Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates - [Unedited]

John Donvan joined Ben Nelson, CEO of The Minvera Project, and David Deming, economist and professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, to do what we do best: argument, but not a formal debate in our usual way. In this exchange, Ben and David “Agree to Disagree,” about how colleges are adapting to online learning, what students and educators are missing, and how we must adapt to the new normal.

Saudi Arabia and Iran are vying for regional dominance. Turkey is cozying up to Russia and China. And instability, conflict, and proxy wars have engulfed Syria, Yemen, and beyond. How should the United States respond to shifting power in the Middle East? Staged in our “Unresolved” format, this debate brings together five foreign policy experts to tackle pressing questions on geopolitics in the Middle East, including: Is Trump right on Saudi Arabia? Is the world safer without the JCPOA? And is Turkey an asset to NATO?

What will save, U.S. health care? Some argue that the bargaining power and data competencies of retailers entering into the healthcare business will squeeze middlemen out of an inefficient supply chain and bring more transparency to health care pricing. But others argue that the promise of these novel efforts is overstated, particularly because U.S. health care is so complex and deeply rooted. Will consumer-focused models and employer-led initiatives lead to better and less expensive outcomes? The debaters are Dr. Rajaie Batniji, Dr. Lisa Bielamowicz, W. Gregg Slager, and Rosemarie Day.

Globalization ushered in an era of free trade, fluid borders, and unparalleled corporate profits. But in the United States, jobs are disappearing, and the American working class is losing ground. Is globalization to blame? Did the push toward global integration leave our most vulnerable populations behind, making them the losers of this grand experiment? Or is globalization being used as a scapegoat for a wider range of failed public policies and unprecedented advances in technology? The debaters are Thea Lee, Jason Furman, Jared Bernstein, and James Manyika.

Motion: Pay College Athletes College sports is a big-money business, with football and basketball programs generating millions of dollars in revenue every year. While coaches and athletic directors in Division I programs routinely score seven-figure contracts, student-athletes are currently prohibited from sharing in the profits. Is it time to rewrite the rules in college sports and allow athletes their fair share of the profits? Or would providing monetary incentives -- above and beyond existing scholarships and career supports -- spoil the sport?

Walmart has long been a target for critics of corporate expansion, but does the company really deserve the scrutiny? Some say that the big-box retailer devastates small communities by pushing out locally-owned businesses, mistreats its workers through low pay and restrictive work hours, and forces American companies to use cheap foreign labor to produce goods at a low cost. Others point to the fact that Walmart provides countless jobs to low-skilled American workers, sells affordable goods has increasingly become a leader in sustainability, and attracts new consumers and businesses to it's neighborhoods. Has Walmart been good for America?

Almost everyone can think of something they would like to change in the U.S. Constitution. Some would like to update it to fit new technologies and evolving social mores. Others think the Supreme Court has illegitimately “updated” it too much already, and would like to restore its original meaning. Either way, it is always tempting to invoke Article V to amend the Constitution—to “fix" it, or “restore" it, or “improve" it... The debaters are Lawrence Lessig, David Super, Mark Meckler, and