The Fifth Column

The Fifth Column marks ten years with a live, loose, alcohol-assisted celebration featuring Thor Halvorssen, Pete Meijer, Olivia Reingold, Nick Gillespie, and Nancy Rommelmann, with stops along the way for Venezuela, culture war absurdity, Jewish identity, sexual politics, old stories, new grievances, and the usual refusal to keep anything on the rails. WATCH IT on Youtube: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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comOh, and Wednesday marks the 10th anniversary of this show, yes, on April Fools’. Can you fucking believe it? Join us for the only appropriate celebration, a LIVE late-night shitfest of alcohol, probable technical mishaps, and some very special guests.-Theodore Henken, plantanified yuma-Why America still can’t quit Cuba-Cuba and the full moon were made f…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* Maybe I wasn’t exactly a prince* Why nobody should want to stay in Washington too long* The worst job in politics* The ACA, “the three children,” and the birth of the Tea Party* The Great Recession and losing your ticket to the American dream* Trump didn’t invent the anger, he captured it* The no-drinking-until-the-mics-are-off rule* In the Oval Office, the choice is…

Kmele loves Apple products…maybe a little too much. But what a perfect guest to talk all things related to this monster company and how it’s shaped American culture and the globe as a whole.-The Newton saved Apple-What Kmele does with Apple products in the shower-The underdog with taste-Why Matt Welch hates Macs-On getting access to Apple-Project Titan and the $10 billion heartbreak-Apple as a medical device company-Still a Steve Jobs disciple of focus-Apple made China and China made Apple-Where there is no will, there’s a way-New locations for Apple manufacturing-On the fantasy of bringing it back to the US-Apple Intelligence, deepfakes, and doing AI the “right” way-All it takes is a Congressperson having sex with a sheep-Anthropic, cheating, and the possible jobs apocalypse-The long runwayRead Apple: The First 50 Years by David Pogue (Bookshop | Amazon)Prefer 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

This 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 …

-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

This 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…

-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

This 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…

This 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…

Hooman 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

This 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…

This 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…

This 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 …

-Matt Welch’s Caribbean identity crisis at Da Pig Beach-The State of the Union aka a two-hour hostage note-A greatest hits, lowest lights compilation for President Camacho-The futility of “speeching” your way through a math-defying approval rating-You can’t talk your way through a 38% approval rating-Let the hockey boys drink-Dan Crenshaw is allowed to be mad-The RNC’s new guard of real fucking bozos and sycophantic dick-tots-JD Vance as anti-corruption czar and populist beard for the crypto-regime-Tariffs and The Gilded Age corruption engine, now with “ballroom fund” exclusions-Drug prices are down 600%,….so do you owe me money?-Moynihan screaming drug questions at his glitching phone-Marxist Republicans and the gobbledygook of corporate housing bans-Maybe let’s just abolish the State of the Union-Dispatches from the Purple State: An interview with Senator Elissa Slotkin-Stop kicking allies in the teeth to play grab-ass with dictators-Walking out on Lindsey Graham’s Danish disdain-AI thinks Moynihan is a neo-folk neo-Nazi-Four years of war and Ukraine gets a one-sentence hand wave-Anthropic vs. Hegseth: Code is speech until the Pentagon wants a frictionless kill-switch-We tried collectivism once. Everyone starved. The end.-Gemini identifies the mystery caller as Friedrich Nietzsche, chimney sweep-About that BBC BAFTA N-Word Drama….-“You’re acting like Israel” is the ultimate Park Slope breakup trump cardPrefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel NOW.The Fifth Column (A Podcast) 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comKash chugs it back with the toothless championsTrump and his locker room talk with the boysState of the Union and the Six Year ItchA uniquely conspiratorial moment in an already conspiratorial nationPizzaGate nostalgia hourFact checking dies in publicA laundry list of made up shit that’s not even close to being trueBaby-eating melodrama meets Beetlejuic…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* Damon Root’s book Overruled: The Long War for Control of the U.S. Supreme Court * Basic civics, reintroduced* Root’s mood in five words* What becomes of this useless Congress?* Why not 9–0? Root on the three dissenters * The “major questions doctrine” translated* Profiles in inconsistenty* Doesn’t matter! Trump will “destroy your country” either way!* The hangover* Gorsu…

-The dork Star Wars cantina of famous biographers-Jefferson’s hypocrisy and the impossibility of paragon standards-Lincoln was not an abolitionist-The Howard Zinnification of American history-Ambiguity as the ideological propagandist’s mortal enemy-The true (New Testament) saint of America-George H.W. Bush’s blunt admission-This president would cut your throat for a vote, then be the first to call 911-Exhaustion as a strategy, and the establishment’s failure to meet the moment-Autocratic narcissism and the turn toward political sadism-Despair is a sin-Political loss as seasonal, not existential-What will the next side do with inherited expanded executive power?-14th Amendment redemption clauses as high-level nerd porn-Amusing ourselves to death in a visual-media politics-Katie Britt’s private doubt, and the ecosystem that manufactured it-Lincoln couldn’t write a bad sentence; Reagan could land the linePrefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 12PM EST.Buy Jon Meacham’s anthology, American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union (Bookshop | Amazon)Thanks for reading/watching 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 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com-Please say hello to our new Sunset Park neighbor-The American Chávez -The Nobel Prize Grudge-The Dictatorship That Remained-Political Pilgrims and Failed Experiments-Maria the Maid and the, “Gay Marriage Lady” slur-A Masterclass in Macro-Failure-The Media Pioneer-The Illusion of Democracy-Economic Voodoo-The “Police” StrategyGet William’s book, Things …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comFor Christmas 2024, I was gifted Robert Sullivan’s delightful My American Revolution: A Modern Expedition Through History’s Forgotten Battlegrounds. I devoured it within 24 hours. It is no exaggeration to say that the book is responsible as anything else for this little Semiquincetennial miniseries you are (hopefully!) enjoying.As you will hear in this …