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ComedyExplicit
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
www.wethefifth.com
- 49 episodes
- Avg 53 min
- English
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
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Wednesday · 2 hr 18 minThe Morning After Midterm Madness (Ep. #582)
Where were you when AMERICA DECIDED? Were you watching our livestream? Were you at the super-exclusive party that, as of this writing, is still raging on? Were you injecting Substack’s election hub straight into your veins? If so, you’ll have no need for this audio-only selection of the best conversations from the evening. For the rest of you, enjoy! You’ll hear not only from Matt, Michael, and Kmele, but from Mary Katharine Ham, Marc Caputo, Ben Dreyfuss, Greg Lukianoff, David A. Graham, Josh Barro, Eliana Johnson, Jamie Kirchick, Megan McArdle, Nick Gillespie, and Ruy Teixeira!If these two hours aren’t enough for you, feel free to relive the evening in all its audiovisual glory over on The Fifth Column’s YouTube channel. 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. Come see The Fifth in Connecticut!: https://quickcenter.fairfield.edu/2026-27-season-calendar/lectures/the-fifth-column-podcast.html 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
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October 31 · 45 minOne Hitter: Midterm Madness Pregame
-COME SEE US IN CONNECTICUT. We may never release this special episode, because the things we will talk about will be horrifically controversial. -Which party will win the Senate? -Dirty Dems in Alaska done found another Dan Sullivan -the TX Senate race…are we sure Texans are that titillated by Talarico? -Fake polls, election interference, and Bolsonaro in Miami -Maine and Trump’s last-minute tariff maneuvering -Trump is an effective campaigner…until he has to campaign on his own record -Vivek, the great Ohio slime impresario -the LA mayoral race nobody seems happy about -WHO DESERVES TO LOSE? WHO DO YA HATE THE MOST? Kmele’s answer may shock you JOIN US: https://quickcenter.fairfield.edu/2026-27-season-calendar/lectures/the-fifth-column-podcast.html 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
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October 30 · 1 hr 38 minA Socialist Walks Into The Fifth Column (w/ Bhaskar Sunkara) #581
-we found someone from the DSA brave enough to come on this show -The Cajun French of Indians -If you’re pro-abundance, why are you a socialist? -DSA and the midterms -Biden’s heart was in the right place, but his body was...not -AOC, DAC, and Zohran -The Left’s remarkable talent for self-sabotage -Cuba, the embargo, and the pesky issue of free elections -Socialism and its rather unfortunate historical baggage -Bhaskar’s three camps of socialism and capitalism -Worker-owned companies, public banks, and making socialism work in practice -Hasan Piker, good or bad for the DSA -Somehow we are talking about Sweden again -Midterm Madness: California’s billionaire tax -AI, data centers, and the politics of saying no -Socialism is gaining popularity. Just don’t run as a socialist. -Bhaskar’s most right-wing position -Moynihan’s unsolicited advice to the DSA Read The Blueprint: How Socialism Can Work in the Real World by Bhaskar Sunkara, Ben Burgis, and Mike Beggs Bookshop | Amazon Prefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 12PM EST. JOIN US: https://quickcenter.fairfield.edu/2026-27-season-calendar/lectures/the-fifth-column-podcast.html This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe
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October 28 · 12 minThe President Is No Longer Taking Calls (w/ Edward Luce) MO #352
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com Ed Luce joins the guys to discuss Trump’s corruption, the persistence of populism, and the uncertain future of Western democracy. -DC is beautiful and beige and on the spectrum -Don Jr.’s corruption and a Watergate every day for 18 months -Serbia’s student-led anti-corruption movement -AfD, LFI, Meloni and why Europe isn’t done with populism -Immigration, ec…
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October 22 · 1 hr 34 minDonald Trump is Gay (Episode #580)
-Fairfield, CT. Nov 12th. Get tickets while you can -We will have an Election Night livestream. Booze, guests, and probable disaster -Our mystery guest didn’t couldn’t make it today. We won’t name names, but we’ll give you some subtle clues. -Steve Witkoff discovered Vladimir Putin’s humanitarian side. -Trump has some thoughts about Zelenskyy. andPutin gets a pass. -Americans ranked their favorite countries. Where does Russia rank? -A very stiff competition for the Senate’s biggest idiot and the “Not One Inch” myth -the dumbest man in the Senate meets the dumbest man in media -Donald Trump and his love of men -Midterm Madness -Vivek vs. Amy Acton, and the attack ad from hell. -The tone and tenor of American politics is somehow worse than ever -Alina Habba, Ric Grenell, and the alleged $50 million pardon racket. -JD Vance answered a question about corruption. Ten thousand weasels applauded. Prefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 12PM EST. JOIN US: https://quickcenter.fairfield.edu/2026-27-season-calendar/lectures/the-fifth-column-podcast.html 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
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October 21 · 15 minThe End of the Special Relationship? (w/ Jacob Siegel) Members Only #351
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com We are doing a live show in Fairfield, CT on November 12th. You should come. Details below. -Jacob Siegel on raising his kids in Israel -Who benefits from a fractured US-Israel relationship? -JD Vance had endorsements to spare, just not for Netanyahu -Israel prepared for life without America’s special relationship -An entirely natural detour to France -French…
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October 16 · 16 minWhy the Midterms Are Turning Against Trump (w/ Nate Silver) Members Only #350
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com The guys put America’s most famous political forecaster, Nate Silver, to work… separating real electoral shifts from political noise, and confronting the uncomfortable possibility that everyone is just guessing. -The House leaned Democratic, the Senate was a toss-up…then came Labor Day -The first thing Nate Silver does every morning -$4.50 gas, AI data centers, and T…
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October 14 · 1 hr 30 minCan the Democratic Center Hold? (#579)
Yes, we want accolades. Yes, we’re shamelessly asking for your vote: VOTE for The Fifth Column as the Best News & Politics Show Yemisi Egbewole is here and we will figure out how to pronounce her name….next time -A Democratic consultant defending Fox News out of the gate -Was Mike Lindell ever really a crackhead? -Ladies and gentlemen, the new White House press secretary, Katie Zachariah -Did we fuck Scott Jennings? -How does a WH press secretary actually prepare? -Kimberly Guilfoyle’s $100,000 AmEx problem -James Talarico’s imaginary stay in an Ohio psych ward -the art of standing out among 435 members of Congress -Abdul El-Sayed vs Mike Rogers in Michigan -Jon Ossoff and the case for normal Democrats -JD Vance’s interesting definition of socialism -Midterm Madness on Zachariah, Alaska, and Michigan -Trump gets it right on data centers. Until he doesn’t. -Brian Kilmeade stands up for Ukraine against Rachel Compost Duffy -Come watch us live in Connecticut! -What exactly is Third Way? -Yemisi’s heresies on crime and climate -Immigration and the Jamaican-Nigerian experience -Kmele and the Blacks of Connecticut -Where is the Democratic Party headed, and how much does the DSA matter? Prefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 12PM EST. JOIN US: https://quickcenter.fairfield.edu/2026-27-season-calendar/lectures/the-fifth-column-podcast.html 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
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October 9 · 14 minPeople Who Lie and People Who Die (w/ Sam Roberts) Members Only #349
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com “There are no ordinary lives and everyone has a story” -Sam Roberts’ father takes him to see the Rosenbergs’ funeral -Fifty years in journalism and an unexpected career writing obituaries -Anna Nicole Smith and the brutality of British obituaries -Charlie Rangel’s complicated legacy -Who deserves a New York Times obituary? -Writing Rudy Giuliani’s obituary b…
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October 7 · 1 hr 35 minEurope Is Melting, Meritocracy Is Racist, and Everyone Gets Dignity (Episode #578)
Did we mention we’re nominated…did you vote yet? If not, what in the actual fuck is your problem? -all the bad words are here -come to Fairfield on November 12th! (https://quickcenter.fairfield.edu/2026-27-season-calendar/lectures/the-fifth-column-podcast.html) -Trump in Nebraska….always a good sign for Republicans -Anal sex, picnics, breakfast in bed, lobster -Europe is melting! (still) -who will replace Macron? -France’s immigration problem -Sweden discovers gun crime -America, the assimilation machine -meritocracy is fucking fantastic -questions are bad when ethnicities are in front of them -Vivek, the big guy and the worst swing in baseball -Midterm Madness where candidate quality counts -if you had to arrest one person at the New York Times… -MAGA-curious CBS boss and The Daily Beast -Theo Von discovers socialism JOIN US: https://quickcenter.fairfield.edu/2026-27-season-calendar/lectures/the-fifth-column-podcast.html The Fifth Column is in the running for Best News & Politics show. PLEASE HELP US TAKE HOME THE GOLD (or whatever the statue is made of, assuming there is one). 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
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October 3 · 8 minOne Hitter: Why Oil Prices Could Get Much Worse (w/ Marshall Adkins) Members Only #348
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com Marshall spent 25 years covering oil and gas at Raymond James before retiring this week. He joins the guys to explain what’s actually driving prices higher, why diesel matters more than most people realize, and how war, refinery outages, and shrinking reserves have left the global energy market with very little room for error. Also, is Marshall the real
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October 2 · 1 hr 30 minThe Weave Within the Weave (#577)
…and Moynihan discusses Harvard’s artist in residence. Also, we’ve been nominated for something! vote for us in for the Signal Awards! -Kmele’s Cross-Country Trail of Tears -Trump Praises the Latinos -Yukon Cornelius and the Bumble -Coming Soon: Jason’s Weird Fetishes -Trump Talks to Time -The Weave We Go -No Fatties, No Trannies, No Weirdos -It’s Worse Because It’s Worse -Saving Western Civilization, One Taxpayer-Funded Ad at a Time -Sen. Eric Schmitt’s Awesome Week -The Indian Question -Roxane Gay, Harvard Medical School Artist in Residence -Midterm Madness: New Hampshire, Michigan, Ohio and L.A. -How Not to Hijack an Israeli Plane The Fifth Column (A Podcast) is a viewer-listener publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. The Fifth Column is in the running for Best News & Politics show. PLEASE HELP US TAKE HOME THE GOLD (or whatever the statue is made of, assuming there is one). ALSO: Vote for The Moynihan Report for:Best video podcastBest guest (William Shatner)Best episode VOTE VOTE VOTE (for us) 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
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September 29 · 14 minSarah Hepola and the Life You Didn’t Choose (Members Only #347)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com Finally, a break from politics and a discussion about…love. If you like Sarah, check out her podcast with friend of The Fifth Column Nancy Rommelmann Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em Podcast -Sarah is back on the wagon (not really!) -The married man, the younger man, and the New Orleans homicide detective -Women’s tears are a recording device -Kavanaugh, memory, and the stories we tell ourselves …
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September 25 · 13 minThe UN, Wokeness, and Other Failed Institutions (Members Only #346)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com -being gay, doing drugs, that’s the Szeps life -Moynihan’s anti-Australian bigotry -the Lupita Nyong’o pronunciation challenge -Why is daddy wearing boobs? -this actor can play any ethnicity -Josh’s dad, the George Costanza of Australia -UN Clip-o-rama -in defense of the UN, sort of -can America afford to piss off all its allies? -Greta Thunberg goes to the Rena…
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September 23 · 15 minThe Algorithm Is the Editor-in-Chief (w/ David Pakman) Members Only #345
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com -Pakman is a fan of this show. Will he regret saying this? -Kmele’s cult-adjacent upbringing -Pakman’s Argentina upbringing -Macklemore, Robert Kraft and the limits of independent media -Do people actually control their media diet? -Nick Fuentes, Fishback and Twitter not being real life -Pakman puts himself at the tip of the junk food pyramid -Should The Fifth…
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September 22 · 1 hr 40 minThe Loyal Republican w/ Scott Jennings (#576)
And is he gonna get that press secretary job or not? -Jennings the teetotaler -wtf happened to Moynihan’s hair? -Jennings’ working-class Kentucky origin story -back when Kentucky + West Virginia were swing states -Rush Limbaugh + Paul Harvey University -what would Rush make of $9K for stay-at-home moms? -what kind of Republican is Scott Jennings anyway? -why is Trump so unpopular? -tariffs, potash + the new Republican orthodoxy -the Greenland victory (?) lap begins -Scott’s muscular Republicanism meets the universities -Van Jones vs. his own side -Trump vs. CNN and the White House press pool -Scott Jennings, future press secretary? -Trump + Mamdani, together again -Texas gets way too interesting -Georgia gets weird -trying to have the one pundit take nobody else has -do not get in Scott Jennings’ personal space -does Trump have a corruption problem? -Trump crypto + the Kentucky coffee can -whatever happened to Republican “family values”? -Mitch McConnell is alive -has Tucker left the MAGA coalition? 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 is a viewer/listener 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
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September 18 · 17 minAcademically Unserious With Authoritarian Bureaucratic Aspirations (w/ Tyler Austin Harper) Members Only #344
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com Tyler Austin Harper, staff writer for The Atlantic and co-host of the Time To Say Goodbye podcast joins Michael C. Moynihan & Matt Welch to talk about extreme fishing, picking socialsts as your fighters, and his recent pot-stirring essay “Why I quit the tenure track.” •It’s morning in America, or is it Japan? •The Night Fisher •Worse than Al Qaeda•A pro-America leftist •Why Tyler Austin Harper quit the …
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September 16 · 1 hr 48 minAI Might Kill Us. Here’s Why It Matters: w/ Jim VandeHei (#575)
-Simplify, simplify, simplify… -Do people like Jim as a boss? -The two things to screen for in prospective employees -The humility of Mike Allen -AI and the newsroom -The way you consume news is about to completely change -Are we at the Napster stage of AI? -The demand for local news didn’t die -DEI without the corporate activism -Axios refuses to take a stand -Moynihan’s Vice postmortem -Jim used to be a hothead. Mostly. -AI might kill us. Why it matters -Kmele vs. the AI doomers -Hugging Face and the runaway AI problem -Stuxnet was the dumb version -Midterm Madness goes off-script -Who should actually be Person of the Year? -Too much Trump porn at the New York Times? -Jim simplifies Trump’s three biggest precedent breaks -Why Trump does it anyway Read Simplify: Do 50 Percent More with 50 Percent Less by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz (Bookshop | Amazon) Prefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 12PM EST. 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
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September 11 · 1 hr 30 minThe Things We Thought After 9/11 (#574)
-RIP Andrew Wimsatt, a true friend of the show and beloved member of the Fifth Column community -And in lighter news, it’s the 25th anniversary of 9/11 -Trump’s 9/11 story -Why we’re called The Fifth Column -When Matt Welch welcomed us to war -Moynihan moved to New York on September 10, 2001 -How much of your memory of the day is actually real? -Mary Beard and other “the US had it coming” takes -Little Eichmanns and the root-causes Olympics -Did we win the War on Terror? -You get $5,000! And you get $5,000! -Midterm Madness and the two Dan Sullivans -Hunter Biden’s $LAPTOP speedrun to zero Prefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 12PM EST. 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
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