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Democrats tend to defend the institutions that Trump is tearing apart, but Pete Buttigieg says the party should be focusing on the bigger, deeper structural problems the country is facing and the need for political reform. The kind of radical institutional changes he’d like to see include: expanding SCOTUS and the House of Representatives, statehood for Washington, D.C., and directly electing the president by popular vote. Plus, Pete gets candid about the “most fucked-up thing” that’s ever happened to his family, the big opportunity for Dems in Iowa in November, and Pete’s stumping for candidates in places where Fox News reigns.

Tim and Pete

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🚨OVERTIME🚨

Greetings from the Big Island of Hawaii. It’s a rare vacation for me, and as I checked in, news of Lindsey Graham’s sudden passing came across the wire.

One of my earliest memories of Graham was when, fresh out of college as a Senate aide, Graham barged beyond my desk with Joe Lieberman in tow to see my boss. They were, along with the late John McCain, the “three amigos.1” For many of us who knew him or were friends with him in “the before times” it can be complicated, as Adam Kinzinger explains. Ultimately, as Charles Krauthammer observed, decline is a choice, and for the most part, Graham chose decline and then some. As I knew him, he mostly followed and rarely led.

If you’re yet to read Will Saletan’s award-winning work, The Corruption of Lindsey Graham, it’s something we offer folks for free because that’s the kind of place this is. Go read it if you haven’t. (Or listen!) And do also read our friend and my former colleague Matt Labash on speaking ill of the dead.

I am not a big vacation person, nor am I an island or beach person. But this has been a restorative trip. (I do enjoy golf, good food2, and a clear view of the stars.)

As we left Cincinnati, I picked up a copy of Ted Koppel’s 2000 book Off Camera from the airport’s free library, one of the best quirks of CVG. I haven’t been able to put it down.

It’s been fascinating to read about the news media and political world as they existed a quarter century ago. Which was also the first time I visited here. Some things about our business have changed dramatically; many others haven’t changed at all.

At one point, Koppel quotes H.L. Mencken:

“No one in this world... has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people.”

While I've been working at odd hours, knowing we aren't those kinds of people here at The Bulwark, and seeing how hard everyone works to help make our members smarter about the world, will make leaving this island paradise quite easy. I'm eager to get back to full speed. Being here has also made me think a lot about the Haitians in Springfield who love their own island home but don't want to return to suffer or die. I don’t exactly look forward to writing more about the cruelty of the Trump administration towards these fine people, but it’s a story we absolutely must continue to cover and not look away from.

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Worried about smart glasses? There’s an app for that. (Wired)

Father and Daughter, Political Prisoners in Cuba… At The Next Move, Jay Nordlinger writes about the cases of Félix and Saylí Navarro.

Vance’s security detail ‘fed up’… with hastily arranged personal and family travel requests. (MS NOW)

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Trump’s attack on TPS for Haitians… is an attack on Springfield, Ohio’s entire community, argues Rev. Carl Ruby in a must-read Ohio Capital Journal op-ed. Regular readers may remember Ruby from my earlier writing on Springfield and what it’s facing. He is the real deal.

ICYMI: My dispatch from Springfield, Ohio earlier this week.

The Forgotten Bombing of LaGuardia Airport… It’s been called “one of the greatest cold cases of the 20th century.” It remains unsolved. But what happened next is almost a worse crime, writes Elon Green in Slate.

Ever wanna get away? I’m always envious of Jay Nordlinger’s travel posts. Follow him in Italy!

This week’s comment prompt: What are your July plans? What do you remember from your family vacations that would never happen in 2026?

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🎆Happy 4th, everyone!🎇 I trust some of you have been enjoying the World Cup like I have. I was sad to miss Friday’s excellent matches due to a road trip! Cabo Verde? Amazing stuff. Egypt in PKs? Mohamed Salah’s panenka? Brutal.

While I’ve been worried about my Cleveland Guardians… during World Cup Madness, these last few walk off wins against the White Sox have allayed my fears (for now.)

New here? Need some help? Try our new help center! It has quick answers to the questions we hear most often.

America in the World… Jay Nordlinger argues that America’s global example depends on living up to its founding ideals of liberty and equality.

Phil Edwards went to The Villages… A report from America’s baby boomer “utopia.”

How the coney… became a Cincinnati favorite. (Vince Guerrieri, Ohio Magazine)

Comment discussion prompt: What’s something out of the ordinary you’re doing this July for America 250 (if anything)?

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🎇OVERTIME🎆

Happy Saturday! Remember, there’s still time for you to join the Overtime World Cup Soccer Knockout Challenge! There will be prizes.

Staff for Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, others knew… a company she vilified on social media in 2023 was ‘wrongly accused’ (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

Fireflies and the July 4th / Inflation Sale… Our friend and former colleague Matt Labash offers his annual subscription sale and a classic July 4th essay of his on fireflies. Moments of beauty, even the small ones, help us survive in a time of constantly bad news.1

The most successful watch… ever made. Teddy Baldassarre does a deep dive on the Casio F-91W.

What Gave Me Hope in Springfield

On the eve of my holiday travel, the Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Mullin v. Doe. To be honest, the timing couldn’t have been worse. Packing would have to wait.

Springfield and its Haitian community have become part of my beat… not just because I’m a born-again Ohioan and it’s not far from Cincinnati, but because I wanted them to be. I already had more than enough material to write Friday’s Morning Shots from that morning’s press conference alone. But that wasn’t enough. I wanted to be there. I needed to be there.

While I joke that talking with our members in the meat space “puts the wind in my sails,” there’s something uniquely encouraging about an organic, good-natured civic demonstration. It reminds you that people still care enough to show up. After Thursday’s ruling, I needed that.

Especially as I’m heading into the Capital region, where it’ll be hot, muggy, offensively partisan, and with an elevated chance of being hassled by law enforcement for “loitering” on the Mall.

What gave me hope in that rally? A lot. The visceral emotion and energy of the community. The inspiring nature of their focus: being clear-eyed and prepared for the bad things to come… in the immediacy of tragic news. This bit of a prayer2 from the end, which was offered in a mixture of French and Haitian Creole:

Lord, we believe you can move hearts and bring decisions that favor the Haitian community. We cannot change this ourselves, but you can. In the name of Jesus, we ask you to act on behalf of the Haitian people.

In the last day, I’ve thought a lot about it.

And I’ve thought a lot about this photo I took and the people in it, especially since I’d read Thursday’s Triad.

Some people obviously want (gestures broadly) this. The cruelty. The fear. The misery.

But on Thursday night in Springfield, there were hundreds of people who came to join with their neighbors to share in their sadness, there were only six or seven who came to make sure everyone knew they approved of what had happened. Take a guess at which group was happier?

I thought about including them in my Morning Shots item, but there wasn’t room / it didn’t fit.

The Trumpers stood there while their neighbors grieved beneath the city’s motto, “Forward Together.” I’m under no illusion that those half-dozen people represented only themselves. Plenty of others share their views. They just didn’t want to attach their faces to them.

Still, I couldn’t help but notice how small, and frankly dispirited, they seemed. Desperate, even, for engagement. They had just gotten exactly what they wanted, and yet there wasn’t much triumph to be found.

Oddly enough, that gives me hope. Perhaps it might for you, too. Hope is important, wherever we can find it. Be it fireflies or miserable MAGA voters.

Bulwark members’ reflections on America at 250 🇺🇸

In our Bulwark chat space, my colleague Ali Pannoni put together a members’ discussion about how our community is experiencing this historic moment. It was popular!3 Here are some of my favorite reactions:

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Have a great 4th and be safe.

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🚨OVERTIME🚨

Happy Saturday! And to all you fathers out there: have a happy Father’s Day. I hope you have an enjoyable weekend, especially if you’re a soccer fan!

As it’s the World Cup… and it is tradition in this newsletter space, we’re doing a bracket contest for the round of 32. Sign up today! Winners get prizes! Good luck to your team(s).

A late review… of Hillbilly Elegy from Cincinnati’s own softmaxplus.

The reflecting pool… as perfect metaphor.

It really is hard to argue with that. But perhaps one can. Is there a better metaphor? Leave yours in the comments.

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Happy Saturday! What a rollercoaster of a Friday!

“Just one letter!” Kudos to our colleague Brendan Hartnett, who stayed up late manning the livestream camera of Donald Trump’s name being removed from obscured on the Kennedy Center. (Joining him were Matt Marshall, Chris Herbert, Adam Keiper, Jared Poland, and from afar, Jamie Abraham, monitoring the livestream from the control room.)

Was it a Berlin Wall moment? No. Rather, a historic night that will, symbolically, be remembered as future generations look back on the dangerous and utter stupidity of Trump 2.0. If you were one of the thousands of people who joined us on the stream(s), thanks for staying up and keeping it fun.

The U.S. defeated Paraguay 4-1 in their opening World Cup match… led by captain (and fellow Billiken) Tim Ream. What a showing! Bosnia, whom I heard playing in a friendly against Panama in Saint Louis last weekend, tied with Canada in Toronto. Of course, I am cheering for our neighbors to the north, too, but Bosnia? Their fans showed up. They did in STL and in Toronto. If you haven’t heard their banger of an anthem, be forewarned: It is an earworm.

How to Eat an Elephant… The tour! See where Sarah is going this fall to talk about her forthcoming book. It includes a stop in the Buckeye state. See you there?

Approaching the news “with a raw candor subscribers crave”… The Wall Street Journal did a profile on Sarah and The Bulwark which you won’t want to miss.

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What happens when AI replaces readers? Matt Labash and “Chaz” take a turn with a Q&A.

Republicans brought a live elephant… To the Texas GOP convention. What happened next is not only predictable but picture perfect.

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🚨OVERTIME🚨

Greetings from the road! It’s summer, and while that means vacation for some (namely, my children), all of this travel is getting awfully expensive. Still, there’s something to be said for a change of scenery, time with family, and catching up with friends. And, of course, the chance to indulge in local delicacies I can’t get back in the Queen City, like Lion’s Choice.

Get your book club questions in! Mona and Mark are doing the first episode of Bulwark Book Club on Monday night, live for subscribers. Get your questions in while you can!

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Rare Days, &c… Jay Nordlinger on June, character, ideas, ‘attitudinizing,’ moms, and more!

Food for thought: “When the administration goes streaking through America with their perpetual, naked corruption, their twig’n’berries flapping in the breeze, and a huge chunk of the population still pretends not to see it (or worse, doesn’t have to pretend, since the news sources they ingest make no mention of it), how can truth or reconciliation ever be realized? It’s difficult not to make the same mistakes again, when there’s no acknowledgment that mistakes were made at all.” —Matt Labash at Slack Tide on The Un-Trousered State.

Which inspires this week’s comment prompt: What are your most effective tactic(s) for combatting MAGA denialism and nihilism?

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Programming note: On June 8 at 7pm ET, Mona Charen and Mark Hertling will kick off the Bulwark Book Club with a live chat about Mark’s book, If I Don’t Return: A Father’s Wartime Journal. This livestream is for Bulwark+ subscribers on Substack and YouTube.

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🚨OVERTIME🚨

School’s out for summer… And one great way to kick off summer is with some baseball. It was a perfect night in Florence, Kentucky on Friday to watch some Frontier league baseball. The Florence Y’alls defeated the Schaumburg Boomers 17-4 in a game with the home team amassing 24 hits(!), followed by an excellent fireworks show. I hope there’s some great baseball in your future.

I Tried to Sell My House With a Chatbot… Over five frantic days, the NYT’s Stuart Thompson gambled his family’s life savings on a hunch that A.I. could outperform a real estate agent. 🎁

“Garbage intrudes upon our mirages, puts everything on equal footing, and tells the whole story—if you know how to listen.” On my flight back from California last week, I read with great interest Simon Paré-Poupart’s Harper’s cover story on the lives of trash collectors in Montreal. Make some time for it this weekend.

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LIVE FROM CALIFORNIA1

🚨OVERTIME🚨

What a whirlwind tour we just had. Thank you all for coming to be in the meat space with us in San Diego and Los Angeles. It was such a treat to talk with hundreds of Founders, Navigators, members and guests, including many Clevelanders: despondent about the Cavs and happy for the Guardians’ recent streak. The Cavs have done it before.

After I get settled returning from our live show trips, I do an inventory of who I need to reach out to, and it is a lot of people.

Los Angeles set a record for the largest pre-show mixer to date, and while it disappoints me there isn’t time to have a conversation with everyone, I sure tried. Thank you to those kind souls who brought us gifts, be they food, shirts, hats or political knicknacks. And a special thanks to those who heeded the call for homemade JVL “you did that!” stickers, of which I have a small collection, and a robust repository of. Our people are the best.

The suggestions were many of the ones I appreciated most. Each event is a new adventure for us, and we’re constantly learning, sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing. Your feedback is what makes every show better than the last. We try new things every time, and we genuinely appreciate hearing what worked, what could be improved, and what you’d love to see us put together in the future.

As Sarah reminded us, getting tired is the authoritarian playbook. My biggest takeaway, personally, is that these live shows are restorative: the real life reminder of why we do this. Because it is a two way street: you keep us sane, too.

Have a memorable Memorial Day.

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Respect at USS Arizona

By Mark Hertling

The American Battle Monuments Commission is one of the smallest but most sacred institutions in the U.S. government. Most Americans have never heard of it. Yet this agency silently supports hundreds of thousands in its care who are laid to rest among the rows of white marble crosses and Stars of David above the cliffs of the Normandy beaches, near the sands of the Sicily-Rome landing sites, in a grand and expansive park in the city of Manila, beneath the memorial walls at Tunisia and Cambridge, and at dozens of other sites.

I know this organization well, because several years ago I was appointed by the president to serve alongside other commissioners as members of the governing board of the ABMC. It was one of the greatest honors of my life.

Congress created the commission in 1923 after General John J. Pershing recognized that America needed more than temporary wooden battlefield markers to honor those who died overseas in World War I. He understood that the nation owed its fallen who had fought in battles overseas something dignified and enduring. The ABMC stewards that promise, maintaining twenty-six cemeteries and thirty-one large memorials around the globe honoring Americans who died far from home.

The USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor is not technically an ABMC site (it’s administered by the National Park Service), but it is an equal to the other sites because of those who rest below the surface. The memorial platform spanning the sunken battleship is not merely a historical attraction; it is the viewing platform of a sarcophagus. Below that white deck lie 1,102 sailors and Marines, entombed inside the ship where they died during the attack on December 7, 1941. Oil seeps slowly from the wreckage beneath the water’s surface. The sight of these “black tears” becomes an emotional memory for those who visit the site.

Which is why the recent reports of FBI Director Kash Patel conducting a “VIP snorkeling excursion” near the wreck has struck so many veterans, military families, and citizens of our nation as deeply inappropriate.

Military memorials and cemeteries are not ordinary public spaces. They carry unwritten rules of conduct grounded in humility and respect for our nation’s fallen. At ABMC cemeteries overseas, visitors are constantly reminded that these places exist first for the dead and for families who mourn them—but they are also for the living who visit to pay their quiet respect.

When anyone, but especially officials, visit these sites, the focus is usually a solemn act of remembrance. Wreath laying is quiet and somber, ceremonies are restrained, and senior VIPs avoid turning such visits into performative moments centered on themselves rather than on the dead.

Perhaps Patel intended no disrespect during his adventure. Intention matters at such places, but so does judgment. Rank, celebrity, or office does not exempt anyone from that understanding. If anything, senior officials should model greater awareness of the symbolism attached to these places. Because memorials are not about the living: They are about those who sacrificed for their country.

During my time with the ABMC, I often became emotional watching visitors pay their respect at the graves of the fallen. Family members would kneel beside a marble cross; veterans would stare at the names and ponder the loss. At Normandy, some would bring sand from the beach and rub it into the carved name on the cross or the Star of David on the tombstone, turning the memorial gold. Most would stand silently for minutes, sometimes hours, unable to speak. The ABMC staff at these sites understood their role was to preserve not only the grounds, but the dignity of those moments.

That same sense of reverence should apply at Pearl Harbor.

The USS Arizona Memorial, like the sites overseen by the AMBC, is sacred ground. It reminds us that freedom was purchased by young Americans who never came home. And it deserves a level of humility and respect from visitors—especially public officials—that befits the sacrifice commemorated there.

General Pershing once said of America’s fallen, “Time will not dim the glory of their deeds.”

It is our responsibility to ensure that spectacle—or officials using the roles they have been entrusted with to gratify themselves—is not allowed to diminish it, either.

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THE BULWARK ON SUNDAY…

This Sunday at noon, BILL KRISTOL will be joined by ROB FLAHERTY to discuss his recent feature-length article, “Here’s What I Told the DNC Autopsy.” Watch it on Substack or YouTube!

If you haven’t made some time for the piece, spend some time today before tomorrow’s show. It’s going to be an interesting discussion!

Comment Discussion: What would you like to hear discussed by Bill and Rob about the piece and what’s next for Democrats?

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🚨OVERTIME🚨

Happy Saturday! My Cleveland teams may have had a rough Friday, but if you’d told me last Saturday we’d still be talking about the Cavaliers season? I would’ve expressed some doubt. Alas, game 7 it is! Come on CAVS!

As the school year comes to a close, I hope you’re able to enjoy the last days of Spring… without too much in the way of allergies!

Inside The Bulwark… We’re doing a series on LinkedIn where Bulwark staff answer some questions for people to get to know us a little better. Here’s my contribution. Come for the answers, but stay for the surprise doppelganger a reader picked out in the comments. I’ll take it! And follow us there, and be sure to scroll back a little to read the contributions from my colleagues.

California, here we come! We are packing up for our traveling shows next week in San Diego1 and Los Angeles. If you have a ticket and are coming, we look forward to seeing you! And if you see me in my Cleveland Guardians hat, I hope you’ll say hello! If you are local and want to come, we still have some tickets available.

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COME JOIN US IN CALIFORNIA!

May 21: Bulwark Live in Los Angeles at the The Novo featuring Tim, Sarah, and Sam along with 🆕 special guests Jane Coaston, Van Lathan, Jon Favreau, Erin Ryan, and Brian Tyler Cohen.

May 20: Bulwark Live in San Diego at the Balboa Theatre featuring Tim, Sarah, and Sam

COMMUNITY MOMENT OF THE WEEK

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to check out one of our new formats above: The Triad Mailbag! Lots of members love it:

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🚨OVERTIME🚨

Happy Saturday! It’s a wonder to me that the school year is almost over (just as the Cavs’ season almost is, too, unfortunately…) Time flies! But at least with summer comes baseball.

About a year ago, our friend Jay Nordlinger started his own site, Onward & Upward, which I often link to here. It’s celebrating its first birthday and I hope you’ll got over and enjoy Jay’s reflections on a year and consider signing up.

The Super Bowl FCC Complaints are in… And boy are they depressing.

The Sound He Thought Was a Tank Was a Skateboard… A Japanese Photographer’s Ukraine. (United24Media)

A new kind of van life: $180 to camp for seven months – and a real taste of freedom (The Guardian).

Philip Caputo, RIP. Our former colleague Marc Caputo remembers his one-of-a-kind father.

The Devil Wears MAGA… Twenty years later, we’ve changed -- and not for the better, argues Matt Labash.

A back of the napkin analysis… Of the policies in the movie The American President, courtesy of Ben Dreyfuss.

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COME JOIN US IN CALIFORNIA!

May 21: Bulwark Live in Los Angeles at the The Novo featuring Tim, Sarah, and Sam

May 20: Bulwark Live in San Diego at the Balboa Theatre featuring Tim, Sarah, and Sam

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🚨OVERTIME🚨

Happy Saturday! It was a big night for playoff Overtime last night, with my Cleveland Cavaliers falling to the Toronto Raptors and the Montreal Canadiens to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Both series go to game 7. Congrats to the Buffalo Sabres for advancing past the Bruins. With my Blues not making the playoffs, I’m rooting for this gritty team. Go Sabres!

Tim Miller joins Linda Chavez on her podcast Older and Wiser at the Renew Democracy Initiative to talk about Hasan Piker.

David Baer will join Bill Kristol on The Bulwark on Sunday at 10 a.m. Eastern to discuss the lessons of Hungary (and his piece).

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May 21: Bulwark Live in Los Angeles at the The Novo featuring Tim, Sarah, and Sam

May 20: Bulwark Live in San Diego at the Balboa Theatre featuring Tim, Sarah, and Sam

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🚨OVERTIME🚨

Behind the scenes in Columbus… Earlier this week, there were a few details that did not make it into my story. There was the whole saga of… getting in.

TPUSA has a history of denying The Bulwark access to its events, dating back to our earliest days, so I took some precautions. Still, I didn’t hide my identity. I wore a Bulwark hat to the show! But I came registered as a citizen, since there was no press registration. Just… nobody asked.

Meeting up with my pal D.J. Byrnes (The Rooster) and heading into the venue in a line filled with very few students…. we stuck out. If they denied us entry, well, that would’ve been the story. But we got in, only to run right into Rep. Gary Click, a frequent statehouse subject of Byrnes’s reporting. Naturally, D.J. immediately turned on the camera and started asking questions.

I thought we’d gotten lucky until a TPUSA staffer quickly picked up on the fact that we were not your typical attendees. She got on the phone and shadowed us through the lobby while we milled around. We’re cooked, I thought.

D.J. ordered some popcorn for $6, as one does at the circus, and then we calmly made our way inside and picked a spot. We were prepared to be escorted out of the same auditorium (where my sister graduated) at any moment. Obviously, that didn’t happen.

Suspiciously, a guy who didn’t clap was positioned in our row. He didn’t stand, didn’t cheer, didn’t show emotion: he just stared straight ahead. We didn’t clap either, so perhaps he was writing a story, too. I kid.

And of course, since it was mentioned, the White Castle went on the expense report.

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Tulsi Gabbard’s Dangerous War… Trump’s hatchet woman is weaponizing classified intelligence like never before, writes David Corn at Mother Jones.

A Ghastly Alliance, &c… Jay Nordlinger on North Koreans in the Ukraine war; the Donald Trump exemption; a mayor’s demagoguery; and more!

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May 20: Bulwark Live in San Diego at the Balboa Theatre featuring Tim, Sarah, and Sam

Bulwark Live San Diego

May 21: Bulwark Live in Los Angeles at the The Novo featuring Tim, Sarah, and Sam

Bulwark Live Los Angeles

On The Bulwark on Sunday, NYU law professor Ryan Goodman joins Bill Kristol to discuss how surveillance powers could be used—and abused—by the Donald Trump administration. Plus, a broader look at Trump’s escalating clashes with the rule of law and what, if anything, Congress can still do to push back.

Watch on Substack or YouTube at Noon Eastern on Sunday.

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🚨OVERTIME🚨

The best free restaurant bread in America… Come take a journey with Caity Weaver at The Atlantic, as she finds the best free restaurant bread in America. (I’ve had it! It’s good!)

Joe Rogan’s down on Trump and MAGA — but he’s still hardcore MAHA… “The influential podcaster continues to spread RFK Jr.’s anti-vaccine gospel — and a new poll shows more Americans are growing comfortable with having measles back…” writes Anthony Fisher at MS NOW.

The Shocking Secrets of Madison Square Garden’s Surveillance Machine… Read Noah Shachtman and Robert Silverman’s amazing cover story at WIRED.

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First of all, thanks to all of you last week for your kind comments and notes about Shane DiGiovanna. Your kind comments, emails, and donations to his charity mean a lot. As longtime readers know, I wear quite a few hats here at The Bulwark. Among my favorite things, aside from writing profiles, is being in the “meatspace” with our people.

A few times a year, we actually get together… at live shows in person, or online for livestreams and at Founders town halls. We’ve got one coming up Monday night. Will we be celebrating the end of Orbánism, among other things? I hope.

These Founders Town Halls are a small thank-you to the folks who pay a little (or a lot) extra to help us make The Bulwark available to anyone, regardless of ability to pay. It’s not top-secret stuff… more a preview of what’s coming, plus a chance for people to ask granular questions and nerd out about how this all works.

At its core, the program is pretty simple: people who can afford to pay a bit more get a few small thank-yous like access to the Founders Lounge chat and invites to Bulwark Live pre-show mixers and these semi-annual Town Halls. Their extra support helps to fuel our growth and cover the cost of the free memberships I give out every day to folks who write in.

Through emails and at live events, I meet a lot of readers who’ve needed that free access, sometimes for a short stretch, sometimes indefinitely. We’re happy to provide it. But what stands out is that many of those same people, the moment it’s within reach, want to pay.

It’s a point of pride, and it says a lot about the kind of community we’ve built. If you’re reading this and need a free membership, just reply to this email. Please.

And if you’ve been thinking about doing more to support the mission, I hope you’ll consider joining before our Town Hall on Monday. We archive them, so if you can’t make it live, or decide to join later, you can always watch it later.

If you’re interested in upgrading but have a tax bill in the mail, hit reply on this email to let us know you’d like to upgrade to a $300 Founders or $1200 Navigators membership on monthly basis. We’ll set this up for you and charge the card on file.

Upgrade to Founders

[Founders and Navigators: Remember to leave us a question or comment here so we know what’s on your mind and to help inform our program for Monday night.]

ICYMI:

🚨OVERTIME🚨

The Deleted Scenes… Our friend and colleague Addison Del Mastro’s Deleted Scenes is celebrating its fifth anniversary. It is one of my favorite sites, probably because Addison and I share a few interests, among them: what did that place used to be? In the latest edition, Addison explores a longtime cheesesteak place in my old Alexandria neighborhood and uncovers a neat untold story of fast food history. If this sort of thing also piques your interests do consider subscribing!

Joakim Noah Faces Cleveland… The retired Chicago Bull spent some time in the Forest City to see if, now that he wasn’t competing with the Cavs, if he could view it in a different light. Worth the quick watch.

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Congrats to… Chris Wilbur, Steve Snyder, and Max Motherway for finishing first, second, and third in the Overtime NCAA Bracket: each had Michigan winning it all. Also, a nod to Jonathan Cohn’s Wolverines (who beat my Billikens) and Sam Stein’s UConn Huskies in a dominant run.

It’s Masters weekend. Will you be watching?

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This week’s Overtime is going to be a bit different. Come with me on a brief journey to remember our friend Shane DiGiovanna.

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SHANE DIGIOVANNA WANTED to be an astronaut. From the time he was a child, reading Cosmos at age 7, Shane was captivated by the same sense of wonder that has driven generations of explorers—from NASA scientists to backyard stargazers.

As I sat on the couch Wednesday in Cincinnati to watch the launch of Artemis II with my daughters—watching them watch in wonder—I couldn’t help but hide a tear or two, as I knew Shane had the best seat in the house. He died Monday, March 31, at the age of 27 and a half.

Shoot for the moon, the saying goes, and you’ll end up among the stars. Shane’s epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a lifelong incurable condition that causes incredibly fragile skin, made becoming an astronaut impossible. But it never stopped him from reaching for it anyway. He experienced more space-related activities than most people ever will: weightless flights with his family; seeing the Mars rover Curiosity in the clean room; meeting the people who built it; standing alongside astronauts Jim Lovell and Gene Cernan at 14 for a press conference announcing the launch of a children’s health fund created in honor of Neil Armstrong at Cincinnati Children’s, the very place that helped make Shane’s extraordinary life possible. Whenever he could, Shane put himself as close to the center of that universe as possible.

Shane wrote: “Star Trek showed me a world where anyone can explore the stars, no matter who you are. It made a big difference to me when I was growing up. I would (and still do) distract myself during my bandage changes and dream of being a Starfleet captain.”

I first met Shane in person after he emailed last spring to mention he’s a big-time Bulwark reader and a fellow Cincinnatian. He told me that space was his “passion,” an early and enduring fascination that clicked with his love of language, learning, and the big questions about how the world works. Whether it was space, politics, political maps (a subject area he was known for commenting expertly about on Twitter), or wanting to selflessly help those afflicted by EB, Shane’s intelligence and passion for life always shined through.

Shane and his mother, Patsy, sat down with me last year for a profile. They gave nearly three hours to me and my friend, Bulwark reader and photographer Aaron Bludworth. Shane was clear-eyed about his health; in addition to his EB, he had been dealing with cancer treatments for a few years. He knew his time was limited. But he wanted to spend his remaining days fighting RFK Jr., Elon Musk, and DOGE, not just for himself, though there was real concern about what their depredations meant for him, but for others like him. Shane carried himself like a Starfleet captain, looking out for his fleet: people with a long road ahead.

We also did a video interview so his fellow Bulwark fans could see his face and hear him speak.

Then, last fall, Shane entered hospice—and took the opportunity to throw himself an amazing celebration of life while he was still in shape to do it. People came from all around the pale blue dot to be there. Despite us all knowing the reason we were there, it was hardly somber; hell, it was more fun than most weddings I’ve ever been to. (You can read Shane’s speech here.)

But Shane was still not done: In the last months of his life, he worked with our congressman, Greg Landsman, on legislation (H.R. 7877) to help others with EB. He got to become texting buddies and zoom with former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Greg said that what stayed with him most from their conversations was simple: “Just do the right thing. Always do the right thing.”

If you’d like to read Shane’s obituary and see the memories from his loved ones, that’d be a great way to honor Shane. And if you’d like do something more concrete to honor his memory, there are two things you might consider:

First, you can donate to his endowment at Cincinnati Children’s: Doggie’s Friends.1 Shane helped start Doggie’s Friends, an effort to get comfort items to children facing the kinds of long, isolating hospital stays Shane knew well. The idea, he said, was to focus on “the kids who are dealt a really bad hand from the beginning”—not the routine injuries, but “the 5-year-old who is in their twenty-seventh surgery . . . and desperately needs a friend to cuddle with and to talk to.”

The other thing you could do doesn’t cost anything: Get your member of the House to cosponsor his namesake bill, H.R. 7877, the Shane DiGiovanna Act.

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IN THE YEAR OR SO I GOT TO KNOW SHANE—in fact, from the very first email he sent—I knew heartbreak was on the horizon. But neither that reality, nor the condition that debilitated Shane, diminished him. Most notably, Shane had his own gravity: He pulled you in. You had no choice if he wanted you in his orbit.

“A short but well lived life” a friend and fellow Bulwark reader observed. “Incredible, the gifts we receive when we finally open our eyes.” Indeed.

Like all who were pulled into Shane’s orbit, either by chance, fate, or luck, I will miss our friend, and won’t forget him. The Bulwark community is richer for having him as a shining part of its tapestry.

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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.

If you’re not, there’s no better time to subscribe to Bulwark+ than today: get the next year of Bulwark+ for just $80—that’s through election day 2026 and beyond. This offer ends Sunday night.

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Read on for what’s going on around The Bulwark this week and some thoughts on growing this community, No Kings and the present moment.

FIRST UP TODAY: JVL, Andrew, Catherine and others are going live at 2 p.m. ET on Substack and YouTube. If you can’t make it to a No Kings Rally, join us online and see what we’re seeing and what members are sharing from their rally!

ON THE SECRET PODCAST THIS WEEK…

JVL and Bill Kristol (filling in for Sarah) discuss escalating Iran conflict, the risky push toward a wider war, and why the real damage may outlast the fighting. They also get into the global fallout—from threats to the petrodollar system to the collapse of U.S. alliances—and what a rushed exit might look like.

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🚨OVERTIME🚨

I’m not going to be able to watch our livestream today and for good reason: I’ll be at the Cincinnati No Kings march downtown myself!

As The Bulwark has grown, newer folks might assume we’ve been livestreaming like this all along. Nope. I remember being behind the scenes, and sometimes on camera, for our early forays. We called it “Thursday Night Bulwark.” It felt like a big production at the time, and honestly, it stressed me out each week, as plenty could go wrong.

But tomorrow? I’m genuinely excited. What I’m most excited about is our ability to feature you and what you’re seeing. That’s something we couldn’t easily do back then, when the whole livestream operation felt like it was held together with tin cans, string and duct tape. If you’re showing up in the streets tomorrow, please send us what you’re seeing, what message you’re sending, and, if you’re willing: a picture of you. We’d love to feature it on our livestream and social.

» 📸 Share pictures in our Members Only Chat 📸 «

In 2026, as we’ve grown here on Substack and on YouTube (where we recently passed one billion views for our work), it’s a near-daily occurrence and not a fire drill.

We go into today’s No Kings fresh off of our four shows in Minneapolis, Dallas, and Austin. The members we met, the stories they told us: harrowing and heartfelt? There is a lot of wind in our sails. If you haven’t, go check out what Sarah wrote yesterday about what motivates us each morning.

And if you’ve been to one of our shows, Sarah often closes with this message: authoritarians want us exhausted. What better way to put wind in your sails (and ours, and others) than by going to a No Kings march, or joining us online?

We’ve always had a strong community, and it’s growing. A lot. And this growth has enabled us to bring more great Bulwark articles and shows to you, and with our ever-growing reach, thanks to you, we’re getting pro-democracy voices into the feeds of our fellow Americans who didn’t even know they were our people.

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ICYMI: At the end of JVL and Tim’s livestream with Katie Couric this week, JVL thanks Katie for helping to give his father-in-law a few more years. If your family has a history, consider getting your colon checked!

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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.

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OUR LIVE SHOWS, DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS

🚨OVERTIME🚨

Happy Saturday! While I’m glad to be home to watch my Saint Louis Billikens1 take on Goliath Michigan (we’re coming for you, Jonathan Cohn!), I’ve got plenty of wind in my sails after our live shows in Dallas and Austin this week.

As Sarah reminded us, that’s what authoritarians want: to wear you down. I had the chance to chat with a couple hundred folks—and I left, as I hope you did, with a renewed sense of vigor. And a lot of snacks from Buc-ee’s.

As is usually the case at our events, I got to see old friends. People traveled from Florida and as far north as Lake Superior in Wisconsin, road tripping the whole way with treats in tow. I also got to make a whole bunch of new friends. And I learned that fan merch can be the best merch. (Seriously: Go see why Tim brought Shelby on stage in Austin.)

Whether we’d corresponded on email over an account issue, or we’ve chatted on social media but never met, the best part for me at these is putting a face with a name. Thanks to all who came and said hello.

If you haven’t been to one of these, don’t worry: we’re planning more shows in the near future. We hope to see you!

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Discussion Prompt: Who busted your bracket? For me? Ohio State. Though, as I landed in Kentucky, the Wildcats tied it at the last second to send it to… Overtime. My favorite!

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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.

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🚨OVERTIME🚨

Happy Saturday! I spent last evening with Martin Sheen and the Cincinnati Pops, performing Peter Boyer’s American Mosaic. Highly recommend.

Both Boyer and Joe Sohm, whose visual work was featured, were in attendance, making the evening all the more special—led by the effervescent John Morris Russell in celebration of America’s 250th. The recording will be released at a later date. You can stream it for free tomorrow afternoon, in fact! Want a sizzle?

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March Madness is here… And boy am I glad I missed the first half of the SLU-GW game! Want to enter the Overtime bracket competition? Let’s see who has the best picks!

The Last Republican… The long-awaited Adam Kinzinger documentary is free to watch. I know nobody likes reliving January 6th, but it is important. Watch it. Share it.

The first AI election is here… Phil Edwards explains.

A Second Heart… Twenty-One Years of Borrowed Time and Earned Life, by Dave Kitzinger.1

IN SEARCH OF BANKSY… “The British street artist’s identity has been debated, and closely guarded, for decades. A quest to solve the riddle took Reuters from a bombed-out Ukrainian village to London and downtown Manhattan — and uncovered much more than a name.” At Reuters, an impressive investigation by Simon Gardner, JamesPearson, and Blake Morrison.

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🚨OVERTIME🚨

Happy Saturday! Thanks to all of you who joined me in pre-ordering Sarah’s new book. It’s moving up the ranks thanks to you all. If you haven’t ordered it yet, think of it as a way to help the cause and help make Sarah’s birthday great!

The New Bulwark App… And thanks to all of you who sent kind notes and helpful feedback for our new app, available on Apple and Google Play stores.

Come Join us in Austin! There are still tickets if you’d like to join us in the Lone Star State.

March Madness… Next week in Overtime, we’ll launch the Overtime March Madness Bracket. Congratulations to Miami University on their perfect season! My Saint Louis Billikens won the A10 season, going 27-3. In the chat: Who is going to win the tourney?

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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.