ARGUING FOR THE LEFT
Stand-Up Comic; Activist and Advocate; Host of “Stand Up! With Pete Dominick” Podcast; Warm-Up Comedian for “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”
ARGUING FOR THE RIGHT
Host of “FOX News Saturday Night” and FOX News Radio’s “FOX Across America”
GUEST MODERATOR
Journalist and Co-Host of the Semafor Podcast “Mixed Signals”
This week:
- New episode: Two comedians stump for Harris and Trump’s policies
- Register to attend our LIVE conversation with political forecaster Nate Silver in NYC
- Highlighting two former debaters winning Nobel Prizes
- Your Sunday reading list
This week’s debate includes an inventive twist on political debate — policy and some humor in between.
From Jon Stewart to Jimmy Kimmel to Greg Gutfeld, politics is a long-used topic for late-night comedy TV shows, going as far back as John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign. Studies have shown that comedy on these shows helps educate viewers on policies that candidates may be considering, giving more insight into where to place their vote at the polls. That’s why we brought two acclaimed stand-up comedians together in a live debate at the Comedy Cellar’s Village Underground in New York City for a night of politics and punchlines.
We put them to the test on the key issues voters are thinking about: economy, immigration, and foreign policy.
Arguing in favor of Kamala Harris’ policies is Pete Dominick, who hosts the “Stand Up! With Pete Dominick” podcast and has been a warm-up comedian for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report”. Arguing in favor of Donald Trump’s policies is Jimmy Failla, host of “FOX News Saturday Night” and Fox News Radio’s “FOX Across America. Returning to Open to Debate is guest moderator Nayeema Raza, who is the co-host of the Semafor podcast “Mixed Signals”.
For more insight into the candidate’s positions and a little levity, listen now on your favorite podcast platform and YouTube. As always, let us know what you think.
POINT/COUNTERPOINT
Will Kamala Harris or Donald Trump Be Better for the Economy?
FOR KAMALA HARRIS: Pete Dominick
“Kamala Harris would absolutely create — and the Biden-Harris record is to create — 16 million jobs… Kamala Harris and Joe Biden and Democrats have had policies to promote all kinds of things, from homeownership to minimum wage to college debt forgiveness to affordability to buy a house. Every single economic indicator is better now than when Trump was president. Every one of them.”
FOR DONALD TRUMP: Jimmy Failla
“The Trump Administration is gonna try a private sector approach to the economy and to the government as a whole… to look at the government like a spreadsheet and try to have out some of the inefficiencies, because we spend a lot of money in this government. We’re currently $35 trillion in debt. Government spending is the root cause of inflation.”
Join Us for a Live Conversation on Risk-Taking and Election Predictions
As the founder of FiveThirtyEight and one of the most influential voices in political analysis, Nate Silver is a top media source for election 2024 statistical forecasting, and has correctly called the last four elections, including Trump’s 2016 upset win. In this intimate conversation at Tribeca’s Maxwell Social, a private members’ club, Silver will discuss his new book, “On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything,” with Reason’s Editor-at-Large Nick Gillespie and how analyzing facts and having the right data can get you ahead, help make informed decisions, and be prepared for any change in circumstance.
Live In-Person Conversation: Nate Silver: The Art of Risking Everything — Politics, Poker Players, and Silicon Valley
When: Wednesday, October 23 at 6:30 PM (Doors open at 6 PM)
Where: Maxwell Social
135 Watts Street, New York, NY
Two Former Debaters Win the Nobel Prize
This week, it was announced that former debaters Daron Acemoglu and Advisory Council member Simon Johnson were the winners of the 2024 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, alongside James A. Robinson. The decision was made “for [their] studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity”, which was first explored in their 2001 paper “The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation” and later in Acemoglu and Robinson’s bestselling book “Why Nations Fail”.
Our team at Open to Debate would like to congratulate Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson on this extraordinary achievement. To hear their debates on central banks printing prosperity and whether Artificial Intelligence will do more harm than good, listen now.
WEEKLY POINTS OF VIEW
Whoever wins, free speech loses
Wendy Kaminer | October 10, 2024
Spiked
Watch Wendy’s debate on whether free speech is threatened on campus
Capitalizing on the Weakening of Hamas and Hezbollah
Dennis Ross | October 8, 2024
Project Syndicate
Watch Dennis’s debate on whether the two-state solution is still viable
Confessions of a Republican Exile
David Brooks | October 12, 2024
The Atlantic
Watch David’s conversation on the art of hearing and seeing others
The Problem With This Conspiracy Theory Is Reality
Jamelle Bouie | October 11, 2024
The New York Times
Watch Jamelle’s debate on whether color blindness perpetuates racism
Bridge the Divide Before the Election
We believe that real progress comes from bringing opposing sides together for meaningful dialogue. Your support helps keep these essential conversations alive during this critical election season. Donate today to help us continue creating a space where diverse perspectives meet and debate thrives.
