The Fifth Column

Kmele Foster, Michael Moynihan, and Matt Welch
  • 4.5 (2.8K)
  • NEWS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

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

  1. Locker Room Talk and the Pizzagate Reunion Tour (Members Only #304)

    21H AGO

    Locker Room Talk and the Pizzagate Reunion Tour (Members Only #304)

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com Kash chugs it back with the toothless champions Trump and his locker room talk with the boys State of the Union and the Six Year Itch A uniquely conspiratorial moment in an already conspiratorial nation PizzaGate nostalgia hour Fact checking dies in public A laundry list of made up shit that’s not even close to being true Baby-eating melodrama meets Beetlejuic…

    22 min
  2. A Big, Beautiful SCOTUS Decision (with Damon Root) MO #303

    4D AGO

    A Big, Beautiful SCOTUS Decision (with Damon Root) MO #303

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * Damon Root’s book Overruled: The Long War for Control of the U.S. Supreme Court * Basic civics, reintroduced * Root’s mood in five words * What becomes of this useless Congress? * Why not 9–0? Root on the three dissenters * The “major questions doctrine” translated * Profiles in inconsistenty * Doesn’t matter! Trump will “destroy your country” either way! * The hangover * Gorsu…

    10 min
  3. Ambiguity in the Age of Outrage (w/ Jon Meacham) - #545

    5D AGO

    Ambiguity in the Age of Outrage (w/ Jon Meacham) - #545

    -The dork Star Wars cantina of famous biographers -Jefferson’s hypocrisy and the impossibility of paragon standards -Lincoln was not an abolitionist -The Howard Zinnification of American history -Ambiguity as the ideological propagandist’s mortal enemy -The true (New Testament) saint of America -George H.W. Bush’s blunt admission -This president would cut your throat for a vote, then be the first to call 911 -Exhaustion as a strategy, and the establishment’s failure to meet the moment -Autocratic narcissism and the turn toward political sadism -Despair is a sin -Political loss as seasonal, not existential -What will the next side do with inherited expanded executive power? -14th Amendment redemption clauses as high-level nerd porn -Amusing ourselves to death in a visual-media politics -Katie Britt’s private doubt, and the ecosystem that manufactured it -Lincoln couldn’t write a bad sentence; Reagan could land the line Prefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 12PM EST. Buy Jon Meacham’s anthology, American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union (Bookshop | Amazon) Thanks for reading/watching The Fifth Column (A Podcast)! This post is public so feel free to share it. Follow The Fifth Column YouTube: @wethefifthInstagram: @we.the.fifthX: @wethefifthTikTok: @wethefifthFacebook: @thefifthcolumn This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe

    1h 7m
  4. Voodoo Socialism and the $3 Million Rainy Day Fund w/ William Neuman (Members Only #302)

    FEB 17

    Voodoo Socialism and the $3 Million Rainy Day Fund w/ William Neuman (Members Only #302)

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com -Please say hello to our new Sunset Park neighbor -The American Chávez -The Nobel Prize Grudge -The Dictatorship That Remained -Political Pilgrims and Failed Experiments -Maria the Maid and the, “Gay Marriage Lady” slur -A Masterclass in Macro-Failure -The Media Pioneer -The Illusion of Democracy -Economic Voodoo -The “Police” StrategyGet William’s book, Things …

    22 min
  5. The Revolutionaries (w/ Robert Sullivan) - #4

    FEB 13

    The Revolutionaries (w/ Robert Sullivan) - #4

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com For Christmas 2024, I was gifted Robert Sullivan’s delightful My American Revolution: A Modern Expedition Through History’s Forgotten Battlegrounds. I devoured it within 24 hours. It is no exaggeration to say that the book is responsible as anything else for this little Semiquincetennial miniseries you are (hopefully!) enjoying. As you will hear in this …

    24 min
  6. The Great American Mustache Ride (w/ John Bolton) - #544

    FEB 12

    The Great American Mustache Ride (w/ John Bolton) - #544

    -John Bolton, Olympic Curling Hawk -Arguing with the 60s Since 1970 -I’m kind of a Libertarian (Minus the Defense Part) -Iraq was actually kind of perfect -Federalist Papers as Foreign Aid (or maybe porn would suffice) -The Arab Spring Brain-Break -Afghanistan is Not Exactly a Nation -Regime Change, Case-by-Case -The Forward Defense of New Jersey -Ukraine and the Gray Zone Trap -The Nuclear Press Release -Tucker Carlson wants you to be scared of this man -Trump’s Real Estate Foreign Policy -The Face of the Regime in Venezuela -The President’s Retribution…. and how worried should the Ambassador be right now? -Who Will Take Him Down First? -Tulsi Gabbard’s Intelligence Clown Show Prefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 12PM EST. The Fifth Column (A Podcast) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Follow The Fifth Column YouTube: @wethefifthInstagram: @we.the.fifthX: @wethefifthTikTok: @wethefifthFacebook: @thefifthcolumn This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe

    1h 21m
  7. One Hitter- Senator Rand Paul is Lonely (Members Only #301)

    FEB 10

    One Hitter- Senator Rand Paul is Lonely (Members Only #301)

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com -The Invertebrate Caucus -The New Tax Party -Ruby Ridge and Waco Redux -The Last Man Standing -The Crypto Appearance Problem -Government as a Mob Vig -The Fairness Trap -The Colombia Save, or how Rand prevented a military escalation by sending a quick text message to the President. -Epstein Transparency Collateral -Is Trump still “the best president of his lifet…

    14 min
  8. Who's Afraid of The Big Bad Bunny? (Members Only #300)

    FEB 10

    Who's Afraid of The Big Bad Bunny? (Members Only #300)

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com A deeply serious and important conversation over some listener-provided Scotch about the Super Bowl halftime show(s), the death of ad copywriting, dunking in the WNBA, pond skating, and the other Moynihan Report. •Oh good, Kmele started drinking early •About that game… •The horrible stereotypes in that halftime show •He bangs •The Canadian caravan •Malfunctio…

    27 min
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Hosts & Guests

4.5
out of 5
2,830 Ratings

About

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

Information

  • Creator
    Kmele Foster, Michael Moynihan, and Matt Welch
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2026
  • Episodes
    626
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © The Fifth Column
  • Show Website
    The Fifth Column

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