That's Debatable: Recent Episodes
KMIH 88.9 The Bridge
Miles and Creed debate a wide range of topics from the electoral college to video games. They provide both sides for any given argument, showing that issues can be far more complex than at first glance. Listen for respectful and well-researched debate.
Creed and Miles interview Naz Paul, an independent candidate running for Senate in Washington. Paul describes what she thinks needs to change about the education system, and she explains her positions on various issues including homelessness, climate change, and the healthcare industry. Paul reveals why she chose to run as an independent and why she thinks others should do the same. Outside of politics, Naz Paul tells about her experience as a mother and entrepreneur.
In an interview, Creed reflects on his time in high school and his plans post graduation which include attending the Airforce Academy. Creed discusses his favorite parts of high school, his experience in Running Start at Bellevue College, and the rigorous application process for the Airforce Academy. Creed finishes by outlining how he envisions his life in 10 years.
Creed and Miles debate whether college should be free in America or not. Is it beneficial to provide equal aid to everyone, regardless of family income? Should college be a right so as to level the playing field for lower income students? Should certain degrees be incentivized more than others? Could more college enrollees boost the economy? Let's discuss.
Miles and Creed debate whether or not America should reduce its military budget. They discuss what the funds are being used on currently, where there may be room to streamline funds, and how the country could otherwise spend the money. They debate whether America should continue to be responsible for defending the world from the likes of China and Russia or if other countries would be willing to step up.
Miles interviews Craig Reynolds, a city councilmember for Mercer Island and an experienced actuary. First, Craig Reynolds explains his backstory and how he became an actuary. He explains what he does as an actuary and how it has prepared him for leading on the city council. He goes into detail on how Mercer Island's Government works and what it's like to work with the other councilmembers. He answers questions including "How do you effectively run in a local election?" and "Do life insurance companies operate ethically?"
Creed and Miles give their takes on various ways to approach high school: taking a gap year, doing running start, playing sports, doing difficult vs unique classes, and skipping ahead grade levels in subjects.
Creed and Miles debate whether we should scrap the primaries and allow the parties to decide who they send to the general election. They first dive into the history of how the Vietnam War caused parties to give up total control of the nominee- to a level unseen in other major democracies. Giving back that power to the parties may result in more conventional candidates and a stronger party direction at the expense of removing the public from the voting process to an extent.
Miles and Creed debate the pros and cons of banning the SAT. Is the SAT an effective way of assessing students? Is the SAT a help or hindrance to minorities? Is the SAT unfair to students from less affluent families? All these questions and more are answered in this week's episode.
Creed, Miles, and Marcus debate the optimal age thresholds for drinking, driving, voting, and smoking. They compare America's age limits to other countries' age limits around the world. Using data, prior knowledge, and reasoning, they determine which age limits should be changed and which limits should stay the same.
Miles and Creed debate whether or not our world has become too dependent on screens in daily life. Screen time for teenagers has risen dramatically since the Pandemic and with that comes concerns that people are becoming more and more addicted to their devices. This can be at a detriment to sleep, mental health, and even risk taking. However, screens are also vital to our society and they could be depended on more heavily to promote elements such as charity, quality research, and personalized education.
Creed and Miles recap the last 2 years and settle the debate: which year was better? They answer this question on the world scale first, recalling the Jan 6th attacks, the history of Covid-19, the retreat from Afghanistan, and the summer Olympics. Then, they share their personal perspectives of what the last 2 years have been like for them as students in the era of online school.
Miles and Creed debate if businesses and organizations should be able to lobby to members of congress. They outline how lobbying works in our government system including the distinction between direct lobbying and grassroots lobbying. Does lobbying give an unfair advantage to the powerful? Is lobbying a necessary part of our democracy? Is lobbying legal bribery or does it serve its purpose in giving groups a say in the matters they are invested in?
Miles and Creed discuss the pros and cons of breaking up big tech- the collection of tech companies that together dominate the market. Are these companies monopolies? Do they partake in anti-competitive practices to justify a split? Would breaking up these companies be an effective way to balance the market? Do Elizabeth Warren's proposals to even the playing field make sense?
Miles and Creed debate the pros and cons of utilizing nuclear power. They examine how nuclear power compares to other major power sources economically and environmentally. Is nuclear radiation a serious risk? What challenges does storing nuclear waste hold? Why can't we depend solely on renewables? All these questions and more are answered in today's episode.
Miles and Creed are joined by Marcus Heu-Weller to discuss how gun reform can play a part in curbing America's gun violence. With such a complex topic comes many questions: Why does America fair so much worse than similar countries in dealing with gun violence? Is the country willing to change? How does the second amendment affect how we deal with the issue? Should a history of mental health issues make a person ineligible to receive a gun? All these questions and more are considered in this episode.
Miles interviews his co-host, Creed, about his childhood in China. Creed gives a personal account into his life in the village that he lived in. He compares Chinese education, food, and culture to America's. Creed grew up as the only white person that many people had ever seen. This affected how people interacted with him and it created pressure to do well. He expresses how life in China has molded him into the person he is and what he considers to be his true home.
Creed and Miles debate whether the new era of space tourism will bring more harm or good. In the past few months, Elon Musk's SpaceX, Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin have all hosted civilian passengers on trips outside of the Earth's atmosphere. This debate includes questions of whether or not this will be good for the environment and if it is a productive use of money. Other factors to consider are how commercial space travel can serve a scientific purpose and if this service will eventually become accessible for non-billionaires.
Miles and Creed debate whether or not America made the right move by withdrawing all troops from Afghanistan. This decision has had major implications on American soldiers and the people of Afghanistan. How will the withdrawal affect our budget? Is being the policemen of the world our duty? Will we see a resurgence in terrorism from groups like Al Qaeda or ISIS?
Creed and Miles discuss the top 5 sports in the world and give their personal top 5. They pull from memories of throwing a bowling ball upside down, crushing Americans in Badminton, and watching Kawhi Leonard make a shot after it bounces 4 times on the rim. And they settle the age old debate: Is soccer a sport?
Creed and Miles debate whether cancel culture has an overall positive or negative impact in society. How does social media impact the way we communicate? Should people be held accountable for statements from their past? Is cancelling even an effective way to de-platform someone?
Creed and Miles debate whether Universal Healthcare is desirable and reasonable for America to pursue. Among the topics discussed are access to care, healthcare as a right, the role of insurance companies, and America's attitude towards socialism.
In this episode, we invite a guest to debate the strengths and shortcomings of the electoral college vs the popular vote. Later on, we transition into discussing voting more generally and what we would like to see replace the presidential debates.
From the founding fathers to Columbus, conflict has been stirring in America as for what to do with their statues. Miles and Creed debate if their lives are too tarnished to warrant this honor, or if their statues should remain as a monument for the good they did and their impact on the world.
In this episode, Creed and Miles take a more casual approach to the show with many smaller questions revolving gaming and esports.
In this episode, Miles and Creed debate whether or not we should pursue global denuclearization. Factors they consider include the possibility of nuclear war, the difficulty of safely disposing of nuclear weapons, and if the world is more peaceful because of the availability of such threatening weaponry.
In their premier episode, Miles and Creed debate the recent legislation by the Mercer Island City Council which prohibits homeless camping on public property if shelter space is available. Is this a backwards move by the city or does it benefit all parties involved?
Near the end of the show, they transition to interesting news going on in the world.