Is developmental theory valid? Is it even moral? This is the gauntlet laid down by author Nora Bateson in a cheeky tweet that launched a thousand comments: Stage theory… Is BS. Always was. And it is colonial as hell. Sorry, but that has got to go. — nora bateson (@NoraBateson) August 10, 2021 In a high-profile response to her social media posts, author Hanzi Freinacht shared a short essay defending stage theory as being both true and beneficial to society. The result has been an online controversy that has generated both heat and light in the Integral / Spiral Dynamics world. In this episode, I offer a shamelessly integral analysis of the ideas in contention, and how the conflict itself is contributing to the evolution of evolutionary thought. Let me know what you think at [email protected].  And here’s more about Nora Bateson and Hanzi Freinacht.