Ambiguity in the Age of Outrage (w/ Jon Meacham) - #545 episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 19, 2026 · 1H 6M

Ambiguity in the Age of Outrage (w/ Jon Meacham) - #545

from The Fifth Column · host The Fifth Column

-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 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wethefifth.com/subscribe

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Feb 19, 2026

Embed this episode

Ready to play

Ambiguity in the Age of Outrage (w/ Jon Meacham) - #545

0:00 1:06:33

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of The Fifth Column?

This episode is 1 hour and 6 minutes long.

When was this The Fifth Column episode published?

This episode was published on February 19, 2026.

Can I download this The Fifth Column episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!