This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com Michael Moynihan sits down with Bard College professor Sean McMeekin to discuss his new book To Overthrow the World: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism , a Fifth-approved history of the global communist movement, from the ur-commie instincts of Plato to the sinister stupidities of Plekhanov. They also contemplate why so many smart people fall for ba…...
Nov 17, 2024•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast We’ve promised this one for a very long time. But now that Trump is returning to the White House—the mercantilist maniac who recently said “the most beautiful word in the dictionary is ‘tariff’”—we finally followed through. By popular demand, we called upon Scott Lincicome, senior visiting lecturer at Duke University Law School and vice president of general economics and Cato's Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies, to answer all of your questions on protectionism, tariffs, and trad...
Nov 13, 2024•2 hr 59 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com Our first post-election Second Sunday Zoom call! If you missed it, shame on you for choosing to spend time with your family or choosing not to pony up. But it’s all here. All three hours of it. Yes, it’s the “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” of election analysis. But to be clear, we also discuss Emperor Hirohito, Kentucky politics, Australians, New York …...
Nov 12, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com Welch and Moynihan are back in the studio, three days after the end of democracy, counting the days before they get the midnight knock from Trump’s NKVD. So what does one do? Engage in some anticipatory obedience , obviously. But can anything save them? Subscribe to find out! Note: Matt came across this amazing video only after recording this episode. So …...
Nov 08, 2024•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Fifth did a bit of processing today with our Trump-supporting friend at her Connecticut studio. Hungover, exhausted, bedraggled, the lads then returned to the scene of last night’s Fifth-Free Press-Reason party and recorded this episode. They enjoyed it. And they suspect you will too. . 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, 2024•1 hr 27 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * Kmele on his appearance in Thomas Chatterton Williams new Atlantic piece * The end of America! * If you don’t vote like me, you should be ashamed of yourself! * We’re not “heterodox” * On never talking policy * Authoritarianism in America * Boyz in the Hood redux * A whole lot of final election thoughts * A listener from Utah teaches us about TBCK syndrome * Kemi Badenoch on uneq…...
Nov 04, 2024•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast * A Thomas Jefferson freak off * The tree of liberty… * “Election integrity” * What’s happening with those Pennsylvania ballots? * Editorial page endorsements are worthless * Why won’t you resign, lady? * A slaughter at MSG * These people have lost their minds * And Bezos is correct: they don’t trust you * The end of the NYT sports page actually said something important… * The bubble * An absurd boycott * What would a Kamala victory mean for Israel? * Finally a good Downfall meme… This is a publ...
Oct 30, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * To promote his Substack conversation with Moynihan ( live today at 5pm ET only on the Substack app !), Josh Szeps calls in from the car and talks Aussie stuff for 20 minutes. * Banning that lady from your country (“Does anything ride on this?") * Baghdad Bob on Australia * The Times and the truth * People who disappear * They are making me talk about this fascism shit * …...
Oct 28, 2024•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast * How to be a Navy Seal * Losing an eye in Afghanistan * Dan can’t find his glasses / “I can’t see shit” * Lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan * A case study in intelligence failure and confirmation bias * On leaving the Taliban in power * Has Trump been good on foreign policy? * The Republican Party post-Trump * Tucker "is best friends with Hunter Biden!” * Why are you even in Congress? * On the mechanics of Congress * Maybe a hundred normal congressmen * What has Dan accomplished for Texas? * Is...
Oct 24, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * Dave in the Hall * Dead in the garden * All the dictators * His kampf * McDonalds troofer * Can Trump be funny? * People don’t care about what we care about * A friend attacks * BHO was a great candidate * Wham-O, Sandusky, and the kids Freak Off * On “Neighborhood Bully” * Never say “grande” * What plagiarism counts...
Oct 22, 2024•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast * Old wine, old bottles * Bret Baier v. Kamala * He finally asked Matt’s question. Or was it Kmele’s question? * On not answering questions * The wisdom of Bill Clinton * Back to the politics of the 90s * We always come back to it: late night is awful * Weed reparations * We always come back to it: fascism * Please come back, archive.org * Shutting down CBS? * Why the media being stupid is actually really important * Ted v Colin * Micklewaithe v. Trump This is a public episode. If you'd like to ...
Oct 17, 2024•2 hr 32 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com A rebroadcast * Military propaganda for the kidz! * Jewish Columbus * A new history of communism * The brainworm burrows in again * The Italian * Obama’s code switch * There are meaningful differences between *these men* * Polling problems * The brothers Menendez * Sarah, live from Folsom * Chomsky’s Cuba book * Are there still meaningful policy differences between the two major partie…...
Oct 15, 2024•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast * Yes, Michael J. Fox actually actually has Parkinson’s * The MAGA hat incident * We got a journalist around here…he’s asking a lot of questions * Choppin’ it up with 60 * Young morons embrace violence * German American Bund at MSG 2.0! * Bob “Silent Coup” Woodward * Look, he was actually unfairly treated * Schultz interviews Trump * It was Jeff Gerth, actually * A tale of two natural disasters * The natural disaster of a Kamala interview * Running out the clock: “Frankly, I love the American pe...
Oct 10, 2024•2 hr 54 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * A very brief baseball convo. Relax. * Kid (and adult) anxiety * Don’t kill on snek * The science of Trump’s brain? * The worst of all the excuses * Oliver’s dad and the JJ Rule * The Big Dance on OpenLibrary , btw * Fatherhood songs * Phones, kids, rabbit holes * Pete Rose was the best…and the worst * On Kris Kristofferson * On Megyn and Moynihan...
Oct 08, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast * The title is correct: everyone will hate something in this episode! * Moynihan is dying? * GPT as your GP * Choc and Chiclet * $$$ for TV * J.D. says Trump won in 2020 * Jack Smith could have asked Moynihan * You hate him. But not enough . * A goomba union boss is going to choke America out * Rich and “working class” * Create jobs! End EZ-Pass! * Remembering the execrable Harry Bridges * Why is the government still mailing free Covid tests? * (MM fact-checks himself) * Lebanon and beyond This ...
Oct 04, 2024•2 hr 45 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com Kmele’s voice is craggy; Moynihan is on the precipice of illness; Hasan Nasrallah has been delivered to a fiery “paradise,” last seen with his hand up own skirt, desperate to locate 70-odd sexually inexperienced coreligionists. Also: * Pat’s “thugocracy” * Hockey fights. * Johnny Turkey * Your legacy is one bad Twitter prediction * Ranking the least badly governed…...
Sep 30, 2024•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast * The return of the Boss POC * The veep sits for an “interview” * That’s all she had to do… * Will Michael Cohen be assassinated? * Not if he escapes the country (and his family)! * The return of Tennessee * 10 days in an uncomplicated land * That conflict is just like all things I care about (except it’s nothing like the things I care about) * Disassociating yourself from the freaks and terror supporters * So we finally got to Diddy * Sure, he’s a monster! But the Mann Act?? This is a public ep...
Sep 26, 2024•2 hr 46 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * When you think you’re right about everything * Alternate episode title: Candace Owens Discovers a New Fact Every Day—This Time, She Didn’t Blame the Jews * “The incentive for her is to be more mentally ill, because she seems to be doing quite well by losing her mind in public” * It will be like leaving a 70’s cult * Nude Africa has gone offline :( * Nobel laureates …...
Sep 21, 2024•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yet again, AI has done a bang-up of summarizing a Fifth Column episode, which mostly covers the insane economic policies of both idiot candidates and why members of Hezbollah are having their balls blown off. But according to the half-sentient supercomputers, the lads discuss how “Melania Trump's new book is a focal point, with humorous commentary on its content and implications.” True enough. And also, there is apparently some conversation about how “evidence is often disregarded in political c...
Sep 19, 2024•2 hr 34 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com First: Our remote recording software uses AI to create text “soundbites” from every episode episode. They are best ignored. But this week, it came up with this: "Music is crazy." "This is about Indians." "I want to be black." "You must have a white wife." Yes, all of those important issues are discussed. But the conversation is mostly about the latest faile…...
Sep 16, 2024•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast * This tattoo definitely wasn’t a horrible mistake * Matt has dementia * Pim Tool: tool of the FSB? * The $400,000 plagiarist * Brain “interference” vs. election “interference” * Did Trump acknowledge that he lost in 2020? * The childcare word salad * Plastic straw journalistic DISGRACE * Having principals versus having “a position” * Dumb neo-Nazi realizes he’s been cheated * More on the rise of junk history * An overlooked bit of Tucker’s controversial interview * Hitler was very, very, very e...
Sep 07, 2024•2 hr 36 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * Illness fakers * Medium fakers * Ok, so let’s warm up with some music stuff * Does any band have a perfect four-album run? * “I’ve read a lot of books on WWII!!” * On the Martyr Made controversy * Baby Irvings * The bad guys are the good guys, and they have no agency * “The Holocaust was basically a housing issue…” * The Theresienstadt “documentary” * The “terror” bombings * Incidenta…...
Sep 06, 2024•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast * Kamala finally submits to an interview * A Cascade of Disappointment) * A softball interview * Flip, flop, flibbedy flop * Wasted questions * Just a question of grammar * Code switch that racist wall * Trump in the cemetery * Trump in the bible * Trump impressions * Noel, Liam, Kmele * Matt and Moynihan reveal a secret, racially segregated text thread 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/subscri...
Aug 30, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s the final night of the convention and in the hours before everything kicks off, the lads convened at the Substack loft to chat with Axios’s Alex Thompson, our old pal and arguably the most plugged in political reporter in America. We could offer some conversation bullet points but…just trust us. This is a really good one. Alex dishes on his reporting about the campaign to dislodge Biden’s from ticket, the enormous and quiet political power of the Obamas, and the behind-the-scenes war betwee...
Aug 22, 2024•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Moynihan, Welch, and Kmele’s Chicago misadventures continue in this dispatch, recorded just before night three of the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Joined by the incomparable Mike Pesca ( host of The Gist ), your favorite podcast triumvirate dissects the week’s events so far, their implications for the 2024 presidential race, and the future of the Democratic Party. Plus, a brief meditation on proper etiquette when dining at celebrity steakhouses—with a pair of reformed gangsters. Recorded...
Aug 22, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why waste time with discursive show notes when you can just say two very simple words? Steve Kornacki. One of People’s “Sexiest Men Alive” returns to the Fifth (for his fourth appearance??) to breakdown the latest polls, prognosticate on what happens to the Republican Party if Trump loses, and subtly reveal that he might be a degenerate blackjack player. Just listen. It’s a good one. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, v...
Aug 09, 2024•2 hr 38 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * An ethereum veep bet ( Note : U.S. customers are banned, so no $1,000 on Shapiro bet was made) * Watching the Olympics * Supporting Ukrainian athletes for non-political reasons * Lil’ Moyn is still in it to win it * An old, prescient email… * “What did I do?” - Gerald Ford * The drug excuse is not that convincing, TBH * Dave, Buster, and Trump * Yeah, no, it’s not going to be…...
Aug 05, 2024•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast * Anything happen since we left? * La Bubblewrap * The media will do it for you * Everyone will forget about that NABJ appearance * Every journalist in that room is Audie Murphy * Who’s black? * Not in defense of Thomas Eagleton (soz) * The polls changed so let’s attack Nate Silver for noticing * Every one in politics is “weird” * The child will never fly coach again * The honorable resistors * JD Vance’s amazingly stupid economic ideas, which he cannot actually believe * The end of the Venezuel...
Aug 02, 2024•2 hr 48 min•Transcript available on Metacast In April 2023, while producing a documentary series for The John Templeton Foundation (JTF), I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing legendary punk/rock musician and producer audio engineer Steve Albini. Portions of that interview appear in the sixth installment of the doc series (which is phenomenal, and you should watch every episode immediately), but most of our conversation has remained unreleased—until now.On May 7th, 2024, Steve passed away at 61 after an illustrious and influential li...
Jul 27, 2024•2 hr 46 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * HOF weekend * The Talented Ms. Jewhater * Notes from the RNC * The black Republicans who don’t care about ideology * The 33 person BBQ in North Milwaukee * Losing their religion * The Great Resignation * “She’s not Joe Biden on foreign policy, buy who is…” * Why they hate us * There’s no Kamala bump * More Project 2025 nonsense * The rise of the mentally ill pundit * To win, Dems…...
Jul 22, 2024•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
