Podcast
The Fifth Column (private feed for bitterone31droid@googlemail.com)
Hosted by Kmele Foster, Michael Moynihan, and Matt Welch · EN
Your weekly rhetorical assault on the on the news cycle, the people who make it, and occasionally ourselves. Kmele Foster (Freethink), Michael Moynihan (Vice), and Matt Welch (Reason) talk and laugh and drink their way to at least quasi-sanity in a world gone mad, often with the aid of clean and articulate guests. Weekly Members Only subscription edition often comes with listener mail and professional-quality (if inappropriate) singing. Analysis. Commentary. Sedition.
www.wethefifth.com
www.wethefifth.com
26episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Matt Yglesias on Cancellation, Mamdani, and the AI Panic (Members Only #321)
4d ago01:26:50Tap to summarizeMatthew Yglesias is a liberal policy writer and longtime blogger. He co-founded Vox, now writes the Slow Boring newsletter, and is known for wonky-but-readable takes on housing, economics, Democratic politics, foreign policy, and the abundance agenda.-Matty finally makes it through the firewall-What type of gay is Kmele?-Yglesias says Welch gave him his career-Substack’s right-wi… Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.
Transcribe →
The Youngest Guy in the Worst Room in America w/ Rep. Maxwell Frost (Episode #558)
6d ago01:03:17Tap to summarizeWe talk about broken housing markets, broken healthcare, broken Congress, Trump’s corruption, a broken Cuba, Epstein, UAPs, and the tragedy of being a drummer with no place to practice.-Making music is for rich kids now-From jazz drummer to Hillary field organizer-Sandy Hook, March for Our Lives, and the road into politics-Florida’s felon disenfranchisement fight-Guns, swamps, Confederate flags, and talking to people who don’t like you-Florida’s politics are red… its ballot issues are a lot messier.-Gaining political power is easy. Keeping it is the hard part.-The case for going big, whether Congress likes it or not-Housing abundance, rent hikes, and the great pet-fee wars-Donald Trump’s extremely lucrative career in public service-Biden’s DOJ, Brazil’s crackdown, and the problem with accountability theater-Political violence, Trump’s rhetoric, and blaming the victim-UAPs, Epstein files, and the bipartisan hunt for weird stuff-Cuba, war powers, and why Frost doesn’t want another Venezuela-style adventurePrefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 12PM EST.Thanks for reading The Fifth Column (A Podcast)! This post is public so feel free to share it.Follow The Fifth ColumnYouTube: @wethefifthInstagram: @we.the.fifthX: @wethefifthTikTok: @wethefifthFacebook: @thefifthcolumn. Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.
Transcribe →
When Everyone Stops Pretending w/ Steven Pinker (Episode #557)
2w ago01:41:03Tap to summarize- Steven Pinker on why “common knowledge” is much stranger than it sounds-The social machinery behind weddings, money, and power-How a norm starts to die once someone breaks it and gets rewarded-Trump as the great destroyer of polite restraints-The institutions that lost the authority to enforce trust-How new taboos appear without anyone admitting who created them-T… Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.
Transcribe →
Robert D. Kaplan on a World Getting Darker (Members Only #320)
2w ago01:08:58Tap to summarizeHis next book, China Whisperers (out in November), looks at the diplomats, journalists, scholars, and China hands who shaped America’s understanding, and misunderstanding, of its chief geopolitical rival. But we pretty much cover the entire globe in this conversation.-The experts had it coming-Federalists, anti-federalists, and America’s oldest argument… Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.
Transcribe →
Masquerade of Morons (Episode #556)
3w ago01:19:32Tap to summarize-Kmele gets glasses-The return of Soho legs-Matt’s movie-theater race science-Trump sends a letter to Congress saying the war is over, Iran says, “wtf?”-Little Marco, Fog of War correspondent-A very leaky White House-Strange new respect for the anti-war MAGA set-Little Marco puts the best face on Iran-Welch discovers gas prices-The affordability caucus … Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.
Transcribe →
Premeditated Fingering w/ Anthony Scaramucci (Members Only #319)
3w ago01:39:28Tap to summarizeWe’re joined by Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital, former White House Communications Director, and one of the more memorable casualties of Trump 1.0-The Mooch reads the stars-The truth is out there, allegedly-954,000 seconds in the White House-The Ryan Lizza thing, briefly-the reason God made Steve Bannon look like this-Why Bannon scared … Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.
Transcribe →
David French on the Supreme Court, Race, and the Miracle That Confirmed His Faith #555
4w ago01:46:16Tap to summarize…and how raising a black daughter changed the way he sees America.-David French returns to the Fifth Column-SCOTUS drops of a few ruling-Free speech wins 9-0 (First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Davenport)-The Voting Rights Act gets another trim (Louisiana v. Callais)-Racial gerrymanders vs. political gerrymanders-Smart racists, dumb racists, and … Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.
Transcribe →
Crimes of Boredom (Members Only #318)
4w ago01:17:46Tap to summarizeAfter the failed shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the boys sift through bad manifestos, assassination discourse, microlooting, conspiracy politics, and the strange moral permissions of America’s bored radicals.-Matt’s 15-year Werner Herzog hangover workshop-judging the newest failed killer manifesto-America’s stupidest assassination d… Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.
Transcribe →
Tucker, Totenkopf, and the Fascist Question w/ Michelle Goldberg #554
Apr 2301:20:37Tap to summarize-have we met before, or did we just share a zip code?-Iran is a disaster from basically every possible angle-you don’t go to war with this president-maybe just crawl back to a worse JCPOA and call it historic-Venezuela “worked,” which is exactly why it made the next disaster easier-take the oil, burn the soft power, call it realism-Europe gets lectured,… Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.
Transcribe →
Live From Village Underground: The 10th Anniversary Show w/Ryan Long (Members Only #317)
Apr 2201:26:23Tap to summarizeComedian Ryan Long stops by to join the guys at their very special 10th year anniversary. A few live mics, a non-stop flow of mystery drinks, and audience participation: what could go wrong? -10 years later, the grievance ledger is still very much active-Brett Weinstein cannot think his way back from the moon-Andrew Schulz proves the real mistake was le… Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.
Transcribe →