

The Fifth Column
Kmele Foster, Michael Moynihan, and Matt Welch
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
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 1, 2020 • 2h 17min
193 w/ Jacob Siegel "Why We Need the NYT, The New Truth"
w/ Jacob Siegel, Senior Writer @ Tablet"The New Truth" (June 22nd 2020)https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/new-truth-rationalism-religion"Journalists Abandoning 'Objectivity' for 'Moral Clarity' Really Just Want To Call People Immoral" (6/24/2020)https://reason.com/2020/06/24/journalists-abandoning-objectivity-for-moral-clarity-really-just-want-to-call-people-immoral/- The Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez of Journalism- The Great Fireworks Conspiracy (continued)- The NYT Slack- All The Smoke- The New Truth- Rhetorically Invincible- White Fragility, The Message of the Cross- Moral Clarity- World Heritage Sites- The Wages of Sin- Ethical JournalismRecorded: June 25, 2020Published: July 1, 2020 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

Jun 25, 2020 • 1h 39min
192 w/ Jane Coaston "One Night In Tulsa, A Fool Proof Plan"
w/ Jane Coaston, Senior Politics Reporter @ VoxSome Sports StuffTickTock SwiftboatsTulsaTrumps PartyWhat Comes NextImmigration + VisasThe Coaston PlanMore Black Lives Matter TalkBut What About....Unbundling the PoliceLiking the Neighborhood Cops Recorded: June 23, 2020Published: June 25, 2020 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

Jun 17, 2020 • 2h 16min
191 w/ David French "American Racism, SCOUTS Stuff, Qualified Immunity"
w/ David French, Senior Editor @ The Dispatch and Columnist @ TimeHelp With Your Down Payment?A Busy Day For SCOTUS2A, Qualified Immunity (Part I), Expanding Civil RightsThought CrimesOn Racism (and Anti Racism)The Worst Dinner PartyThe Censorship ImpulseGone With the Wind, Song of the SouthThe Lost Cause... Myth?What Northerners Really WantStill in Love w/ Daisy DukeAnti-racism Must Be Anti-raceWalk Humbly, Seek Justice, See the Humanity in Your OpsQualified Immunity (Part II) -- Why Qualified Immunity MattersRecorded: June 15, 2020Published: June 16, 2020 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

Jun 12, 2020 • 1h 37min
190 w/ Olivia Nuzzi " Insiders Guide to 2020, Defunding the Fuzz"
w/ Olivia Nuzzi, Washington Correspondent @ New York MagazineAn Unprecedented MovementDefunding the Police... Or Just Abolishing ThemCanceling Most Things, Razing The RestMoral Clarity in the News RoomTrump on the Campaign Trail, Biden's StrengthsWhy Trump and Rudy Can't Stop Talking to NuzziRecorded: June 10, 2020Published: June 12, 2020 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

Jun 6, 2020 • 2h 7min
189 "A Pandemic, A Civil War, A Great Awokining "
A Brief History of Right NowPunk PoliceIt Might Actually Be LegalBlack on Black on BlackBending the KneeNYT Civil WarEssentialism in PracticeLaw & OrderPassoverMLK on RiotsRecorded:6/4/2020Published: 6/6/2020 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

Jun 1, 2020 • 1h 37min
188 “On Anti-Racism II w/ Glenn Loury, John McWhorter, Coleman Hughes, Thomas Chatterton Williams”
Kmele facilitates a follow-up conversation on race, racism, and anti-racism -- this time, in the midst of a global pandemic and increasing social unrest. You can find the first installment in this series of conversations here: http://wethefifth.com/episodes/121GUESTS /Glenn LouryProfessor of the social sciences and economics at Brown UniversityThomas Chatterton WilliamsAuthor, "Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race" and "Losing My Cool" John McWhorterProfessor of Linguistics, Philosophy, and Music at ColumbiaColeman HughesFellow at The Manhattan InstituteContributing Editor at City JournalRecorded:5/22/2020 Published: 6/1/2020 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

May 29, 2020 • 1h 59min
187 w/ Bari Weiss "Karens in the Ramble, Section 230"
She wrote a column in the New York Times. She failed to mention her favorite podcast. She mentioned other podcasts. She texted us asking if she could come on the show to apologize. We agreed. Bari Weiss, the genial and gentle bête noire of woke culture, is back...hat in hand, asking for Fifth forgiveness. But she sticks around to discuss lots of other stuff:- We are all Stasi agents now- You're both Karens!- A murder in Minneapolis- Whose more powerful? Jack Dorsey or one of your senators?- Should corporations be fact-checking politicians?- Matt explains Section 230- Moynihan rants about journalists being annoying- A guest appearance from Nellie Bowles- A really bad piece about white people and spices- Kmele squeezes in some China/Hong Kong talk- And some good news from Spencer!Recorded: May 27, 2020Published: May 28, 2020 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

May 25, 2020 • 1h 33min
186 w/ Balaji Srinivasan, Conor Friedersdorf - "Predicting Pandemics, Fixing Journalism"
Balaji Srinivasan (@balajis) Investor + Entrepreneur, Former CTO @ Coinbase, Partner @ Andreessen Horowitz Conor Friedersdorf (@conor64)Staff Writer at The Atlantic, Founding Editor of The Best of Journalism- How Startups Think About Failure + Survival - Pandemics, Panics, and Journalistic Incentives- Forging Societal Truth - Why the US Failed to Take COVID Seriously- Why Journalist Hate The Valley- Believing Half of What You Read- Epistemology Algorithms - A Feature Set for Fixing Journalism - Looser ArgumentsRecorded: May 14th 2020Published: May 25th 2020 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

May 17, 2020 • 1h 31min
185 w/ Ethan Strauss - "What's the Matter With Michael Jordan"
w/ Ethan Strauss Writer @ Athletic, Author "The Victory Machine: The Making and Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty" (2020)- Getting Political- NBA vs China- Bad Deals and Bad Economics- The Incomparable Michael Jordan- 'What is Best In Life'- Resuming the NBA Season- Pissing off Kevin DurantRecorded: May 13th 2020Published: May 17th 2020 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

May 6, 2020 • 1h 7min
184 w/ Rep Justin Amash - "The Case for the Spoiler*"
w/ Rep Justin Amash US Congressman (Michigan's 3rd Congressional District) and 2020 Libertarian Presidential HopefulU.S. Representative for Michigan's 3rd congressional district since 2011, and currently serving as the first Libertarian Party member of Congress. Amash diagnoses what's wrong with America's politics, parties, and legislative process. And he makes the case for why he's ideally well suited to fix.Recorded: May 4th 2020Published: May 6th 2020 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