The Fifth Column
The Fifth Column
Kmele Foster, Michael Moynihan, and Matt Welch
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
Bad Writing, Good Journalism, and AI (w/ Ben Smith) MO #341
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comHow does Semafor make money and what is the best magazine in the world? Well…why don’t you smash that subscribe button and/or whip out that credit card if you want the real insider information from media’s best?-Karen Attiah and the Charlie Kirk quote that wasn’t real-Firing people for tweets + the last good account on Twitter-Why is Semafor worth so mu…
Aug 26
14 min
Seize the Means of Conservatism (w/ Stephanie Slade) MO #340
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comStephanie Slade’s new book, Fusionism: Liberty, Virtue, and the Future of the American Right, is available for pre-order now!-J.D. Vance seizes the means of production-Let’s define “conservative” in case you forgot-So what the hell is Fusionism?-From free markets to owning the libs-Cultural resentment > economic anxiety-Is there a reset after Trump?-Whe…
Aug 21
13 min
Clip Roulette w/ Dictators, Demons and Democracy (Episode #571)
-Greetings…oh, fuck-Welch has a bone to pick with Ben Dreyfuss-Clip Roulette-Tucker and the Demon Bomb-Jason Arday, martyr?-The Jonah Lehrer comparison-The Samantha Power mic disaster-Fuck you Joaquin-John Mearsheimer, Stephen F. Cohen and the Russian apologists-Ukraine didn’t go away-Trump, Kim Jong-un and the South Korea war games-Midterm Madness / Polymarket, wha happen?-Median Strategies and the fake poll-Adam Bonica, Marc Elias and scamming the elderly-Is Cuba a dictatorship? Apparently a difficult question-The Padilla Affair / Slobo Googling-Theft as a “biological need”-Chocolate City-Stay tuned for más Moynihan ReportPrefer 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 viewer/listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Follow The Fifth ColumnYouTube: @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
Aug 19
1 hr 46 min
Terry Moran and the Network News Autopsy (Members Only #339)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comWe’re joined by former ABC News senior national correspondent Terry Moran, who now publishes Real Patriotism with Terry Moran on Substack and hosts a podcast of the same name on YouTube.-Terry reads that tweet-Fired, suspended, non-renewed…whatever-Any regrets?-Network news is dying and everyone’s jumping ship-The 9/11 flag-pin controversy-Hire more people who voted for Trump-Why not …
Aug 14
14 min
The Politics of Pretending (Episode #570)
-Kmele is out of Adderall-Did anybody actually watch this Tucker and Hunter interview?-“Montrosity” and other difficult words-The adventures of Proximity Hong-The curious case of Jason Arday-Is there any chance Jesse Singal is racist?-AOC discovers Woke 1.0 was crazy-Shane Gillis and the conspiracy of enforcing things nobody believed-Thank you, Thom Tillis. Also, fuck you.-Funding the other side’s whackos-Mamdani declares war on Amazon-A general rent strike. Over one cockroach.-David Remnick meets the DSA-Kmele gets swarmed by the Hasan bots-So, how great was Mao?-Midterm Madness and the 2028 Democratic sweepstakes-Clip Roulette-Kmele tries to explain himself. It does not help.-Can America get at least a busted Boris Johnson?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 viewer/listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Follow The Fifth ColumnYouTube: @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
Aug 12
1 hr 41 min
A Man of 1989 (w/ David Frum) #569
-a pre-obit for the esteemed David Frum-involuntarily unionized at The Atlantic-spy novels, bureaucrats and expense reports-turning down Bill Buckley’s golden ticket-prosperity, security and how quickly it can all disappear-Frum is forever a man of 1989-God makes you lucky, then convinces you you’re smart-Tucker Carlson was always capable of many things-falling flat on your back isn’t progress-the Michigan Senate choice from hell-Democrats discover Trump’s permission structure-Midterm Madness in Michigan-the polling industry has a phone problem-politics for people who can afford to lose-“I saw you coming so I could stop you”-immigration restriction without the Trumpism-fascism has the better sales pitch than communism-what Donald Trump loves besides himself-the conservative future Frum got very wrong and other reflectionsPrefer 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 viewer/listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Follow The Fifth ColumnYouTube: @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
Aug 7
1 hr 43 min
Out of Whiskey and Reaching for the Rotgut (Members Only #338)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comMichael Moynihan has returned from his Italian sojourn where he barely escaped arrest…-Moynihan has the clap or something-Who exactly is the demographic for this show?-Moynihan’s European vacation involved bus karaoke, too much drinking, and now the shakes-Matt went to Cooperstown with Bill Schulz…-The forgotten insanity of the Peekskill riots-Paul Robe…
Aug 5
15 min
The Admirably Irresponsible Journalist w/ John R. MacArthur (Members Only #337)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comSo that’s where these Genius Grants come from…-Most roads lead back to Prague for Matt Welch-about that letter…six paragraphs, $5 million in free publicity and Harper’s back in the mainstream-It was NAFTA, not woke, that elected Trump. Or was it?-Illegal immigration is a wage issue-Who still believes free trade is the answer to everything?-Vietnam made …
Jul 31
20 min
The Fifth Gets a Substitute Teacher (w/ Jesse Singal) #568
Jesse Singal of Blocked and Reported and Singal-Minded fills Michael Moynihan’s special diabetic chair to discuss Fauci’s diaries, broken institutions, runaway AI, LeBron and Mamdani Mart.-Moynihan out, Jesse Singal in-Bari Weiss hired everyone except Jesse-The Prince of Science re-enrages everyone (or at least Rand Paul)-Gell-Mann amnesia and the collapse of institutional trust-The media needed a COVID daddy-An OpenAI model escaped the sandbox-The analogy of the paperclip machine and how it consumed the universe-Cambridge protected alleged plagiarist Jason Arday-Midterm Madness, Ohio governor race version-Kmele feels that LeBron will never love him but he doesn’t want to talk about it-Three grown men relived their greatest pickup games-Kmele wanted the gods back in The Odyssey-Mamdani Mart promised groceries at 30 percent off-Billy Bob Thornton returns from hell in White Knight (a Kmele Foster joint)-Nazi dinosaurs stalked Jews through Schindler’s Park-Jesse discovered second-order effects-Not every strange obsession with Israel was antisemitism-Rent stabilization has worked great for millionaires-No French goodbye for KmelePrefer 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 listener-viewer supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Follow The Fifth ColumnYouTube: @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
Jul 29
1 hr 41 min
The Temple Is Rich. The Monks Are Poor (w/ Frank Dikötter) Members Only #336
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.comFrank Dikötter is a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and one of the foremost historians of modern China. His research in overlooked and restricted Communist Party archives has transformed our understanding of Maoist rule.-Frank Dikötter is kind of Dutch, but not really-Writing the definitive history of Maoist horror-Edgar Snow a…
Jul 24
17 min
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