Lost Debate

Seattle says landlords cannot reject tenants for having a criminal record. Should the Supreme Court step in? Ravi and Rikki tackle the often overlooked and controversial topic of landlord rights.  Inflation has come down after a historic spike during the pandemic, but everyday Americans say the lower rates haven’t positively impacted their wallets yet. Our hosts debate whether goods deflation is b...

Bradley Tusk joins Ravi to talk about Obvious In Hindsight, his new satire novel about a political campaign that aims to legalize flying cars. Ravi and Bradley then turn to the current political landscape. The two discuss whether New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams can bounce back from his recent scandals and what the Biden campaign should do to win in 2024. Bradley Tusk is a venture capitalist, poli...

Is prompt engineer the dream job of the future? Rikki and Ravi explore the rise of AI-related jobs and debate how artificial intelligence will impact the workforce over the next several years. Do charter schools offer a better education than traditional public schools? Two new studies shed light on which states are getting school choice right. The hosts discuss what we can learn from the findings...

What happens now that Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend the ongoing ceasefire? Ravi is joined by guest co-host Isaac Saul to discuss the current status of the war and its likely outcomes. While Palestinians and Israelis deal with the realities on the ground, the conflict has also exposed growing strife in the U.S. that’s left businesses and corporations scrambling to respond. But why do so ma...

Sam Altman is back as CEO of OpenAI only five days after he was ousted. Ravi breaks down the company's recent chaos and explains why the questions the drama has raised about artificial intelligence's pace, commercialization, and regulation deserve more attention. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Show Notes: OpenAI's Manifesto: https://openai.com/blog/introducing-op...

Ravi tackles the frequently asked questions, criticism, and comments we’ve received in response to our ongoing coverage of the Israel-Hamas war and the broader Israel-Palestine conflict. The Branch will continue to try to bring clarity to the complex dynamics of this war and the longest ongoing conflict in modern history. Leave us a voicemail to let us know the topics you’d like to hear more about...

As the Israel-Hamas war rages on, Yascha Mounk joins Ravi to discuss what’s shaping American leftists' response to the war and the greater Israel/Palestine conflict. They then take a deep dive into the current state of college campuses and offer suggestions for how colleges should respond to the rising backlash against free speech, anti-semitism, and Islamaphobia. Finally, as the war enters its fi...

Are gradualists right and radicals wrong? Ravi is joined by Greg Berman and Aubrey Fox, the authors of "Gradual - The Case for Incremental Change in a Radical Age" to discuss whether incrementalism is the best way forward for societal change. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://bitly.ws/zC9K Subscribe to our YouTube channel: ht...

What does the future of education look like? Ravi is joined by Sal Khan, the visionary founder and CEO of Khan Academy, to discuss how artificial intelligence could revolutionize education as we know it, why educators should embrace new technologies, and the ways Khan Academy’s Khanmigo is leading the charge to help more kids learn. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570...

The current conflict between Israel and Hamas has been decades in the making. But who is Hamas? In this special episode, Ravi takes on the complex task of telling the unbiased history of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that currently rules Gaza. Listen to Part One: An Unbiased History of Israel-Palestine (Part 1) Listen to Part Two: An Unbiased History of Israel-Palestine (Part 2) Leave us a...

A new poll shows President Biden trailing Donald Trump in five out of six key swing states just a year before the 2024 election. Ravi and Rikki discuss the poll’s confirmation that the American public has widespread concerns about Biden's age and performance and how the Democratic Party should respond. Once a fringe movement, homeschooling is now the fastest-growing form of education in America. T...

Rikki is joined by Evan Mandery, professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the author of “Poison Ivy - How Elite Colleges Divide Us”. A Harvard College and Harvard Law School graduate, Evan argues elite colleges have become one of the driving forces in widening the gap between the haves and have-nots in America. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscrib...

The Israel-Palestine conflict is immensely complicated, and almost everyone has an opinion about it. In this special episode, Ravi takes on the impossible task of trying to tell an unbiased history in order to understand where we are today. This episode is part two. Listen to Part One: An Unbiased History of Israel-Palestine (Part 1) Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-057...

As the war between Israel and Hamas enters its third week and the Israeli military initiates a ground invasion in Gaza, Ravi and guest co-host Isaac Saul discuss Israel’s definition of success, what to make of the American left’s anti-Israel swing, and the lessons to learn from the Western media biases surrounding this conflict. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Sub...

Are claims that social media and technology have destroyed America warranted, or are flawed arguments driving the uproar around Big Tech? Rikki sits down with Robby Soave, author of "Tech Panic: Why We Shouldn't Fear Facebook and the Future," to discuss how issues animating both the right and the left have led to today's tech and social media ecosystem and what to do about it. Leave us a voicemail...

The Israel-Palestine conflict is immensely complicated, and almost everyone has an opinion about it. In this special episode, Ravi takes on the impossible task of trying to tell an unbiased history in order to understand where we are today. This episode is part one. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://bitly.ws/zC9K Subscribe to...

Why are some rural communities so deeply disadvantaged? Ravi sits down with Professor Luke Schaefer to discuss his new co-authored book, “The Injustice of Place,” which examines America's impoverished rural areas and reveals surprising realities. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://bitly.ws/zC9K Subscribe to our YouTube channel...

In this special episode, Rikki Schlott is joined by her co-author Greg Lukianoff to discuss their groundbreaking new book, “The Canceling of the American Mind: Cancel Culture Undermines Trust and Threatens Us All―But There Is a Solution”. Learn more about the book here: The Canceling of the American Mind Greg Lukianoff is a free speech advocate, first-amendment attorney, and president of the Found...

The Supreme Court effectively eliminated affirmative action in higher education this June with their rulings in SFFA v. Harvard and SFFA v. UNC. Harvard Law School professor Jeannie Suk Gersen sits down with Ravi to discuss college admissions in a post-affirmative action world and how colleges and universities will work to ensure they continue to enroll diverse student bodies. Leave us a voicemail...

Yascha Mounk sits down with Ravi to discuss his new book, “The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time.” Yascha and Ravi explore the origins of “wokeness,” how its limitations have influenced the political and cultural transformations of the last decade, and whether universal, humanist values are the true remedy for the country’s injustices. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on...

Failed cryptocurrency founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial kicked off this week. Rikki and guest co-host Isaac Saul explain what you need to know about the case and what we can expect from the proceedings. Many congressional Democrats have called for New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez to resign after being indicted on federal bribery charges in September. Is this the right move? Finally, the ho...

Populace CEO Todd Rose returns to Lost Debate to discuss his think tank’s latest study on what Americans want out of life. Todd and Ravi explore the study’s findings, what constitutes a successful life, and why Americans are profoundly wrong about how their fellow Americans define success and the American Dream. Read the full study here: Success Index: Misunderstanding the American Dream Leave us...

The GOP presidential candidates took to the debate stage for a second time last night. Were any of them able to escape former president Donald Trump’s shadow? Rikki and Ravi sort through the substance of the discussion and take stock of the night’s winners and losers. San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced a new proposal to combat the city’s fentanyl epidemic: mandatory drug testing for welfar...

Boston University's Center for Antiracist Research, which is run by prominent scholar, activist, and author Ibram X. Kendi, announced it will scale back operations amid allegations of poor management. Are Kendi’s ideas to blame? The fallout continues for Russell Brand after claims of sexual assault and rape became public earlier this month. YouTube has demonetized his videos, the BBC has removed s...

Rikki is joined by guest co-host Isaac Saul, founder and author of the popular newsletter Tangle. The rise of candidates like Vivek Ramaswamy and Robert Kennedy Jr. has shaken both Republican and Democrat establishments’ expectations for the upcoming election cycle. Rikki and Isaac discuss how their candidacies could shape the presidential race. Citing “It's time for a new generation of leaders”,...