The Fifth Column

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When Political Violence Has the Right Enemies w/ Noah Rothman (Members Only #326) Jun 05, 2026

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com

Noah’s new book is Blood and Progress… not to be confused with “Blood and Soil,” a phrase Moynihan has been muttering to himself around the office.

-A book squarely in the TFC wheelhouse

-The teens, the twenties, the sixties, the seventies, and now

-The forgotten history of left-wing violence

-Italian anarchists and “propaganda of the deed”

-Is Noah handwavi…

Populism for Morons, Journalism for Martyrs (Episode #560) Jun 03, 2026

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-a dog is on set and Kmele should be wearing a helmet

-Bernie Sanders wants to collectivize AI

-The boys bask in the warmth of collectivism

-Never trust a politician giving something back to “the people”

-The centrist Democrat goes missing

-It’s still a Nazi tattoo, goddammit

-Character is out. Winning is in

-Andy the Ogre Ogles has thoughts on the gays and Ted Cruz answers the question and keeps walking

-A few more problems for the Oyster Man from Maine

-Welch was the victim of a French flag hate crime

-Speaking of Nazis, let’s talk about Bari Weiss

-Scott Pelley defends democracy from the new guy and privileged peacocking at CBS

-Ali Velshi feels weird about America’s birthday

-Defending America through the Bob Crane story

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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

Senator Chris Murphy Wants You to Join a Cult (Members Only #325) May 31, 2026

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com

Chris Murphy’s book, Crisis of the Common Good, is out now

-Murphy opens his book by dunking on his son’s NHL prospects

-Pitching the common good

-Trump is not the disease. He’s the symptom

-Buy more stuff, feel worse, repeat until democracy collapses

-Kids, phones and the algorithmic hell machine

-Congress wants to regulate tech. Congress may want to log on first

-Can In…

A Great Nation in Decline Welcomes Australia’s Finest w/ Josh Szeps (Members Only #324) May 29, 2026

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com

Be sure to check out Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps, Australia’s greatest podcaster and interviewer, which apparently counts.

-90 minutes of Kmele cleaning his glasses

-Josh is on drugs now

-RIP Jack Karlson, hero of democracy manifest

-we will be referring to limp penis throughout this show

-Erect until the end

-Kmele doesn’t really know the Beach Boys

-Who is the best Australian to ever …

Ben Rhodes and the Evil Empire State of Mind (#559) May 27, 2026

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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

Check out Ben Rhodes new book: All We Say: The Battle for American Identity: A History in 15 Speeches

-Ben Rhodes, wounded ’90s Knicks fan

-Are we winning in Iran yet?

-what should the President do with Iran right now?

-Sanctions suck, mostly

-Cuba and the Obama opening

-Libya and the regime-change trap

-Kosovo worked-ish

-Responsibility to protect yourself from over-learning lessons

-Rhodes wants institutions, not impulse wars

-Is Ben Rhodes Tucker-adjacent?

-Soft power, hard questions

-Navalny didn’t want America’s money

-When Reagan said “Evil Empire”

-Reagan also change his mind

-Moynihan accuses Rhodes of America pessimism

-Ben says it’s because he loves America

-Private equity killed the vibes

-Nostalgia-nomics

-The left-populist temptation

-JD Vance talks pretty

-National identity without a monoculture

-Ben Franklin and the virtue of doubt

-Experts are annoying but sometimes useful

Read All We Say: The Battle for American Identity: A History in 15 Speeches

(Bookshop | Amazon)

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Why'd You Gag Me, Preet Bharara! (Members Only #323) May 25, 2026

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com

The podcast is called Stay Tuned with Preet, andif you find yourself wanting more legal analysis from someone who knows the system from the inside and still has a sense of humor about it.

-Trump 2.0 & the frictionless DoJ

-The one thing Jeff Sessions did right

-Even Bill Barr had his limits

-Why do smart lawyers follow stupid instructions?

-You don’t have to win to scare people

…

TFC LIVE in DC at w/ Lulu Garcia-Navarro & Robby Soave - Members Only #322 May 24, 2026

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com

After 10 years of doing this podcast, this week we had our first ever DC show at the Miracle Theatre on Capitol Hill. We were joined onstage by Robby Soave of Reason, and Lulu Garcia-Navarro of The New York Times’ The Interview. Join us as we wax nostalgic about the city we love to hate, and so much more.

•The Curse of The Fifth

•Thomas Massie takes the L

…

Matt Yglesias on Cancellation, Mamdani, and the AI Panic (Members Only #321) May 22, 2026

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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com

Matthew Yglesias is a liberal policy writer and longtime blogger. He co-founded Vox, now writes the Slow Boring newsletter, and is known for wonky-but-readable takes on housing, economics, Democratic politics, foreign policy, and the abundance agenda.

-Matty finally makes it through the firewall

-What type of gay is Kmele?

-Yglesias says Welch gave him his career

-Substack’s right-wi…

The Youngest Guy in the Worst Room in America w/ Rep. Maxwell Frost (Episode #558) May 20, 2026

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We talk about broken housing markets, broken healthcare, broken Congress, Trump’s corruption, a broken Cuba, Epstein, UAPs, and the tragedy of being a drummer with no place to practice.

-Making music is for rich kids now

-From jazz drummer to Hillary field organizer

-Sandy Hook, March for Our Lives, and the road into politics

-Florida’s felon disenfranchisement fight

-Guns, swamps, Confederate flags, and talking to people who don’t like you

-Florida’s politics are red… its ballot issues are a lot messier.

-Gaining political power is easy. Keeping it is the hard part.

-The case for going big, whether Congress likes it or not

-Housing abundance, rent hikes, and the great pet-fee wars

-Donald Trump’s extremely lucrative career in public service

-Biden’s DOJ, Brazil’s crackdown, and the problem with accountability theater

-Political violence, Trump’s rhetoric, and blaming the victim