NPR: Intelligence Squared

Does Income Inequality Impair the American Dream?

With Elise Gould, Edward Conard, Nick Hanauer, and Scott Winship.

Mass Collection of U.S. Phone Records Violates the Fourth Amendment

Some say that the mass collection of U.S. phone records ...

Some say that the mass collection of U.S. phone records is a gross invasion of privacy. Others say that it is necessary to keep us safe. But what does the U.S. Constitution say? "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,...

Will Flexing America's Muscles in the Middle East Make Things Worse?

The disintegration of Iraq, Syria’s ongoing civil war, the Israeli-Palestinian ...

The disintegration of Iraq, Syria’s ongoing civil war, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the promise and peril of the Arab Spring... What role should America play in the Middle East? For some America’s restraint has been a sign of...

Should We Embrace the Common Core?

In K-12 education, there is nothing more controversial than the ...

In K-12 education, there is nothing more controversial than the Common Core State Standards, national academic standards in English and math. Adopted by more than 40 states, they were developed, in part, to address concerns that American...

IQ2US Retrospective on Hamas and Israel

Revisiting a debate from 2006

Is there a constitutional right to unlimited spending on political speech?

Is independent political speech the linchpin of our democracy or ...

Is independent political speech the linchpin of our democracy or its Achilles' heel?   For democracy to work, some say, citizens (and corporations, and unions, and media outlets, and other voluntary organizations) must be allowed to express...

Is Death Final?

If consciousness is just the workings of neurons and synapses, ...

If consciousness is just the workings of neurons and synapses, how do we explain the phenomenon of near-death experience? Is the prospect of an existence after death “real” and provable by science, or a construct of wishful thinking about...

Do Millennials Stand a Chance?

Millennials—growing up with revolutionary technology and entering adulthood in a ...

Millennials—growing up with revolutionary technology and entering adulthood in a time of recession—have recently been much maligned. Are their critics right? Is this generation uniquely coddled, narcissistic, and lazy? Or have we let...

The Controversy Over Ayaan Hirsi Ali at Brandeis University

Women's rights activist, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, became the center a ...

Women's rights activist, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, became the center a media firestorm last week, when Brandies University reversed its decision to grant her an honorary degree. While they commend her for being "a compelling public figure and advocate...

More Clicks, Fewer Bricks: Is The Lecture Hall Obsolete?

Is the college of the future online? With the popularity ...

Is the college of the future online? With the popularity of MOOCs (massive open online courses) and the availability of online degree programs at a fraction of their on-campus price, we are experiencing an exciting experiment in higher education. Does...