Shows
The DisagreementIs College Worth It?Today’s disagreement is about college and its worth-it-ness. Does the traditional college model still make sense in today’s economy? Should we embrace shorter-term skills-based alternatives? And how can institutions balance access, affordability, and workforce readiness in a rapidly changing world?Ryan Craig is a Managing Director at Achieve Partners and co-founder of Apprenticeships for America. Ryan is also the author of Apprentice Nation: How the "Earn and Learn" Alternative to Higher Education Will Create a Stronger and Fairer America.Dr. Bridget Burns is founding CEO of the University Innovation Alliance, a ‘multi-campus laboratory’ for stud...2025-05-2938 min
The DisagreementBirthright CitizenshipEarlier this year, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship. He has placed this issue at the forefront of his immigration agenda and it is now being taken up by the Supreme Court. To have this conversation, we’ve brought together a constitutional law scholar and a political commentator.Cristina Rodríguez is the Leighton Homer Surbeck Professor of Law at Yale Law School. In 2021, she was appointed by President Biden to co-chair the Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States. Her recent book is called The President and Immigration Law. She...2025-05-151h 02
The DisagreementCampus DeportationsToday’s disagreement is about college campus detentions, due process, and free speech.We focus on the two most high-profile cases: Mahmoud Khalil: a green card holder, legal resident, and graduate student at Columbia University who had a leadership role within CUAD, which stands for Columbia University Apartheid Divest; and Rümeysa Öztürk: a graduate student at Tufts University who is a student visa holder. She co-authored an op-ed in the campus newspaper supporting a resolution to divest from Israel. We also briefly touch on the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case and President Bukele’s recent visit to the...2025-05-0151 min
The DisagreementLive @ SXSW EDU: School ChoiceIn March, we recorded an episode live on stage at SXSW EDU in Austin, Texas. This disagreement is all about ESAs, or Education Savings Accounts. You may have heard of ESAs under a different name, like vouchers or school choice programs. Right now, 18 states have some sort of ESA program in place.The programs are becoming more popular across the country, but should they be? What accounts for the increasing support for ESAs? What risks and benefits do they pose for students and families? Does the rise of ESAs inherently harm our public schools?When...2025-04-1753 minThe DisagreementThe Telepathy Tapes, Autism, and the ParanormalToday’s disagreement is on The Telepathy Tapes, Autism, and the Paranormal. If you’re not familiar, The Telepathy Tapes is a cultural phenomenon and podcast that launched in Fall 2024. By early January, it was the number one podcast in the country. Today, it’s still in the top ten. Its core thesis is quite provocative: that there are non-verbal autistic young people who possess telepathic powers and are able to read the minds of their parents and teachers.In this episode, we use The Telepathy Tapes as a springboard to ask some big questions about science, skepti...2025-03-1353 minThe DisagreementAI Literacy & EducationThis episode was recorded live on stage at EDTECH WEEK in New York City. Like most edtech conferences, there were many conversations about the potential power that AI could play in student learning. Ours was a different kind of conversation. We brought together two experts who both expressed skepticism about the role AI should be playing in education today. While they agreed on many things, there is a highly productive disagreement around whether or not we should be actively teaching AI literacy (or “readiness”) to students in grades K-12.Alex Kotran is the CEO of The AI Educ...2025-02-2747 minThe DisagreementAbolish the Department of Education?President Trump campaigned on a pledge to dismantle the DOE and has already made sweeping cuts to its research arm, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). What role should the federal government play in U.S. education? Where should the Department of Education’s functions live bureaucratically? Should they stay in the DOE or be distributed to other federal agencies? Michelle Dimino is the Education Program Director at Third Way, a national, center-left think tank. Michelle’s research and advocacy focus on improving student outcomes, promoting quality and transparency, and strengthening accountability through pragmatic policy reforms. Neal McCluskey is the...2025-02-2047 minThe DisagreementTrans Athletes & Elite SportsGender diversity in sports has become a focal point in the culture war and point of disagreement for sports governing bodies. We recorded this episode before the recent executive orders affecting transgender people. But those recent developments have put the political in a new light. Hopefully what you hear feels like a totally different kind of conversation.What is the nature of biological male advantage? What constitutes fairness? How do we reconcile gender identity and underlying biology?Host Alex Grodd moderates a disagreement between sports legal expert Doriane Coleman and sports physicist Joanna Harper. They...2025-02-1158 minThe Disagreement22: Should you punish your kids?Destini Ann Davis is a peaceful parenting advocate and influencer with 1.5 million followers on TikTok. She's the author of Very Intentional Parenting, Awakening the Empowered Parent Within.In our Gentle Parenting, episode with Lori Gottlieb and Ryan Allen, we covered a lot of ground, but didn’t dive deeply into the role of discipline and punishment in raising kids. So we're circling back with one of the internet's most influential, gentle parenting thinkers, Destini Ann Davis.This episode is partly Alex being coached by Destini and partly a disagreement about the role that punishment should pl...2024-12-1242 minThe Disagreement21: Online Sports BettingIn the last couple of years, sports betting has exploded across the United States. The rise of mobile, app-based sports betting is having profound impacts on the nature of sports viewership, fandom, and gambling addiction, particularly amongst young men.Is the rapid ascent of online sports betting creating a public health crisis? Is the online sports betting industry predatory? How should it be regulated?Dr. Harry Levant is the Director of Gambling Policy with the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University. Harry is also an Internationally Certified Gambling Counselor and a gambling addict in...2024-11-2659 minThe Disagreement20: Should you have kids?This disagreement is on The Ethics of Having Kids.In the age of climate change, is it more ethical to have kids or not have kids? What are the costs and benefits of either choice when the reality of our shared future is unknown? What does the pro-natalist movement and its policies get right and wrong?Heather Houser is a professor of English Literature at the University of Texas at Austin. A cultural critic and author of the book Infowhelm, Heather is an expert on climate change and feminism.Liz Bruenig is a...2024-10-2448 min
If You've Come This FarAlex Grodd...The DisagreementIn this episode, Chris and Shaun talk with Alex Grodd, founder of The Disagreement. The guys discuss Bill Bradley, curiosity, entrepreneurship, Alex’s first start-up: A Better Lesson, education, healthy disagreement, tattoos, free will, rubrics, and more. For more about The Disagreement: https://www.thedisagreement.com/And to check out a Better Lesson: https://betterlesson.comThis episode is brought to you by Half Acre Brewery. Check out the wonderful beers on Half Acre's website.2024-10-141h 19The Disagreement19: AI Tutoring & K-12 EducationToday’s disagreement is on AI tutoring and K-12 Education. How will AI tutoring benefit struggling and high achieving students? Will it enable personalized learning pathways for students?Two education experts come together for a longform, productive disagreement about whether AI is going to usher in a new era of personalized learning – and whether that is a good thing.Niels Hoven is the Founder and CEO of Mentava, a software company committed to accelerating learning for top-performing students. Mentava’s first product is a software-based tutor, designed to teach preschool students how to read.Benj...2024-10-1045 minThe Disagreement18: Gentle ParentingGentle parenting can be seen as a movement and generational push-back against the parenting styles that Gen-Xers and Millennials grew up with. We use “Gentle Parenting” as a stand-in for the entire constellation of modern parenting brands: Peaceful, Respectful, Mindful, Intentional, Conscious, Compassionate, Sturdy…While there are some small differences between each method, they all generally follow the core “gentle” tenets.Ryan Allen is a licensed child therapist and gentle parenting expert and influencer. He specializes in helping “little kids with big emotions.” He’s a bit of a social media phenom, with 1M followers on TikTok.Lori Gotlie...2024-09-2655 minThe DisagreementBonus: Can AI Become Conscious?In this bonus conversation, we feature a short (and new) excerpt from the full disagreement between last week's guests, Roman Yampolskiy and Alan Cowen. Here we apply the question of whether an AI can become conscious to Alan’s company, Hume AI, and their chatbot EVI. For a different disagreement between Roman and Alan, check out the feature episode.
Questions or comments about this episode? Email us at
podcast@thedisagreement.com or find us on X and Instagram
@thedisagreementhq. Subscribe to our newsletter:
https://thedisagreement.substack.com/2024-09-2110 minThe Disagreement17: AI and Existential RiskToday’s disagreement is on Artificial Intelligence and Existential Risk. In this episode, we ask the most consequential question we’ve asked so far on this show: Do rapidly advancing AI systems pose an existential threat to humanity?To have this conversation, we’ve brought together two experts: a world class computer scientist and a Silicon Valley AI entrepreneur.Roman Yampolskiy is an associate professor of Computer Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Louisville. His most recent book is: AI: Unexplainable, Unpredictable, Uncontrollable.Alan Cowen is the Chief Executive Officer of Hume A...2024-09-1250 minThe Disagreement16: The Retirement CrisisToday we have a disagreement on whether there’s a retirement crisis in the United States. To have this conversation, we’ve brought together two thought leaders on the topic.Andrew Biggs is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He studies social security reform, pensions and public sector benefits. Before joining AEI, Biggs was the principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration.Monique Morrissey is a Senior Economist at the Economic Policy Institute. Her areas of expertise span social security, pensions, older workers and household savings. A member of the National Academy of S...2024-08-0850 minThe Disagreement15: White PrivilegeThe disagreement over the concept of white privilege is at the center of many of our political and cultural struggles at the moment. On the Left, white privilege is a bedrock principle, a foundational assumption that motivates much of the discourse around race in America. On the Right, the concept is primarily an object of derision. It’s dismissed, mocked and held up as the sign of the Left’s moral confusion and obsession with identity politics.To work through this problem, we’ve brought together a Black conservative philosopher and a white anti-racist activist.Ja...2024-07-2543 minThe Disagreement14: Extraterrestrial LifeToday’s disagreement is on whether or not extraterrestrial life exists. We’ve brought on two guests who are out of this world. ;)Dr. Avi Loeb is an astrophysicist and professor of Science at Harvard University. As head of The Galileo Project at Harvard, Dr. Loeb directs the search for evidence of extraterrestrials. Avi is also the author of more than eight hundred scientific papers and the books Interstellar and Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth.Dr. Michael Shermer is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine. He is the bestselling author of many...2024-07-1135 minThe Disagreement13: Criminal Justice ReformToday’s disagreement is about criminal justice reform, specifically the state of policing and incarceration in the United States. To explore its contours, we’ve brought on two experts in criminal justice.Rafael A. Mangual works on the Policing & Public Safety Initiative at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. He is a contributing editor of City Journal AND is the author of Criminal (In)Justice: What The Push For Decarceration And Depolicing Gets Wrong And Who It Hurts Most.Chesa Boudin is the founding executive director of Berkeley's Criminal Law and Justice Center. Previously, Chesa serv...2024-06-2756 minThe Disagreement12: Gender-Affirming Care for Children and AdolescentsWhat you’re about to hear is a powerful and sustained disagreement with the current discourse on youth gender medicine and the more extreme voices who tend to dominate the public conversation. Gender-affirming care, as defined by the World Health Organization, includes social, psychological, behavioral, and medical interventions “designed to support and affirm an individual’s gender identity” when it conflicts with their gender assigned at birth.How long should physicians and clinicians observe a child before they decide to treat them for gender dysphoria?When (if ever) should a child socially transition, begin hor...2024-06-1359 minThe Disagreement11: The Math WarsToday's disagreement is about the "math wars."The "math wars” is a debate happening in K-12 education about the best way to teach math. Broadly speaking, there are two camps that have conflicting pedagogical approaches:Explicit instruction focuses on procedural fluency, guided practice, and repetition.Inquiry-based instruction focuses on conceptual understanding, open-ended problems, and productive struggle.This is an incredibly high-stakes debate — especially if you have children or loved ones that are currently receiving K-12 math instruction. To explore its contours, we’ve brought on two math education expertsThe Gu...2024-06-0437 minThe Disagreement10: Banning TikTokShould the United States ban or force the sale of TikTok? What are the implications for free speech? In mid-April 2024, the United States Congress passed legislation that gave ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, 270 days to sell TikTok or it would be banned in the United States. In response, TikTok filed a lawsuit declaring the legislation unconstitutional on a number of free speech grounds. And it’s currently making its way through the courts.What are the compelling arguments for and against a potential ban or forced sale? Is it constitutional?The Guests2024-05-2854 minThe Disagreement9: Medical Aid in DyingToday’s disagreement is on medical aid in dying. In the United States, this term refers to the right for a terminally ill, adult patient to end their own life by taking a medication prescribed by a doctor. Medical aid in dying is currently legal in ten states and Washington, D.C.We’ve brought together an activist and a doctor to dive into the topic:Dr. Ira Byock is a physician, author, and advocate for palliative care — the medical practice of treating people with serious, complex, and terminal illnesses. Ira is the founder of the Pr...2024-05-2159 minThe DisagreementBonus Episode - Sleep Training 1-1 with Sarah MooreThis is a special bonus episode of The Disagreement. In our most recent episode, nurse Megan Tucker and parent coach Sarah Moore talked about sleep training: specifically, the “cry-it-out” method (also known as the extinction method). It’s a controversial parenting technique — one which Megan often advises, but Sarah Moore does not.We wanted to get into the alternatives, but didn’t have enough time in the main disagreement. Sarah agreed to come back and talk about the other options available to parents — what she calls the more ‘gentle techniques.’ Sarah Moore is a conscious parent...2024-05-1636 minThe Disagreement8: Sleep Training – The "Cry-It-Out" MethodThe “Cry-It-Out” method is also known as the extinction method. Here’s what it looks like: at bedtime, parents put the baby in the crib drowsy, but still awake. Then they leave the room and get the baby at a set time the next morning. They don’t respond to crying or protest unless there’s a concern for health or safety. Is this the best way to help a new baby sleep through the night? Or are there better alternatives? The GuestsSarah Moore is a conscious parenting trainer and founder of Dandelion S...2024-05-1453 minThe Disagreement7: Marijuana LegalizationIn this episode, The Disagreement asks a wide range of important questions about marijuana legalization.Is marijuana harmful? And if so, what is the nature of the harm?Has the increasing regulation of marijuana over the past few years been positive or negative for public health, criminal justice, and the US economy?What are the most compelling arguments for and against regulation? GuestsPaul Armentano is the Political Director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and a leading national advocate for legalizing marijuana. He has written many books a...2024-04-3042 minThe Disagreement6: American PowerWhat role should the United States be playing on the global stage?Shadi Hamid is an American author and political scientist, who is currently a columnist and member of the Editorial Board at The Washington Post. He is also a host on the Wisdom of Crowds podcast.Daniel Bessner is the Annett H. and Kenneth B. Pyle Associate Professor in American Foreign Policy at the University of Washington. He also co-hosts the American Prestige podcast. Today we ask a wide range important questions about American power:To what extent should the U.S...2024-04-1655 minThe Disagreement5: CircumcisionToday we have a sharp disagreement about circumcision with two cutting-edge experts in the field.Professor Brian Morris is professor emeritus of molecular medical sciences at the University of Sydney in Australia. Over the last few decades, he has become perhaps the most prolific researcher in the world when it comes to the medical benefits of circumcision. Dr. Ted Handler is a pediatrician at East Bay Pediatrics in northern California and the founding pediatrician for Oath Care, a venture-backed healthcare startup. In 2023, he wrote a viral article called “A Jewish pediatrician’s surprising take on circumc...2024-04-0952 minThe Disagreement4: Israel and American JewsToday's disagreement is about the relationship between Israel and American Jews. To have this conversation, we’ve brought together two prominent American Rabbis with two very different perspectives on the current conflict. The GuestsRabbi Stuart Weinblatt founded Congregation B’Nai Tzedek in Potomac, Maryland in 1988 and is the Senior Rabbi there. He is the Chair of the Zionist Rabbinic Coalition and has previously served as the President of the Rabbinic Cabinet of the Jewish Federations of North America, and the Director of Israel Policy and Advocacy at the Rabbinical Assembly. Rabbi...2024-04-0258 minThe Disagreement3: Nuclear EnergyToday's disagreement is about nuclear energy and how much it should or should not be a part of our energy grid.We’re working through most of the major arguments for and against nuclear power – such as:Pragmatic concerns with nuclear energy: specifically, the cost and timingChina’s advantages over the United States when it comes to creating nuclear power plantsThe strengths and weaknesses of renewable energy sources The GuestsJoshua Goldstein is an emeritus professor of International Relations at American University and the co-writer of the documentary Nuclear Now with Oliver...2024-03-2654 minThe Disagreement2: ADHDToday’s disagreement is about ADHD and its meteoric rise in the United States.Specifically, what are the causes of ADHD? Is it biological or environmental or both? And given that, what is the right approach to medicating and treating our children?In today’s episode: two health experts with very different perspectives on ADHD. The GuestsMarilyn Wedge (Phd, LMFT) is a practicing Family Therapist in Westlake, CA and author of A Disease called Childhood: Why ADHD Became an American Epidemic. She holds a Phd in Social Psychology from...2024-03-191h 00The Disagreement1: ImmigrationToday's disagreement is on U .S. immigration. We're going to focus on two things.First, the border: how did we get here and what should we do now? Second, what is the right strategic approach to U.S. immigration?How do we weigh the costs and benefits? How do we balance national interests and humanitarian concerns?In today's episode: two immigration experts with two very different perspectives on this pressing issue. The GuestsMarielena Hincapié is a Distinguished Immigration Scholar at Cornell University and served as the Ex...2024-03-1959 minThe DisagreementIntroducing: The DisagreementIntroducing The Disagreement with Alex Grodd.Questions or comments about this episode? Email us at
podcast@thedisagreement.com or find us on X and Instagram
@thedisagreementhq. Subscribe to our newsletter:
https://thedisagreement.substack.com/2024-03-0801 min