Podcast · thebulwark.com
Bulwark Takes
The Bulwark
The news cycle doesn’t slow down, and neither does The Bulwark. Bulwark Takes brings you bite-sized takes on the news of the day from the entire Bulwark team, including Tim Miller, Sarah Longwell, and Bill Kristol, and more.
138 claims
Can’t tell45% confidence6 sourcesAug 21, 2026Oil prices are rising because the president is mishandling the war in Iran.Said by ASources firmly establish that oil prices surged after the Iran war began in late February 2026 and stayed above $100 through August, but they attribute the spike to the war and the Strait of Hormuz disruption itself. Whether the president is 'mishandling' the war is an evaluative judgment that the sources discuss through commentary and analysis rather than document as a checkable fact, so the claim is unverifiable as a causal assertion about mishandling.Can’t tell50% confidence4 sourcesAug 21, 2026Both political parties in the United States are currently cutting taxes and increasing spending.Said by BThe claim departs from the passage: the post says both parties are 'eager to cut taxes more and raise spending' (a stated desire), while the claim asserts that both are currently doing so. The sources also cut against the 'both cutting taxes' part: Republicans enacted tax cuts, but Democrats are described as favoring higher taxes, and CBO shows spending rising under current law.Can’t tell50% confidence7 sourcesAug 21, 2026Political appointees in the Trump administration have gained access to confidential records at the U.S. Census Bureau.The sources show Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute (AFPI) staffers detailed to the Census Bureau with access to its data, but they describe think-tank staff rather than the 'political appointees' the claim names, so the sources do not directly establish the claim as stated. The claim also states a settled fact ('have gained access') where the post only said such operatives 'can get access' or 'help getting access', so it departs from the passage somewhat. The Wired and PIIE reports are dated after the 2026-08-21 claim date, and the 2021-2022 sources concern 2020-era pressure rather than confidential-record access.Can’t tell45% confidence5 sourcesAug 21, 2026The Trump administration deleted a data series on the number of transgender people murdered.Said by BSources document that the Trump administration removed gender identity questions and some LGBT violence-victimization data (NCVS, BJS brief, BOP inmate statistics), but none says a data series counting transgender murders was deleted. The post's own wording does refer to a deleted trans-murder series, so the extraction is faithful, but the sources describe nearby violence and victimization data rather than the murder-count series the claim names.Can’t tell30% confidence4 sourcesAug 21, 2026The Chinese Communist Party dictated official demographic data in China.Said by AThe sources establish that the CCP controls China's political system and that some analysts consider official Chinese demographic data unreliable or 'probably fake,' but none documents that the CCP or Politburo directed the content of official demographic statistics. The claimant's Politburo-dictation claim is therefore neither substantiated nor refuted by the provided sources.Can’t tell40% confidence3 sourcesAug 21, 2026There are zero boys playing in girls sports in the state of South Carolina.Said by 3DThe claim asserts an exact count of zero boys playing girls' sports in South Carolina on 2026-08-21, and no source reports any participation count for the state. South Carolina's law (Code 59-1-500) bars male students from girls' teams in public schools, which makes zero plausible, but a prohibition does not establish the count, and the sources do not address enforcement or private schools in that count.