Lost Debate
Lost Debate is a weekly podcast from The Branch that brings you news, ideas, and arguments from around the political spectrum. We engage in the good-faith discussions that too much of our society and media miss. It's hosted by Ravi Gupta, a former Obama staffer turned school principal.
Episodes
May 1, 2025 • 58 mins
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and surfer William Finnegan joins Ravi for a wide-ranging conversation on surfing, storytelling, and the pursuit of mastery. They unpack Barbarian Days and how a lifetime of chasing waves has shaped Bill’s understanding of fear, discipline, and identity. They then turn to the tension between purity and accessibility in surfing and how innovations like wave pools can reflect broader social shifts. T...
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April 22, 2025 • 64 mins
Ravi dives into the breaking news of the day, from the Trump administration’s continued attacks on due process and the political meddling at the Fed that could tank the economy, to the latest federal funding threats facing universities.
He then sits down with Dana Goldstein of The New York Times to unpack the Trump administration’s aggressive intervention in K-12 education, from targeting DEI efforts to threatening Title I funding...
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April 17, 2025 • 1 min
The Branch is nominated for a Webby! Vote for Killing Justice for Best Partnership/Collaboration: https://bit.ly/killingjustice
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April 15, 2025 • 43 mins
What happens when the president of the United States defies a 9-0 Supreme Court ruling? Ravi is joined by The Atlantic’s Isaac Stanley-Becker to take a closer look at the case of Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man stripped of due process and deported to a Salvadoran prison, and the chilling implications the case may have for immigrants and American citizens more broadly.
They then turn to the Trump administration’s escalating campaign ...
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April 8, 2025 • 53 mins
As Trump’s sweeping tariffs continue to spark chaos and backlash nationwide, Ravi delivers a blistering breakdown of the administration’s latest moves and the economic risks they’ve created. He challenges the populist rhetoric behind the trade war, exposes the political theater driving the latest policies, and explains what Trump’s getting wrong about jobs, immigration, and manufacturing.
Then, Richard Kahlenberg returns to the po...
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April 6, 2025 • 54 mins
Ravi dives into the history and resurgence of tariffs in American politics with economic historian Phil Magness. From the Hamilton-Jefferson debates to the possible implications of Trump’s proposed tariffs, Ravi and Phil explore the complexities of tariffs as both economic tools and political weapons, how these policies have shaped America’s past, and what their resurgence means for the future.
Leave us a voicemail with your thoug...
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April 3, 2025 • 43 mins
President Trump just announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners, sending markets tumbling and economists into a frenzy. Ravi breaks down what the news means for the economy, the political implications, and what to make of the eerie silence from former GOP free traders.
Then, Ravi is joined by Sam Ashworth to talk about his debut novel The Death and Life of August Sweeney, a gripping story that blends...
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April 1, 2025 • 49 mins
Ravi sits down with Molly Roden Winter, author of More: A Memoir of Open Marriage, for a candid conversation about the emotional, messy, and deeply human side of nontraditional relationships. In More, Molly shares her journey through polyamory, jealousy, and personal growth, and what it really means to forge your own path in love.
Molly and Ravi explore how Molly’s unconventional relationship structure evolved over time and how so...
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March 27, 2025 • 48 mins
Ravi sits down with journalist and bestselling author Oliver Burkeman (Meditation for Mortals and Four Thousand Weeks) to explore what it means to live a meaningful life in a culture addicted to optimization. Together, they explore the line between healthy ambition and toxic perfectionism, the “icky middle” of mastery and why it’s important to find joy in being an intermediate, and when to embrace creative neglect. Finally, they un...
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March 25, 2025 • 62 mins
In this special episode, Ravi is joined by Emily Lilley of The Book & Cover to discuss his new novel, Garbage Town, out today. Set in 1990s Staten Island, this coming-of-age thriller follows a group of teens who stumble upon a buried secret and find themselves in a fight for their lives.
Ravi and Emily explore the real-life inspiration behind the novel’s characters and setting, the nostalgic pull of the pre-digital era, and the co...
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March 20, 2025 • 50 mins
How do you fix a system that’s stuck? Ravi sits down with New York Times bestselling author Dan Heath to unpack the lessons from his new book, Reset, a guide to help people and businesses break free from inertia, ditch old habits, and make meaningful progress. They explore case studies from the book, including a hospital that slashed delivery times from days to hours and a school that transformed discipline with a simple shift in s...
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March 18, 2025 • 49 mins
Is cognitive decline inevitable, or can we keep our minds sharp as we age? Ravi sits down with neuroscientist Dr. Tommy Wood to explore what truly drives cognitive aging, and why the science is more hopeful than most people think. They break down the differences between crystallized and fluid intelligence, the impact of physical activity, and why doing hard things could be the key to mental strength. Tommy shares research-backed st...
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March 16, 2025 • 113 mins
What happens when schools lose their way, and how do we restore faith in our institutions? In this special crossover episode from Sweat the Technique, Doug Lemov flips the script and interviews Ravi. They start with a deep dive into Ravi’s journey from aspiring doctor to political staffer to school founder before taking a step back to explore the erosion of trust in American schools and the deep tensions shaping education today. Ra...
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March 13, 2025 • 70 mins
Ravi kicks off the show by unpacking the latest economic headlines, from inflation trends to the impact of Trump’s unpredictable trade policies and how they could impact businesses and consumers. He also takes a closer look at Elon Musk, explaining why unlikely voices like Bill Burr and Dave Portnoy have criticized the billionaire over the past week and what it might mean for Musk’s future at the helm of DOGE. Ravi then turns to th...
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March 11, 2025 • 35 mins
Ravi welcomes back Dr. Dhruv Khullar, a physician, assistant professor at Cornell, and contributing writer at The New Yorker, for a deep dive into the latest shifts in American science and nutrition. They begin with Dhruv’s latest New Yorker piece, Trump’s Agenda Is Undermining American Science, and examine how the DOGE-led budget cuts could disrupt medical innovation and public health.
Next, they turn to one of the biggest but le...
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March 6, 2025 • 54 mins
Ravi sits down with Emily Oster, New York Times bestselling author, professor of economics at Brown University, and founder and CEO of ParentData, to discuss the measles outbreak in Texas, the rise of vaccine hesitance, and the growing influence of misinformation on public health. They also break down the failures of COVID-19 messaging and the lasting consequences for experts now struggling to regain the public’s trust.
Emily and R...
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March 4, 2025 • 54 mins
Is there a crisis facing young men in America? Richard Reeves, the president of the American Institute for Boys and Men and non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, joins Ravi to explain why boys are falling behind in school, struggling with their mental health, and feeling more isolated than ever—and what we can do about it. Ravi and Richard explore the reasons both major political parties have largely failed to ad...
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February 27, 2025 • 60 mins
Journalist and author Ross Barkan returns to the show to discuss why traditional media is in crisis, whether we’re living in a new romantic age, and why 2025 may be the year we resist the lure of technology.
Ravi and Ross then turn to the political landscape and explain why we’re seeing a shift away from hyper-online politics. They also examine the Democratic Party’s future and what to make of the influence of figures like Elon Mu...
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February 25, 2025 • 52 mins
The FBI is undergoing a major shift with the appointment of Kash Patel as director and Dan Bongino as his deputy. Ravi kicks off the episode by diving into both men’s backgrounds and explains what their leadership could mean for the FBI’s operations, public trust, and national security.
He then sits down with Dorsey Hopson, former superintendent of Shelby County Schools, and Sarah Carpenter, executive director of The Memphis Lift, ...
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February 20, 2025 • 65 mins
Why should we care about the legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni? Ravi takes a closer look at the deeper implications of Hollywood’s latest feud and what it tells us about the cultural and political moment we’re living in. He then dives into what we can learn from the ways traditional, alternative, and online media have shaped the story’s narrative, what it signals about the evolving legacy of social movements like...
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