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The Fifth Column

The Fifth Column

655 episodes — Page 3 of 14

Members Only #268 - Every Pump is Patriotic

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* An enigma wrapped inside a…wait, what does that word mean?* Wait, what did you call it??? (Take a guess)* Buffalo Bills, the preferred team of all Mossad agents* How to not write a news story* You know, Epstein was pretty close with many MAGA figures* Bannon’s crisis PR business?* Tulsi and the “seditious conspiracy”* Russia redux* Michael McDonald’s Faye Dunaway story* …

Jul 21, 202519 min

#515 - Big Trouble in Little MAGA

* Crazy from the heat* AMA* Who is Jim Walden??* The dumbest civil war * So we have to discuss the Epstein “issue” again, eh?* I think we solved the case…* Leaving breadcrumbs in the archives* Jimmy Carter and the aliens * That’s a lotta airstrikes* The plastic surgery exception* Kurt Russell, American * The next, hottest Nobelist 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

Jul 17, 20251h 31m

#514 - Big Boats! Big Patriotism! Big Pedophile Rings??

* Matt discovers Mass* Because Matt is cruisin’ * Boats and hoes* An ultra exclusive event! The Fifth…on the high seas??* The Epstein hoax * Very dumb people holding empty Trapper Keepers* Fake numbers transform into facts!* Does anyone know how this stuff works?* The client list ███████ █████ * Why do people want this stuff to be true?* A few notes on the forthcoming film Eddington* The BLM victory failure* The forever revolt against the elites* Two overlooked terror attacks in Texas* Put them on ICE 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

Jul 10, 20251h 42m

Members Only #267 - Everything's Our Fault: The U.S. and the Iranian Coup (w/ Abbas Milani)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comA few weeks ago, we mentioned that newly minted Iran expert Joy Reid went on CNN and provided her damning verdict on America’s relationship with Iran: acktchully, she gravely intoned, the United States brought the ire of the Iranian dictatorship upon itself by engineering the 1953 coup against the “democratically elected” Iranian leader Mohammed Mossade…

Jul 10, 202515 min

#513 - Birthright Jamaican Babies and Russian Trashmen (w/ Damon Root)

As the Supreme Court wraps up its term, the boys again summon Damon Root, author of Overruled: The Long War for Control of the U.S. Supreme Court, to break down the various rulings (for those of us who don’t pay attention but still want to convince Scott Bakula to time travel and deport baby Kmele). Post-Damon, another hour…during which Matt tells the story of his car being smashed up by Russian trash men (which, surprisingly, is not a euphemism), Zohran code switches, the Big Ugly Bill lurches through the Senate, and stupid “revolutionaries” think it’s their moment. Yet again. 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

Jun 30, 20251h 49m

#512 - Escape from New York

* Fleeeeeeeee* Don’t mess with the Zohran * Andrew Cuomo, Shah of NYC * Eric Adams to the rescue? (Oof)* Post-colonial Disney movies * Scarcity Democrats * Pull the fire alarm on this drunk idiot * This means nothing for national Democratic politics* And isn’t about Israel* Were the bunkers busted?* Hot Ukrainians save lives* NATO not so bad after all* Joy Reid, smug master of Wikipedia* OKC saluted 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

Jun 27, 20251h 26m

Members Only #264 - Domino's, Hand Jobs, and WWIII

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comNo listener mail this time. We’ll double up on the next Members Only. Just an hour-long conversation about Iran…(Moynihan note upon relisten: Qasem Soleimani was the commander of the Quds Force within the IRGC, not the IRGC itself)

Jun 22, 202525 min

#511 - Iran on the Brink, NYC on the Brink (w/ Harry Siegel)

Two episodes in one! First, the lads discuss Iran, the legacy of the Iraq War, and MAGA’s internecine battles over foreign policy. And then Harry Siegel, the great chronicler of New York City politics, stops by to answer that hugely important question: will the financial capital of the world, the city with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, soon be governed by an anti-capitalist weirdo who thinks that “globalize the intifada” is just another way of saying “give peace a chance”? 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

Jun 20, 20251h 34m

#510 - BONUS EPISODE - The View from Israel (w/ Nadav Eyal)

Moynihan and Welch talk to Nadav Eyal, senior columnist for Yedioth Ahronoth and one of Israel’s most prominent (and best-sourced) journalists. Typically, we would keep a bonus episode like this one behind the paywall. We were feeling generous today. But never rely on our continued generosity. So subscribe, cheapskate! * Meetings cancelled, meetings kept* How the attack on Iran unfolded* James Bond is a Jew* Taking out the IRGC leadership and partially neutering Iran’s missile capabilities* Was Iran actually readying a nuclear weapon?* Was Trump part of an elaborate ruse? * Western Europe reacts…* Does Israel actually drive American foreign policy?* The Mossad stuff is impressive. But…* Nadav’s Twitter thread* The first 48 hours are the easy part* Netanyahu’s political prospects * And lots, lots 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

Jun 14, 20251h 2m

#509 - The Rise of the Knuckleheads (w/ Sen. Rand Paul)

Senator Rand Paul joins the lads to lament the big, beautiful bill; the big beautiful Soviet military parade; the Twitter halfwits waging war on him; his party’s descent into populist voodoo economics; whether or not he’s an advocate of “open borders”; and what he makes of Marines on the streets of Los Angeles. After the senator leaves, Foster, Moynihan, and Welch stick around to discuss…all those same issues. 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

Jun 12, 20251h 18m

#508 - The Breakup Episode

* A grim anniversary* Elon’s brilliant troll* The big, ugly bill * Bannon tells the truth. But is still a liar* How dare they attack their attacker??* They have cards* Asymmetric and immoral * Changing minds…by human sacrifice* The blackest propaganda* The New York Times v. Palantir* 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

Jun 6, 20251h 18m

Members Only #252 - For Our Girls (The Message)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* ABBA’s Vietnam* Barnen i Nicaragua* Mike Tyson, Ratso, and Cus the Communist* Burning down the house / sort of scolded by a firefighter * The rent is too damn free* Everyone is contemptuous of everyone * Is Trump the Bernie Goetz of Harvard?* Rebutting “higher ed is just fine” revisionism* From YAF to Students for Liberty to Turning Point…* Dating apps, height discrimina…

Jun 3, 202520 min

#507 - Trans Pee Wee and Tariffed Dresses

* Racist Macca?* Some bad names* In praise of (trans?) Pee Wee* Does Long Duck Dong denounce his past?* Was that a Reaganite video game?* Trade war nonsense: the court says…maybe not* Moynihan’s $700 dress (including a $250 tariff) * Kmele on CNN* The end of Elon* Just like Reagan and Thatcher but not all* No suspects, no DNA, no fingerprints, no leads * MI:7 DEI 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

May 30, 20251h 8m

Members Only #251 - I Learned It from Watching Nick Gillespie

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* We think we *might* have talked about politics in this episode?* Happy anniversary Christian Cooper! * Talking to the dude who made those drug PSAs* The Glug (1981)* 2020: The year that broke America* Burning down the house (almost) * The tax protestor in our midst* Johnny Rotten, Johnny Ramone, the Plastic People, and the politics of punl* Nick of Schumpeterian Gatsby…

May 28, 202520 min

#506 - Kill the White People

* The ritual humiliation white genocide slide show!* That’s not really true. But it doesn’t really matter, does it?* Trolling with refugees* That Mandela picture MM mentioned…* Uncle Paul * “Well do you DENOUNCE that language? Huh? Huh? Did you even say thank you??”* The big, not-so-beautiful bill* The trillion dollar dome* Gaza and the “14,000”* Our Original Sin and Korean Robert* When did he lose it?* That Christie clip is actually six years old. But here it is. 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

May 22, 20251h 26m

#505 - A Saudi Summit. A Delaware Freakoff.

* Jack London and hobo Oakland* The lovely government of Qatar* Trump in Saudi* A carnival of corruption* Chasing heroes…* The end of the “introventionalists”* But do they *fear* him?* The new Chomskyites * Declining freedom…* Trump’s fat, rich friend who wants price controls* The triumph of gesture politics* Black Leo 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

May 15, 20251h 38m

UNLOCKED: David Zweig, on How Media and Public Health Failed Our Kids

You demanded, we complied. Last month in this space, I interviewed science/technology/Covid journalist David Zweig about his great new book, An Abundance of Caution: American Schools, the Virus, and a Story of Bad Decisions. It was a bracing conversation, filled with damning media/elite criticism, blue-state horrors, and F-bombs galore.Then a funny thing happened: Dozens of you wonderful paying subscribers said Mr. Welch, tear down this paywall, so we can share this with our normie friends! And so I have.A good time to mash the subscribe button!Now it’s your turn, o demanding listeners (and even non-demanding freeloaders) – let’s hook some new normies into your favorite podcast, and maybe persuade some of you fence-sitters about the primo content you’ve been missing out on. As Pope Bob from Chicago has taught us, the more people subscribe, the more special treats for everybody. Amen.Without further ado, the original text for the episode.***On May 11, 2020, as I was navigating personal collapse (“it’s been a really shitty two months,” I said on an interesting-to-listen-to-now Special Dispatch #20), my two daughters were wrestling unhappily with Zoom school, and all three of us lads were in the process of buying Covid cars, I came across a Wired article that landed like a Cher-style open-handed slap across the face: “The Case for Reopening Schools: Lots of other countries have decided that it's time to take this step. Why is the US holding back?”The piece, by David Zweig, was very contrary to the U.S. news coverage at the time, chock full o’ studies and data points and hyperlinks, and opened like this:Schools are reopening in countries around the world in response to a substantial body of evidence that children are largely unaffected by Covid-19 and minimally contagious when they get infected. Experts and policymakers abroad also acknowledge that school closures perpetuate a long list of known harms to children.Yet, oddly, the US is following a divergent path.Along with other real-world evidence trickling in from around the globe, Zweig’s essay (plus a June 24 follow-up), was part of my four-month journey from close-the-schools alarmist to open-the-schools monster, the latter condition from which I would spend more of my journalistic energy over the ensuing few years than I care to remember.Zweig, also a New York City parent of two schoolkids at the outbreak of Covid, is determined never to forget. His book An Abundance of Caution: American Schools, the Virus, and a Story of Bad Decisions, is more than mere rage-calorie score-settling, however. At heart, he tells me in this occasionally fiery conversation, it’s about how we make decisions under crisis, and how our country operates under duress.What he both discovers and explicates, in fascinating detours through Evidence-Based Medicine and the philosophy of science, is that two institutions in particular let us down: Public health elites, and the media. “This is an extraordinarily compelling story about evidence being ignored and dismissed,” he says. “They ignored empirical evidence that was right in front of their fucking face.”Trust me, you’ll want to get to the last 15 minutes here, where Zweig describes how this process transformed his politics. It was “this revelatory moment,” he says: “Oh my God, I was a complete arrogant asshole.” Few others are spared.Some links:* Excerpt in The Atlantic, “The Disaster of School Closures Should Have Been Foreseen”* Excerpt in The Free Press, “How Covid Lies Destroyed Kids’ Lives”* Zweig’s Substack, Silent Lunch* NPR, “What Parents Can Learn From Child Care Centers That Stayed Open During Lockdowns,” June 24, 2020* The New York Times, “How 132 Epidemiologists Are Deciding When to Send Their Children to School,” June 12, 2020 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

May 14, 20251h 13m

Members Only #250 - What’s the Frequency, Papist?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* The Bill Bixby of East Egg* Figure it out, people * Solitude: City vs. Country (not a reference to the Jonathan Richman song, btw)* Allemansrätten and who makes the most money in your postal code* Jawohl CHEF!* Banning internships will help the poor* “Worse than Watergate” and the Ballad of G. Gordon Liddy* How does one start restoring a car * The brilliance of our mod…

May 12, 202518 min

#504 - N-Bombs and Real Bombs

UPDATE: The initial version of this episode was missing two audio clips, both of them featuring exceptionally stupid people saying exceptionally stupid things. To be honest, you were be better off not hearing either of them. But the episode has been corrected, the punishing stupidity included, and now you’re worse off…* Notes from a live event (going live later today) * Fifdom represents* Spotify exposes!* RIP Swampy* India, Pakistan, and the American retreat* Ending power, hard and soft* Marjorie Taylor Chomsky * Israeli endgame* Portnoy’s NYT complaint* Piers Springer and the forbidden word* Don’t give money to meth head Nazis who yell at babies 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

May 8, 20251h 55m

Members Only #259 - Tariffed into Chastity

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* Tickets for tomorrow’s Moynihan-moderated debate at the Village Underground can be purchased here! And subscribe to the Moynihan Report YouTube channel!* Winnipeg land acknowledgements* Prison competition* Tariffs for erotic French movies* Traitorous Hollywood not paying enough to make movies* A listener wants to talk about Steph Curry * Rare books* Lying on the fact…

May 6, 202517 min

#503 - Mea Minima Culpa

They’re all back. And they recorded a very fun, very long one…during the day…to minimize drunken regrets. So many topics are covered—the Koch brother, the last episode, bad interviewers, bad manners, the strange new media, the strange new Ukraine strategy, exit Walz, etc—that we might as well dispense with the usual bullet points and just get right into it…Enjoy! 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

May 3, 20252h 10m

Members Only #258 - We Don't Talk About Fight Club (Mostly)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comMoynihan couldn’t make it (we don’t know where he is, but if you see a shirtless man yelling at a parking meter in lower Manhattan, please let us know). In his absence, Kmele and Welch cover a wide swath: alien oceans and scientific hype cycles, the collapse of local journalism, the rise of YouTube basketball nerds, and why Luka Dončić is the people’s MVP. They also wade into darker waters—federal crackdowns on campus speech, student visa censorship, and the increasingly authoritarian posture of Trump 2.0.Plus: reader mail, a reluctant defense of David Hogg, a rant about scams and AI voice fraud, and a minor audio glitch that might actually be evidence of extraterrestrial life.

May 1, 202518 min

#502 - The Second Battle of Batya (w/ Batya Ungar-Sargon)

Errr….This one gets pretty heated. But we’re all still friends! We think. And Moynihan is now sober and his blood sugar is back to normal, so there’s that too. Either way, hats off to Batya for braving another episode with three people who disagree with her on pretty much everything. We talk Tariffs, Trump, lawfare, Ukraine, and everything in between. 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

Apr 24, 20252h 5m

Members Only #257 - I'll Ruin Everything You Are

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* The Hungarian dentist and the prostitute theory* Your TV wife sees Hitler all the time, no?* Facilitate…* Dinners with politicians * A digression on Big Star (FYI: "Holocaust”)* Elder scams* Apple Watches and proof of life* Back to Rogan and Murray* A trip to Libya for a copy of the Green Book* #9 Fifth Dream * Doing an impression of a smart person / Paul believes* A theory …

Apr 23, 202521 min

Members Only #256 -- How Media and Public Health Failed Our Kids (w/ David Zweig)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comOn May 11, 2020, as I was navigating personal collapse (“it’s been a really shitty two months,” I said on an interesting-to-listen-to-now Special Dispatch #20), my two daughters were wrestling unhappily with Zoom school, and all three of us lads were in the process of buying Covid cars, I came across a Wired article that landed like a Cher-style open-ha…

Apr 21, 202518 min

#501 - Due Process in Scare Quotes (w/ Jesse Singal)

Moynihan is out with a “tooth thing” (which sounds lame, but is allegedly a “painful,” “very serious” dental emergency that definitely doesn't involve a tall, attractive blonde woman). Fortunately, our pal Jesse Singal (Blocked and Reported, Singal-Minded) is along for the ride, and outlines the plans for his heroic crusade to save THE REPUBLIC by beefing with JD Vance on X. We dive into Trump 2.0’s extra-constitutional improvisations, fail to steer clear of trade policy, and search desperately for a silver lining in our late-capitalist, national-populist, increasingly surrealist Idiocracy. Also in the mix: a little Elon drama, libertarian coping strategies, various flavors of executive branch lawlessness, and a surprising outbreak of informed optimism about the future.* Tooth decay, high-end prostitutes, and podcast logistics* Jesse Singal enters the chat (possibly still mid–Twitter beef)* Deportation by executive vibe* Due process is for losers* When JD Met Jesse: A Very Sexy Love Story (by Selena Montgomery)* The most important internet slap-fight in American history* Hotel El Salvador: now accepting unwanted Americans* Bannon’s “flood the zone” plan meets sheer incompetence* Shouting at Bill Hemmer* Campus protests, free speech, and DHS interns with tasers* Jesse accidentally agrees with libertarians?* And can Jesse say one nice thing about JD Vance? (And, “Thank you”!?)* To the Moon, and Mars, and WHERE ELSE BEYOND 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

Apr 18, 20251h 25m

#500 - The Triumph of the Idiots

Is this episode 500?? Well, not really. Likely a bit higher. There have been some numbering convention mixups over the years and we’ve also recorded almost 300 paywalled episodes (yes, you should subscribe now, ya skinflints). But let’s just pretend it’s 500 and say…happy 500th episode, Fifth Column! * Waymo through skid row* The dumb right* Dead cats bounce* They took brown doublewides from us* Nixon, but in the open * Where are the Dems?* Besides magic* The DEI trade off?* The sweet meteor of death episode 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

Apr 10, 20251h 42m

Members Only #255 - Val Kilmer Didn't Die for This

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* Val, Tombstone, Top Secret* Top Gun takes it to 11* One the best Hollywood memoirs * RIP Capucine* African-American Monday * Johnny Depp, musician * OK TIME TO TALK ABOUT THE COLLAPSING ECONOMY* Spartacus moment? Once they start flipping…* “They couldn’t believe it. Ben Shapiro, of all people…”* A Norwegian. A Dane…and a guy who *isn’t Finnish, Matt** On the best fight of …

Apr 7, 202529 min

#499 - One of the Dumbest Decisions in American Political History? (w/ Scott Lincicome)

* We bring back the great economist Scott Lincicome to separate MAGA myths from inconvenient facts on trade, trade imbalances, ChatGPT math, and getting “ripped off” by our (former?) allies. * Note: watch Kmele and Moynihan (and Gerald Posner) on the latest episode of the Moynihan Report * Eli’s new Liberation Day jam* These tariffs are dumb* Really, really dumb* Ruinously dumb* Laura Loomer is dumb* Tom Sowell isn’t dumb* MAGA’s Iraq 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

Apr 4, 20251h 31m

Members Only #254 - These Days of the Condor

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* Tomorrow on The Moynihan Report: Actor and former fat guy Ethan Suplee (American History X, Wolf of Wall Street, Mall Rats, Remember the Titans). You can watch live at 4pm ET here. Archived there too! * Muslims and parking * No turkeys in NYC * Matt to the mothership* Austin Fifdom* Kmele and a Complete Unknown* Our paranoid times* No MAGA, no paranoia?* When you’ve lo…

Apr 1, 202520 min

#498 - The Signal and the Boys

* FYI: If you want to join the Zoom for March 27 episode of The Moynihan Report at 4pm ET, use this link * The Legend of Gavin and Charlie * Bob in Tulsa * Moyn in Miami* The bumbling Signal Boyz* We hope our kids never lie like this * Defund NPR * Another 25% will save American industry* Remember the minerals deal?* The jury on whether we should execute the judiciary * Car swastikas * 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

Mar 27, 20251h 44m

#496 - Ich bin ein Disappointed Konspiracy Theorist

* Live tweeting history* The importance of Jack * The “climate of hate”* Some of these goofballs are normal* RIP Manny* The fake ceasefire * If only were weren’t a democracy…* Back to Gaza * Civil liberties, due process, and magicians * And a bunch 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

Mar 19, 20251h 20m

Members Only #253 - One-Armed Lithuanians and Mute Latvian Cats

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* The golden age of Oaktown’s 357 ("I just put Juicy, Got Him Crazy into Chat GPT to determine what it's about and it is definitely a song about...."* Yes, we briefly talk about forgotten about rappers and their dumb lyrics* Pumps and the Bump* Grok has this to say about our Hammer convo: “The casual acceptance of MC Hammer’s Speedo situation is absurdly funny.”

Mar 19, 202521 min

Members Only #252 - On a Sunday, On the Lash (w/ Thomas Chatterton Williams)

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comA rebroadcast of our last subscriber-only Second Sunday episode. Thomas Chatterton Williams stops by. Everyone’s in the same room. Many bottles are emptied. Many offensive jokes told. Many careers destroyed. Enjoy.

Mar 17, 202520 min

#495 - Cranks, Conspiracies, Campuses, and Ceasefires

* The one Jew she likes* The amateur crank historian* The cranks always end at…take a guess* Kmele isn’t interested in Ms. Macron’s dong* Show we draw some distinctions?* Congrats to the Buchananites* The weirdness of Gavin Newsom’s podcast* On Bannon* On Columbia, the first amendment, masks, and dangerous idiots* The Ukraine non-deal* 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

Mar 15, 20251h 55m

Members Only #251 – We Got Five Years of Covid Fury

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comI was very moved by friend & past guest Jeff Blehar’s Covid anniversary piece, so … I just read it out loud. And added related commentary for paying subscribers. Some links alluded to therein, in rough order of reference:* Reason Roundtable Covid look-back* Related Twitter thread* “The Great COVID Rupture: Three years after ‘15 days to slow the spread,’…

Mar 13, 202515 min

#494 - State of Delusion

* A very long SOTU* Al Green meets Buju Banton, Tripadvisor objects* The most beautiful, terrifying word in the English language* The “deficit” you shouldn’t care about * The forgotten Foxconn boondoggle * The hopeless Democrats* Maybe look at, say, Dean Phillips and ignore the Squad* Asian finger cuffs* Two cheers for parliamentary democracy * Poor lil’ Marco * Who killed Gene Hackman’s dog? 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

Mar 5, 20251h 37m

Members Only #250 - Twitter Is Now Real Life

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comThere’s some discussion of parenting. A tiny bit about the Oscars. And a bunch about the triumph of conspiracy culture. But this is mostly a subscriber-only episode about the Zelensky debacle and the ongoing U.S. foreign policy realignment. So why bother with bullet points?’

Mar 3, 202518 min

#493 - Fifth Extra: John Bolton on Trump 2.0

* Trump’s maturity* Trump’s deal making* Trump and NATO * Trump vs. Europe * Trump and Taiwan* A price on Bolton’s head * Is he a neocon? 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

Mar 2, 202539 min

#492 - How Deep Is Your State

* The traffickers of the Fifth Column * The genius of Bill Belichick * Those Boston boys aren’t so terrible after all* Nick v. Stewart* Democracy died in the light! * The WaPo freakout * The press pool freakout* No one believes in anything, part 387* The “Epstein files” will contain nothing of interest* A “Roman” salute that no one noticed* MSNBC is apparently racist* A live event in NYC! 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

Feb 28, 20251h 50m

Members Only #249 - Killing Us Softly

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* RIP Roberta* What’s the “woke right?” No idea.* MAGA Brooklyn* Reform Party 2000!* Nadia didn’t pay, so…* But does it vindicate the collusion narrative?* Eli Lake’s “Framed and Guilty”* The Great Negotiator* The rise of AfD…and the end of Europe?* Kmele and Kanye (“He’s a NAZI, Kmele, a NAZI…”) * Moynihan’s memory* Drinking with Team Uterus

Feb 25, 202520 min

#491 - The Last Globalist

* Matt vs. the Gremlins* He lasts about 20 minutes * Subscribe to the pod so he can stay at normal hotels that don’t use Compuserve* Two minutes of Kayne and the Yahud* Everything is a lie * Free speech king goes Russiagate * Trump’s Ukraine disgrace * Allies and Axis 2.0 * Here DOGEy DOGEy DOGEy * Misunderstanding democracy* The animals of Hamas * Inhumanity makes one inarticulate* 😡🐰🥚 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

Feb 21, 20251h 27m

Members Only #248 - Marvin, Mugshots, and Migrants

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* If this plane crashes, it’ll just be ‘Steve Wozniak, Allen Iverson, and some other people’* Murder motel in Huntington Beach* Marvin Gaye's confession* A shot, a beer, and Paddington 3* Brexit, bananas, and robber outfits* Not their best. But sort of. * The New York Times’s dumb report from Europe* Does Vance have a point?* Ukraine negotiations without Ukraine* A bunch m…

Feb 17, 202519 min

#490 - Among the Bullshitters

So we took a few days off. We deserved it. Sort of. And after all, there were pilots to filmed, kids to be cared for, conferences to attend. Indeed, on Friday we gave a talk at a wonderful University of Florida conference on America’s love of bullshit. But we begged off from the proceedings for an hour to record an episode. Because we love you guys. And because we needed to discuss Pete Hegseth, beer bongs and Goldschlager luges, Elon’s weird kids, the future of DOGE, the future of Ukraine, Islamism, and Serena Williams. And a few other things besides… 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

Feb 16, 202558 min

#489 - Neocon Don and Sandals Gaza

* The hockey plumber * A very brief return to tariffs* Let’s fight the drug war again! Yay!* Neocon Don wants to make Gaza great…for the first time* This is a very, very bad idea* Like…an extraordinarily bad idea* The 80-20 issue* Lia’s standup special * 60 Minutes in the docket* “Restoring freedom of speech” 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

Feb 6, 20251h 51m

Members Only #247 - The Dumbest War Begins

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comWe asked ChatGPT to give us some titles for this episode. Turned out to be a pretty decent précis of the discussion…and the last one is particularly good: "Tariffs, TikTok, and Toe-Kneading Terror""Mary Poppins: Feminist Propaganda & Economic Illiteracy""Avocados vs. American Fish: The Dumbest Trade Debate Ever""Trump’s Tariff Tantrum: The Art of the Du…

Feb 3, 202521 min

#488 - By Order of the MAGAstate

* First class mud hobbit* At the 80th in Poland* An executive flurry * The interrogation of RFK * In defense of pharma* The interrogation of Kash Patel* Give us Greenland, Part 32* Overreach on DEI?* Frozen budgets * Getting the win* Is *this* the art of the deal?* Why were the JFK/RFK/MLK files held back?* And what will we find therein…* The most annoying Kennedy* Trusting Deepseek* Has the press learned its lesson? 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

Feb 1, 20251h 43m

Members Only #246 - Premature Denazification

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* Moynihan in Poland (Katya stole his mic)* Ronalda Reagana* Know a Nowa Huta* Onward to Auschwitz* Maybe don’t speak to the far-right German party?* Axis of anti-Woke* Unimpressed with nation-states* The Best Black History Month Report, EVER* Lia vs. MLK Part II* Rufo’s Sore "Winning"* Activism vs. Truth* Our “Blind spot” * Yellow/Blue Dress Explained* YOUR Outrage (Not Mine)* Ove…

Jan 27, 20251h 8m

#487 - A Symphony of Horror

* The Zombies reunion* Edibles and expressionism* A ghost on the knee* Who needs a desk when democracy’s dead?* Outage equality* Don’t ever integrate?* Segregation redux* Why Steve hates Elon* Those terrible oligarchs * Who needs the Constitution when we have executive orders?* The Jan 6 pardons: a disagreement * The art of the overcharge* Ross Ulbricht goes home 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

Jan 23, 20251h 56m

Members Only #245 - Everything Old Is New Again

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* The sycophants are back!* Are we suckers for paying?* Gauleiter Musk* Day one executive orders* The newest, greatest Amazon Prime perk * New national bird: Jim Eagle* Pardon me? * Guess what? Leonard Peltier is not a good guy!* That Outside magazine article* Inauguration babes * Kmele’s letter to his daughter’s school * Not our oligarchs!* Ari Shaffir vs. Howie Mandel* Governme…

Jan 21, 202519 min