Doha Debates Podcast

For the greater part of a century, conversations and narratives about global justice and free speech have been dominated by the West. From seminal works of history to newspapers of record to media networks to politics to public discourse, Western voices have often been louder than the rest.

And while the West has long claimed to act in the name of democracy, equality and freedom, some wonder whether it always lives up to its own ideals. Can the world rely on Western media, politics and public rhetoric to promote global justice, or is it simply furthering its own interests?

At the tenth Bradford Literature Festival, speakers Fatima Bhutto, Steve Clemons and Konstantin Kisin came together alongside an onstage audience of students and recent graduates for a lively town hall exploring how this narrative control plays out on the world stage.

This Doha Debates town hall was moderated by journalist Remona Aly and produced in partnership with Bradford Literature Festival. It was filmed at University of Bradford in Bradford, England on July 6, 2024.

At Doha Debates, we believe that debate can help solve some of the world's most challenging problems. But are there limits to what free speech and debate can accomplish? 

Social media has allowed more people to connect and share their perspectives than ever before. That has led to an immense amount of learning and progress—but it's also led to an uptick in hate speech and misinformation, online and IRL. Today, anyone can have a platform—but should they? Is everything up for debate, or should some things be out of bounds?

Jacob Mchangama, founder and executive director of The Future of Free Speech think tank, argues that free speech and open debate are the only ways to build and secure open and tolerant societies. He thinks we should all be able to speak our minds, and says that engaging with people and perspectives we disagree with can help sharpen our own opinions or help us learn something new. Author and journalist David Stubbs says that unlimited free speech tends to favor extreme voices and that certain ideas, like climate denial, don’t deserve a platform and are “just plain wrong.” Listen to Doha Debates Podcast as these experts discuss the limits of debate and the future of free speech.

Climate anxieties—and global temperatures—are on the rise. According to the United Nations, if the planet warms by 1.5 degrees Celsius, we’ll be facing irreversible climate damage. To stop that increase, we need to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Reaching such an ambitious goal means changing a lot of our behaviors, including cutting back on our use of fossil fuels. But should everyone, and every nation, be held to the same standard? Is it realistic to ask countries in the global south to shoulder equal responsibility for cutting carbon emissions?

Dr. Rahul Tongia, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) in New Delhi and non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, concedes that while we must be more innovative and aggressive when it comes to the development of green technology, it’s unrealistic to cut out fossil fuels entirely. He adds that we need to decouple the idea of “access” from “clean,” and make sure there is electrical wiring in every home across the globe before we focus on going green. 

Zaki Mamdoo, South African environmental activist and coordinator of the StopEACOP (Stop East African Crude Oil Pipeline) campaign, says that it is entirely unnecessary to harm the environment in order to increase energy access. He says fossil fuels are actually anti-development, in that they not only pollute the air, land, water and livestock, but they destroy local economies, desecrate cultural sites and ruin labor systems and communities. He argues that all nations must refrain from new fossil-fuel use, leapfrog towards more renewable energy resources like wind and solar and embrace a just transition to a low-carbon economy. 

Listen to these experts discuss and dissect the best pathways to a greener world on this episode of Doha Debates Podcast.

This special episode is inspired by Necessary Tomorrows, a podcast from Doha Debates and presented by Al Jazeera that combines fiction and fact to imagine better futures. To dig deeper into the core issues of environmentalism and the ethics of energy use and development, check out the episode “The Last Impala.” Listeners are thrust into a world in the near future where a climate refugee is on trial for murder—not for killing a human, but for killing an ecosystem.

Doha Debates Podcast is a production of Doha Debates and FP Studios. This episode is hosted by Karen Given. Thoughts on this conversation? Let us know! Follow us everywhere @DohaDebates and join the post-episode discussion in our YouTube comments.

Dozens of countries have implemented race-based policies, which factor race into hiring decisions or school admissions, in an effort to address historical traumas. Critics say that affirmative action and similar policies are counterproductive. Is it time to consider color-blind policies instead?

Thandiwe Ntshinga, South African author and researcher, says it’s important to have policies that address the inequalities historically marginalized groups face in today’s world. She argues that the backlash to these policies is a result of white supremacy and a fear of losing power. Magatte Wade, Senegalese entrepreneur and prosperity activist, says that race-based policies tend to backfire and, in fact, produce more negative than positive outcomes. She argues that it’s more important to focus on the future rather than the past by prioritizing merit and economic prosperity. Listen to Doha Debates Podcast as they debate how parts of Africa are addressing race-based policies and the best way to combat racism. 

Doha Debates Podcast is a production of Doha Debates and FP Studios. This episode is hosted by Joshua Johnson. Thoughts on this conversation? Let us know! Follow us everywhere @DohaDebates and join the post-episode discussion in our YouTube comments.

What does a shift in the balance of power mean for the world? For much of the last 100 years, Western countries have dominated the global order. But now, with many nations vying for power, new regional partnerships and middle powers are on the rise. Economically, strategic alliances like BRICS are bolstering the influence of non-Western countries. And in a world that’s more digitally connected than ever, the global rise of pop culture heavyweights like Bollywood, dizi and K-pop means there’s more soft power in the hands of countries outside the historical superpowers.

At the same time, conflict is on the rise globally. Last year, the UN said there were more ongoing conflicts than at any point since World War II. Now, more than ever, it’s crucial to think about who should lead. 

Students, recent graduates and expert speakers—Jon B. Alterman, Sawsan Chebli and Wadah Khanfar—come together for this Doha Debates town hall event that breaks down today’s most urgent issues, examines the impact of shifting global powers and answers the question: Who should lead in a multipolar world?

This town hall was moderated by journalist Femi Oke and produced in partnership with Doha Forum. 

The business of space is booming: Humans are leaving Earth’s atmosphere to mine for precious minerals that could bring trillions of dollars in profit. But with only a handful of laws currently regulating the final frontier, will space mining deepen existing global inequalities or could it save humanity? 

Alice Gorman, space archaeologist, says space is for all humanity, but right now space mining isn’t focused on sustainability or moral responsibility. She argues that greater government oversight is necessary before we commercialize space. Jose Acain, co-founder of asteroid mining company AstroForge, says space mining is necessary to sustain Earth’s supply issues. He argues that government regulation is needed in regards to space ownership, but worries that too much regulation will stifle potential advancements. Listen to Doha Debates Podcast as these experts discuss the best way to explore space, mitigate mining risks and build a better future. 

This special episode is inspired by Necessary Tomorrows, a podcast from Doha Debates and presented by Al Jazeera that combines fiction and fact to imagine better futures. To dig deeper into the core issues and ethics of space exploration and cultivation, check out episode three of Necessary Tomorrows, “A Feast for Cobalt.” Listeners are thrust into the near future, where an asteroid is discovered with enough minerals for Earth to run entirely on green energy.

Doha Debates Podcast is a production of Doha Debates and FP Studios. This episode is hosted by Joshua Johnson. Thoughts on this conversation? Let us know! Follow us everywhere @DohaDebates and join the post-episode discussion in our YouTube comments.

It can write emails, essays and even songs. It has created award-winning pieces of art, and it can take simple text prompts and generate eerily life-like videos. That’s right—we’re talking about artificial intelligence.

Generative AI programs such as ChatGPT, Sora and Midjourney are getting smarter and more powerful by the day—just this week, Nvidia, one of the world's leading AI companies, announced a powerful new chip that could supercharge AI's already rapid growth. This technology is already worrying artists of all kinds about the future of art. Is AI coming for artists’ jobs and livelihood, or is it a helpful tool pushing art to a new horizon?

Jason Allen used generative AI to create his work “Théâtre d'Opéra Spatial,” which won the Colorado State Fair’s annual fine art competition in 2022, making news headlines. He says artists should be excited and more open to working with AI as a new artistic medium that can help break down barriers and democratize art for everyone. On the other side, Molly Crabapple, award-winning artist and writer, says artists—and everyone—should be concerned about generative AI, arguing that these programs are not only stealing from, but “sucking the lifeblood,” from living artists. Additionally, she contends that the limited creativity of AI art programs will ultimately impoverish human culture. Listen to Doha Debates Podcast as our guests debate the controversy surrounding AI art, the economics of artificial intelligence and the future of art around the world.

Doha Debates Podcast is a production of Doha Debates and FP Studios. This episode is hosted by Joshua Johnson. Thoughts on this conversation? Let us know! Follow us everywhere @DohaDebates and join the post-episode discussion in our YouTube comments.

Globally, 650 million people meet the threshold for obesity. With those numbers on the rise, we ask: Is obesity a matter of individual choice, or is it rooted in larger systemic problems?

Greg Doucette, a bodybuilder and health coach, says that obesity is a choice, and argues that everyone can lose weight if they follow a healthy diet and exercise regimen. While he concedes that genetic and environmental factors should not be ignored, he maintains that it can be discouraging and ultimately disempowering to say that managing our weight is beyond our own personal control. Professor Monika Arora, a public health scientist, argues that obesity is a systemic issue. She cites many outside factors—economic, environmental and even political—that have given rise to obesity rates across the globe. As a result, she argues that addressing obesity—and related health problems like high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes—requires policy solutions like sugar taxes as well as community health campaigns to bring about healthy societal change. Listen to Doha Debates Podcast as they debate individual versus government responsibility, the dangers of junk food and what a healthier world could look like.

Doha Debates Podcast is a production of Doha Debates and FP Studios. This episode is hosted by Karen Given. Thoughts on this conversation? Let us know! Follow us everywhere @DohaDebates and join the post-episode discussion in our YouTube comments.

This week, we’re airing one of our favorite past episodes. This debate is spirited, informative and centered on a question that remains intensely relevant: Is it time to ban gasoline-powered vehicles? 

Climate activist and author Aakash Ranison says that while electric vehicles may not be a silver-bullet solution to climate change, they are an important and urgent step in the right direction. On the other side, journalist Jonathan Miltimore argues that there are actually lots of drawbacks and hidden costs to producing electric cars. Gas-powered vehicles, he says, are simply too important—to our individual lives and to the health of our economies—to ban outright, arguing that we should instead focus our time and efforts on other ways of combating climate change. Listen to Doha Debates Podcast as they debate the efficiency, affordability and viability of eliminating gas-powered vehicles, and what the future of climate change might hold.

Doha Debates Podcast is a production of Doha Debates and FP Studios. This episode is hosted by Karen Given. Thoughts on this conversation? Let us know! Follow us everywhere @DohaDebates and join the post-episode discussion in our YouTube comments.

Let's face it. Artificial intelligence is everywhere around us—on our phones, in our homes, in our cars and in our schools. But that doesn't mean that we all have equal access to the best and most helpful learning technologies. As AI continues to develop and get smarter, how can we ensure universal access to these educational technologies so that all students can benefit? 

Nadeem Nathoo, co-founder of The Knowledge Society, argues that the private sector would be the most effective at getting cutting-edge AI technologies into the hands of students, saying that a direct-to-user approach is the most realistic and reliable. Isabelle Hau, executive director of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning, says it’s imperative for educators to be involved in the development and dissemination of artificial intelligence in schools. She argues that while AI in classrooms can be a great equalizer, without proper oversight, there's a risk that AI could deepen inequalities between students. Louka Parry, CEO and founder of The Learning Future, says we must look at education and learning more holistically. While he agrees that AI presents a lot of opportunity for learners across the world, he reminds us that an important part of learning is cultivating curiosity in a social setting and that AI tools could potentially isolate students and deepen intellectual divides. Listen to the Doha Debates Podcast as these three education experts debate the best ways to incorporate and leverage AI in the classroom.

Doha Debates Podcast is a production of Doha Debates. This episode is hosted by Rawaa Augé and was filmed live at the WISE Summit in Doha, Qatar, in November 2023. Thoughts on this conversation? Let us know! Follow us everywhere @DohaDebates and join the post-episode discussion in our YouTube comments.