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

October 29, 2026 • 55 mins
Poverty doesn’t have to limit a child’s education—and Eva Moskowitz built Success Academy to prove it. Ravi sits down with the charter school network’s founder to explore how her students outperform some of New York’s wealthiest districts—and what other schools can learn from her model. They discuss high expectations, intensive teacher training, and why she believes more funding alone won’t...
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What happens when a government promises more than it can afford—and voters reject the changes needed to sustain it? Ravi examines France’s unrest, tracing the tensions between student demands, rising debt, and pension obligations that crowd out spending on public services. He explores how political leaders respond to rioting and looting, why Marine Le Pen stands to benefit, and what the turmoil reveals about Europe&rsqu...
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October 14, 2026 • 46 mins
Nearly 2,000 claims of child sexual abuse reveal a devastating pattern: schools protecting adults while failing children. Ravi sits down with The 74’s investigative reporter Amanda Geduld to unpack her more than two-year investigation into sexual abuse across New York’s public and private schools. They examine how ignored warnings, quiet resignations, opaque disciplinary records, and legal gaps can allow ...
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October 7, 2026 • 75 mins
Nikole Hannah-Jones’s essay about her daughter’s education has reignited the debate over school integration and parental choice. But are we learning the right lessons? Drawing on his experience as a school principal and superintendent, Ravi examines her account and challenges the idea that integration and more funding can fix what’s failing in public education. He explores charter school results, teachers’ u...
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Ravi is joined by Jeremiah, host of the New Liberal podcast, for a wide-ranging conversation that starts with the seemingly endless things people blame on capitalism. Then they take on Nikole Hannah-Jones’s account of choosing a school that reflected her beliefs about integration—and realizing her daughter wasn’t getting the education that was best for her. They also discuss the White House’s restrictions on...
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September 22, 2026 • 12 mins
To celebrate the launch of his new book, The Invisible List, Ravi shares an audiobook excerpt about his “skill sabbatical” learning to surf—an exhilarating, difficult, and at times terrifying pursuit. Along the way, he explains how he transformed his life by treating each year like a school year—and himself as his only student. But the chapter isn’t really about surfing; it’s about facing fear, e...
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September 17, 2026 • 52 mins
As AI becomes capable of doing more of the work once reserved for highly educated people, could it push society toward socialism? Labor lawyer and policy thinker Matt Bruenig joins Ravi to imagine a future in which human intelligence no longer carries the same economic value, traditional careers disappear, and education must be reinvented. They examine how people might earn a living and find purpose in a world with far less human l...
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September 8, 2026 • 41 mins
Who was Osama bin Laden—and what did he believe attacking America would accomplish? Journalist Graeme Wood explores how the son of a wealthy Saudi construction magnate became the world’s most notorious terrorist, the fatal miscalculations behind 9/11, and how Al-Qaeda evolved into a powerful global network. He explains where Al-Qaeda remains strongest, whether it still threatens the United States, and how modern survei...
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Ravi examines the economic consequences of Trump’s immigration crackdown as net migration turns negative and labor shortages ripple across the country. He also unpacks Trump’s full-throated support for data centers—even as opposition grows among Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike. Then, educator Dan Meyer joins the show to scrutinize Alpha School, the buzzy AI-powered model promising students twice the...
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Who can best help children learn—AI or humans? In this special episode shared on behalf of Bellwether, a nonprofit transforming education for young people, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings argues that AI could move education beyond the one-size-fits-all classroom toward individualized learning. Education entrepreneur Mike Goldstein pushes back, asking whether technology can overcome students’ lack of motivation—...
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Ravi Gupta unpacks a volatile primary season, where ideological insurgents are gaining ground, independents are being sidelined, and both parties’ youngest voters appear increasingly drawn to political extremes. He also examines Alaska’s surprising electoral possibilities and a radically reshaped Democratic presidential calendar designed to test candidates across a broader coalition. Then, acclaimed novelist and former ...
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August 12, 2026 • 44 mins
Nightlife gave us jazz, disco, techno, and entire cultural revolutions. From the courtesan districts of 17th-century Japan to the ruins of postwar Berlin, historian Imogen Willetts takes us through the history of nightlife, uncovering how outsiders transformed forgotten spaces into engines of art and rebellion. She explains why the best scenes thrive in moments of upheaval, why popularity often destroys them, and how smartphones ha...
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August 6, 2026 • 41 mins
One ruptured bicep, two heartbreaking losses, and a week of political madness leave Ravi reflecting on health, grief, and what it really means to help people. He channels that grief into a new community project, "The Book of Ordinary Lives,” honoring everyday people with the kind of thoughtful obituaries usually reserved for the famous. Then he digs into the “Democratic establishment” that calls itself insurgent...
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July 29, 2026 • 30 mins
The robot you imagined as a kid is now something you can actually own. On today’s episode, New Yorker writer Stephen Witt reveals that the humanoid robots of childhood cartoons and science fiction are real—and already for sale. He takes Ravi inside the race to build machines that can walk, learn, fold laundry, and potentially transform the global workforce. But their bodies are advancing faster than their brains, and te...
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July 15, 2026 • 69 mins
Ravi Gupta sits down with The Argument's Kobe Yank-Jacobs for a conversation that begins with Elon Musk, USAID, and the politics of accountability before expanding into a bigger question: what kind of global leadership should America stand for? They separate political rhetoric from the evidence, then turn to artificial intelligence—exploring how AI is reshaping politics, jobs, and elections, and why neither party seems ready ...
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July 8, 2026 • 45 mins
The fallout from the Graham Platner scandal is exposing deeper problems inside the Democratic Party. Ravi examines how influential podcasts, political insiders, and media figures elevated flawed candidates while sidestepping accountability when they got it wrong. He introduces what he calls "slopulism"—a style of politics driven by viral messaging, impossible promises, and moral certainty—and asks why a movement tha...
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July 6, 2026 • 15 mins
Breaking news has upended one of the Democratic Party's highest-profile Senate campaigns. After reports of rape allegations against Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, Ravi Gupta explains why he publicly questioned Platner's credibility weeks ago—and why he believes this story is about much more than one candidate. Who elevated Platner? Why were the warning signs dismissed? And what responsibility do the media figures...
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July 1, 2026 • 53 mins
Who really runs the Democratic Party today? Ravi sits down with Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, to discuss the rise of online influencers, ideological purity tests, and the fight over who the party's true "establishment" is. They explore whether the Democratic Party has drifted away from Barack Obama's vision of broad coalitions and respectful disagreement—and toward a more Trump-like style of politics driven b...
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June 25, 2026 • 45 mins
Why is it so hard to fire bad teachers and bad cops? Ravi sits down with Robert Gordon and Nick Bagley to discuss the problems with public sector unions—how they use political influence, protect ineffective workers, and make it difficult to reward excellence. They explore how a small number of poor performers can have an outsized impact on schools, policing, and public trust, and examine what states that have successfully r...
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June 23, 2026 • 47 mins
Andrew Tate became one of the most influential figures on the internet by selling young men a vision of power, wealth, and masculinity. But behind the viral clips, luxury cars, and billions of views lies a disturbing trail of allegations, court cases, leaked messages, and accusations of abuse spanning multiple countries. In this conversation, New Yorker reporter Heidi Blake takes us inside her months-long investigation into Tate's ...
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