Moynihan is out with a “tooth thing” (which sounds lame, but is allegedly a “painful,” “very serious” dental emergency that definitely doesn't involve a tall, attractive blonde woman). Fortunately, our pal Jesse Singal (Blocked and Reported, Singal-Minded) is along for the ride, and outlines the plans for his heroic crusade to save THE REPUBLIC by beefing with JD Vance on X. We dive into Trump 2.0’s extra-constitutional improvisations, fail to steer clear of trade policy, and search desperately for a silver lining in our late-capitalist, national-populist, increasingly surrealist Idiocracy. Also in the mix: a little Elon drama, libertarian coping strategies, various flavors of executive branch lawlessness, and a surprising outbreak of informed optimism about the future.
* Tooth decay, high-end prostitutes, and podcast logistics
* Jesse Singal enters the chat (possibly still mid–Twitter beef)
* Deportation by executive vibe
* Due process is for losers
* When JD Met Jesse: A Very Sexy Love Story (by Selena Montgomery)
* The most important internet slap-fight in American history
* Hotel El Salvador: now accepting unwanted Americans
* Bannon’s “flood the zone” plan meets sheer incompetence
* Shouting at Bill Hemmer
* Campus protests, free speech, and DHS interns with tasers
* Jesse accidentally agrees with libertarians?
* And can Jesse say one nice thing about JD Vance? (And, “Thank you”!?)
* To the Moon, and Mars, and WHERE ELSE BEYOND
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