The Bulwark

The Bulwark

Home
Shows
Newsletters
Chat
Special Projects
Events
Founders
Store
Archive
About

Share this post

The Bulwark
The Bulwark
This Thing of Ours
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
User's avatar
Discover more from The Bulwark
The Bulwark is home to Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller, Bill Kristol, JVL, Sam Stein, and more. We are the largest pro-democracy bundle on Substack for news and analysis on politics and culture—supported by a community built on good-faith.
Over 826,000 subscribers
Already have an account? Sign in

This Thing of Ours

Why we’re not beholden.

Sarah Longwell's avatar
Sarah Longwell
Jan 20, 2025
289

Share this post

The Bulwark
The Bulwark
This Thing of Ours
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
18
Share

Hi, it’s Sarah Longwell. I’m the Publisher of The Bulwark.

We started this thing of ours during the first Trump term. Remember those days? You’d wake up every morning to see what insane or racist thing the American president had tweeted while you were sleeping.

Every day it was something. Little rocket man; kids in cages; senior staff getting fired by tweet and left on the tarmac; very fine people on both sides. Exhausting, right?

Except that this run is probably going to be worse.

I can’t predict the future, but Trump is an angry old man who has spent four years talking about getting vengeance and retribution on his political enemies.

Maybe you think we don’t need to take him seriously. But I do. And so do a lot of people in tech and media—which is why so many of those who tried to resist Trump last time are pre-surrendering and promising to do whatever Trump wants.

It’s ridiculous. Just look at Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, both of whom are cozying up to Trump in the most sycophantic way possible. These people are giving in because they’re scared of Trump, and they’re scared he’ll hurt their businesses if they speak the truth.

What I want to know is: What’s the point of being a billionaire if all that money doesn’t give you the freedom to simply say the things that are true?

This is where we’ve been a little lucky at The Bulwark. We’re not beholden.

The Bulwark is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Maybe Bezos has to worry about Trump going after Amazon. Or CNN has to worry about getting access to Trump officials. Well we don’t have a side hustle; we don’t do access journalism; we don’t have federal contracts to protect.

Our business is truth. It’s why The Bulwark community came together. Not to pre-surrender and not to flatter our tribal sympathies, either. We’re not members of a party, we’re part of Team Democracy. 

That’s actually our superpower. We’re politically homeless, which means we’re not beholden to any cliques. We just say what we think is true and if people get mad at us, so be it. And because we’re an independent media company we don’t have corporate owners telling us what we’re allowed to say. 

Right now The Bulwark has a website, six newsletters, 12 podcasts, and loads of daily YouTube content. We’re growing, right now, adding new reporters to cover Trump’s Washington and expert voices to help guide us through it all.

And here’s the kicker: We give almost all of this away totally free.

The Bulwark isn’t a business so much as it’s a mission. We believe that you can’t save democracy from behind a paywall and that you have to reach as many people as possible with the truth. 

By signing up, you aren’t just helping make our journalism possible. You’re also joining a community of people who really care about this stuff.

And ours is a community like no other. Bulwark members are kind, smart people who care enough about America’s future to take an active role in shaping it for the better. They aren’t stuck in tribes—they’re anti-tribal. If that sounds like you, we’d love to have you riding with us.

We hope you’ll consider joining us, because we’ve got a country to save.

Sarah Longwell
Publisher, The Bulwark

Lissa Wolfe's avatar
April Caron's avatar
Reva White's avatar
Joni Goan's avatar
Deborah Culmer's avatar
289 Likes∙
18 Restacks
289

Share this post

The Bulwark
The Bulwark
This Thing of Ours
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
18
Share
The American Age Is Over
Emergency Triad: The United States commits imperial suicide.
Apr 3 • 
Jonathan V. Last
5,336

Share this post

The Bulwark
The Bulwark
The American Age Is Over
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
1,469
How to Think (and Act) Like a Dissident Movement
AOC, solidarity, and people power.
Mar 24 • 
Jonathan V. Last
4,098

Share this post

The Bulwark
The Bulwark
How to Think (and Act) Like a Dissident Movement
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
1,170
“How Can You Look at Yourself in the Mirror?”
George is furious.
Apr 3 • 
Sarah Longwell
2,102

Share this post

The Bulwark
The Bulwark
“How Can You Look at Yourself in the Mirror?”
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
349
49:37

Ready for more?

© 2025 Bulwark Media
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More