The Fifth Column

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wethefifth.substack.com* Matt, swallowed by Los Alamos* Jon Ronson’s new pod* A terrible trailer, a pretentious movie* Ringo Seal!!! Trump is “being persecuted”* Head injuries that help* Listen to that podcast, even if it’s terrible* A hot plagiarist* Substack and Nazis* Chomsky and Jeffery* Kmele’s new favorite football player* And so much more!

9 Jan 202412min

Should we even bother with the normal bullet points? Because it’s mostly about Claudine Gay. And the media’s embarrassing reaction to Gay’s “duplicative phrasing” and “attribution issues.” And what this says about the rot in academia. And something about a Disney Plus show. And ladies who live in trees. And how Kmele’s ice has to be colder than Welch’s ice. And a generation of dumb intellectuals. Enjoy. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wethefifth.substack.com/subscribe

4 Jan 20241h 43min

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wethefifth.substack.com* The last one of the year * The French public sector * Macron and the menorah * Exploding appliances * Nick & Kanye* Nikki’s slavery gaffe * But does she have a shot?* Billionaires on the “billionaire class”* Don’t forget about RFK* Who blew up the pipeline?* Why we believe what we believe* Vivek’s “inside job”

29 Des 202314min

* I resign!* (“That was a great apartment….”)* I resign!* (“That was the worst job….”)* Mansplaining the war* Too big to process* It’s like 9/11 for Americans, and also not* “You can still smell the death”* The Jericho Wall revelations* “I’m pretty sure most people who were responsible will resign”* Were judicial protests a distraction?* State fails, society rallies* A time for Diaspora choosing* Like moths to crazy* Intelligence scandal, leadership scandal* Hard out here for a two-state solutionista* Did Israel choke off Gazans’ resources?* “My heart is captive in Gaza”* “If we don’t come out of this very secure, it’s the end of Israel”* And yet … hope! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wethefifth.substack.com/subscribe

24 Des 20231h 7min

* Can Kmele sing?* A guy is surrounded by some racists* In praise of…Alec Baldwin?* Protesters are like racists* Trump and Colorado* Smart people who have come to some strange conclusions on this…* He’s screwing with you. You know that right?* They think you don’t understand policy * Not a lot of loyalty….(plus: a paean to Hope Hicks)* One word: NEW YORK* From Jihad to Lego * A silly list of “media influencers”* Is Emmanuel Lewis alive? (Yes) This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wethefifth.substack.com/subscribe

21 Des 20231h 24min

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit wethefifth.substack.com* It wasn’t a debate * Moynihan loves islands. Who doesn’t?* University stuff* “Late capitalism”* Walt Disney wasn’t a Nazi * Backfilling history* Massaging numbers* On the Qataris….* And a bunch of listeners chime in!

17 Des 202314min

* Ron Karenga * Handel’s Messiah and stock portfolio * Musicology is dumb, says Matt* Hip-hop is appropriation and it’s great * Method Man thinks the Stones and Bootsy are the same* The Fall of Minneapolis * The Fifth’s verdict * Some good things, some bad things * Revisiting the Chauvin trial* An 800,000 word reflection from James Bennet * Fanaticism and forgivenness * How is this plagiarist surviving?* How about firing these dopes* LP and AJ * The many, many, many dead in Ukraine This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wethefifth.substack.com/subscribe

15 Des 20231h 45min

* The editorial board of the Washington Post * What what wrong with the cease fire * On culpability* Can there *be* a negotiated settlement?* Is it really “the occupation”? * That wild 2022 video from Jenin that Moynihan mentioned* You’re going to be defrocked* Being handcuffed by “the Nahkba”* The insane rape conspiracy theories—and why they exist* Are all these people pro-Hamas?* Mrs. Gay Goes to Washington* Choose different words, dummies* Are you allowed a moral mulligan?* The Calvin Principals* And much, much more This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wethefifth.substack.com/subscribe

7 Des 20231h 55min