What Would Happen if Putin Died of COVID?
What Would Happen if Putin Died of COVID?
Benjamin Parker on why, like most autocrats, he has no successor lined up.
Leading The Bulwark…
Putin Is Quarantining. What Would Happen If He Died?
BENJAMIN PARKER: Like most autocrats, he has no successor lined up.
🎧 On the Pods… 🎧
George Will On Our Unruly Torrent
On today's podcast, George F. Will joins host Charlie Sykes to discuss writing, history, education, politics, history, and Nicki Minaj. His new book is "American Happiness and Discontents: The Unruly Torrent."
ATMA: 'The Card Counter' and America's Sins
This week Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), Peter Suderman (Reason), and Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark) discuss the pros and cons of advice columns and whether or not it’s okay—or, frankly, just plain hilarious—to lie to advice columnists.
For Bulwark+ Members… 🔐
MORNING SHOTS: Get Ready for the Big Lie 2.0 🔐
CHARLIE SYKES on how he got roped into a viral debate about rapper Nicki Minaj's cousin's friend's swollen testes. (Seriously.)
THE TRIAD: Welcome to "Stop the Steal," Forever 🔓
JVL on why No True Republican loses an election.
ATMA: Oscar Isaac's Best Roles 🔐
On this special bonus episode, Sonny, Alyssa, and Peter celebrate Oscar Isaac’s great week—he’s in theaters with The Card Counter and on HBO Max with Scenes from a Marriage—by highlighting some of our favorite Oscar Isaac performances.
From The Bulwark Aggregator…
Capitol Police Inquiry Into Jan. 6 Riot Recommends Disciplining Six Officers - Emily Cochrane, The New York Times
Finally, a Private Spaceflight With a Billionaire You’ve Never Heard Of - Marina Koren, The Atlantic
Capitol rally seeks to rewrite Jan. 6 by exalting rioters - Lisa Mascaro, AP
Taliban ‘Conundrum’ Is Forcing Strange Bedfellows on Afghanistan - Marc Champion, Eric Martin, and Anthony Halpin, Bloomberg Businessweek
George W. Bush reminds us that Republicans once believed in democracy - Dana Milbank, The Washington Post
Biden vaccine mandate puts McConnell, GOP leaders in a tough spot - Alexander Bolton, The Hill
In Today’s Bulwark...
Norm Macdonald, 1959-2021
SONNY BUNCH on consummate comic’s comic.
Anti-Vax Fever: Where the Far Left Meets the Far Right
ANN LOUISE BARDACH: False claims about the COVID vaccines run rampant among adherents of alternative medicine.
Newsom Is Up Big in California. Here’s Why Pundits Got Fooled Again.
TIM MILLER: In today’s climate, motivating the base isn’t enough to win on enemy turf.
How to Protect the Public from Vaccine Objectors
DENNIS AFTERGUT AND EUGENE R. FIDELL: Striking a balance between individual rights and the overall interest in public health.
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
Happy Tuesday! Here’s what I’ve got on the jukebox for you. An incredible display at Whitby Abbey for BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend concert. (If you only have time for one song, listen to and watch this one.)
Whitby Abbey is a ruin in a seaside town of North Yorkshire. It’s surrounded by… A lot of nothingness. What they were able to pull off was really quite cool.
A Tuesday recipe. I hesitate to promote Pittsburgh, nemesis of Cleveland, but at BELT magazine, this recipe and story about the Turkey Devonshire is too good not to share.
“My life as a moderate”… Our friend from Arc Digital Berny Belvedere has this worthwhile essay on what life is like as an American moderate. I’ve never really considered myself a moderate, so I read with interest. Consider signing up for Arc, or at least their free newsletters. They’re good stuff.
A great Norm Macdonald story… From my friend Bill McMorris, who had the privilege of meeting him as a second grader.
A heartwarming story… About how a local Lebanese chain got its origin, and how their restaurants ended up feeding thousands of refugees from Afghanistan at Dulles airport. World Central Kitchen does great work, and if you’re not familiar, check them out and consider donating.
How Samuel Moyn Evades Hard Choices… A superb book review at American Purpose by our friend Gabriel Schoenfeld on Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War.
Everything is a Remix. The famed YouTube series returns.
The nightmares of being an embalmer during the era of COVID. Read if you dare.
That’s it for me for today. We’ll see you back here tomorrow. Tech support questions? Email support@substack.com. Questions for me? Drop me a line: swift@thebulwark.com
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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.