The Fifth Column

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Robert D. Kaplan on a World Getting Darker (Members Only #320) May 12, 2026

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His next book, China Whisperers (out in November), looks at the diplomats, journalists, scholars, and China hands who shaped America’s understanding, and misunderstanding, of its chief geopolitical rival. But we pretty much cover the entire globe in this conversation.

-The experts had it coming

-Federalists, anti-federalists, and America’s oldest argument

…

Masquerade of Morons (Episode #556) May 07, 2026

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-Kmele gets glasses

-The return of Soho legs

-Matt’s movie-theater race science

-Trump sends a letter to Congress saying the war is over, Iran says, “wtf?”

-Little Marco, Fog of War correspondent

-A very leaky White House

-Strange new respect for the anti-war MAGA set

-Little Marco puts the best face on Iran

-Welch discovers gas prices

-The affordability caucus …

Premeditated Fingering w/ Anthony Scaramucci (Members Only #319) May 05, 2026

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We’re joined by Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital, former White House Communications Director, and one of the more memorable casualties of Trump 1.0

-The Mooch reads the stars

-The truth is out there, allegedly

-954,000 seconds in the White House

-The Ryan Lizza thing, briefly

-the reason God made Steve Bannon look like this

-Why Bannon scared …

David French on the Supreme Court, Race, and the Miracle That Confirmed His Faith #555 Apr 30, 2026

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…and how raising a black daughter changed the way he sees America.

-David French returns to the Fifth Column

-SCOTUS drops of a few ruling

-Free speech wins 9-0 (First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Davenport)

-The Voting Rights Act gets another trim (Louisiana v. Callais)

-Racial gerrymanders vs. political gerrymanders

-Smart racists, dumb racists, and …

Crimes of Boredom (Members Only #318) Apr 28, 2026

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After the failed shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the boys sift through bad manifestos, assassination discourse, microlooting, conspiracy politics, and the strange moral permissions of America’s bored radicals.

-Matt’s 15-year Werner Herzog hangover workshop

-judging the newest failed killer manifesto

-America’s stupidest assassination d…

Tucker, Totenkopf, and the Fascist Question w/ Michelle Goldberg #554 Apr 23, 2026

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-have we met before, or did we just share a zip code?

-Iran is a disaster from basically every possible angle

-you don’t go to war with this president

-maybe just crawl back to a worse JCPOA and call it historic

-Venezuela “worked,” which is exactly why it made the next disaster easier

-take the oil, burn the soft power, call it realism

-Europe gets lectured,…

Live From Village Underground: The 10th Anniversary Show w/Ryan Long (Members Only #317) Apr 22, 2026

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Comedian Ryan Long stops by to join the guys at their very special 10th year anniversary. A few live mics, a non-stop flow of mystery drinks, and audience participation: what could go wrong?

-10 years later, the grievance ledger is still very much active

-Brett Weinstein cannot think his way back from the moon

-Andrew Schulz proves the real mistake was le…

Audience of One w/ Brian Kilmeade (Members Only #316) Apr 21, 2026

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The border, the bombs, and can you guess how many Baldwins there are?

-up at 2:30am, in by 4am, then 6 straight on-air hours before the fill-in shift even starts

-Glenn Beck saved 5pm and accidentally birthed The Five

-Fox News finally discovered the internet

-2020 was insane and everyone got dumber

-if the facts change every ten minutes, your monologue pro…

Nothing is Impossible w/ Mark Harmon (Members Only #315) Apr 16, 2026

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He has spent a lifetime around fame, a heroic father, football mythology, and old Hollywood… and somehow still comes off like the calmest guy in the room.

-Steve McQueen and a Mini Cooper

-what Carl Reiner was really like, and why Summer School still rules

-growing up with Tom Harmon: Heisman winner, broadcaster, fighter pilot, legend

-the war story Mark on…

A Blockade of the Blockade #553 Apr 15, 2026

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-Where have ye gone Chris Matthews?

-California’s governor race is a freak show (Fang Fang rides again)

-Bring Kevin Spacey to the table?

-Barney Frank, Ted Kennedy, and different standards

-The anti-gambling jihad