What's The Res?

Josh and Ethan celebrate audience growth, and also provide analysis for the March 7, 2020 Coolidge resolution, "Resolved: The United States should replace means-tested welfare programs with a universal basic income." They go over terms, where the UBI has been tried, and initial argument strategies. Thanks for all your support! It's amazing to see what has happened with this podcast over 100 episodes! Enjoy - and let us know what you think! Email - Whatstheres@gmail.com Twitter/Reddit/Instagram - @Whatstheres_ Facebook - Facebook.com/Whatstheres

Josh and Ethan walk through the January 2020 PF resolution, "Resolved: The United States should end its economic sanctions against Venezuela." They focus on the historical narrative of Venezuela's crisis, arguments for the Pro position, and arguments for the Con position. Be sure to check out our earlier interview episodes with Venezuela experts Analicia Vaamonde-Stolz and Tom Darin Liskey, and let us know what you think of this episode! Email - WhatsTheRes@gmail.com Facebook - Facebook.com/Whatstheres Instagram/Twitter/Reddit - @Whatstheres_

Dr. Orlando comes back on the show to discuss the Jan/Feb 2020 LD resolution, "Resolved: States ought to eliminate their nuclear arsenals." Josh and Nathan discuss which countries have nukes, both officially and unofficially, as well as what it would take to effectively disarm all nuclear states. Nathan outlines three arguments on Aff and three arguments on Neg. He also recommends specific authors that debaters should read for their cases. Enjoy! And let us know what you think of the episode! Email - WhatsTheRes@gmail.com Facebook - Facebook.com/whatstheres Instagram/Reddit/Twitter - whatstheres_

Tom Darin Liskey is a journalist and photographer who spent a decade living in Latin America, including time in Venezuela. In this episode, he shares stories of his time living there and his perspective on Chavez, Maduro, and the current economic crisis. He goes into detail about the levels of crime and corruption that have contributed to Venezuelan collapse. You can find Tom's work at https://www.tomdarinphoto.com/. Let us know what you think of the episode! Email - WhatsTheRes@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram/Reddit - @whatstheres_ Facebook - Facebook.com/Whatstheres

Ethan interviews Dr. Robert Spalding, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and experienced military strategist, for the January/February LD resolution, "Resolved: States ought to eliminate their nuclear arsenals." They discuss the status of global nuclear arsenals, the feasibility of disarmament, and further resources for both Aff and Neg case prep. Enjoy! And let us know what you think of the interview!  

Josh interview Hillsdale College history professor Dr. Brad Birzer about his high school debate career, the ways debate has impacted his life, and his most recent book, Beyond Tenebrae. Click here to order Beyond Tenebrae on Amazon! Brad is a wonderful teacher, author, and communicator; debate, he explains, got him through high school. Let us know what you think of this episode! Email - WhatsTheRes@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram/Reddit - @Whatstheres_ Facebook - Facebook.com/Whatstheres   Dr. Birzer is also the co-founder of The Imaginative Conservative, an online journal of conservative thought. You can access his work here.

Josh interviews Analicia, a Venezuelan lawyer now working in Washington D.C. For 25 years, Analicia lived in Venezuela. She describes growing up during the Chavez years, the route to Venezuela's current crisis, the results of socialism, and how Venezuela has come to have two governments (Maduro, and Guaido). Analicia provides three solid arguments for the negative; she thinks the sanctions are a sound policy tool. This is a great episode for context on the Venezuelan crisis - let us know if it's helpful! Email - Whatstheres@gmail.com Facebook - Facebook.com/whatstheres Twitter/Instagram/Reddit - @Whatstheres_  

Josh and Ethan analyze the January/February LD resolution, "Resolved: States ought to eliminate their nuclear arsenals." They focus on the nine countries with nuclear arsenals, the history of the cold war and nuclear proliferation, and value structures that could help with either side. Check it out, and let us know what you think! Email - Whatstheres@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram/Reddit - @Whatstheres_ Facebook - Facebook.com/whatstheres 

Josh and Ethan discuss one of the most commonly used yet least understood philosophical paradigms (value or value criterion) in Lincoln-Douglas Debate - Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative. Based on Kant's Groundwork for a Metaphysics of Morals, they source the CI, explain how it works, what burdens it carries with it, and how to respond if the CI is used improperly. Let us know if this episode is helpful! Email - WhatsTheRes@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram/Reddit - @Whatstheres_ Facebook - Facebook.com/Whatstheres Whatstheres.com  

Josh and Ethan host Alexis Franco, Will Begley, and Tyler Bonin for a conversation about Seattle Public School's Math Ethnic Studies Framework. This episode walks through the basics of the framework, and considers practical and theoretical problems with it. By the end, we conclude that there is a legitimate desire behind the framework, but math is not the proper home for it. Let us know what you think! Email - WhatsTheRes@gmail.com Facebook - Facebook.com/WhatsTheRes Twitter/Instagram/Reddit - @Whatstheres_  

Zak Doffman, CEO of Digital Barriers and frequent contributor to Forbes, joins Josh for a conversation about the 2019 Nov/Dec Public Forum resolution, "The benefits of the United States federal government’s use of offensive cyber operations outweigh the harms." As an international leader in cyber security concerns, Zak speaks about terminology, technological proficiency, and the existent of Threat Actors. This is a great episode to help with prepping for those tournaments in the middle and the end of a resolution cycle! Enjoy, and let us know what you think! Email - WhatsTheRes@gmail.com Twitter, Instagram, Reddit - @whatstheres_ Facebook - Facebook.com/whatstheres

David Deavel, Assistant Professor of Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas and economics contributor at The Imaginative Conservative, joins Josh for a conversation about the Nov/Dec 2019 LD resolution - "Resolved: The United States ought to eliminate subsidies for fossil fuels." Dr. Deavel covers the nature of subsidies, reasons why these subsidies might be valuable, and offers several avenues of response for both Aff and Neg strategy. Enjoy! And let us know what you think! Email - WhatsTheRes@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram/Reddit - @whatstheres_ Facebook - facebook.com/whatstheres

Josh and Ethan discuss the Nov/Dec 2019 Public Forum resolution, "Resolved: The benefits of the United States federal government’s use of offensive cyber operations outweigh the harms." They recount a few key moments of Cyber Command activity, and suggest strategies on Aff and Neg. With ties to the Internet of Things and general anti-military industrial complex, this resolution has some weight to it. Check it out, and let us know what you think! Email - Whatstheres@gmail.com Twitter, Instagram, Reddit - @Whatstheres_ Facebook - Facebook.com/Whatstheres

Josh and Ethan interview Dr. Joseph Aldy, Professor of the Practice of Public Policy at Harvard University' Kennedy School of Government. Dr. Aldy's research combines environmental management with economic policy (here is his faculty webpage, with CV), and his background as as LD and Policy debater in high school make him the perfect person to help with the November/December LD resolution: "Resolved: The United States ought to eliminate subsidies for fossil fuels." This episode covers two different ways to think about defining subsidies, an analysis of fossil fuel pollution, and our mutual agreement that Neg has no ground on this resolution (we offer some alternative routes). Enjoy! And let us know what you think! Email - WhatsTheRes@gmail.com Twitter, Instagram, Reddit - @Whatstheres_ Facebook - Facebook.com/Whatstheres

Josh interviews Dr. Robert Jackson, Chief Academic Officer for Great Hearts Academies. They discuss charter schools, charter management organizations, and the unique curriculum Great Hearts offers through their Humane Learning courses. With one 2019-2020 LD resolution possibly focusing on charter schools and their harm to public education, this episode gives some helpful nuts and bolts details on the charter school movement. Let us know what you think!   Email - WhatsTheRes@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram/Reddit - @Whatstheres_ Facebook - Facebook.com/Whatstheres Website - www.Whatstheres.com

Ethan interviews Nate and Ruth, two policy debaters in Texas about their experiences in debate! Check it out, and let us know what you think!   Email - WhatsTheRes@gmail.com Reddit, Twitter, Instagram - @whatstheres_ Facebook - Facebook.com/Whatstheres

Josh and Ethan discuss the Nov/Dec 2019 Lincoln Douglas resolution - "Resolved: The United States ought to eliminate subsidies for fossil fuels." They go over definitions, strategies, a couple of article (links below), and suggestions on Aff and Neg for value structures. The Neg ground is harder to find in this one, but Ethan has the strategy angle covered! Enjoy! And let us know what you think! Links: - https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-fossil-fuel-subsidies-a-closer-look-at-tax-breaks-and-societal-costs - https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/05/how-much-does-world-subsidize-oil-coal-and-gas/589000/ - https://www.vox.com/2019/5/17/18624740/fossil-fuel-subsidies-climate-imf   Contact  Email - WhatsTheRes@gmail.com Twitter, Instagram, Reddit - @Whatstheres_ Facebook - Facebook.com/whatstheres  

Josh and Ethan discuss the implications of a vape ban, reasons for an against such a ban, and recent articles arguing for banning vape/e-cigarettes for those under 18. Josh maintains that a conservative can support a ban in this case, while Ethan remains skeptical. With shout out to fellow podcast Louder with Crowder, this episode is a lot of fun. Check it out, and let us know what you think!   Email - WhatsTheRes@gmail.com Twitter, Instagram, Reddit - @whatstheres_ Facebook - Facebook.com/whatstheres

In this episode, Ethan interviews Patrick, who runs a philosophy memepage on Instagram (@memes.philosophy). They have a conversation about the nature of reality and reason, and whether or not life has meaning. Ethan particularly enjoys conversations of this nature, and we are happy to have more of them in the future. So contact us about it! Email: whatstheres@gmail.com Twitter, Instagram, Reddit: @whatstheres_ Website: www.whatstheres.com

Josh interviews Bryan Brooks, debate coach for Grace Academy in Georgetown, Texas. They discuss the unique format of policy debate, the kinds of analysis pertinent to this debate, k-debate, spreading (with a demonstration of Bryan spreading), and the 2019-2020 policy resolution, "The United States federal government should substantially reduce Direct Commercial Sales and/or Foreign Military Sales of arms from the United States." Bryan describes the major arguments he sees on Affirmative and Negative, and he closes with advice for novices. Check it out, and let us know what you think! Email - WhatsTheRes@gmail.com Twitter, Instagram, Reddit - @whatstheres_ Facebooks - Facebook.com/Whatstheres