Discourse Lab

Clayton Smith and Anthony Rispo

Co-hosts Anthony Rispo and Clayton Smith, along with their ideologically diverse suite of guests, use conversation to test ideas, analyze arguments, and question dogmas.

Last refreshed: July 28th, 2025 at 10:58 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

The Big Beautiful Episode

In the first part of this episode Clay flies solo. He humbly requests guest suggestions, and also offers a good faith response to some very critical instagram comments. In the second part the lads discuss the "Big Beautiful Bill" (finally!), or at least the parts of it that they found particularly interesting. This one is a bit long, so bonus points to anyone who makes it all the way to the end. Please DM us on Instagram at @ the_discourselab or email us at contactdiscourselab@gmail.com for gues...

Jul 28, 2025•2 hr 14 min•Ep. 6

Jonas Du (Not a Fascist)

In this episode the boys are joined by Jonas Du, a Free Press Fellow and founder of Sundial , Columbia University's newest, most ideologically diverse student publication. Jonas shares his personal experience as a young conservative surrounded by mostly left-wing peers, and talks about what lead him to found Sundial . He also shares details about his latest article, Young, Hot, and Triumphant: Welcome to MAGA Summer . Tune in to get Du's takes on the rise of conservatism in Gen Z, the takeover o...

Jul 21, 2025•1 hr 55 min•Ep. 5

Fascists, Commies, and Dudes Riding Elephants

In this episode of Discourse Lab, the boys dive into how ideology distorts research, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of moral foundations theory, and struggle (but ultimately succeed!) to explain P-values and P-hacking.

Jul 15, 2025•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 4

What had happened was...

In this episode the boys explain why you're not getting a full length episode this week. Stay to the end to hear what Anthony and Clay love about the good ol' US of A!

Jul 08, 2025•33 min•Ep. 3

The Mamdani Effect

In this episode, Anthony and Clay discuss NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's socialist platform. Listen to this episode if you want hear about the merits of rent control (or lack thereof) , the psychological predisposition of the authoritarian left, the nuggets of gold in Zohran's platform, and much more! Sincerest apologies to Mr. Mamdani for mispronouncing his name on a number of occasions. Oh, and the boys squeeze in a quick discussion about the innate differences between men and women in...

Jul 01, 2025•1 hr 55 min•Ep. 2

Welcome to Discourse Lab!

In this intro episode co-hosts Clay and Anthony introduce themselves and explain what they hope to do with Discourse Lab. Expect to learn why they stopped making The Columbia HxA Podcast, when new episodes will drop, why they chose the name "Discourse Lab," and more!

Jun 17, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 1

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