol has been telling the White House: Make Covid tests cheap and plentiful. Kristol joins Charlie Sykes today.

  • Tom Nichols: Grow Up and Act like an Adult

    December 2nd, 2021  |  55 mins 21 secs
    abortion, biden, democrats, evangelicals, fox news, ilhan omar, illegal abortion, jan. 6, john adams, lauren boebert, liz cheney, name-calling, perjury, political violence, power, pro-democracy coalition, rhetoric, roe v wade, scotus, supreme court, the atlantic, travel restrictions, trump, voicemail

    Republicans are blowing off the Jan. 6 investigation, and the Deplorable Squad is normalizing rhetoric that can lead to political violence. Can the pro-democracy coalition quit the name-calling and get down to business? Tom Nichols joins Charlie Sykes on today's podcast.

  • Amy Walter: Our Political Known Unknowns

    December 1st, 2021  |  44 mins 44 secs
    abortion, abortion rights, afghanistan, august, biden, congress, congressional districts, covid, democrats, governors, lockdown, mandates, midterms, poll numbers, pro-choice, pro-life, redistricting, republicans, roe v wade, school children, school kids, senate candidates, supreme court, travel bans, trump, vaccinated

    Just as we thought we were turning the corner on Covid, a new variant is bringing travel restrictions and heightening anxiety about the future. Is Biden in a no-win situation? The Cook Political Report's Amy Walter joins Charlie Sykes on today's podcast.

  • Jonathan Karl: Trump Loved Jan. 6

    November 30th, 2021  |  45 mins 21 secs
    2024, biden, bill barr, brian stelter, constitutional crisis, debates, hearings, house select committee, inauguration, interviews, ivanka, jan. 6, jared, jay rosen, john adams, journalism, journalists, mar-a-lago, mccarthy, mcconnell, media, pence, press, rallies, reporters, shoot someone on 5th avenue, thomas jefferson, trump, tweet, twitter

    Yes, there was a riot at the Capitol, but keep your eye on the ball: Trump tried to destroy American democracy. He literally tried to steal the election. Jonathan Karl joins Charlie Sykes on today's podcast.

  • Tim Miller: We're All Hostage to the Crazy

    November 29th, 2021  |  47 mins 53 secs
    anthony fauci, beto, brokeback mountain, denver, deplorable caucus, gop governors, guns, jake gyllenhaal, kamala harris, kevin mccarthy, kyle clark, lauren boebert, le creuset, marjorie taylor green, matt gaetz, matthew mcconaughey, omicron variant, owning the libs, taylor swift, texas governor, unemployment benefits, vaccinations, vaccine, washington free beacon

    Marjorie Taylor Greene is calling the shots and owning Kevin McCarthy, while some Republican governors are paying people NOT to get vaccinated. Bonus content: Taylor v Jake. Tim Miller joins Charlie Sykes on today's podcast.

  • Thanksgiving Special: The Bulwark Takes Time Out for Gratitude

    November 25th, 2021  |  44 mins 9 secs
    abigail spanberger, adam kinzinger, addams family values, biden, bread pudding, chariots of fire, democrats, glenn youngkin, kamala harris, liz cheney, manhood, masculinity, mitch landrieu, pete buttigieg, planes, potus, president, republicans, trains and automobiles, trump, turkey, vaccines, white house

    Sarah Longwell, Charlie Sykes, Amanda Carpenter, and Mona Charen stop by to talk food, the dearth of Thanksgiving movies, and to highlight something in the political world they are most grateful for. Let's just say Liz Cheney got some love.

  • Kristin Du Mez: Love Thy Neighbor Is for Wimps

    November 24th, 2021  |  50 mins 33 secs
    antiwar, big lie, braveheart, bullies, cawthorn, christianity, christians, civil rights movement, communism, counterculture, evangelical church, evangelicals, faith, family, femininity, feminism, gay rights, hawley, hippies, j.d.vance, john wayne, manhood, masculinity, patriarchy, protesters, protests, sore losers, testosterone, the left, trump, turn the other cheek, vietnam war, violence, william wallace

    Militant hyper-masculinity is the ideal of Christian manhood in the white evangelical world, and it's part and parcel of Trumpism and today's Republican Party. Author Kristen Du Mez joins Charlie Sykes on today's podcast.