Lost Debate

This week’s media blitz around Dave Chappelle as an anti-affordable housing crusader missed a lot of nuance around the development proposal in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Ravi, Cory, and Rikki dive in. “A new low for global democracy.” We discuss the 2021 Democracy Index and the dire picture it paints for democratic values around the world. We debate the latest front in the CRT fight in schools: curricu...

A recent exposé in New York Magazine outlines the murky finances of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. Ravi, Cory, and Rikki discuss the allegations in the piece. We take a look at an egregiously gerrymandered map in Alabama before diving into the wider issue with partisan gerrymandering nationwide. Rikki shows us a new ad FIRE is running with Enes Kanter Freedom during the Beijing...

Ravi, Cory, and Rikki start with yet another Joe Rogan controversy, this time over his use of the N-word and racist jokes. Mike Pence and the RNC are getting even further apart on the Big Lie. What’s that say about the state of the GOP? Canada’s Freedom Convoy is still going strong in Ottawa. We discuss how the protests started, where they stand now, and the troubling precedent of GoFundMe picking...

Camden, NJ was once among the lowest performing school districts in the country. A system that had thirteen superintendents in twenty years and that routinely ranked in the bottom of New Jersey school districts. That changed in 2013, when an unlikely coalition united behind a different kind of education leader and playbook. We look back to one of the most overlooked and important education stories...

Ravi, Cory, and Rikki jump into Brian Flores’ suit accusing the NFL of widespread racism. Newly leaked documents suggest the Biden administration was as disorganized as they appeared in the days before the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Talks in Washington over the child tax credit appear to be back on the table, and two new studies cast serious doubt on separate policies we’ve heard a lot abou...

Ravi, Cory, and Rikki start things off with Spotify’s response to controversy over their top podcaster, Joe Rogan. We then discuss what’s behind an unsettling spike in book bans across the country. Americans are moving out of cities, but just how many? We delve into the urban exodus. Rikki walks us through a controversial criminal sentencing in Los Angeles that’s going underreported. And finally,...

Ravi, Cory, and Rikki start on Jordan Peterson’s much-criticized comments on climate change in a marathon interview with Joe Rogan. We then discuss Biden’s promise to nominate a Black woman to fill the new opening on the Supreme Court. Ravi walks us through the alarming forecasts of a market “superbubble,” and lawsuits from Cardi B and Sarah Palin have libel laws in the spotlight. Finally, we chec...

Ravi, Cory, and Rikki begin with an alarming spike in crime in New York, including the fatal shooting of two NYPD officers this weekend. We go through new Mayor Eric Adams’ plans to address gun violence and the nationwide rise in crime. Then we discuss the looming possibility of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, where the U.S. figures in and how Biden might respond going forward. Then we take a look...

Ravi, Cory, and Rikki start off on a bill making its way through the Florida state legislature that would ban schools and companies from making people feel guilty on account of their race. Then we look at President Biden, one year in. How rough are his approval ratings, and does he have any hope of turning things around? Our hosts take a wider lens to the controversy around Chamath Palihapitiya’s...

America has a housing crisis, and it cuts both red and blue. But blue strongholds like Illinois, New York, and California struggle even more than their red counterparts to live up to a progressive policy ideal: affordable, equitable housing. Ravi interviews the New York Times' Conor Dougherty, whose new book, "Golden Gates: The Housing Crisis and a Reckoning for the American Dream" takes a critica...

Ravi, Cory, and Rikki dive into a jam-packed episode, starting with a new push from President Biden to pass a series of bills expanding voting rights. Then we get into a sweeping discussion about the Wuhan lab leak theory and how the more we learn, the more plausible it appears to be. Trump takes a subtle jab at DeSantis on vaccines and booster shots. The growing controversy around Education Secre...

Ravi, Cory, and Rikki start on the vaccine mandates before the Supreme Court, then turn to states prioritizing Covid treatments by race and ethnicity. Democrats are rebranding ahead of this year’s midterms, but can they head off a red wave? Then Ravi takes us into the Metaverse and Rikki goes through Covid crackdowns on college campuses. [0:50] Supreme Court Vax Mandate [14:07] Covid treatments by...

Ravi and Cory welcome new co-host, Rikki Schlott, to the show. Rikki is a contributor to Reason and the New York Post and brings a more libertarian, conservative. viewpoint to our debate. Together they reflect on the one-year anniversary of January 6 and all the alarming changes to our country since that day. President Biden is sticking with a Covid refrain: “pandemic of the unvaccinated.” Is the...

Ravi and Cory discuss the latest Covid surge and whether or not Omicron could end up being a good thing. Twitter permanently suspended Marjorie Taylor Greene’s personal account. Are Twitter bans doing more harm than good? Why this approach to managing misinformation might be self-defeating. Cory analyzes the news media’s worst takes from last week’s top stories. Finally, Ravi sits down with Secret...

San Francisco’s school board is facing a recall as parent anger boils over about school closures and efforts to promote ‘equity.' What does this fight tell us about our national debates about covid restrictions, critical race theory, and teacher’s unions? Ravi interviews parents and experts -- and even sits down with the school board’s chair (a target of the recall) to discuss what’s driving frust...

Ravi and Cory delve into: [1:44] Wikileaks founder facing extradition to the US [10:42] Ron DeSantis proposed CRT legislation [18:20] An Arizona mother accused of child neglect [25:46] Declining religious affiliation within the US [30:48] There's a new rap musical based on President William Henry Harrison. [32:44] Plus an interview with jounralist Liz Wolfe on the latest dispute between Elon Musk...

We tackle a host of issues from across the country: [1:15] January 6 texts from Fox News hosts to Mark Meadows [6:40] Gavin Newsom’s controversial new gun law [10:50] The link between recent tornadoes and climate change [16:54] Elon Musk’s Time Person of the Year Honor [23:08] The crisis of student debt [32:35] Bad takes from around the internet Subscribe to The Lost Debate’s YouTube channel: http...

Ravi and Cory discuss Crypto regulation [1:37], a Tennessee educator's firing for teaching about white privilege [12:40], a growing trend towards 4-day school week [17:48], an Illinois politician’s proposal to punish the unvaccinated [23:04], and Cory interviews journalist Beth Shelburne about the crisis in Alabama’s prisons [27:14]. Subscribe to The Lost Debate’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3...

Ravi and Cory discuss Mayor Bill de Blasio’s new sweeping vaccine mandate [0:22], the unpopularity of the term ‘Latinx’ [1:44], Trump’s new $1 billion media venture and associated SEC investigation [7:25], the aftermath of the Michigan school shooting [12:38], the rise of smash-and-grab robberies [18:00], Gen Z Memes [26:04], and finally, Ravi interviews Andy Mulvihill, son of the founder of the l...

Ravi and Cory discuss China’s crackdown on free speech in America [2:14], the hidden costs of green technology [10:14], a new poll of young people that shows deep frustrations with democracy [15:44], the origins of Omicron [22:01], and then Ravi interviews Liz Wolfe (“Libertarian Liz”) about mandates and media bias [25:11]. Subscribe to The Lost Debate’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3Gs5YTF LOS...

Ravi and Cory discuss the COVID-19 Omicron variant [1:42], media reactions to the Kyle Rittenhouse and Ahmaud Arbery cases [7:34], new revelations that Chris Cuomo used his perch at CNN to help his brother Andrew thwart his accusers [18:24], the troubling trend of state preemption of local governments [23:24], and the sad and revealing case of the Turpin children [28:51] Subscribe to The Lost Deba...

We explore the threats and violence from far-right congressman Paul Gosar. The controversial legislator released an anime depicting himself killing Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Why won’t Republicans call out their own? [1:07] Is Kyrsten Sinema a corporate sell out or a misunderstood principled politician? In a new Politico interview, Sinema paints herself as a moral politician, legislat...

We do a deep dive into the chaos brewing in the White House between President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Is Biden sabotaging his own VP? [1:14] We take a detailed look into the war of words between outspoken activist Hawk Newsome and New York City Mayor-Elect Eric Adams over the possibility of Adams bringing back the controversial NYPD Anti-Crime units. [10:22] We also discuss a new p...

We speak to Alvin Bragg, Manhattan’s incoming District Attorney about the Trump investigation he’s inheriting, major reforms he’s proposed to policing and prosecution, the role of race in the criminal justice system, efforts to fix Rikers Island, and his relationship with the NYPD and the incoming mayor, Eric Adams.  Resisting Arrest: New Manhattan DA: Fewer Resisting Arrest Charges. We speak to A...

We discuss a host of issues from around the country including: The passing of President Biden’s long awaited infrastructure bill [0:58] Revelations that the main informant of the Steele Dossier, Igor Danchenko, was indicted [7:55] Academic critics of cancel culture taking on higher education with the creation of the University of Austin [14:40] Ravi dissects the new GOP political strategy: Parents...