Podcast
The Fifth Column
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
83episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Hungarian Road to Havana (Members Only #310)
Mar 2400:25:56Tap to summarizeThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com-Celine Dion, slightly less stiff-Every headline out of Hungary is insane-The Orbán character arc-The Polish miracle-Conservative 2Pac in the Borat republic-Cuba is falling apart, Hasan Piker is thriving-Cuba’s healthcare miracle, minus aspirin-Why pseudo-intellectuals love communist field trips-The pig whose vocal cords had to go-Trump’s zigzagging is …
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There’s Always a New Monster to Destroy (w/ Noam Dworman) #549
Mar 1901:43:50Tap to summarize-Joe Kent’s weird texts and the “Israel did Iraq” brainworm-The Jews are so fucking clever-Iraq 2003, back from the dead yet again-There’s always a new monster to destroy-Iran, nukes, and the problem with crazy people holding civilization hostage-A Ron Paul guy with a war boner-Don’t you realize you’re losing America?-Norman Finkelstein has no phone-Mearsheimering, Robert Pape, and the incentives to go full crank-Megyn Kelly, the anti-Israel turn, and the warm bath of total nuttiness-Mark Levin’s penis size enters the chat-Louis CK and a Michael Barbaro hit job-the origin of Tough CrowdPrefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 12PM EST.After 10 years, we’ve finally found a sponsor we actually like. Ground News pulls coverage of the same story into one place so you can compare headlines across sources and see how framing changes depending on the outlet.Subscribe for 40% off our Vantage plan using our unique link https://groundnews.com/fifthThe Fifth Column (A Podcast) is a reader/viewer supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Follow The Fifth ColumnYouTube: @wethefifthInstagram: @we.the.fifthX: @wethefifthTikTok: @wethefifthFacebook: @thefifthcolumn This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe
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Cuba in the Dark (Members Only #309)
Mar 1700:19:07Tap to summarizeThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com-Gov. Chris Christie debrief-Kmele nearly dies after seeing the new hidden painting on set-K-Pop Nazi Hunters and Sinners-Joy Reid says America is basically Iran now-Straight from The Communist-Lights out in Cuba-The Gains of the Cuban Revolution-”I got my job from the New York Times”-The old broken Cuban system finally starts to crack-Hasan Piker talks…
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Gov. Chris Christie Tells on Everyone #548
Mar 1202:01:50Tap to summarize-Gov. Chris Christie says Kmele has no excuse-Getting drunk with Colbert-No drugs, ever-RFK Jr.’s drug use-The only things Trump believes in-something is a little off about John Kasich-Olivia Nuzzi is a Freak, Crumb Cake edition-Michael Barbaro tried to take the Gov down with food-Bon Jovi, Bruce, and New Jersey loyalty tests-The Little Marco Florsheim Fib-The ultimate Kushner lore, aka The Prostitute, the Motel, and the Alarm Clock-Profiles in cowardice, Republican edition-The biggest threat to Democracy according to Chris Christie-The case for letting Republicans lose badly-Why Democrats keep blowing it-Debate prep with Trump and being with him when the Access Hollywood tape dropped-This is what Hillary should have said -Chris Christie insists Bruce Springsteen likes him now-That Obama Sandy cold embrace-Bill Clinton will hold your hand, stroke your wife’s elbow, and you’ll fucking like it-W, Barbara, and elite family-level savageryPrefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 12PM EST.The Fifth Column (A Podcast) is a reader & viewer supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Follow The Fifth ColumnYouTube: @wethefifthInstagram: @we.the.fifthX: @wethefifthTikTok: @wethefifthFacebook: @thefifthcolumn This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe
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A Brief Defense of the Vampires w/ Lloyd Blankfein (Members Only #308)
Mar 1100:17:13Tap to summarizeThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comHe also weighs in on populism, inequality, private credit, and why a country can be prosperous on paper while still feeling bleak to the people living in it.-“Blankfein hates minorities”-the economy is strong, unless you don’t own anything-get a grip, it’s not 1968-semi-charmed kind of life-from Russia to China, the cycles come fast-where are the Hayeki…
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Many Worlds, Bad Science, and the Strangeness of Being w/Sean Carroll (Members Only #307)
Mar 900:21:11Tap to summarizeThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comFrom the multiverse to time travel to bad studies and internet “experts,” and then all the way to metaphysics and belief, Sean Carroll explains why modern life makes everyone sound so sure about things they barely understand.-Moynihan is genuinely unnerved by space-a theoretical physicist’s favorite music is prog rock, which seems about right-what a physicist reads…
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Iran and the Fog of Regime Change (w/Hooman Majd) - #547
Mar 501:31:18Tap to summarizeHooman Majd comes from a family that reads like a parable about modern Iran: a grandfather who was an ayatollah, an uncle who worked for the Shah, and a folk-singing aunt. Everyone’s family has a version of this, right?-Iran is a tragedy-the sense of triumph has already faded-is Hooman happy the Supreme Leader was killed?-Trump’s motive: regime change, or only regime adjustment?-a ring of fire around Israel-hijab mandates, strict social rules, and the morality police using facial recognition-did the 1979 Islamic Revolution fail on its own terms?-MEK is a cult-is there room for a homegrown anti-regime revolution, or does war smother it?-who ends up in the IRGC?-the girls’ school bombing, and the propaganda machine-internet shutdowns, VPN life, and tweeting through a war-if you want to be an authoritarian, you cannot tolerate a free press-how to consume war info without getting played-outlets reporting on the new Ayatollah-sanctions: efficacy, blowback, and who they actually punish-Can Iran function like a normal state, and can it have workable relations with Israel?-Oct. 7 and Iran’s role-concerns about civil war-the mullah stereotype-“translating” for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad-death threats, anonymous phone calls, and “don’t ever come back”-defending against charges of being a regime apologistBuy Minister Without Portfolio: Memoir of a Reluctant Exile (Bookshop | Amazon)Prefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 12PM EST.The Fifth Column is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Follow The Fifth ColumnYouTube: @wethefifthInstagram: @we.the.fifthX: @wethefifthTikTok: @wethefifthFacebook: @thefifthcolumn This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe
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Iran and the Dee Snider Doctrine (Members Only #306)
Mar 300:23:02Tap to summarizeThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com-Matt takes off his glasses, Kmele panics-Moynihan is furious we started a war during his aggressive vomiting window-The Great Unwrapping of Liberated Iranian Women as the most convincing reason for war-Marco Rubio sells the rationale in Möbius-strip logic-the Dee Snider Doctrine-The Death of the War Powers Resolution-Is Rep. Anna Paulina Luna serious r…
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One Hitter: War With Iran and Jewish Space Lasers w/ Nadav Eyal (Members Only #305)
Mar 200:23:56Tap to summarizeThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comJournalist Nadav Eyal joins Welch and Moyniahn to game out the Iran strikes, why Gaza’s endgame is still murky, and why the “no boots on the ground” promise matters more than most hot takes admit. -Zen and the Art of Strategic Surprise-Everyone who’s anyone in the region knew this was going to happen.-Why the US was convinced this was a good idea-Death to America…
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The Revolutionaries (w/ Ken Layne) -- #5
Feb 2700:28:01Tap to summarizeThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comI first met Ken Layne sometime in 1991, back when Vanilla Ice ruled the pop charts, the Soviet Union was still a thing, and Canadians still had a reasonable expectation of winning the Stanley Cup.We have been collaborating and experimenting ever since -- a little newspapering here, some music there, various dot-com shenanigans, all of it in a spirit of …
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