Best Kristol Podcasts (2026)

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Bill Kristol: A Stupid and Insane Foreign Intervention 1:03:09

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6m ago1:03:09

1:03:09

Toppling the leader of Venezuela looks to be about greed and Trump's vanity. It's not about national security, and is likely to produce bad outcomes—including more repression of ordinary Venezuelans and more refugees fleeing the country. And even the monetary value of plundering a sovereign country's oil is vastly overstated. Meanwhile, fake imager…

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Ron Brownstein on What’s Ahead in 2026—and in 2028 1:22:59

6d ago1:22:59

1:22:59

Where do things stand in American politics as we head into a midterm election year? To discuss these questions we are joined again by Ron Brownstein, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and senior CNN political analyst. Brownstein points to President Trump’s approval rating as perhaps the most significant indicator in the 2026 midterm elections—and poten…

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Bill Kristol: Trump Has Lost the Plot 48:29

3d ago48:29

48:29

After a campaign built on the promise that Trump was going to look out for his voters, he started his administration getting sidetracked by DOGE and Musk's phony ideas about saving money. After that petered out, he got distracted by his need to put his name all over the place. In the process, he's totally forgotten to help his people—or even fake t…

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Sen. Mark Warner: Trump Owns Venezuela's Broken Government Now 14:59

16m ago14:59

14:59

Senator Mark Warner joins Sam Stein to give his take on the Trump administration’s dramatic actions in Venezuela, congressional oversight, and what comes next. Warner warns that extracting a foreign leader, sidelining Congress, and talking openly about “running” other countries reflects an imperial mindset that America has spent decades trying to m…

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BREAKING: Tim Walz Drops Out of MN Governor’s Race 20:25

33m ago20:25

20:25

Sarah Longwell, Lauren Egan, and Jonathan Cohn are going live to discuss the news that Tim Walz, the Governor of Minnesota and former vice-presidential candidate, is leaving the governor’s race.By The Bulwark

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Trump’s Venezuela Logic Turned America Into a Villain 8:45

43m ago8:45

8:45

Will Saletan takes on Donald Trump’s post-invasion claims about Venezuela and Maduro, putting Marco Rubio into a series of awkward Sunday show cleanups on war powers, oil, and pardons that exposes just how much of Trump’s story doesn’t add up. Read Will's written piece: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/which-countries-will-trump-invade-next-after-venez…

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Bill and Sarah Ask: How Bad Can It Get? 53:17

15m ago53:17

53:17

Bill Kristol and Sarah Longwell discuss Bill's thoughts on possible paths 2026 could take—from a democratic rebound to a far darker slide.By The Bulwark

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The Oldest Elected President in History Is Acting His Age 16:53

5h ago16:53

16:53

Sam Stein and Sonny Bunch take on new reporting on Donald Trump’s health—from repeated cognitive tests and confusing medical disclosures to visible signs of aging and a White House press operation that won’t give straight answers. Read the WSJ article: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/as-signs-of-aging-emerge-trump-responds-with-defiance-769c5dcd…

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LIVE: Trump Addresses Nation on Venezuela Regime Change Operation 2:13:01

22h ago2:13:01

2:13:01

Please note: The population of Venezuela was incorrectly stated during this conversation as "about 90 million." It is about 30 million. We regret the error. Sam Stein, Mark Hertling, Sarah Longwell, Ben Parker and Joe Perticone cover the breaking news about the Venezuela regime change operation and react to the Trump administration’s press event.…

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Dark Horse Predictions for 2026! Is Kash Patel on Borrowed Time? 17:57

16m ago17:57

17:57

The Bulwark team makes their predictions for 2026—from MAGA infighting and Trump’s fading grip on power to economic fallout, media chaos, and a midterm backlash.By The Bulwark

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John Heilemann: The Year Is Ending a Lot Better than It Started 1:12:29

9h ago1:12:29

1:12:29

Only six months ago, the wheels felt like they were coming off of America, and our democracy experiment. But since the Epstein case broke wide open, the wheels started to come off Trump instead. And he's not just lost his way in politics but in the broader culture too—with his despicable words about Rob Reiner, his trying to get Jimmy Kimmel fired,…

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Yes, These Things All Happened in 2025 25:33

18m ago25:33

25:33

From the Trump–Elon Musk Twitter war that briefly melted everyone’s brain, to the election of the Bulwark Pope, and the moments of real tragedy and moral collapse, the year of 2025 delivered a nonstop barrage of chaos, absurdity, and consequence. The Bulwark team looks back at the craziest, most astonishing moments of the year to give their takes o…

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Why Is Mark Cuban Working To Cut Drug Prices? 36:15

35m ago36:15

36:15

Mark Cuban joins Jonathan Cohn to give his take on why America’s healthcare system is broken and what it would take to fix it. Cuban breaks down prescription drug pricing, the role of PBMs, and how his Cost Plus Drug Company is making medications affordable for millions. Cuban also weighs in on system reforms, transparency, and whether U.S. healthc…

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Julie K. Brown: Hiding the Truth in the Epstein Files 47:01

1h ago47:01

47:01

The DOJ is releasing random Epstein documents to distract the public, while also intentionally covering the faces of men in images. It's also pulling docs that reveal Trump's name. Epstein's victims think the government's messy release is all designed to protect their not publicly-known perpetrators. Meanwhile, more victims are coming forward to Ju…

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Tim and Sam Rank Trump’s Cabinet From Hell 30:58

27m ago30:58

30:58

Tim Miller and Sam Stein give their takes on the Trump cabinet after a full year of chaos, incompetence, and outright danger. From “livable” appointments to the "worst of the worst" category, they rank every cabinet member and argue over who did the most damage in 2025. Note: this video was recorded on December 22, 2025. Any horrible acts committed…

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Norman Rockwell’s Granddaughter Rips Into DHS for Hijacking His Legacy (w/ Daisy Rockwell) 9:53

13m ago9:53

9:53

DHS is using Norman Rockwell’s art to sell an anti-immigrant message and his family is furious. Catherine Rampell sits down with Daisy Rockwell, Norman Rockwell’s granddaughter and a writer and artist herself, to talk about why these images are being misused, what Rockwell actually believed, and get her take on how nostalgia and Americana are being…

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Is DOJ Playing Games With the Epstein Investigation? (w/ Ryan Goodman) 41:46

36m ago41:46

41:46

Bill Kristol sits down with Ryan Goodman to discuss new and upcoming Epstein document releases. They’ll cover which records to watch for next, what the disclosures do—and don’t—tell us so far, and whether the U.S. Department of Justice is dragging its feet, playing procedural games, or protecting powerful interests.…

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Kash Patel Is Dismantling FBI Counterintelligence (w/ Derek Owen & R.M Schneiderman) 30:27

19m ago30:27

30:27

Ben Parker is joined by Derek Owen and R.M Schneiderman to discuss their deeply reported investigation into how the FBI rebuilt its counterintelligence capabilities after decades of failure—and how Trump-world politics, Kash Patel, and shifting priorities could put America at risk. Read more from Owen and Schneiderman here: https://www.thebulwark.c…

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Kara Swisher: We're in an 'Eat the Rich' Moment 54:54

3d ago54:54

54:54

The year started with America's tech overlords kissing the ring at Trump's inauguration, and it's ending with the public fed up with the ostentatiously rich—and more distrustful of Silicon Valley than ever, particularly on AI. Plus, Kara's key role in the revelations about the relationship between RFK, Jr. and Olivia Nuzzi, Trump is giving away the…

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Does Trump’s Bruised Hand Story Make Sense? 11:36

18m ago11:36

11:36

Sam Stein and Jared Poland give their takes on a curious White House claim. After repeated questions about Donald Trump’s bruised hand, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was caused by constant handshaking and aspirin use. So we decided to test it.By The Bulwark

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The 12 Days of Grift-mas 3:49

11d ago3:49

3:49

A holiday classic, Bulwark-style. From foreign jets to fake honors, we rewrote The 12 Days of Christmas to keep track of Trump’s greatest hits in 2025. The 12 Days of Grift-mas, annotated: 1 giant Qatari jet: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy5lp4v594o 2 peace awards: FIFA Peace Prize (https://www.thebulwark.com/p/screw-it-lets-rename-the-moon-t…

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The Bulwark’s 2025 Predictions Are Put On Trial 16:29

11m ago16:29

16:29

Donald Trump’s first year back in office is in the books, but how accurate were The Bulwark predictions from this past year? Sam Stein is joined by “Judge” Mona Charen to put our 2025 forecasts under the gavel. From Trump’s health and pardons to government shutdowns, MAGA infighting, and political chaos, we revisit what we got right, what we got wr…

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Trump Spent the Holidays Yelling at the TV 13:30

12h ago13:30

13:30

While most Americans were with family, Trump spent the night before Christmas Eve rage-posting threats at TV networks he doesn’t like. Tim Miller was on MS NOW Reports to disuss. Watch MS NOW Reports: https://www.ms.nowBy The Bulwark

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Sam & Sarah Read Their Own Hate Mail 17:04

7d ago17:04

17:04

Sam Stein and Sarah Longwell made a mistake. They decided to take on their haters and read mean comments from the internet about each other. What followed was a mix of roasting, self-reflection, interruptions, hair discourse, Seinfeld heresy, and the comment section doing what it does best.By The Bulwark

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Tom Nichols: The Buzz Has Worn Off 54:43

1d ago54:43

54:43

Six months ago, MAGA world was strutting around with their chests puffed out. But now, many of them are having a blue Christmas over the infighting, the economy, the DOJ's inability to deliver revenge, and Trump's cover-up of child sex traffickers—one of the key things they really cared about. All Trump can think to do is plaster his name on anothe…

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Holy Cow, Young Conservatives Are NOT Okay 21:35

2d ago21:35

21:35

Tim Miller and JVL take on a Manhattan Institute focus group that exposed open praise for grotesque “strongman” politics, overt antisemitism, and casual acceptance of extremist figures like Nick Fuentes. Read JVL's Triad newsletter on the focus group: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/behold-the-focus-group-from-hell-city-journal-young-republicans Read …

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Can “60 Minutes” Survive Bari Weiss? (w/ Max Tani) 24:03

2d ago24:03

24:03

Bari Weiss just spiked a "60 Minutes" story on the CECOT scandal, sparking outrage inside CBS and across the media world. Sam Stein and JVL are joined by Semafor’s Max Tani to break down what happened, why Weiss made the call, and how Trump’s shadow looms over CBS News. Read more in Morning Shots: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-and-co-cant-keep…

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Bill Kristol: This Is Trump's Cover-Up 1:02:06

3d ago1:02:06

1:02:06

On the Epstein matter, the current DOJ is not just putting its thumb on the scale for Trump. It's his defense team. Make no mistake: The top two officials at the Justice Department are executing Trump's wishes to cover-up the victims' statements and the details about Epstein's 2008 sweetheart deal. It's the president's cover-up, and the mainstream …

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Trump’s Trade Wars Are Crushing America’s Bourbon Industry 17:06

3d ago17:06

17:06

Sam Stein, Catherine Rampell and Sonny Bunch take on Trump’s trade wars, the bourbon bust in Kentucky, and how tariffs, retaliation, and broken alliances are hammering an iconic American industry.By The Bulwark

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Todd Blanche Faceplants During Epstein Files Release Interview 19:04

4d ago19:04

19:04

Sam Stein and Jack Cocchiarella take on US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’ struggling through his appearance on Meet the Press as he stumbles through excuses for the heavily redacted Epstein files.By The Bulwark

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Ro Khanna on Trump’s Endless Epstein Stonewalling 30:44

4d ago30:44

30:44

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) joins Bill Kristol to discuss the Trump administration’s attempts to slow the release of the Epstein files.By The Bulwark

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MAGA Conspiracies Falsely Accused a Brown University Student 11:15

5d ago11:15

11:15

Tim Miller takes on the MAGA conspiracies that falsely accused a Brown University student of murder. After the Brown University shooting, right-wing influencers like Laura Loomer, Benny Johnson, and even a DOJ official spread baseless accusations targeting a student. The real killer was later identified on Thursday, a 48-year-old Portuguese nationa…

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Trump Slaps His Name on the Kennedy Center 14:40

12d ago14:40

14:40

JVL and Catherine Rampell take on the re-naming of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, as Donald Trump continues to put his name on anything he can, congress approval or not. Exclusive $35 off Carver Mat at https://on.auraframes.com/BULWARKTAKES. …

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LIVE REACTION: Epstein Files Released, Elise Stefanik Quits 23:58

6d ago23:58

23:58

Sarah, JVL, and Tim Miller are going live to discuss the HUGE news day. Exclusive $35 off Carver Mat at https://on.auraframes.com/BULWARKTAKES. Promo Code BULWARKTAKESBy The Bulwark

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David Frum: Trump and Epstein Were Best Friends 52:05

12d ago52:05

52:05

Of all the images of Trump, the only times he seemed to be authentically smiling in the presence of another person was when he was with Jeffrey Epstein. The two of them had the same interests, and other people in the 80s and 90s assumed they were best friends. Over in MAGA land, a proxy war has broken out among rightwing influencers—like Ben Shapir…