The Fifth Column

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....

* 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...

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

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 yo...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com Last month’s “Second Sunday” broadcast was fun, boozy, and…almost lost. We won’t point any fingers—though they might be jabbed in the direction of a certain someone during the recording —but through a Peter Jackson-like audio excavation, it was saved. Was that a good thing? Errr…who knows. And so, with a few nips and...

The title says it all. The three lads were together, in the same studio, for the second time in as many months. And it’s possible that the start of this particular episode was, for whatever reason, a bit chaotic. But as we settle in with our friend novelist and journalist Kat Rosenfield, we ultimately managed to discuss a few things like… * Kat’s cancellation story * Her great New York mag piece f...

* Note to Ben Shapiro: not sure Candace Owens is a big fan of the Jews * A sick little girl needs Bruins v. Rangers tickets. I mean…sort of. She recently had Covid… * When life gives you Lemon, fire him because he’s a terrible interviewer * How not to do an interview * Depression and ketamine * The Jamaican national anthem * The chocolate balls of Sweden (again) * Remembering Milo * A friend email...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * Norm the Nosy Neighbor * A terrible coinage * Did Moynihan kick off this idiocy? Probably! * Why did we “amplify” a popular internet documentary that we didn’t like? * We should have disliked the thing we already disliked even more * Getting clicks is always more important than adhering to the unwritten colleague co...

* Too much toilet paper * A subway shooting in Brooklyn * BTW, dude isn’t dead * Mike Tyson might kill that YouTube guy with the dumb earrings * On banning Tik Tok * Texans have no porn * Who will win the Russian elections???? * Anti-Italian cable descramblers and freaky phones * Malaysian monitors Russian election from basement apartment in Malaysia * That’s not what democracy looks like * A Fani...

* How the Fifth Column helped destroy Josh’s public radio career * People who started on “our side” but went around the bend… * Consistency, people * The shrinking of acceptable American opinion * Sure, we all have our own biases…but… * Echo chambers and media fragmentation * Right wing “cancel culture” * Florida cancels DEI departments. Good or bad? * MSNBC panel: “Immigrants in Virginia? LOL!” *...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * Birthdays was the worst days, now Coen drinks champagne when he’s thirstay * Stolen packages * 9-0… but not really * Disaster for democracy! * We’re worried about Keith Olbermann * Disastrous polls for Ol’ Joe * The RAGE and the pride * As always, Trump is raising money * Keith is crying piss * A bizarro time machin...

* The worst Scouse accent ever * Blackfishing  * Trump and Tish * Lawyers and lawfare * A lunatic DEI artifact from…that company * Congress’s Venceremos Brigade * The immigrant song * The lads disagree… * With burning concern * Fetterman, Mitch, Biden, Tucker again * Matt Remke getting worked * And so much more! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * Back to New York * Subways and free markets * Milei pisses on mercantilism, MAGA types don’t notice * The Foxconn con * The rise and fall of Vice * No one talks about the content…they should * Funny, QAnon all the time doesn’t make money * Shane Gillis om SNL * Nora Dunn and Dice * The people will always decide * A...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com Matt calls in from a murder motel in Southern California that doesn’t really have wifi. He saves a few bucks. Kmele and Moynihan do the heavy lift. Everybody wins. A few topics discussed: * Houthi bodegas * Industrial policy schizophrenia * Will Kmele join the “back to Africa” movement? * Ujamma and Nyerere’s stash *...

* The Fani Willis train wreck * Daddy and the sacks of cash * $9,999 * Russian McDonalds is so good that Tucker doesn’t care about freedom of the press * The political pilgrim * The murder of Alexei Navalny * A wave of whataboutism * Are your 19 year old daughters about to be drafted to fight in Gaza? * Time to retreat from the world? * OpenAI videos are sort of terrifying * Free Rachel Dolezal Kw...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com Kmele gets an Apple Vision Thing because of he course he does. And he wears it the whole episode because of course he does. It’s a racist product, btw. And Bobby Jr’s Super Bowl ad was good. And Matt likes Usher, it seems. And certain conservatives like visiting and praising dirtbag dictatorships. And in case you hadn...

We’re back with two episodes smashed into one! So if you have a spare two hours… First up, our friend Coleman Hughes returns for a one-on-one conversation with Kmele about his brand-new book The End of Race Politics, which you should buy immediately . Also: Coleman was on Bill Maher’s show on Friday, most of which is available on YouTube. After an hour with Coleman, the full team is back for a few...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com A rebroadcast of Sunday’s live Zoom, available only to subscribers, of course. And this particular live event was only available to Never Fly Coach- tier subscribers. So you know what that means: If you’re not subscribed, maybe it’s time to pony up? And if you’re already a subscriber…remember that there are different...

* The point of a dagger * The Messenger of death * The billionaire model * WE NEED SOME QUICK BITES * The murder of James O’Keefe * Horrible people, horrible ideas, great writing * Requisite 2024 talk * In (soft of) defense of Jon Stewart * Cori Bush is the Whitney Houston of Congress * LD on Simmons pod * Jamaal Bowmen is the Philip Larkin of 9/11 (hmmmmmm) * Yay for Aaron! * And so much more! Th...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * A black man on his toes * MJ at the Apollo * A “Compassionate” Traitor * Ron Radosh’s review of the doc * An entire life of lies * And a list of actual commies in the government (Note from MM: When I say “married to Ethel Rosenberg, * A shitty copy of Mission to Moscow * Listeners and Redditors: you’re wrong about T...

Oh dear. Watching the New Hampshire returns, the lads do a spot-on impression of the good old, liquor-soaked days of 2016 Fifth Column and get pretty deep in their cups…so yeah, sorry about this one. * Trump wins * Cutting from Trump’s dumb speech * 20 percent for Dean Phillips * This is, in fact, democracy * No one says anything on cable news * The speeches * The overstatement machine * Moralism...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * Michael Winslow RIP? * Joe Rogan would tear Kmele in half * The cockfighting story that never was * Some pretty pathetic fight stories * That insane UK piano player video * HHHHHHAMAAAAAAZZZ * Chris on Kmele’s pejorative for the Irish * The end of Ron * It was always “inevitable” * Back to the basement * Voters and...

* This time, we’re not going to hold back * Destroying from the ladies tees * I love with Doug * More media implosions * ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ * Democracy is over when my irrelevant newspaper folds * Passover is too Jewish * The uniqueness of the Holocaust * Opinion mongers making calls about newsworthiness * This era as history * Whatchutalkinabout Fani Willis * Ross Douthat and “Neocon Nikki” This is a pub...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com In a rebroadcast of our latest Second Sunday, Tina Nguyen joins the lads again to discuss Substack, Andrew Yang, Kmele fighting another podcast host, James Bond, Tucker Carlson, Vietnamese immigrants, militias, and…the great Tom Vu. In case you’re unfamiliar with America’s greatest Vietnamese import, some of his great...

* The year of the ladies * They’re pro-Houthi * They’re Weebs * The MAGA Diaries * The diaspora politics of the Vietnamese * MAGA Straussianism * Tina and Tucker * Tina and the militias * Kmele and the Houthis * It’s always World War Three * Just say they went too far… * NYT on Russia bombing hospitals * Some Iowa thoughts * Some brief thoughts on the fake Substack Nazi controversy This is a publi...