George Packer: Trump Was a Symptom
The Bulwark Podcast28 Marras 2025

George Packer: Trump Was a Symptom

Americans were already losing touch with basic decency before Trump came along—and he exploited that indecency, distrust, and division to win power. In his new novel, George Packer spins a story of an imaginary country that just collapses, and how ordinary people have to learn to live together again. Fiction has a way of making the real world more clear. Plus, Charlie Kirk’s influence on our political climate before his death, JD’s phoniness and lust for power, Trump may be flailing but he’s still amassed immense power, and how AI moving us away from the written word threatens our democracy.

The Atlantic’s George Packer joins Tim Miller for the holiday weekend pod.

show notes

Other books by George:

Jaksot(500)

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

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

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...

26 Joulu 202554min

Tom Nichols: The Buzz Has Worn Off

Tom Nichols: The Buzz Has Worn Off

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...

23 Joulu 202552min

Bill Kristol: This Is Trump's Cover-Up

Bill Kristol: This Is Trump's Cover-Up

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...

22 Joulu 202559min

David Frum: Trump and Epstein Were Best Friends

David Frum: Trump and Epstein Were Best Friends

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 oth...

19 Joulu 202552min

Patrick Gaspard: A White House Screamathon

Patrick Gaspard: A White House Screamathon

Trump's power of persuasion is failing him on the affordability issue. He even broke MAGA creed on live TV by calling on Americans to trust the word of foreign leaders—who supposedly claim the U.S. ec...

18 Joulu 20251h 7min

Catherine Rampell and Michael Steinberger: Trump Wants to Cook the Books

Catherine Rampell and Michael Steinberger: Trump Wants to Cook the Books

POTUS is firing or censoring the statisticians who collect data on health and climate, as well as the kind of experts who could verify his lofty claims of an A++++ economy. And while Vance says that T...

17 Joulu 20251h 2min

Will Sommer: Conspiracy Theorists Are Behind the Wheel in the Republican Party

Will Sommer: Conspiracy Theorists Are Behind the Wheel in the Republican Party

The people running the Republican grassroots are nativist populists, and it’s a space where opposition to Israel thrives, along with a heaping serving of antisemitism. Candace’s wild theories about th...

16 Joulu 20251h 1min

Bill Kristol: A Weekend of Tragedy

Bill Kristol: A Weekend of Tragedy

From the shooting at Brown University, to the Oct. 7-style slaughter in Australia, and the shocking murder of Rob Reiner and his wife—it’s been one blow after another. But leave it to Trump to seize t...

15 Joulu 202550min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

uutiscast
aikalisa
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
tervo-halme
politiikan-puskaradio
viisupodi
rss-podme-livebox
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-asiastudio
otetaan-yhdet
the-ulkopolitist
rikosmyytit
rss-pallo-keskelle-2
rss-mina-ukkola
rss-kovin-paikka
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-terveisia-seelannista
rss-sanna-ukkola-show-verkkouutiset
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset