The Soho Forum Debates

Jacob Hacker and David Goldhill debate [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/soho-forum-debate-jacob-hacker-vs-david-goldhill-tickets-1325430661789?aff=ebdssbdestsearch] the resolution: "The government should offer to all Americans a health insurance plan that would compete with private insurance plans." Jacob Hacker [https://politicalscience.yale.edu/people/jacob-hacker] is arguing for the affirmative. He's a professor of political science at Yale University and codirects the Ludwig Program in Public Sector Leadership at Yale Law School. He is a resident fellow at the Institution for Social and Policy Studies. For the negative is David Goldhill, CEO and cofounder of Sesame [https://sesamecare.com/], an online marketplace for discounted health services. He is also the author of Catastrophic Care: Why Everything We Think We Know About Health Care Is Wrong [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/034580273X/reasonmagazinea-20/]. The debate is moderated by Soho Forum Director Gene Epstein [https://reason.com/people/gene-epstein/]. The post Should the U.S. Have a Public Health Insurance Plan? [https://reason.com/podcast/2025/07/18/should-the-u-s-have-a-public-health-insurance-plan/] appeared first on Reason.com [https://reason.com].

Hal Brands and Gareth Porter debate the resolution, "The Cold War was a necessary response by the United States to a Soviet and Chinese threat to the global balance of power." Hal Brands [https://www.aei.org/profile/hal-brands/], senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, defends the resolution. He has authored multiple books on the Cold War, including The Twilight Struggle: What the Cold War Teaches Us About Great-Power Rivalry Today [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/030026805X/reasonmagazinea-20/]. Arguing against the resolution is Gareth Porter [https://x.com/GarethPorter], an award-winning journalist and historian who authored The CIA Insider's Guide to the Iran Crisis: From CIA Coup to the Brink of War [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07ZZHDJXN/reasonmagazinea-20/]. The debate is moderated by Soho Forum director Gene Epstein [https://reason.com/people/gene-epstein/]. * Post production: John Osterhoudt [https://reason.com/people/john-osterhoudt/] The post Was the Cold War a Deception? [https://reason.com/podcast/2025/06/19/was-the-cold-war-a-deception/] appeared first on Reason.com [https://reason.com].

Dave Smith and Alex Nowrasteh debate the resolution, "Government restrictions on the immigration of peaceful and healthy people make sense from a libertarian standpoint, especially in present-day America." Comedian and host of the podcast, Part of the Problem [https://partoftheproblem.com/], Dave Smith [https://x.com/ComicDaveSmith] defends the resolution. Taking the negative is Alex Nowrasteh [https://www.cato.org/people/alex-nowrasteh], the Vice President for Economic and Social Policy Studies at the Cato Institute. He's the coauthor (with Benjamin Powell) of Wretched Refuse? The Political Economy of Immigration and Institutions [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1108702457/reasonmagazinea-20/]. The debate is moderated by Soho Forum Director Gene Epstein [https://reason.com/people/gene-epstein/]. The post Dave Smith and Alex Nowrasteh Debate Immigration [https://reason.com/podcast/2025/05/21/dave-smith-and-alex-nowrasteh-debate-immigration/] appeared first on Reason.com [https://reason.com].

Eric Brakey and Andrew Heaton debate the resolution, "Libertarians should focus on building liberty-for-real societies like the Free State Project, rather than reforming an ever-expanding, uncontrollable federal government." Eric Brakey [https://x.com/SenatorBrakey], executive director of the Free State Project and former Maine state senator, argued in favor of the resolution. Andrew Heaton [https://reason.com/people/andrew-heaton/], comedian, author, and host of The Political Orphanage podcast, argued against it. The debate was moderated by Soho Forum Director Gene Epstein [https://reason.com/people/gene-epstein/]. Because of major technical problems during the recording of this event, the audio quality is well below Reason's standards. * Editor: John Osterhoudt [https://reason.com/people/john-osterhoudt/] The post Should Libertarians Prioritize Their Own Communities? [https://reason.com/podcast/2025/05/02/should-libertarians-prioritize-their-own-communities/] appeared first on Reason.com [https://reason.com].

Jewish Currents' editor-at-large Peter Beinart [https://jewishcurrents.org/author/peter-beinart] and American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Michael Rubin [https://www.aei.org/profile/michael-rubin/] debate the resolution, "The oppression of Palestinians in non-democratic Israel has been systematic and profound." Arguing for the affirmative is Beinart, a professor of journalism and political science at the Newmark School of Journalism at the City University of New York. He's a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, editor-at-large for Jewish Currents, and a political commentator for MSNBC. Beinart has authored several books, including Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0593803892/reasonmagazinea-20/], which was released in January of this year. Arguing for the negative is Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he specializes in the Middle East and Africa, and director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum [https://www.meforum.org/]. He's the author of Dancing with the Devil: The Perils of Engaging Rogue Regimes [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1594037973/reasonmagazinea-20/]. The debate was moderated by Soho Forum director Gene Epstein [https://reason.com/people/gene-epstein/]. CHAPTERS: * 00:00 Introduction * 00:15 The resolution reads… * 00:55 Beinart's opening statement * 11:36 Rubin's opening statement * 28:08 Beinart's rebuttal * 32:55 Rubin's rebuttal * 39:45 Q&A * 1:12:02 Beinart's closing statement * 1:15:22 Rubin's closing statement * 1:20:23 Announcements * 1:25:07 Results * Editor: John Osterhoudt [https://reason.com/people/john-osterhoudt/] The post Are the Palestinians Systematically Oppressed? [https://reason.com/podcast/2025/03/22/are-palestinians-systematically-oppressed/] appeared first on Reason.com [https://reason.com].