The Fifth Column Community Show

Ben and Garrett are joined by Aaron Maté to discuss all of the Russia, Ukraine, and NATO things!

Ben is joined by Fifdom favorites Jacob Siegel and Eli Lake to discuss the absolute state of past and present American dis/mal information.

After a small(...ish) absence, The Fifth Column Community Shows returns! Ben is joined by writer, commentator, friend, fellow veteran, and Fifdom's resident Ukraine expert Adrian Bonenberger for the third installment of their ongoing discussions about the war in Ukraine. The lads discuss how the ground war is playing out, war crimes committed on Telegram, the F-35, Bernie Sanders, the propaganda w...

Ben is once again joined by Fifdom's resident Ukraine expert, Adrian Bonenberger, to discuss all manner of things Ukraine! Topics include: we were right god dammit (with a few exceptions), Russia's stupidity in Hostomel and Chernobyl, the impact of atrocities being on TikTok, where nuclear weapons would be used (if they are), and more. Adrian's work has been published in The New York Times, The Wa...

Nancy Rommelman joins Brad and Ileana to discuss a range of matters both pressing and perennial: Why is Zelensky running guns and stamps on Twitter? Is Nancy going back to Ukraine (it appears so!) and what did she discover while she was there? What does the future hold for Paloma Media? Why do mothers kill their kids, and what can we learn from wading into messy, uncomfortable details? All sorts!

The Fifth Column is turning 6! Brad and Ileana sat down with none other than Matt Welch to discuss. Where they've been and where they're going; The flabbergasting rise of the Fifth community; Hello Substack, goodbye Patreon; The future of free speech-loving media.

Ileana and Brad are joined by everyones favorite Fifth Column guest Ben Dreyfuss! And no one has done any preparation! What the hell is Ben doing in Idaho? Wrecking homes and getting banned from local Facebook groups, mostly; The Russia-Ukraine social media war; Everyone is insane on Covid; How Carrie Fisher saved Ben's life; A flick of the wheel. And much, much more.

Ben is joined by writer, commentator, friend, fellow veteran, and Fifdom's resident Ukraine expert Adrian Bonenberger. The lads discuss Putin's motivations and intentions in Ukraine, Ukrainian perceptions of Russia, and what war might look like on the ground if/when it arrives... in the next few hours or so. Adrian's work has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Polic...

The inimitable Peter Suderman of Reason, Cocktails with Suderman, and all of the other things, joins Ben and Jaye to discuss podcasting, guns, video games, Dungeons & Dragons, and being a sophisticated boozebag.

Ileana, Brad, ChayaLeah, Jaye and Lesley are in the virtual sukkah grappling with pressing questions related to identity: How much does identity matter? How much should it? Do Jews exist? Is Ileana more Jewish than Lenny Kravitz? And Brad has another podcast baby, but this time he's the one getting knocked up.

Aaron, Brad and Ileana discuss Ethnic Studies in K-12 education. What's the problem with Critical Ethnic Studies? Is there a way to do Ethnic Studies well? Why are we attached to liberal values? Here is online panel hosted by the Institute for Liberal Values that we refer to in the episode: https://youtu.be/U4M6p_Rn2z8

Brad and Ileana talk to Mary and Lesley, who were both adopted as infants. Two fascinating stories of adoption. Finding your biological family as an adult. A brief history of adoption legislation. The emotional impact of growing up as an adoptee. With bonus cameo from a butter-loving preschooler!

Aaron, Ben, Brad and Ileana discuss the likely expansion of Selective Service Registration to include women. Is there *anyone* who thinks this is a good idea?

A thoughtful, well-informed discussion that only occasionally strays into insane thought experiments. The legal framework for abortion; Moral intuitions around viability; Ileana's abortion story; Hypothetical no. 1: engineering a perfect artificial womb and/or an animal with developing sentience; Who owns the (real) frozen embryos? Hypothetical no. 2: Brad gets Mary pregnant... ...and much, much m...

Retired California forester Norm Benson (@timberati) on wildfires, environmentalism, climate change and the inherent unsettledness of science. Norm's reading recommendations: Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought, Jonathan Rauch The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World, Bjorn Lomborg The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves, Matt Ridley False Al...

Afghanistan vet @actualbenprice and Iraq vet @garrettsasse discuss the Afghan withdrawal debacle.  The brass is always going to kick the can down the road. Afghanistan is not an actual nation. The Taliban's own version of Sharia means women are definitely screwed. Why did we give up Bagram? If you want to slow the Taliban down, give them American equipment. Send comments to ileana@fifdom.com...

East Virginia's most prominent politician, Shoshana Weissman (@senatorshoshana) who is also Head of Digital Media at R Street Institute bonds with Ileana and Garrett over their shared love of Jonathan Haidt, free speech, and outrageous humor.

How likely is it that humans will create a super-intelligent AI in the near future? How likely is it that the AI will destroy humanity while trying to stop spam emails? And in a universe without human consciousness, what happens if a tree falls in the forest? Ileana and Brad discuss. Listen to the end for a 4 year-old's insight into the matter.  We are the Fifth (Column) Community Show. Find...

Chaya Leah, John and Sandy join Ileana to discuss the state of education post COVID, school choice, and the advisability of banning CRT. Quick correction: Ileana says at one point that "less than half" of high school graduates go on to college; according to the BLS , that figure is 59% for men and 66% for women. The 6-year graduation rate for those who enroll in college is 62%.

Two veterans and an active duty service member discuss the impeding withdrawal from Afghanistan, the deleterious effects of warrior worship, and why local police departments should not hire combat veterans. Come for the nuanced and erudite discussion of US Middle East policy, stay for the drunken rants at the end. 

Brad: If 20 dozen alien races arrive on their beautiful ships, and they are all what we would refer to as straight, there’s no fluidity among the genders, how would that impact your view of yourself? Jaye: I’m out. I would just take a ship, and I would fly away. Brad: But they wouldn’t let you on the ship, because… Jaye: No, they would. They would, though. Brad: How? Jaye: … I’m very charismatic.

Fifdom OG Ben Price (@actualbenprice) and almost graduated (whoo!) law student Michael Clardy (@mcp627) take on Section 230 in a conversation that naturally meanders through Monty Python, legal doctrine, defamation and cronyism.

Mary, Christine, Elizabeth, Sandy and Ileana talk about finding meaning while approaching middle age. We talk about the great lie of feminism, asking for help, being willing to show who you are, doing scary things, and discovering what you are capable and worthy of. Here is the Meghan Daum piece that inspired this conversation: https://humanparts.medium.com/im-too-old-to-write-about-my-life-53a44a...

Alama (@hearalma), Garrett (@GarrettSasse), Ileana (@IleanaAlmog), and Jaye (@jtownmataco) return for a second round of talks on sex and dating. Using the frame of pros and cons of sex on the first date, the conversation covers first times, body counts, personal choices, with a dash of gender and biology, and includes dating tips and tricks from our token dude. This episode is sponsored by - Ancho...

The wise folks of the Fifth reflect on changing norms of behavior in the workplace and conclude that we all lose when we have to tiptoe around each other. Plus, we're not all special, give back that participation trophy, and don't go into the humanities!