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
Chart trend
Position in the News chart (US), last 90 days.
#1#99#196JunJulAugSep
#75
all-time peak
12
days in the top 100 since Nov 2024
Latest episodes
Showing 20 · updated from the feed
The Things We Thought After 9/11 (#574)
#49 trending · News
-RIP Andrew Wimsatt, a true friend of the show and beloved member of the Fifth Column community
-And in lighter news, it’s the 25th anniversary of 9/11
-Trump’s 9/11 st
Sep 11 1 h 30 min
The Department Formerly Known as Justice (w/ Devlin Barrett) MO 343
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com
As well as Epstein, and the conspiracy theories that refuse to die
-the most famous per
Sep 9 16 min
Conspiracy Theories Never Die (w/ James B. Meigs) #573
Jim is a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a Wall Street Journal columnist
-The tractor beam of sexuality
-James B. Meigs is here
-Tucker Carlson is just as
Sep 4 1 h 38 min
It Was All Just a Joke (Members Only #342)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com
Look who decided to come back for this episode! (for the visually impaired, it’s the one
Sep 2 15 min
Canada Calls Trump’s Bluff (#572)
Holy shit, The Moynihan Report has RETURNED.
Watch the episode, subscribe on YouTube, and sign up for Moynihan’s Substack while you’re at it.
Now, back to the Fifth:
Aug 28 1 h 34 min
Bad Writing, Good Journalism, and AI (w/ Ben Smith) MO #341
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com
How does Semafor make money and what is the best magazine in the world? Well…why don’t y
Aug 26 14 min
Seize the Means of Conservatism (w/ Stephanie Slade) MO #340
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com
Stephanie Slade’s new book, Fusionism: Liberty, Virtue, and the Future of the American R
Aug 21 13 min
Clip Roulette w/ Dictators, Demons and Democracy (Episode #571)
-Greetings…oh, fuck
-Welch has a bone to pick with Ben Dreyfuss
-Clip Roulette
-Tucker and the Demon Bomb
-Jason Arday, martyr?
-The Jonah Lehrer comparison
-The Sa
Aug 19 1 h 46 min
Terry Moran and the Network News Autopsy (Members Only #339)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com
We’re joined by former ABC News senior national correspondent Terry Moran, who now publi
Aug 14 14 min
The Politics of Pretending (Episode #570)
-Kmele is out of Adderall
-Did anybody actually watch this Tucker and Hunter interview?
-“Montrosity” and other difficult words
-The adventures of Proximity Hong
-The
Aug 12 1 h 41 min
A Man of 1989 (w/ David Frum) #569
-a pre-obit for the esteemed David Frum
-involuntarily unionized at The Atlantic
-spy novels, bureaucrats and expense reports
-turning down Bill Buckley’s golden ticke
Aug 7 1 h 43 min
Out of Whiskey and Reaching for the Rotgut (Members Only #338)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com
Michael Moynihan has returned from his Italian sojourn where he barely escaped arrest…
Aug 5 15 min
The Admirably Irresponsible Journalist w/ John R. MacArthur (Members Only #337)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com
So that’s where these Genius Grants come from…
-Most roads lead back to Prague for Matt
Jul 31 20 min
The Fifth Gets a Substitute Teacher (w/ Jesse Singal) #568
Jesse Singal of Blocked and Reported and Singal-Minded fills Michael Moynihan’s special diabetic chair to discuss Fauci’s diaries, broken institutions, runaway AI, LeBron
Jul 29 1 h 41 min
The Temple Is Rich. The Monks Are Poor (w/ Frank Dikötter) Members Only #336
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com
Frank Dikötter is a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and one of
Jul 24 17 min
I Don’t Make Mistakes Anymore. They’re Just Lies (w/ Chris Cuomo) #567
We talk about what the media still gets wrong about Trump, what losing CNN did to him, and why he believes more political violence is coming.
-Kmele sizes Chris up and…
Jul 22 2 h 04 min
The Gold-Plated Imperial Presidency (w/ Maggie Haberman) Members Only #335
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com
Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, co-written with Jonathan
Jul 21 18 min
The Denial of Reality Is a Powerful Drug (w/ Bret Stephens) - Members Only #334
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com
-Bret Stephens, Mexican?
-Bret’s naked grandmother and the Trotsky/Diego Rivera/Frida K
Jul 17 16 min
There Is No They - #566
-The many sins of fattie John J. Cafaro
-The Moynihan Report will return
-Hand jobs and the intellectual life of West Hollywood
-Release the Welch canceled-songs playl
Jul 15 1 h 31 min
Failing "The God Test" (w/ Robert Wright) - Members Only #333
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.wethefifth.com
Robert Wright’s new book The God Test: Artificial Intelligence and Our Coming Cosmic Rec
Jul 10 22 min
Chart positions
Where The Fifth Column ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 12, 2026).
A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.
Funny, irreverent, with loads of guts, courage and insight. No MSNBC leftist drivel, and no FOX theatrics. They analyze and mock BOTH sides, as they should. A solitary voice of reason in bizarre culture war times. Totally worth listening and paying. Intelligent, provocative and highly entertaining,
Looshy82 · Jun 2024
Love the show, guests and banter. Moynihan clearly loves the sound of his voice and dominates the conversation. He also talks over Kmele too much. Want more Kmele.
Notthefinalrose · Jun 2024
I’m not sure which but for a very long time this podcast has been such a voice of reason; a place where events and ideas are discussed and debated in good faith, representing each side fairly, and with an appropriate amount of levity to keep things interesting. I could listen to you guys present and debate challenging topics and learn while I clarified where I land, laughing all the way. It was so refreshing. But lately it’s become more snark than informative or enlightening discussion. I’m not saying you need to be the end all/be all for your audience but something seems to be missing. The takes seem to be more and more just judging from a distance and making fun of certain people/perspectives rather than engaging with the meat of the opposing arguments so the audience can learn what you know as journalists. The Russia/Ukraine war is a good example of this. Perhaps I missed an episode where you hashed this out but from the beginning it’s been a very overt “obviously Russia is in the wrong and Ukraine is in the right” type certainty without explaining why the dissenting views and all the various historical evidence supporting said views should be dismissed. It’s been many months since I’ve been able to get through a whole episode without turning it off bc it’s not really helping me understand the local and global landscape the way it used to.
Blueskybanana · Apr 2024
I found you guys through MK’s podcast and now I listen to you too. You guys have so much fun and I love the endless heckling and general merriment. Thank you for getting me to smile when I feel like rarely smile anymore.
Mmnidaho · Mar 2024
I was a paying subscriber for years. It’s the first of two podcasts I’ve given money to and I genuinely enjoyed and looked forward to the weekly content. However, the show is not what it used to be. It has turned into a nutpicking show that focuses on whatever ridiculous thing that comes out of whatever ridiculous person’s (usually left wing) mouth. If you’re interested in that then this is your show. If not, I highly recommend the group of podcasts from The Dispatch.
P.S.
Thanks for the good times gents, and good luck.
Kdbooth123 · Jun 2024
I've been a Never Fly Coach subscriber since they started their Substack (and for a bit before that on Patreon), but I won't be renewing my subscription this May unless they drastically improve. I don't necessarily need them to change their positions, I just want them to stop mischaracterizing the positions of those they disagree with and actually engage with them instead.
It started with the Russia/Ukraine war, where they mischaracterized anti-war people as being pro-Russian. Then with the Israel/Palestine conflict, where they mischaracterized people being critical of the actions of Israel's government as being antisemitic and/or pro-Hamas (yes, there are idiots on the left who are pro-Hamas, but there are also plenty of people who condemn Hamas while also being critical of Israel).
Despite being a mostly libertarian podcast, they seem more willing to speak with liberals and conservatives than with libertarians who are more radical than them. The fact that they're more interested in talking with Ben Shapiro (who they've said they'd like to have on the podcast) than with someone like Scott Horton says a lot.
On cultural issues and criticizing the media, they're great. On foreign policy, they've become awful, and foreign policy is too important for me to overlook what they've been saying on the topic. Again, I don't need them to change their positions, I just want them to actually engage with people they disagree with. They do that on other topics, so they should do it for foreign policy as well.
FireShield95 · Apr 2024
We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.
Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of The Fifth Column, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.
