Why did this happen? What are we even doing? How do we fix America?
We (Sarah and JVL) have been having some form of this conversation for the better part of six years on The Secret Podcast. The show started out as an experiment—Sarah wanted to learn how to podcast; JVL told her the best way to learn was by doing. So we put a couple of microphones in a storage space, sat down, and started talking.
At first we shared those conversations with a couple dozen readers. Then things snowballed and the show grew to an ongoing conversation among thousands of our best friends. Each week we talk about the news, the larger structural challenges America faces, the human condition, and our lives. The show is—no joke—one of the ways we touch base with each other.
We’re unlocking a recent Secret Pod episode titled "Survivor" because we think you’ll get some value from it. We hope you’ll give it a listen and join the conversation in the comments.1
This episode has everything: Can a liberal democracy survive without virtue? What happens when the people—or the culture—go rotten? How are we supposed to keep going when everything seems terrible? And then, at the end, JVL lays out his master plan to get Sarah onto the reality show Survivor.
You can watch or listen to the show here.
The Secret Podcast is released each Friday for Bulwark+ members. We hope that after listening to this unlocked episode, you’ll consider joining us for future conversations by becoming a Bulwark+ member.
The comments section on the Secret Show has become it’s own community-within-a-community. It’s a really cool space.