Kmele Foster, Michael Moynihan, and Matt Welch

The Fifth Column

News EN ↓ 676 episodes

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

Author

Kmele Foster, Michael Moynihan, and Matt Welch

Category

News

Podcast website

www.wethefifth.com

Latest episode

Jul 10, 2026

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Episodes

Members Only #214 - Sunday *Bloody* Sunday 26.06.2024

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com Every second Sunday of the month, the lads fire up Zoom and do a (mostly) Q&A show for subscribers only. It’s very fun, often a bit messy and chaotic, and full of listeners expressing love, disbelief, dismay, and often delivering Strom Thurmond- like filibusters. So for you subscribers who couldn’t make it on June 9,...

Members Only #213 - I Don't Know About Y'all... 24.06.2024

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * Imagine if Bill Cosby was an Islamophobic dog * Cringefest in the Bronx * Jamal and AOC * Sleeve rolled up, stool in hand, unemployment on the horizon * AIPAC is everywhere! * Violent psycho extremists for peace * The war won’t end until Jake Tapper’s kids are properly harassed * Shift back to the center, Dems * Lay...

#460 - The Return of Ol' Icy Balls 21.06.2024

After a very brief hiatus—apologies, but all is explained in the first five minutes of this episode—the lads are back. And there will be a flood of new content in the coming days, to make up for our testicular tardiness (also explained in the first five minutes of this episode). Also note: this episode was plagued by technical difficulties, but we hope, through the magic of editing, that you won’t...

#459 - The Horns of Hamas / Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (w/ Olivia Reingold) 14.06.2024

* Getting Drudged * Getting the spray * This new color isn’t working * Olivia amongst the Hamasniks in Union Square * Tearing up notebooks, airhorns in the ear…stuck in the middle of a protest * Hey hey ho ho shitty chants have got to go * Did any journalists reach out? * What if this was a Trump rally? * Legally blonde * You’ll be in a Trump camp * “Racial conspiracy theories” * I mean, you gotta...

#458 - Free Everyone! Support No One! 06.06.2024

* Some unpopular opinions * Raise your hand if you’ve ever lied to the government * Fetterman and Real Time * Are you *addicted* to Marijuana??? * Who are the victims here? * Excessive sentencing is bad, even for bad people * Victims: Alex Jones? Hunter Biden? DJT??? * Biden is totally fine and thinking otherwise is the end of democracy * Joe Scarborough is the worst * Let’s all pretend that every...

Members Only #212 - Whatever It Is, I’m Against It (Spaceships and Boobies) 03.06.2024

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * No matter what it is or who commenced it … * MAGA Hawaii * Inflatable gallows * The eye of the horrible Stormy * It’s a bird! It’s a Qassam! No…it’s the Blonde Zionist! * Dronez: The Hunt for El Chigon * Listener email: Working class kid makes good. Will his kids go soft? * Your kids want to be rich * Back in my day...

#457 - The Witch Trials of Alvin Bragg, The End of Vice, The Beginning of Reflector (w/ Matt Boll & Andy Mills) 30.05.2024

A double-album worth of great content this week. Start off with Moynihan talking to Matt and Kmele about his Free Press piece charting the collapse of Vice and him forthcoming piece charting the collapse of the Black Panther Party. Then the lads chat about the weirdness of the New York Trump trial, Israel in Rafah, and lots more. And stick around for Kmele’s conversation with the Lennon-McCartney,...

Members Only #211 - The Ann Landers Edition 28.05.2024

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * The LP snoozer * Remembering that lady who said that gross thing about kids * You will never play in the NBA, baby * Zone of Interest redux, briefly * The Ann Landers portion begins * Should I stop being an academic and become a cop who lurks on dating apps? * The anti-Semitic date * I can’t be brave and call bullsh...

#456 - Hoops, Sneks, and Very Bad Doctors (w/ Aaron Sibarium) 24.05.2024

* The most serious race controversy of 2024: that lady basketball player * “I mean, I've been a huge fan of Blackpink for years and I've never heard a single one of their songs.: * Snek and the Supreme Court * Everyone's wife is Ginny Thoma * The defense rests * Local news and crappy journalists * In defense of…Marilyn Mosby? * Israel and the ICC * Enter Sibarium: the UCLA Medical School controver...

#455 - Debate Me, Joe 18.05.2024

* At a party * At Fenway * Losers (which is apparently already a show) * Jake, Dana, Donald, and Joe * Cui bono? * How Joe wins * How Donald wins * The NY trial continues… * Mitt Romney would pardon DT * “Attacked our legal system” * The new Noem * Post-Donald, where does the party go? * How goes it in Ukraine? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get a...

Members Only #210 - Odds, Bobs, Feminist Bank Tellers, and the Records That Changed Us 14.05.2024

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * Italian bootlegs * Warm Fanta * Drinking on your European vacation * The Comfort of Strangers * Pre-internet travel * Jake Siegel: a moderate dissent…and Fifth reaction * Probability and the feminist bank teller * What happens when people call you bad names in public * 9 times out of 10, they were rapping * Awful me...

#454 - A Conspiracy So Vast (w/ Jacob Siegel) 09.05.2024

So many of you have written us demanding the return of Jacob Siegel that when word got to us that he was back in New York, we hunted him down and demanded that he submit to a *third* appearance on The Fifth . We discovered that Comrade Siegel, a gravelly voiced veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq and senior writer at Tablet, is hard at work on a book, an expansion of his already expansive essay “A Gui...

Members Only #209 - Rotten (and Racist) in Denmark 06.05.2024

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * Shogun erasure * Revolutionary accents * A debate on Israel and a subsequent anti-Moynihan calumny * Alas, anti-Semitism is common in certain parts of the world * Pointing this out seems pretty obvious * The WAV file * My melanated baby * Teaching kids versus raising kids * Indoctrinating someone else’s kids into yo...

#453 - No Step on Snek 03.05.2024

* Children of the revolution * No journalists allowed! * The Italian Gadsden flag * Oh no, Matt Welch…no, no, no * In defense of …Al Sharpton? * Dead soul singers * The great Baby Huey * Forgiving student debt is insane * College is dumb but it makes economic sense…for now * The New York Times and NPR * Jihad rehab * Twitter welcomes another sexless fascist This is a public episode. If you'd like...

Members Only #208 - Bananas Foster 30.04.2024

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * The Banana genocide * Professor, professor…let’s stick to the facts * A conspiracy documentary full of cranks and losers * 60 journalism professors find a story they cannot countenance * Listeners on ADHD and Adderall * RFK in CA * Nodding along with Lemon * How to talk to an Auschwitz survivor * The trickiness of m...

#452 - The Strawberry Statement 2024 / The Eternal Adderall Shortage (w/ C.J. Ciaramella) 25.04.2024

A two-for-one offering from The Fifth: first, the lads discuss the ongoing student stupidities, free speech and protest, Kmele at TED, and how your views are probably pretty normal (ed. note: considering the full-court coverage of the Columbia intifada, it’s sort of surprising that no one is referencing this terrible 1970 film , written by Ad-Roc’s dad). And then, some bonus content with Reason’s...

Members Only #207 - Columbia Breakdown: Next Stop Baader Meinhof? 22.04.2024

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com * Swedish breakdown * Columbia breakdown * The continued rise of American extremism * The politics of “genocide” * The politics of propaganda * Chicago expectations * A newborn in the Fifdom * Our Batya episode * Trusting anti-trust? * The NPR excel spreadsheet * Books on McCarthy * Three best presidents? * The Waterg...

#451 - The Battle of Batya (w/ Batya Ungar-Sargon) 19.04.2024

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....

#450 - Republican Wine Moms and a Dead Double Murderer 13.04.2024

* 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...

Members Only #206 - Hitting From the Ladies' Tee 08.04.2024

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!

#449 - The Prince of Tide Pools (w/ Andrew Sullivan) 04.04.2024

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...

Members Only #205 - Almost Lost, Unfortunately Found 02.04.2024

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...

#448 - A Hot Mess (w/ Kat Rosenfield) 29.03.2024

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...

#447 - Sour Lemon and the Blood Libels 19.03.2024

* 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...

Members Only #204 - Amplification Accusation: The Dumbest Debate Ever? 18.03.2024

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...

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