Lost Debate

Nikole Hannah-Jones’s essay about her daughter’s education has reignited the debate over school integration and parental choice. But are we learning the right lessons? Drawing on his experience as a school principal and superintendent, Ravi examines her account and challenges the idea that integration and more funding can fix what’s failing in public education. He explores charter school results, teachers’ unions, grade inflation, and the barriers to holding educators accountable—arguing for a system built around rigorous teaching, honest assessments, and families’ ability to choose schools where their children can thrive.

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Ravi is joined by Jeremiah, host of the New Liberal podcast, for a wide-ranging conversation that starts with the seemingly endless things people blame on capitalism. Then they take on Nikole Hannah-Jones’s account of choosing a school that reflected her beliefs about integration—and realizing her daughter wasn’t getting the education that was best for her. They also discuss the White House’s restrictions on press access, the Trump administration’s ties to right-wing influencers, and the Ed Sheeran–Macklemore controversy: what happens when trying to silence a message only makes it louder?

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Show notes - https://thelostdebate.substack.com/

Get Ravi’s new book, The Invisible List: https://readinvisiblelist.com/⁠

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To celebrate the launch of his new book, The Invisible List, Ravi shares an audiobook excerpt about his “skill sabbatical” learning to surf—an exhilarating, difficult, and at times terrifying pursuit. Along the way, he explains how he transformed his life by treating each year like a school year—and himself as his only student. But the chapter isn’t really about surfing; it’s about facing fear, embracing discomfort, and finally tackling the big thing on your invisible list—the one you’ve dreamed of doing since you were a kid.

Get your copy of  The Invisible List – available now!

Find Lost Debate

◾Subscribe to our YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@LostDebate

◾Get show notes and email updates - https://thelostdebate.substack.com/

◾Follow us - @thebranchmedia

Find Ravi Gupta

◾Read Ravi’s Substack - https://realravigupta.substack.com 

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As AI becomes capable of doing more of the work once reserved for highly educated people, could it push society toward socialism? Labor lawyer and policy thinker Matt Bruenig joins Ravi to imagine a future in which human intelligence no longer carries the same economic value, traditional careers disappear, and education must be reinvented. They examine how people might earn a living and find purpose in a world with far less human labor—and whether AI will reduce inequality or concentrate even more wealth among today’s billionaires. Ultimately, they debate who should benefit from the prosperity AI creates and whether the government can be trusted to distribute it fairly.

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Matt Bruenig’s Work

◾Blog: https://mattbruenig.com/

◾Think Tank: https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/

◾Labor Law Newsletter: https://www.nlrbedge.com/

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Find Lost Debate

◾Subscribe to our YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@LostDebate

◾Get show notes and email updates - https://thelostdebate.substack.com/

◾Follow us - @thebranchmedia

Find Ravi Gupta

◾Read Ravi’s Substack - https://realravigupta.substack.com 

◾Follow Ravi- https://www.instagram.com/ravimgupta/

Who was Osama bin Laden—and what did he believe attacking America would accomplish?

Journalist Graeme Wood explores how the son of a wealthy Saudi construction magnate became the world’s most notorious terrorist, the fatal miscalculations behind 9/11, and how Al-Qaeda evolved into a powerful global network. He explains where Al-Qaeda remains strongest, whether it still threatens the United States, and how modern surveillance has transformed the fight against terrorism.

Graeme Wood’s The Way of the Strangers: Encounters with the Islamic State

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Find Ravi Gupta

◾Pre-order Ravi’s new book, The Invisible List:https://readinvisiblelist.com/
◾Read Ravi’s Substack - https://realravigupta.substack.com 

◾Follow Ravi- https://www.instagram.com/ravimgupta/

Ravi examines the economic consequences of Trump’s immigration crackdown as net migration turns negative and labor shortages ripple across the country. He also unpacks Trump’s full-throated support for data centers—even as opposition grows among Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike. Then, educator Dan Meyer joins the show to scrutinize Alpha School, the buzzy AI-powered model promising students twice the learning in just two hours a day. Is Alpha reinventing education—or making bold claims its results can’t yet support?

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For show notes: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/

Pre-order Ravi’s new book, The Invisible List:https://readinvisiblelist.com/

◾ Join the Invisible Posse:https://readinvisiblelist.com/posse

◾ Find upcoming book events:https://readinvisiblelist.com/events

◾ Interested in hosting Ravi for an Invisible List event in your city? Email [email protected].

Find Lost Debate and Ravi Gupta

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◾ Read Ravi’s Substack: https://realravigupta.substack.com 

◾ Follow Ravi- https://www.instagram.com/ravimgupta/

Who can best help children learn—AI or humans? In this special episode shared on behalf of Bellwether, a nonprofit transforming education for young people, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings argues that AI could move education beyond the one-size-fits-all classroom toward individualized learning. Education entrepreneur Mike Goldstein pushes back, asking whether technology can overcome students’ lack of motivation—or replace the human relationships and social connection that help them learn. First, Ravi Gupta empties his notebook on the political stories shaping the midterms, from Trump’s economic troubles to the Senate races that could shift the balance of power.

Special thanks to Bellwether for sharing this conversation, featuring Reed Hastings and Michael Goldstein and moderated by Andrew Rotherham.

-Pre-order Ravi’s new book, The Invisible List:
https://readinvisiblelist.com/

-Join the Invisible Posse:
https://readinvisiblelist.com/posse

-See upcoming book events:
https://readinvisiblelist.com/events

-Interested in hosting Ravi for an Invisible List event in your city? Email [email protected].

Find Lost Debate and Ravi Gupta

-Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@LostDebate

-Get show notes and email updates: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/

-Read Ravi’s Substack: https://realravigupta.substack.com 

Ravi Gupta unpacks a volatile primary season, where ideological insurgents are gaining ground, independents are being sidelined, and both parties’ youngest voters appear increasingly drawn to political extremes. He also examines Alaska’s surprising electoral possibilities and a radically reshaped Democratic presidential calendar designed to test candidates across a broader coalition. Then, acclaimed novelist and former PEN America president Dinaw Mengestu explains why he resigned over the organization’s approach to Israel, Gaza, and the boycott movement. Their probing conversation confronts a defining free-speech question: When does a boycott constitute legitimate political expression—and when does it become discrimination?

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Show Notes - ⁠https://thelostdebate.substack.com/⁠

Find Lost Debate

◾Subscribe to our YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@LostDebate

◾Follow us - @thebranchmedia

Find Ravi Gupta

◾Pre-Order Ravi’s new book The Invisible List -  https://readinvisiblelist.com/

◾Ravi’s Substack - https://realravigupta.substack.com 

◾Follow Ravi- https://www.instagram.com/ravimgupta/

Nightlife gave us jazz, disco, techno, and entire cultural revolutions. From the courtesan districts of 17th-century Japan to the ruins of postwar Berlin, historian Imogen Willetts takes us through the history of nightlife, uncovering how outsiders transformed forgotten spaces into engines of art and rebellion. She explains why the best scenes thrive in moments of upheaval, why popularity often destroys them, and how smartphones have shattered the anonymity that once made the night feel free. Where will the next great youth movement take shape—or have modern culture and technology made one impossible?

Imogen Willetts

◾ Buy Up All Night: A World History of Night Life

◾ Follow Imogen

◾ Learn more about Imogen

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More on Ravi Gupta

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One ruptured bicep, two heartbreaking losses, and a week of political madness leave Ravi reflecting on health, grief, and what it really means to help people. He channels that grief into a new community project, "The Book of Ordinary Lives,” honoring everyday people with the kind of thoughtful obituaries usually reserved for the famous.

Then he digs into the “Democratic establishment” that calls itself insurgent while promoting candidates wildly out of step with working-class voters—and dodging accountability when they fail. Republicans don’t get a pass either, especially when their leaders preach about protecting women and children while standing by members facing terrible allegations of abuse.

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Find show notes - ⁠https://thelostdebate.substack.com/⁠

Find Lost Debate

◾Subscribe to our YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@LostDebate

◾Get email updates - https://thelostdebate.substack.com/

◾Follow us - @thebranchmedia

Find Ravi Gupta

◾Pre-Order Ravi’s new book, The Invisible List -  https://readinvisiblelist.com/

◾Join the Invisible Posse -  https://readinvisiblelist.com/posse

◾Read Ravi’s Substack - https://realravigupta.substack.com 

◾Follow Ravi- https://www.instagram.com/ravimgupta/