Advertise on podcast: The Next Level

Full episodes of the Secret Podcast are available exclusively to paid members of the Bulwark on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Substack. But trust us—it's worth it. ---- Sarah and JVL are still coming to grips with the enormity of this week. Feelings! These Democrats are good, actually. Ways the Democratic Congress will be able to make the world better even with Trump still in office. Is Hegseth cooked? How long will Rubio wait? Can JD outfight Trump? Is MAGA trying to force Alito to resign? All that and we take time to make Susan Collins wear the clown suit she made for herself. And then, at the end? Well, don’t leave early. This is a top 2 percent episode. Instant classic.

Election night delivers a stunning rebuke of Donald Trump as Democrats seize control of Congress and score extraordinary victories in Texas, Kansas, South Carolina, Maine, Ohio and beyond. Tim Miller, Sarah Longwell, JVL, and the Bulwark team react to the results in real time, joined by Pete Buttigieg, Ro Khanna, Lis Smith and others to break down the races, MAGA’s meltdown, and what comes next for Trump. Get personalized care for weight loss, hair loss, and more with Hims. Visit https://www.hims.com/thenextlevel to get started and learn about treatment options, safety information, and restrictions. Get 20% off your first Brodo bone broth subscription at https://www.brodo.com, plus an additional $10 off with code THENEXTLEVEL. #ad Get $40 off your first Wildgrain box, plus free croissants for life! Visit https://www.wildgrain.com/THENEXTLEVEL40 or use code THENEXTLEVEL40. Offer ends November 22.

Full episodes of the Secret Podcast are available exclusively to paid members of The Bulwark. Join on Apple Podcasts, Substack or YouTube. Sarah and JVL are ready for midterms.   - Early voting numbers and the possibility of a Republican turnout collapse.- Why gas prices might be Trump’s biggest problem.- JD Vance getting the “pugnacious” treatment from the New York Times.- Peggy Noonan’s MAGA redemption fantasy.- Haley Stevens’ jaw-dropping weekend. It’s the last Secret Podcast before Election Day. The hopium is flowing.

Full episodes of the Secret Podcast are available exclusively for paid members of The Bulwark on Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Substack.  ---- This is it: The last Friday Secret before the elections. JVL has complaints! Sarah has solutions! Are the polls right or wrong? Will Sarah ever read the Triad? And at the very end, we have the surprise you’ve been waiting for . . .

Tim, Sarah, and JVL are back together for their last Next Level before Election Day. They discuss Marco Rubio helping Flavio Bolsonaro take refuge in the United States after losing Brazil's presidential election, RFK Jr's wildly racist comments about Arabs in Michigan, and the continued fallout from Vivek Ramaswamy's ghoulish ad against Amy Acton. Then: a Kansas City Star report finds Roger Marshall’s own hometown turning on him, and Susan Collins is running a snobby ad against Troy Jackson. The gang runs through the whole Senate map and how big the Democratic wave could get, then they react to reports that Pete Hegseth has his eye on Marsha Blackburn’s Senate seat. And finally, after seeing the new Elizabeth Holmes documentary, Tim is soft-on-crime. Again. Send your political questions or pleas for life advice for future Next Level episodes to [email protected].

The Secret Podcast is exclusively for paid members of The Bulwark. Join on Apple Podcasts, YouTube or Substack. Sarah and JVL talk: Elon dropping another $76m on the election Fake pollsters Trump grifters getting cut loose by Big Orange But the big story is Vivek Ramaswamy working with a woman who aided and abetted a pedophile-rapist. You know the ad we’re talking about. Sarah did a focus group with Ohio Trump voters. They all knew about the ad. And what they told Sarah is . . . not great for Vivek. If you have questions for Tim, Sarah and JVL, send them to [email protected] and they may answer them on an upcoming episode of TNL.

This week’s Next Level starts out as a Secret Podcast episode, before Tim and Sam crash the stage. They discuss Sarah’s interview with Pete Buttigieg, why Jon Ossoff might be history’s choice for 2028 whether he likes it or not. Plus: some hopium on some key races across the South. Then the crew turns to Vivek Ramaswamy’s despicable ad featuring Amy Acton’s estranged mother, and whether JD Vance might be (shudder) underrated in 2028. who they most want to see hauled before Democratic committees in 2027, with Elon Musk, RFK Jr., Todd Blanche, and Jared Kushner all making the list. Right now, TNL listeners can save up to 48% off their first order at https://pendulumlife.com/thenextlevel. Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping with Boll and Branch at https://BollAndBranch.com/nextlevel with code nextlevel. For a limited time, Tempo is offering out listeners SIXTY PERCENT OFF your first box! Go to https://TempoMeals.com/THENEXTLEVEL.

Sarah and JVL talk about: The Media obsessing over the wrong problem with Katie Zacharias. The Alina Habba - Ric Grenell cage match. Kimberly Guilfoyle’s stylist Ruby Rhod Fancy James. Another big inflation jump. And that’s before they get into Senate polling numbers looking really bad for Republicans. You want schadenfreude with a side of hopeium? The best friends have you covered.  Show notes: If you have questions for Tim, Sarah and JVL, send them to [email protected] and they may answer them on an upcoming episode of TNL.Weight Loss by Hims offers access to FDA-approved GLP-1 medications, including Wegovy®. Ready to reach your goals? Visit https://www.hims.com/thenextlevel for personalized, affordable care for weight loss, hair loss, sex, testosterone, and more. Individual results may vary, and stopping treatment may result in weight regain. Weight Loss by Hims is not available in all 50 states. Wegovy® is the registered trademark of Novo Nordisk A/S. To get started and learn more, including important safety information, Wegovy® clinical study information, and restrictions, visit https://www.hims.com/thenextlevel.

Note: We're doing something a little different today. Paid members of the Bulwark get exclusive access to a extra, super, jumbo-sized TNL with a play-by-play breakdown of Katie Zacharia's disastrous press conference. It's a lot of fun, and you should definitely join to see it. You can join on Apple Podcast, Substack and YouTube. Tim, Sarah, and JVL are back together for a super-sized, off-the-rails show. They wish Kimberly Guilfoyle well after she was forced out of the Trump administration, dig into the background of our new White House Press Secretary, discuss the DHS raid on Rep. Ilhan Omar's home, discuss the right-wing meltdown over James Talarico's absence from the campaign trail, and gloat about the GOP pulling resources out of some key House races. Then, they go behind they paywall, and it REALLY gets fun: They watch Katie Zacharia's entire White House press briefing (all 15 minutes), and give their minute-by-minute commentary. Then: Sarah and JVL ask Tim whether he's reconsidered his stance on a take that got MANY Bulwark listeners mad a few months ago. Make today a good day, and get yourself some Soul gummies. Go to https://GetSoul.com and use the code THENEXTLEVEL for 30% off your order. Get free shipping and 365 day returns with Quince, at https://Quince.com. Tell them The Next Level sent you!

The Secret Podcast is available exclusively to paid members of The Bulwark on Apple Podcasts, Substack and YouTube. Elon Musk threatened to destroy Trump’s Republican allies. Now he’s spending hundreds of millions to keep them in power. Sarah Longwell and JVL discuss Musk’s humiliating surrender, the billionaires lining up behind Trump, the MAGA smear campaign against James Talarico, and why Trump’s desperate deal with Putin represents a stunning display of American weakness. Plus, Sarah has some ideas about holding Trump’s wealthy enablers accountable, and JVL has some big news.

Full episodes of The Secret Podcast are available exclusively to paid members of The Bulwark. You can join on Apple Podcasts, YouTube and at https://thebulwark.com. If you want to join, you're in luck: We’re running a 30% off October Surprise sale, so it’s a great time to get the full Secret Podcast and all of our members-only reporting. Sarah and JVL break down Jon Ossoff’s Terminator-style destruction of Mike Collins. Seriously: It was so brutal that someone should have stopped the debate.Then it’s off to: The Eric Deters interview that broke our brains. Pete Hegseth tugging it at the prospect of a livestreamed execution. The Pro-Life movement is practicing its strategic silence. Potato discourse. And The Golden Girls! Definitely a top quartile show. Want a Woke Bill Kristol tee? Get it at The Bulwark Store.

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 Head to Brodo.com/THENEXTLEVEL for 20% off your first subscription order and use code THENEXTLEVEL for an additional $10 off. Visit https://Wildgrain.com/THENEXTLEVEL to get $30 off your first box, plus free croissants for life. 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. --- 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.For a limited time, get 60% off your first box from Tempo Meals at https://TempoMeals.com/THENEXTLEVEL. Right now, save up to 20% on mattresses when you go to Casper.com. #sponsored

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