The Fifth Column

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * Matt, swallowed by Los Alamos * Jon Ronson’s new pod * A terrible trailer, a pretentious movie * Ringo Seal!!! Trump is “being persecuted” * Head injuries that help * Listen to that podcast, even if it’s terrible * A hot plagiarist * Substack and Nazis * Chomsky and Jeffery * Kmele’s new favorite football player * A...

Should we even bother with the normal bullet points? Because it’s mostly about Claudine Gay. And the media’s embarrassing reaction to Gay’s “duplicative phrasing” and “attribution issues.” And what this says about the rot in academia. And something about a Disney Plus show. And ladies who live in trees. And how Kmele’s ice has to be colder than Welch’s ice. And a generation of dumb intellectuals....

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * The last one of the year * The French public sector * Macron and the menorah * Exploding appliances * Nick & Kanye * Nikki’s slavery gaffe * But does she have a shot? * Billionaires on the “billionaire class” * Don’t forget about RFK * Who blew up the pipeline? * Why we believe what we believe * Vivek’s “inside job”

* I resign! * (“That was a great apartment….”) * I resign! * (“That was the worst job….”) * Mansplaining the war * Too big to process * It’s like 9/11 for Americans, and also not * “You can still smell the death” * The Jericho Wall revelations * “I’m pretty sure most people who were responsible will resign” * Were judicial protests a distraction? * State fails, society rallies * A time for Diaspor...

* Can Kmele sing? * A guy is surrounded by some racists * In praise of…Alec Baldwin? * Protesters are like racists * Trump and Colorado * Smart people who have come to some strange conclusions on this… * He’s screwing with you. You know that right? * They think you don’t understand policy * Not a lot of loyalty….(plus: a paean to Hope Hicks) * One word: NEW YORK * From Jihad to Lego * A silly list...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * It wasn’t a debate * Moynihan loves islands. Who doesn’t? * University stuff * “Late capitalism” * Walt Disney wasn’t a Nazi * Backfilling history * Massaging numbers * On the Qataris…. * And a bunch of listeners chime in!

* Ron Karenga * Handel’s Messiah and stock portfolio * Musicology is dumb, says Matt * Hip-hop is appropriation and it’s great * Method Man thinks the Stones and Bootsy are the same * The Fall of Minneapolis * The Fifth’s verdict * Some good things, some bad things * Revisiting the Chauvin trial * An 800,000 word reflection from James Bennet * Fanaticism and forgivenness * How is this plagiarist s...

* The editorial board of the Washington Post * What what wrong with the cease fire * On culpability * Can there *be* a negotiated settlement? * Is it really “the occupation”? * That wild 2022 video from Jenin that Moynihan mentioned * You’re going to be defrocked * Being handcuffed by “the Nahkba” * The insane rape conspiracy theories—and why they exist * Are all these people pro-Hamas? * Mrs. Gay...

* We ain’t gonna play Sun City * RIP Shane * George Santos: genius * Gavin v. Ron * Why would you do this, Gavin? * This awful presidential race * Hating WFB * Be friends with and “platform” your political opposites * RIP Kissinger? * Dictatorships and double standards * The forever war with Iran * An awful, awful hostage video * On hostages and peace partners * The future of Gaza This is a public...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * A shooting in the hood * The Oakland Politburo speaks. The world is appalled. * The free speech issue vs. the university infection * Knowing nothing but propaganda * Gaza Facebook is pretty wild * Sir Humphrey says: “This is the most insane answer ever” * What Epstein got right. And you gotta bring Bill Clinton * A...

Family beckons. Booze beckons. So we’re going to forgo the bullet points that we’re pretty sure you don’t read anyway and just say…Happy Thanksgiving, from your friends at the Fifth! And while you shamelessly celebrate genocide, listen along while the lads bemoan the racism of the Black Plague; the deadline to file charges against Kmele; the quote-invention of ChatGPT; the hostage deal in Israel;...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * Javier Milei, tantric drummer * The hideousness of modern Peronism * A brief digression on Aerosmith * So how did we all meet? * Start fighting, Moynihan * Another digression on Sam Altman’s awfulness (two examples now available at Moynihan’s Instagram ) * When Israel decided against killing the entire leadership of...

* Live from Oakland * Sex strikes * Loving OBL * Stop deconstructing stuff * Seeing your friends spinout online… * They’re not sending anyone anywhere * Drunk Kathy Hochul and her bad, drunk ideas * Not drunk Nikki Haley and her bad ideas * Hate speech isn’t a thing in America * Israel and propaganda * MKH on evangelicals, Israel, and the supposed “left behind” vision of Zionism * TikTok you don’t...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * “She’s reasonable in person” (🤔) * In praise of…Estonia * Are any expressly political comedians funny? * Meetings interrupted by death * Listener question: On the 1619 Project * Indonesian guys loves America, nuclear weapons * Family friends with Carlos the Jackal * Israel asks: “Kmele, what should we do?” * Stars...

* One hell of a night, one brutal morning * Kevin Hart kills * Judy Gold and college comedy * The Washington Post says sorry for being mean to Hamas * Be brave, get fired? * There’s been a bunch of recent Islamist attacks in the West, actually * New York City’s hate crimes leader board * The pointless Republican debate * Vivek is the worst (and also was kinda good for three seconds) * Reaganism wi...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * Voting for New York judges (and do you have a spare apartment?) * An unsolicited application * Liz Warren warns about the surge of…. * Is violent anti-Semitism in the U.S. a real threat? * Explain the progressive-Islamist alliance please… * He has become comfortably dumb * No, it’s not really fishy * Defining war, w...

* Happy birthday Kmele * The girls of the IDF * The lads take a wrong turn, end up in “Poundtown” * In fairness, we didn’t know he did a whole segment on this * So Mike Pence dropped out? * That’s some good polling for Bobby Jr. * When innocents die * Nat Turner’s bloody rebellion * Human shields and asymmetry * Kill ‘em all, says Rep. Brian Mast * Political pilgrims for Hamas * Sorry but nothing...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com Along with fellow comedian Ryan Long, Danny Polishchuk is one half of the very funny Boyscast podcast (a favorite of Fifth Column listeners, we are reliably told). Again alongside Ryan Long, Danny is the woke guy in the “When Wokes and Racists Actually Agree on Everything ” video.” And there’s lots of great solo stuff...

* On The Canceling of the American Mind : Cancel Culture Undermines Trust and Threatens Us All―But There Is a Solution. * The youngest Fif’ and Maher guest . * My how times have changed since 9/11 . * The numbers are very, very bad . Bad numbers! * The sudden (and probably temporary) rediscovery of campus neutrality. * Yes, some post-Oct. 7 campus ruckus has been Cancel Culture. * And so, so depre...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * An idiot…He wrote this * Condolences to a friend * What is a war crime? * History wars and war crimes * The worst congresswoman went to the worst law school * In defense of Harvard. Sort of. * Defending Panthers and the exhilaration of murderous anti-Semitism * Why no air raid shelters? * Meir Kahane Krunch * Object...

* Hamas and the hospital * Don’t trust and try to verify * Did Israel “create” Hamas? * When there’s no negotiating partner * America’s role in the Middle East * Enter Iran… * Gauging Palestinian public opinion * A massive media failure * One-way root causes * And much more! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.we...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * Where are you Ben and/or Jerry? * The radicalization of KF * What it means to be “anti-war” * The radicalization of the universities * Other fronts in the war * Israel, its neighbors, and its assassination program (Note: It was not Shamir who was PM during Operation Opera. It was Begin. Moynihan regrets the error) *...

A few weeks before the Hamas pogrom, Moynihan was reading Palestine 1936 : The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict by the brilliant Israeli-American journalist and historian Oren Kessler. So he called him to talk through the current conflict, its historical antecedents, and how Hamas’s murder spree has effected his family. * RIP Tomer Shoham * The nightmare scenario * “This is g...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com (Editor’s note: about 20 seconds of Comrade Lake’s mic is missing at the very beginning of this recording. It fixes itself soon thereafter. Sorry about that) It’s that time of month (…ummmm….time for a rebroadcast of our Second Sunday Zoom call). As you probably already guessed, we managed just one topic of conversati...

* Former Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer is back to talk about his insane friends and erstwhile colleagues on the Hill * Peter’s surprising (to us) view of Rep. Matt Gaetz * “I try to see the best in people” (Hmmmmm….) * The gordian knot of polarization * Peter makes the case for [blank] as Speaker……. * Oh wait, he’s kinda serious! * What do any of these people actually believe ? * “Oh, I mean, there's...