The Fifth Column

Kmele Foster, Michael Moynihan, and Matt Welch

AI Might Kill Us. Here’s Why It Matters: w/ Jim VandeHei (#575)

SEP 16, 2026108 MIN

Description

-Simplify, simplify, simplify… -Do people like Jim as a boss? -The two things to screen for in prospective employees -The humility of Mike Allen -AI and the newsroom -The way you consume news is about to completely change -Are we at the Napster stage of AI? -The demand for local news didn’t die -DEI without the corporate activism -Axios refuses to take a stand -Moynihan’s Vice postmortem -Jim used to be a hothead. Mostly. -AI might kill us. Why it matters -Kmele vs. the AI doomers -Hugging Face and the runaway AI problem -Stuxnet was the dumb version -Midterm Madness goes off-script -Who should actually be Person of the Year? -Too much Trump porn at the New York Times? -Jim simplifies Trump’s three biggest precedent breaks -Why Trump does it anyway Read Simplify: Do 50 Percent More with 50 Percent Less by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz (Bookshop | Amazon) Prefer to watch & chat live with other members of the Fifdom? This episode premieres over on our YouTube channel at 12PM EST. Follow The Fifth Column YouTube: @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