436 episodes

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

wethefifth.substack.com

The Fifth Column Kmele Foster, Michael Moynihan, and Matt Welch

    • News
    • 4.5 • 151 Ratings

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

wethefifth.substack.com

    #452 - The Strawberry Statement 2024 / The Eternal Adderall Shortage (w/ C.J. Ciaramella)

    #452 - The Strawberry Statement 2024 / The Eternal Adderall Shortage (w/ C.J. Ciaramella)

    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 wethefifth.substack.com/subscribe

    • 1 hr 39 min
    Members Only #207 - Columbia Breakdown: Next Stop Baader Meinhof?

    Members Only #207 - Columbia Breakdown: Next Stop Baader Meinhof?

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wethefifth.substack.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

    • 20 min
    #451 - The Battle of Batya (w/ Batya Ungar-Sargon)

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

    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 wethefifth.substack.com/subscribe

    • 1 hr 33 min
    #450 - Republican Wine Moms and a Dead Double Murderer

    #450 - Republican Wine Moms and a Dead Double Murderer

    * 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 wethefifth.substack.com/subscribe

    • 1 hr 54 min
    Members Only #206 - Hitting From the Ladies' Tee

    Members Only #206 - Hitting From the Ladies' Tee

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wethefifth.substack.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!

    • 25 min
    #449 - The Prince of Tide Pools (w/ Andrew Sullivan)

    #449 - The Prince of Tide Pools (w/ Andrew Sullivan)

    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 wethefifth.substack.com/subscribe

    • 1 hr 45 min

Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5
151 Ratings

151 Ratings

Jaff Gordo ,

Best podcast!

This is the best podcast. Listen, be well, and enjoy yourself.

macinjosh87 ,

Predictable

Matt and Michael are MIC toadies. Kmele is t sure why he is there.

mike4200 ,

Boring Guest

Why would you ask the most boring person on earth to be a guest and then proceed to talk about free speech rights of the richest people in Denmark. Maybe your audience finds this less than interesting and totally irrelevant to anyone.

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