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

Episode 171 w/ Jesse Singal "Biden's Ebony Firewall, No BBQ Sauce in American Dirt" 13.02.2020

Description: - Black History Month - There's no Barbecue Sauce in American Dirt - Believe Some Death Threats, Leverage Others - Oscar Obsession (Beautiful Mind Edition) - Yang Dead Is Dead, Long Live Yang Gang - Bernie's Ceiling, Biden's Ebony Firewall - A SHOCKING Presidential Endorsement - Bloomberg's Stop + Frisk Memory Hole - ADL: "White Supremacy is On The Rise!" Recorded: February 12th, 2020...

UNLOCKED - Patreon Dispatch #8 🎁 08.02.2020

The last time we did this, we said don't get used to it . Well, we meant it. But we're also feeling overly generous. So here is last week's Patreon-only dispatch, featuring Moynihan and Kmele. You're welcome. -------- Kmele and Moynihan are back in Williamsburg drinking bad wine and talking shit...while trying to figure out why Welch isn't returning anyone's calls.  Moynihan returns to Iowa and re...

Episode 170: "Trump’s Best Week Ever, Iowa Pile Up" 06.02.2020

Description: - Kmele's Inner MAGA - State of the Union Theatrics - “Oh, God -- Fire the Media!” - "The Big Lie" (and other nonsense) - Mitt Romney’s Moment - Trump’s Criminal Justice Reform - Iowa Fiasco - Waiting for Bernie to Turn on MSNBC - Preview of Upcoming Patreon Episodes Recorded: February 5th, 2020 Released: February 6th, 2020 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Th...

Episode 169: "I'm so sorry this is happening to YOU" 30.01.2020

Description: - When the mob came for the Fifth - Hong Kong: Proto Police State - The Democratic Field - Bernie's Got a Shot, The Joe Rogan Bounce - Criminalizing Disinformation - Watching Lou Dobbs - Fearing the Bern - Truthy Skepticism - An Impeachment Drive-By - Eli on the FBI - Some Idiot Wrote This (and this... and this...) Recorded: January 29, 2020 Released: January 30, 2020 See acast.com/pr...

Episode 168 w/ Miriam Elder: "Does Anything Matter Anymore?" 18.01.2020

GUEST: Miriam Elder, senior political reporter for BuzzFeed News and former Russia correspondent for The Guardian. ( @MiriamElder ) DESCRIPTION: Our fake bios Miriam's seven years in Moscow Get Shorty, Alex Jones, and the D-list bullshit artists Matt’s Russophobia isn’t as bad as MSNBC’s Political theater provides cover to Putin’s authoritarianism  Moynihan and Elder throw down over Bernie's alleg...

Episode 167 w/ Noah Rothman “ The Case for F*ckin Iran Right Up” 08.01.2020

GUEST: Noah Rothman Associate Editor@ Commentary -- Contributor @ MSNBC/NBC News Author: “Unjust: Social Justice and the Unmaking of America” (Jan 2019) DESCRIPTION: - Why the Washington Bullets became the Wizard  - Bomb Iran? - Will Americans ever support another Middle East War again? - International commerce —> global middle class —> less war - Trump thinks China should police the Strait...

Episode 166: “Buttigieg Loves Drugs, Soleimani Canceled, Media Malpractice” 03.01.2020

DESCRIPTION: - Neighborhood Watch - Moynihan’s Anti-Brit Streak - Bernie’s Fundraising Clout - Ron Paul’s Newsletters and Everlasting Ice Cream - Buttigieg Wants to Decriminalize All Drugs - Iran’s Quds Force commander Soleiman Killed in Iraq - Media Malpractice on Vaping - Chuck Todd's Fake News special - About That Memo Recorded: January 2, 2020 Published: January 3, 2020 See acast.com/privacy f...

UNLOCKED - Patreon Dispatch #4 🎁 25.12.2019

Happy Kwanza -- We've UNLOCKED a Patreon Only dispatch just for you (and everyone else)! Enjoy it, but don't get used to it. The Williamsburg Tapes (Dispatch #4) "Losing Our Religion" DESCRIPTION It's a pre-Christmas miracle! The Fifth Columnists are back at the stammtisch (stupid table) in Williamsburg for a long-ass special dispatch, mostly discussing things distant from the news cycle. Kmele wa...

165 w/Conor Friedersdorf “Mayhem in Jersey City, Foreign Affairs, Gesture Politics” 18.12.2019

GUEST: Conor Friedersdorf Staff Writer @  The Atlantic DESCRIPTION: - Patreon-only Preview - Chapo Trap vs Conor - An Underreported Attack in Jersey City - Afghanistan Mea Culpa - Something About Impeachment - Reauthorize Every War, Every Year - Biden, Dove of the Obama Administration - Complicated Brexit voters - Gesture politics - The Paternalism of Blooombergism - The Pronoun Talk - Civility, W...

164 "UK Elections, Afghan Papers, Prophylactic Impeachment" 14.12.2019

Description:  - Kmele’s Dog Ate His Own Tail - Debunking mediums and magicians - UK elections, the problem with Jeremy Corbyn - WaPo’s “Afghanistan Papers” - IG report and the FBI's no-good, very bad behavior - Mispronouncing Nunes - Acela Wars - Greta Thunberg: Person of the Year - The case against Welches Case Against Impeachment Recorded: December 12, 2019 Published: December 14, 2019 See acast...

163 "Kamala Quits, NATO Splinters, Impeachments for All" 08.12.2019

Description:  - [ GRRT, BAOW ] - Dragonball Z - Kamala Drops Out, A Narrative Quickly Take Shape - A De-platforming in South Bend - 1619 and Historical Skepticism - Are the Democratic Primaries Racist? (Can We Call It Seeding or Naw?) - A Farewell to NATO? And the WTO? And the EU too? - "Impeachment", The Board Game - "The Irishman", A Review Recorded: December 6, 2019 Published: December 8, 2019...

162 w/ Errol Morris "Steve Bannon, American Dharmam" 30.11.2019

The director of classic documentaries "The Thin Blue Line," "Fog of War," and "Standard Operation Procedure," Errol Morris has long been the doyen of critics...until he made "American Dharma," a film exploring the worldview and influence of former Breitbart boss and Trump campaign chief executive Steve Bannon. Predictably, Morris was accused of "platforming" Bannon and, for the first time in his c...

161 "Unimpeachably Guilty, ILoveFiona, Democratic Debate" 24.11.2019

Description: - Trumpian Slam Poetry ("I Want Nothing!") - Got a Thing for Fiona Hill - Blue Pill Confessional - Burisma Biden - The Good, The Bad, and The Career Diplomats  - Weird John Bolton Tweets - The Wrestle Mania Impeachment - Sacha Baron vs Facebook, Borat as Proto-Hate Speech - Grading the Democratic Debate - Spiking the Kaepernick - About that Patreon Recorded: November 22nd 2019 Publish...

160 "Pub Hopping, Impeachment Hearings, Roger Stone Goes down" 18.11.2019

- Who Shot Ya? (Tupac, Biggie) - Moynihan Drinks w/ Trump Supporters in Bay Ridge - Buttigieg - Impeachment Hearings - Devin Nunes’ Garbage Clown Schtick - Roger Stone Goes Down - What Happened to Rudy Giuliani? - Stealing Land in Texas, Pardoning War Criminals - Patreon Launche ( https://www.patreon.com/wethefifth ) Recorded: November 15th 2019 Published: November 17th 2019 See acast.com/privacy...

159 - w/ Bari Weiss "How to Fight Anti-Semitism, Shifting Political Baggage" 09.11.2019

Recorded: November 6th 2019 Published: November 9th 2019 GUEST: Bari Weiss Op-Ed Staff Editor and Writer @ The New York Times Author, "How to Fight Anti-Semitism" (2019) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. 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

158 - w/ Thomas Chatterton Williams "Unlearning Race" 31.10.2019

Recorded: October 20th 2019 Published: October 31st 2019 GUEST: Thomas Chatterton Williams Author, "Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race" (2019) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. 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

157 - w/ Meghan Daum "The Problem With Everything" 23.10.2019

Recorded: October 18th 2019 Published: October 22nd 2019 GUEST: Meghan Daum Author, "The Problem With Everything" (2019) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. 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

156 - w/ Walt Hickey "China Cancels the NBA, Trump Cancels the Kurds" 11.10.2019

Recorded: October 9th 2019 Published: October 10th 2019 GUEST: Walt Hickey, Senior Editor for Data @ Insider Founder @ Numlock News newsletter See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. 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

155 - "Unforgivable, The Swampiest Swamp, DC Star Wars Bar" 04.10.2019

- Picking fights in restaurants - Botham Jean's brother forgives Amber Guyger for murdering his brother. And that's a problem.  - Forgiveness vs. MORE HARSH SENTENCING - Ukraine/Trump  - Matt lacks the Xi-spot to laugh  - Trump’s Afghanistan policy is a photo of ladies in pants  - Base familial corruption - Swampier than the swamp - We've been had (if we're Obama or Trump supporters) - Obama’s Jon...

154 - "Still Teflon Don, Moynihan's Emmy, Vaping Panic" 27.09.2019

- Moynihan won an Emmy - #EmmysSoWhite - "Some saw..." - Films Don't Matter - Xenophobic Immigrants - Biden, Trump, Ukraine - Will He Be Impeached ? Maybe…And No - It's Greta Thunberg's World - The Vaping Muslim Ban - Rashida Tlaib's Science of Smoking - Tweet Dumpster Diving - “Cancel Culture is A Myth” Recorded: September 26, 2019 Published: September 27th 2019 See acast.com/privacy for privacy...

153 - "Moderate Chic, NYT's Kavanaugh Follies, Our Pal Corn Pop" 19.09.2019

- The “moderate chic” party - RIP Emmet O’Lunney’s - Brett Kavanaugh *Allegation(s)* - College campuses in the 1980s was all about apartheid - Moynihan’s Foggy Memory, and Everyone’s - John Bolton, Out - Obama’s Apology Tour and Trump’s Chomsky Impression - Kmele’s Worried about Iranian escalation  - Joe BIden’s "Corn Pop" Story: Fact Check=True - George Packer’s Atlantic Piece on Schools - Cancel...

152 - w/ Steve Kornacki "Straight News, Political Tribalism, Chappell's Sticks & Stones" 07.09.2019

Recorded: September 4th 2019 Published: September 7th 2019 Guest: Steve Kornacki, National Political Correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC. Author of "The Red and the Blue: The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism" - RIP, Vice News Tonight on HBO - Everybody kinda likes Joe Walsh - The "Straight Man" on MSNBC - New Jersey politics is so much more fun than national politics - Kamala Harris cha...

151 - "That 1619 Project, Liturgical Journalism, The Batshit Presidency" 26.08.2019

- Ladies Libertarianing - The Segregation of Everything - The 1619 Project: “Everything that makes America exceptional is because of slavery” - NHJ: “We’re the MOST American” - Trump: “I hereby order…” - Dual Loyalty (and cascading stupidity) - David Koch, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter - Park Slope Socialists Recorded: August 23rd 2019 Published: August 26th 2019 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and o...

150 - "Churn-alism, The Epstein Suicide (?), Effective Conspiracy Mongering" 18.08.2019

Welch, Moynihan, and Kmele are all in the same room for the first time in more than a month -- and it's a glorious reunion. Recorded: August 16th 2019 Published: August 18th 2019 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. 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

149 - w/ Jon Ronson "Porn Stars, Psychopaths, Cancel Culture" 02.08.2019

In this Special Dispatch, Michael Moynihan sits down with legendary journalist, author, and documentarian -- Jon Ronson. They discuss some of Ronson's most celebrated books, his fabulous new podcasts exploring the porn industry ("The Butterfly Effect", "The Last Days of August"), and his penchant for pissing off Alex Jones. Jon Ronson's Books Include: "Them" (2001) "The Men Who Stare at Goats" (20...

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