Should Trump be allowed to stay on the ballot? As the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on the former president’s eligibility due to his role in the January 6 insurrection, Ravi and guest co-host Isaac Saul discuss the legal and constitutional merits of the pending decision. The American public also has January 6 on its mind, with a new poll showing that a quarter of Americans believe the FBI instigated the attacks on the capitol. Ravi and Isaac discuss how public perception has changed o...
Jan 09, 2024•49 min
Dozens of previously sealed court documents related to Jeffrey Epstein have become public. Ravi and guest co-host Bethany McLean discuss what we know so far about the new revelations. What really happened with Sam Altman being ousted and then returning to OpenAI? It remains unclear what made the board decide to act. Our hosts tackle the secrecy around this and other recent tech scandals. Lastly, we explore the lessons, misunderstandings, and errors from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, from ...
Jan 04, 2024•45 min
Tim Alberta joins Ravi to discuss his new book, “The Power, the Glory, and the Kingdom." The book takes an in-depth, personal look at the birth and rise of America’s evangelical movement and explores how deceit, scandal, and fear have contributed to the wreckage it stands on today. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://bitly.ws/zC9K Subscribe to our Substack: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/ Follow The Branch on Instagram: h...
Jan 02, 2024•44 min
It’s Lost Debate’s last episode of 2023, and Ravi and Rikki take us through their Year in Review, from their favorite segments to the year’s best scandals. They then share their 2024 hot takes and predictions. Share your own by leaving us a voicemail! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our Substack: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/ Follow The Branch on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebranchmedia/ Follow The Branch on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thebranchmedia Follow The Branch on Twitter: ...
Dec 21, 2023•43 min
Rob Copeland joins Ravi to discuss his eye-opening new book “The Fund.” The book offers a searing look into Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, and explores how founder Ray Dalio’s “Principles” may prove to be the firm’s undoing. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://bitly.ws/zC9K Subscribe to our Substack: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/ Follow The Branch on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebranc...
Dec 19, 2023•47 min
Ravi is joined by Adam Harris from The Atlantic to discuss the genesis of American education, the Reconstruction-era leaders who ensured “education for all,” and how the trials and tribulations from that era still plague today’s schools. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://bitly.ws/zC9K Subscribe to our Substack: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/ Follow The Branch on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebranchmedia/ Foll...
Dec 17, 2023•31 min
Harvard, MIT, and UPenn’s presidents testified before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce last week, and the controversy over their statements regarding antisemitism on campuses has already led to UPenn president Liz Magill’s ouster. As calls intensify for Claudine Gay (Harvard) and Sally Kornbluth (MIT) to resign, Ravi and Rikki parse through the outrage over the hearings and assess the state of antisemitism on today’s college campuses. Corporate investors have flooded the housin...
Dec 14, 2023•48 min
President Biden issued an unexpected rebuke of Prime Minister Netanyahu and the state of Israel on Tuesday, condemning its military actions and warning that the government must change in order to maintain U.S. support. Tangle’s Isaac Saul joins Ravi to discuss this new development and the broader state of the war. We then turn to Ukraine, where all eyes are on President Zelensky’s meetings in Washington this week. As Zelensky pleads his case for additional funding, Ravi and Isaac discuss how int...
Dec 12, 2023•47 min
Bethany McLean joins Ravi to discuss her new book The Big Fail, a groundbreaking indictment of how greed and lack of leadership left us unprepared for a global pandemic. Bethany McLean is a journalist and contributing editor for Vanity Fair. She has co-authored multiple bestselling books, including The Smartest Guys in the Room with Peter Elkind and All the Devils Are Here with Joe Nocera. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://...
Dec 07, 2023•53 min
Seattle says landlords cannot reject tenants for having a criminal record. Should the Supreme Court step in? Ravi and Rikki tackle the often overlooked and controversial topic of landlord rights. Inflation has come down after a historic spike during the pandemic, but everyday Americans say the lower rates haven’t positively impacted their wallets yet. Our hosts debate whether goods deflation is back and how a viral $16 McDonald's order could shape the 2024 election. Finally, a new eye-opening st...
Dec 05, 2023•49 min
Bradley Tusk joins Ravi to talk about Obvious In Hindsight, his new satire novel about a political campaign that aims to legalize flying cars. Ravi and Bradley then turn to the current political landscape. The two discuss whether New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams can bounce back from his recent scandals and what the Biden campaign should do to win in 2024. Bradley Tusk is a venture capitalist, political strategist, philanthropist, and writer. The co-founder of Tusk Ventures and founder of the pol...
Dec 03, 2023•52 min
Is prompt engineer the dream job of the future? Rikki and Ravi explore the rise of AI-related jobs and debate how artificial intelligence will impact the workforce over the next several years. Do charter schools offer a better education than traditional public schools? Two new studies shed light on which states are getting school choice right. The hosts discuss what we can learn from the findings and its implications for funding quality schools. CRISPR, the revolutionary gene editing therapy, wa...
Nov 30, 2023•52 min
What happens now that Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend the ongoing ceasefire? Ravi is joined by guest co-host Isaac Saul to discuss the current status of the war and its likely outcomes. While Palestinians and Israelis deal with the realities on the ground, the conflict has also exposed growing strife in the U.S. that’s left businesses and corporations scrambling to respond. But why do so many institutions feel obligated to issue statements about world events? The hosts look to Jonathan Ch...
Nov 28, 2023•1 hr 8 min
Sam Altman is back as CEO of OpenAI only five days after he was ousted. Ravi breaks down the company's recent chaos and explains why the questions the drama has raised about artificial intelligence's pace, commercialization, and regulation deserve more attention. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Show Notes: OpenAI's Manifesto: https://openai.com/blog/introducing-openai Ilya: the AI scientist shaping the world (The Guardian): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iqn1H...
Nov 22, 2023•26 min
Ravi tackles the frequently asked questions, criticism, and comments we’ve received in response to our ongoing coverage of the Israel-Hamas war and the broader Israel-Palestine conflict. The Branch will continue to try to bring clarity to the complex dynamics of this war and the longest ongoing conflict in modern history. Leave us a voicemail to let us know the topics you’d like to hear more about! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://bitly.ws/zC9K Subscribe to our YouTube chann...
Nov 16, 2023•1 hr 6 min
As the Israel-Hamas war rages on, Yascha Mounk joins Ravi to discuss what’s shaping American leftists' response to the war and the greater Israel/Palestine conflict. They then take a deep dive into the current state of college campuses and offer suggestions for how colleges should respond to the rising backlash against free speech, anti-semitism, and Islamaphobia. Finally, as the war enters its fifth week, Yascha and Ravi review Israel’s military, political, and diplomatic options. Leave us a vo...
Nov 14, 2023•48 min
Are gradualists right and radicals wrong? Ravi is joined by Greg Berman and Aubrey Fox, the authors of "Gradual - The Case for Incremental Change in a Radical Age" to discuss whether incrementalism is the best way forward for societal change. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://bitly.ws/zC9K Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3Gs5YTF Subscribe to our Substack: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/ Follow The Branc...
Nov 12, 2023•50 min
What does the future of education look like? Ravi is joined by Sal Khan, the visionary founder and CEO of Khan Academy, to discuss how artificial intelligence could revolutionize education as we know it, why educators should embrace new technologies, and the ways Khan Academy’s Khanmigo is leading the charge to help more kids learn. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://bitly.ws/zC9K Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bi...
Nov 09, 2023•46 min
The current conflict between Israel and Hamas has been decades in the making. But who is Hamas? In this special episode, Ravi takes on the complex task of telling the unbiased history of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that currently rules Gaza. Listen to Part One: An Unbiased History of Israel-Palestine (Part 1) Listen to Part Two: An Unbiased History of Israel-Palestine (Part 2) Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://bit...
Nov 08, 2023•1 hr 5 min
A new poll shows President Biden trailing Donald Trump in five out of six key swing states just a year before the 2024 election. Ravi and Rikki discuss the poll’s confirmation that the American public has widespread concerns about Biden's age and performance and how the Democratic Party should respond. Once a fringe movement, homeschooling is now the fastest-growing form of education in America. The hosts break down the reasons the movement has finally caught on and which students the newest for...
Nov 07, 2023•58 min
Rikki is joined by Evan Mandery, professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the author of “Poison Ivy - How Elite Colleges Divide Us”. A Harvard College and Harvard Law School graduate, Evan argues elite colleges have become one of the driving forces in widening the gap between the haves and have-nots in America. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://bitly.ws/zC9K Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3Gs5...
Nov 05, 2023•45 min
The Israel-Palestine conflict is immensely complicated, and almost everyone has an opinion about it. In this special episode, Ravi takes on the impossible task of trying to tell an unbiased history in order to understand where we are today. This episode is part two. Listen to Part One: An Unbiased History of Israel-Palestine (Part 1) Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://bitly.ws/zC9K Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://b...
Nov 02, 2023•1 hr 5 min
As the war between Israel and Hamas enters its third week and the Israeli military initiates a ground invasion in Gaza, Ravi and guest co-host Isaac Saul discuss Israel’s definition of success, what to make of the American left’s anti-Israel swing, and the lessons to learn from the Western media biases surrounding this conflict. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://bitly.ws/zC9K Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly...
Oct 31, 2023•1 hr 2 min
Are claims that social media and technology have destroyed America warranted, or are flawed arguments driving the uproar around Big Tech? Rikki sits down with Robby Soave, author of "Tech Panic: Why We Shouldn't Fear Facebook and the Future," to discuss how issues animating both the right and the left have led to today's tech and social media ecosystem and what to do about it. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://bitly.ws/zC9K...
Oct 26, 2023•42 min
The Israel-Palestine conflict is immensely complicated, and almost everyone has an opinion about it. In this special episode, Ravi takes on the impossible task of trying to tell an unbiased history in order to understand where we are today. This episode is part one. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://bitly.ws/zC9K Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3Gs5YTF Subscribe to our Substack: https://thelostdebate.substa...
Oct 24, 2023•1 hr 13 min
Why are some rural communities so deeply disadvantaged? Ravi sits down with Professor Luke Schaefer to discuss his new co-authored book, “The Injustice of Place,” which examines America's impoverished rural areas and reveals surprising realities. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://bitly.ws/zC9K Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3Gs5YTF Subscribe to our Substack: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/ Follow The B...
Oct 19, 2023•47 min
In this special episode, Rikki Schlott is joined by her co-author Greg Lukianoff to discuss their groundbreaking new book, “The Canceling of the American Mind: Cancel Culture Undermines Trust and Threatens Us All―But There Is a Solution”. Learn more about the book here: The Canceling of the American Mind Greg Lukianoff is a free speech advocate, first-amendment attorney, and president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the sh...
Oct 17, 2023•43 min
The Supreme Court effectively eliminated affirmative action in higher education this June with their rulings in SFFA v. Harvard and SFFA v. UNC. Harvard Law School professor Jeannie Suk Gersen sits down with Ravi to discuss college admissions in a post-affirmative action world and how colleges and universities will work to ensure they continue to enroll diverse student bodies. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://bitly.ws/zC9K...
Oct 12, 2023•54 min
Yascha Mounk sits down with Ravi to discuss his new book, “The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time.” Yascha and Ravi explore the origins of “wokeness,” how its limitations have influenced the political and cultural transformations of the last decade, and whether universal, humanist values are the true remedy for the country’s injustices. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 321-200-0570 Subscribe to our feed on Spotify: http://bitly.ws/zC9K Subscribe to our YouT...
Oct 10, 2023•58 min
Failed cryptocurrency founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial kicked off this week. Rikki and guest co-host Isaac Saul explain what you need to know about the case and what we can expect from the proceedings. Many congressional Democrats have called for New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez to resign after being indicted on federal bribery charges in September. Is this the right move? Finally, the hosts discuss the current state of elections and why so many people complain about a broken system wit...
Oct 05, 2023•52 min
