16: First Presidential Debate 2020

In this episode, we discuss the first presidential debate of 2020 between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. As everyone knows who watched the debate, it wasn't pretty. But what people don't know is that even if it had been more orderly, it probably still wouldn't have been worth watching. We discuss how debates, debate analysis, and the ensuing fact checking are broken in ways that more decorum could never solve. Modern debates almost never actually discuss the issues, the ideas behind the issues, or explain the role of policies in those issues. Instead, the debates are a game of labels designed to undermine voting blocks. The good news is that we can still have real discussions about ideas and issues that matter and that's exactly why this podcast and many others take the ideas seriously.

Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod  
Photo: Wikimedia Commons