Robert Rosenkranz Creates Debate on Hot-Button Issues with Intelligence Squared U.S. / Open to Debate

For Robert Rosenkranz, an investor and philanthropist who runs Delphi Financial Group, philanthropy doesn’t get more satisfying than Open to Debate formerly known as Intelligence Squared U.S.

Rosenkranz created the debate series in response to his frustration with what he saw as the lack of true public discourse in the United States. “In America there is no such thing as a real debate,” he has said. So after receiving his favorite birthday present from his wife’a detailed report on different formats he could use to encourage civil discourse around controversial issues’ Rosenkranz created IQ2US.

The program, based on London’s highly successful Intelligence Squared events, presents Oxford-style debates in New York on a wide range of provocative and timely topics, ranging from genetic engineering to the minimum wage to Pentagon funding. The debates also attract well-known participants, including an array of public figures such as Arianna Huffington and author Michael Crichton.