The Fifth Column

-John Bolton, Olympic Curling Hawk-Arguing with the 60s Since 1970-I’m kind of a Libertarian (Minus the Defense Part)-Iraq was actually kind of perfect-Federalist Papers as Foreign Aid (or maybe porn would suffice)-The Arab Spring Brain-Break-Afghanistan is Not Exactly a Nation-Regime Change, Case-by-Case-The Forward Defense of New Jersey-Ukraine and the Gray Zone Trap-The Nuclear Press Release-Tucker Carlson wants you to be scared of this man-Trump’s Real Estate Foreign Policy-The Face of the Regime in Venezuela-The President’s Retribution…. and how worried should the Ambassador be right now?-Who Will Take Him Down First?-Tulsi Gabbard’s Intelligence Clown ShowPrefer 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-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-The Invertebrate Caucus-The New Tax Party-Ruby Ridge and Waco Redux-The Last Man Standing-The Crypto Appearance Problem-Government as a Mob Vig-The Fairness Trap-The Colombia Save, or how Rand prevented a military escalation by sending a quick text message to the President.-Epstein Transparency Collateral-Is Trump still “the best president of his lifet…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comA deeply serious and important conversation over some listener-provided Scotch about the Super Bowl halftime show(s), the death of ad copywriting, dunking in the WNBA, pond skating, and the other Moynihan Report.•Oh good, Kmele started drinking early•About that game…•The horrible stereotypes in that halftime show•He bangs•The Canadian caravan•Malfunctio…

John Avlon stops by only to learn he’s also in the Epstein files, why the Daily Beast should’ve sold dick pills, and why we need to rebuild guardrails on what some call “stolen land”* Where John is surprised to learn he’s in the Epstein files and suddenly remembers he has plans not to be here* The Ceaușescu of Long Beach * Moynihan actually voted for this guy!* Georgia, the FBI, and the Trump 2.0 purity test industrial complex* Asking for a friend who keeps wondering, “are US elections legit?”* This is not a libertarian podcast * The original sin is hyperpolarization * Tucker at CPAC, the heretic hunters, and the sound of the crowd turning* Give the left/right base what it wants and watch your incentives rot* We should have sold dick pills at The Daily Beast and funded a small country* The hell with the guardrails, we want our conspiracies god dammit!* Oral culture wins, written culture loses, and the Washington Post dims the lights* How can we do this podcast “on stolen land?”* What happened to Rudy Giuliani?* The Traveling Wilburys of Government* Asymmetric polarization and why the crazies are not equally distributedGet John’s latest book, Lincoln and the Fight For Peace (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 (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.com• Moynihan and Welch are in the Epstein files• A very indiscriminate and humiliating dump• Bannon & Epstein• Black boxes over kids, and the express train to Satanic Panic• Embarrassment is no reason• Moynihan’s Melania Review• Billie Jean is not my brother, but Jimmy Carter is my mother• That’s an awfully small ring to kiss for such a wealthy man• Move …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comWhat if you’re just … born wrong? (No, I don’t mean the darling little girl to the right.)You may know Bill Schulz through his years toiling as Greg Gutfeld’s “repulsive sidekick” on ye olde Fox News late-nite WTF show Red Eye (on which all of your co-hosts, and several of our guests, got some valuable reps back in the day). You may know Bill through hi…

-The NYC Rolling Hobo Express-An Enthusiastic Armada Full of Speed and Violence-Iranian Death Toll Discourse and Roger Waters Still Sucks-The Donroe Doctrine and the Near Abroad Dodge-Everyone’s Favorite Powder Keg-A Norwegian, A Rat Bag, and a Lunatic-A disgusting thing to say-Noem’s Bellebolent Hypotheticals-Stephen Miller’s Basement Lotions and the Little Rogaine Carpet-Fingerers, Reach-Arounds, and Reaganite as a Slur-Anne Cool-ter-Fuck You Jonathan-Mehmet Oz, P.I.-Ye’s apology ad and the uncanny valley of writing-One from the MailbagPrefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifthdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 12PM EST.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.com-A huge TACO Tuesday-Survival of the Spineless-Low-level insurgency infrastructure-Astroturf panic and the suspicious run to Walgreens-The problem with punching Nazis-Walz and Trump finally talk-Fuck you, Ted-The Great American Slur Revival-Short king Bovino and the self-inflicted smoke bomb-Democracy Dies in Payroll-World’s Biggest Russophobe Longs for…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comOne topic in the news. One quick podcast on that single topic (rather than just texting each other about how certain media figures are vulgar, stupid, and morally depraved). Welcome back to the Fifth Column One Hitter! In the hours after ICE shot and killed Alex Pretti, we gathered at the studio to sit down with Peter Moskos: former police officer, current John Jay…

•Don Does Davos•I Would Do Anything for Greenland (But I Won’t Do That)•Even MAGA Thought the Norway Text Was Fake News•The Danes’ Historical Resistance to Fascism•A Lament for the Belgian Congo•Cutting a Greenland Cake, and the Epidemic of Stupidity•Who the Fuck Is “We”?•Congress Could Do Something That Isn’t Impeachment•Shame Doesn’t Work•Past the Point of Passivity•Punching a Transtifa Baby•Macron and Those Beautiful Sunglasses•Carney Invokes Václav Havel: Rupture, Not Transition•Middle Powers, Beta Powers•Soleimani in Iceland•China Is Asshole•The Man Is Fucking Old and Loves His Prizes•Breaking: Strange Victory, Strange Defeat•Letter Bag: Minneapolis•Get Out of the Fucking Churches•The Abbott & Costello Theory of GovernmentPrefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifthdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 8PM EST.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.comChuck Klosterman’s new book, Football is out now! (See also The Nineties, and Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs)-The music-doc cinematic universe, featuring Billy Joel and Japanese Jimmy Page-Moynihan missed the Morrissey cover-band boat-How to actually say Klosterman-From pop culture to America’s most popular TV show-It had to be football: the one exception …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comTwo hundred and fifty years ago this very day, a gallant-strolling cat named George Washington convened in Cambridge about as high a level Patriot meeting as you could muster: John Adams, two major generals, five brigadier generals, and arguably the most connected man among the Boston rebels, Joseph Warren. There, the commander in chief persuaded his Wa…

-Good Movies We’ve Never Seen-Raw Dog Minerals-Moynihan Responds to a Cunty Troll-The Reckoning We Didn’t Have-Renee Good, a Week Removed-These People Have No Constitutional Knowledge-The MST3K of ICE Videos-The Sanctuary City Devaluation-Iranian Violence Spectacle and thoroughly verifying the dead-Weaponized DOJ: Now Featuring Powell and a Reporter Raid-The Walter Cronkite of This Generation-Low-Bar JournalismPrefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifthdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 12PM EST.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-Who Remembers the Armenians? (The Fresno ones)-The One Good Decision Gavin Newsom has made-Who Remembers Amy Cooper? (The Central Park one)-When Facts Become Partisan Coded-Journalism vs. Activism-Matt Welch Is Buffy St. Marie-Broken LA Dreams-The Actual Way to Pronounce Cenk Uygur-ICE’s Shock and Awe Theater is no longer an act-The Pendulum on Immigra…

We’re joined by Josh Barro, contributing opinion writer at The New York Times and host of the Very Serious and Central Air Substack-Feldstein, Leibowitz, Berkowitz, and White Nationalist Moynihan-The Nancy Pelosi Riot, 5 years later-An ICE shooting in Minneapolis-Morally disgusting and electorally advantageous-Marco Rubio’s Spine Transplant-Memory-Holing Anarchy-The Warmth of Collectivism-Rent Control Suicide-Affordability In Davos-The NY John Lindsay Pretty Boy Republican Problem-Greenland Extortion-Maduro Snatch and Grab-Black Elliott Abrams-Are straight people okay?Prefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifthdom? 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 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•Belated Christmas gifts from Matt•Who’s got the biggest war boner?•Lysander Spooner, still bringing people together after all these years•Kevin’s had four kids in 19 months. You do the math.•How to tell the kids apart? Tattoo ‘em!•Build, Baby, Build•Romney the virile tribal chieftain•Trump’s faux presidential run•Venezuela and the subtle differences be…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comOne topic in the news. One quick podcast on that single topic (rather than just texting each other about how certain media figures are vulgar, stupid, and morally depraved). Welcome back to the Fifth Column One Hitter! This time Matt and Moyn are joined by Human Rights Foundation founder—and Venezuelan dissident, despite the Norwegian name—Thor Halvorss…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comIntroducing The Revolutionaries, a new Fifth Column miniseries for the SemiquincentennialExactly 250 years ago yesterday, George Washington’s Continental Army attempted to drive the redcoats out of Canada, thereby protecting the rebels’ northern flank, by launching a two-pronged assault on Quebec.It was a disaster.There was snow and ice everywhere (who knew that Canada might be cold on New Year’s Eve?), Major General Richard Montgomery was shot and killed, second in command Benedict Arnold (yeah, that one) was injured, 30-50 more Americans died, around 400 were taken prisoner; just a total fiasco. The Hudson River, valley, and related north-south waterworks all the way up to Montreal would, instead of staying firmly in Yankee control, prove to be a heavily contested corridor until literally the last day of the Revolutionary War.All of which to say is, EVERY day is a Semiquincentennial day in the year of our Lord 2026, and I am absolutely here for learning and sharing weird & wonderful things about our 250th.To that end, I’m delighted to introduce a new miniseries-within-the-pod, called The Revolutionaries, in which I’ll be yakking with historians, podcasters, and other oddballs to tell us some crazy, misunderstood, and lesser-known stories about our awesome if not exactly crystal-pure revolutionary past. The idea is not only to learn new (and fun!) history, but also pick away a bit at the historiography – why some important characters and stories get forgotten; and how even the hagiographic celebrations of various Founders flatten the far more captivating and complicating detail.What better historian to kick us off than none other than Charles C. Mann, author of the groundbreaking books 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, and 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created? Mann walks us through a fascinating revolutionary precursor: The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, in which early Americans, through coordinated violence, shook off the misrule of European imperialists.Special shout-out to Arch Stanton for the fab animated intro, and Fleetwood Hack auteur Eli Lake for the theme song. Enjoy!* Woulda been awkward if Charles had played for the Redskins* How science changes history* Man vs. the Amazon* Massive urbanism under the canopy* The myth of pristine wilderness* “we’re like beavers”* Sometimes called “the first American Revolution”* “huge impact in the history of the United States as a whole, because it’s the reason we have California”* “Pueblo” = catch-all; they spoke different languages* “Jeffersonian, independent villages…very democratic”* “to become a member of the council, they sit you in a chair in the center of the village, and everybody makes fun of you and pelts you with garbage”* Chaco Canyon abandonment = No Kings* “very leery of centralized authority, so much so that the Spaniards find them hard to deal with, because they don’t have like a governor or a king, and they’re constantly complaining.”* Spaniards didn’t even call themselves Spaniards, BTW* Silver and gold, because small cargo-holds* “Spain becomes fantastically wealthy. They spend it all on wars and Dutch bankers”* Whoops, no silver and gold in New Mexico* Juan de Oñate = Juan de jerk* “The Franciscans are obliged to convert people by enslaving them to build churches so that they can be converted in the churches….And weirdly, the Pueblo don’t like it.”* Spaniards: much bigger New World bastards than the English* “they got off on the wrong foot”? Too soon, Charles* Don’t mess with Po’pay* The knotted-rope code* A simultaneous revolt against 32 missions!* 2 days, 400 dead Spaniards* How Po’pay was NOT like Washington* 12 years a non-Spaniard* Autonomy even after the Reconquista* Thank the Pueblo that Spain never found gold and silver in Cali & Nevada* Cool history happens when tribes produce archaeologists* The West is the best* American ethnic cleansing* The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow’s World, by Charles C. Mann* Revolution Song: A Story of American Freedom, by Russell Shorto* Cadillac Desert: The American West and its Disappearing Water, by Marc Reisner* Rivers of Empire: Water, Aridity, and the Growth of the American West, by Donald WorsterIntro sequence by the one and only Arch Stanton!Outro music (audio podcast only) by the great Eli Lake!

-Eggnog: What’s Actually in This Shit?-Massachusetts Pidgin-Kmele’s Kwanzaa Plans-“What We Got Wrong” (Nothing)-Eddington vs. Sinners-Spending Hundreds of Dollars to Get Drunk at Zootopia 2-Pearl Harbor: Live at Budokan-Moynihan Stroke Watch-The Ryan Lizza Self-Emasculating Saga… Continued-Mediaite’s Biggest Losers List-Batya! Recap (Now in Animation!)-Was Moynihan Wrong About the Epstein Files?-Far-Right Post-Pinochet Pragmatist-Why Aren’t We Drinking Whiskey?-Donald Takes It to 11-The 2020 Madness Hangover-Halle Berry vs. Gavin Newsom (Real, or Kmele Fanfiction?)-Nixon Recaps All in the Family-Thomas Massie, Thinking Man’s MTG-Trump’s Most Surprising Second-Term Win-Putin Does Coercive Dictatorship Really Well-Happy New Year, You DegeneratesPrefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifthdom? 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.comTwas the episode before Christmas, and all through the show, The hosts were debating how the political winds blow. Matt Welch was present, the whole crew was there, With Moynihan and Kmele, live on the air.The guest was John Fugelsang, with a name meaning “Birdsong,” Who’d been banished to Cali to write for so long. With a book about “Hate” and the “Flock-Fleecing Fr…

We’re joined by Tina Nguyen, Senior Reporter at The Verge, covering “Big Tech vs. Big Government death matches.” ⁃ All I want for Christmas is Wendy Williams-branded booze ⁃ Someone is a bit cracked out… ⁃ Big tech versus big government ⁃ (David) Sacks of cash ⁃ Susie goes wilding ⁃ The swamp is a viper pit ⁃ Hate the media. Need the media ⁃ A non-denial denial of a non-denial denial ⁃ MAGA’s son and heir ⁃ He has a thrill running up his leg ⁃ The Bezos bust ⁃ Trump crashes through the normie barrier ⁃ Seth Rogan and the Orwell abomination ⁃ The body snatchers are back! ⁃ That said….this will be the greatest documentary since Hoop DreamsPrefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifthdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 12PM EST.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* RIP Rob Reiner* Sorry about the horrific murders but…Go Bills!?* It was a great American who created Spinal Tap* Reaction from conservative pundits vs. conservative politicians* Trump’s derangement syndrome* And he doubles down…* The Islamist attack in Australia* Assimilation and integration: Europe vs. America* We’re just better at it* They’re going to speak English and…

Dan Abrams is the CEO and Founder of Abrams Media Chief Legal Analyst for ABC News, host of On Patrol: Live on Reelz, host of SiriusXM radio’s “The Dan Abrams Show,” host and executive producer of “Court Cam” on A&E Network.He is also the author of numerous New York Times bestselling books about forgotten trials in history and is also the founder of Mediaite.* In defense of legacy media. Sort of.* Hating journalists while feeding journalists* From “terror TV” to ❤️Qatar❤️* Just Jared* The King of Korruption* The legacy of lawfare* Alvin Bragg: Trump’s best friend* Prosecuting Hitler, Chavez, and Trump* The Inspectors General Massacre* Kash’s lady jacket* Post-Kavanaugh radicalization* Rogan optimism* Did Dan help destroy American civility??* Is Alan Keyes making sense?* From gossip cops to actual cops...* Does Dan produce “cop-aganda”??* No, but Dan likes copsPrefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifthdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 10am EST.The Fifth Column (A Podcast) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my 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.comMichael Moynihan sits down with entrepreneur, actor, and bon vivant Kevin O’Leary to talk about politics, money, and being an asshole.* The economics of...hockey? (He’s Canadian. It makes sense)* Mr Wonderful vs. Idiot King* Pierre misses the open net* Swiss watches and Swiss gold* Sell the damn chips to China!* The importance of the Hill staffer* Kevin just made thi…

It’s been a bit since it was just Michael, Kmele, and Matt at the table so we’ve decided to unlock this Members Only episode and invite everyone in. For (literally) hundreds more Members Only episodes, become a paying subscriber.•Heliocentric anime•50 Cent, documentarian•Boycott Black Murder•Glenn Beck is doing it for the kids•John Stossel walks into a bodega•And now, a few words from the father of our country•American Revolution hot takes•That New York Times border crisis story•Kamala Harris was not the border czar•NIMBY•When Kmele gets homeless•Rosemont Illinois will not forget Tara Reid•LSD margaritas•The Pentagon press corps•Exploding boats•Geographically constrained neoconservatism•Matthew Yglesias is right•Previewing Moynihan’s 1-on-1 with Kevin O’Leary•Holding out hopePrefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifthdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 10am EST.This episode is unlocked, but paying subscribers get them ALL.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

We’re joined by Brace Belden, co-host of the TrueAnon podcast. •They don’t make heroin anymore•The Taco Bell connection•King of the libertarians•Kmele almost dies•You say Somali, I say Somalian, let’s call the whole thing off•The people cut out of the Minnesota Somali fraud story•Does Ben Shapiro think we’re white?•A Maoist small businessman•Certain liberties•Curtis Yarvin discovers YouTube•Yarvin = Slavoj Žižek of the right? •Libertarian Escape (the Piña Colada Song)•The cathedral•Brace, Citarella, and the new intellectual left•Mamdani “is fully a Democrat”•Nationalize Mr. Fruit•Body count•War is a force that gives us meaning•Call of Duty: Median Soldier•Brace is on the DHS shit list•Kmele spent more time at Occupy than Brace did•In China, the trains run on time•The DSA clappers•Don’t let’s start on Venezuela•Wistful for Colin Powell•Where are the drugs!?•The Grifters•The neoneocons•Thumbing the scale•Jeffrey Epstein, quintessential striver•The Chomsky connectionPrefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifthdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 10am 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 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

Periodically around these parts the audience demand for unpaywalling certain subscribers-only episodes becomes too clamorous to ignore. So it was with Members Only #286, our gripping conversation with celebrated author Sebastian Junger about his harrowing new book, In My Time of Dying.“Please consider making this a non-members only episode,” wrote beloved subscriber James G. “Ditto,” seconded Daniel Cavelli. “I wanna send this to many people.” Similar beseechings from random_academic, Jake O’Finkelstein, [Dr.] Jeff Singer, Lara Merkel Ross, and Oren, who added: “I have a friend who barely survived a massive heart attack last month. And I can think of many others who will be inspired by this incredible conversation.”To our longtime paying customers: We hear you! Please share the episode widely, either as a one-off or a come-on!To our many brand new paying subscribers, brought here by a generous gift, welcome to this weird & wonderful community, and please enjoy full run of the Comments and Chat. And to those seeing/hearing us for the first time, or just flying in the very back of the plane, here is the type of content that can come with a paid subscription. As our dear old D.C. pal Maura Flynn put it, “You make my support increasingly worthwhile and I encourage everyone who can to contribute on the highest possible level. Great stuff, rock on!”You know what to do.•You can always start drinking again•Enough to make ⅔ of these grown men cry•Sebastian’s (most recent) near-death experience•Danger in, insight out•Momento Mori•There’s nothing so dangerous as a wounded Apache•Don’t have an aortic rupture in Truro in July•ICU humor•Hi dad•An existential digression•Better than the one with Will Farrel•Ideological Duolingo•Hot tip from an immigration officer•Old-time antisemitism•Bestselling author sleeps with chainsaw•Sarajevo & the Spanish Civil War•Men’s Journal and the good old days of war reporting•The folly of Afghanistan and nation-building on the cheap•Some things are sacred•Investigating near death experiences•Don’t test Santa Claus•Etymology of a curse•Atheists, physicists, and consciousness•God of the gaps•Yes, we are literally talking about quantum physics•The science of myth•The reason for the need the idea of heaven•Restrepo•Why we all need a tribe•Things were better when they were bad•If you’re not sufficiently terrified, you’re not getting it.•A tribute to dangerous jobs•Making meaning in a meaningless universe•A Bostonian goodbyeYouTube link: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

Andy Mills joins to discuss his new Longview podcast, The Last InventionThe last invention is…a new speciesHumanity’s coming “hinge moment”Doomers v. Accelerationists v. ScoutsWe are the antsWhen Elon warned ObamaA digital God in a silicon boxHave AI’s creators created something they don’t understand?BubblesWas DOGE a backdoor to replacing government with AI?We’re all going to die!!!!The populist fight against AIAnd the populist embrace of AISpike Jonze: AI prophetMoynihan rewatches Good Will Hunting....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.comYou asked for it, you got it! A session with just Matt, Michael, and Kmele… plus 200 of their closest friends. It’s The Fifth Column recorded LIVE in Burbank (just like Fleetwood Mac) on Sunday, November 23, 2025. Want early access to the next live show (and full access to this episode)? It’s easy: become a paid subscriber!•The Klonopin Diaries•Cover Ma…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comCheck out Jason Leopold’s FOIA Files newsletter, and the new Disclosure podcast•Steve Albini never had to deal with California fires•Like a baby monitor, but for records•This is a Fugazi t-shirt•The trouble with true Norwegian black metal•All hail Metal Mike•Jason Leopold, FOIA terrorist•There’s always work at the post office•CIA man•New York financier …

• Not safe at home, mayoral edition• “The guns were decades old”• The Trump/Mamdani bromance• The administration’s historic post-fire response• “You’re walking down the street, you happen to look Latino, or somebody hears you speak Spanish. A car rushes up in front of you. Masked men jump out with rifles and throw you in the car”• What does “sanctuary city” actually mean?• Like, no really, what does it mean?• “You know, that’s a good question”• “There’s a number of people who have literally disappeared”• ICE effect on restaurants: Worse than COVID* Trump effect on border: Closed• “The Future of the Democratic Party Is Local”• You lost me at L.A. being governed worth a damn• Fire rebuilding? “I understand that people are angry”• Me, 10 years ago: “Affordable-Housing Problem Lies, in Part, with Government”• “The insurance industry … has been devastating a lot of homeowners”• The heavily regulated insurance industry, you mean?• “The Case for Letting Malibu Burn”• Why prevent Palisades homeowners from rebuilding duplexes?• “Don’t take your lot and turn it into a five-story apartment building”• “We want to get affordable housing built in this city, but I think that if you impose it on a neighborhood, then you will have hardcore NIMBYs”• “I didn’t appreciate that, because they were getting ready to change low-income areas, wipe out the single-family homes, and turned it into massive apartments”• “I’m protecting them from the predations of private developers”• She really did almost become vice president• “I love podcasts…. Maybe I wanted to become a newscaster”• What Karen Bass learned from Angela Davis• About those eight trips to Cuba• “What fascinated me about Cuba is that they provided free health care to their population, and free education”• The LAUSD’s construction boom for non-existent students• “We could always put more money in our schools”• “Judge me by how fewer encampments you see on the street. Judge me by crime decreasing. Judge me by affordable housing units being built”Prefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifthdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 10am 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 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

* The Doppelgänger* Where do these Moynihans come from?* The journalism disease* You do not want to get a call from the New York Post* From schadenfreude to envious cruelty* Covering the powerful* What is “social proof?”* The Epstein obsession* Incompetence defeats the deep state* Epstein and language inflation* Representing the Trump voter* MTG’s difficulty with economics* Everyone’s difficulty with economics* Let’s get a Juul and watch Beetlejuice* She’s young. He’s not. But they both hate the young.* Lydia loves deportations* Her billion dollar idea is…sausage?Prefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifthdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 10am 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 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.comWe are joined by journalist, author, filmmaker, and chainsaw-wielder Sebastian Junger. His latest book In My Time of Dying is a touching reflection on death… and what might follow. Paid subscribers get access to this and hundreds of other Members Only episodes.•You can always start drinking again•Enough to make ⅔ of these grown men cry•Sebastian’s (most recent) near-de…

* The dog hasn’t barked* He knew about the girls. But we *knew* that* So what, if anything, do these emails prove?* Conspiracies, anomalies, pornography* That’s a bad, no good, awful Times headline* Enter Abby Phillip* The battle of the Caribbean* We couldn’t afford to fail* A distinct lack of psychopaths and Holocaust deniers* I care too much….* Abby’s Jesse Jackson book* Abby: Sorry Kmele, racism is real and structural* TV, before the echo chamber?* When dehumanization turns into pride* A French, Swiss, Quebecois goodbyePrefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifthdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 10am 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 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.comIt’s release day for Shadi Hamid’s new book, The Case For American Power, and we’re excited to have him back on The Fifth. Paying subscribers get access to the full interview in audio & video (plus literally hundreds more), and help us do what we do, so… In this episode: * Shadi makes the “case for American power”* A love letter to America, “despite all its faults”* Mor…

We’re joined by Jessica Tarlov, co-host of The Five on Fox News, and Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway. •Among the cons •What does it all mean? •Over performance. Under performance •AOC’s war •What if the people who you want to destroy are the same people who ensure your existence? •You can afford to live here. Just not *here* •How to moderate a trans debate •The USDA wants you to stop mutilating kids so America can sell soybeans •Oh SNAP and guess what I saw… •“Affordability” for Smith College grads •The health care costs are too damn high •Will populism, left and right, destroy us all? •So what’s the Tucker vibe within the Fox building? •Can the “Fox liberal” ignore the online hate? •Your viewers might have died, but new old ones took their place! Prefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifthdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 10am 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 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• Don’t mess with the Zoran• The opacity of hope• Inspiration is overrated• Wait, what if none of these proposals actually work…• The return of identity politics?• Is offline politics “additive, human, humane, and empathetic?”• The Dem doom loop• The online left vs. Jon Lovett vs. reality• Purity tests, left and right• The one thing that didn’t shock Hillary Clinton• Harvey Milk died so you could be governor• The right denounces its loony fringe. Sort of.• Has the left done the same?• Has Jon’s baggage shifted to the right on anything? Well…• Can you be buddies with Barack?• Is it bad to have an enormous Nazi tattoo on your chest?Prefer to watch & chat together with other members of the Fifthdom? An UNLOCKED version of this episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 10am EST. Subscribe, why dontcha?Catch Jon Lovett in Washington DC on Nov 7 for Crooked Con – a chance to hear from smart people inside and outside the Crooked universe about how to galvanize a pro-democracy movement.Get tickets to see The Fifth Column live in Burbank, CA on Sunday, Nov 23rd at Flappers Comedy Club.Follow The Fifth ColumnYouTube: @wethefifthInstagram: @we.the.fifthX: @wethefifthTikTok: @wethefifthFacebook: @thefifthcolumn

* We are now alone / He’s out of our life* The Republican rebels?* Announcing a Fifth Column live show in LA! Subscribers get first crack!* Prediction: a stadium full of lusty boos for Matt Welch* Cuomo’s nonexistent campaign* The Truth and Armpits Party* On Zohran’s vaunted “political instincts”* If the cops rough you up in Queens, it’s because the Jews told them to do it* A “brilliant” campaign of easy promises* The thrill of being in love with a politician again* In destroying both parties, they become one!* Karine Jean-Pierre is….not that bright* Oh great! More dumb race politics* You better you bet (on basketball)* A cap on intentional walks* Let’s blow up a certain cocaine smuggling group of “athletes”* That guy who slapped Andy K...Prefer to watch & chat together with other members of the Fifthdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 10am EST.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 Michael McFaul, former US ambassador to Russia, has a new book…- The disaster of Russia- Trump’s evolving views on Putin (and Nigel’s…and Georgia’s…)- When McFaul met Putin…in 1991- Was the Maidan uprising an American-sponsored coup?- It’s not about NATO- From boring technocrat to a nationalist, imperialist ideologue- What does Putin believe?- Vlad the flat taxer - He’s not a Bolshevik- A crook, sure. But an ideological crook- Does no one care about 200,000 dead Russians?- Liberation or surveillance - Elite fatigue in Putin’s Russia- The documentary Moynihan mentioned - Mike McFaul, Soviet bootlegger

•Who subscribes to the New York Post?•One Battle After Another Redux•Myrna Opsahl and other deep cuts•F. Lee Bailey, legal consultant•Fawn Hall Gate•Double secret Nazis•Second Amendment People•The one on the right is on the left•Rehabilitation of the American radical•Omnibombers of the 1970s•I beg your pardon•An x-ray into Donald Trump’s soul•Hunter Biden & presidential power•From Whitewater to Russiagate•Jeffrey’s mea culpa•Trump’s Venezuelan boat strikes vs. Obama’s drone program•”I’m not black, I’m O.J.”Prefer to watch on YouTube? Click here. 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 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.comRooting against the dancing Irish poorDoes One Battle After Another “whitewash left-wing violence?”LOTS OF SPOILERS, FYIIn praise of Bullitt-esque car chases…The Lockjaw cartoonThe genius of Jim DowneyMatt is hemophobicRight-wing SNLCould you reverse the politics of OBAA?Leo’s character is basically an old-school DSA guyCan there be a subtle conservative film?The best 9/11 film was a film about a French guy in a leotardThe post-9/11 liberal flirtation with neoconservatismJohn Malkovich v. Robert FiskThe lone pro-Vietnam War movieRemembering the conservative crackupThe ideological slingshotFollow The Fifth ColumnYouTube: @wethefifthInstagram: @we.the.fifthX: @wethefifthTikTok: @wethefifthFacebook: @thefifthcolumn

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comCheck out Jake Adelstein’s new book, The Devil Takes Bitcoin•A Japanese literacy test•Chvalry is not dead•They don’t teach you how to drink in J school•The Ansel Elgortification of Jake Adelstein•The Yakuza throw a killer Halloween party•Lions, and Tigers and Joe Gallo•The Yakuza’s pension plan•What’s with the penis enlargement ads?•For relaxing times, make it Suntor…

* Misgendering Fox News* Wait, Michael was at a dinner?* Kmele tries to pronounce Normally* “Clearly we don’t fucking prepare”* “The last time I was with you guys, we were in a much smaller, darker room and I got very drunk”* Trump brings the hostages back …* … then emcees a roast* Somebody tell Bill Kristol!* A little bit psycho vs. the UN bitching at the Jews* 9/11 is a joke?* Little Marco’s big moment* Kash Patel’s shirt-coin* Trump = 1998 Democrat?* Never go full Bulworth* Debate prep for menstrual insults* MKH’s trashy tastes* The White House Octagon* Texting Comacho* 2025 Democrats: still woke!* Kushner props* D’Angelo, RIP* Yeah, that was a blowjob* Being on Melania’s list* Who succeeds Trump? 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•One Battle After Another•Kmele’s hot take that will bring ruin to Hollywood•Separating the art from John Cusack•The kinship of Susan Sarandon & Mao Zedong•It’s not the dead kid that is most unsettling part of Stand By Me•Amity, as you know, means friendship•No dick at the Old Vic•The humbling of Russell Brand•Confidence is a preference for the habitual…

* Subscribe to our YouTube channel already!* A shirt full of toothpaste* Whiskey in a jar* Your dumb, complaining emails* A roundtable of cranks and weirdos* Happy 100 year anniversary Antifa!* People. People. It ain’t fascism. And it ain’t ISIS.* Wait, Twitter IS real life!!!!!!* The long shadow of 2020* Remembering Seattle’s WASP autonomous zone* Ted Cruz’s hoop dreams* Sammy Hagar vs. the government shutdown* Should we tariff Canadian stunt pilots?* Death to the paper tigers!* We’re cautiously optimistic...* When Bari met 60* Charm, offensive* I bet you don’t remember *this* shitty Vice deal* You CANNOT talk to TNC that way* Journo shock! Moron social media hyperventilates about unacceptable lesbian!* Norman Finkelstein does a yiddish racism* Sorry about these A*** C*** song titlesIf you prefer to watch this video over on YouTube, just click here.Thanks for reading The Fifth Column (A Podcast)! This episode 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

Last month, after years of you people begging us, we finally had on the great Russ Roberts—author, educator, and proprietor of the phantasmagorically influential podcast EconTalk. The extremely wide-ranging conversation, whose pre-Pivot-to-Video video is available to Never Fly Coach subscribers, one of the most could you please unpaywall this so I can share it? episodes in recent memory, and so here we are.You SAID you wanted to share this. So share this! Pretty please?* Russ’s drinks by the pool with Hitchens* How potato chips are made. And what it tells us about economics* Backwards towards “artisanal”* How will a NatCon economy perform?* It ain’t all doom and gloom (surprisingly)* Do academic economists matter?* Russ talks to Milton Friedman* Do long-term economic trends tells us anything??* On moving to Israel* On returning to a (relatively) calm America* Notes from Russ’s father* A TikTok war* Was Moneyball wrong? Or do people just not understand Moneyball?* The Close Encounters mashed potato mountain* And much, much more 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

It’s fine if you want to listen to this episode on Apple podcasts or Spotify or Substack. We get it! That’s the way you’ve always done it! But you do realize that after 525 episodes (not including the hundreds of subscriber-only episodes), we’ve finally launched the Fifth Column video podcast, right? And you know that you are required by federal law to subscribe to the new Fifth Column YouTube channel? Ok...thanks...and now...Megyn Kelly...* Botox and Scotch* When Megyn went “temporarily insane”* To be frivolous and Oprah-like* You’re my inspiration, Ben* From traffic cop to a truncheon-wielding cop* Escalation is bad. “Yes, but one must fight fire with fire.”* Principle vs. vengeance* Does Andy McCarthy have Trump Derangement Syndrome?* Megyn “speaks fluent MAGA”* More MAGA than libertarian or NRO…* We need to talk about Candace* “Tucker is in a different camp”* Wait, Moynihan has some opinions about the awfulness of CandaceIf you prefer to watch video over on YouTube, just click here.The Fifth Column (A Podcast) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my 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 sure, everyone’s go-to for imperial collapse tends to be Rome, but what broad lessons are there to be gleaned from every single other civilizational implosion, from Mesopotamia to the Mayans to the forgotten pyramid builders along the Mississippi River? Such is the intriguing set-up for Goliaths Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse, the…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* If you’re a Never Fly Coach subscriber, remember that you get to watch the video version of this episode! * The morning after pill and Roy Campanella’s glove* Why does Moynihan look like late-stage Nick Nolte?* Have a SoCal venue suggestion for a Fifth live show?* Comparatively, Alex Jones isn’t that bad (Ed. note: Spoke too soon! Immediately following this rec…

Matt and Michael are joined by John Spencer, Executive Director of the Urban Warfare Institute.•Gary Busey and the B-movie military raid on the Turkish Embassy•Bagging and tagging isn’t as bad as it sounds•20/20 De-Baathification•Post 9/11 Islamophilia•The hockey analogy for war with Hamas•Human shielding & bomb shelter inequities•Gaza vs Berlin 1945•Journalism in Gaza•The IDF’s absent PR operation•Starvation, genocide, and Wikipedia•Amalek•Trump’s 180 on Ukraine•Comedian Dave Smith on military aid•God bless Russian incompetence•Red Dawn had it all wrong•Cancel John’s tickets to Stalingrad•John Spencer, expert? The New York Times is on it.•NFC-level members get a video preview of this episode here!•Speaking of video, we’re launching on YouTube any day now… SUBSCRIBE! 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