This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comMichael 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…

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 trade. Don’t care about such things!? Well, this episode is a double feature! After Scott’s masterclass on free trade, the lads stick around to discuss Trump’s appointments (ummm….this was a day before the Gaetz-Gabbard selections), “neocons,” and the WNBA. And for you subscribers: we will drop Moynihan’s conversation with Bard College historian Sean McMeekin in the next few days. For you non-subscribers…what are you waiting for?? 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.comOur 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 …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comWelch 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 …

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

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…

* 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 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* 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* …

* 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 populism winning?* On banning TikTok 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* 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

* 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 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.comA 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…

* 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 people”* Debate home run derby * Moynihan’s Utne Reader piece for 2008. Welch on Katrina* New media that we love. Or at least *like* 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 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

* 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 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.comKmele’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…

* 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 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* 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 …

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 claims.” Well yes, that’s pretty much every segment on every episode. “The speakers critique the absurdity of political discourse and the influence of social media on public narratives.” Is it odd that the AI episode summary failed to note that Moynihan yet again makes fun of Sam Altman? Only as odd, we suspect, as Snowden not tweeting negative things about Putin… And remember, if you want an extra episode every week, want to interact with the boys on the members-only “Second Sunday” episodes, or just want them to answer your pressing (emailed) questions, be sure to subscribe today! 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.comFirst: 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…

* 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 evil. And the migration crisis came with many negative consequences for Europe. Both of the things can be true, you dopes! 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* 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…

* 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/subscribe

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 between Michelle Obama and the Biden family. 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

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: August 21st, 2024 (at the bustling Substack Loft)Published: August 22nd, 2024 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

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, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe

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…

* 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 Venezuelan dictatorship* Killing bad guys in Tehran and Beirut* Resistance vs. escalation 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

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 life and career. With special thanks to JTF (and in honor of Steve Albini Day), we’re pleased to publish the full audio of that interview here.Steve engineered audio for artists like Nirvana, Bush, and the Pixies, helping each bring some of their most authentic and celebrated works to grateful fans the world over. Steve’s dedication to capturing the natural essence of a band's performance without excessive studio manipulation has left a lasting legacy in the music industry.In this wide-ranging exchange, Albini shared insights into his philosophy on music production and anecdotes from his time working with some of the biggest names in rock. And given the uniquely ontological focus of our documentary, Steve also served up some fascinating meditations on:* communicating with aliens* being a ‘vector of history’* the modern music scene* and the mathematics of musicAlbini's approach to his work wasn’t just technical but deeply philosophical. He believed that the role of a producer was to serve the artist's vision rather than impose their own. That ethos resonated throughout our discussion, a testament to his principled commitment to artistic integrity. His passing is a significant loss, but his legacy will undoubtedly continue to inspire future musicians and producers.- KmeleNOTE: This release includes a brief cameo from my friend and sometimes collaborator Jason Mojica — the indispensable producer/director of Dispatches from The Well.Interview Recorded: April 28th, 2023Published: July 27th, 2024 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* 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…

Moynihan calls in from GOP Ground Zero in Milwaukee. Kmele threatens to dish about Silicon Valley support for Donald Trump. Welch only slurs as much as Reince Preibus. Topics include J.D. Vance’s political philosophy, Joe Biden’s deteriorating public appearances, and—as ever—Kmele’s mangled naughty bits. Who the hell knows when the Adderall shortage will kick in, but we’re squeezing the last drops out of Moynihan’s productivity before the vape-seizures finally do him in. Let’s gooooo!!!! 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.comA rebroadcast of our increasingly popular Second Sunday edition, during which you, the listener, get to interact with the Fifth, berate them, flatter them, hit on them, and endlessly praise their wisdom and prescience. And thanks to all of you who showed up this week…so many, in fact, that we were forced to pay Zoom to increase the number of attendees. …

The lads make it through Biden’s presser, watch a bit of state television after, listen to the Mike Tyson’s Punch Out soundtrack, and limbo below the lowest bar in the history of low bars. 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* Wizards of Transnistria * Checking the box* A festival of freedom?* More old stuff* France and the media * Brain dead v. Hitler * It didn’t end in 2008, but it proved a lot * What a dictator is… and isn’t* An accent free pass * The best video ever: Fuck you bloody

It’s an Independence Day Miracle (if a few days delinquent). As another US Supreme Court term draws to a close, we tap in with our favorite SCOTUS obsessive, Damon Root (currently Freethink/Big Think, previous Reason, and author of books you really should buy).We discuss Presidential absolute immunity, Chevron deference, the pitiful state of SCOTUS journalism, and the obviously-super-serious effort in the US Congress to impeach/pack/scorn the highest court in the land on account of its *various crimes against democracy* (or something like that).ALSO: Frederick Douglass's on Independence Day… and Juneteenth?!“With flowing ROBES, grace, bald, striking.”- (Caddyshack - 1980)* Supreme Court and Presidential Powers* Chevron Deference, Executive Authority, and Legislative Inaction* Checks. Balances.* Judicial Perspectives on Recent Cases* Social Media and the First Amendment* Supreme Court's Conservative Majority* Frederick Douglass and American Ideals* Channeling Frederick Douglass (for Juneteenth)Recorded: June 3rd 2024Published: June 7th 2024 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* Miracles of indigenous science* Why is Matt talking about Kevin Costner so much?* Aaron Sorkin solves January 6th * Norm on Bob Uecker* Matt revisits his…bad night* The Biden sitch * James Carville on masculinity and “communities of color”* How do you guys manage to watch this crap?* QAnon all the time* Sam and Diane, but not funny * The block of humans called voters* “Total…

Oh dear. Yeah, that debate. Obviously. One would have to be a very successful, very delusional Substacker to think otherwise. But the night was about to get much, much worse. Moynihan, Welch, and Friend of the Fifth (former Rep.) Peter Meijer decided to record a quick reaction pod at 1am, after a collective 542 drinks. That…didn’t work. And that’s not what you are about to hear, although some devious editor appears to have dropped random clips of one particular Fifth host (Matt) into this episode, purely to bully him and amuse our bullying listeners. So as Welch recovered today, Kmele and Moynihan (a champion drinker, at this point immune to hangovers) grabbed star Axios reporter Alex Thompson, just back from the spin room in Atlanta, to try to make sense of it all. Note: This was supposed to be a subscriber-only episode, but between the clips of Matt doing his Foster Brooks impression and Alex being insightful and entertaining, we opened it up to all. You’re welcome. Now go subscribe so we can get Welch into a fancy Malibu rehab. 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

So our podcasting platform just launched an AI feature that scans your recording and automatically generates “show notes.” We gave it it try. These are the results, with a few important corrections.“The conversation begins with some light banter and discussion about rap music. [Human ed note: This was before we started, so it isn’t included in the episode, but it did feature Kmele speculating about John Lennon shooting Bob Dylan]. They then transition to talking about the upcoming presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. They discuss the format of the debate and their expectations for how each candidate will perform. They also touch on the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflicting information about masks and vaccines. The conversation ends with a humorous discussion about Matt Welch being a 'MAGA' supporter. [Human ed note: Humorous??] The conversation then shifts to the recent primary race between Jamaal Bowman and Eliot Engel, [sic] with a focus on the role of AIPAC and the effectiveness of negative ads. The hosts also criticize the performance and tactics of certain politicians in the 'squad'. Finally, they mention the fire alarm incident and the overall lack of support for Bowman in his district. [Human ed note: Here, the AI produced 800 words about our Julian Assange conversation]. The hosts end the conversation with some lighthearted banter about upcoming episodes. [Human ed note: Incorrect. We talked about Crocodile Dundee being a cokehead who created the crack epidemic] 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.comEvery second Sunday of the month, the lads fire up Zoom and do a (mostly) Q&A show for subscribers only. It’s very fun, often a bit messy and chaotic, and full of listeners expressing love, disbelief, dismay, and often delivering Strom Thurmond- like filibusters. So for you subscribers who couldn’t make it on June 9, we revive the Zoom recording just to…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* Imagine if Bill Cosby was an Islamophobic dog* Cringefest in the Bronx* Jamal and AOC * Sleeve rolled up, stool in hand, unemployment on the horizon* AIPAC is everywhere!* Violent psycho extremists for peace* The war won’t end until Jake Tapper’s kids are properly harassed* Shift back to the center, Dems* Laying hands on homeless people* Homeopathy is fake, btw * Geniuses …

After a very brief hiatus—apologies, but all is explained in the first five minutes of this episode—the lads are back. And there will be a flood of new content in the coming days, to make up for our testicular tardiness (also explained in the first five minutes of this episode). Also note: this episode was plagued by technical difficulties, but we hope, through the magic of editing, that you won’t notice.* The procedure * The politicization of late night continues apace* This is our territory* Alt weeklies that weren’t alt * Trump’s long “All In” interview* Could the debate move voters?* Don’t pretend to be working class* Louisiana and the Ten Commandments * Actually, covet your neighbors wife* Tell us about your culture: “Diet Coke and Starbucks and Dunkin’s”* Who did MM see at dinner?* Happy Juneteenth? 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

* Getting Drudged* Getting the spray* This new color isn’t working* Olivia amongst the Hamasniks in Union Square* Tearing up notebooks, airhorns in the ear…stuck in the middle of a protest * Hey hey ho ho shitty chants have got to go* Did any journalists reach out?* What if this was a Trump rally?* Legally blonde* You’ll be in a Trump camp * “Racial conspiracy theories” * I mean, you gotta understand where they’re coming from… 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

* Some unpopular opinions * Raise your hand if you’ve ever lied to the government* Fetterman and Real Time* Are you *addicted* to Marijuana???* Who are the victims here?* Excessive sentencing is bad, even for bad people * Victims: Alex Jones? Hunter Biden? DJT???* Biden is totally fine and thinking otherwise is the end of democracy* Joe Scarborough is the worst * Let’s all pretend that everything is normal, ok?* Scarborough casually defames two journalists* Washington Post loses a trillion dollars, hires more whites * The WNBA reality show * I knew James Baldwin. Baldwin was a friend of mine. And you, Ibram, are no James Baldwin 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* No matter what it is or who commenced it…* MAGA Hawaii* Inflatable gallows * The eye of the horrible Stormy* It’s a bird! It’s a Qassam! No…it’s the Blonde Zionist!* Dronez: The Hunt for El Chigon * Listener email: Working class kid makes good. Will his kids go soft?* Your kids want to be rich* Back in my day…..* Bad IRA comparisons from supposedly smart people* Jerry Sein…

A double-album worth of great content this week. Start off with Moynihan talking to Matt and Kmele about his Free Press piece charting the collapse of Vice and him forthcoming piece charting the collapse of the Black Panther Party. Then the lads chat about the weirdness of the New York Trump trial, Israel in Rafah, and lots more. And stick around for Kmele’s conversation with the Lennon-McCartney, the Lieber and Stoller of podcasts, Matt Boll and Andy Mills, the duo who brought you The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, among other modern audio classics. They’re back with a new series called Reflector, a “show about the strange experience of being human.” We don’t know *exactly* what that means, but we absolutely guarantee that it will be a work of unparalleled brilliance. Check out episode one here. 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 LP snoozer* Remembering that lady who said that gross thing about kids* You will never play in the NBA, baby* Zone of Interest redux, briefly* The Ann Landers portion begins * Should I stop being an academic and become a cop who lurks on dating apps?* The anti-Semitic date* I can’t be brave and call bullshit. So what do I do?* Well, it all depends * How to talk about…

* The most serious race controversy of 2024: that lady basketball player* “I mean, I've been a huge fan of Blackpink for years and I've never heard a single one of their songs.:* Snek and the Supreme Court * Everyone's wife is Ginny Thoma* The defense rests* Local news and crappy journalists * In defense of…Marilyn Mosby? * Israel and the ICC* Enter Sibarium: the UCLA Medical School controversy 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

* At a party * At Fenway * Losers (which is apparently already a show)* Jake, Dana, Donald, and Joe* Cui bono? * How Joe wins* How Donald wins* The NY trial continues…* Mitt Romney would pardon DT* “Attacked our legal system”* The new Noem* Post-Donald, where does the party go?* How goes it in Ukraine? 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* Italian bootlegs * Warm Fanta * Drinking on your European vacation * The Comfort of Strangers * Pre-internet travel* Jake Siegel: a moderate dissent…and Fifth reaction* Probability and the feminist bank teller* What happens when people call you bad names in public* 9 times out of 10, they were rapping* Awful media critics * What would CH do?* Steve Albini* “And the songs that…

So many of you have written us demanding the return of Jacob Siegel that when word got to us that he was back in New York, we hunted him down and demanded that he submit to a *third* appearance on The Fifth. We discovered that Comrade Siegel, a gravelly voiced veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq and senior writer at Tablet, is hard at work on a book, an expansion of his already expansive essay “A Guide to Understanding the Hoax of the Century.” So we sat back in our chairs, asked a few questions, and basically handed the mic to Jake for an extended peroration on the Disinformation Industrial Complex, Trump’s foreign policy, why we should end American aid to Israel, and whether or not his unified theory of censorship counts as a “conspiracy theory.” We assume this one will provoke lots of listener mail. So agree or disagree, send it over and perhaps we’ll do a special “Responding to Jake” episode over at Substack. 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* Shogun erasure * Revolutionary accents * A debate on Israel and a subsequent anti-Moynihan calumny* Alas, anti-Semitism is common in certain parts of the world* Pointing this out seems pretty obvious * The WAV file * My melanated baby * Teaching kids versus raising kids * Indoctrinating someone else’s kids into your way of thinking is some serious cult shit * Torturing …

* Children of the revolution* No journalists allowed!* The Italian Gadsden flag* Oh no, Matt Welch…no, no, no* In defense of …Al Sharpton?* Dead soul singers * The great Baby Huey * Forgiving student debt is insane * College is dumb but it makes economic sense…for now * The New York Times and NPR* Jihad rehab * Twitter welcomes another sexless fascist 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 Banana genocide * Professor, professor…let’s stick to the facts * A conspiracy documentary full of cranks and losers * 60 journalism professors find a story they cannot countenance * Listeners on ADHD and Adderall* RFK in CA* Nodding along with Lemon* How to talk to an Auschwitz survivor * The trickiness of memory * Two sets of rules * Peaceful protesters get a call fr…

A two-for-one offering from The Fifth: first, the lads discuss the ongoing student stupidities, free speech and protest, Kmele at TED, and how your views are probably pretty normal (ed. note: considering the full-court coverage of the Columbia intifada, it’s sort of surprising that no one is referencing this terrible 1970 film, written by Ad-Roc’s dad). And then, some bonus content with Reason’s C.J. Ciaramella, who joins to discuss the government war on Adderall, his own ADHD diagnosis, and why it took him two months to get his prescription filled. 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* Swedish breakdown * Columbia breakdown* The continued rise of American extremism* The politics of “genocide”* The politics of propaganda * Chicago expectations* A newborn in the Fifdom * Our Batya episode* Trusting anti-trust?* The NPR excel spreadsheet * Books on McCarthy * Three best presidents?* The Watergate conspiracy is at least fun to believe

You asked, we delivered. Our pal Batya Ungar-Sargon enters the octagon to (politely!) fight the Globalist Fifth on trade, Trump, robots, unions, automation, and a bunch of other stuff. But we also agree on lots of other things! Hear Batya talk about her wild Israel debate on Zerohedge, how her last book foresaw the NPR madness, and why perverse incentives have created a boring media echo chamber. Thanks for listening! Love, Oskar and Raoul 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

* Ozempic Joe* The Juice has expired * Revisiting the “Trial of the Century”* The double murderer who “abandoned his race”* In defense of Marcia Clark* Dementia dads* Matt Lauer emerges * Nutty MTG, drunky Boebert* Arizona abortions* Operation Bubble Wrap* Poor guy in a ski mask shoots at cops* Group condemnations and the “IDW” 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* Kid rapping * Saturday Night Fever is dark, dark movie * Girl dadding* Anti-communist manifestos* On Andrew and Israel * Big bombs in Iraq: not so fast, Andrew!* The normalization of extremism * Don’t be Paul Robeson * What it means to be “anti-war’* Dehamasification* A bachelor party in NY * And much more!

Third time’s even more charming! Andrew “Cheech” Sullivan is back, puffing away and ruminating on Israel, Iraq, conservatives, the trans movement, loud music from bluetooth speakers, the awfulness of Trump (who won’t be a dictator, btw), the resilience of American democracy, the resounding victories of the gay rights movement, and the general boringness of identity. 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.comLast month’s “Second Sunday” broadcast was fun, boozy, and…almost lost. We won’t point any fingers—though they might be jabbed in the direction of a certain someone during the recording—but through a Peter Jackson-like audio excavation, it was saved. Was that a good thing? Errr…who knows. And so, with a few nips and tucks, here she is! And we’ll be back…

The title says it all. The three lads were together, in the same studio, for the second time in as many months. And it’s possible that the start of this particular episode was, for whatever reason, a bit chaotic. But as we settle in with our friend novelist and journalist Kat Rosenfield, we ultimately managed to discuss a few things like…* Kat’s cancellation story* Her great New York mag piece from 2017* Wait, what is sex trafficking?* Did Kat steal a sled from a kid? Or is that kid a filthy liar?* Revisiting Christine Blasey Ford* Firing or cancelling?* The sacking of Rona Romney McDaniel…Romney* The Trump bible* Kat is meh on Cormac McCarthy* 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

* Note to Ben Shapiro: not sure Candace Owens is a big fan of the Jews* A sick little girl needs Bruins v. Rangers tickets. I mean…sort of. She recently had Covid…* When life gives you Lemon, fire him because he’s a terrible interviewer* How not to do an interview* Depression and ketamine* The Jamaican national anthem * The chocolate balls of Sweden (again) * Remembering Milo * A friend emails about Trump and democracy* Guys, pay attention to the actual bad stuff Trump has said * A wager on Biden’s path forward 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* Norm the Nosy Neighbor* A terrible coinage* Did Moynihan kick off this idiocy? Probably!* Why did we “amplify” a popular internet documentary that we didn’t like?* We should have disliked the thing we already disliked even more* Getting clicks is always more important than adhering to the unwritten colleague code* The only was to redeem for insufficient dislike of…

* Too much toilet paper* A subway shooting in Brooklyn* BTW, dude isn’t dead* Mike Tyson might kill that YouTube guy with the dumb earrings* On banning Tik Tok * Texans have no porn* Who will win the Russian elections????* Anti-Italian cable descramblers and freaky phones* Malaysian monitors Russian election from basement apartment in Malaysia* That’s not what democracy looks like* A Fani update* Repent for not disliking it enough 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

* How the Fifth Column helped destroy Josh’s public radio career* People who started on “our side” but went around the bend…* Consistency, people * The shrinking of acceptable American opinion* Sure, we all have our own biases…but…* Echo chambers and media fragmentation * Right wing “cancel culture”* Florida cancels DEI departments. Good or bad?* MSNBC panel: “Immigrants in Virginia? LOL!”* “And btw, crime isn’t real”The Uncomfortable Conversations Substack (and new YouTube channel) 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* Birthdays was the worst days, now Coen drinks champagne when he’s thirstay* Stolen packages * 9-0…but not really* Disaster for democracy!* We’re worried about Keith Olbermann* Disastrous polls for Ol’ Joe* The RAGE and the pride* As always, Trump is raising money* Keith is crying piss* A bizarro time machine * Some dating advice for (MAGA?) Mary

* The worst Scouse accent ever* Blackfishing * Trump and Tish* Lawyers and lawfare* A lunatic DEI artifact from…that company* Congress’s Venceremos Brigade* The immigrant song* The lads disagree…* With burning concern* Fetterman, Mitch, Biden, Tucker again* Matt Remke getting worked* And so 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* Back to New York * Subways and free markets* Milei pisses on mercantilism, MAGA types don’t notice* The Foxconn con * The rise and fall of Vice* No one talks about the content…they should * Funny, QAnon all the time doesn’t make money * Shane Gillis om SNL* Nora Dunn and Dice* The people will always decide* A very specific digression on Kansas City. Sorry. * Revisiting that …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comMatt calls in from a murder motel in Southern California that doesn’t really have wifi. He saves a few bucks. Kmele and Moynihan do the heavy lift. Everybody wins. A few topics discussed:* Houthi bodegas* Industrial policy schizophrenia* Will Kmele join the “back to Africa” movement?* Ujamma and Nyerere’s stash * The Fighting Sullivans (and no, the youngest wasn’…

* The Fani Willis train wreck* Daddy and the sacks of cash * $9,999* Russian McDonalds is so good that Tucker doesn’t care about freedom of the press* The political pilgrim* The murder of Alexei Navalny* A wave of whataboutism* Are your 19 year old daughters about to be drafted to fight in Gaza?* Time to retreat from the world?* OpenAI videos are sort of terrifying* Free Rachel Dolezal Kwame Nkrumah 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.comKmele gets an Apple Vision Thing because of he course he does. And he wears it the whole episode because of course he does. It’s a racist product, btw. And Bobby Jr’s Super Bowl ad was good. And Matt likes Usher, it seems. And certain conservatives like visiting and praising dirtbag dictatorships. And in case you hadn’t noticed, Joe Biden thinks it’s 19…

We’re back with two episodes smashed into one! So if you have a spare two hours… First up, our friend Coleman Hughes returns for a one-on-one conversation with Kmele about his brand-new book The End of Race Politics, which you should buy immediately. Also: Coleman was on Bill Maher’s show on Friday, most of which is available on YouTube.After an hour with Coleman, the full team is back for a few very uncomfortable conversations about a few very uncomfortable topics. Just listen and you’ll understand…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. Preferably paid, but…well take either…. 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.comA rebroadcast of Sunday’s live Zoom, available only to subscribers, of course. And this particular live event was only available to Never Fly Coach-tier subscribers. So you know what that means: If you’re not subscribed, maybe it’s time to pony up? And if you’re already a subscriber…remember that there are different tiers and that we can, in fact, quite…

* The point of a dagger * The Messenger of death* The billionaire model * WE NEED SOME QUICK BITES* The murder of James O’Keefe* Horrible people, horrible ideas, great writing* Requisite 2024 talk* In (soft of) defense of Jon Stewart* Cori Bush is the Whitney Houston of Congress* LD on Simmons pod* Jamaal Bowmen is the Philip Larkin of 9/11 (hmmmmmm)* Yay for Aaron!* And so 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* A black man on his toes* MJ at the Apollo * A “Compassionate” Traitor* Ron Radosh’s review of the doc * An entire life of lies* And a list of actual commies in the government (Note from MM: When I say “married to Ethel Rosenberg, * A shitty copy of Mission to Moscow* Listeners and Redditors: you’re wrong about Trump and democracy* The man vs. the movement / MAGA vs. po…

Oh dear. Watching the New Hampshire returns, the lads do a spot-on impression of the good old, liquor-soaked days of 2016 Fifth Column and get pretty deep in their cups…so yeah, sorry about this one. * Trump wins* Cutting from Trump’s dumb speech* 20 percent for Dean Phillips* This is, in fact, democracy* No one says anything on cable news* The speeches * The overstatement machine * Moralism doesn’t work * A brave defense of Iran-backed Islamism* A sort of drunken rant about hipster Houthis* The New York Times on haaaazaaaaaa* It all falls apart…something about Tipper Gore, Jello Biafra, and covering every election but the U.S. one 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 Winslow RIP?* Joe Rogan would tear Kmele in half* The cockfighting story that never was * Some pretty pathetic fight stories * That insane UK piano player video* HHHHHHAMAAAAAAZZZ* Chris on Kmele’s pejorative for the Irish* The end of Ron* It was always “inevitable”* Back to the basement* Voters and immigration: not that complicated* You want European politics?* Trump’…

* This time, we’re not going to hold back* Destroying from the ladies tees* I love with Doug* More media implosions* ¯\_(ツ)_/¯* Democracy is over when my irrelevant newspaper folds* Passover is too Jewish* The uniqueness of the Holocaust* Opinion mongers making calls about newsworthiness * This era as history* Whatchutalkinabout Fani Willis* Ross Douthat and “Neocon Nikki” 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.comIn a rebroadcast of our latest Second Sunday, Tina Nguyen joins the lads again to discuss Substack, Andrew Yang, Kmele fighting another podcast host, James Bond, Tucker Carlson, Vietnamese immigrants, militias, and…the great Tom Vu. In case you’re unfamiliar with America’s greatest Vietnamese import, some of his greatest hits.

* The year of the ladies* They’re pro-Houthi* They’re Weebs * The MAGA Diaries * The diaspora politics of the Vietnamese* MAGA Straussianism * Tina and Tucker* Tina and the militias* Kmele and the Houthis* It’s always World War Three* Just say they went too far…* NYT on Russia bombing hospitals * Some Iowa thoughts* Some brief thoughts on the fake Substack Nazi controversy This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* Matt, swallowed by Los Alamos* Jon Ronson’s new pod* A terrible trailer, a pretentious movie* Ringo Seal!!! Trump is “being persecuted”* Head injuries that help* Listen to that podcast, even if it’s terrible* A hot plagiarist* Substack and Nazis* Chomsky and Jeffery* Kmele’s new favorite football player* And so much more!

Should we even bother with the normal bullet points? Because it’s mostly about Claudine Gay. And the media’s embarrassing reaction to Gay’s “duplicative phrasing” and “attribution issues.” And what this says about the rot in academia. And something about a Disney Plus show. And ladies who live in trees. And how Kmele’s ice has to be colder than Welch’s ice. And a generation of dumb intellectuals. 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* The last one of the year * The French public sector * Macron and the menorah * Exploding appliances * Nick & Kanye* Nikki’s slavery gaffe * But does she have a shot?* Billionaires on the “billionaire class”* Don’t forget about RFK* Who blew up the pipeline?* Why we believe what we believe* Vivek’s “inside job”

* I resign!* (“That was a great apartment….”)* I resign!* (“That was the worst job….”)* Mansplaining the war* Too big to process* It’s like 9/11 for Americans, and also not* “You can still smell the death”* The Jericho Wall revelations* “I’m pretty sure most people who were responsible will resign”* Were judicial protests a distraction?* State fails, society rallies* A time for Diaspora choosing* Like moths to crazy* Intelligence scandal, leadership scandal* Hard out here for a two-state solutionista* Did Israel choke off Gazans’ resources?* “My heart is captive in Gaza”* “If we don’t come out of this very secure, it’s the end of Israel”* And yet … hope! 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

* Can Kmele sing?* A guy is surrounded by some racists* In praise of…Alec Baldwin?* Protesters are like racists* Trump and Colorado* Smart people who have come to some strange conclusions on this…* He’s screwing with you. You know that right?* They think you don’t understand policy * Not a lot of loyalty….(plus: a paean to Hope Hicks)* One word: NEW YORK* From Jihad to Lego * A silly list of “media influencers”* Is Emmanuel Lewis alive? (Yes) 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* It wasn’t a debate * Moynihan loves islands. Who doesn’t?* University stuff* “Late capitalism”* Walt Disney wasn’t a Nazi * Backfilling history* Massaging numbers* On the Qataris….* And a bunch of listeners chime in!

* Ron Karenga * Handel’s Messiah and stock portfolio * Musicology is dumb, says Matt* Hip-hop is appropriation and it’s great * Method Man thinks the Stones and Bootsy are the same* The Fall of Minneapolis * The Fifth’s verdict * Some good things, some bad things * Revisiting the Chauvin trial* An 800,000 word reflection from James Bennet * Fanaticism and forgivenness * How is this plagiarist surviving?* How about firing these dopes* LP and AJ * The many, many, many dead in Ukraine 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 editorial board of the Washington Post * What what wrong with the cease fire * On culpability* Can there *be* a negotiated settlement?* Is it really “the occupation”? * That wild 2022 video from Jenin that Moynihan mentioned* You’re going to be defrocked* Being handcuffed by “the Nahkba”* The insane rape conspiracy theories—and why they exist* Are all these people pro-Hamas?* Mrs. Gay Goes to Washington* Choose different words, dummies* Are you allowed a moral mulligan?* The Calvin Principals* 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

* We ain’t gonna play Sun City* RIP Shane* George Santos: genius* Gavin v. Ron* Why would you do this, Gavin?* This awful presidential race * Hating WFB* Be friends with and “platform” your political opposites* RIP Kissinger?* Dictatorships and double standards * The forever war with Iran* An awful, awful hostage video * On hostages and peace partners * The future of Gaza 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 shooting in the hood* The Oakland Politburo speaks. The world is appalled.* The free speech issue vs. the university infection * Knowing nothing but propaganda* Gaza Facebook is pretty wild* Sir Humphrey says: “This is the most insane answer ever”* What Epstein got right. And you gotta bring Bill Clinton* A weird story about Hillary’s shushing * UFO nonsense* What’s th…

Family beckons. Booze beckons. So we’re going to forgo the bullet points that we’re pretty sure you don’t read anyway and just say…Happy Thanksgiving, from your friends at the Fifth! And while you shamelessly celebrate genocide, listen along while the lads bemoan the racism of the Black Plague; the deadline to file charges against Kmele; the quote-invention of ChatGPT; the hostage deal in Israel; and the extreme awfulness of Holocaust historians Joe Scarborough, Mike Brzezinski, and Claire McCaskill. 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* Javier Milei, tantric drummer* The hideousness of modern Peronism * A brief digression on Aerosmith* So how did we all meet?* Start fighting, Moynihan* Another digression on Sam Altman’s awfulness (two examples now available at Moynihan’s Instagram)* When Israel decided against killing the entire leadership of Hamas* Well, they tried anyway * Fiction that changed our lives * I don’t want to read about who I am and where I came from * Another Fifth drinking game* And so very much more….

* Live from Oakland* Sex strikes * Loving OBL * Stop deconstructing stuff * Seeing your friends spinout online…* They’re not sending anyone anywhere * Drunk Kathy Hochul and her bad, drunk ideas* Not drunk Nikki Haley and her bad ideas* Hate speech isn’t a thing in America* Israel and propaganda * MKH on evangelicals, Israel, and the supposed “left behind” vision of Zionism* TikTok you don’t stop * And so 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* “She’s reasonable in person” (🤔)* In praise of…Estonia* Are any expressly political comedians funny?* Meetings interrupted by death * Listener question: On the 1619 Project * Indonesian guys loves America, nuclear weapons* Family friends with Carlos the Jackal* Israel asks: “Kmele, what should we do?”* Stars and Bucks (Correction: Bethlehem not Ramallah)* Why not get a…

* One hell of a night, one brutal morning* Kevin Hart kills* Judy Gold and college comedy* The Washington Post says sorry for being mean to Hamas* Be brave, get fired?* There’s been a bunch of recent Islamist attacks in the West, actually* New York City’s hate crimes leader board* The pointless Republican debate* Vivek is the worst (and also was kinda good for three seconds)* Reaganism without Reagan (and Bannon’s Reagan film)* Only in New York, kids* Trust the kids, kids* Teaching about vs. proselytizing for… 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* Voting for New York judges (and do you have a spare apartment?)* An unsolicited application* Liz Warren warns about the surge of….* Is violent anti-Semitism in the U.S. a real threat?* Explain the progressive-Islamist alliance please…* He has become comfortably dumb* No, it’s not really fishy* Defining war, war crimes, and civilians * The government’s stupid war on (pr…

* Happy birthday Kmele* The girls of the IDF * The lads take a wrong turn, end up in “Poundtown”* In fairness, we didn’t know he did a whole segment on this * So Mike Pence dropped out?* That’s some good polling for Bobby Jr. * When innocents die* Nat Turner’s bloody rebellion * Human shields and asymmetry* Kill ‘em all, says Rep. Brian Mast* Political pilgrims for Hamas* Sorry but nothing after 1917, Matt* 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comAlong with fellow comedian Ryan Long, Danny Polishchuk is one half of the very funny Boyscast podcast (a favorite of Fifth Column listeners, we are reliably told). Again alongside Ryan Long, Danny is the woke guy in the “When Wokes and Racists Actually Agree on Everything” video.” And there’s lots of great solo stuff over at his YouTube channel. Danny s…

* On The Canceling of the American Mind: Cancel Culture Undermines Trust and Threatens Us All―But There Is a Solution.* The youngest Fif’ and Maher guest.* My how times have changed since 9/11.* The numbers are very, very bad. Bad numbers!* The sudden (and probably temporary) rediscovery of campus neutrality.* Yes, some post-Oct. 7 campus ruckus has been Cancel Culture.* And so, so depressing.* The (surprising!) view from Gen Z.* Millennials are the worst.* Schlott vs. Haidt.* Shut up, bigot.* The Left does it more (on campus, anyway).* We’re past peak-Woke, right? Right? 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* An idiot…He wrote this* Condolences to a friend * What is a war crime?* History wars and war crimes* The worst congresswoman went to the worst law school * In defense of Harvard. Sort of. * Defending Panthers and the exhilaration of murderous anti-Semitism* Why no air raid shelters?* Meir Kahane Krunch* Objecting to a guest. We disagree* Karine Jean-Pierre will answer what…

* Hamas and the hospital* Don’t trust and try to verify* Did Israel “create” Hamas?* When there’s no negotiating partner* America’s role in the Middle East* Enter Iran…* Gauging Palestinian public opinion* A massive media failure* One-way root causes* And 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* Where are you Ben and/or Jerry?* The radicalization of KF* What it means to be “anti-war”* The radicalization of the universities* Other fronts in the war * Israel, its neighbors, and its assassination program (Note: It was not Shamir who was PM during Operation Opera. It was Begin. Moynihan regrets the error)* Importing anti-Semitism to Europe* No, you can’t go to H…

A few weeks before the Hamas pogrom, Moynihan was reading Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict by the brilliant Israeli-American journalist and historian Oren Kessler. So he called him to talk through the current conflict, its historical antecedents, and how Hamas’s murder spree has effected his family.* RIP Tomer Shoham* The nightmare scenario* “This is good for Hamas”* The “I don’t support it, but you have to understand…” argument* The “occupation” is Tel Aviv and Haifa* Nowhere to go / hostage trading* On the media coverage* The Arab Revolt of 1936* The beginning of Arab nationalism, Jewish terrorism* Writing while angry* The Jewish Agency Fund 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(Editor’s note: about 20 seconds of Comrade Lake’s mic is missing at the very beginning of this recording. It fixes itself soon thereafter. Sorry about that)It’s that time of month (…ummmm….time for a rebroadcast of our Second Sunday Zoom call). As you probably already guessed, we managed just one topic of conversation this time around: the unfolding ho…

* Former Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer is back to talk about his insane friends and erstwhile colleagues on the Hill * Peter’s surprising (to us) view of Rep. Matt Gaetz* “I try to see the best in people” (Hmmmmm….)* The gordian knot of polarization* Peter makes the case for [blank] as Speaker…….* Oh wait, he’s kinda serious!* What do any of these people actually believe? * “Oh, I mean, there's horseshoe theory and then there's horseshoe theory…”* Does Peter have an announcement to make?? Maybe??* Well, he didn’t exactly deny it* Note: giving people free shit usually works (for a bit)* The HARD LEFT supercut* Former Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer was setup and no one really cares* Two progressive activists are murdered and out come the ghouls 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

* Unrelated non-programming note from Moynihan: “As some of you might recall, and as I mentioned in the intro, last year I beseeched listeners to help my amazing daughter Livia (and her gymnastics team) raise money for pediatric cancer. And last year, you guys came through in such a crazy way that one parent asked me if I was “some sort of cult leader.” I said no. I’m only a cult co-host. So thanks in advance! Oh, and the event is tomorrow!” THE LINK* Back in July, Kmele and Moynihan talked to a room full of students at FIRE’s annual student conference in Philadelphia. Much fun was had by all. And it was recorded. So…here you go.* A generous Greg Lukianoff intro. And some stuff about Kmele and Moynihan and Jonah Lehrer. For the kids.* And then…the kids tell tales of campus woe…* What more description do you need? 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

Our old Aussie-Aussie-Aussie-Oi-Oi-Oi pal Josh Szeps, former host of the morning show Wake Up Ya C***s, was in New York this weekend and stopped by the Fifth’s Chinatown headquarters! So we decided to have a few drinks (Ed. note: Josh has lost approximately 600 pounds and is now sober, while Welch and Moynihan are still the same old lazy alcoholics) and argue about how our pal Coleman Hughes was treated by TED…receive a concise primer on the politics of Australia’s “voice” referendum…get an equally concise lesson in Aussie identity politics… promote his terrific podcast “Uncomfortable Conversations”…and recount a recent conversation that was so uncomfortable that it has been permanently disappeared. 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* Deion’s audacious blackness* Kevin McHale’s audacious whiteness * Serious Hasan’s baby is covered in cocaine* What everyone hates most is a racist, anti-Asian wolf* Cutting the razor wire because…why not?* Immigration in Europe is different* DOWTCHA BOY! The (Irish?) origins of Jamaican Patois* Is Matt the Harvey Weinstein of the Fifth?* Guess what? There was more to t…

* The sartorial excellence of the Pennsylvania Senate delegation* “Pooping on their shoes” * Kilmeade v. Rosendale (that’s his name)* Kendi and the disappearing millions * Want to demonitize one of your enemies? We have an idea!* A threatening letter from Lady Orwell DBE* The ACLUization of everything * Trump on the Meet the Press* Broadcast needs to “lend democracy a hand?”* Biden is just getting worse* Ron slides further…and new New Hampshire numbers * Defeatism and elitism, mixed * The “moral clarity” darling of 2023: Christiane Amanpour 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* Bob Geldof is the hero of this story* She isn’t the pantless one* Catholics, Kmele and your “best religious experience”* Nick and the Burn* Jamaican names / Wes Anderson movies * Revisiting Less Than Zero* The Hollywood Party v. Walt Disney* A listener has an Amy Cooper question…* The Kendi Center kind of shuts down* NOI in our imagination* Whitedurans wonder what to do ne…

* 36 year-old grandmother vapes, feels up Democrat * Shanah Tova!* Russell Brand, who Moynihan wrote about in 2014, is accused of rape* They are coming after the truth tellers, maaaaaannnnnn* Revisiting Hunter’s indictment * Breaking: Biden is confused and sleepy * Trump v. Kelly* I’m the president, so it’s legal…* Ron’s compounding troubles, plummeting poll numbers* Preemptive skepticism * Hasan Minaj is an unfunny fraud 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.comAs Moynihan explains in the intro, this is the Zoom recording from this month’s Second Sunday broadcast. Basically, it’s the difference between a soundboard and audience bootleg. But so it goes. So no bullet points this week—enough time has already been spent on this episode—other than to say that Ben Dreyfuss shows up and we talk about Danny Masterson,…

* Every city is a nightmare* Airbnb banned—but hotel rooms are now free!* Pedro glues his feet to the floor, Moynihan discovers climate change* It’s the end of New York as we know it (and Mayor Adams feels not so fine)* None of this is sustainable, btw* “BIPOC” residents in Chicago are angry * Nikki rising, Vivek shrinking* Enrique Tarrio, black white supremacist, gets more time than Mr. American Taliban* The DOJ understands why an activist guy murdered a non-activist guy 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 public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe

Let’s abandon the usual bullet points and instead provide a few relevant links. The lads sit down with Swedish writer and historian Johan Norberg to discuss his forthcoming book The Capitalist Manifesto; his report on Sweden’s Covid response; his almost-a-book The Mirage of Swedish Socialism: The Economic History of a Welfare State; and that time, twenty years ago, when he first came across Moynihan wandering around Stockholm, clutching a book about filthy commies. 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* Elvis Costello’s dad is the best dancer* Orthodox Shyne* Jamaicans vs….ummm…non-island people* Close enough* The race blob* The Australia craze / Jacko* Gross Steven Segal songs* “The molester Rolf Harris?”* Revisiting the dumb debate * Ron, Vivek, et al* In praise of Gary Becker (and his family)* OJ Simpson: Slashing government spending* Moynihan’s baggage has shifted on this…

* Best mugshots of all time (Winner: 70s Larry King)* Who won the dumb debate* No, the agenda is a hoax* Nikki…pretty, pretty, pretty good, actually* “Let’s not look backwards”* One of the most deranged policy suggestions…* The debate over Trump prosecutions* Did Trump sound sane compared to Tucker?* What happened to Pesca’s podcast “Not Even Mad” podcast?* It’s really hard to make a podcast where everyone disagrees * Is the New York Times getting a bit more sensible?* Blurring the lines between activism and journalism 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* San Francisco again* Song of the South again* TikTok NPC insanity* Colombian Snow White, for the first time* How Obama broke up with his girlfriends * Roger Stone on JFK Jr. And a bit on PressTV * Richy Rich of Richmond * The AnCap of Argentina* If the lads of the Fifth could avoid the dumb outrage, would they ?* Iran, Pakistan, American foreign policy* Are we more polariz…

* A Moynihan intro on theft and “Jew face”* Lara Bazelon on rap lyrics as evidence, January 6th prosecutions, RICO, prosecutorial insecurity and overreach * Artists, characters, and belief* A Title IX violation is worse than being convicted for robbery * Lara’s new podcast * Greg on Title IX bureaucracy and free speech* The decline of the American university* And much, much more* Stay tuned for volume 2, in which Kmele and Moynihan field questions from college students! 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 Robbie Robertson* Yeah, so 30 minutes of music talk about The Band, The Doors being bad, listeners getting mad at us, Graham Nash in a book store, Mickey Jones, patriotic Bob, Barry Goldwater, and The Last Waltz. Sorry about that.* I’m going to suggest that you weren’t denied entry into the exclusive club because you’re Asian * But being an Asian-American…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* Richard Hananananananania is very sorry* He has changed. From last week.* Handjobs against racism* Lizzo, bananas, petards* “Everything I do is consequential, baby”* Chasing Fonzie the racist (Ed note: We can neither confirm nor deny this story)* The thing that is true but one cannot say…* Italy is a great but they’ll charge you a toll to cross the room* Irish and Ital…

So this one is probably four days old now? But because of the shitty software we use—and the fact that our…ummm….editor is currently on vacation in Italy—it took some serious archeology to salvage the recording. But it sounds fine, it’s a good episode, and Moynihan isn’t at all annoyed about having to upload this from a beach in Forte dei Marmi. The lengths we will go to make you people smarter and happier…So no description. Just listen to the damn thing. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* Matt hasn’t seen Oppenheimer * Brittany Murphy is dead, probably from myocarditis. Kmele is surprised * Found that anti-Qaddafi t-shirt* That stupid interview on Democracy Now* NHJ is America’s greatest historian* Was Moynihan crying? (Moynihan responds: This is fake news)* “But ackshually……..”* Low key good and not great* Richard (not Robert) Frank’s brilliant book* The…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* Kmele and the Dead* Lia hates God* RFK and the race virus* A guilty verdict* The Dersh and jury nullification * The often referenced video of Dersh v. the Fink* A listener retracts his “dickish email”* An email about Boston and music* Is Boston a “racist” city?* Forgetting about bussing * The Irish vs. the WASPs* Moynihan unloads on idiot Vice executives

* This is a very summer episode. Soz. * Moynihan, impanelled* Implicit bias and your cup of coffee* Chipotle paranoia * We interrupt this program for a detailed Welch interregnum of the death of Milan Kundera* Tracy Chapman is “honored” by Luke Combs’s cover. The Washington Post is alarmed* Elvis was a hero to most, but he never…* You didn’t write that song. The “community” did* De La Soul is not Steely Dan* Airbrushing music and film history will save the universe* Actually Tintin in Congo is pretty bad….* A dumb congressman says something dumb. Ho hum. * A suggestion for a new Sokal hoax* Cocaine, crack, and a question never asked of Biden the Younger* Why Matt once bought $100 worth of crack 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

* Taking back a “clarification”* Underhoused. Overhoused. Differently housed.* Mayor Adams yells at a Holocaust surviving slave master* Drinking coffee with pictures of dead cops* Who lost the cocaine?* Kamala speechwriter video* The worst person in America is…* That interesting piece about Kevin Kruze’s not interesting book* The Fifth Column agrees: the 4th is pretty great…* Immigration in Europe vs. immigration in the US* Harvard and affirmative action 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 sick podcast* Revisiting Coleman and RFK* Listeners yelling at Moynihan* Some nice stuff about Moynihan* A clarification from Moynihan* (All of this is re: RFK) * BTW, Sirhan Sirhan was really anti-Semitic* The conspiratorial mind* Are Birchers libertarians on meth?* Taking photos of yourself smoking crack* Matt tells a story about…something* Etc, etc, etc

Our old pal Damon Root, author of Overruled: The Long War for Control of the U.S. Supreme Court, stops by to explain why the world is ending and racism won and all new websites will be homophobic and paying your debts is fascism or something. So yeah, the lads discuss the court, affirmative action, student loans and how to eat your gay website cake. 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

The great Coleman Hughes sent a pained email. Like many Americans angry about various stupid and sinister government Covid policies, he was now feeling the gravitational pull of a warbly-voiced political outsider from a family of consummate political insiders. He was, of course, starting to fall for Mr. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. To be clear, this wasn’t a full-throated endorsement of Kennedy but, Coleman averred, an understanding where his ever-expanding legion of supporters were coming from. And after all, Kennedy was making some good points, no? With Matt Welch having left to join the Wagner Group, Moynihan and Kmele sent a flurry of furious messages and extended an invitation. Dear Coleman: be this week’s guest co-host! Because if we acted now, perhaps we could at least slow any potential descent into...no, no, no. We couldn’t sit idly by as another friend joined the Kult of Kennedy. We invited…he accepted. It was time for an intervention… 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.comAnother live Zoom for our handsome, brilliant, and generous subscribers (hence all the weird asides responding to a fast-moving live chat). A few topics covered:* Kmele on Juneteenth * Rush and nerds and whites and wizards * RFK and Rogan and debate* Being brave and calling….* RIP Cormac McCarthy * James Randi “platforming” Uri Geller * Vivek’s Russia stuff* Yalta and …

Fresh from his campaign stop in front of a Miami courthouse, presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy stops by the Fifth’s Chinatown studio to very politely argue with Welch and Moynihan about a whole bunch of stuff. Including:* The donor class* What kind of conservative is Vivek?* Populism and free trade* A peace plan for China and Ukraine* The Trump indictment* Would Vivek take a position in a Trump * Vivek leaves, the lads have a tipple* Not many randos this time* Matt and Moyn on the Trump indictment * Wait, did Moynihan just say…free Assange?? (He did!)* More 2024 nonsense* Chris Christie is serving his purpose * Moynihan tries to decode an ever more complex flag 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

Matt, Moynihan, and Kmele assemble in Chinatown to mull over another Trump indictment. No need for bullet points for this one because beside the predictable digressions into muscle-bound gay birders and homophobic Blue Jays, it’s a lotta Donald. So without further ado…And don’t forget: for the price of one very large coffee, you can help feed the children. Specifically our children. Who are very sad. And very malnourished. And very disappointed in your cheapskatery. For shame. 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.comDespite being in a car in the city of Dnipro, journalist Tim Mak joins Michael Moynihan to talk about leaving NPR, moving to Kiev, and starting The Counteroffensive, his new Substack dedicated to reporting the Ukraine War. A few of the topics covered:* Tim arrived in Kiev the night the war started* Going back to Ukraine—and going independent* Why so many on t…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* Ground control to Tucker C. * Episode one of the Bonkers Conspiracy Files* Also, we know what happened to that dam in Ukraine* But back to the white supremacist aliens…* Did the California senate pass on of the dumbest bills of all time? * Root causes and robbing Walgreens* Moynihan loves rooftop Koreans, thinks baby Matt should have been shot in his adorable littl…

* Kmele is moving to a place where everything is free * ChatGPT is a fabulist * Moynihan’s new Orwell piece * Wikipedia v. AI chatbots* The assassination of (our) Kennedy* Random gossip columnist: Jamie Foxx was murdered by Pfizer * A better America: when Rick James met Linda Blair* BTW: Tupac Shakur was very dumb. And very violent.* Keeping people with dumb politics out of the various halls of fame…* Pride warz….* Root causes and Bud Light and Target and….* Inconsistent baseball atheism * But you like these old skool book bans* The debt ceiling deal* Biden meets a sandbag* Kamala wages war on…racist home appraisers * Congrats, you ridiculous failures! 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* Stan Jonathan vs. Pierce Bouchard* The Lia Thomas of Pickleball* Owning a house sucks* “Lia has these books”* Kmele loves Thoreau* Matt hates Thoreau* Feinstein and elder abuse * “…to function”* On gas stoves and gesture science* C.S. knows someone with dumb ideas* Robert Murdoch controls your brain * Legislating curricula * Huey Newton and Eric Clapton

* Tina, RIP. Bill Lee, RIP.* Zone of Interest* DeSantis announces* Tim Scott announced too, btw * An increasingly crowded and unimpressive field * Our old pal Ethan Strauss joins* Why does Joe keep saying that…thing about Iraq?* “Trump is sharper than Biden”* An interregnum on Ike Turner* Ethan’s piece on Glen Kuiper * The American employment gulag: exiled forever * Paying indulgences* Is it ok to boycott brands for not having the right politics? A debate* Cruising, the gay Casablanca / Donnie Moore, baseball’s Ike Turner* Bonus blathering about Basketball 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 Martin Amis (and Andy Rourke and Jeremy Clarke)* “Pussies are bullshit”* A reading list: Money. London Fields. Zone of Interest. (Note: these all appear to be sold out on Amazon)* On Orwell and D.J. Taylor’s new biography* The Citibike “Karen” and her “white tears”* Online vigilantism* Salman Rushdie’s return * Why’s there no challenge to Biden from The Squad?* The…

* “Zero-to-insane in the first three minutes”* The terrible 2024 election * The right’s bizarre infatuation with RFK Jr.* The immigration crisis in NYC* The cruelty isn’t always the point* How the average American thinks about illegal immigration* Eli Lake joins to wish us all a Happy Durham Week* Takeaways from the Durham Report* The “heroes of democracy” are, in fact, the villains of democracy* David Frum’s Atlantic piece* Eli on Robert Kennedy Sr., the cop* Diane Feinstein, John Fetterman, Joe Biden* That insane LA Times piece (that we will talk about more later) 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

* Charging the Islip Strangler* Moynihan’s weird bias* A bad WSJ podcast* The Trump townhall * Rating Kaitlan Collins* Journalists who hate journalism * The not Desantis response* Tucker’s Twitter take* Can he succeed?* Killing [TK], A Series* Sorry, but that guy you hate is actually really smart* That amazing Firing Line destruction of Leander Perez * Our grim election / memories of 1968 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* Che jumps on the third rail * Unaliving all the bad words* Throat clearing Suedehead * Let’s come to a conclusion before we know anything, ok?* Another pretendian* You guys are like Glenn Beck too, you know* Nonsense talk about Western science from a nonsense person (and that insane Zoom intro mentioned by Moynihan)* Michael Jackson’s doll isn’t ok* A supermarket encou…

* A homicide at Broadway-Lafayette * Crazy strangers on a train * The dumb racialization of a tragic death* The “delightful” and violent Michael Jackson impersonator * Amazon’s Afrika Bambaataa impersonator goes to Cuba* On Tucker’s identitarian texts * Fox News’s leak war* The Daily Show’s 81% rating collapse* So many shitty late night talk shows* You won’t notice the writer’s strike* Hating the Correspondent’s Dinner is as boring as the Correspondent’s Dinner itself* Gas stoves and Australian vapes * Adderall nightmare updates * Send pics 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 on Maher* Los Angeles is a weird place* Kmele in Chicago with Nirvana’s producer* The mechanics of Hollywood that we don’t understand * AA and Scientology * A hockey disaster* We need more “black” hockey players* A listener on Father Coughlin and Ayn Rand* RIP Wes’s mom* First class talk* A listener in defense of MMA* Holy shit this Danny Aiello response video * Holy …

He first came on to talk about a suicide in the porn industry. Then he came back to help us explore the origins of our roiling culture wars. And now Jon Ronson returns for his third one-on-one conversation with Michael Moynihan, this time to discuss The Debutante, his brilliant new podcast about high society neo-Nazis, bad swastika tattoos, Throbbing Gr… 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 back with one long episode in two cracking segments. First up, Welch and Moynihan (Ed. note: Kmele is currently peering through a telescope on the South Side of Chicago or something) catch up on all the stupid news of the last week, including…* The news of certain…errrr……media layoffs* Defenestrations at Fox News and CNN* The “they-ificaton” of Tucker Carlson * The bizarro world of Robert F. Kennedy Jr* Lil’ Bobby: Prosecute people I disagree withAnd then it’s an hour with return guest Ben Smith (his third appearance, we think?), editor-in-chief of Semafor, former editor-in-chief of Buzzfeed News, and author of the new book Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral. No explanation needed. It’s good. You’ll like it. 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

* Kmele MC’s the FIRE Gala* Killer Mike blows the roof off the joint * This is a hangover episode * A celebration of FIRE, the great Harvey Silverglate, and various other heroes of free speech* What cable news network has created this climate of hate….in Japan* If only we could prevent shitty speech, we would be on a forward march to utopia. Right?* The temptation, on both the right and left, to not “do the work”* The EU will control ChatGPT and all will be great* The forever instinct to “disappear” bad ideas* That very expensive Fox-Dominion settlement* The never-ending madness in Chicago * Root causes: A Pantone chart and a CPA 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* Kmele, Fruit of Islam* Via Chicago* Dominion lawsuit stuff again * Biden and America’s favorite bearded terrorist Gerry Adams!* Kmele’s Dominican son?* The life and work of complete psycho Leonard Jefferies * What do you all think of Amy Wax?* Peter Popoff and James Randi * A biracial question from a drunk biracial lad * Prince’s dirty songs* Discomfort and historical memo…

* The arrest of Jack Teixeira* The bad showoff * Not a source, not a Snowden* How serious is the Teixeira leak?* Sorry, but the NYT and WaPo did the *correct* thing* The Tennessee 2 1/2: a plague of theater kids with dumb ideas* That really bad and embarrassing shout-and-holler preacher impression* That really bad and embarrassing Michael Steele clip* That really bad and embarrassing Andrea Mitchell clip* And a really bad and embarrassing Marjorie Taylor Greene tweet* Democracy wasn’t failing. It was working* I mean, at least Reverend Wright was good at it* So what the hell is happening in France?* That Trump-Tucker interview was insane 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

As an Easter and pesach mitzvah to America, we’re gifting this Member Only episode to all y’all…considering that we were on vacation and had no intention of recording it, it’s just Matt and Moyn, and they cover just one dumb subject. An annoyed text exchange about this whole “Clarence Thomas’s friend Harlan Crow loves Hitler” nonsense precipitated this recording, which also exists so we could resurface a relevant listener question from Members Only #152.* The Rolling Stone article Matt mentioned (note the illiterate subhead which also bizarrely suggests one would have to “smuggle” statues of overthrown dictators out of “regimes”)* That Washingtonian article Matt mentioned* That tweet Moynihan couldn’t find* Goldberg and French chime in * A clip from a February Members Only episode in which the lads are asked about Nazi butter knives 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

Live in front of a crowd of five exhausted crew members, broadcasting from a suite at the Ritz-Carlton in midtown Manhattan (we’ll explain later), it’s another of those *forgive us father, for we are deep in our cups* episodes. So take it all with a rather large rock of salt:Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, RIPThe philosemitic film festival Peter Sellers was, in fact, Jewish (Sameach Pesach, btw)Ugh. We have to talk about the Trump arrest.The door wasn’t held. America is in crisisThat Trump speechSo who’s winning?There’s bit of the führerprinzip in there, eh?Political earthquakes in Wisconsin / Chicago A qualified defense of JuniorA qualified defense of Don Lemon?Birding while black 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* What was Kmele talking about? You’ll never know….* Jewish basketball, Max Schmeling, European baseball players with consumption* Matt Welch was about to be Paul Castellano’ed* Are you a member of the UAE royal family? Get Moynihan on Emirates* The unsavory Italian members of the family* The knock-on effects of the Trump indictment?* Melania’s forgotten about parents

* Well, it feels good to various MSNBC hosts, late-night comedians, and resistance types* We don’t *know* how it feels* Because no one wants to admit that we *don’t know* very much* It’s all about race, actually* That NPR interview with Al Sharpton * The opposite of Alan Dershowitz* That weird AI letter* Fox News, Dominion, and brainy rooms* Random thought on John Walker Lindh* Random thought on Adderall and the drug war 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* Tupac’s stepfather Mutulu Shakur* The adorable and execrable Dean Reed* The worst article The Atlantic has ever published* Champagne dreams and Fifth Column nightmares* Trump in Waco * Insulin girl!* That guy cutting your hair is definitely Russian* Georgian helicopters* Schultz and Lula and Russia* Stop saying “lived experience”* That hideous school shooting * Whatever happ…

On Monday night, to a packed house of white supremacists and neo-fascists, Kmele debated the awkward proposition “Are we too obsessed with race?” Moynihan and Welch attended. They were amused and ultimately confused. So the lads unpack just what on Earth they witnessed. After thirty minutes of conversation about drunk Fifth fans and race-obsessed weirdos, they move on to more important subjects like Trump vs. Stormy and DeSantis, the proliferation of illegal weed dispensaries, the acquisition of expensive telescopes, an ESG rule that is DOA, and why throwing hot dogs at communists is a heroic act. 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’re still not sure if it was Peru or Chile or Gabon, but regardless…Kmele is back from his equatorial conference…but…is even really needed?? Why, yes, he is! Because in this totally sober, totally discursive Members Only pod, the lads touch on the most important subjects paralyzing the world today: Lenny Kravitz, kids birthday parties, Hilaria Baldwin…

We do it for you, people. We don’t necessarily want to, but we do. Because you need it. In times of national crisis, the Fifth will forgo all the fun stories so we can tackle the important, necessary stories. It’s time to take your medicine, citizens of Fifdom, and allow Allison Schrager, economist and Bloomberg News columnist, to womansplain just what is ailing the American economy and why the bros and their stupid bro banks are collapsing. According to Schrager, all the people you hate are, in fact, to blame. And after releasing Allison, Welch and Moynihan stick around to discuss Joe’s gay epiphany, the moron students of America’s top university, and why being anti-bothsidesism might be homophobic. Enjoy.Oh. And subscribe to the Substack and get an extra episode every damn week (plus lots of other stuff…like the privilege of yelling at us in the comments). 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* Kmele at a Konference? Yup!* Moynihan spills a wee bit of tea about an old job 😬* The New Trump U* Commie spies * The DeSantis strategy * Matt’s baseball digression (on rule changes and the WBC)* This is a very good series * That Twitter Files circus on Capitol Hill* So this is exactly what we were talking about re: purity tests* Don’t identify as anything….* So very much…

It’s just like old times! Because the boys are back in town, recording together in an actual studio, andpregaming with listener-provided booze. So…yeah, things were pretty rough going in…Sorry about that. * We try to answer the age old question…* A handful of some, maybe, constitutes a New York Times trend* Let us, as men, explain something to you…* The sexual decline and fall of the podcast bro* “It’s not because you’re a woman. It’s because I’m an asshole.”* Does anyone at Fox believe anything?* Do these January 6th videos change anything?* Note: my autocorrect knew how to spell “Dolezal”* A very brief Covid digression* And so 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* Puerto Rican passports* Nothing works in New York* Jimmy the Deregulator* Fistfight Airlines * Kmele and Andrew Schultz at Brown* So what about Chris Rock’s Netflix special?* The travails of a listener’s white wife* In praise of Matt and Trey* A “national divorce” is dorm room, edgelord bullshit* The loss of Mayor Pepe* Number #9 dream

* Stirewalt on calling Arizona for Biden and the Dominion lawsuit* On getting fired by Fox News* How journalism collapsed * Sean Hannity is not a conservative (he’s a Republican)* The Joe Manchin effect* This wouldn’t have happened under Roger Ailes* Overestimating the media’s influence * The inevitable conversation about mis- and disinformation* Would Chris cancel Alex Jones?* Cruz v. Carlson: the most excruciating interview ever?* Will Reaganism return??* Post-game: lab leak lollapalooza 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* Konference Kmele* The most Jewish podcast in America?* Arguing an overcorrection* Michael Jackson, social conservative* Kmele sends Angela Davis a SASE* Slavery, King Cotton, and fighting with NHJ* The two books on slavery Moynihan mentioned* Listener question about maybe working for a racist conspiracy theorist* More thoughts on big boy mannequins* Clip from Ethan Suple…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* Apocalypse apparel* No country for fat men* Singal white journalist * A left-wing Matt *Walsh* stan * Books don’t make a man* Kancel Kmele Pls* On Mistaken Misgendering* Dippin toes, stepping on rakes* A message from Julia (TBC)* Moynihan engineers a Fifth Marriage* The zaps of SSRI withdrawl…* Burning down the house - followed by  * A listener wonders: were my Italian grandpa…

* Moynihan’s hobo disaster* KMW, disinformation queen, stops by for a few, tells us how she broke her kneecap* KMW: The Fifth is staffed by crotchety scare-mongering old dudes (Ed. - This is disinformation)* So why *is* KMD the disinformation queen?* Wait, what does “disinformation” even mean??* The movie Contact is pretty libertarian * Killing old people, dead crank doctors, and libertarian Rachel Welch* According to hundreds of stupid people, the New York Times is a hate group or something* Religious TRUTH replaces reasoned debate * Nothing is real and everything you say is killing people* Moynihan’s Caribbean plea………* And so 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

* How Jamie ended up writing about Armie Hammer* So what *is* the Hammer story anyway?* How the motivated reasoning media ignores inconvenient inconsistencies* Is there a path back from an utterly destroyed reputation?* How Jamie’s book Secret City informed his reporting* Heroes and homophobia* So is it true what they say about James Webb?* The Lavender Scare and Joe McCarthy* Who was worse, JFK or RFK?* Would anyone care about Larry Craig in 2023?* Why was Moynihan at a political event in Florida? * SMDH at the FUBAR SOTU* A bit about those Twitter hearings…* And so 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

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com* Armie of the damned* Jamie Kirchick’s piece on Armie Hammer* The Robin DiAngelo of Sports* Ethan’s piece on “DEI man” Richard Lapchick* The question that ended Ethan’s interview with Lapchick* The NBA’s Foreskin Ceiling * “In this day and age…”* Maverick Carter isn’t going to hire you* That shocking 1976 PBS documentary about racism in Queens * Kids don’t like sports any…

* The George Wallace travel app* The genius and utter stupidity of WEB Dubois* That disgraceful Dubois obit for Stalin* A copy of the Conservation of Races book* Len Downie’s rotten, horribly written piece about objectivity in news* Jeff Gerth’s really good piece about Trump-Russia coverage* Remember Hamilton 68? Bush 911? Heaven 17?* Hunter’s sexy jobs program* Did anyone notice that Ol’ Joe said that weird lie again?* Racist tax robots* What’s good for me isn’t good for thee, silly poor person* Welcome to WhiteFolksIsBad.com 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 famous Texas hat* Kmele’s Twitter beef with a former guest* The tragedy in Memphis, the predictable response* Ubiquitous white supremacy* Don’t even read Mark Twain aloud* A listener speculates on Kmele’s “blackness”* Back to Texas: they are just nice people, says Moynihan* Name this listener’s baby* The etymology of “Kmele”* Nicola Sturgeon splutters when asked about …

A sober first segment about war and death is interrupted by our chaotic and fatphobic friend Ben Dreyfuss, who joins the Fifth to discuss his insane Twitter account and why he keeps making people really mad. * We haven’t seen many of these Oscar movies* German Leopards for Ukraine* The arrival of “Jaws star Richard Dreyfuss' actor son Ben, 36, [who was] slammed for saying he'd never have sex 'with a fat person’”* That Daily Mail article / We read Ben some of the comments* Wait, why did Ben get fired from Mother Jones again?* Will there ever be a deal-breaking sex scandal again?* Peter Falk, gay icon?* An important conversation about Rocky* Trump can come back to Facebook* The government is suing Google 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* Santos: Hotter as a lady?* Hunter is a shitty person who makes shitty art* Kmele shuts down a Netflix indoctrination session* Georgia: Stupid people play stupid games and win stupid prizes * A shooting in LA * Another shooting in LA* A tribute to a listener* More on Cormac McCarthy (and Camus and Sartre)* Objecting to Douglas Murray* On the weirdness of the Phantom of th…

* Release The List* Crosby, Not So Great* A Few Nights In Chicago* Squashing Racism ($5 Million at a Time)* Reparations and the US Constitution * A Seat at the Table* Hereditary Culpability and Entitlement* Manhattan Beach* Daily Wire vs. Mug Club* Drew Carey 🖤 CDC* “We ain’t gonna talk bout dem papers (so y’all can quit asking)”* Debt Limit Hold’em* The Anti-Woke Caucus* Florida’s “Objective” Nonsense* What Students Deserve* “If We Lose, You Lose”Recorded: 1/19/23Published: 1/20/23 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 Corvette Papers* “So my friend gets arrested for murder in South Sudan…” * No sex please, he’s British * The times, they have a’ changed * From Belfast to Pyongyang* If I Did It: Eichmann versus the neo-Nazis* Russophilia, left and right* America: a net exporter of bad ideas* Is there a war on the West?* Douglas’s new podcast, Uncancelled History* In defense of Lincoln and Churchill* Regrets, I’ve had just…one* Disqualifying Kant and Hume* That idiotic USA Today piece cited by Matt * And so 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

* Former Rep. Justin Amash was on the floor during the leadership fight??* Brian Lamb question: What does the speaker actually do?* And what do the Gang of Twenty actually want?* Rep. Amash: Kevin McCarthy “isn’t that bright” and “will do whatever it takes to maintain power”* Why the system is broken and how it got that way* Congress is becoming more European * Reminder: Amash created (and named) the Freedom Caucus* Are you really putting yourself forward to be speaker?* The whole system is broken. And all the other speaker options are reflections of this brokenness* The NYT and “ultraconservatives”* The Ukraine objection exception* A qualified defense of the execrable Skip Bayless* Idiots deciding who gets to speak 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

* Subway Protocol* Lying, Liar* Flooding the Zone* Modest Proposal* The Real Corn Pop* Domestic Disturbance * Buffalo Electronics* Trump Tapes* Moynihan is cold* Welch isn’t paying attention* Kmele coins a good one (for the third time)* Dank Meme Party* After Trump* Read This. Read That.Recorded: 12/29/22Published: 12/30/22 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

* Sweet Baby Jesus* Ted Cruz 🖤’s Striper* Dress for the Job You Want* Defensive Capabilities + Fiscal Profligacy* The Worst Possible Scenario* Criminalish Betrayal* Worse than Watergate?* Presidential Travel Rewards* The Stanford Grammer Experiment* Demanding or Entitled BIPOCsRecorded: 12.21.22Published: 12.22.22 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

* Irish Israeli * France vs Morocco* That Marriage Act* Biden Told The Truth That Time* What Republicans Won’t Do, But Ought to* They’re Actievly Trying to Kill us * Leaving Twitter (Because I’m Oblivious, For the Children)* Doxxing*** Elon’s Plane?* MTG (Would have won!)* Jan 6th Prosecutions* MacedRecorded 12.14.22Published: 12.15.22 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

Recorded on Sunday afternoon, this now-vintage episode was consider lost forever, after a certain Fifth Columnist discovered that he still doesn’t understand how computers, cameras, and microphones work. Well….lost until we (i.e. Moynihan) found a weird backup copy of the episode on the Twitch servers! So…a few days late, of variable quality, and now available for download:* Back to the “Twitter files,” reluctantly* Everyone loves Joe McCarthy * Yet another James/Jim Baker* The pointlessness of trying to control speech* The Times pickets* The Times returns, writes an absurd article about Cuba* A Michael Jackson hagiography on Broadway 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

* Yes, we have to talk about Kanye West Ye Kardashian again * Verdict: The man is not well. And is an anti-Semite* Kmele is sad. Matt is not. * Wild guess: Ye is unfamiliar with Theodor Herzl* Note: some people with bad views used to have not so bad views* Remember “slavery was a choice?” That was pretty dumb* Is Kanye making people '“unsafe”?* Matt Taibbi releases internal Twitter comms on the Biden laptop * Journalists: this is the wrong type of journalism* These numbers seem pretty fake * Too many people are interested in politics* Hakeem “the Dream” Jeffries 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

with/ Ethan Straus of House of Strauss (on Substack)* Does the NBA Have an Antisemitism Problem?* They control the media, our podcast, and the NBA!?* Wait, who isn’t Jewish?* “Step 1, Step 2, Step 3, Hitler”* Baseball + The John Birch Society* Stolen (Jewish) Valor* “More than an Athlete” / Lebron “gettin’ that Jewish money” James* Divide & Sponsor* Was (Is) Twitter Pushing Hysteria* But is it antisemitism? (Does it even matter)* Identitarianism, Judaism, and antisemitism (real and imagined)* How to Talk about “Jewish Supremacy”* The Truth about Black Hebrew Israelites* Threat Inflation (and What if they’re right)* THE NHL(GBTQIA2S+)* Why the NBA 🖤 Crypto* The World Cup* Why Can’t You All Be As Brave as Ben Collins!?* An Actual HeroRecorded 11.22.22Published 11.23.22 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

Rejecting twelve hours with the commoners in coach, Kmele remains stateside while Moynihan and Welch make goyish aliyah in Israel. Wandering from the Egyptian border in the South all the way up to Trump Heights in the North, the lads are introduced to one of Israel’s most famous journalists and big thinkers, Nadav Eyal, author of Revolt: The Worldwide Uprising Against Globalization. Eyal graciously joined the Fifth at a recording studio in Tel Aviv for a very deep, very nerdy chat about whether or not the world is collapsing and if the midterms are a harbinger of a changing culture, desperate to move beyond the national populist moment. As we wind down, Eyal gives his verdict on the Energizer bunny of Israeli politics, incoming Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, and the worrying rise of his racist nutbag coalition partner Itamar Ben-Gvir. After Eyal frees himself from the Fifth’s clutches, Welch and Moynihan stick for a few extra minutes to talk about Jewish girls with guns and why Dave Chapelle thinks they might control Hollywood. 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

No Red Wave. No Blue Wave. No Fascist Takeover. No Democracy Dying in Darkness. The 2022 midterm elections came; they’ll take almost a month to sort out (including a runoff in Georgia) — but things are generally about as bad (and good) as they were before the election.Moynihan returns from the field, where he was covering the race in Florida.Welch and his family are momentarily clear of any exigent health emergencies.And Kmele taps in from Austin, Texas. 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 Libertarian Moment?* To Start A War* Weapons of Mass Delusion* Pelosi Attack* Definitely Not Bothsidesing* Voting For Anyone Else Is a Vote Against Democracy* The Gravity of Things* Reddit profiling* A Few Parting ThoughtsRecorded: 11.2.22Published: 11.3.22 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

* Power Strip* A Victory for Equity* Surveying the Midterms* Fetterman’s Debate Disaster* The Mystery of the AIDS Quilt* The People vs Jim Eagle* Eminent, Indefatigable Election Fraud* Yarvin - The Mastermind* Black Lives Redux* I Miss The Old Kanye* “Whatabout!?” MSNBC Montage* Antisemitic Calypsos* Antisemitic Hip hop* Crosby, Stills and Ugh* T Boz Lives* From Ken Burns to Colorblind* African ApologiaRecorded 10/26/22Published 10/28/22 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

* Moynihan has COVID (Again)* Another NYC Covid Spike* “Dangerous New Levels of Misinformation”* The Kids Are Actually All Right (but they’re mostly not getting vaccinated)* No Apologies for #DeathSantis* Ladies Who “Lead” (and cry about it)* Red Wave, Blue Wall, Purple People Eaters* Moynihan’s “Free Smoke” Preview* Republican Skullduggery* Yes, And, [ Deepest Possible Sigh ]* The “AOC to Nazi” Pipeline* Trust in Media… still virtually non-existent* The Sycophants and Cynics Coalition* YouTube is Kinda for Snuff Films (but don’t mention suicide or possible vaccine side effects)* Censorship is BipartisanPlus: Nat Con Paradise, Matt’s Latest Thing, Finding the Right Photo, Free Ads, and moreRecorded: 10.19.22Published: 10.20.22 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 lads are all around the same table in New York City! And LA Times journalist Gustavo Arellano calls in at the top of the show to explain why the President is calling on four local politicians in L.A. to resign. * Gustavo explains Spanish racial slurs* Gustavo explains the racism of the LA City Council* This is the logical endpoint for dumb identity politics* We obsess over the race stuff at the expense of the naked corruption* Punching dogs for social justice* Matt is a cop-adjacent apologist* Berlin is bad, but not is bad as it was in 1945* A revolution with no solutions* What the WaPo forgot to tell you * Like almost everyone else in American politics, Hershel Walker believes in nothing* Dear lord does Matt hate Margaret Sullivan’s book* Adjectiving your way out of trouble* The U.N. slaps down the Kremlin * Reporting on Fetterman’s stroke is violence* Also: subscribe to the Substack, you freeloader…. 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

I am usually among the most allergic to broad, immutable-characteristic-based analyses along the lines of “The Crisis of Men and Boys.” Some of this is the usual self-loathing—Screw guys, especially if they’re 54-year-old baseball fanatics from California!, etc. But also, probably due to the extended influence of the man formerly known as Casanova Brown, I have seen too often the fact-bending, anti-individualist and too often punitive ideological temptations of sorting humans into various pens and making grand statements about the resulting statistics.However! When tasked during a recent media appearance to have comments on The Trouble With Males, I stumbled across a stunning (to me) chart at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showing that the employment rate for dudes between 2001 and 2021 was down in every age bracket younger than 55, and up in every cohort after 55. Dramatic numbers, too—16-19-year-old males went from 50% to 36%; 20-24s from 82% to 73%, and so on. If we’re getting to the point where half of men have never worked before the age of 25, that’s a profoundly different America than some of us old farts grew up in.So when I received a publicist email saying that the Bradley Prize-winning American Enterprise Institute economist Nicholas Eberstadt had just come out with a brand new post-pandemic edition of his groundbreaking 2016 study Men Without Work, I leaped at the chance to talk to him about this subject that I cared not at all about just one month ago. Hoo-ray for the on-the-job learning!Eberstadt, as you will soon hear, has a more interesting pedigree than your average math professor, with a wife who writes about the sexual revolution and identity politics, a sister who was in Warhol’s Factory, one grandfather who was Ogden Nash, and another who co-founded the CIA. And don’t worry, we also talk a bit about commies.-- The myth of “full employment”-- NILFs-- “There is absolutely nothing good that comes out of this trend”-- “Uncannily, weirdly, eerily regular”-- “There's no country in the rich world that has had such a steep radical and continuing drop as the U.S.A.”-- The Lost Decade, and the New Misery-- Wealth without growth-- The populist reaction-- “They don’t do civil society”-- Immigrants get the job done-- California vs. Texas on immigrant welfare-- Schmancy Bobbleman vs. the feminists-- The ex-felon factor-- They’re all on disability-- We just did a national UBI experiment-- Get a job, teens!-- Does this also explain woke/cancel stuff?-- We weren’t gonna let that Warhol connection slide-- Nor the CIA grandpa-- Charles Murray, Tim Carney, J.D. Vance-- North Korea’s role in Russia’s failing war 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

* Only Fans is for Justice* Internet Experts* Not Even Not Fascism* Right Wing Extremists Everywhere* Blame The EU* What You’re Really Afraid Of* The Beyonce of Journalism* Call of the Wild* Lil Baby Offends* Democratic Illiberalism * Not That Big Lie* Don’t Call It a “Ban” (Even If It’s A Ban)* They Were Watching BaseballRecorded: 9.28.22Published: 9.29.22 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

* Toddler Pestilence* Death Defying Drives* Naked Pool Slide (are you “The Big Guy”* Russia, Ukraine, A wildly outdated PBX systems* Trump’s Devolving Legal Situationship* This Isn’t Political; Trust Me 🤞🏼* Russia Hacked the Women’s March?* Buses, Planes, and “Kidnapping” Stunts* Maybe Build that Wall Now?Recorded: 9.22.22Published: 9.23.22 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

Featuring:Thomas Chatterton Williams - Contributing Writer @ The Atlantic, Visiting Professor and Senior Fellow Hannah Arendt Center @ Bard College Adam Davidson - Co-Founder @ Planet Money, Contributing Writer @ The New Yorker*** “It amazes me that any straight, white dudes don't see the privilege we have. It's not subtle.” - Adam Davidson - via Twitter (8/20/22)Not a long tweet. And in the grand scheme of things, hardly an unusual opinion to encounter. Ordinarily, I fire off a reply —maybe there’s some pithy back and forth, but things more or less end up about where they began— until the next (pointless?) social media drama.But maybe we agree to talk instead? Probe a bit further. Perhaps even learn a few things in the process? 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

So I broke into the Palace with a sponge and a rusty spannerWith the Right Honorable Matt Welch ensconced in a posh Beverly Hills hotel, prepping to shock and sicken America with yet another appearance on Real Time, Kmele and Moynihan got on the horn to discuss the death of corgi-loving colonialist Queen Elizabeth II, moronic “anti-colonialist” Twitter, Bannon’s perp strut, Moynihan’s unwitting mentor, phantom racist volleyball fans, and an unarmed man shot in the back who wasn’t unarmed or shot in the back. 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

Against a blood-red backdrop, President Biden gives an urgent campaign speech, warning that America is becoming semi-Nazi Germany, Donald Trump is partial Hitler, and our almost democracy is on the precipice of kinda revolution. The lads watch the speech and say lots of really smart things. But before they discuss the end of America, Kmele forces a conversation about Michael Jackson’s Thriller. He has a theory. Moynihan and Welch are…skeptical. 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

* Zuck Talks w/ Rogan* Student Loan Forgiveness* Who Cares if It’s Democratic* WashPo: “It’s Regressive!”* The Redbox Test* Student Debt is immoral * Moynihan in an elevator w/ Harry Styles* Oh, my god, they fired Brian (You bastards!)* The Jim Jones of Journalism* NBC “News”* The Many Papers of Donald Trump* That NPR Voice* Ben Shapiro Goes to a Conference (Hilarity Ensues) 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

A few weeks ago, with Matt Welch bleeding out of his ears and supposedly forbidden from flying, Kmele and Moynihan hopped a plane to a post-apocalyptic hellscape called “San Francisco” to kibizt with their new benevolent overlords at Substack. Unlike the boring prigs at Patreon (whose “Trust and Safety” commissars never even returned our calls), Substack rather generously hosted the Fifth crew for drinks, drinks, some more drinks, and a live show at company HQ. In Matt’s stead, the lads called up FOTF (Friend of the Fifth - ed.) Lara “Che” Bazelon, a local law professor and communist revolutionary, and Substack co-founder* Hamish McKenzie, a reactionary publisher of fake news. They discuss San Francisco, the state of the media, the future of free speech, and much, much more. Enjoy.*Note: We previously referred to Hamish as CEO of Substack. He is, we are reliably informed, the "chief writing officer," which sounds to us like a fake job. As such, we now have significant doubts he even works at Substack and suspect he's never even been to New Zealand (which he told us “is the country where Kyle Minogue and Yahoo Serious are from”). 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

Many urgent matters loom large in this dispatch.How did boxes full of TOP SECRET documents turn up a Trump’s Mar-a-lago compound?!Could be an honest mistake… Few moving labels get mixed up; nuclear secrets turn up in a Florida man’s safe. Maybe a box full of Melania’s bawdiest intimates gets serendipitously misdirected to the National Archives.Could America be so lucky?Could Trump be selling state secrets to the highest bidder?Could the “Deep State” be up to no good?Is there a clearance sale at the Banana Republic?We’ve got margaritas, Sativa, a burning desire to sort this 💩 out — and Eli Lake is a responsible adult whose laptop definitely won’t run out of power mid-podcast.Recorded: Aug 11, 2022Published: NOW 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 among the most unusual and noteworthy congressional primary races of 2022. For a surprisingly long stretch, Michigan's third district has been home to a uniquely independent brand of republican congresspersons. But after Peter Meijer (R) narrowly lost his primary race this week, MI-3's respectability streak is no more.Congressman Meijer's party largely abandoned him. The former President still really hates him. And Democrats spent $435,000 to help boost his MAGA-loving opponent's sparse media profile. Meijer joined us to break down the race, spill a little tea about his soon-to-be-former-colleagues, and share some high/lowlights from his all-too-brief time in office.Recorded: Aug 3, 2022Published: Aug 4, 2022 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

w/ John McWhorter and Glenn Loury- No Moynihan, No Welch- Progress or Pesmissim- Campus Culture- Culture Warriors- Gaslighting + Reactionaries- DEI Obstacles- Overstatement and Bravery- Dignity + Individualism- Race as Ethnicity- All in Bounds- Pride, Honor, Shame- “Tolstoy is Mine. Dickens is Mine.”- Everything is permissible to meRecorded: 6/14/22Published: 7/24/22 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

with David French contributing writer @ The Atlantic and senior editor @ The Dispatch.James GD WebbCleaning Your RoomPlaying to the CrowdThe Great CRT Ban KurfufflReconsidering that Roe decisionThe Capacity for PregnancyCorroboration, Prosecution, and RestraintTrump v DeSantisWorld Level ExpertsDarker Woods BeyondAnarchapulco 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

* Matt breaks an eardrum* Boris breaks British politics (Ed note: Boris renounced his American citizenship in 2017. We sort of regret the error)* Would Putin free LeBron?* Remember Macy Gray? Well, whoever she is, she’s very sorry* Tim Hardaway, self-proclaimed homophobe* The end of interventionism* Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe is shot* Andrew Schultz goes the way of Louis CK* 2022 Freedom Bowl: California v. Florida* Gavin Newsom: Slightly Better than Beto* Covid and culture wars: What will matter in 2024We love all of our freeloading listeners. But we’d love you a whole lot more if you subscribed and reaped all the benefits of being a dues-paying member of the Fifdom. So click the button below. Now. It would make us very happy. 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

“Tear it down. Start over again. We can make a brand new start.” - Blue Mafic * A Bad Omen* Judicial Superfluity* Beyond Roe* unenumerated, natural, ipse dixit * Carry Concealed* Conservative Excesss, Judicial Restraint* Europe is Always Better* “Sand in every damn gear…”* Antidemocratic AF* Release the TranscriptsRecorded: June 25th, 2022Published: June 26th, 2022 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

* You Got a Friend* Restrictive Covenant* #MJInnocent* Beefin with TSA* Blockchain Nostradamus* A Very Bad Thing/The Worst Possible Thing* What Barr Knew* Clear and Present Danger* Google: maps of Capitol tunnels* The Blame Game* Can’t White a Book* Quietest Jazz Solo* Great Replacement Theory (But It’s Fine)* The Al Sharpton 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

* Kmele is flying* Dude has four parents. Not one isn’t a terrorist* The decline and fall of San Francisco, Part I * Fiona Dourif’s piece on how California fails the mentally ill* A sexy retweet* Ilya Shapiro quits Georgetown. He stops by to tell us why* Ilya apologized. Should he have?* He mentioned it, we’ll link to it: the paperback edition of Supreme Disorder * Shapiro: Cato abandoned me* Dave Weigel gets suspended because of his colleague and “close friend,” Sammy “the Bull” Sonmez,” rats him out* Another editors note re: the TikTok lady* A St. Louis Cardinal tweeted bad words when he was 14* Everything is dumb* CNN retools, but all the tools still work there* If you ask the question “should I have kids on account of climate change,” you probably shouldn’t have kids* A primetime January 6th hearing, produced by Busby Berkeley* Breaking: Chesa the Chavista needs a new job* The decline and fall of San Francisco, Part II 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

* Imperfect Introduction* Queerest story ever told* The heart-pounding conclusion of Depp v Heard * Birdwatching for Karens* A firearms "clarification"* The other 99% (and the warmth of simple narratives)* Incitement for “journalists”* Half Junky / Half Wonk* The absurd hilarity of historical injustice* Believe All Jedi* Fixing CNN+ (“Toobin After Dark” Edition)* Star Wars is for racists* Chief Colt 45* Total Recall, Certain Guilt* You always need more gays* Professional crybabies* The Pride of Prejudice 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

Another mass shooting, more performative outrage (note: and this was recorded right before Beto’s gross little stunt), and never any practical solutions. The lads discuss the massacre in Texas, a “racist” incident at Yankee Stadium, a terrible Marvel movie, and a proposed new female superhero. Oh and as Moynihan explains in his brief preamble, the Rodecaster Pro is a horrible piece of audio hardware that ate 28 minutes of this podcast…but if you’re an audio genius—and this might take a genius to fix—and you want a copy of the muddy, robotic bit to tinker with….feel free to reach out.And as previously pointed out, your free trial is ending soon. So make not to be a filthy freeloader and sign up for real. 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

In celebration of the Fifth’s triumphant move to Substack, the lads decided to do a live show in New York City, with the two most New York City guys they could find. But that live show in New York City sold out immediately, provoking a flurry of angry and/or heartbroken emails. So how does one skip the queue for the next one? Well, tickets are released to subscribers first. And our subscribers are bored and like to get liquored in the middle of the week. You see what we’re getting at? Now, it’s nothing like the sweaty, drunken energy of the Comedy Cellar on a Wednesday night, but this is a pretty reasonable facsimile: we present to you, in all of its random and rambling glory, an unedited recording of The Fifth Column live at the Comedy Cellar. A huge thanks to Michael Rapaport and Colin Quinn, who finished the show out. A few video clips forthcoming. And more pics over at Moynihan’s Instagram. 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

Another two-parter: the first half with our new favorite lefty Lara Bazelon, professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law, journalist, feminist, novelist, controversialist. After Lara leaves, probably to free someone from prison, the lads take the second half of the show to catch up on the stupid and depressing news of the week.- Baaaa-zelon- Broken clock: Lara thinks Betsy DeVos had a point…- The lefty case for free speech and due process on campus- Lara’s Atlantic piece on how the ACLU lost its way - From Skokie to the lady from Aquaman- The social justice cafeteria- The ACLU’s face of gender violence is a rich actress who probably beat up her husband- Like this podcast, courtrooms are rhetorically “violent.” Get used to it.- That Laura Kipnis book - That sold out live show in NYC next week (with special guest hints)- The Dems failed borsh bill- Cooling inflation that is still really hot and “barreling ahead”- The failure of Trump’s trade policy- The anti-commie case against Ron DeSantis’s performative anti-communism - And so much more!- Stop being cheap and subscribe below. The money kind of subscribe. Because every dollar helps pay off Matt’s substantial gambling debts. 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 unlocking this subscriber-only podcast, recorded back in January, just to give you freeloaders a taste of what lurks behind the paywall. It’s not only those amazing bonus episodes, wherein the morons from The Fifth Column yammering and stammering through the most important issues facing civilization. But occasionally one-on-one interviews with some of the most interesting people on Earth. Like this one with the great Jon Ronson, host of the new podcast Things Fell Apart. So head over to Substack and subscribe.By popular demand, we present to you, dear patrons, the triumphant return of journalist, podcaster, Welshman, filmmaker, and nicest guy in the business, Mr. Jon Ronson.Ronson, whose classic works include The Men Who Stare at Goats, The Psychopath Test and So You've Been Publicly Shamed, stopped by the Fifth's Chinatown studio to for a fascinating, revealing one-on-one chat about his phenomenal new podcast series Things Fell Apart, losing friendships because of the culture war (ahem), the first internet cancellation, satanic panics, and the interview that made him almost believe in god...and Moynihan almost (almost) cry.  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

- Mean Babies w/ Pink Eye- Tity Boi- Dangerous Misinformation- Show Tunes- Cinco de Mayo- Live From New York, Again- Apartheid Daydream- Combating Misinformation- The Sims 2- Anatomy of Tribal Hysteria- Everyone Starts to Say It- Its Own Reward- From Cuba to the Marshall Islands - Entangling AlliancesRecorded: April 29th, 2022Published: April 30th, 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

Ulysses for kidzStop complaining. It's a secret.It's all over, folks. Barack solved misinformationThe Fairness Doctrine was dumb then. It's even dumber nowBTW, they're *all* liarsDefining misinformation (down)Sarah Hepola, author of the memoir Blackout and this great Atlantic pieceMoynihan v. Hepola on drinking She started drinking at 7??Wherein we demand Hepola credit the Fifth Column for saving her life or somethingOn self-censorship and gaslightingKmele's stirring defense of that fantastic beast, Johnny DeppAnd so much more 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

- 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 DecidesRecorded: April 14th, 2022Published: 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/subscribe

- 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) AgeRecorded: April 6th, 2022Published: April 7th, 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

Slappy White and the Hot TakesBirthdays Was the Worst Days: Six Years of the FifthHey Twitter World (The Ballad of OJ Simpson)Jon Stewart’s excruciatingly dumb show on raceA Ben Dreyfuss tweetstormAmerica: From James Madison to Madison CawthornSex party etiquette A seven hour gap, a laptop that keeps on giving, and an ex-prez who won't go awayOn this sacred anniversary, a very, very exciting announcement 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

On casualties, causation, and delusionIs there a risk of overcorrection in Ukraine?Sanctions, free trade, and nukesThe power of historical grievanceKmele and Matt...disagree on corporations taking sides in warsAlso, the war in Ukraine is not about your dumb culture war issuesThe Ketanji Brown Jackson ShowMa'am, where do you stand on NAMBLA?Florida's "Lia Ackshully Lost Act"Slava Ukraini and slavery tipsRIP Madeleine AlbrightCory Booker is a bad actorSome thoughts on Arianna Huffington's mattress business 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

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, 2022Published: 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

Does the media have this conflict wrong?The privatization of protestEurope shutting down shitty, Kremlin-funded mediaWait, did Matt Taibbi just say he was warming to intervention?Verdict: unclearNo due process for shitty, Kremlin-funded oligarchs America's overlooked role in the beginnings of PutinismCould Russia have been democratic?Mearsheimer and the interminable NATO debateThe narcissism of Twitter war tourismTaibbi post game On Biden's SOTU speechOn the forgotten trade wars 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

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 and the right's lurch towards "national conservatism." Enjoy.Also: another Patreon coming at the end of the week. So go sign up. 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

Guest: Jeffery Sachs, Lecturer in Politics @ Acadia UniversityA 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 2022Released: 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 with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe

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 stupidThe stupid Washington PostHating friends with stupid politicsMary Katherine, like Switzerland to her ex-friendsThe right after TrumpUnharassed by AilesWhen Hammer and Moynihan metRevisiting MKH’s reporting on the Tea Party town hall madnessMore on Hitler’s truckers Broken risk analysis: MKH on schools, masking, and Covid culture warsMasked and anonymousDoes Dave Chappelle hate the poor?Don't influence the normies The electoral power of hypocrisySports bras, shaming, and misinformationAnd so much more! 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

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 EuropeJoe Rogan and the crisis of speechMany of history's heroes of free speech were kind of shitty on free speechIt always comes back to NazisThe Weimar fallacyHanged for speech. Really, really bad speechThe sheep theoryJacob brings up Nazis again Tell the moon about the crying roomThe most powerful engine for social changeFree speech is a powerful engine *against* racismTwo islamists realize they were wrong about free speech 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

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. Lots happening in the Fifthdom, but the lads got together this afternoon for a shouty, everyone-is-insane rant fest. The following topics were soberly discussed:- To save democracy, it must be destroyed- A left-right synthesis! Let's all abandon principles!- 16 free speech help lines- Oprah: The OG Joe- Jenny from the U of G- Smooth brown something- We need to talk about Rogan- We need to talk about (Ilya) Shapiro- Welcome to Georgetown...now into the penalty box, you racist!- A warning label for everything- A magic word supercut!- Canadian truck driving Nazis?- The Thousand Beer Reich: 14 out-of-shape Nazis stand on an Orlando bridge- Patti for SCOTUS- And much, much more.... 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

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, SteveA "harassment-worthy" opinionWas anyone brave and did they call bullshit? Ummm...N-words and Mohammad cartoonsInsert $5 for more podcastKmele's Kovid fogThe roughest period of Mike's life, everThe new, new journalismHating Joe RoganYou don't have the truth, journalists. But you can get thereThe Gist's approchal Moynihan likes The Gist. Except that one episode...The media is atomized. Or maybe balkanizedColeman is a good rapperDon't catastrophize the normal 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

Kmele at HereticonFallibility vs. FundamentalismA Time to ChooseIn Your Heart You Know He's RacistGerrymandering for GoodCredibility, TransparencyIgnoring Alex JonesArguing with Alex JonesThe One Thing Americans Agree On......It's All Going to Shit Alex Jones' AmericaIdiots Wrote ThisRecorded: Jan 13th, 2022Published: 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 to bonus episodes, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe

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 ghostwriters behind Kmele's Twitter account...*Note: It's someone else's fault, obviously, but allow us to extend a half-hearted apology for the slightly subpar (occasional but not terrible) audio quality on one of our mics. If this was a Patreon episode and you forked over cash--which you really, really should do--our regrets would be far more groveling and effusive. But you skinflints and freeloaders can just deal with it.... 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

A Covid Christmas A Merry KwanzaaBefore you eulogize the dead, I have stupid tweet you should considerMatt sort of emptywheels Harry ReidPlanes, Trains, and superspreader eventsYes, there are no testsThe usual Covid frustrationsThe Webb Hubbell telescopeThe Memorial shutdownThe non-historians lecture us on historyDestroy the idols of AmericanismWhat 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 to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe

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 PartyUnity! Now get the fuck outWhat Rep, Meijer wrong about January 6thDear Congress: gimme some truth about January 6thWhy Nancy Pelosi wanted impeachment to failTo get out of an anti-democratic moment, we must have even less democracy "You voted to impeach and your career has been weird ever since" - Matt WelchWas that terrorism? Or just a bunch of delusional losersIs the insurrection investigation the job of congress or...historians?He's "fucking furious"Exit question to Rep. Meijer: What say you about Julian Assange? "Just find out about the UFOs" - Kmele FosterAn hour of post-Meijer postgame A mask for Dmitrios: remembering Kmele's trip to Greece Pack the court! / Kmele's insane Elizabeth Warren impressionUnlike most rich people, Elon acts like a rich personMerry Christmas, wokeness is over (if DeSantis wants it) 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

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 MindCreep ShowPlayin' JournalistDiplomatic Games + Human RightsBlaming Everything on NATO (and Biden)Russia HawksNo Justice for JussieElite Lives MatterYoko/LennonMcLaughlin Psychic Friends Network 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

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 roughnecksThe dust clears in VA and NJ...and Kornacki tells us what it all meansWill the Republican Party divorce Trump?Voters, crime, and culture warsRemember when Alan Keyes was MAKING SENSE???How much power does the progressive caucus *really* have?Massachusetts Steve is obsessed with Mike DukakisBiden, polling, and the Afghanistan debaclePartisanship and the history of cable news We know little, but Waukesha already proves so muchQuiet Steve Kornacki....is one of the good onesAnd so, so, so much more! 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

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 MalpracticeRecorded: November 17th, 2021Published: 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 with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe

Way Too SexyCrypto ArtMiss Universe (Can Get It)Fifth Coin"A Bad Gal Dat"Palliative JournalismVirginia is for HustlersThe Trouble w/ ComplicatedWas Rufo Right? (No)We're Very Sorry (But We Keepin Your Stuff) Map Makers + Freak ShowsRecorded: 11/5/21Published: 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

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 ProgressCable news is horrible / Jeff Toobin slays white supremacySchool board chaos in VirginiaCreating wee lil' apparatchiksWhy do we care about the stupid VA governor's race?Words don't mean anything anymore, part 322We are all India-Pakistan nowThe steady hand in DC is trembling Dumb Republicans still have no economic programDear lord, she's wearing a vest!The collapsing Biden economic agendaIs Kyrsten Sinema a bad politician? Bad dresser? Bad bisexual?Matt discovers his white privilege (and he likes it) Recorded: 10/28/21Posted: 10/28/21 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

w/ Ethan Strauss, (HNIC @ "House of Strauss" / Substack)Enemy of the SyntaxEthiopian RoyaltyBreaking the Fourth WallLeaving the AthleticNot Just for Sports FansBreaking for Black BodiesNBA Vax MandatesObama Decides to Be Black"Racist" EmailsMoynihan's First JobDouble 0' SistasJokes that Kill (But Not Actually)Recorded: 10/16/21Published: 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 or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe

w/ Robby Soave, (Senior Editor @ Reason - Author, "Tech Panic")Oral SurgeryBuying Robby's BookHow Facebook (Isn't) Destroying The WorldIncompetent + ill-informedPlease, Think of The Teenagers A Vintage Moral PanicMark Zuckerberg's Body Count Victims + VictorsMessy SpeechWhen Google Becomes Microsoft26 Words (That Created the Internet) About That FBI MemoThe Darkest Day in American HistoryThe Great Culture War VortexAmericas' Dumbest HolidayRecorded: 10/6/21Published: 10/10/21 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

w/ Katie Herzog, Host @ "Blocked and Reported"Stay in Your HoodSo Many SourcesDog Run ConfidentialWhat Emma KnewKatie's NightmareHow Did You Get This NumberCool OffDenzel Was DrinkingMore ShaftVery Heavily RedactedEven More Heavily RedactedTwo SpiritsWizard of OzyRecorded: 9/30/21Published: 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.wethefifth.com/subscribe

W/ Antonio Garcia Martínez, Propritor @ "The Pull Request"False StartDriven to DrinkCultural Valley ("Crazy Ones Need Not Apply")Mission ProtocolsThe Full NYT Software DownloadSection 230The Devil in the DetailsA Conservative War on Big TechStormfront / SJWAn Uncertain FutureGOP 🥰 FDRA Crypto First EconomyWe Probably Can't Get Along?Amazon vs. Google vs. Apple vs. FacebookNancy Pelosi: Project Manager?Pull RequestLe Tech BlogRendered Absurd By TimeFrom Nokia to MSNBC to Google Wave..."Will it Pass?" - Infrastructure Edition"Will it Pass?" - George Floyd EditionFalse StopRecorded: 9/22/21Published: 9/24/21 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

- 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 troops. Nuke China. Stop the steal!"- Stop the Steal Part Deux- As Afghanistan Dispeares from the Headlines- Me Love You Long TimeRecorded: 9/15/21Published: 9/16/21 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

-- 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 episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe

- 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: 9/1/21Published: 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, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe

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 VariantRecorded: 8/23/21Published: 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 access to bonus episodes, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe

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 CRTPublished: 8/10/21 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

Coco Shoots Her ShotGangs All HereNew York is Back**Real Winners Don't Bother Trying Carrying MJ Off The FloorJust QuitMasks + SuperstitionSave the BabiesSurprise 🎁The Stories We Refuse to Tell OurselvesIf It HappenedRecorded: 7.27.2021Published: 7.29.2021 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

w/ Jonathan Rauch @ Author of "The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth." Senior fellow @BrookingsInst. Contributing writer @TheAtlantic. - I Heart Lizzo- Where Things When Wrong- Flooding the Zone- Breaking Journalism- The Humanitarian Threat and Moral Clarity- Cancel Culture, Information Warfare, Social Coercion- Truth + Checking - Greatest Leap Forward - Ibram Orwell- Bans, Martyrs, Inevitable Failure- Separate, Equal. Same Great Taste.Recorded: 7.6.2021Published: 7.9.2021 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

"Well, it's my show. So, it's how I wanna do it." - Joy-Ann Reid "I can do what I wanna do." - Bobby Brown"Whateva! Whateva! I do what I want!" - Eric Cartmanw/ Chris Rufo @ Senior Fellow, The Manhattan Institute -- Contributing Editor, City Journal- When Rufo Met Reid- The Art of Culture War- Activist Journalist- Critical Race Theory: Boardroom, College Campus, Neighborhood Preschool- Bans, Censorship, Pedagogy, Choice- Machiavellian Realism, Pyrrhic Victories- Classical Liberal Caution, Libertarian Naïveté- The "Last" Word- Creed Wars and Culture Wars- Welch Reviews Robin DiAngelo's "Nice Racism"- "Doing The Work"- Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable- Pro Criminal Justice Reforms + Pro Putting People Under the Jail- Broken PromisesRecorded: 6.30.2021Published: 7.2.2021 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

Kmele reveals his big secret!What on Earth is a "coupon Karen"?When Shaun Was KingWhen Kmele was king of Juneteenth Measuring the outrage economyMeasuring the wages of junk historyRacist car crashes"When the people fail, the concept fails"The end of Afghanistan (the war / the country) There's a perpetual riot goin' onAnother CRT digressionRIP to an entertaining, insane, narcissistic, possible murderer 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

New York Daily News columnist Harry Siegel joins TFC for the first hour to talk all things New York (with a focus on halfwit mayoral candidates jockeying to replace a halfwit mayor). But if you don't care about kvetching, NYCentric coastal elites, the back half of the show is, as usual, about how coastal elites are dumb, joyless, and boring. Something for everyone. - New York is back? Harry is back to tell us it never went away- Harry would rather be an effete, elitist jerk wearing his mask too long, thank you very much- The New York City mayoral race tells us nothing about America- The weirdness of Eric Adams- Check the crime, y'all- "Desegregating" NYC schoolsHarry Siegel Postgame- The increasingly annoying CRT debate- Defining truth in an era of lies- Pointless: the Joe and Vlad summit- More cyber war hawkishness from Moynihan (obviously) - The lessons we never learn from 9/11- The dangers of political violence--and of opposing (certain) political violence- You're wrong about Jeff Bezos's taxes 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

Florida is open for business, so The Fifth Column flung its masks into the garbage and headed to the Sunshine State for back-to-back live shows in Miami (coming soon to Patreon!) and a poolside recording in Key West (hence that hollow sound). Nursing hangovers and gasping in the heat, the lads stumble through the following pressing (and pointless) topics:- Those Miami shows were pretty fun, eh? - Wait, why exactly are we in Florida?- Kmele thinks Creepy Joe wasn't being creepy- The global minimum tax is dumb- Ransomware everywhere - This not wearing masks things is pretty great, innit?- COVID addicts, COVID miscellany- Kmele on the Fauci emails: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯- The end of Tiananmen- State violence works- And so very much more... 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

w/ Jane Coaston @ (Host, "The Argument" @ The New York Times)Take FourFrom Vox to NYT's "Rising Libertarian Star" Coming OutJohn BrownThe Black CommunityAppraisal of America's Racial ReckoningThe New Culture WarAnti-Racist Classrooms and WorkplacesSlightly Off MicWhole Foods Edge LordPanics, Counter-Panics, Counter-Counter-PanicsRecorded: 5.28.2021Published: 6.2.2021 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

Radical HonestyA Year of (Racial) ReckoningLosing the ThreadGeorge FloydAmy Cooper, Christian Cooper... and the other dog walkers?Covering Lab Leaks and UFOsThe Death of TruthThe Myth of ObjectivityJournalism for the Real WorldBoston Basketball (and racial slurs)Trump Grand juryRecorded May 26, 2021 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

w/ Congressman Peter Meijer (R-MI)Crypto BloodbathUFOs -- or are they UAPsThe Jan 6th Commission (Part I)Lori Lightfoot Won't Talk To White JournalistsHomeless in San FranciscoThe White Man's Burden A Call from PeterAbout That VoteThe Revolt of the PublicThe FeelsThe Truth is Out ThereRecorded May 19, 2021 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

The lads (minus Kmele, recently felled by his second Pfizer shot) welcome Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano, host of the new LAT podcast "The Times" and author of Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America. Note that after an hour of Gustavo's trademark Southern California/Mexican smack talk--in which he defends Taco Bell, ruminates on "LatinX," explains "Tio Tacos" and "Chicanosauruses," and describes American ethnic tensions that don't involve white people (!)--Moynihan and Welch return to discuss the on-going disasters in Israel, the economy, and the Republican Party. Sure, everything is awful. But as always, The Fifth Column is here to point out just how awful and reassure you that it absolutely won't get better in the near future.Recorded May 12, 2021 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

- The Fifth Column live in Miami! Is this the post-COVID Gilluming you’ve been waiting for?- Matt is Drudged: equity v. equality- Racism becomes more systemic, less specific - Basecamp asks employees to leave politics at the door…or head for the door- Are a bunch of smart libertarian legal scholars wrong or super wrong?- The Socialist Network: the GOP wants to compel Facebook to be nice to DJT- The GOP wants to compel Liz Cheney to stop being mean to DJT- Matt and Kmele yell at each other about Hillary Clinton and DJT- And so very much more.... 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

w/ Paul Rossi (Math Teacher and Writer)https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/i-refuse-to-stand-by-while-my-studentsA verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, is an undeniable milestone for the entire country with wide-ranging implications for American media, politics, and culture. Had things gone differently, America would likely have seen another outbreak of "mostly peaceful protest" -- seasons with healthy smatterings of outright political violence.And in K-12 classrooms across the country, another phase of America's 'racial justice' cultural war continues to play out. Paul Rossi joins our distinguished triumvirate to share details of the still-unfolding drama he incited by voicing opposition to one elite Manhattan private school's critical race theory-inspired antiracism programming.Plus:Adam ToledoMa'Khia Bryant"Kindly Inquisitors"Why one Miami Venue REFUSED to host @wethefifth live recording (Hint: "It's cause somebody got' that transphobia." SMH) Recorded: 4.21.2021Published: 4.23.2021"Just cuz I'm a freak, don't mean that we could hit the sheets" - Gregory Jacobs 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

"What you think all the guns is for?" - Christopher Wallacew/ Alex Nowrasteh (Director of Immigration Studies @ The Cato Institute)A supersized dispatch, because fully resolving the various problems in America's immigration and criminal justice system -- takes a little time. Especially when you're forced to contend w/ WHITE SUPREMACY [Insert Ghost Emoji]. It's kinda like a podcast-mixtape.A - SIDEThe Curious State of US Immigration Reality, Theater, Textbook Political + Bureaucratic Failure The Welfare State vs Open Borders The (Great?) ReplacementAOC's PlanKamala's Rope-A-DopeB - SIDEDMX, Shawn Kemp, Bob MarleyHumble BeginningsThe Defense RestsWhere the Hell is Brooklyn CenterThe Word You're Looking For is "Discharge"Live TweetingWe're Going to South BeachRecorded: 4.14.2021Published: 4.17.20211 Bitcoin = $61,041.60 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

Hunter "Squirtle" BidenMatt "Making Arrangements" Gaetz Adventures in the Havana Hilton?When Everything is Sex Trafficking? (Not Exactly)A New Era of BipartisanshipWin Ben Stein's HeartThe American Metaphor CouncilWho's D riving the Democratic PartyChina and BitcoinSelf Correcting JournalismTweets Bad. Accessory to the murder of a Judge -- we have to be understandingKmele Loves GunsUniversal Basic Income for Mom's of ColorStructural Racism TamagotchiHarrison Bergeron General HospitalRecorded April 8th, 2021Published April 9th, 2021 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

(In No Particular Order)Live From New YorkDRINKAOC AMACDC Press Conference Mask EtiquetteDRINKDerek Chauvin on Trial (Week 1)Eight Fingers LeftTar BabiesA Thing Greater Than YourselfVoter Suppression 2.0DRINKCorporate WelfareFive PinocchiosEnding Ken BurnsThe Cowardly DoormenRecorded April 1st, 2021Published April 3rd, 2021 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

SummaryKmele Loses an Entire DispatchMoynihan's Most Racist VoiceImportant Homework What We Might Have Talked AboutMass ShootingsHate Crime Hysterics and LiesEnding the War in AfghanistanNationa BuildingWhale Watching + 400 Years of SufferingLeaving Sesame StreetRecorded March 25th, 2021Published March 26th, 2021 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

Guest: Jeffery Sachs, Lecturer in Politics @ Acadia UniversitySnyder CutSympathy for DictatorsUseful Pretense of JusticeHow Did Sachs Get It So WrongState of the New Culture WarFree Speech HypocrisyThe Left Is Worse, Right?Power ImbalanceCoastal MyopiaWhat if We're Wrong (Again*)Recorded March 18th, 2021Published March 22th, 2021 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

Guest: Katie Herzog, HOST @ "Blocked & Reported"Keeping SecretsComing 2 AmericaTransphobia is BadA Most Prescient CancelationSay THE WORD, KatieThey'll Never Give You A ResonThe Tax Code is RacistPlato's UtopiaRescue Package in Name OnlyTucker Carlson, Mean PersonTinker Taylor, Toy SoldierVirtual Ball BustingPretending Things Ain't ComplicatedThe Shape of A JokeThe Many Trials of George FloydRIP DCRecorded March 10th, 2021Published March 12th, 2021 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

Guest: Ben Smith, Media Columnist @ The New York TimesFrom BuzzFeed to The NYTWhen Your Bosses are Kinda THE StoryWhy We Can't Stop Talking About The TimesNewsroom Cultural White Privilege and Employee OrientationResignations*Caliphate vs. 1619"My Notebook Remains Open"Losing the NewsroomYou Will Sign This LetterVanilla MandellaBiggie SmallsWhen Van Met Ibram XSimple, Elegant, Almost Certainly WrongThings Get Worse for CuomoRecorded March 2nd, 2021Published March 4th, 2021 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

Guest: Matt Taibbi @ Contributing Editor @ Rolling Stone. Author, "Hate Inc"NiggaratiPrivilege ChildhoodThe Art of the Substack DealThe ShiftAn Active Conspiracy or An Active ConspiracyThe Escape, And Uncertain HorizonIt's Just a Camp, For Kids, So It's FineTrump at CPACA Good ShootBidenomicsListen to Black PeopleDidn't Even Say The WordRecorded Feb 24th, 2021Published Feb 25th, 2021 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

Guest: Martin Gurri @ Author, "The Revolt of the Public"Prophecy, Historical Cycles, and Modest FrameworksFrom Information Monopoly to Information TsunamiPublic DissatisfactionElites in CrisisPublic NihilismHistorical AmnesiaThe Yellow Vests, Jan 6th, 2021Political SectarianismTruth + Objectivity + ResentmentDrama at the New York TimesThe Future of Media and TruthPlato's Perfect Form of JusticeFact CheckRecorded Feb 17th, 2021Published Feb 18th, 2021 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

Pump and DumpMatt Bought CrackReal Compton City GsReally Only One Bad WordThe Public InterestIrrelevant ContextMTG vs. AOC: Most Insane? Best Actress?"I Can Only Be a Non-White Person"Why The Culture War MattersMerit: The Racism of Fairness RacistCovid Cumo, And the Incurious MediaRecorded Feb 3rd, 2021Published Feb 5th, 2021 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

Guest: Van Lathan @ "Higher Learning" (Co-Host), Previously @ TMZKmele and Van connect for a wide-ranging conversation about racism, reconciliation, and finding common ground. It's yet another exercise in constructive disagreement. In fact, it's the back half of a three-hour discussion that managed to feature vanishingly few points of agreement -- and zero personal insults.Oculus QuestTHOUGHT Warriors Uncle Tom: A Most Dangerous ManIf Everyone Listened to Kmele...Listing + ReconciliationRepresentationRacecraftStrangefruitMLK and the FBIJuneteenthCandace Owens BrotherRecorded Jan 27th, 2021Published Feb 3rd, 2021 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

Make a Mint w/ MoynihanWho's Behind the SqueezeOn the War PathStrange BedfellowsPopularity ContestsEven LibertariansEquity and Private PrisonsComing AttractionsRecorded Jan 28th, 2020Published Jan 29th, 2020 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

It is upon us: that very rare occasion when we unlock a Patreon episode for the masses. 🎁🎁🎁If you are clever and don't want to miss future locked episodes, subscribe here.---------Rather than our typical bullet-pointed show notes, we'll keep this one short and sweet. Because try as they might to pull the conversation away from Kmele's bravura performance on Real Time with Bill Maher, the lads just couldn't manage it. Although they do respond to a listener email about the Pet Shop Boys...and Kmele does says the word kerfluffle.That is all. Enjoy. 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

Is Melania the greatest first lady since Florence Harding?Does MC Hammer hate Kmele?Let the sycophancy begin!QanonsenseUnderstanding the Trump voterWe're all weird and wrongThe new Republican Party is awful. So is the new Democratic Party.The dumb 1776 project: "It's like Stephen Miller pooped on a legal pad"Hating big techHow not to combat bad speed 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

Guest: Anna Khachiyan @ "Red Scare" (Co-Host)Kinda CanceledHolding the MicOutrage BonerDirtbagsTight Sweaters, Tighter ShirtsMo' ImpeachmentsThe MAGA RiotsCulpabilityCultural Amnesia, Sweetest TaboosCanceling TrumpCanceling the Rest of Yall?Recorded Jan 13t, 2020Published Jan 14th, 2020 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

Welcome to 2021A Coup d'état? An Insurrection? A dark beginning? A despicable bookend? A world of shit?We'll get to that -- but we're gonna need a lot more booze.Recorded Jan 6th, 2021Published Jan 7th, 2021 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

- Kmele 2020 - AllyShip- Secret Shows- The Internet Never Forgets- Trap Lord- Burning the Witch (and maybe that annoying lady from down the street too) - Puritanism Without The Fun- Schadenfreude- Inconveniencing the Steal- Eviscerating Democracy (w/ Hyperbole)- Stop Laughing -- It's Not Funny- Thank YouRecorded Dec 30th, 2020Published Dec 31st, 2020 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

Guest: Greg Lukianoff @ Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (President). Co-Author, "The Coddling of the American Mind"🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁Recorded Dec 23rd, 2020Published Dec 25th, 2020 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

New ViewsDemographic ConsiderationsWhat Seems to Be The Problem Officer?The Honorable MinisterVaccine RolloutCareful ReportingPost Trump News CycleThe FlagrancyPredicting ApocalypseRecorded Dec 17th, 2020Published Dec 19th, 2020 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

Look, you asked for it. Fifth fan favorite (ed - we really don't understand you people) and Mother Jones editorial director Ben Dreyfuss (né Gould) is back. And the results are wonderfully shambolic. But seriously: make sure the kids are in bed before press play....Ben is "on leave" from Mother JonesWhy Ben's editor blocked him on Twitter (and you should too)No ice in Hawaii, no avocados in WisconsinThe worst movie Ben's dad ever made (Or was it the best?)Why everyone in DC hates FacebookWhy people read dumb articles on Facebook Ben starts a Substack. Obviously.What Ben learned about Donald Trump in the suicide wardManipulating people on the internetAnd so much more... 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

"The Toad style is immensely strong, and immune to nearly any weapon. When it's properly used, it's almost invincible." - Five Deadly VenomsWay Out Of LineThe Incredible Asshole MachineRelated Controversy A Stolen*** ElectionObama 💘 CopsWelcome to Murderapolis A Civil War, A Tent RevivalHan Obviously Shot First (Probably Doesn't Matter)Bothsidesing: Maybe Not a Bad IdeaRevivalist vs RedistributionistAmerican PieRecorded Dec 3nd, 2020Published Dec 4th, 2020 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

An issue with the mics. An inspired fix. A nearly aborted dispatch manages to slide into your feed just in time for the stranges Thanksgiving in decades.A Rolling StartWhen Moynihan Met OprahCoup d'é HAHAHAHAHA"I Told You"Salvaging the CultureCrisis of AuthorityCovid MasksMurder RatesGenerational DividesCalling it QuitsIt's A Job, Ain't It?Recorded Nov 24th, 2020Published Nov 26th, 2020 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

Guest: Glenn Greenwald @ Co-Founder, The InterceptThe Move to Substack (https://greenwald.substack.com/)The Marvelousness of the Fifth ColumnThe Job MarketThe Reply to CriticsThe Blow by BlowThe CultureThe Hunter Biden Laptop SituationRecorded Oct 30th, 2020Published Nov 19th, 2020 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

Guest: Jason Stanley @ Author, "How Fascism Works", Professor of Philosophy @ Yale.The AnswerExtremely Online, Prospective HypocrisyCancel CultureNo TellinTrump's Blacketst SwanBut He's a FascistCritical Race Back and ForthPretty Good (for a Black Guy)CovidRecorded Nov 12th, 2020Published Nov 14th, 2020 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

What Election?The Perils of Watching Cable NewsWhat You Talkin Bout WelchThe Got'Damn PollsAnticipated UnrestBlack Woman Stabbed, By Black Lives Matters Supporters?What Happens to the MediaWhat Happens to RepublicansWhat Happens to DemocratsStereotypes are Fine NowYou People Aren't Supposed to Vote That WayWoke-spiracyFighting Them on The BeachRecorded Nov 4th, 2020Published Nov 5th, 2020 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

Bannon's back. The New York Post isn't.  Don’t talk about Hunter!Are we living in a Techno Fascist Reich?Regulate, regulate, regulateThe unforeseen consequences of deplatforming?Qanon inflation To the gulag, go!Russia, Russia, RussiaWhich New York Times editor does Matt call "a loathsome toad"?FYI: Political journalists cannot cover “politically driven events”Debate, debate, debateCoherent on Corona! But also full of shit!And Corona reporting is still awful Mad Matt on a Mendacious Media Are people still wiping down their groceries?WHATS UP TWITTER WORLD, IT’S THE JUICEJeff Toobin, American Hero / OJ, not guiltyMaybe an election-night Zoom thing? 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

Moynihan's Old, New HouseCOVID... is Fake?Siri, Do Black Lives Matter?Dueling Town HallsEveryone is Awful, Even You, (But Not Really)The Brief And Highly Overrated Return of Respectability PoliticsPolitics of BullshitForeign BodiesThe Revolt of the PublicDarkest Totalitarian HellscapeRecorded Oct 18, 2020Published Oct 20, 2020 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

Guest: Damon Root @ Reason Magazine, Author, "A Glorious Liberty: Frederick Douglass and the Fight for an Antislavery Constitution"Trump Makes His PickHow Republicans Will Be DisappointedCourt Packing And Other ShenanigansHistorical Context, Oppressing People of ColorCOVID RumorsDebate Night Dog WhistlesWhat Trump Really MeansVote by Mail (But Throw Out the Ballots)The First and Only LadyRecorded Oct 1, 2020Published Oct 3, 2020 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

NOTE: This dispatch was beleaguered by technical and logistical challenges. The audio actually turned out pretty good (all things considered), but the entire thing was very nearly scrapped. Those challenges contributed to a delayed-release — and because the world has gone quite mad —the news cycle is evolving rapidly. All the same, still lots of very relevant (even prophetic) stuff in this dispatch, but it was recorded before the Breonna Taylor Grand Jury announcement that inspired a night of protests, riots, and violence. Home ImprovementLatinx, Things You Must Know About The CubanTrust the ProcessDebate PreviewRBGHypocrisy and Norm EviscerationWho to BlameA Loss of Faith, A Looming Election HellscapeAbout that TikTok DealWe Choose Violence1619 Lies, Bullshit, Stealth Edits, Motivated ReasoningIf The Schools Already Suck, Can 1619 Make Them Worse (or better)National Patriotism CurriculumAll My Critics Are Racist, Which Is Terribly Convenient for MeRecorded Sept 20, 2020Published Sept 24, 2020 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

Guest: Steve Kornacki, National Political Corespondent @NBC News / MSNBCMaking TV News During a PandemicDoing Your Own MakeupLast Man in MidtownWe're All You Tubers NowIt'll Be a Blow-Out, Or It'll Be ClosePolls You Can TrustBlack Voters, Impeachment, CollusionState of the PartiesState of the UnionState of the MediaPaper or PlasticRecorded Sept 11, 2020Published Sept 13, 2020 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

Guest: Nancy Romemelmann, journalist and author of To the Bridge: A True Story of Motherhood and MurderMoynihan is back from Kenosha, and Nancy Rommelmann returns for an update on the goings-ons in Portland.On the ground in KenoshaOn the ground in PortlandMedia Malpractice, Self Deception DC, Rochester, What's NextBiden v Trump*Worse Than Useless Facts*Details That MatterGoing Full MAGARecorded Sept 5, 2020Published Sept 6, 2020 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

w / Tina Nguyen (White House Reporter @ Politico)Watching the RNCTrump's on TwitchNasty EmojisThe Fire Next Time (Kenosha Edition)"What's the big deal? Your insurance will pay for it?"Total Failure of Political LeadershipMatt Welch: Snowflake?Marines in Portland? Libertarian Enough?Leaping to Conclusions, Outright LyingIndependent InvestigationsJacob Blake: Things We Don't KnowKyle Rittenhouse: Things We Don't KnowRecorded Aug 31, 2020Published Sept 1, 2020 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

w / Coleman Hughes🤫Recorded Aug 21, 2020Published Aug 23, 2020 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

We can't believe it. Neither can you. It's our 200th episode!! (Well, not including the thirty-plus, subscriber-only Patreon episodes, which are looser, bawdier, and even more problematic...so stop freeloading and subscribe!). In celebration of this momentous anniversary, we called up our old friend Andrew Sullivan, fresh from his separation with New York magazine and joining from his Provincetown whirlpool, to discuss:- Daddys, bears, and pervs...oh my!- Andrew has a conversation with some younger gays- A generation without tragedy- BTW: No one actually says LGBTQ+- And you're not suppose to like being oppressed- Why did Andrew leave New York magazine and what is the "mysterious miasma"? - Sully starts his own thing, quickly realizes he was underpaid- The drunk brilliance of old-school British journalism- FWIW, Andrew didn't write The Bell Curve- The anti-Sullivan fatwa issued by a former employer- Michael Kinsley's two rules of writing - The future of magazines, the future of media - Why you should read, listen to, and befriend people with bad ideas- Kmele, Kamala, and the prostitutes- Andrew convinces us to...changeRecorded Aug 13, 2020Published Aug 14, 2020 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

Drugs You Should TryHeroine, A Black Drug?Black People Are All The SameVoter Fraud, by MailSelecting A VPCognitive Tests (Person, Woman, Man, Camera, TV)Scare TacticsSuburban Lifestyle DreamsThe State of New YorkFBG DuckNew George Floyd VideoThe Trouble With ChinaFacebook vs TikTokBlazing SaddlesRecorded Aug 6, 2020Published Aug 9, 2020 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

Guest: Nancy Rommelmann, journalist and author of To the Bridge: A True Story of Motherhood and MurderNancy Rommelmann, friend of the Fifth and former resident of Portland, Amerikkka, returns from the ramparts of the revolution with news, anecdotes, and a glimpse at our glorious future. Alis volat propriis. So we asked our very own Lady John Reed just what the hell is happening in the insurrectionist precincts of the Pacific Northwest...Nancy doesn't recognize parts of PortlandWhat everyone is getting wrong about the protests/riots/federal interventionWait, where is the Portland PD?Shares in a homemade body armor business are trading higher today...Why you're not hearing that amazing, hilarious, enlightening conversation we had about the secret app(It's because the SD card ran out of space and no one noticed...)We return after our tech screw up--much, much drunker--to talk history vs. journalismNo one arguing about colonial history knows anything about colonial historyIt sort of falls apart around this point...And by the way: stop telling us what we should care about 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

Glenn Greenwald,Co-Founder @ The InterceptAuthor, "No Place to Hide"Thomas Chatterton WilliamsContributing Writer @ New York Times MagAuthor, "Self Portrait in Black and White"After a little internet drama related to the Harper's Open Letter, Kmele got together w/ Thomas and Glenn to discuss.Why we needed "A Letter on Justice and Debate"Why Glenn isn't a SignatoryWhat is Cancel CultureDo we really need to talk about this RIGHT NOWEvangelism or ExcommunicationHypocrisy and Healthier ConversationsRecorded July 24, 2020Published July 27, 2020 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

We haven't unlocked a Patreon episode since way back in February. But we (Moynihan) were feeling generous, so here's a paywalled bonus episode from July 13, liberated for all of you cheapskates. You're welcome.If you want a new subscriber-only episode every week (plus slurring live Zoom calls, lost episodes, mail bag episodes, a community of like-minded psychos, etc), subscribe here!--------------For only the second time since the Bat Flu, the lads are back in the same room...and back at the Stupid Table™ in Williamsburg. The energy! The booze! The crosstalk! Kmele singing! Yay! It's an hour and half bull session covering the most important debates in America. Zum beispiel: - Moynihan's new CNBC show "Stock Monstah Dood!"- Getting psyched about--and possibly auditioning for--a show Kmele loves but has never seen- Kmele is Mr. 2X. Moynihan is Mr. Angry Irishman Driver- Understanding the core of the anti-racist project- Matt's formative moment as an 18-year-old journalist- The privileged people who hate really privileged people- Yes, the lads talk about the endless LETTER WARS- Kmele rants about a Jo Jorgensen tweet- What does it mean to be anti-racist?- If they win, we will all will end up living in a joyless world- Back to Bay Ridge (and coming upon a pro-NYPD protest) 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

w/ Josh Szeps (né Zepps), ABC Australia and host of the Uncomfortable Conversations podcast.Josh-o's back and the dingo has his baby! Australia's most listened-to radio host joins the Fifth from his COVID-free compound in Sydney to talk nonsense about:Paul Hogan (obviously)How the Aussies handled the COVIDThat story about our friend who resigned from the Times"Cancel culture," right and left"Good Morning ya' ****s!"Armageddon the shit out of that rockAre we becoming a totalitarian hell hole? (Probably not)Viacom race theorist Nick Cannon on masked singers, Mariah Carey, and the Rothschilds.Matt knew a NaziRecorded July 15, 2020 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

Two-plus hours with our favorite German, Herr Yascha Mounk, contributing editor at The Atlantic and founder of Persuasion, a publication dedicated to promoting and defending the "values of a free society."The lads discuss that Harper's letter on cancel culture, signed by Kmele and Yasha (and Salman Rushdie, Martin Amis, JK Rowling, et al); the attempt to cancel people who signed a statement opposing canceling people; how everyone's still a fascist; the painful absurdity of Robin Diangelo; a Matt and Kmele fight about Trump's Mt. Rushmore speech; the dangers of the populist right; El Chino; and so very much more.Recorded July 8, 2020 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

w/ Wesley Lowery Correspondent @ CBS - "60 Minutes in 6"Lowery Wrote A Thing:"A Reckoning Over Objectivity, Led by Black Journalists" (NYT) - June 23, 2020https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/opinion/objectivity-black-journalists-coronavirus.htmlWelch Raised Some Objections:"Journalists Abandoning 'Objectivity' for 'Moral Clarity' Really Just Want To Call People Immoral" (Reason) - June 24, 2020https://reason.com/2020/06/24/journalists-abandoning-objectivity-for-moral-clarity-really-just-want-to-call-people-immoral/Some Twitter Drama Ensues.The Parties Agree to Settle Things Directly....And now, here you are. All caught up, ready for the fireworks (literally + figuratively).Recorded: July 2, 2020Published: July 6, 2020 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

w/ Jacob Siegel, Senior Writer @ Tablet"The New Truth" (June 22nd 2020)https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/new-truth-rationalism-religion"Journalists Abandoning 'Objectivity' for 'Moral Clarity' Really Just Want To Call People Immoral" (6/24/2020)https://reason.com/2020/06/24/journalists-abandoning-objectivity-for-moral-clarity-really-just-want-to-call-people-immoral/- The Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez of Journalism- The Great Fireworks Conspiracy (continued)- The NYT Slack- All The Smoke- The New Truth- Rhetorically Invincible- White Fragility, The Message of the Cross- Moral Clarity- World Heritage Sites- The Wages of Sin- Ethical JournalismRecorded: June 25, 2020Published: July 1, 2020 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

w/ Jane Coaston, Senior Politics Reporter @ VoxSome Sports StuffTickTock SwiftboatsTulsaTrumps PartyWhat Comes NextImmigration + VisasThe Coaston PlanMore Black Lives Matter TalkBut What About....Unbundling the PoliceLiking the Neighborhood Cops Recorded: June 23, 2020Published: June 25, 2020 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

w/ David French, Senior Editor @ The Dispatch and Columnist @ TimeHelp With Your Down Payment?A Busy Day For SCOTUS2A, Qualified Immunity (Part I), Expanding Civil RightsThought CrimesOn Racism (and Anti Racism)The Worst Dinner PartyThe Censorship ImpulseGone With the Wind, Song of the SouthThe Lost Cause... Myth?What Northerners Really WantStill in Love w/ Daisy DukeAnti-racism Must Be Anti-raceWalk Humbly, Seek Justice, See the Humanity in Your OpsQualified Immunity (Part II) -- Why Qualified Immunity MattersRecorded: June 15, 2020Published: June 16, 2020 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

w/ Olivia Nuzzi, Washington Correspondent @ New York MagazineAn Unprecedented MovementDefunding the Police... Or Just Abolishing ThemCanceling Most Things, Razing The RestMoral Clarity in the News RoomTrump on the Campaign Trail, Biden's StrengthsWhy Trump and Rudy Can't Stop Talking to NuzziRecorded: June 10, 2020Published: June 12, 2020 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

A Brief History of Right NowPunk PoliceIt Might Actually Be LegalBlack on Black on BlackBending the KneeNYT Civil WarEssentialism in PracticeLaw & OrderPassoverMLK on RiotsRecorded:6/4/2020Published: 6/6/2020 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

Kmele facilitates a follow-up conversation on race, racism, and anti-racism -- this time, in the midst of a global pandemic and increasing social unrest. You can find the first installment in this series of conversations here: http://wethefifth.com/episodes/121GUESTS /Glenn LouryProfessor of the social sciences and economics at Brown UniversityThomas Chatterton WilliamsAuthor, "Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race" and "Losing My Cool" John McWhorterProfessor of Linguistics, Philosophy, and Music at ColumbiaColeman HughesFellow at The Manhattan InstituteContributing Editor at City JournalRecorded:5/22/2020 Published: 6/1/2020 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

She wrote a column in the New York Times. She failed to mention her favorite podcast. She mentioned other podcasts. She texted us asking if she could come on the show to apologize. We agreed. Bari Weiss, the genial and gentle bête noire of woke culture, is back...hat in hand, asking for Fifth forgiveness. But she sticks around to discuss lots of other stuff:- We are all Stasi agents now- You're both Karens!- A murder in Minneapolis- Whose more powerful? Jack Dorsey or one of your senators?- Should corporations be fact-checking politicians?- Matt explains Section 230- Moynihan rants about journalists being annoying- A guest appearance from Nellie Bowles- A really bad piece about white people and spices- Kmele squeezes in some China/Hong Kong talk- And some good news from Spencer!Recorded: May 27, 2020Published: May 28, 2020 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

Balaji Srinivasan (@balajis) Investor + Entrepreneur, Former CTO @ Coinbase, Partner @ Andreessen Horowitz Conor Friedersdorf (@conor64)Staff Writer at The Atlantic, Founding Editor of The Best of Journalism- How Startups Think About Failure + Survival - Pandemics, Panics, and Journalistic Incentives- Forging Societal Truth - Why the US Failed to Take COVID Seriously- Why Journalist Hate The Valley- Believing Half of What You Read- Epistemology Algorithms - A Feature Set for Fixing Journalism - Looser ArgumentsRecorded: May 14th 2020Published: May 25th 2020 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

w/ Ethan Strauss Writer @ Athletic, Author "The Victory Machine: The Making and Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty" (2020)- Getting Political- NBA vs China- Bad Deals and Bad Economics- The Incomparable Michael Jordan- 'What is Best In Life'- Resuming the NBA Season- Pissing off Kevin DurantRecorded: May 13th 2020Published: May 17th 2020 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

w/ Rep Justin Amash US Congressman (Michigan's 3rd Congressional District) and 2020 Libertarian Presidential HopefulU.S. Representative for Michigan's 3rd congressional district since 2011, and currently serving as the first Libertarian Party member of Congress. Amash diagnoses what's wrong with America's politics, parties, and legislative process. And he makes the case for why he's ideally well suited to fix.Recorded: May 4th 2020Published: May 6th 2020 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

w/ Glenn Greenwald Co-founding Editor @ The Intercept, Host @ "System Update"A once in a century pandemic is producing unique and daunting challenges to civil liberties around the world. What are the necessary compromises? Where are the non-negotiable red lines? And what are those mysterious bright lights people have been seeing in the night sky? (The last one is easy: visitors from another galaxy, here to share their advanced technology with us... for a price).ALSO:- Avoiding a Hot War w/ Red-China- COVID in Brazil- Reading the YouTube Comments- Logging Onto CompuServe to Own The Conservatives- A Kinder, Gentler Greenwald- Russia-Gate Revisited- Why FISA Was Always Bullshit- 'Just the Tip' SocialismRecorded: April 30th 2020Published May 2nd 2020 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

w/ Jonah Goldberg Editor-in-Chief @The Dispatch, Host @ The Remnant PodcastPresident Trump has an inspired idea for arresting a global pandemic. It involves ultraviolet rays, disinfectant washes -- and Welch seems convinced that it also has something to do with "butt stuff" -- which, honestly, it wouldn't be the strangest thing you've heard all day.ALSO:- Jonah on Political Homelessness- Define "Prevaricate"- Presidential Ineptitude and Slothfulness,- How Shitty Henchmen Keep America Safe- Why The CDC is So Popular- Trump Punching is Boring- The Most Dangerous Debate- On Tucker Carlson- The Best Rescue Package- Georgia: Open for Business (or something)- Funding Lockdown Protests  - The Limits of MitigationRecorded: April 23rd 2020Published April 25th 2020 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

Kmele Foster, Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) and Coleman Hughes (@coldxman) discuss the cacophony of concern about blackness+ racism in the midst of a once in a century global pandemic.RELATED POSTS:"Do COVID-19 Racial Disparities Matter?" - Coleman Hugheshttps://quillette.com/2020/04/13/do-covid-19-racial-disparities-matter/"Don’t Racialize the Pandemic" - Zaid Jilanihttps://www.nationalreview.com/2020/04/coronavirus-race-fight-pandemic-dont-get-bogged-down-racial-categorization/Recorded: April 14th 2020Published April 20th 2020 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

- Gender Traitors- Teddy Pendergrass- Trump’s Absolute Authority- Cutting off WHO Funding- What a Pandemic Can Teach You- China and The American Free PressRecorded: April 15th, 2020Released: April 17th, 2020 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

"When America catches a cold, black America... " -- well, we should maybe talk about that.- Welch Makes a Baseball Analogy- Moynihan helps Governor Cuomo shame the traitorous scum who refuse to STAY IN DOORS- Amid growing concern about the disproportionate impact COVID-19 may be having on black folks in America -- Kmele has thoughts- When Billionaires Give Money Away (it's never enough -- and it's never good enough -- for Moynihan?)- China is Using Fake Numbers- A Briefing Full of Jim Acostas- President Trump Lies, Frequently -- Accept When He's Telling the Truth- Trump's Greatest Failure- Foreign Policy Tea LeavesRecorded: April 7th, 2020Released: April 8th, 2020 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

With more than 80% of Americans under some form of movement restrictions, civil liberties are in retreat, authoritarians are gaining ground, and Kmele is feeling positively messianic.PLUS "The Fifth Column's Pandemic Shopping Guide: How to beat the system, score hard to find paper products, and avoid deadly CHINESE pathogens"- Keep Buggering OnRecorded: March 31st, 2020Released: April 2ndth, 2020 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

- The lads are losing it in quarantine- New York is "authentic" again / full of crackhead zombies- Being entrepreneurial in a time of crisis- So what's happening in COVID world- And what does Kmele think *now*?- Is this all capitalism's fault?- More studies, more confusion- The shitty media is even shittier than ever- Hating on De Blasio- Manufacturing scientific consent- It's MH370. And we're inside the plane- A wee bit of mail from a wee Scot Trot - Is there anything to talk about *but* COVID?- Kmele has a new telescope/is a huge nerd in the woodsRecorded: March 26th, 2020Released: March 27th, 2020 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

The quarantine continues...the Fifth Columnists have thoughts...- Kmele is the Kurtz/Lauren Hill of Virginia- Some listener mail- We have the results! (Calm down Todd)- Updates on the COVID- Is it all going to fall apart? Probably- Are we are at war? Not really- Some more listener mail- Some audiobooks to listen to while quarantined- Some more sports to watch while no sports is happening- Kmele really needs to bring it back to COVID- An Italian friend drunk texts, loses her mind- More disaster socialism- The most important thing about COVID is what Trump calls it- Some book recommendationsReleased: March 19, 2020 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

UPDATE: The original version of this episode was uploaded out of sync. It has been replaced with a corrected version. We regret the error. But stop complaining. It's free. The bat virus apocalypse continues. The Fifth Column soldiers on, shouting ¡No pasarán!- Kmele is in the woods, Matt is in South Brooklyn, Moynihan is in hiding- All COVID, all the time!- Wait, so does he have it or not?- Kmele questions the consensus- Disaster capitalism becomes disaster socialism- Money is fake. Let's give everyone a billion dollars, ok?- Masked and bonding with the Hasids- Why Matt can't smoke weed? (Yes, it involves Central Europe and the First Gulf War)- Ken Burns gives it away- Let's rerun 70s baseball and hockey games- More on this damn virus- We totally missed the Andrew Gillum wedding party- Dude. The drugs were on the floor- Pick some books. Let's read them- And so very much more Recorded: March 16th, 2020Released: March 17th, 2020 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

w/ Ross Douthat Columnist @ New York Times - Author of "The Decadent Society: How We Became the Victims of Our Own Successes"DESCRIPTION: - Decadence, Low and High- The Four Horseman- “Giving Decadence Its Due”- Birth Rates, Populations, Populism- It’s Manifesto Season on the American Right- Ross Still Wants to Ban Porn- TVs Golden Age- The Case for Joe Biden- Don Jr's GOP- A New York Times Conservative 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

w/ Eli Lake ( Columnist @ Bloomberg Opinion)- Typhoid Welch- Biden crushes South Carolina and Super Tuesday- Good 'ol Uncle Joe or Cognitive Decline- "Democratic" Socialism?- MAGA Corps and Bernie Bros Will Excuse Almost Anything Their Candidates Do- Elizabeth Warren Lost -- It's Empirically Not HER Fault- DNC Subterfuge- Biden's Lies About Getting Arrested, Mandela Thanking- Preview of the Biden v Bernie Debate- Schumer SCOTUS Threat- The FISA "Rubber Stamp"- The Horrifying Books on Your Sshelf- President Trump's *Disgraceful* Peace Deal w/ the Taliban- Eli's Libertarian War Powers Fetish- Steve Kornacki: Legend- Chris Matthews- Billionaire Lives MatterUPDATED FILERecorded: March 5th, 2020Released: March 6th, 2020 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

w/ Aaron Maté (Host @ PushBack, Contributor @ The Nation)- Throwin Up Gang Signs- COVID-19- Cuban History 101- Giving China Credit- Billionaires and Unicorns- Harvey WeinsteinRecorded: February 26th, 2020Released: February 27th, 2020 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

w/ Asawin Suebsaeng and Lachlan Markay (White House Reporters @ The Daily Beast)Co Authors: ""Sinking in the Swamp" How Trump's Minions and Misfits Poisoned Washington"Description:- Moynihan's Vocal Fry and "Actually Good" Accents- Searching for "Henry Hills" in Trumpworld- Lachlan's Conservative Apostasy- Al Gore: Most Boring Interview Subject Ever- Rats and Snitches- Daily Beast: A "High-brow Tabloid"- Woke (Racist?) Bloomberg- The Muslim Ban- From Seb Gorka to Hunter Biden- Reporters vs Opinion Pundits- Will the Press Scrutinize the Next President as Aggressively?- The Never Trumpers Who End Up in the White House Anyway- John Bolton's Next Act- Swin/Lachlan's "Badgers Story"- Drama Queens- Bob Woodward- Godfather 3, still bad- Gore Vidal + Timothy McVeighRecorded: February 18th, 2020Released: February 19th, 2020 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

Description:- Black History Month- There's no Barbecue Sauce in American Dirt- Believe Some Death Threats, Leverage Others- Oscar Obsession (Beautiful Mind Edition)- Yang Dead Is Dead, Long Live Yang Gang- Bernie's Ceiling, Biden's Ebony Firewall- A SHOCKING Presidential Endorsement- Bloomberg's Stop + Frisk Memory Hole- ADL: "White Supremacy is On The Rise!"Recorded: February 12th, 2020Released: February 13th, 2020 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

The last time we did this, we said don't get used to it. Well, we meant it. But we're also feeling overly generous. So here is last week's Patreon-only dispatch, featuring Moynihan and Kmele. You're welcome.--------Kmele and Moynihan are back in Williamsburg drinking bad wine and talking shit...while trying to figure out why Welch isn't returning anyone's calls. Moynihan returns to Iowa and remembers why he hates journalists. Bumbling around the Hawkeye State, he chats with Andrew Yang, hangs with hardcore Trump types and fanatical Bernie bros. And they're all Iowa nice. Kmele has a black "Big Chill" weekend in Pennsylvania and opens about up his parents--to a gobsmacked Moynihan. As usual, the lads try to catch up on a bunch of listener mail, provoking discussions about tattoos, Chile, Northern Ireland, Goop, The Central Park Five, and the "Preppy Killer" Robert Chambers. And twenty years after it debuted, Kmele finally watches Curb Your Enthusiasm.Outro music: RIP Andy Gill.Recorded February 4, 2020 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

Description:- Kmele's Inner MAGA- State of the Union Theatrics- “Oh, God -- Fire the Media!”- "The Big Lie" (and other nonsense)- Mitt Romney’s Moment- Trump’s Criminal Justice Reform- Iowa Fiasco- Waiting for Bernie to Turn on MSNBC- Preview of Upcoming Patreon EpisodesRecorded: February 5th, 2020Released: February 6th, 2020 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

Description:- When the mob came for the Fifth- Hong Kong: Proto Police State- The Democratic Field- Bernie's Got a Shot, The Joe Rogan Bounce- Criminalizing Disinformation- Watching Lou Dobbs- Fearing the Bern- Truthy Skepticism- An Impeachment Drive-By- Eli on the FBI- Some Idiot Wrote This (and this... and this...)Recorded: January 29, 2020Released: January 30, 2020 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

GUEST:Miriam Elder, senior political reporter for BuzzFeed News and former Russia correspondent for The Guardian. (@MiriamElder)DESCRIPTION:Our fake biosMiriam's seven years in MoscowGet Shorty, Alex Jones, and the D-list bullshit artistsMatt’s Russophobia isn’t as bad as MSNBC’sPolitical theater provides cover to Putin’s authoritarianism Moynihan and Elder throw down over Bernie's alleged sexism. Plus: Is believing Warren or Sanders a #MeToo lesson?Who is the nihilist candidate?Banning lies on FacebookCan a bully be funny?The “Independents” couple foreverRecorded: January 16, 2020Released: January 18, 2020 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

GUEST: Noah RothmanAssociate Editor@ Commentary -- Contributor @ MSNBC/NBC NewsAuthor: “Unjust: Social Justice and the Unmaking of America” (Jan 2019)DESCRIPTION:- Why the Washington Bullets became the Wizard - Bomb Iran?- Will Americans ever support another Middle East War again?- International commerce —> global middle class —> less war- Trump thinks China should police the Strait of Hormuz- What if we did NOTHING?- Brian Stelter praises Tucker Carlson - John Bolton might testify- Moynihan shows up late- Elizabeth Wurtzel- Facebooks deep fake 'Problem'- Thanks for the swags, and the boozeRecorded: January 7, 2019Published: January 8, 2019 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

DESCRIPTION:- Neighborhood Watch- Moynihan’s Anti-Brit Streak- Bernie’s Fundraising Clout- Ron Paul’s Newsletters and Everlasting Ice Cream- Buttigieg Wants to Decriminalize All Drugs- Iran’s Quds Force commander Soleiman Killed in Iraq- Media Malpractice on Vaping- Chuck Todd's Fake News special- About That MemoRecorded: January 2, 2020Published: January 3, 2020 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

Happy Kwanza -- We've UNLOCKED a Patreon Only dispatch just for you (and everyone else)! Enjoy it, but don't get used to it.The Williamsburg Tapes (Dispatch #4)"Losing Our Religion"DESCRIPTIONIt's a pre-Christmas miracle! The Fifth Columnists are back at the stammtisch (stupid table) in Williamsburg for a long-ass special dispatch, mostly discussing things distant from the news cycle. Kmele watches "Mandingo" and, to the shock of both Welch and Moynihan, is slack-jawed by how racist it is. The lads answer some reader mail and discuss Michael Collins, the Pete Best of Apollo 11; offer some meandering thoughts on Catholicism and Seventh Day Adventism; ruminate on tragedy and loss; blather about the Richard Jewell movie nontroversy; recommend books about Israel; and provide two-plus hours of assorted other nonsense.Recorded: 12/??/2019Published: 12/25/2019 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

GUEST: Conor FriedersdorfStaff Writer @ The AtlanticDESCRIPTION:- Patreon-only Preview- Chapo Trap vs Conor- An Underreported Attack in Jersey City- Afghanistan Mea Culpa- Something About Impeachment- Reauthorize Every War, Every Year- Biden, Dove of the Obama Administration- Complicated Brexit voters- Gesture politics- The Paternalism of Blooombergism- The Pronoun Talk- Civility, Without Obsessing Over IdentityRecorded: December 17, 2019Published: December 18, 2019 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

Description: - Kmele’s Dog Ate His Own Tail- Debunking mediums and magicians- UK elections, the problem with Jeremy Corbyn- WaPo’s “Afghanistan Papers”- IG report and the FBI's no-good, very bad behavior- Mispronouncing Nunes- Acela Wars- Greta Thunberg: Person of the Year- The case against Welches Case Against ImpeachmentRecorded: December 12, 2019Published: December 14, 2019 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

Description: - [ GRRT, BAOW ]- Dragonball Z- Kamala Drops Out, A Narrative Quickly Take Shape- A De-platforming in South Bend- 1619 and Historical Skepticism- Are the Democratic Primaries Racist? (Can We Call It Seeding or Naw?)- A Farewell to NATO? And the WTO? And the EU too?- "Impeachment", The Board Game- "The Irishman", A ReviewRecorded: December 6, 2019Published: December 8, 2019 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

The director of classic documentaries "The Thin Blue Line," "Fog of War," and "Standard Operation Procedure," Errol Morris has long been the doyen of critics...until he made "American Dharma," a film exploring the worldview and influence of former Breitbart boss and Trump campaign chief executive Steve Bannon. Predictably, Morris was accused of "platforming" Bannon and, for the first time in his career, America's most famous documentarian couldn't find a distributor for his film. On the day "American Dharma" opened in New York, Morris sat down with Michael Moynihan to discuss the controversy, whether or not Bannon is a "fascist," and why he thinks his most controversial movie is also his best. Recorded: November 1, 2019 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

Description:- Trumpian Slam Poetry ("I Want Nothing!")- Got a Thing for Fiona Hill- Blue Pill Confessional- Burisma Biden- The Good, The Bad, and The Career Diplomats - Weird John Bolton Tweets- The Wrestle Mania Impeachment- Sacha Baron vs Facebook, Borat as Proto-Hate Speech- Grading the Democratic Debate- Spiking the Kaepernick- About that PatreonRecorded: November 22nd 2019Published: November 24th 2019 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

- Who Shot Ya? (Tupac, Biggie)- Moynihan Drinks w/ Trump Supporters in Bay Ridge- Buttigieg- Impeachment Hearings- Devin Nunes’ Garbage Clown Schtick- Roger Stone Goes Down- What Happened to Rudy Giuliani?- Stealing Land in Texas, Pardoning War Criminals- Patreon Launche (https://www.patreon.com/wethefifth)Recorded: November 15th 2019Published: November 17th 2019 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

Recorded: November 6th 2019Published: November 9th 2019GUEST: Bari WeissOp-Ed Staff Editor and Writer @ The New York TimesAuthor, "How to Fight Anti-Semitism" (2019) 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

Recorded: October 20th 2019Published: October 31st 2019GUEST: Thomas Chatterton WilliamsAuthor, "Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race" (2019) 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

Recorded: October 18th 2019Published: October 22nd 2019GUEST: Meghan DaumAuthor, "The Problem With Everything" (2019) 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

Recorded: October 9th 2019Published: October 10th 2019GUEST: Walt Hickey, Senior Editor for Data @ InsiderFounder @ Numlock News newsletter 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

- Picking fights in restaurants- Botham Jean's brother forgives Amber Guyger for murdering his brother. And that's a problem. - Forgiveness vs. MORE HARSH SENTENCING- Ukraine/Trump - Matt lacks the Xi-spot to laugh - Trump’s Afghanistan policy is a photo of ladies in pants - Base familial corruption- Swampier than the swamp- We've been had (if we're Obama or Trump supporters)- Obama’s Jonas Brothers drone joke- Trump’s DC hotel is the Star Wars bar- Never Trumpers should be Never Government people- Frank Luntz’s curtains open and play “Hail to the Chief”- Impeachment check-in- If Bannon hates the elites, why is he the primary source for Michael Wolff’s book- Andrew Yang Hates Porn- Christopher Hitchens' opinions from beyond the grave- Don't write "Orange Man Bad"- The Fifth Column LIVE, again?Recorded: October 3, 2019Published: October 4, 2019 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

- Moynihan won an Emmy- #EmmysSoWhite- "Some saw..."- Films Don't Matter- Xenophobic Immigrants- Biden, Trump, Ukraine- Will He Be Impeached ? Maybe…And No- It's Greta Thunberg's World- The Vaping Muslim Ban- Rashida Tlaib's Science of Smoking- Tweet Dumpster Diving- “Cancel Culture is A Myth”Recorded: September 26, 2019Published: September 27th 2019 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

- The “moderate chic” party- RIP Emmet O’Lunney’s- Brett Kavanaugh *Allegation(s)*- College campuses in the 1980s was all about apartheid- Moynihan’s Foggy Memory, and Everyone’s- John Bolton, Out- Obama’s Apology Tour and Trump’s Chomsky Impression- Kmele’s Worried about Iranian escalation - Joe BIden’s "Corn Pop" Story: Fact Check=True- George Packer’s Atlantic Piece on Schools- Cancelling the SNL guy - Mark Sanford- Business Insider's GOP debate- Some Idiot Wrote ThisRecorded: September 16th 2019Published: September 19th 2019 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

Recorded: September 4th 2019Published: September 7th 2019Guest: Steve Kornacki, National Political Correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC. Author of "The Red and the Blue: The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism"- RIP, Vice News Tonight on HBO- Everybody kinda likes Joe Walsh- The "Straight Man" on MSNBC- New Jersey politics is so much more fun than national politics- Kamala Harris channels robot John Edwards- Negotiating with the Taliban- Casualty counts matter- It’s a better and worse media moment- An alternate history where Mario Cuomo decides to run- Pulling a string on Kornacki and he just goes- Bill Weld’s novels- Lonelier than the ideological middle is the temper-mental middle- The guardrails have been annihilated- Admitting to liking Chappelle’s show- US military “protecting elections”- The T Zone 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

- Ladies Libertarianing- The Segregation of Everything- The 1619 Project: “Everything that makes America exceptional is because of slavery”- NHJ: “We’re the MOST American”- Trump: “I hereby order…”- Dual Loyalty (and cascading stupidity)- David Koch, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter- Park Slope SocialistsRecorded: August 23rd 2019Published: August 26th 2019 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

Welch, Moynihan, and Kmele are all in the same room for the first time in more than a month -- and it's a glorious reunion.Recorded: August 16th 2019Published: August 18th 2019 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

In this Special Dispatch, Michael Moynihan sits down with legendary journalist, author, and documentarian -- Jon Ronson. They discuss some of Ronson's most celebrated books, his fabulous new podcasts exploring the porn industry ("The Butterfly Effect", "The Last Days of August"), and his penchant for pissing off Alex Jones.Jon Ronson's Books Include:"Them" (2001)"The Men Who Stare at Goats" (2004)"The Psychopath Test" (2011)"So You've Been Publicly Shamed" (2015)Recorded: July 26th 2019Published: August 2nd 2019 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

Guest: Ben Dreyfuss (Editorial Director, Mother Jones)Description:- Moynihan in Martha's Vineyard- Mueller sucks on TV- Trump’s Razor: The dumbest explanation is the most likely- “Send them back” — is it racist?- Jane Mayer's Al Franken defense- Shitty Media Men- Deletes Jokes- A$AP Rocky 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

Guest: Molly Jong-Fast is a contributor to The Bulwark and the author of three books. (@MollyJongFast)Recorded: July 11th 2019 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

Guest: Patrick Radden Keefe, staff writer at the New Yorker, author of "Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland"Description:In this special dispatch, Michael Moynihan talks with Patrick Radden Keefe about the 1972 murder of Jean McConville, a mother of 10 in Belfast, at the hands of the IRA. Her disappearance remained a mystery for decades, but in his new book, Keefe names the names of the alleged perpetrators, and talks about the greater political implications of the Catholic-Protestant violence that continues to plague Northern Ireland to this day. Also, Moynihan reveals the moment when he realized Gerry Adams isn't the folk hero that many Americans believed he was. 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

- Moynihan Goes to Court- Welch gets a Stress Sty- RIP, Steve Dunleavy- NBA O-W-N-E-R-S- Democratic Debate Preview - No Plan B for Iran - Concentration Camp Kerfuffle- San Fran Bans E-cigs (Till They Can Figure Out What the Hell is Going On"Recorded: 6/25/2019Published: 6/27/2019www.wethefifth.com 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

w/ Coleman Hughes- Everyone Told Coleman Not To Testify- Age, Experience, Credentials- Lethal Weapons, Imaginary Friends- “Shame Shame”- Full Puerto Rican- Moral Alchemy- Coleman Reads His Mentions- We, They, Us- Candace Owens, Lil Pump, And The Decline of Western CivilizationRecorded: 6/21/2019Published: 6/24/2019www.wethefifth.com 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

- Kmele’s New Spot in Brooklyn- Moynihan Gets Arrested- Fisher is a jealous "lefty hack"- Dave Rubin is totally NOT in his Feelings- Assange, Journalistic Freedom- Trump vs His Advisors- European Elections- MLK: Hero, Philanderer (and possibly worse), But Definitely a Hero- Bill de Blasio Needs to Raise Some Money, FastRecorded: 5/28/2019Published: 5/30/2019www.wethefifth.com 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

- "Alex Jones is not a civil rights leader!"- Howard Kurtz was once serious- Trump's attempted outing- Phony classical liberals- Free speech at the margins- Every election is stolen- Finding Loose Change- Conspiracy theorists, right and left- An Infinitely stupid Congress- Donald Trump as Mr. BeanRecorded: 5/8/2019Published: 5/12/2019www.wethefifth.com 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

w/ Eli Lake (Columnist @ Bloomberg Voice)- We Like Bari Weiss- Moynihan is a Drunk, Also a Great Neighbor- Muller Report- Grifting, the Grifters, of Grif- Eli Lake's Hood Pass- Tom Arnold Was Great in True Lies- All The Missing Tapes- Seth Abramson's Beautiful Mind- Election Interference / Hacking / Exaggerations- Impeachments + Inquiries- Assange: Journalist or Naw?- Naughty Journalist in the Movies- Dogs = White Supremacy- That's Why Darkies Were BornRecorded: 4/24/2019Published: 4/25/2019www.wethefifth.com 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

w/ Ben Dreyfuss - Editorial Director @ Mother Jones- Waiting for Godot- Ben Dreyfuss is, Young Bernie Madoff- Jill Abramson's 'Write' Privilege- "Strange Justice" = "Strange Fruit"?- Political turncoats- Paleo-Neoconservative- Private School Kids Buying Drugs- Daddy issues- Bret Easton Ellis' bad writing- Death threats- Race RealistsRecorded: 4/17/2019Published: 4/19/2019www.wethefifth.com 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

w/ Andrew Sullivan - Writer at Large for New York Magazine,- Hating New York- What Would Hitch Say?- On Being a Reluctant, Problematic Civil Rights Pioneer- Surviving a Death Sentence- Immigration Backlash- Obama Hated Identity Politics?- Assange Arrested- Pope Benedict blames the 60s- Too Many Popes- The Comfort of Religious RitualRecorded: 4/11/2019Published: 4/12/2019www.wethefifth.com 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

w/ Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate)- Our Mathematical Universe- "Leaving Neverland" Revisionism- Russiagate: Right, Wrong, Whatever- Jonathan Chait is “Completely* Correct*”- When in Venezuela + Nobody Likes Sanctions- Venezuela: Humanitarian Crisis, Economic Crisis"- Making Friends + Enemies on Twitter- "The Realm of Hungry Ghosts" (a book by Aaron's Dad)- Stop Snitchin (On Your Sources)- Joe Biden Feminism - Kmele Talked w/ Thad- Marvin Gaye: You're the (black) ManRecorded: 4/3/2019Published: 4/4/2019www.wethefifth.com 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

- Trump: Death by gloating- Margaret Sullivan: the Captain Beefheart of journalism- Glenn Greenwald spikes the football with a vengeance- MSNBC doubles down- Seth Abramson: Poet laureate, Resistance Hero- Trump's enemies list and love of authoritarians- Roger Stone and the D-list of DC conservatism- Jussie Smollet's privilege- Some Idiot Wrote This, Jane Mayer editionRecorded: 3/26/2019Published: 3/28/2019 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

w/ Tina Nguyen (Vanity Fair)- Tina's Theranos voice- Elizabeth Warren Holmes- Revisiting the Universal Basic Income (Kmele hasn't endorse UBI or Andrew Yang)- Technophobia, 'McDonald’s employees will murder you'- The Three-Fifths Column- Matt does Betomania- Getting it wrong on Iraq- The cycles of massacre reaction/coverage- Islamists v. White nationalists- Stuyvesant High School and Asian Privilege- "Fuck off Tiger parents"Recorded: 3/21/2019Published: 3/24/2019 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

DESCRIPTION:- Kmele's in 'Frisco', Moynihan's hungover, Matt got lit up on Twitter- Desperate wealthy college parents headed to prison?- The injustice of legacy admissions- Elite colleges are overrated- Biden v. Beto- Venezuela's blackout and the three initials who shall not be named- Platforming vs de-platforming- Tucker Carlson's shock-jock period- National Review swinging (and missing) at Trump- If you’re going to “Cancel,” cancel everything- Matt's Pat Caddell tribute/roast thingRecorded: 3/12/2019Published: 3/18/2019 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

A discussion w/ entrepreneur and 2020 Democratic Presidential hopeful, Andrew Yang. We explore The Freedom Dividend, Yang's proposal to pay $1,000 per month to every American over the age of 18.Recorded: 3/6/2019Published: 3/11/2019 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

- Smooth Criminals, "Leaving Neverland" Skepticism- Canceling Michael Jackson, R Kelly, and The Entire 1970s- All Hate Matters- Dual Loyalties- Bernie Sanders Marched for Civil Rights, He's Still "Too White"- Democratic Socialism**- Revisiting Moynihan v. Weisbrot- Some Idiot Wrote This- Salman RushdieRecorded: 3/5/2019Published: 3/7/2019 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

w/ Mark Weisbrot Co-Director @ Center for Economic and Policy ResearchAuthor, "Failed: What the 'experts' got wrong about the global economy"- Visiting w/ Hugo Chavez + Sean Penn- Is "dictatorship" a hate word?- Venezuela's elections- Political prisoners- State violence or police violence- Coming coup?- Embargoes, sanctions, and the collapse of the economy- Who's to blame for hunger?- The opposition- What's a good faith negotiation entry point?Recorded: 3/1/2019Published: 3/3/2019 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

- Jussie Smollett, Indicted (Kmele Totally Called That Shit)- But Then Again, The Whole Gang Totally Called That Shit Too- Coast Guard Neo-Nazi would-be terrorist arrested- Kmele and Liz Plank on "Reliable Sources"- Unreliable hate crime statistics- Social Justice Judo- CNN Hires Sarah Isgur Flores- Bill Moyers, Problematic Icon- Bernie Sanders, Front-runner- Some Idiot Wrote This- Download "Headspace" TodayRecorded: PM 2/20/2019Published: 2/21/2019 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

(Plagiarism, Green Room Encounters, and All The Receipts)- We Need to Talk About Jill Abramson- Too Important to be a Plagiarist?- Rep Omar: You Might Be An Antisemitism, But Maybe Not- Blackface: The Highest Form of Flattery?- Klobuchar, FTW- Team AOC's Green New Deal FiascoALSO:- Moynihan Steps Out of Line- The Huxtable Compound- Indentured Servitude- 22 Savage- The Red Shoe Diaries- Emergency PodcastingRecorded: PM 2/11/2019Published: 2/13/2019 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

w/ Brendan O'Neill (Editor in Chief, "Spiked")- Jussie Smollett- Stories For Every Narrative- Ralph Northam- Fancy Dress Parties- The Weird Man’s Burden- Anti Semitism, Hate Speech- Stormy or STORMZY- Yellow Vests Revolution Recorded: PM 2/2/2019Published: 2/4/2019 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

- Jerry Brown- BuzzFeed's Bombshell?- Jason Leopold, Oliver Darcy- The Temple of Journalism- Anonymous Sourcing- Punching Catholic Kids- Stolen Valor, Callin' BullshitALSO:- Jill Abramson (Part 2)- "GUILTY" - By M.C. Moynihan- On Venezuela Recorded: 1/22/2019 PMPublished: 1/24/2019 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

"They're like a train -- a train that's always runnin' right on time." - Anonymousw/ Brian Stelter (Chief Media Corespondent, CNN) (Host, "Reliable Sources")- Moynihan Meets Ann Coulter (Again)- A Boy and His Blog- Authoritarian Storm Clouds- The Temple of Journalism- Is CNN in Resistance Mode?- Grading Trump on a Curve- Excommunicating Steve KingALSO:- Media Literacy- "Page One", and The Business of News- Kasich to CNN, Rep. Omar's Really Bad Day- NPR + MAGA- Russia-gate, and The Biggest Story of Our Time Recorded: PM 1/17/2019Published: 1/18/2019 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

"Smarter, harder, about the same length as usual." - Anonymous- The Border Fence Shutdown- Reasons to Dislike AOC- Tea Party Retrospective- Ellen Met Kevin- Jazmine Barnes, Shaun King, and Overconcen- Destroying The Weatherman- Race Price, New York City Public Schools, and Historical Fictions- Human Rights + Angela Davis Recorded: PM 1/9/2019Published: 1/11/2019 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

w/ Ben Smith (Editor in Chief @ BuzzFeed News) - BuzzFeed's Day in Court- About That Dossier- Insider Political Journalism vs Crisis Political Journalism- Sports Metaphors, Panglossian History- Newsroom Diversity- Indisputably Racist ALSO:- Syria, Afghanistan, and Impulse Control- The Best Laid Plans- Another Shutdown- GoFundMe Governance- Trust Issues Recorded: PM 12/22/2018Published: 12/23/2018 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

w/ Yascha Mounk (Author, "The People vs Democracy") (Host, "The Good Fight")- Liberal Democracy (and Liberal Democratic Values)- Democratic Deficits, Excesses, and Limits- Authoritarian Populism (on the Left and Right)- Political Norms- Domesticating Nationalism- Injustice and Identity- Inequality and Globalization- Free SpeechAND- Cohen Gets Sentenced- Kmele Crashes an *Unusual* PTA Meeting- Fukuyama was wrong, but none of you assholes read “the end of history” - Matt Says "Yemen" on MSNBC- NormsRecorded: PM 12/13/2018Published: 12/15/2018 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

Our first live recording; taped at the legendary Comedy Cellar in New York City.With Guests: Michael Barbaro, "The Daily" (The New York Times)Jody Avirgan, "30 for 30" and "The Five-Thirty-Eight Politics Podcast" (Five-Thirty-Eight, ESPN) "On Speech Controversies and The State of Journalism After Two Years of Trump."Recorded: 12/4/2018 (@ The Comedy Cellar in New York City)Published: 12/6/2018 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

w/ Kevin Roose (Columnist, The New York Times)- *Black* Intellectuals- Live @ The Comedy Cellar- All the Presidents Rogues- Nature, Severity, and Consequence- Facebook's Peril- Google's Dragonfly- China's Citizenship Scores Recorded: PM 11/29/2018Published: 11/30/2018 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

Kmele facilitates a wide-ranging conversation on race, racism, and anti-racism. With: Glenn Loury - Professor of the social sciences and economics at Brown University - Host, The Glenn Show @ bloggingheads.tv Thomas Chatterton Williams- Author, "Losing My Cool"- Contributing writer @ New York Times Magazine. - National Fellow at New America, where he’s completing a new book project about ‘being the black father of white-looking children in Paris’. John McWhorter - Professor of Linguistics, Philosophy, and Music at Columbia- Host, Slate’s "Lexicon Valley" Podcast- Writes for the AtlanticColeman Hughes- Undergraduate Philosophy major at Columbia University, and a columnist at Quillette Recorded:11/17/2018Published: 11/22/2018 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

- Phallic Humor- "We'll Do It Live" (In NYC, Next Month)- The Midterms (For People Who Kind of Hate Midterms)- The "Fuck You" Vote- Beto, Gillum, Abrams- Voter Fraud/Disenfranchisement- Trump vs. Acosta Part 5: 'Why can't they both lose?'- Trump: 'That's A Racist Question!'- Sessions, Out. Mueller, Next?- Cocaine Mitch Warns the Dems- Dog Whistles, Guilt by Association, David Duke- What Indiana Really Means- SIWT (Ezra Klein, Vox)- Surprisingly Serious Journalism Talk Recorded: PM 11/7/2018Published: 11/8/2018 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

w/ Noah Rothman(Associate Editor, Commentary -- Contributor, MSNBC/NBC News)Author of the forthcoming book: “Unjust: Social Justice and the Unmaking of America” (Jan 2019)- Plausible Deniability- Perspectives on Pipe Bombs and Synagogue Attacks- Speculation, Motive- Violence in a most Peaceful Era - The, Lou Dobbs- Persuading Donald Trump- The Populist Moment- Brazil- Egalitarian Jihadi Recorded: PM 10/29/2018Published: 10/31/2018 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

A conversation with Sarah Haider- Origin Stories- Identity, Tribal Affiliation- Islam, Muslims, Apostasy, and Atheism- Difficult Conversations- The Intellectual Dark Web- CourageRecorded: July 22nd, 2018 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

w/ Josh Szeps, (formerly Zepps, frequently misspelled as Zeeps) host of "#WeThePeople LIVE" and “The People Versus”(Recorded - 10/16/2018)- Australia's Sweetheart, but his father *was* even more famous- Kmele saw "First Man," Norman Mailer stabbed his wife- Kanye at the White House- This disappearing of Jamal Khashoggi- The end of American moral exceptionalism?- Doing business with the House of Saud- Proud Boys v. Antifa- "Choose a side"- Kmele v. Josh 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

w/Harry Siegel, Senior Editor at The Daily Beast(Recorded - 10/10/2018)-Three Very Fine Bottles of Wine-Soros: boogeyman on a global scale-Anti-semitic dog whistles or nah?-Harry (literally) co-wrote the book on Rudy Giuliani-The era of conspiracy theory-Fact checkers suck-Trump's USA Today op-ed-Everyone hates P.C.—but what is P.C.?-Are the politically disengaged really the "center"?-Dying online from the outrage mobs-"Chinese finger trap"-The Mohammad cartoons and Charlie Hebdo-Kavanaugh and Blasey Ford's lives from here-What is your reputation worth? 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

-Kanye West's very MAGA SNL Appearance-Getting Totally Kavanaugh Faced-Moynihan at the Mississippi Trump Rally-Believe All Women-Bari Would Have Hated Kavanaugh in High School-Kavanaugh's Kamikaze-Apocalypse Skeptic-Bari's New Book, "The New Seven Dirty Words"(Recorded October 2nd, 2018) 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

"We're back, You're Welcome" - The Fifth(Recorded: September 19th, 2018) 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

Pusha T's new album and Whitney Huston's bathroom countertop. Bobby Brown's prerogative. Was it Maurice Starr (or) Lou Pearlman? Remembering a 'Mavric'*. Jack Shafer wrote a bad piece. You can’t criticize McCain, except when you totally can. Matt vs Antiwar libertarians. Immigration policy, racism, Trump and Europe. Hasidics in Williamsburg. Louis CK returns to the Comedy Cellar. The Patriarchy = White supremacy. Everyone's Guilty. The Kids are alright.(Recorded August 29th, 2018) 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

Karl Malone, Post Malone. Manafort, Cohen. John Brennan's Clearance. 'The Verge of Civil War' or Just 'The Usual Bullshit.' Rutgers, White Privilege, and Gentrification. Asia Argento. A FIRE for All Seasons. Problematic Becky. Razor Blades in Your Favorite Breakfast Cereal.(Recorded August 22nd, 2018) 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

w/ Jesse Singal (Contributing writer at New York Magazine | Author, "The Quick Fix")- Jesse's New Book- Jesse's Atlantic Cover Story ('When Children Say They’re Trans')- Omarosa vs Trump- Unite the Right 2- Laura Ingraham- The War on Journalism(Recorded August 15th, 2018) 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

w/ Jessica Tarlov (Bustle, FoxNews Contributor)- The Case Against Impeachment [ Mike Pence Would Be Worse ]- Kmele at MSNBC [ How To Be An Uncle Tom ]- Owning the Libs, Beefin on Twitter- Libs vs. Socialists- Black Chicks- Talking to the Enemy, Sitting Down w/ Trump- Race, Essentialism, Identity Politics(Recorded August 8th, 2018) 'shout out to the plug' 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

(Recorded Aug 1st, 2018)- Moynihan Meets D'Souza, Trump Jr- Kmele Finishes A Story- Sarah Jeong: Racist or Racist?- Russian Hacking + Facebook- QAnon- Trump, Manafort, Witch Hunt- Some Idiot Wrote This- RIP, Andrea Rich 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

w/ Jane Coaston (Senior Politics Reporter, Vox)- Jane's Origin Story- What Conservatives REALLY Want- 'Locking HER Up'- Ignoring Michael Cohen- Facebook's Holocaust Problem(Recorded Wednesday, July 25th, 2018) 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

w/ Ben Domenech (Publisher, The Federalist)Acting Trans, Scaling the BuildingRussian IndictmentsTrump/PutinThe New Vietnam SyndromObama's Mandela SpeechWould that we could all say [that one word] - Part IIWHO FUNDS THE FEDERALIST?(Recorded Wednesday, July 18th, 2018) 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

Foster and Fisher are joined by legendary civil liberties attorney Ken White (of Popehat blogger and Twitter fame) and Damon Root (Reason's resident SCOTUS journalo and the author of "Overruled") to chop up the Justice Anthony Kennedy's surprise retirement announcement, his legacy, and the confirmation shitstorm that's sure to come.Also on tap:- SPLC's capitulation to Maajid Nawaz's defamation suit- SCOTUS upholds the travel ban, busts public sector unions, and tells cops to get a warrant for long-term cellphone location records.Bonus bull session on civility, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, civil rights, public accommodations, free association, and why no elected officials should be allowed to eat anywhere, ever.(Recorded: Tuesday, June 27th 2018) 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

(Recorded: June 20th, 2018 w/ Michael Tracey, Roving Journalist and Correspondent @TYTNetwork - Never Give Up - Woke at Whole Foods - Why do they hate Tracey - Eschewing the pretense of objectivity. - The exceptional lying of President Trump. - Trump vs Obama on immigration - On the media and reactions and anti-media animus - Bernie the Trumpist - Tariffs don’t mean the Western alliance is crumbling. - The media needs constant Trumpocalypse - Kudlow’s coke habit - Psychoanalyzing Trump 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

(Recorded June 13th, 2018) IN THIS DISPATCH:- Is the Western Alliance kaput? Does it matter?- Did Trump hand Kim a propaganda win, and if so, isn't averting nuclear war the bigger win?- North Korea shares a border with Russia and Rachel Maddow is ON IT- Moynihan shows up late- It's Trump's GOP until further notice and they're cool with "neo-Confederate" candidates, thank you very much- Michelle Wolf "comedically" slams Bari Weiss for something she never did- Welch hates high school baseball hugs- "Our ass is in the jackpot" 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

(Recorded June 6th, 2018)w/ Josh Szeps (formerly Zepps, frequently misspelled as Zeeps) host of "#WeThePeople LIVE" and “The People Versus” IN THIS DISPATCH:- Brisbane to Boston.- Clive James’s death watch- Kanye drops “Ye” - Slavery may be a choice after all- Kat Timpf falls out of a tree...- Jim Acosta was wrong about Kim Kardashian- Bill Clinton is a widower- Bill Clinton is the real victim, but he's kinda sorry too- Moynihan goes full “fxck your interns”- Free Love- Pardon Me (Myself)- Death By China- Josh Zepps, Globalist- Starbucks/Roseanne/Samantha Bee- BIG SWINGING APE BALLS--(It feels so good it should cost -- Bought an alligator, I ain't talkin' Lacoste) 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

(Recorded May 25th, 2018)A conversation w/ Jacob Mchangama, Host of 'Clear and Present Danger: A History of Free Speech" podcast. (http://www.freespeechhistory.com)- Pronouncing Mchangama- A Bit of Free Speech History- Cartoon Jihad- Panic and Crisis- Culture and Legislation- Filthy Jokes- 'The Great Awokening'- An Abrupt Ending"Jacob Mchangama is the founder and executive director of Justitia a think tank focusing on human rights and a Visiting Scholar at Columbia’s Global Freedom of Expression Center. He has commented extensively on free speech and human rights in outlets including the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy. Jacob has published in academic and peer-reviewed journals, including Human Rights Quarterly, Policy Review and Amnesty International’s Strategic Studies. He is the author of the critically acclaimed and award-winning book, MEN Ytringsfrihedens Historie i Danmark (BUT: The History of Freedom of Expression in Denmark). He is the author and presenter of the short documentary “Collision: Free speech and religion” (2013). Mr. Mchangama is a 2016 Marshall Memorial Fellow. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his work on free speech and human rights." (from http://www.freespeechhistory.com) 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

(Recorded May 16th, 2018)- "Are You Black?"- Calling the Cops on Black Kids- Isreal and Palestine: A Primer (Deliberately Calibrated to Infuriate Everyone)- Michael Cohen: Maker of Great Deals- When Everyone Hates (But No One Bothers to Read), Your Work- When Everyone Loves (But No One Bothers to Read), Your Work 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

(Recorded May 3rd, 2018)18:00+ Host Grab-Assing20:00+ Defending Red-Pill Kanye, Why Slavery is Always YOUR fault36:00+ Morrissey's Politics, Lennon's Domestic Violence40:00+ Coping with Persistent (and almost certainly imaginary) Threats on Your Life45:00+ Phrase Politics, Welch goes off the reservation50:00+ Moynihan's Perpetually Offended53:00+ Stormy Daniels74:00+ Inside the Fox Green Room ALSO: - Trade Talk- The Best Tinted Glasses- The WHCD, Press Freedom Farce, Why Journalism Awards Suck- Welch Goes on a Sinclare Media Rant 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

(Recorded April 22nd, 2018)A conversation with evolutionary biologists Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying.- On Free Speech, Campus Culture- Identity- Scientific Investigation & Tabboo Topics- The Intellectual Dark Web- Evolution, Culture, Markets, Media, and The Academy In THE SUMMER OF 2017, Bret Weinstein found himself at the center of an ‘equity and inclusion’ maelstrom at Evergreen State College, where he and his wife Heather Heying were both members of the faculty. The resulting scandal would result in the couple parting ways with the school, but not before attracting the attention of national media. Bret and Heather are currently unaffiliated academics in exile who frequently write and speak about their experience at evergreen, the state of American campuses and a host of increasingly controversial issues related to their principal field of study.The pair dropped by the studio to chop it up with Matt Welch and Kmele Foster. 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

(Recorded: April 24, 2018) Matt's surprisingly strong opinions about Kanye West's endorsement of Candace "Red Pill Black" Owens.Joy Reid wasn't a huge fan of the gays, wrote some questionable things on the subject, and it appears Kmele is ready to forgive her. Rand Paul's latest flip-flop (Fisher is unimpressed).Trump bros-out with French president Macron. ALSO: Extended notes on the Starbucks Controversy, spontaneous reggae outbursts, impromptu seance, and a surprise cameo. "You already know it's THE FIFTH, baby!" - A Very Wise Man 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

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Sorry for the unusually tardy release. This conversation was recorded approximately five days ago (prior to the most recent intervention in Syria), but the release was delayed by matters of great significance and urgency (which I won't bother to outline here). All the same, it's still a very fine vintage.(Recorded: April 12, 2018) with: Ben Dreyfuss (Mother Jones) and Kat Timpf (Fox News Channel, National Review)- Facebook Congressional Hearings- The (continuing/looming) War in Syria- Trump May Fire (Muller, Rosenstein, and Anyone Else with the Temerity to “Attack America”)- The Kevin Williamson Affair (Abortion, The Atlantic, and Capital Punishment -- Oh My)- Race & IQ 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

(Recorded: March 27, 2018)A conversation w/ Amy Chua (@amychua), Yale law professor and author of numerous books including: "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother", "The Triple Package", "World on Fire", and her latest book "Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations".“Today, no group in America feels comfortably dominant. Every group feels attacked, pitted against other groups not just for jobs and spoils but for the right to define the nation’s identity. In these conditions, democracy devolves into zero-sum group competition — pure political tribalism.” - Amy Chua, 'Political Tribes' - Identity, Ethnicity, and Culture- Super-groups, Market Dominate Minorities- Tribes of America and the State of Her Politics- The Immutability of Tribalism and the Limits of Democracy 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

(Recorded: March 28, 2018) withTom Slater, Deputy Editor @ Spike'dTina Nguyen, Politics and Media Reporter @ Vanity Fair Marching for our Lives, Poisoning Spies, Activist Journalist... - Moonshine, Poison (Half a Helping of Each)- Killing Marco Rubio- Teenage Sainted Activist Student Journalist- Making America Great Again + Putting Y'all Back in Chains- Kevin Williamson Moves to The Atlantic (Assorted Persons Freakout)- Garbology- How to Be Pro Brexit w/o Going Full White Nationalist- Slightly Russia Linked- Never Having to Say You're Fired 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

Recorded: March 15, 2018We've got FiveThirtyEight's Jody Avirgan in the studio. Matt is on assignment someplace.This Week:Is there a free speech "crisis" on campus?Moynihan and Jody's considerably different approached to sparking media frenzies.PLUS: Rex, we hardly knew ye (literally). But was he all that stood between us and the CIA's "enhanced interrogation" dominatrix? 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

Recorded: March 9, 2018.Welch, Moynihan, Fisher and Foster are in attendance.An increasingly unlikely Presidential visit to North Korea.A seemingly permeable steel and aluminum tariff.A growing interest in POTUS's indiscretions w/ a Porn StarAnd Sam Nunberg's media PsyOp (and/or) breakdownPertinent Notes:- "A Strange new respect..."- "A tribute vice pays to virtue..."- "The Q got that D..." (and at Moynihan's insistence)BTC: 1262cXpJkHECVSiLU5iktcqbCW5oz8tJeiETH: 0xD4BB6B1784541A27FE046AA1963329a9672c3f04 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

Recorded: March 1, 2018.Oscar Talk: Best and Worst, Most Overrated and Ryan GoslingStick Talk: AR-15s, Scool Shootings, The National Rifle Association, and Due Process.featuringANDY LEVYSenior Producer of the “S.E. Cup Unfiltered” on HLNSONNY BUNCHExecutive Editor @ The Washington Free BeaconCo-Host @ The Weekly SubStandard Podcast 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

(Recorded: February 13th 2018)"Whenever I hear some bigmouth in Washington or the Christian heartland banging on about the evils of sodomy or whatever, I mentally enter his name in my notebook and contentedly set my watch. Sooner rather than later, he will be discovered down on his weary and well-worn old knees in some dreary motel or latrine, with an expired Visa card, having tried to pay well over the odds to be peed upon by some Apache transvestite." - Hitch - The Great (XXL) Black Panther Debate- Richard Spencer & DeRay Mckesson: CODEFENDANTS 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

+ Indispensable Commentary On That [treasonous/heroic/meh] Nunes Memo+ Context, Collusion and Russian Conspiracies+ A Foreign Policy Primer+ Briefest of notes on Trump's first State of the Union(Recorded February 1st 2018)Note: This dispatch was recorded the day before the MEMO was released, honestly -- you won't be able to tell the difference. 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

w/ Bari Weiss (@bariweiss), Staff editor and writer @ New York Times Opinion (Former Wall Street Journal, Tablet Magazine)An expansive, high-quality dispatch that was unfortunately marred by technical mishaps. It's not actually Fishers fault (quite the contrary in fact). xpanThings improve considerably as the release goes on.- Government Shutdowns- Amnesty Don's Great Big Amnesty Bonanza- Skipping out on the Wall Street Journal, Making Trouble at the New York Times- #MeToo- Trump Wanted to Fire Mueller- Collusion, Obstruction or YAHTZEE!Recorded: January 25th, 2018 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

Moynihan is back, Matt was an illegal immigrant, and Kmele was *front* row for Lebron vs. Steph.Plus: DACA. FISA. Shit. #MeToo.Recorded: January 15, 2018 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

Recorded: January 5, 2018- Kmele’s Axioms of Child Rearing- Long on Fury, Short on Fire- Red Flags, Fake News on Facebook- Trump's Tax Cut, Regulation Busting - Heather Mac Donald vs. Everybody 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

Recorded: December 21, 2017.Michael Moynihan (Vice News) in conversation with the incomparable Tina Brown. On the business and practice of journalism, the marvelous island of Manhattan, the authentic bullshit of Donald Trump, and #metoo. 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

(Recorded on Thursday December 14th 2017)with/ Jeffrey Blehar (@EsotericCD) of Decision Desk HQ and The Political Beats podcast.We talk the recent Alabama Senate election and the FCC's controversial decision to rescind Obama-era net neutrality rules. 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

(Recorded, November 2017)An expansive exchange with renowned social commentator and linguist, John McWhorter. McWhorter is a Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He's the author of twenty books including "Words on the Move" (2017), "Talk Back, Talking Black" (2017), and "Losing the Race" (2000).Also Referenced:“Antiracism: Our Flawed New Religion” (2015 - The Daily Beast)“How to Listen to Donald Trump Every Day for Years” (2017 - The New York Times)"Tragically Unfit to Be President" (2017 - The New York Times) 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

- Matt Lauer- Seducing Kevin Spacey- James O’keefe- Fake Headlines, Faker Stats- Dumbest News Day Ever- Britain First, Murder Allegations- Trashing Bob Woodward- Some Idiot.... ABORTED 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

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai drops in to explain why he's returning the Internet to the dark ages of... 2015. PLUS:- Draymond vs. Mark Cuban - The AOL-Time Warner instant messaging juggernaut- Janet Jackson's wardrobe and Stephen Colbert's c***holsterAnd why won't the FCC just let Slim Shady be? 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

Recorded: Thursday, November 8, 2017.We chat with Rob Mariani, former opinion editor for the Daily Caller, about Milo's first (and last) weekly column -- and how to handle radioactive things without getting burned.Plus:questioning Moynihan's sexuality;a very gay historical debate;the intellectual dead end of "just trolling" politics.(Columnist Interruptus) 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

Recorded on Thursday, November 8th, 2017Trump takes a long 'grueling' trip to the Far East, maybe tempers the crazy and manages to get cooked in the elections stateside.PLUS:- Aubrey and Kojo- The Meek Mill Guide to Criminal Justice Reform- 10 Lbs of Gelatin- Moynihan Got it For *Cheap*CORRECTION: "Dreams & Nightmares" was definitely a studio album and not a mixtape. 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

Recorded on Thursday, Novemer 2nd, 2017With Special Guests: Josh Zepps - Host, #WeThePeople LIVE (@WTP_Live, @joshzepps) 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

Recorded on Thursday, October 26th, 2017Moynihan and Kmele are on Assignment -- Welch takes the reins.With Special Guests: Nancy Rommelmann - Journalist, Author of "To The Bridge" Bill Schulz - Host of Compound Media's "Mornin'!!!! w/ Bill Schulz" 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

Recorded on Thursday, October 19th, 2017"The opposite of a way with words"- How Chad Saved Moynihan’s Life (and Why We're Huge in Canada)- Former President Bush and John McCain Have Strong Words for Trump - Totalitarianism, Populism and Economic Uncertainty- US Troops in Africa, Calling Up Gold Star Parents- The Opposite of a Way With Words- When 'Everything' is 'Some of the Things'- Morbid Premonitions, A Non-Fatal Stroke- When Louis (Farrakhan) Met Richard (Spencer) 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

Recorded on Thursday, October 12th, 2017The Harvey Weinstein Controversy1) What To Do With “Shitty Media Men?2) Why won't Hillary and Barack say anything?Tillerson, Corker and World War III1) The Worst of All Possible Worlds2) Death by Non-ProliferationTrumps Assault on the Media1) "When the President says it in public..."2) How We Got Lucky With TrumpPLUS:Google, Twitter, and a Tangible ThreatMatt's Mom Bought Him a Mug.Kmele Says Completely Unacceptable Things (almost every dispatch) 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

Recorded on Thursday, October 5th, 20171) First Amendment Controversies2) Meditations on the Las Vegas and the Second Amendment3) An Homage to Catalonia (particularly on the subject of secession, with additional remarks on Kurdistan) PLUS:Kmele Heads to ComicCon, Bumps into TNCMoynihan vs Melba 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

Guest: Katherine Mangu-Ward, Editor-in-Chief @ ReasonRecorded: Wednesday, September 27th, 2017.Another wide-ranging, intellectually-stimulating, and very well-lubricated dispatch.We begin with an almost respectable (but undeniably illuminating) discussion of Donald Trump's "Revolutionary Tax Framework" -- (his words). Proceeding from there to the re-re-re-failure of Republican maneuvering to "Repeal and Replace" Obamacare.Then we really pour on the gas:From "Taking a Knee" to "Title IV"Banning Uber to prevent rape is ... beyond stupid.Mark Warner's crusade to stop Russia from using Facebook (and hollow out the First Amendment).PLUS: Should you ever use "cyber" as a prefix?What's the origin of "hang 10"?#firebettsyGender differences.(Sweep the leg.) 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

Recorded on Thursday, September 21, 2017President Trump's remarks at the UN parley were (hilarious? /meh? /dangerous? ) and unmistakably confused.We crack open cans of Portland's finest sangria while discussing this and other matters of profound consequence.Cargo shorts are irredeemably awful, but should a UN human rights commission formally designate them Nazi paraphernalia? Is Mark Zuckerberg's plan to save democracy credible? How hot would your step-granddaughter have to be before you wouldn't, not, totally date her?Also:- Meditations on the St. Louis and Police Shootings- Something about the Manafort warrant and wiretaps- and "some idiot wrote this..." and it's so awful that you should find the time to read it. 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

Recorded on Thursday September 14, 2017Guest: David Weigel, political reporter for The Washington Post and author of the prog-rock history "The Show That Never Ends." Matt's recovering from surgery, Moynihan's upright & sober, and Kmele's getting domesticated.Also:-Bernie Sanders is pushing a new health care plan (and he's got a dirty little anti-immigration secret).-Trump's immigration reversal, and his infatuation with those generals.-The best thing about Hillary's new book. 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

Recorded 9/8/2017Moynihan’s back from Russia and has the drinking stories to prove it. Normally reasonable journalos lose their goddamn minds over Betsy DeVos’ intention to bring back due process on college campuses.Matt Welch on DACA: “Call it amnesty, and do it anyway” (WaPo) https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2017/09/08/yes-daca-is-amnesty-lets-just-call-it-that-and-then-lets-make-it-happen/?utm_term=.d7cee531cf3aKmele takes Anthony Fisher to task for calling President Trump’s brand “cruelty” in a DACA-related article Fisher wrote for The Week. But you gotta hear BOTH SIDES (link: https://theweek.com/articles/722742/trumps-daca-suspension-proves-brand-isnt-winning--cruelty)Absorbing Ta-Nehisi Coates latest epistle “Donald Trump is the First White President” (The Atlantic) https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/10/the-first-white-president-ta-nehisi-coates/537909/Matt claps back at "comic" Andy Kindler.A rare morning recording. Sober*, salty, caffeinated. 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

Recorded 8/31/2017Guest: Ronald Bailey, science correspondent for Reason magazine and Reason.com.Natural Disasters, political photo-ops, and formulaic media coverage.The worst thing about Mitt Romney, the fecklessness of Barack Obama, and the dark innovations of Bill Clinton.SFTW. 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

Recorded 8/24/2017This episode: non-existent Nazis, overblown Antifa, and Portuguese vagina-walls.Jacob Siegel was in Boston and Afghanistan, and now he is in Moynihan's chair. He helps the guys figure out what the hell happened in Boston (and why it's not the same as Charlottesville).PLUS: Is there a "libertarian-to-alt-right pipeline"? Should we take "Internet fascists" seriously? Would going "soft on white supremacists" actually help Trump?AND... sunk costs in Afghanistan, fights on Planet Libertarian, and Matt doesn't want to punch any grannies. Happy birthday, Hollywood (wherever he is). 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

The guys take a deep dive into Donald Trump's policy on infrastructure and Nazis.Matt is back, Moynihan is off drugs and high on life, and Kmele once started a Bible study group.BONUS: Kmele interviews BLM activist Deray Mckesson, and the conversation gets *dangerous*. 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

Recorded: 8/9/2017With Us This Week:Radley Balko - Washington Post Columnist, Author "Rise of the Warrior Cop","Dr Death and The Country Dentist" (Coming - Feb 2018)Thaddeus Russell - Host of the Unregistered podcast, Author "A Renegade History of the United States" (Much Topics. Extra Innings) - Criminal Justice Reform (Obama's Legacy, Trump's Trajectory, Opioids, Ferguson 3yrs On)- Foreign Policy Miasma (Venezuela, North Korea, Manafort's Home Searched by FBI)- A Diversity Memo, Super Angry About A Show That May Never Get Made Pro Tip: Don't Send Send Photos of Your Junk to CoWorkers Without Their Consent. May not end well. Sure, it could, theoretically work out fine... but above average odds that it won't. Moynihan, Fisher, Foster are in the building. (Welch is... in Europe... Claims to have no internet access) 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

[“And We Back." -Chance the Rapper] - Moynihan is MIA- Welch is trapped in a room with no AC, 75 dead flies, and a busted shoulder -- and loving every minute of it.- Moscow is beautiful in the summer (if you believe a former RT propagandist)- Kmele... well, yeah- And the brilliant, talented Alyona Minkovski is IN THE BUILDING (@AlyonaMink) PLUS:- The brief but magical tenure of THE MOOCH. - The conspicuous absence of President Steve Bannon.- Net neutrality and banning VPN apps in Russia and China.- Numerous other things of urgent importance.- And there may have been a brilliant Affirmative Action *exchange* at the end of this dispatch too, but it’s all a bit of a blur. [ … The brightest stars have the shortest lives.] 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

A dense, tangent-filled, and edifying new dispatch (fueled by cash-filled envelopes, adderall, and a bottle of Bushmills -- thanks, Drew.) Trump tells-all to the Failing New York Times: "I should have never hired Sessions!"Welch talks John McCainTrumpCare spontaneously combusted (surprising no one)Next on the “Trump Legislative Agenda of Failure”: screwing up legal immigration, too!Forensic "Science" is so terrifyingLA 92 ("Certified Fresh!) 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

Recorded: July 12th, 2017Play-by-Play: · Eli Lake Is a Superlative, Award-Winning Hebrew · Fab Five Freddy Is a Foreign Policy Genius · “I’m a White Male…” · Lies, Damn Lies, and IT’S TREASON! · Lacrosse Team Away Games · Eli Slow Claps · World in Disarray: Mosul/Afghanistan EditionEli Lake, columnist @ Bloomberg View, swings by. 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

A Helpful Guide to This Weeks Dispatch: · No Mic for Anthony Fisher · Kmele read 22 books this weekend (including Letters to a Young Contrarian, The Shadow of the Panther) · Moynihan talks about Hitchens · Something about the Black Panthers, Lew Rockwell, Marvin Gaye and Berry Gordy · Russian tourist abuses child · Moynihan outs an octogenarian former Nazi at a barbecue (sort of)(We're at about the 20 min mark here.)ALSO: · #CNNBlackmail scandal (False Start) · President Trump in Poland (Did You Know: POTUS was once on a show called "The Apprentice") · An Actual #CNNBlackmail conversation · North Korea · Jay-Z Isn't a Feminist · Colin Kaepernick, Fredrick Douglas (What the 4th of July Means to a Slave) 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

Recorded: June 29th, 2017A journalistic-misdeed results in the firing of three prominent CNN staffers and a new front in the conflict between Trump and THE MEDIA. Why lots of the things you read/hear in the news are likely to be incorrect. Press briefings may be completely useless, but then again they may not.And of course, the very real dangers of plastic surgery -- and the entirely legitimate reasons why POTUS may need to tell you “no” when all you want to do is hang out with him.PLUS:The Great Serena Williams DebateAcceptable Reasons for Book BurningsCode SwitchingImportant Show Note: Kmele Foster is “black” (whatever that means). 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

Recorded: June 21, 2017The Philando Castile case has reached a controversial conclusion. In July 2016, Castile was shot to death during a traffic stop by Minnesota police officer Jeronimo Yanez. Yanez's acquittal has touched off a new wave of outrage.Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old American student detained in North Korea since last January, was finally allowed to return home last week… in a coma. He would die a few days later.And Moynihan recounts his recent visit to Evergreen State College. 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

With high profile congressional inquests into shadowy conspiracies, media panics, and boring White House events turning into embarrassing fodder for late night comedians — the stage was set for an almost banal week in Washington DC — but a brazen attack on Republican congressmen in Alexandria, Virginia, changed all that. While most members of Congress quickly rallied around their colleagues, plenty of citizens and a good number of media types were soon leveraging the tragedy to support their own philosophical convictions.Plus: The necessity of confronting awful people and ideas in public, and a brief glance at Jeff Sessions' congressional testimony. 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

Episode 060Recorded June 10th 2017 Corbyn Surprises his labour party rival (and just about everyone else). Comey testifies before Congress, Trump is quite about it until he isn’t. And Bill Maher said ‘Nigga’, or was it ‘Nigger’.Shout out to Dan Spragens for the delicious and effective bottle of "State of Jefferson" rum 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

[Special Dispatch #2]A rangy and Moynihan-heavy exchange w/ Timothy Snyder, Yale University Professor of History and author of numerous books including (the magisterial) “Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin” (2010) and his latest best-selling “On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century” (2017)Fascism, Nazis, Stalinists, Trump, The Road to Serfdom, 'the square root of 69 is eight-something', and the Cavaliers are very unlikely to take the series in seven games (the last two items have almost nothing to do with this dispatch, but they're demonstrably true).w/ Kmele Foster (Freethink), Michael Moynihan (Vice News Tonight on HBO)Recorded: June 8th, 2017wethefifth.comtwitter.com/wethefifthfb.com/wethefifth 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

- Pulling out of the Pairs Climate Deal- Roiling the EU- Surveying the Russian investigation- Lamenting w/ LeBron (and not about that horrific game one)(Recorded 6/1/2017) 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

"If they're buying off this president, they're really not getting their money's worth." - Michael MoynihanDo terrorists hate us for our freedom? Are the Saudis just "guided by the beauty of our weapons"? Will Welch start drinking before 11 am? The answers may surprise you. All this and more on a new Fifth Column.Plus: Commemorative drug paraphernalia. The Moynihans convert to Judaism (but just for the holidays). And The Fifth Column is *probably* expanding to SiriusXM! 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

“The most important Fifth Column History… In fact, the most important podcast all week.” - Thad RussellThe apeirogon-like ComeyGate scandal careens into its second week. Rumors seem to be the only thing emanating from Washington DC these days (for better or worse), and not-so-quiet-just-above-a-whisper speculation about impeachment can be heard all over Capitol Hill.Plus, Thad and Moynihan get into it, again. And the guys finally fix this whole NATO business once and for all, sort of. Kmele krushes kampus racism, and Thad knows an uncomfortably large number of Irish racial epithets. 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

Is former FBI boss James Comey's unexpected and unceremonious termination a Nixonesque attempt to bury the Russian narrative once and for all... Is it just the latest salvo from a calculating monster with totalitarian asperations... Or maybe the Trump regime is just about as inept as it seems...PLUS:- Clapper: "You ain't no got'damn journalist, Julian!" Assange: "You's a liar!" - What's this about Sea World!? Sounds Gross. - And Comey may be out, but we'll always have James Taylor (FTW) 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

Moynihan is late; Matt went to a cocktail party; Kmele needs a date for Guardians of the Galaxy; and Jamie Kirchick (author, “The End of Europe”) drops by with dire predictions about the fate of the European Project.Meanwhile, Obamacare is dead (long live Obamacare).Plus: Spurious allegations, police shootings, and "the N-word." 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

A review of the first 100 days of the Trump Presidency: Controversy, failures, do-overs and general incompetence. Plus: Media bubbles and consequence. And that time the streets were filled with brave, angry, nerds… 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

A record-breaking, kiloton-length new release with all the kinetic energy of [ABRUPTLY CUTS OFF EXPLOSIVES METAPHPOR]...Eat some chocolate cake with Xi, flatten a section of Afghanistan, (check-in with Vladimir), rattle saber at North Korea (glare menacingly in the direction of everyone else in the room, intermittently clapping your hands and screaming as loud as you can... )... and try to assure everyone that you know exactly what you're doing. Everything is fine. This is fine.Bannon is out (-ish). NATO is great (again?). And Brian Williams can't be the only journalist in America who LOVES a great fireworks display. What kind of asshole dosen't like fireworks? Also... PUTIN!Michael Weiss (Senior Editor at The Daily Beast, co-author of the New York Times bestseller ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror), stops by to help sort out the mess.... opportunity? No, it's kind of a mess. 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

We knew things were heating up in Syria, but it was still a bit of a shock when Tomahawk missiles started flying all over the place. Fortunately for all involved, Eli Lake was on hand to explain the inner workings of Multi-dimensional Hungry Hungry Hippos (it'll make sense, honest)... and to provide a bit more context for that ‘Susan Rice Unmasking’ story he kinda* broke… And it’s our birthday! 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

Rep Thomas Massie swings by to provide a first person account of the failed Ryan/Trump health care bill. Plus: The prospects for Trump's Tax reform agenda and the intersections of 'economic nationalism' and libertarianism. Protesting Putin. And the two year anniversary of America's adventure in Yemen. 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

Health Care Reform, Trump’s Long Game, New York Real Estate Woes & Casual Racism, Burning All the Paintings, Multiple Beers and A Tall Bottle of Johnny Walker Black. Fifty episodes in (sort of) and this is what it's come to. We couldn’t be more proud. 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

Did the Brits actually wiretap his building? And look, he’s ‘good people’, but we’re gonna have to talk about this, ‘sources say’ stuff…Whoa — she's got his tax returns! BUT, before we get to that crucial story, take a look at this Oort Cloud of speculative rambling: Did those planes just HAPPEN to be on the same runway? Well, what about those Yachts? They’re both on the ocean… they’re both in front of a Caribbean island… How do you explain that? How does that just happen? And how about that house in Florida!? Did you know he bought it at a low price and sold it for a higher price… to a Russian!? And if I just keep asking questions in a suspicious tone, do you think anyone will notice how lame a scoop a pair of pages from Trump’s tax return is? 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

It's an active week in Washington as the Trump administration takes a few mulligans. The Travel/Muslim Ban is revealed, Congress debates the deeply unpopular health care reform-reform proposal, and the administration teases a new trillion dollar infrastructure slush fund. The steady diet of (real and imagined) scandal, controversy, and leaks hasn't let up either. And while the national press is outraged over one ridiculous conspiracy theory and infatuated with another, almost no one is paying attention to the slow-motion cataclysm in the middle east... a situation that could get very bad, very fast.Kmele's a misogynist. Moynihan is in the building. And Welch is in the back of a cab (then the airport terminal)... and Katie Halper stops by, but it's complicated.(Recorded: March 7st, 2017) 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

[Special Dispatch]"Two Conversations About Race, History, and Identity”Kmele hijacks the podcast stream for a pair of conversations about race, philosophy, what history and filmmaking have in common, why he hates when people call his wife a 'beautiful black woman and his beef with Black History Month.WITH:Dr. Henry Louis Gates Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University"Africa’s Great Civilizations” (PBS) 2017, "Finding Your Roots" (PBS)Dr. George YancyProfessor of Philosophy at Emory UniversityContributor to "The Stone" - (The New York Times)https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/09/opinion/its-black-history-month-look-in-the-mirror.htmlhttps://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/12/24/dear-white-america/Kmele on Race and Related Topics in Various Other Contexts:“Oscars So Black”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TizdjF5DJX0“Reparations”: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/point-taken/should-us-pay-reparations-black-americans/Kmele on “Race Pride”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rX3gy3SkSIhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg79E0f_b6g 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

"Presidential." "His Best Speech Yet." "Hey, What Happened To His Entirely-Too-Long Red Tie!?" ---- It's an all new Donald Trump. He's calm, composed, occasionally optimistic and his standard complement of half-truths, exaggerations, outright lies and impossible promises have been better calibrated and tightly scripted for maximum impact. In other words; could be he's finally getting the hang of this whole POTUS thing. Plus: 'How Code Pink Progressives Fell in Love With The War On Terror' --- 'Remembering Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens' --- 'Are You Seriously Gonna Talk Shit About HBCUs, Kmele!?' (Recorded: March 1st 2017) 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

The cascade of failures, missteps, scandal and controversy otherwise known as the Trump Administration has stammered into its fourth week of governance*. Michael Flynn -- Former National Security Adviser.... the man Previously responsible for reading, condensing and perhaps remixing POTUS's top-secret security briefings, has been kinda-sorta-shitcanned. There was high drama, people shouted and Kellyanne Conway, and there could* be huge* national security ramifications too. But there's something so much more important than all of that... 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

POTUS is at war with the courts, with the press, and on account of it's leaking like a sieve, he's kinda at war with his own administration. Reason's resident legal aficionado Damon Root stop by to expound on the legal wrangling over the immigration ban, the tension between the executive and judicial branch, and there's some stuff about Waco, Devos, Black History Month and Axel Rose too. 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

Is it a Muslim Ban? Should America just 'bar the damn door'? Is it racism? Or is it perhaps just more 'what-about-ism'? What is the connection between Trump's Immigration policy and the location of his many real estate holdings? There are perhaps good answers to these questions, I can't promise you'll find them here... but given the other sources you've probably already consulted, you could do so much worse.Kevin Williamson of National Review sits in. 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

A week under our belts and we're still reeling...A deluge of executive activity, constitutional controversies, 'emoluments'(?!), lawsuits, like -- a lot of lawsuits, sex tapes (well, not yet, but you wouldn't really be surprised by that, would you?), media panics, entirely legitimate media outrage, a twitter beef with geopolitical consequences, more media panics, more very legitimate outrage, a $40-billion-30-foot-high wall, a future entirely devoid of guacamole... and, there's more, but you get the idea... Seriously, it's only been a week!...time is a flat circle. 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

The waning hours of President Obama's tenure, on the eve of Trump-Mageddon, and the hits just keep on coming.The President-Elect finds himself embroiled in a nasty fight with an almost universally revered CIVIL RIGHTS ICON -- who in this particular showdown may just be playing the part of a cuddly Alex Jones.And of course, since 'two beefs are always better than one,' Trump is simultaneously mixing it up with CNN too. Is this a prelude to a broader Trumpian assault on the free press!? Maybe? Did you see hopefully?Plus: Thad Russell makes his pick for the next President of the United States (sort of). Manning gets freed. Matt asks questions about drones and of course other important things happen.Moynihan is someplace in DC covering the inauguration (or is he ducking Thad)? No problem, we'll just put words in his mouth and strawman the hell out of him. 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

After a day of confirmation hearings and protesters in pink t-shirts, amid growing uncertainty about the future of Obama Care, and just ahead of President Obama's Farewell Address in Chicago; a dossier filled with potentially explosive and definitively explicit allegations about the incoming President-Elect explodes onto the scene. Is it accurate? Where did it come from? Has Trump been compromised? Wait -- did someone say "golden shower"? WOULD YOU PLEASE SHUT UP -- WE'RE STILL TRYING TO READ THE DAMN THING! 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

Welch has been eying the guitar in the corner all night, some thoughtful listeners sent the fellas a huge bottle of Johnny Walker Black, and appears they've been reading newly released intelligence briefs for the last hour. If you were in the room, you'd probably be a little drunk too. It's the first fifth of 2017... 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

In the final dispatch of 2016, THE COLUMNISTS examine the recent terror attacks in Berlin -- parsing predictable responses, likely fallout, and beyond.And as the Obama Presidency draws to a close, an increasingly 'complicated' (if not entirely frosty... but perhaps 'cold-ish') relationship with Vladimir Putin (or is it 'some 400lb guy sitting around in his mom's basement') are hogging the spotlight and throwin' shade on POTUS's legacy.And about this legacy business... they kick that around too. Good, bad, above average... Welch, Moynihan and Foster discuss. See you in 2017. 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

Definitive accusations from the US intelligence community. Promises of reprisals from President Obama. A last ditch effort to sway Electoral College voters and prevent Donald Trump from moving into the White House.SPOILER ALERT: You’ll hear exactly zero mentions of Archduke Ferdinand in this dispatch (and perhaps that’s for the best). 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

In the final days of the Obama administration, many ‘journalos’ (pronounced: jurn-ah-lows) are producing fond remembrances of the outgoing administration while closely scrutinizing every (frequently confusing) move and utterance from the incoming administration. What are they getting right? And what are they getting wrong? Plus: perspectives on the new-McCarthyism. Why you should be super scared of Russia and Trump's pick for Secretary of State (or Naw). And some guy named Coates REALLY want’s you to know that President Obama was black & cool; and that the two of them got to hang out a bunch of times (Kmele is super unfair to him). 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

If a white nationalists speaks to a meager audience on a Texas campus, can any American avoid hearing about it? When Tomi tangles with Trevor on The Daily Show, does anyone really win? The answer to both of these questions could be a resounding "no". But not to worry, Hillary Clinton is back and she's imploring lawmakers to help plebs... (sorry), stupid voters... (sorry), idiots like you -- differentiate between fake news and approved... (sorry), factual news outlets. If you can't imagine any problems arising from such a well thought out recommendation, then this podcast is for you (and it's also '...for all my people in the struggle. It's all good baby, baby')Comedian Jimmy Failla and journalist Jacob Siegel swing by for this gargantuan free for all. Did we mention that Jimmy has a new comedy special on Amazon? He'd like you to go watch it. 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

“Fidel Castro dead, y’all!” Revolutionary, Dictator, Monster and... Human Rights Champion!? No seriously, some idiot wrote that, and worse besides. The Columnists offer an unvarnished appraisal of the newly muerto totalitarian. Glenn Garvin of the Miami Herald is on hand to help make sense of Castro’s legacy and his surprisingly numerous apologists. It’s more than a little disrespectful — but he deserves so much worse.But Wait, there’s more: Jill Stein raises tons of money, Donald Trump tweets something, there’s a recount, accusations of massive voter fraud and if you set that flag on fire 'somebody gonna go to jail'. @wethefifth 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

A Hamilltonian dressing down for the Vice President Elect? A White Nationalist Confrence in the Nations Capital? Sure -- it's almost Thanksgiving, but before digging into the Turkey, stuffing and cranbary sause -- we managed to sneak in one more dispatch. And "they" said it couldn't be done... 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

What do you do after a media apperance in Midtown Manhattan. If you answered, "Eat Ground Beef with Friends" -- you've probably been drinking with Kat Timpf and Matt Welch. Trump Ditches the Press Pool to Grab a Steak To Dinner.Steve Bannon (White House “Chief Strategist”, Xenophon, Anti-Semite, Spousal Abuser, Racist, All of the Above)Lebron James vs Phil Jackson ("Did you just call us a 'posse'!?")And The Latest Installment Of The Most Important Story of this Election… “How racist is donald trump”? Super, Regular, or Naw”Come for the South Park recaps, stay for the celebirty impressions. 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

The election is finally over, and Donald Trump is President Elect of the United States... "What the hell happend!?" This weighty audio dispatch may help sort out a few things. Moyhinan, Welch and Foster are reunited. Andrew Schulz of the Brilliant Idiots podcast makes a return appearance. You're going to be fine... Really. everythings gonna be OK. We think... 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

This week, Hollywood Mike Moynihan deigns to rejoin the Troika of Truth in our last podcast before Election 2016 is dumped on our heads like a sack of dead rats. Kmele heroically calls in from “Easter Island” (a massage bar on the Upper West Side?) to let everyone know that he STILL thinks that maybe Donald Trump hasn’t been playing footsie with David Duke all along. For longer than Bill Weld probably deserves, we discuss the oddness of the Libertarian vice presidential nominee “vouching for Mrs. Clinton” on The Rachel Maddow Show. And Moynihan finds an idiot who wrote some garbage about Amy Schumer. 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

This week, comedian Andrew Schulz (http://theandrewschulz.com, The Brilliant Idiots Podcast) stops by, Moynihan is a no show, and things get out of hand quickly (The 'explicit content' warning is there for a reason people). Up for discussions: Schulz shares some thoughts on the privilege of celebrity and recounts a recent run in with Jerry Seinfeld. Kmele hearts another SNL skit but hates Ava DuVernay's new Netflix mass incarceration doc ("13th"). While Welch quotes MLK, explains how lead paint *may* have led to a global crime boom, and has some additional thoughts on the James O'Keefe/Project Veritas videos accusing Hillary Clinton of Voter Fraud. 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

We selected some stories, organized them in a thoughtful way -- and even developed a few punchy segways. But we didn't do much with any of that... On the eve of the final presidential debate, the damn broke, or something... and this here was the outcome. 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

Moynihan watches the presidential debate with his old pal Glenn Beck. Donald Trump doesn't understand how handshakes work at all. Hillary Clinton should probably give up on email at this point. And there's obviously only one hope for avoiding an all out nuclear conflict between the United States and Russia: someone's gonna need to arm the Kurds while setting up a 'No Fly Zone'... 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

2016 Libertarian Party Presidential Hopeful Gary Johnson Swings By. We talk Vice Presidential Debates, Aleppo, Foreign Policy, BLM and the Era of Fake News Narratives. 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

Near the tail end of the recording, Moynihan pronounced this the best show we've ever done..." Perhaps so. What we can say for sure about this weeks installment of The Fifth: 1) We lost track of time, 2) Much wine was poured & consumed, and 3) Gary Johnson is at least as handsome as Han Solo. We recap the Week in Presidental Campaign 'Stuff' (from the first presidential debate, to Gary Johnson's latest 'Aleppo Moment'. Kmele recounts his recent appearance on the Brilliant Idiots podcast and the subsequent fallout. Other things of interest also occur, but we won't spoil it for you. 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

The triumvirate has much to discuss after a weekend disrupted by terror attacks in several states and yet another high profile police shooting. Media speculation, double standards and misestimation of risk abound. Also... Denzel Washington. Josh Zepps, host of We The People Live stops by to help get things sorted. (http://www.wtplive.com) 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

We had to MacGyver the hell out of this weeks dispatch. It's almost as if someone was trying to stop us... (Just asking questions here). Aleppo, Baskets of 'Deplorables', More Hacked Emails, Hillary's Flu-Ghazi... or is it a Trumpian Putanist plot (JUST ASKING QUESTIONS)... Excuse the less then amazing audio. Recorded via Skype from three different cities over internet connection and microphones of variable quality. 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

Colin Kaepernick rides the pine (which makes sense on many levels). Donald Trump visits Mexico. Hillary Clinton squares off with the AltRight. A few things remain unclear: Will our heroes ever get around to the oft promised discussion of 'private prisons'? Will Welch learn to properly operate the clock in the studio? Will Mexico pay for the wall? Will Moynihan finally learn how to 'Dab'? Andrew Kirell of the Daily Beast sits in for the hour. "What a Time to Be Alive" is an above average album, "Views" was disappointing. If you've got a problem with the cover art on Young Thug's latest project, keep it to yourself. 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

When Buck Sexton sits in for the hour there's a good chance the conversation will turn to foreign policy. As it turns out, that's exactly what happened and despited promises to the contrary, it pretty much stayed there. We did manage to establish a new (as in "first ever" and "only") Official Beer of the Fifth Column, so that's something. Other highlights: It's Moynihan's Birthday... Pretty sure Matt is drunk... and Kmele managed to pretzel Paul Krugman, Isis, Obama Care and the War in Iraq into a single metaphor -- fair chance he's drunk too. Special thanks to Hard Knocks Brewing for the evenings libations. Hard Knocks Brewing, The Official Beer of the Fifth Column Podcast. hardknocksbrewing.com 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

Moynihan is off this week, appears he had obligations related to something he's describing as "his real job". We don't know what that's supposed to mean but it sounds illegal. Author and Observer columnist Michael Malice fills the empty chair for am hour and change, shouts things into the mic and generally enriches our regular rhetorical intercourse. Up for discussion this week: Gary Johnson's diminishing (but not completely exhausted) prospects for getting into the presidential debates. Matt Welch tell's a story that could get people locked up and/or deported. Charter schools are super racists, duh. That revenge porn of you, it may not be so bad after all. And the best possible (indirect) arguments FOR Trump/Hillary. 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

Episode 20: The most discursive and 'intrupty' installment to date, but never worry, they always stick that landing (that's an Olympics reference). This Week: - Obligatory Olympics Banter- Malia Obama twerks and tokes at Lalapalooza- Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, Lose in Court, But Kinda Win, Maybe...- Clinton and Trump Dazzle the American Electorate With More Email Scandals, Assassination Plots and the Appearance of Generalized Political Corruption- The Justice Department is Unimpressed with the Baltimore City Police Department- The White House FINALLY Releases It's Drone War 'Playbook'- Where else can you get all that in sixty mins? You're welcome. The noble, just and righteous crusade to replace Olympic Badminton with Olympic Twerking starts here.Moynihan, Welch and Foster discuss (and bravely lead the charge)... 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

The Conventions are over, Welch, Moynihan and Foster are back in Gotham and it feels like Autumn in August. Still, Trump related anxieties have managed to reach new levels of 'OH-MY-GOD'; will his ascension to the presidency result in a nuclear conflict, the dismemberment of NATO, Armageddon, or garden variety disappointment & dishonesty? What's so great about NATO? And what's this about a contingent of Black Lives Matter protestors moving into the park adjacent to Kmele's apartment? Welch, Moynihan and Foster discuss... 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

The Fifth Column's presidential convention coverage continues. Matt Welch phones in from the convention floor in Philadelphia, Moynihan convalesces in New York after a harrowing Republican convention and Foster dabs his brow compassionately with a damp cold cloth. On The Agenda This Week: The DNC has developed it's own 'damn email' problem; somehow it involves Russians and a pair of geriatric US presidential candidates. Trump and Sander's convention speeches are analyzed for an all together different sort of plagiarism; painting by numbers. Black Lives Matter Moms (pronounced "blim') take center stage at the DNC and thoughts on Europe's worsening terrorism problems. (Updated) 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

Welch and Moynihan from the Floor of the RNC Convention... What could possibly go wrong? No more description. You listen, you find out! 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

A trifecta of highly charged police involved shootings dominate the headlines; what are the odds that resulting media coverage and political rhetoric are substantive, fact-based and solutions oriented? And what is President Obama going on about? Plus: Which member of the triumvirate was roughed up for backtalking the cops? Will Barbra Boxer accept Welch's VERY indecent proposal?And, perhaps most importantly, when is carrying around a bottle of wine in a Ziplock bag filled with ice not dignified and respectable? Probably when you refuse to share. Foster, Welch and Moynihan discuss... 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

What is Kmele hiding in Greece? Why is Donald Trump taking advantage of Hillary Clinton’s email lawbreaking by doubling down on the Star of David? And what on earth is the man who contributed to the downfall of pop-science journo-fabulist Jonah Lehrer doing giving the guy a second chance? Also: Chilcot Report, Tony Blair, Iraq regrets, over-classification, and just how many drinks constitutes “a couple” over at Vice News.Foster, Welch and Moynahan discuss... 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

What does your dimwitted brother-in-law actually know about Brexit? What actual difference does this Benghazi report make? And finally, will the well monied and influential attendees of the Black Entertainment Television Awards ever overcome their hateful adversaries and obtain actual freedom? Those do sound like very long odds. Producer's Note: The episode is brought to you by the letter 'B' and the word 'Actual'.Foster, Welch and Moynahan discuss... and the glamours Virgina Postrel drops by. 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

What's the most [REDACTED] ever to [REDACTED]? Can someone really be 'completely brilliant' and 'wrong about virtually everything'? Will we ever get tired of talk'n bout OJ? In a baseball cap and shorts, is Matt the spitting image of Dennis the Menace? Yes. Foster, Welch and Moynihan discuss... 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

What do Harry Potter, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have in common? Is it still 'politicizing the tragedy' if everyone's doing it? When responding to acts of terrorism, is it best to: A) Employ oversimplification, generalized suspicion and hastily drawn conclusionsB) "Act erratically and blindly lash out at everything" Foster, Welch and Moynihan discuss... 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

What the hell happened to Matt? How awful was Bernie Sanders week and why does he hate women? Why you got to be all racist? Foster, Welch and Moynihan discuss… Anthony Fisher (Reason / The Week) drops by. 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

Will Johnson & Weld make it to the presidential debate stage? Just who is this French fellow -- is he really running for POTUS and why's he omitting all the best bits from his Game of Thrones write-ups? Is there any city more remarkable then Orlando, Florida? Yes. Plus: "It's not dodging when Bernie does it!" and "Russel vs Moynihan: This time it's personal".Foster, Welch and Moynihan discuss... Thaddeus Russell (http://www.thaddeusrussell.com) drops by. 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

Trump and Sanders carry populist revolutions to their respective conventions; will violence ensue? Are we witnessing the end of the culture wars? Plus, thoughts on the Freddie "Gaye", Black Lives Matter, and those lapel cameras. Foster, Welch and Moynihan discuss... 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

If you hurriedly discuss the primary race will it end any faster? If you'd previously maintained that an economic miracle was unfolding in Venezuela, are you morally obliged to move there? "If you agree wit him, why you throwin shade?" Foster, Welch and Moynihan discuss... 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

Would Tyler Durden vote for candidate Trump? Why can't super rich authors have everything they want? Is "Cookie's" accent wonderful or fantastic?Charles C.W. Cooke of National Review stops by.Foster, Welch and Moynihan discuss. 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

Might a Trump primary victory signal the 'end of days' while simultaneously proving the existence of extraterrestrials? Can independents finally make a significant impact on the election? Will Matt and Moynihan finally 'keep it 100?Welch returns. Foster, Welch and Moynihan discuss... 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

Trump and Hillary cement their leads but no one's willing to get out of the race; why won't anyone make it stop? How is Donald Trump's foreign policy doctrine like a children's game? Just what is the corporate media's nefarious diabolical plan? Plus Venezuela is a mess and blunt razors can still cut you the hell up. Welch is away on a dangerous operation. Moynihan and Foster discuss... w/Andy Levy of Fox News's Red Eye. 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

Has the New York primary finally closed the door on Cruz, Sanders and Kasich? Should a voter who asks politely be allowed more than one ‘I Voted Sticker’? And why would a journalist bother fact-checking something if more than two people have tweeted it — at that point, it’s basically a fact, right? Moynihan, Welch and Foster discuss… w/Anthony Fisher (Reason.com). 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

Sanders and Clinton debate on a dock in Brooklyn -- would any have noticed if CNN had just replayed clips of their previous showdowns? Is Gitmo too good for climate skeptics? And how racist are cops in Chicago? Moynihan, Welch and Foster discuss… /w Harry Siegel (The Daily Beast). 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

This Week: Bernie Sanders gives an incoherent interview to the Daily News and simultaneously wins a critical presidential primary in Wisconsin; coincidence or conspiracy? Why are Panamanians so awful at keeping secrets? And why do cops insist on shooting black people? Moynihan, Welch and Foster discuss... 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

Surprise -- It's the first full episode of The Fifth Column (pardon our dust)! This week; Media coverage (or lack thereof) of terrorism in the wake of recent attacks in Brussels and beyond, The FBI vs Apple, Trump vs "Respectability Politic" and "Hillary Clinton: Super Duper Honest or Naw?". Moynihan, Welch and Foster discuss... 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