The Fifth Column (private feed for bitterone31droid@googlemail.com)

-Matt takes off his glasses, Kmele panics-Moynihan is furious we started a war during his aggressive vomiting window-The Great Unwrapping of Liberated Iranian Women as the most convincing reason for war-Marco Rubio sells the rationale in Möbius-strip logic-the Dee Snider Doctrine-The Death of the War Powers Resolution-Is Rep. Anna Paulina Luna serious r… Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

Nadav Eyal, Israeli journalist and Columbia instructor on strategic surprises, breaks down the Iran strikes, visible operational buildups, and U.S.-Israeli coordination. He discusses Hezbollah’s role, Israel’s tech-driven wins vs. proxy arsenals, regional pressure on Gulf states, and the political limits of U.S. involvement. The conversation also covers propaganda battles, Israeli public unity, and paths for Gaza’s future.

I first met Ken Layne sometime in 1991, back when Vanilla Ice ruled the pop charts, the Soviet Union was still a thing, and Canadians still had a reasonable expectation of winning the Stanley Cup.We have been collaborating and experimenting ever since -- a little newspapering here, some music there, various dot-com shenanigans, all of it in a spirit of … Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

-Matt Welch’s Caribbean identity crisis at Da Pig Beach-The State of the Union aka a two-hour hostage note-A greatest hits, lowest lights compilation for President Camacho-The futility of “speeching” your way through a math-defying approval rating-You can’t talk your way through a 38% approval rating-Let the hockey boys drink-Dan Crenshaw is allowed to be mad-The RNC’s new guard of real fucking bozos and sycophantic dick-tots-JD Vance as anti-corruption czar and populist beard for the crypto-regime-Tariffs and The Gilded Age corruption engine, now with “ballroom fund” exclusions-Drug prices are down 600%,….so do you owe me money?-Moynihan screaming drug questions at his glitching phone-Marxist Republicans and the gobbledygook of corporate housing bans-Maybe let’s just abolish the State of the Union-Dispatches from the Purple State: An interview with Senator Elissa Slotkin-Stop kicking allies in the teeth to play grab-ass with dictators-Walking out on Lindsey Graham’s Danish disdain-AI thinks Moynihan is a neo-folk neo-Nazi-Four years of war and Ukraine gets a one-sentence hand wave-Anthropic vs. Hegseth: Code is speech until the Pentagon wants a frictionless kill-switch-We tried collectivism once. Everyone starved. The end.-Gemini identifies the mystery caller as Friedrich Nietzsche, chimney sweep-About that BBC BAFTA N-Word Drama….-“You’re acting like Israel” is the ultimate Park Slope breakup trump cardPrefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel NOW.The Fifth Column (A Podcast) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Follow The Fifth ColumnYouTube: @wethefifthInstagram: @we.the.fifthX: @wethefifthTikTok: @wethefifthFacebook: @thefifthcolumn Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

Kash chugs it back with the toothless championsTrump and his locker room talk with the boysState of the Union and the Six Year ItchA uniquely conspiratorial moment in an already conspiratorial nationPizzaGate nostalgia hourFact checking dies in publicA laundry list of made up shit that’s not even close to being trueBaby-eating melodrama meets Beetlejuic… Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

Damon Root, a journalist and senior editor at Reason who writes on legal and constitutional issues, breaks down the Supreme Court’s big tariff ruling. He discusses separation of powers, why the decision was not unanimous, the major questions doctrine, political fallout and alternate presidential tools. Short, sharp takes on precedent, litigation over refunds, and what this means for future courts and Congress.

-The dork Star Wars cantina of famous biographers-Jefferson’s hypocrisy and the impossibility of paragon standards-Lincoln was not an abolitionist-The Howard Zinnification of American history-Ambiguity as the ideological propagandist’s mortal enemy-The true (New Testament) saint of America-George H.W. Bush’s blunt admission-This president would cut your throat for a vote, then be the first to call 911-Exhaustion as a strategy, and the establishment’s failure to meet the moment-Autocratic narcissism and the turn toward political sadism-Despair is a sin-Political loss as seasonal, not existential-What will the next side do with inherited expanded executive power?-14th Amendment redemption clauses as high-level nerd porn-Amusing ourselves to death in a visual-media politics-Katie Britt’s private doubt, and the ecosystem that manufactured it-Lincoln couldn’t write a bad sentence; Reagan could land the linePrefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 12PM EST.Buy Jon Meacham’s anthology, American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union (Bookshop | Amazon)Thanks for reading/watching The Fifth Column (A Podcast)! This post is public so feel free to share it.Follow The Fifth ColumnYouTube: @wethefifthInstagram: @we.the.fifthX: @wethefifthTikTok: @wethefifthFacebook: @thefifthcolumn Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

-Please say hello to our new Sunset Park neighbor-The American Chávez -The Nobel Prize Grudge-The Dictatorship That Remained-Political Pilgrims and Failed Experiments-Maria the Maid and the, “Gay Marriage Lady” slur-A Masterclass in Macro-Failure-The Media Pioneer-The Illusion of Democracy-Economic Voodoo-The “Police” StrategyGet William’s book, Things … Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

For Christmas 2024, I was gifted Robert Sullivan’s delightful My American Revolution: A Modern Expedition Through History’s Forgotten Battlegrounds. I devoured it within 24 hours. It is no exaggeration to say that the book is responsible as anything else for this little Semiquincetennial miniseries you are (hopefully!) enjoying.As you will hear in this … Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

-John Bolton, Olympic Curling Hawk-Arguing with the 60s Since 1970-I’m kind of a Libertarian (Minus the Defense Part)-Iraq was actually kind of perfect-Federalist Papers as Foreign Aid (or maybe porn would suffice)-The Arab Spring Brain-Break-Afghanistan is Not Exactly a Nation-Regime Change, Case-by-Case-The Forward Defense of New Jersey-Ukraine and the Gray Zone Trap-The Nuclear Press Release-Tucker Carlson wants you to be scared of this man-Trump’s Real Estate Foreign Policy-The Face of the Regime in Venezuela-The President’s Retribution…. and how worried should the Ambassador be right now?-Who Will Take Him Down First?-Tulsi Gabbard’s Intelligence Clown ShowPrefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 12PM EST.The Fifth Column (A Podcast) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Follow The Fifth ColumnYouTube: @wethefifthInstagram: @we.the.fifthX: @wethefifthTikTok: @wethefifthFacebook: @thefifthcolumn Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.