Tim Miller describes himself as a pessimist. But “The Bulwark,” his hit political podcast, is a growing success among people searching for hope in the country’s future.

“I’ve heard a lot of people that were like, ‘I found you since the election, because I was checked out, and then I was so shocked [President Donald Trump] won … I need to pay attention,’” Miller said. 

After Trump’s win in 2016, Miller left the Republican Party that he had spent his life working in. He now calls himself, and other ex-Republicans on the anti-Trump train, “politically homeless.”

But Miller and his fellow partisan vagrants have created their own home at “The Bulwark,” a “Never Trump” media company launched in 2018.

Miller, who lives in New Orleans with his husband and child, is a lifelong politician. He was drawn to politics by the media frenzy in 2000 surrounding Elián González, a five-year-old boy who crossed the ocean with his mother to seek political refuge in the U.S. from their homeland of Cuba. On the trip, González’s mother drowned, and although he made it to the U.S. alone, federal agents seized his home a few months later, guns in hand, and forced him to return to Cuba with his father. 

“This is wrong,” a young Miller thought. “This is America, the land of freedom. We should want this kid to be here. What are we doing?” 

Miller quickly rose through the ranks of the Republican Party, working on major campaigns, including Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign against Donald Trump.

Miller is the current writer-at-large for “The Bulwark” and host of two of its podcasts: its titular one and “The Next Level.” 

“‘I listen to you for therapy,’” Miller said he has heard from some Democratic politicians who listen to “The Bulwark.” “‘I’m really going through it, it’s really hard for me. You make me laugh, and I have an hour where I can process this [expletive] awful world.’ So, they’re just like us.”

“The Bulwark” became a media sensation during the 2024 election partly due to Miller’s charismatic style, which Politico once described as “pugilistic.” One of the most viewed videos on “The Bulwark’s” YouTube channel is called “Tim Miller WRECKS MAGA Clown Dave Rubin.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being petty sometimes, and you can gain [an] audience that way, and people like to watch it, and there’s no shame in giving people something they like to watch. Am I winning anybody over by doing that?” Miller said. “No, let’s be honest.”

However, Miller does see value in dialogue across partisan lines if it is done in the right way. 

One of Miller’s examples of a bad crossover: Stephen A. Smith and Steve Bannon, a recent collaboration posted to Smith’s podcast. Miller saw commenters expressing surprise at how reasonable Bannon seemed in the interview.

“Because Steve wasn’t trying to demonstrate his crazy views, he was trying to find common ground. So all you’re doing is making racist nationalism seem more palatable,” Miller said.

Miller’s success has not just come from a few viral moments of “owning” Trump supporters, but from successfully debating them. He is encouraging Democrats to go on shows like Fox News, Theo Von’s podcast and Barstool media.

“I think that there is value in going into their bubble and seeming normal and making and presenting arguments that they might not have heard,” Miller said.

“The Bulwark” represents a new facet of popular progressive media, alongside similar outlets like Crooked Media, the company that hosts the popular podcast, “Pod Save America.”

“Democratic elected officials listen to my podcast and call me,” Miller said. “I don’t want to overstate my influence but some of them do stuff because they’re like, ‘Yeah, he made a good point, I should do that.’”

Recently, Miller has focused on the Trump administration’s imprisonment of a father and husband in Maryland, Kilmar Abrego García, in a gulag-like prison in El Salvador and their illegal refusal to let him back into the U.S.

“I think that I’ve helped encourage more Democrats to speak out on the El Salvador thing in a way that’s maybe going to make a difference. We’ll see in the coming weeks,” Miller said.  

The success of “The Bulwark” is growing. It is listed as the third-best U.S. political Substack, a top 150 podcast on Spotify and has millions of subscribers that continue to grow.

The Bulwark is also trying to use its influence to reach an audience that traditional media outlets find elusive — young people.

“How do you talk to people that are under 30? How do you find them? How do you give them real facts?” Miller said. 

“The Bulwark” has been incorporating young people into its messaging through figures such as Cameron Kasky, a survivor of the 2018 Parkland shooting who hosts a podcast alongside Miller focused on Gen-Z listeners.

“You’re really getting ‘Optimistic Tim’ out, which is unusual because [journalism] is probably the topic I’m the most optimistic about,” he said. “Giving people who do not consume media in a traditional way good information with which to base decisions off of is useful. Maybe it will help offset their desire to support fascism on some level.”

Although Miller is a self-described pessimist, he finds hope in the future political landscape.

“What we can do is try to organize and figure out what a different future could be,” he said. “If Trump could do it, why couldn’t somebody else who is not shackled by the normal political rules, but who has good intentions … emerge and start something fresh?”