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

* Matt discovers Mass* Because Matt is cruisin’ * Boats and hoes* An ultra exclusive event! The Fifth…on the high seas??* The Epstein hoax * Very dumb people holding empty Trapper Keepers* Fake numbers transform into facts!* Does anyone know how this stuff works?* The client list ███████ █████ * Why do people want this stuff to be true?* A few notes on the forthcoming film Eddington* The BLM victory failure* The forever revolt against the elites* Two overlooked terror attacks in Texas* Put them on ICE Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

A few weeks ago, we mentioned that newly minted Iran expert Joy Reid went on CNN and provided her damning verdict on America’s relationship with Iran: acktchully, she gravely intoned, the United States brought the ire of the Iranian dictatorship upon itself by engineering the 1953 coup against the “democratically elected” Iranian leader Mohammed Mossade… Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

As the Supreme Court wraps up its term, the boys again summon Damon Root, author of Overruled: The Long War for Control of the U.S. Supreme Court, to break down the various rulings (for those of us who don’t pay attention but still want to convince Scott Bakula to time travel and deport baby Kmele). Post-Damon, another hour…during which Matt tells the story of his car being smashed up by Russian trash men (which, surprisingly, is not a euphemism), Zohran code switches, the Big Ugly Bill lurches through the Senate, and stupid “revolutionaries” think it’s their moment. Yet again. Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

* Fleeeeeeeee* Don’t mess with the Zohran * Andrew Cuomo, Shah of NYC * Eric Adams to the rescue? (Oof)* Post-colonial Disney movies * Scarcity Democrats * Pull the fire alarm on this drunk idiot * This means nothing for national Democratic politics* And isn’t about Israel* Were the bunkers busted?* Hot Ukrainians save lives* NATO not so bad after all* Joy Reid, smug master of Wikipedia* OKC saluted Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

No listener mail this time. We’ll double up on the next Members Only. Just an hour-long conversation about Iran…(Moynihan note upon relisten: Qasem Soleimani was the commander of the Quds Force within the IRGC, not the IRGC itself) Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

Two episodes in one! First, the lads discuss Iran, the legacy of the Iraq War, and MAGA’s internecine battles over foreign policy. And then Harry Siegel, the great chronicler of New York City politics, stops by to answer that hugely important question: will the financial capital of the world, the city with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, soon be governed by an anti-capitalist weirdo who thinks that “globalize the intifada” is just another way of saying “give peace a chance”? Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

Look, you people (OK, like five of you) demanded it, so now yer gonna get it, good and Californian: A cassingle on the late, great Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, and some perhaps under-known ways in which he and they shaped the music industry and culture that we continue to live in today. Along the way we get into garages, punk rock, 12-strings, the benefits of boosterism, the perils of nostalgia, and much more. Then I close it with some selections from obits written by pals.Some referenced/relevant links:* “Brian Wilson Was an Exemplary American,” Brian Doherty, Reason* “A Salute to Brian Wilson,” Darian Sahanaja, Variety* Clip from “God Only Knows What’s Happening,” Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em:* Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of ‘SMiLE’* Trailer, Love & Mercy* “Happy Father's Day Weekend From #DavesCarIDService, With a Confession,” Dave “Iowahawk” Burge* “Brian Wilson Was a Foundational Influence on Modern Music,” Steven Hyden, Uproxx* “A Beautiful Mind,” Jeffrey Blehar, National Review* The Beach Boys, Part 1 and Part 2, Political Beats* My Beach Boys Spotify playlists of 20 songs each from their three main eras: Cars, Waves, Girls (’63-65), Peak Vibrations (’65-66), and Too Close to the Sun (’67-73)* Trailer, Brian Wilson: I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times* Instrumental Hits, The Beach Boys* “The Beach Boys' SMiLE: Even Better than Advertised,” Henry Rollins, LA Weekly* Trailer, Backbeat* “Wishing You Were Here,” Chicago and the Beach Boys* “Watching Dave Hansen,” Matt Welch, The Baseball Analysts Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

Moynihan and Welch talk to Nadav Eyal, senior columnist for Yedioth Ahronoth and one of Israel’s most prominent (and best-sourced) journalists. Typically, we would keep a bonus episode like this one behind the paywall. We were feeling generous today. But never rely on our continued generosity. So subscribe, cheapskate! * Meetings cancelled, meetings kept* How the attack on Iran unfolded* James Bond is a Jew* Taking out the IRGC leadership and partially neutering Iran’s missile capabilities* Was Iran actually readying a nuclear weapon?* Was Trump part of an elaborate ruse? * Western Europe reacts…* Does Israel actually drive American foreign policy?* The Mossad stuff is impressive. But…* Nadav’s Twitter thread* The first 48 hours are the easy part* Netanyahu’s political prospects * And lots, lots more Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

Senator Rand Paul joins the lads to lament the big, beautiful bill; the big beautiful Soviet military parade; the Twitter halfwits waging war on him; his party’s descent into populist voodoo economics; whether or not he’s an advocate of “open borders”; and what he makes of Marines on the streets of Los Angeles. After the senator leaves, Foster, Moynihan, and Welch stick around to discuss…all those same issues. Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

* A grim anniversary* Elon’s brilliant troll* The big, ugly bill * Bannon tells the truth. But is still a liar* How dare they attack their attacker??* They have cards* Asymmetric and immoral * Changing minds…by human sacrifice* The blackest propaganda* The New York Times v. Palantir* And much, much more Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.