The Fifth Column

Latest Episodes:

188 “On Anti-Racism II w/ Glenn Loury, John McWhorter, Coleman Hughes, Thomas Chatterton Williams” Jun 01, 2020

Show notes

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/121

GUESTS /

Glenn Loury

Professor of the social sciences and economics at Brown University

Thomas Chatterton Williams

Author, "Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race" and "Losing My Cool"

John McWhorter

Professor of Linguistics, Philosophy, and Music at Columbia

Coleman Hughes

Fellow at The Manhattan Institute

Contributing Editor at City Journal

Recorded: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

187 w/ Bari Weiss "Karens in the Ramble, Section 230" May 29, 2020

Show notes

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, 2020

Published: 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

186 w/ Balaji Srinivasan, Conor Friedersdorf - "Predicting Pandemics, Fixing Journalism" May 25, 2020

Show notes

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 Arguments

Recorded: May 14th 2020

Published: 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

185 w/ Ethan Strauss - "What's the Matter With Michael Jordan" May 17, 2020

Show notes

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 Durant

Recorded: May 13th 2020

Published: 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

184 w/ Rep Justin Amash - "The Case for the Spoiler*" May 06, 2020

Show notes

w/ Rep Justin Amash US Congressman (Michigan's 3rd Congressional District) and 2020 Libertarian Presidential Hopeful

U.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 2020

Published: 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

183 w/ Glenn Greenwald - "Pandemic Censorship + Close Encounters" May 02, 2020

Show notes

w/ Glenn Greenwald Co-founding Editor @ The Intercept, Host @ "System Update"

A once in a century pandemic is producing unique and daunting challenges to civil liberties around the world. What are the necessary compromises? Where are the non-negotiable red lines? And what are those mysterious bright lights people have been seeing in the night sky? (The last one is easy: visitors from another galaxy, here to share their advanced technology with us... for a price).

ALSO:

- Avoiding a Hot War w/ Red-China

- COVID in Brazil

- Reading the YouTube Comments

- Logging Onto CompuServe to Own The Conservatives

- A Kinder, Gentler Greenwald

- Russia-Gate Revisited

- Why FISA Was Always Bullshit

- 'Just the Tip' Socialism

Recorded: April 30th 2020

Published May 2nd 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

182 w/ Jonah Goldberg - "President Goop's Ultralight Beam Vaccine" Apr 25, 2020

Show notes

w/ Jonah Goldberg Editor-in-Chief @The Dispatch, Host @ The Remnant Podcast

President Trump has an inspired idea for arresting a global pandemic. It involves ultraviolet rays, disinfectant washes -- and Welch seems convinced that it also has something to do with "butt stuff" -- which, honestly, it wouldn't be the strangest thing you've heard all day.

ALSO:

- Jonah on Political Homelessness

- Define "Prevaricate"

- Presidential Ineptitude and Slothfulness,

- How Shitty Henchmen Keep America Safe

- Why The CDC is So Popular

- Trump Punching is Boring

- The Most Dangerous Debate

- On Tucker Carlson

- The Best Rescue Package

- Georgia: Open for Business (or something)

- Funding Lockdown Protests

- The Limits of Mitigation

Recorded: April 23rd 2020

Published April 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

181 w/ Zaid Jilani, Coleman Hughes "On Pandemic Raceism" Apr 21, 2020

Show notes

Kmele Foster, Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) and Coleman Hughes (@coldxman) discuss the cacophony of concern about blackness+ racism in the midst of a once in a century global pandemic.

"Do COVID-19 Racial Disparities Matter?" - Coleman Hughes

https://quillette.com/2020/04/13/do-covid-19-racial-disparities-matter/

"Don’t Racialize the Pandemic" - Zaid Jilani

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/04/coronavirus-race-fight-pandemic-dont-get-bogged-down-racial-categorization/

Recorded: April 14th 2020

Published April 20th 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

180 w/ Bari Weiss: "We're All Sinologist Now" Apr 17, 2020

Show notes

- Gender Traitors

- Teddy Pendergrass