The Fifth Column - podcast cover

The Fifth Column

Kmele Foster, Michael Moynihan, and Matt Welchwww.wethefifth.com
Your weekly rhetorical assault on the on the news cycle, the people who make it, and occasionally ourselves. Kmele Foster (Freethink), Michael Moynihan (Vice), and Matt Welch (Reason) talk and laugh and drink their way to at least quasi-sanity in a world gone mad, often with the aid of clean and articulate guests. Weekly Members Only subscription edition often comes with listener mail and professional-quality (if inappropriate) singing. Analysis. Commentary. Sedition.

www.wethefifth.com
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Episodes

353 "Destroying Democracy, One Tweet At A Time"

- A Very Bad Week - Best, Final - Like, Literally the Holocaust - F*ck You Money - Narrative Malfunction - Round the Water Cooler - How America Got Stupid - Going Solo - Automotive Analogy - Expanding Nato, Deploying Nukes - The Bully Decides Recorded: April 14th, 2022 Published: April 15th, 2022 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. 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/subscr...

Apr 16, 20222 hr 8 min

352 "Buzz Lightyear's Gay Conversion Adventure Camp"

- Take Em' To Church - Okay, Groomer - How "Lion King" Made Kmele Trans - Troll Culture - Mr. Cooper's Pronouns - Elon's New Gig - BLM House Flippin' - The Purpose Driven Journalist - Louie CK and The Larger Truth*** - Mr Perfect - The Truth About Ukraine - Red Dawn x 1,000 - Obamacare 2022 - Covid Zero - That Time Welch Got Us Canceled - Howard Stern's Golden (Shower) Age Recorded: April 6th, 2022 Published: April 7th, 2022 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a pu...

Apr 08, 20221 hr 55 min

351 "The Problem with Jon Stewart, Will Smith, OJ Simpson, Sex Parties, and Madison Cawthorn"

Slappy White and the Hot Takes Birthdays Was the Worst Days: Six Years of the Fifth Hey Twitter World (The Ballad of OJ Simpson) Jon Stewart’s excruciatingly dumb show on race A Ben Dreyfuss tweetstorm America: From James Madison to Madison Cawthorn Sex party etiquette A seven hour gap, a laptop that keeps on giving, and an ex-prez who won't go away On this sacred anniversary, a very, very exciting announcement See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. ...

Apr 02, 20222 hr 11 min

350 "Destroying Ukraine, Supreme Confirmation Theater, From Slava to Slavery"

On casualties, causation, and delusion Is there a risk of overcorrection in Ukraine? Sanctions, free trade, and nukes The power of historical grievance Kmele and Matt...disagree on corporations taking sides in wars Also, the war in Ukraine is not about your dumb culture war issues The Ketanji Brown Jackson Show Ma'am, where do you stand on NAMBLA? Florida's "Lia Ackshully Lost Act" Slava Ukraini and slavery tips RIP Madeleine Albright Cory Booker is a bad actor Some thoughts on Arianna Huffingto...

Mar 24, 20221 hr 47 min

349 "Moynihan Taps In From Ukraine"

Kmele got a new baby! Welch is doing -- something. And a disheveled, bleary-eyed Moynihan checks in from Europe -- where he's been bouncing between checkpoints and bunkers in Ukraine. The dude is earning his WHOLE paycheck this week. Recorded: March 14th, 2022 Published: March 15th, 2022 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. 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, 20221 hr 41 min

348 w/ Matt Taibbi "Richard Perle in New Jersey, Putin in Hell, Ukraine in Crisis"

Does the media have this conflict wrong? The privatization of protest Europe shutting down shitty, Kremlin-funded media Wait, did Matt Taibbi just say he was warming to intervention? Verdict: unclear No due process for shitty, Kremlin-funded oligarchs America's overlooked role in the beginnings of Putinism Could Russia have been democratic? Mearsheimer and the interminable NATO debate The narcissism of Twitter war tourism Taibbi post game On Biden's SOTU speech On the forgotten trade wars See ac...

Mar 03, 20222 hr 4 min

347 w/ Jamie Kirchick "Ukraine Crisis, The Enemy of My Enemy, National Conservatism"

With Kmele waiting for his son to arrive and moving into his new East Coast digs (or something), Welch and Moynihan again find a temporary replacement. This time the honor is bestowed upon Jamie Kirchick, senior fellow for the Europe Center at the Atlantic Council and author of the forthcoming book Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington. Bullet point topics for this episode seem unnecessary because....lotta Ukraine. With a bonus digression into Jamie's recent piece on Sohrab Ahmari an...

Feb 23, 20221 hr 32 min

346 w/ Jeffrey Sachs - "Total Recall, Escape from San Fransisco, Bans for Days"

Guest: Jeffery Sachs, Lecturer in Politics @ Acadia University A Huge School Board Recall in San Francisco (With National Implications) A Proposed Ban on Talking About *Gay Stuff* w/ School Kids (In Florida, Of Course) A Contoversial Federal Crackdown on Protesters in Canada (Swastikas! Swastikas! Swastikas!) Is there more? Maybe 😏 Recorded: Feb 17th 2022 Released: Feb 18th 2022 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this wi...

Feb 19, 20222 hr 8 min

345 w/ Mary Katharine Ham "The Moronic Inferno b/w Hammer of the Gods"

Kmele's on a plane back East, where he shall remain and where the Fifth will increasingly ditch Zoom for in-person recordings. Yay. Filling in for Comrade Foster this week? Journalist, author, inventor, CNN contributor, mother of three, and all around swell gal , Mary Katherine Ham! The triumph of the stupid The stupid Washington Post Hating friends with stupid politics Mary Katherine, like Switzerland to her ex-friends The right after Trump Unharassed by Ailes When Hammer and Moynihan met Revis...

Feb 10, 20221 hr 52 min

344 w/Jacob Mchangama "Speech, Sheep, and a Crying Room"

Our favorite Danish intellectual returns! After a three-plus year absence, Jacob Mchangama is back on the Fifth, this time promoting his amazing new book, Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media, which P.J. O'Rourke calls "best history of free speech ever written and the best defense of free speech ever made." We tend to agree. The lads make quick work of a bottle of sake and still manage to blather about... The state of free speech in Europe Joe Rogan and the crisis of speech Many ...

Feb 07, 20221 hr 52 min

UNLOCKED 🎁Patreon Special Dispatch #104 - Everyone is Dumb 🎁

A freebie for the great unwashed, cheapskate masses. A little...ummm....looser than the free feed pod. And note that Moynihan's car was stuck in the snow just moments before recording, so he's slightly more unhinged than usual. When contacted, he apologized profusely and said "had I known you were releasing this to the freeloaders I wouldn't have said all of those things that I totally believe but make people pay to hear..." -TFC Snowstorms. People moving. Daughters acting crazy. Fiona Hill. Lot...

Feb 02, 20221 hr 30 min

343 w/ Mike Pesca (ex-Slate, The Gist podcast) "Inexplicable Offense, Boring Exile, Triumphant Return"

Almost a year after being run out of Slate for possession of an unpopular opinion, journalist and podcaster Mike Pesca joins the Fifth for his first post-controversy conversation on how it all went down, when banal opinions became "harassment," and what we can expect from the The Gist 2.0. Is Kmele being prioritized for Covid treatment? Because, ya know... Mike Pesca gets pushed out of Slate (for referencing, but not saying , a magic word) Bull Connor's boss, Steve A "harassment-worthy" opinion ...

Jan 20, 20221 hr 43 min

342 "Positively Apocalyptic, Momentarily Conspiratorial, Just Keep Doing the Thing"

Kmele at Hereticon Fallibility vs. Fundamentalism A Time to Choose In Your Heart You Know He's Racist Gerrymandering for Good Credibility, Transparency Ignoring Alex Jones Arguing with Alex Jones The One Thing Americans Agree On... ...It's All Going to Shit Alex Jones' America Idiots Wrote This Recorded: Jan 13th, 2022 Published: Jan 14th, 2022 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access t...

Jan 15, 20221 hr 42 min

341 w/ Matt Rosenberg (NYT) "A Coup'niversary, Domestic Lefty Neocons, Kidz n' Racecraft"

He's brilliant. He has a Pulitzer Prize, And he's totally jacked. New York Times reporter Matthew Rosenberg, who was at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and could definitely kick your ass, joins the Fifth to reflect on the riot, coup, insurrection, revolution, putsch, mass hate crime...whatever you want to call it. But hang around after the Rosenberg Coup Hour for a freewheeling postgame meditation on legal crime in New York City, upbraiding Moynihan for his bad parenting skills, and the secret gh...

Jan 07, 20222 hr 22 min

340 "Merry Kovid Kwanzaa, Madden the Death Merchant, the Flatbush Remonstrance"

A Covid Christmas A Merry Kwanzaa Before you eulogize the dead, I have stupid tweet you should consider Matt sort of emptywheels Harry Reid Planes, Trains, and superspreader events Yes, there are no tests The usual Covid frustrations The Webb Hubbell telescope The Memorial shutdown The non-historians lecture us on history Destroy the idols of Americanism What on Earth is the Flatbush Remonstrance? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like ...

Dec 29, 20211 hr 44 min

339 w/Rep. Peter Meijer - "The RINOvirus, Insurrection Deflection, DeSantis Claus's Xmas Miracle!"

Back for his third (we think?) visit, the scourge of crackpots and charlatans, America's greatest ginger, and our favorite congressman...Rep. Peter Meijer! Look, it's not a great time for the Republican Party Unity! Now get the fuck out What Rep, Meijer wrong about January 6th Dear Congress: gimme some truth about January 6th Why Nancy Pelosi wanted impeachment to fail To get out of an anti-democratic moment, we must have even less democracy "You voted to impeach and your career has been weird e...

Dec 17, 20212 hr 10 min

338 "Jussie's Truth, Putin's NATO, China's Games"

Jussie Smollett's years-long legal drama careening toward its conclusion. New York City enacts the countries most expansive (and ill-conceived) COVID restrictions. While the Biden Administration sends diplomatic shots at Xi in China and navigates an increasingly tumultuous situation with Putin in Russia. Kmele's New York State of Mind Creep Show Playin' Journalist Diplomatic Games + Human Rights Blaming Everything on NATO (and Biden) Russia Hawks No Justice for Jussie Elite Lives Matter Yoko/Len...

Dec 10, 20211 hr 54 min

337 w/ Steve Kornacki "Virginia is for Republicans, Dukakis's Carcasses, Waukesha Restraint"

Joining us for his third appearance on the Fifth, one of the sexiest men on planet Earth, the man with his own cam , the smartest and least partisan person on cable news...Massachusetts's own Steve Kornacki! Thank you North Dakota roughnecks The dust clears in VA and NJ...and Kornacki tells us what it all means Will the Republican Party divorce Trump? Voters, crime, and culture wars Remember when Alan Keyes was MAKING SENSE??? How much power does the progressive caucus *really* have? Massachuset...

Nov 26, 20211 hr 42 min

336 w/ Jonathan Adler "Bannon, Rittenhouse, and the Courts"

w/ Jonathan Adler, Johan Verheij Memorial Professor of Law @ Case Western Reserve University - Three Stacks - Kanye ♥️ Drake - Steve Bannon's Day in Court - Google That - Hurry Up, Charge Him! - Black Panthers, Communist and MAGA Corps (Oh, My) - Seeing What We Want - Rittenhouse Rorschach - (Still More) Media Malpractice Recorded: November 17th, 2021 Published: November 19th, 2021 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this ...

Nov 19, 20211 hr 54 min

335 "Assata Shakur Elementary School-- Class of 2021"

Way Too Sexy Crypto Art Miss Universe (Can Get It) Fifth Coin "A Bad Gal Dat" Palliative Journalism Virginia is for Hustlers The Trouble w/ Complicated Was Rufo Right? (No) We're Very Sorry (But We Keepin Your Stuff) Map Makers + Freak Shows Recorded: 11/5/21 Published: 11/7/21 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. 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...

Nov 07, 20211 hr 44 min

334 w/ Zaid Jilani "Jeff Toobin, Fapping Antifascist; The Terror Parents of Northern Virginia; A Bad Bisexual in a Bad Vest"

w/ Zaid Jilani, former reporter at The Intercept and current substacker (inquiremore.com ) Kmele, missing in a mudslide? Zaid, the most left-wing staffer at the Center for American Progress Cable news is horrible / Jeff Toobin slays white supremacy School board chaos in Virginia Creating wee lil' apparatchiks Why do we care about the stupid VA governor's race? Words don't mean anything anymore, part 322 We are all India-Pakistan now The steady hand in DC is trembling Dumb Republicans still have ...

Oct 28, 20211 hr 43 min

333 w/ Ethan Strauss "Locker Room Culture Wars, When Jokes Are Pretty Much Murder"

w/ Ethan Strauss, (HNIC @ "House of Strauss" / Substack) Enemy of the Syntax Ethiopian Royalty Breaking the Fourth Wall Leaving the Athletic Not Just for Sports Fans Breaking for Black Bodies NBA Vax Mandates Obama Decides to Be Black "Racist" Emails Moynihan's First Job Double 0' Sistas Jokes that Kill (But Not Actually) Recorded: 10/16/21 Published: 10/14/21 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers...

Oct 16, 20211 hr 49 min

332 w/ Robby Soave "Tech Panic, Phyrric Stalemate, Bifurcated Holiday"

w/ Robby Soave, (Senior Editor @ Reason - Author, "Tech Panic") Oral Surgery Buying Robby's Book How Facebook (Isn't) Destroying The World Incompetent + ill-informed Please, Think of The Teenagers A Vintage Moral Panic Mark Zuckerberg's Body Count Victims + Victors Messy Speech When Google Becomes Microsoft 26 Words (That Created the Internet) About That FBI Memo The Darkest Day in American History The Great Culture War Vortex Americas' Dumbest Holiday Recorded: 10/6/21 Published: 10/10/21 See a...

Oct 11, 20211 hr 32 min

331 w/ Katie Herzog "Once Upon A Time In Williamsburg, Wizard of Ozy"

w/ Katie Herzog, Host @ "Blocked and Reported" Stay in Your Hood So Many Sources Dog Run Confidential What Emma Knew Katie's Nightmare How Did You Get This Number Cool Off Denzel Was Drinking More Shaft Very Heavily Redacted Even More Heavily Redacted Two Spirits Wizard of Ozy Recorded: 9/30/21 Published: 10/2/21 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.weth...

Oct 02, 20211 hr 58 min

330 w/ Antonio Garcia Martínez "Would Apple Hire Steve Jobs, Conservatives Hate Big Tech"

W/ Antonio Garcia Martínez, Propritor @ "The Pull Request" False Start Driven to Drink Cultural Valley ("Crazy Ones Need Not Apply") Mission Protocols The Full NYT Software Download Section 230 The Devil in the Details A Conservative War on Big Tech Stormfront / SJW An Uncertain Future GOP 🥰 FDR A Crypto First Economy We Probably Can't Get Along? Amazon vs. Google vs. Apple vs. Facebook Nancy Pelosi: Project Manager? Pull Request Le Tech Blog Rendered Absurd By Time From Nokia to MSNBC to Googl...

Sep 24, 20211 hr 52 min

329 "Recall Flops, Covid Recount, Forgetting Afghanistan -- Again"

- Bacon Egg and Cheese (Late Capitalism Edition) - The Met Gala -- America's Most Glamours Tax Shelter - Hetro Negative - No Sex Cults for Kmele - Democrat Wins Most Democratic State - Larry Elder: White Nationalist? - The Republican Trump Conundrum - How Long Can Democrats Run Against Donald Trump - "She was in coach!" - Covid Hospitlziations, Vaccine Booster Controversy - Protecting the Vaccinated - Bob Woodward's New Trump Book - Gen Mark Milley Called the CCP - Trump: 'Withdrawl all the troo...

Sep 17, 20211 hr 38 min

328 w/ Josh Szeps “Living in the Lockdown Under”

-- Aussie Impressions of a Missing Moynihan -- A Gay Dad’s Homophobia -- Australian Federalism; Who Knew? -- Libertarianism, Shmibertarianism! -- Islands Are Weird, Man -- QR Covid Tracking Is Totally Fine -- Concentration Camp or Exercise Yard? -- Anti-Science Quarantines -- What Tucker Carlson Got Wrong -- What Tyler Cowen Got Right -- The CRT/Abortion Parallels -- He’ll Come Visit Just as Soon as He Can Escape! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episod...

Sep 09, 20211 hr 21 min

327 "Autumn in Kabul, Askew in Texas"

- Lead Astray - Wrong Line - Blues Traveler - Sugar in his Tank - When in Kabul - Repeal/Replace/Keep the AUMF for another 20 years? - Matt's Basement is Flooding (No, Really) - 1/2 Trimester - The Reverend Dr. James P Eagle Sr - The Rule of Law - Playin Coach - Reading Playboy for the... Ads? Recorded: 9/1/21 Published: 9/2/21 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes,...

Sep 03, 20211 hr 39 min

326 w/ Eli Lake "Afghan Withdrawal, Pandemic Surrender, Daddy Issues"

W/ Eli Lake, Opinion Columnist @ Bloomberg - New Dad - Moynihan's Big Night Out - Things to Remember (or Naw) - Meet Gutter (He Kidnaps Kids) - Whose on Top - The Most Inevitable Thing in the World - Hard Limits - Public Sentiments - Vietnam Syndrome - Hip Hop Conservatives - Afghan Clean Up - The Afghanistan Variant Recorded: 8/23/21 Published: 8/25/21 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get...

Aug 25, 20212 hr 2 min

325 w/ David French "Systemic Racism, Earnest Disagreement, About Those CRT Bans"

W/ David French - Various Notes on the Amy Cooper Interview - The Enablers - Earnest Disagreement - The Two Illiberal Wings of Twitter - False Dichotomies, All The Way Down - Negative Partisanship and the Politics of Animosity - When ‘Your’ Base Turns on You - The Home Teams Defect - Structural, Systemic, Real, Imagined - Revising the CRT Bans - The Empty Promise of CRT Published: 8/10/21 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discus...

Aug 10, 20211 hr 26 min
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