Shows / Lost Debate
Lost Debate
For the politically eclectic. A weekly show exploring news, ideas, and arguments from across the political spectrum through good-faith conversation. Hosted by Ravi Gupta.
Episodes
- Lost Debate
Ep 130 | Shoplifting, Broke Millennial Myth, Should We Regulate AI?
Ravi, Rikki, and Joe look at new reporting from the New York Times, which found that a small number of repeat offenders accounted for almost one third of all…
- Lost Debate
Ep 129 | Twitter Roundup, Recovery High Schools, Are Abortion Pills Safe?
Ravi, Rikki, and Joe talk through their updated takes on the chaos that is Twitter. From classifying National Public Radio as “state-affiliated media,” to…
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Ep 128 | Clarence Thomas Ethics Scandal, After School Satan Club, Andrew Tate and Toxic Masculinity
Ravi, Rikki, and Joe talk about the latest scandal to hit the United States Supreme Court: Associate Justice Clarence Thomas accepting lavish travel…
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Ep 127 | Trump Indictment, Effective Altruism, Moving From Blue States to Red States
Ravi and guest host Bradley Tusk — a venture capitalist, writer, and political strategist — jump straight into the facts of the Trump indictment and whether…
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The Trump Indictment, The Future of the GOP with Kristen Soltis Anderson
In this special episode, Ravi jumps in to give his thoughts on the indictment of former President Donald Trump. Then, Ravi interviews Republican Pollster…
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Free Speech and Combatting Cancel Culture with Greg Lukianoff
In this special episode, Rikki interviews Greg Lukianoff, the CEO and President of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). Greg, a free…
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Ep 126 | Trendy Thursday: Five Trends Reshaping America
Ravi, Rikki, and Joe jump into #TrendyThursday, looking at five trends that are reshaping America: Americans having fewer kids, a steep decline in patriotism…
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Ep 125 | Chicago Mayoral Race, School Lunches, Tattoos
Ravi, Rikki, and Joe start by diving into a tight race in Chicago to decide who will be the city’s next mayor, Paul Vallas or Brandon Johnson, after a historic…
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Ep 124 | TikTok, Right to be Rude, College Degree Requirements
Ravi, Rikki, and Joe start by stitching in their opinions on TikTok, as the social media app’s CEO Shou Chew prepares to testify in front of Congress. Then we…
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Ep 123 | Trump Indictment?, Banks, Arkansas Youth Labor Laws
Ravi, Rikki, and Joe jump into the fray on the rumored indictment of former President Donald Trump over his reported involvement with a $130,000 payment to…
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Ep 122 | Psychedelics, 4-Day School Week, CA Church vs. Health Dept
Ravi, Rikki, and Joe start by looking at the merits and consequences of school districts increasingly moving towards a 4-day school week. Then we turn to a…
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Ep 121 | Classroom AI, Arkansas’ LEARNS Act, Gentrifying Economy?
Ravi, Rikki, and Joe start by revisiting the wave of ChatGPT discourse and looking at some new data on how it’s affecting America’s classrooms. Then we turn to…
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How Silicon Valley Bank Failed
We’ve got a special episode today to cover a wild weekend in financial news, as Silicon Valley Bank fails and regulators and investors alike brace for the…
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Ep 120 | SAT/ACT Requirements, Men’s Preventive Health Care, Equity Language
Ravi, Rikki, and Joe start with two trends in education: universities moving away from SAT/ACT requirements, and a growing defection from the U.S. News college…
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Ep 119 | Insulin Prices, College Cancellation Fear, Stock Buybacks
Ravi, Rikki, and Joe start with a major announcement from drugmaker Eli Lilly on coming price caps for its insulin products before turning to the complex web…
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Ep 118 | DOE Leans Lab Leak, Florida vs. AP African American Studies
Ravi, Rikki, and Joe kick things off with the latest chapter in a long-simmering debate around the origins of COVID-19, now that the Department of Energy is…
- Lost Debate
Ep 117 | Five Trends Reshaping America
Ravi, Rikki, and Joe jump into #TrendyTuesday, looking at five trends that are reshaping America: declines in driving, religious faith, marriage rates, and…
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Ep 116 | East Palestine Train Derailment, Dominion vs. Fox
Ravi and Rikki review all the frightening and frustrating developments in East Palestine, Ohio, where a derailed train released huge quantities of hazardous…
Lost DebateThe Regressives Ep. 13 | The End of Education Reform?
The federal government has been adamant for decades about the need to improve schools so that every child receives a proper education. The pandemic and…
Lost DebateIntroducing: Sweat the Technique - Teaching Like a Champion with Doug Lemov
Introducing Lost Debate's newest weekly podcast, Sweat the Technique, which is taking over the Lost Debate feed for a special episode! The new show features a…
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Ep 115 | #SpyBalloonGate, Deepfakes, Nuclear Power
Ravi and Rikki start by unpacking what’s been a mysterious week of spy balloons, UFOs, and global power tensions. Then we take a look at how quickly deepfake…
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What Americans Really Think with Todd Rose
Ravi sits down with Populace CEO Todd Rose to discuss two data sets we’ve been covering on the Lost Debate: the gap between Americans’ private and public…
Lost DebateThe Regressives Ep. 12 | How We Solve Housing and Homelessness
America faces two inextricable problems: a growing homelessness crisis, and a dire lack of affordable housing. As the gravity of those issues grows more…
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Ep 114 | State of the Union, MrBeast, Organic Food
Ravi and Rikki lead things off with their reactions to President Biden’s State of the Union address and what it says about the state of political polarization…
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Ep 113 | Rent Control, Birth Control, ESAs
Ravi and Rikki take a closer look at the Biden administration’s fair housing plan, potentially including one controversial proposal: rent control. Rikki then…
Lost DebateThe Hardest Step - Ep 1 | Newfound Hope with Topeka K. Sam
Introducing "The Hardest Step," which is taking over the Lost Debate feed for a special episode! Topeka K. Sam is a shining example of the power of redemption…
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Ep 112 | Ozempic, Fair Tax Act, Credit Card Rewards
Ravi and Rikki start with the weight-loss drug that’s sweeping TikTok, Hollywood, and the nation: Ozempic. Then we turn to the dark side of your rewards card…
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Ep 111 | DOJ Vs. Google, Civics Education, Fake Reviews
Ravi and Rikki first welcome today’s guest host, David Dayen, before turning to the Justice Department’s antitrust suit taking aim at Google’s digital ad…
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Ep 110 | Four-Day Workweek, Hospice Fraud, Practical K-12
Ravi and Rikki lead things off by discussing an emerging trend in white-collar work: the four-day week. Then we turn to hospice care and the little-known…
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Ep 109 | Challenging ChatGPT, Polyamory, MS Teacher Shortage
Ravi and Rikki start by revisiting ChatGPT, the OpenAI platform with the potential to dramatically reshape society at every level. Then, the hosts bring in our…
Lost DebateThe Regressives Ep. 11 | Empty Nests: Why Do Blue Cities Fund Stadiums?
In 2022 the NFL's Buffalo Bills announced a deal with the state of New York to build a brand new $1.4 Billion stadium in Erie County. The passage of funding…
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Ep 108 | Beating Cancer, Podcast Boom/Bust, Florida Education Bills
Ravi and Rikki begin with some hopeful new data in America’s push to eliminate cancer, while acknowledging how far we’ve yet to go. The hosts then take a long…
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Ep 107 | Biden & The Border, Gas Stoves, Social Security
Ravi and Rikki kick things off with a hot top(ic): gas stoves. We’ll talk about what the debate over the beloved kitchen appliance says about American…
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Ep 106 | DNA, Crime, & Privacy, Workplace Hustle
Ravi and Rikki begin by addressing two voicemails responding to their last episode, dealing with TikTok and pornography. The hosts then turn to the push and…
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Ep 105 | TikTok Ban, Porn & Public Health, Noncompete Clauses
Ravi and Rikki kick things off with Congress’ new TikTok ban, over escalating fears that the app amounts to a “Trojan Horse” for pro-China propaganda. We look…
Lost DebateThe Regressives Ep. 10 | Is The News Really “Woke?”
Long before Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, or the birth of “fake news,” Americans had already started to lose their faith in American journalism. The feeling that…
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Ep 104 | House Speaker Vote, Lawrence Lessig on Mickey Mouse, Chip Supply Chain
Ravi and Joe start with the unprecedented leadership battle transpiring on Capitol Hill and its consequences on the House Republican majority. Ravi then talks…
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Ep 103 | George Santos, The Homeownership Society, Snow Days
Ravi and Rikki kick off the new year by addressing Rep.-elect George Santos’ list of lies, deceptions, and fabrications. Ravi delves into these revelations and…
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Best of LD Special
On this special Best Of episode, Rikki and Ravi take us back to their favorite segments of the year: a fiery debate over Edward Snowden, a lighter look at how…
Lost DebateThe Regressives Ep. 9 | The Problem with College Admissions
In our last Regressives episode, we went over affirmative action and why it might soon be a thing of the past. Today, we'll go through a less-discussed…
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Ep 102 | Mayhem @ Twitter, Asian-American College Apps, 2022 Faves
Ravi and Rikki start with a week’s worth of peak mayhem at Twitter, from the @ElonJet ban, to suspended reporters, to a poll (maybe) deciding Musk’s future at…
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Ep 101 | End of Social Media, Fed Strikes Again, Assisted Suicide
First, Ravi and Rikki chat about SBF’s insistence that he either get some vegan meals or stay out of prison. Then the hosts turn to the Fed’s latest rate hike…
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Ep 100 | SBF Indicted, The Twitter Files, ChatGPT
First, Ravi and Rikki react to the breaking news on Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud indictment. Then the hosts turn to the wide-ranging “Twitter Files” reporting…
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Ep 99 | Moore v. Harper, RIP BuzzFeed, Religion in Schools
Ravi and Rikki start with a rundown of Moore v. Harper, the major Supreme Court case poised to shift election laws. Then the hosts turn to the meteoric rise…
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Ep 98 | Student Loan Setbacks, Involuntary Hospitalizations, Rat Czar
Ravi and Rikki start with the the fierce legal challenges halting President Biden’s student loan relief plan, before turning to New York’s controversial…
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Ep 97 | SBF, China Protests, Inequity in Special Ed
Ravi and Rikki start with the latest fallout from the spectacular downfall of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried. The hosts then turn to the historic anti-lockdown…
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Ep 96 | Qatar World Cup, T-Swift & Ticketmaster, Isolation Epidemic
Ravi and Rikki start with all the moral relativism coloring this year’s controversial World Cup in Qatar, before opening their hearts to the many Swifties…
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Ep 95 | Ransomware, Education in the Midterms, Debt from Dating, Ukraine Interview
Ransomware attacks are on the rise. Rikki and Ravi share where the attacks are coming from, laws put in place to combat them, and how to protect yourself from…
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Ep 94 | Midterm, FTX, Dot-com Bubble 2.0, Salary Transparency Laws
Ravi and Rikki analyze the final results of the 2022 midterm and how both parties are assessing their performance. They then delve into the remarkable rise and…
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Ep 93 | Midterm Election Reactions
Ravi and Rikki dive deep on their reactions to the 2022 midterms, setting out what we know vs. what’s still up in the air, which issues drove voters, which…
Lost DebateTop 10 Midterm Takeaways
Ravi stayed up on election night to put together a quick midnight recap of all the big takeaways from the 2022 midterms. Not everything will hold by tomorrow…
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Ep 92 | Senate Forecast, Student Homelessness, Nevada Midterms
Ravi and Rikki start with an overview of where things seem to be heading in Tuesday’s midterm elections, forecasting some key Senate races all over the…
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Ep 91 | Elon’s #FreeBird Twitter, Trouble In The Metaverse, Arizona Midterms
Ravi and Rikki start by briefly discussing the oral arguments before the Supreme Court that could decide the fate of affirmative action: the topic of our…
Lost DebateThe Regressives Ep. 8 | A Funeral For Affirmative Action
By all expectations, affirmative action is about to be a thing of the past. In a pair of landmark college admissions cases before the Supreme Court, a newly…
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Ep 90 | Kanye & Antisemitism, Trigger Warnings, Georgia Midterms
Ravi and Rikki start with the latest fallout from Kanye West’s recent antisemitic rants, including this week’s decisions by companies like Adidas, GAP, and…
Lost DebateThe Citizen Stewart Show - EP 1 | Abuse In Schools, Chinese Immersion Schools, Outcome vs Equity Debate
Introducing "The Citizen Stewart Show," which is taking over the Lost Debate feed for a special episode! “The Citizen Stewart Show” is an independent…
- Lost Debate
Ep 89 | War on Drugs, National Service, AI Art
Ravi and Rikki start by joining the renewed debate here in America over the value of national service as the global K-pop sensations BTS return to South Korea…
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Ep 88 | Supreme Court Partisanship, Milk Protests, Debating Debates
Ravi and Rikki start by asking what makes a good protest, in light of the much-derided demonstrations from groups like Just Stop Oil and Animal Rebellion…
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Ep 87 | Obama on Democrats, Gig Workers, Licensing Laws
Ravi and Rikki start by discussing former President Obama’s appearance on Pod Save America and why his remarks on inclusivity seem so novel in today’s…
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Ep 86 | Crime Rates & Midterms, PayPal Misinfo, SCOTUS Pork Dilemma
Ravi and Rikki first welcome their guest for the day, Kmele Foster. Then the hosts briefly note today’s discouraging inflation numbers before turning to how…