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PODCAST

Lost Debate

Lost Debate is a weekly podcast from The Branch that brings you news, ideas, and arguments from around the political spectrum. We engage in the good-faith discussions that too much of our society and media miss. It"s hosted by Ravi Gupta, a former Obama staffer turned school principal.

news politics

All Episodes

34:17

Everything I Know About Health & Fitness

Lost Debate ·

2025/10/22

Ravi Gupta shares the health and fitness lessons he’s learned from running Squadra, his training program for professionals. He emphasizes simplicity and breaks down what truly works—lifting heavy, sprinting occasionally, eating protein, and tuning out wellness hype. Covering biomarkers, wearables, and supplements, his message is clear: real progress comes from consistency, not trends. Fitness, Ravi reminds us, isn’t about perfection—it’s about showing up when most people quit.Analog Writer’s

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30:29

Why I’ve Changed How I Invest

Lost Debate ·

2025/10/08

Ravi Gupta asks: What if the greatest risk in markets today isn’t missing out on AI—but believing it can never crash? In this solo deep dive, he unpacks why today’s trillion-dollar bets on artificial intelligence may mirror past manias—and why, with pensions, private equity, and passive index funds all in the mix, the next downturn could look less like Silicon Valley in 2000 and more like Japan’s lost decade. All of these arguments build toward a single point: how Ravi is rethinking his own

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39:22

Why AI Kisses Your Ass

Lost Debate ·

2025/10/01

Ravi Gupta sits down with The Atlantic’s Matteo Wong to dig into why AI chatbots act like digital yes-men—and the risks that come with it. They explore how reinforcement learning fuels this sycophancy, why companies shape bot “personalities,” and what it means for safety. Along the way, they cover teen harms, Musk’s Grok pushing conspiracies, Google’s Gemini edge, and OpenAI’s massive reach. The episode asks the big question: can anyone break the OpenAI–Google–Anthropic monopoly, or is the future of

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47:06

Why America’s Kids Are Anxious

Lost Debate ·

2025/09/24

Ravi Gupta welcomes back Lenore Skenazy, author of Free-Range Kids and president of Let Grow, to explore how fear-driven parenting and digital distraction are reshaping childhood. From the 1980s milk-carton panic to today’s surveillance tech, they show how over-scheduling breeds helplessness instead of competence. Citing new polling, Skenazy reveals kids overwhelmingly prefer unstructured play with friends over screens or adult-run activities. They link these trends to rising youth anxiety, falling

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43:37

A War on the First Amendment

Lost Debate ·

2025/09/17

Ravi dissects the assassination of Charlie Kirk and what it reveals about America’s escalating era of political violence. He examines the FBI’s failures, the right’s contradictions on free speech, and the Trump administration’s use of state power against ideological opponents. The episode also looks at media consolidation, TikTok’s looming takeover, foreign AI entanglements, and the widening economic divide in the U.S. Ravi closes by connecting these crises to global flashpoints—from Navalny’s

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58:52

Is AI Overhyped? With Cal Newport

Lost Debate ·

2025/09/10

Ravi sits down with bestselling author Cal Newport to unpack the hype and reality of artificial intelligence. They explore how AI may actually be hurting productivity by diminishing our ability to focus, and why that matters more than ever. Cal lays out a compelling “bear case” for AI, arguing that the revolution we’ve been promised may not materialize anytime soon. Ravi and Cal discuss why most jobs aren’t going away, why the future is likely to involve a thousand bespoke tools, instead of one

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60:32

A British Revolution

Lost Debate ·

2025/08/27

Ravi sits down with Doug Lemov and former UK Schools Minister Nick Gibb to discuss Nick’s new book, Reforming Lessons: Why English Schools Have Improved Since 2010 and How This Was Achieved, and explore one of the most ambitious education reform stories of the past two decades. Nick lays out how a knowledge-rich curriculum, phonics, behavior expectations, and high-stakes accountability helped England leap from the bottom to near the top of global education rankings. Doug, Ravi, and Nick discuss

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53:08

War Will Never Be the Same

Lost Debate ·

2025/08/20

Ravi sits down with legendary war correspondent Dexter Filkins for a closer look into how drones and AI are transforming modern warfare. They explore Dexter’s recent piece in The New Yorker, Is the U.S. Ready for the Next War?, and his on-the-ground reporting in Ukraine, where $500 kamikaze drones are inflicting massive damage on Russian forces and gamified drone warfare is reshaping combat strategy.The conversation then turns to the implications for U.S. military readiness, China’s dominance in

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54:30

What Washed Away

Lost Debate ·

2025/08/12

Years before the levees failed, New Orleans’ public schools were already in crisis. The corruption was so entrenched that the FBI even set up shop inside the district. The first episode of Where the Schools Went uncovers how decades of mismanagement and neglect turned New Orleans into a cautionary tale long before Hurricane Katrina ever made landfall, and how it set the stage for what would come after. We also follow a group of educators who fled to Houston in the aftermath of the storm and built a

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42:08

Are We Heading for a Recession?

Lost Debate ·

2025/08/06

Ravi is joined by hedge fund founder Spencer Hakimian for a deep dive into the state of the U.S. economy under Trump. They begin with the firing of the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a move that raises urgent questions about data integrity and the politicization of economic institutions. From there, they discuss Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s likely exit and what Trump’s next appointment could mean for the future of the Fed. Finally, Ravi and Spencer assess the growing risk of stagflation and

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2:57

Introducing ‘Where the Schools Went’

Lost Debate ·

2025/08/05

August 2025 marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina altered New Orleans forever. Much has been written about the storm’s destruction and the city’s long road to recovery. But tucked behind those headlines is another story. One that shaped the lives of thousands of children.From The Branch in partnership with The 74 and MeidasTouch, Where the Schools Went is a five-part documentary series about what happened to the city’s schools after the levees broke, and how it led to the most radical education

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50:04

Maxwell Pardon, Tariff Wins, CECOT Prison

Lost Debate ·

2025/07/30

Ravi opens the show by diving into the latest headlines, from Trump's reluctance to rule out a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell to the latest attacks on FEMA and the US. dollar. He then welcomes Gisela Salim-Peyer to the show to discuss her latest piece in The Atlantic, No One Was Supposed to Leave Alive. Gisela shares more about her investigation into El Salvador's mega-prison, where some individuals based in the U.S. have been sent without due process. Ravi and Gisela examine the legal gray zone

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72:02

Epstein Diversions, Russia-gate Revisionism, Gen Z Sex

Lost Debate ·

2025/07/23

Ravi kicks off the show with the latest update in the Epstein scandal — a resurfaced birthday letter allegedly sent from Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein. He unpacks the implications of Trump's denial, the GOP's strategic calls to "release the list," and what's really at stake in the fight over grand jury testimony. From there, he turns to Trump's latest attacks on Obama, FEMA, and the U.S. dollar, connecting the dots between the President's social media meltdowns, a hollowed-out disaster response

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46:54

Why Epstein Matters

Lost Debate ·

2025/07/16

Ravi unpacks a chaotic week in politics, with Trump’s Epstein scandal spiraling into an unprecedented crisis for his MAGA coalition. He explores how conspiracy thinking fuels Trump’s base and why this case feels different.Next, is America’s crisis infrastructure at risk? Ravi reviews FEMA’s botched disaster response in Texas. He then turns to the president’s recent erratic shifts on Ukraine and the economy and why they may signal a looming economic storm, linking Trump’s tariff threats, service

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54:23

Diddy Verdict, Mamdani Fallout, Hobby Politics

Lost Debate ·

2025/07/02

Ravi welcomes The Atlantic’s Tyler Austin Harper back to the show for a wide-ranging conversation on some of the week’s biggest headlines, from the Diddy verdict and the dangers of prosecutorial outreach to Bernie Sanders’ recent appearance on Rogan and Trump’s escalating legal attacks on the press.They then turn to Zohran Mamdani’s win in the New York City mayoral primary and explore what the victory suggests about shifting ideas of political “moderation” and deep divides within Democratic

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46:23

Historic NYC Upset

Lost Debate ·

2025/06/25

Ravi is joined by Bradley Tusk to break down one of the wildest political upsets in recent memory: Zohran Mamdani’s decisive win in the New York City mayoral primary. They unpack how it happened, why Cuomo flamed out so badly, and what Mamdani needs to do next if he wants to govern the city.From campaign strategy to trash collection, rent freezes to charter schools, Ravi and Bradley dive into what kind of mayor Mamdani might be and what it will take to make the leap from activist to executive

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71:44

Iran War, Tucker v. Cruz, Apple in China

Lost Debate ·

2025/06/19

Are Israel and Iran on the brink of war? Ravi takes a closer look at the rapidly escalating conflict and the unsettling possibility that the U.S. is more deeply involved than most Americans realize. He also explores the growing battle within MAGA over America’s role on the global stage, the political opportunism accompanying the recent wave of political violence, and how the Trump administration’s threats to ramp up deportation efforts could upend key industries that rely on undocumented

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60:48

Clashes in LA, Abrego Indictment, Cartel Influencers

Lost Debate ·

2025/06/10

Ravi opens with a deep dive into the unfolding chaos in Los Angeles, where the Trump administration has deployed federal agents and Marines to respond to the ongoing immigration protests. He breaks down what we know so far, why the deployment of federal troops may set a dangerous precedent for civilian law enforcement, and what else is at stake from a legal and constitutional perspective.Antón Barba-Kay, author of A Web of Our Own Making, then joins the show to explain how Mexican drug cartels

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12:44

The Musk Trump Breakup

Lost Debate ·

2025/06/05

Donald Trump and Elon Musk are on a collision course to all-out political war, and it's messier—and more consequential—than anyone expected.In this breaking news episode, Ravi unpacks how a once-symbiotic alliance devolved into internet warfare, with accusations flying and stakes rising by the hour. He then explores how a Musk-Trump feud could have massive ripple effects on national security, tech policy, and the future of the Republican Party. Finally, Ravi takes a step back to explain why this

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61:55

Tech Monarchists, Elon's Drugs, Past and Future of Work

Lost Debate ·

2025/06/03

Ravi kicks off the episode with a sharp take on the latest headlines, from FEMA’s alarming lack of hurricane preparedness and the fragility of U.S. supply chains to the growing indicators that the country is headed towards stagflation. He also reflects on new reports about Elon Musk’s drug use, the rising political influence of tech elites, and what the new film Mountainhead suggests about this current moment in time. Jamie Hodari, founder of Industrious and now a senior executive at CBRE, then

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