Debatable with Nina and Kyle: Recent Episodes
Nina and Kyle
Nina and Kyle are best friends and ex-teammates who argue and talk too much. They created Debatable as a way to take advantage of their conversations to help debaters understand issues, create arguments, as well as learn more about the world along the way! Follow us on Twitter @podcastdbtbl.
We are proud to present the last Post-Debate Analysis of our Debatable Open series! The Open Grand Finals of our event was all about different issues here in the Philippines. We would like to thank Gab Pacaño for their motions.
Motion 1: In 2017, Former President Rodrigo Duterte signed a proclamation formally designating the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) as a terrorist organization. This house regrets the designation of the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization.
Motion 2: This house believes that the characterization of the EDSA Revolution as peaceful does more harm than good.
Motion 3: “Friend to all, enemy to none" is the current independent foreign policy of the Philippines, which aims to forge alliances with several nation-states by remaining neutral in times of global conflict. This house believes that the Philippines should abandon “friend to all, enemy to none”.
For the Novice Finals and Open Semifinals of Debatable Open 2024, we talk to Jill Aycardo for the motion theme: RELIGION!
Motion 1: [4:26]In religious scriptures, the cause for sins and suffering is usually sourced from the temptations and desires of individuals. Generally, these desires are propagated to be individualistic in nature and it is through the faith in god/s and subscription to dogmas and rituals that save an individual from sin and suffering. THP a world where religions framed suffering as a collective test from god rather than being sourced from individual desiresMotion 2: [18:13]Papal infallibility is a dogma in the Catholic Church that presupposes that a Pope can speak no wrong when he propagates doctrines based on religious scripture and tradition. This dogma does not necessarily mean that the Pope cannot sin nor does it mean that it cannot be challenged by other practitioners of faith. Instead, the dogma is related to the story of Jesus entrusting St. Peter (the first Pope) with his church, and thus the doctrines of faith or morals issued by the Pope are in his capacity as his successor to St. Peter. Essentially, sourcing the idea of the pope being infallible due to God's trust to Peter and his successors. Examples of when papal infallibility used was when Mary’s immaculate conception of Jesus and her assumption to heaven was placed into dogma, and the ruling of the Catholic Church having to reserve priestly ordination to men alone. THBT the Catholic Church should abandon the dogma of papal infallibilityMotion 3: [31:07]The face of god refers to the theory that god’s existence cannot be perceived, as their characteristic of being transcendent assumes that they are infinite and are inconceivable to the human mind. TH, as a religious believer, prefers not to perceive god
For quarterfinals and novice semifinals, we had the LABOR/DEVELOPMENT set courtesy of Tengku Omar! Omar is a Human Resources (HR) professional and is part of the only Indonesian team to have broken in WUDC and is also a WUDC ESL finals judge.
The motions read:Motion 1: Professional loyalty is defined as an intense sense of belongingness towards an organization. This House supports the decline of professional loyalty in the modern workplace Motion 2: This House believes that workers should be compensated based on output rather than the amount of hours worked Motion 3: Currently, under the labor laws of majority of countries, only non-managerial employees (i.e. employees without leadership capacities or responsibilities) are allowed to unionize. This House would allow managerial employees to unionizeHere are the timestamps for each motionLABORMotion 1: [5:55]Motion 2: [19:50]Motion 3: [32:29]
For Open Octofinals and Novice Quarterfinals, we had the FEMINISM/GENDER set courtesy of Lia Snyder! Listen to the discussions we have in our latest Post-Debate Analysis episode.
Here are the timestamps for each motion:
[0:22] Transmaxxing is the practice of voluntarily transitioning into a woman, done by males who previously identify as part of the involuntary celibate (incel) community. This is because they believe that transmaxxing is the only way to stop being an incel, and to be able to partake in the perceived benefits that women disproportionately experience. This includes preferential male treatment (free meals or dates), diversity hiring, insurance, the ability to choose sexual partners, etc. There have been accounts of transmaxxers going into hormone replacement therapy, seeking psychologist validation of gender dysphoria, etc. so they can truly receive the benefits perceived to give women a distinct advantage in society. There is sentiment amongst transmaxxers that transmaxxing is a last resort or desperate approach to curbing involuntary celibacy.
TH, as the feminist movement, would not support transmaxxing.
[18:15] You are a 30-year-old Filipino feminist woman working at a reputable multinational company. You are, by all accounts, a girlboss. Your entire career is marked by milestones of breaking gender-based barriers. You are incredibly competent at your job. The male CEO of your company has recently gotten into a series of scandals that have severely tarnished the reputation of your company. The company has offered you the CEO position, in hopes that you can restore the company to its former success.
TH, as the feminist woman, would accept the CEO position.
[36:19] THP a world where feminists focus on healthy masculinity narratives (e.g. validating male emotion, vulnerability, etc.) as opposed to toxic masculinity.
We understand that the fourth round, being about INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, was especially tough for many of you. Likewise, we think that learning is especially important here. Whether you win or lose is always less important than whether you learned from the experience. And in the spirit of learning from experiences, we invite you all to listen to our PDA for round 4. We are grateful to have James Cachola with us as the motion contributor and interviewee for this set. James is a 3x regional champion and one of the best debaters in the country. They're currently working on their thesis proposal and so we're especially thankful that they gave us their time and expertise in this regard.IRMotion 1: [2:15] A "World government" is a socio-political concept that presumes a single administrative authority should have jurisdiction over all of Earth and humanity. This house welcomes the idea of transitioning into a World Government.Motion 2: [17:07] This house, as socio-democratic opposition parties in developing states within Asia, would implement a singular political agenda.Motion 3: [28:43] This House Believes that international organizations should cease their non-interventionist policy for territorial disputes concerning repetitive offenders.
For the third post-debate analysis for Debatable Open 2024, we talk about the EDUCATION motion set, featuring the insights of the renowned educator Sir Akeem Fabila!
[2:16] Space education, also known as space science education, encompasses the teaching and learning of concepts related to space exploration, astronomy, astrophysics, astronautics, and related fields. TH, as the Philippines, would aggressively integrate Space Education in its basic education curriculum. [18:16] You are an Afghan teacher in an underground girls school in Afghanistan. You are also a staunch advocate of girls education in the country. However, the Taliban has strictly imposed a ban on girls education (starting 12 years old up). Recently, the government has undertaken major crackdowns on underground schools putting you and your family at risk. TH, as an Afghan teacher, would continue to teach in the underground girls school. [31:13] THBT educational institutions should heavily de-emphasize the value of academic excellence (e.g. implementing a pass or fail system, abolishing all academic distinctions, etc.).
In this post debate analysis, we join award winning filmmaker Charlie Vitug to discuss the ethics behind Court Shows, reporting on politicians' private lives, and the possible TikTok ban!
[0:27] This House Regrets arbitration-based reality court shows.[16:19] This House Believes That media outlets should not report on the private lives of politicians.[27:40] This House Would ban Tiktok in the US
Nina and environmental science major Riv Aquino delve into the intersections of environmental advocacy, corporate responsibility, and consumer behavior. They explore contentious topics such as whether we should accept anything less than net zero targets for multinational corporations, the impact of mandatory graphic warning labels on animal-based products, and the unintended consequences of eco-friendly product trends.
For this episode, we talk about the recently filed House Bill 9448, also known as The Protection of Labor Against Artificial Intelligence Automation Bill.As AI grows stronger each day, we ought to talk about measures governments can take to protect the people who stand to lose the most. Listen as we explain, praise, and even criticize a measure our politicians are aiming to put in place.
Happy Holidays! For this episode, we rant about how Christmas has evolved through the years, and how people have grown alongside it.
How did the Geneva Convention lead video games to update themselves?How did one man's foggy bathroom lead to the marriage of thousands of people?How did sexism create the T-Shirt?For this episode of Debatable, Nina makes Kyle find the missing links to these strange stories. Listen as we train in the art of piecing things together!
For this episode, we talk about the intersection between the world of debate and the world of law. We discuss what makes law debates different, what ideas are essential in debating about the law, and some of Kyle's ideas on how debate prepares aspiring lawyers.
How do you structure your first sessions with your new recruits? How do you make teaching the debate format fun instead of frustrating? What's the science behind curiosity? All this and more in this episode of Debatable!
For our comeback episode, we talk about derusting—the act of getting back into a rhythm, shaking off the dust, and starting over again. We discuss how one can jump back after a break in debate (or podcasting, in our case), and how to have fun while doing it!
Kyle spent 6 months in pro-BBM tiktok and would like to talk to you about how they weaponize nostalgia!
In this episode of Debatable, we talk about how to run arguments about giving reparations for historical wrongs, taking an interest in Black History Month as a form of symbolic reparations and remembrance.
We know that we have human rights, but where do they come from and how are they enforced? In this episode, Nina talks to Kyle's group in his Human Rights Theory and Practice class. We discuss the philosophical basis for human rights, how they're enforced, how to tell if there are violations of human rights, and a lot more!
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We celebrate our 100th episode by talking about the people behind your hosts-- our team, the Debatabeans! You can learn a lot about people by learning about the things they love, and in this episode, we learn a lot. Listen to us talk about Debate movies, how sports are like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, capitalist escapism, and more!
2021 was... A year— not quite normal, but also not as not-normal as 2020. One of the changes we saw was the continued rise of online tournaments. With this rise was a variety of debate topics we haven't seen in our community in a while. In this episode, we look at our favorite motions from 2021.
We're back with another Holiday Special! This time, we talk about the origins of Christmas, and how it has evolved into the event we love (or hate) today.
For this episode of Debatable, we explore the Finals motion of Mindanao Intervarsity 2021 which is about the Main Character Syndrome! In popular culture, the main character syndrome refers to the trend where people, mostly the youth, imagine themselves in a romanticized, fictional version of their lives. This manifests in the way people present themselves online, or even in the way people view themselves in relation to others.
Motion: This House would embrace the narrative that individuals are the main characters of their lives.
Solastalgia describes psychological trauma brought about by climate change. In this episode, we talk about how the climate crisis impacts mental health and what that could mean for environmentalist movements.
This week, we talk about a startup CEO facing trial for fraud, new developments on the Afghan refugee crisis, the "resetting" of US-Israel relations, the Pharmally Pharmaceuticals scandal, Texas' abortion ban, and a recall election in California,
Climate change skeptics have accumulated a lot of different arguments over the years with the common goal of making people doubt the role of man in the destruction of the environment. For this episode, we take a look at some of those arguments. We debunk these ideas and discuss why these arguments come about in the first place.
For this matterloading session, we discuss the top stories of the week. We focus heavily on the situation unfolding in Afghanistan. Join us as we unravel the events that led to the takeover of Kabul, and the role played by major political actors all around the world.
For this episode, we discuss the mutations of the COVID-19 virus, and what that means for all of us now and in the future.
For this matterloading session, we tackle the recent Belo Ad scandal, the misused 67 billion pesos, the new leadership in Iran, as well as Sudan’s handing over of Omal Al-Bashir to the ICC. We also talked heavily about a lot of environmental news that hit the internet this week!
Debatable issues in the pro-wrestling industry and John Cena have at least two things in common: one, you can't see them; two, you actually can, you just pretend not to.
We have a lot to cover this week! We tried our best to make the stories featured this week reflect a bunch of different fields. We have stories about COVID. About international relations and international law. We even talk about why Rihanna's being a billionaire status matters to what the feminist movement should strive to be!
But we spend a lot of time discussing things that hit close to home-- about the surprisingly layered issue that is Nas Academy allegedly exploiting National Living Treasure and indigenous tattooist Whang Od. How should content creators behave when selling products? Why is pinoybait a thing? How important is consent in the commercialization of indigenous culture? Can traditional knowledge be protected by copyright? So many questions! So little time!
We interview Venti about why competition policy matters and how firms can abuse their dominance at the expense of consumer welfare!
In this matterloading session, we recap the week by looking at all the important events that caught all our attentions! We discuss the South Korean vaccine rollouts, China's relationship with the Taliban, Saddiq's Case, Hidilyn Diaz, the SONA, #TruthsfromTheBible, Simone Biles, and Britney Spears!
In this episode, we talk about how we can set priorities in a debate! Learn about the art of framing as well as different frames you can use.
Phase 1 of our FREE tournament Magiting Open is ONGOING! Don't forget to check us out at facebook.com/MagitingCup
This week, we talk about the Indian COVID Crisis and the politics of blame, how climate change caused flash flooding in Europe, why Rodrigo Duterte can't invoke immunity if they get elected as VP, the #Tumindig movement, cardboard beds in the Olympics, and more!!
Idris Elba was in the news recently for proposing that everyone should verify their identities before using social media to prevent people from using anonymity as a means to be racist or bigoted. Is this a good idea, or would it do more harm than good?
Phase 1 of Magiting Cup is OPEN NOW! Check out our page at facebook.com/MagitingCup and stay tuned this week for the first episode of Matterloading with Nina and Kyle!
The theme for the grand finals of this year's Debatable Intervarsity is Arts and Culture! This motion deals with cynicism, an attitude characterized by a general distrust of others and their motives. We see more and more cynicism in various areas of life, from people refusing to believe in governments, in vaccines, and even in the very idea that people can be altruistic. Cynicism has been around for a long time, but never before has it been this prevalent in our culture as a society.
The motion reads: THR the mainstreaming (e.g. in art, media, politics, etc.) of cynicism. Much thanks is due to Papat Lozano, who contributed this motion and this post-debate analysis!
00:00 Introduction 1:08 What is the importance of arts and culture? 4:11 How is cynicism related to art, media, and politics? 5:53 Who should this debate focus on? 7:07 What is a strategic general frame for cynicism? 11:09 What is the counterfactual for gov bench? 19:32 How will teams evolve and adapt to the counterfactual? 20:52 How will society function on Opp? 23:02 Arguments for CG 29:41 Arguments for CO 34:37 Tips for encountering similar motions in the future
The theme for the open semi-final of this year's Debatable IV is international relations. On April 21, 2021, the New York Times published an article that illustrates a key dilemma facing the Biden administration-- can it really work with Beijing on issues like climate change while effectively challenging Beijing on human rights issues?
The transition into greener energy through solar panels is one of the ways the world can combat climate change. Currently, China controls the majority of the solar supply chain. One of the key materials of solar panels comes from Xinjiang, a region in China where Uighur internment camps are located. Recently, China held a business conference warning the world of unilateralism pursued by certain countries that would ultimately discourage cooperation. This statement is directed towards the US who recently talked about self-sufficiency in supply chains. The US is now faced with a dilemma: should they cooperate with China on climate change or exclude China until it resolves its human rights issues in Xinjiang.
The motion reads: TH, as the US, would cooperate with China. Much thanks to Ashley Dejarme for contributing this motion and for giving us their valuable insights!
'China's Solar Dominance Presents Biden With an Ugly Dilemma' (Swanson and Plumer, New York Times):https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/20/business/economy/china-biden-solar-panels.html
00:00 Introduction 1:17 What is the context behind this motion? 2:15 Why mix environment and international relations in a motion? 5:13 There must be a tradeoff between environment and human rights 6:28 Framing on gov + Realist theory 10:43 What arguments to prioritize in the opening half? 15:08 Extending on gov 18:52 Reframing on opp 22:04 Could opp give an alternative partner for the US instead of China? 23:41 Arguing on opp 27:02 Extending on opp + Hegemonic Challenger theory 30:44 Advice for IR motions
The theme for Debatable IV's novice and junior finals is philosophy! The nature vs nurture debate is a classic one in psychology and philosophy. The question of what makes us who we are gives us profound insight on the nature of humanity and the human condition. One recent contribution to this debate is a concept called the "collective unconscious," defined by psychoanalyst Carl Jung.
The collective unconscious is a body of knowledge containing all of human experience that all human beings tap into when making decisions. The collective unconscious is responsible ffo many deep-seated beliefs and instincts, both positive (ie: charity, selfless acts, open-mindedness, etc.) and negative (ie: racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, etc.). It is said to influence a person's preferences, dreams, ideals, and goals based on the many factors that a person has no control over, even before they are born. It establishes the idea that a segment of humanity is genetically inherited and not shaped by personal experience.
The motion asks us whether even the very idea of a collective unconscious is doing more harm than good. It reads: THP a world where the idea of a collective unconscious does not exist. We are so thankful to Miko Bombeo for contributing this motion and for letting us interview them for this post-debate analysis!
00:00 Introduction 1:15 What makes debating philosophy fun? 2:27 What is the collective unconscious? 3:30 What inspired this motion? 5:09 What was the context behind this theory? 7:09 What is the debate about? 8:48 Framing for gov 12:01 What's the alternative? 13:53 Arguing on gov 17:13 Extending on gov 19:30 Reframing and arguing on opp 21:58 Weighing harms and benefits on opp 25:31 Extending on opp 28:05 Advice for philo motions
The quarterfinals motion for this year's Debatable IV is about gender! Many trans people find their appearance a point of scrutiny in the public. All many of them want is to be treated like any other cis-person and to blend into everyone instead of being stared at. Some people "pass" for being cisgender, but most do not. The term "passing" might be problematic, implying that trans women are not really women and that trans men are not really men. Nevertheless, there is now a concept of "cis-passing privilege" that many trans individuals are aspiring for in the hopes that when they get that privilege, they will be able to lead normal lives.
This motion is about whether the trans community should accept or reject this trend. It reads: THBT the transgender community should outright reject the notion that transpeople must aspire for cis-passing privilege. We'd like to thank Hez Casasola for giving us some of their time and for contributing this motion.
00:00 Introduction 2:16 What is cis-passing privilege? 3:10 What does the pursuit of cis-passing privilege look like? 4:36 What are the main issues of the debate? 5:37 Framing for Government Bench 8:32 Arguments for OG 11:37 Arguments for CG 15:35 What does it mean for the trans community to reject a notion that may empower some individuals? 19:00 What has the trans community achieved in empowering trans individuals who wish to pass as cis? 20:21 Framing for Opposition Bench 21:50 Arguments for OO 24:04 Arguments for CO 27:09 Advice for those who are going through gender-related struggles
TW: Mentions of murder and rape;
The theme for Debatable IV's open octofinals is Sociolegal! It is said that due process is nothing more, and nothing less, than the concept of fair play. In most jurisdictions, the right of a person to due process is protected with procedural rules. One of these rules is that a criminal case may only be filed by a prosecutor who finds probable cause that the accused actually committed the crime charged. Supposedly, the probable cause standard makes it so that prosecutors don't file baseless or frivolous cases. However, whether that actually happens is debatable.
That's why this motion reads: THBT prosecutors should use the standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt instead of probable cause when deciding whether to file a criminal case against a suspect.
There is an infoslide: The standard of probable cause is met when evidence exists to prove that the suspect is more likely than not to have committed the crime. A finding of probable cause does not require the prosecutor to inquire whether there is evidence to secure a conviction or whether there is evidence that could exculpate or acquit the suspect. The standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt is met when evidence exists to produce moral certainty, not absolute certainty, that the accused committed the crime. Alternatively, it also means that no evidence exists so as to produce reasonable doubt that the accused did not commit a crime. We thank our Immortal friend Jesus Falcis (in DOTA 2 rankings!) for contributing this motion to our tournament!
00:00 Introduction
1:11 What is the current procedure for instituting criminal cases?
4:43 Why does the prosecutor have the ability to file the case?
7:18 What's the difference between probable cause and beyond reasonable doubt?
11:13 Is it all over when the prosecutor files the charge?
12:46 Framing on opening gov
16:22 Framing on opening opp
20:55 Arguing on opening gov
24:00 Arguing on opening opp
30:50 Extending on government side
36:31 Extending on opp
40:15 Advice for legal motions
42:16 REGISTER TO VOTE!
The theme for round 4 of this year's Debatable IV is economics! We are living in the middle of a recession because of the pandemic. One of the ways that central banks try to stimulate the economy is by setting "ultra-low" interest rates. Theoretically, low interest rates help stimulate the flow of money by encouraging lending and investment, but theory doesn't always match reality.
The motion reads: THR the policy of central banks to set ultra-low interest rates when facing severe economic downturns. Thanks so much to Nicky Solis for contributing this motion and post-debate analysis!
00:00 Introduction
1:24 Getting over your fear of econ
3:46 What inspired this motion?
4:57 What do central banks do?
7:51 What are interest rates?
11:33 How does the interest rate affect the economy?
13:16 When and why would rates be high?
15:59 Framing on gov
19:14 Are the harms inherent to ultra low rates?
24:18Will bank runs happen?
25:55 Extending on gov
28:26 Reframing on opp
32:36 Why would people follow the central bank?
35:21 Usury Laws & the Opp alternative
36:30 How do low rates help the economy?
40:20 Future matterloading
43:01 How can debaters be more interested in economics?
The theme for Round 3 of Debatable IV is Science! The past couple of years have been defined by the importance of creating and communicating scientific knowledge. This motion asks us to question WHO gets to make scientific knowledge and why that might matter.
The motion reads THW priortize the funding of scientific research conducted by members of historically marginalized groups. We thank Dr. RJ Lim for contributing this motion!
00:00 Introduction
00:47 What inspired this motion?
1:50 What is the importance of Science debates?
2:46 What does priority funding look like? How are grants given?
4:35 Framing government side
6:43 Arguing for gov
12:30 Extending for gov
15:12 Reframing for opp
17:51 Arguing for opp
23:07 Extending for opp
25:16 Advice for science motions (Especially if you have no matter!)
The second round of Debatable IV 2021 is about the Philippines (and sports, too!).
Last March 2021, the Filipino-born chess super-grandmaster Wesley So officially attained American citizenship. He had previously left the Philippines to play on behalf of the United States. Around a month later, Filipino volleyball player Jaja Santiago was offered Japanese citizenship so she could represent Japan in the Olympics and the World Championship. This brought into the popular consciousness the question: should Filipino athletes stay in the Philippines if they do not get opportunities to thrive?
That's why the motion for this round reads: THBT Filipino athletes should never give up Filipino citizenship in exchange for sports opportunities abroad. We thank Akeem Fabila for contributing this motion and for giving us their insights.
00:00 Introduction
1:00 What inspired this motion? Wesley So and Jaja Santiago
3:00 Why are sports so important in Philippine culture?
4:37 What issues will come out in this motion?
5:50 Framing on gov
7:57 Arguing on gov
12:23 Extending on gov
18:05 Reframing on opp
19:26 Arguing on opp
26:45 Extending on opp
31:40 Advice for novices
The theme of Debatable IV 2021's first round is education! When we were in primary and secondary school, we would have to do the flag ceremony every morning as part of an effort to instill nationalism in the youth. Nationalistic education is debatable in and of itself, but it is especially debatable in the context of young nations that are recovering from strife and internal conflicts.
This begs the question: should we stop trying to instill nationalism in these schools? The motion reads: THBT post-conflict states should not instill nationalism through the education system.
We'd like to thank Mikkel Neri for contributing this motion and for this post-debate analysis!
00:00 Introduction
00:53 Why debate about education?
2:28 What is nationalism?
4:02 Why is nationalism instilled in education?
5:07 Arguing for government side
8:01 How to extend for gov
13:04 Reframing nationalism on opp
15:45 Arguing for opp
18:19 Extending for Opp
20:00 What's the matter?
21:50 Advice for Educ motions
To wrap up this Pride Month, we talk about Rainbow Capitalism! We discuss what it is, what it entails, as well as the issues and merits that go into this practice that corporations end up being a part of. We did this episode in collaboration with Miko Bombeo, who was kind enough to help us research and formulate the script for this topic!
In this episode, we talk to our dear friend Hezron about what carceral feminism and abolitionist feminism is. We discuss the pros and cons to the rising demand for carceral approaches in dealing with gender issues in society and compare the possible consequences to the most vulnerable.
In this episode, we talk about legal personhood being granted to bodies of nature, about anthropocentrism and ecocentrism, and about biodiversity. We want to thank Justin Guda for helping us research and write this episode! (Applications for the Debatable Grant are open at bit.ly/PIDC2021Debatable!)
For this episode of Debatable, we talk to Nori to discuss the different mental health struggles faced by the LGBT community. We discuss gender dysphoria, depression, as well as the complexities that come with exploring the self.
(Applications for the Debatable Grant are open at bit.ly/PIDC2021Debatable!)
For Pride Month 2021, we're happy to announce that all our episodes will feature the insights of members of the LGBT community, through the writing and through interviews!
We start with our conversation with Miko Bombeo, President of the Philippine Debate Union and the self-proclaimed "gay b*tch from everywhere"! We talk about regional representation, team codes, online debating, gender representation, the importance of pronouns, and more!
This episode is sponsored by... us! Debatable Intervarsity is on its last days of Phase 2. It ends on June 5! If you haven't registered for Debatable Intervarsity yet, don't miss your chance to do so at bit.ly/DebatableIVPhase2
You can also register to be an independent judge or apply to be one of our invited adjudicators, who we'll pay to judge our tournament at bit.ly/DebatableIVJudgeRegistration
In this episode we talk about redtagging with Atty. Ross Tugade. We spend a lot of time discussing redtagging from the point of view of international humanitarian law (also known by its sexier name-- the law on armed conflicts) and why it's important to view the issue from that lens.
DISCLAIMER: None of what was discussed in the episode should be understood to be legal advice.
Taylor Swift's experiences with Scooter Braun and Big Machine Records revived a much older question: must artists always own their work? In this episode, we look at a brief history of Taylor Swift's problem with her masters, the different sides of the issue (we tried to be as fair as we could!) and why that matters not just to swifties, but for many other content creators and artists that try to navigate a world where bigger entities tend to put them in potentially disadvantageous long-run positions. (PS: We mentioned copyright a few times and noted how complicated that field of law could be. We recommend Tom Scott's video on the subject- https://youtu.be/1Jwo5qc78QU)
May 1 is celebrated in the Philippines as labor day! In this episode of Debatable, we discuss some of the problems that our laborers have been facing. Hopefully, we shed some light on the hurdles we need to overcome in order to achieve wage justice and legal protections for all workers.
For this episode of Debatable, we talk about the issues surrounding the ban on mass gatherings during the Holy Week. We talk about the separation of church and state, the reasons behind the church's defiance, as well as the inconsistencies of some of our state's laws and mandates.
A recent Pulse Asia poll revealed that 61% of Filipinos do not want to get any COVID-19 vaccine. In contrast, only 16% of Filipinos want to get vaccinated. What could be the cause of this hesitancy, and what can we do about it?
Unless you've been living under a rock, you'd know just how big k-pop has gotten. There have been so many debates recently about k-pop, but we don't personally know much about any of them. That's why for this episode, we invited Najwa, one of the most dedicated stans we know, to discuss critically some issues she finds in the industry.
PS: We really wanted to use k-pop tracks to go with this episode but we got scared of copyright issues LOL
EDIT: This episode has been re-uploaded to correct for some misleading information about certain groups.
For this episode of Debatable, we discuss the recently reinstated curfew here in the Philippines. We talk about the benefits and harms of curfew, what they mean for people, and how these policies shape our approach to COVID-19. (We also rant a lot about the way our government is handling things.)
In this episode, we celebrate (belatedly) this year's International Women's Day by discussing how feminism has evolved as a movement and the issues facing the movement today.
For this episode of Debatable, we talk about that #grind and #hustle. Join us as we discuss all the ways hustle culture has changed our society for the better and for the worse.
Sometimes, the question of whether forgiveness is proper is debatable. In this episode, we talk about what forgiveness is, how it affects both you and entire countries, and also ask for some forgiveness ourselves.
Episode 58 is for the people who want to debate but feel intimidated by the fancy-sounding terms that debaters use.
We talk about how language evolves in debate, why there's nothing to fear about debate terms, and what a lot of these terms even mean.
On Valentine's Day, society celebrates love! But here on Debatable, we're still undecided on the topic of love. In this episode, we ask the question: is love worth it?
For this episode of Debatable, we talk to UPDS member Bea Legaspi about her experiences with online debating. She has done around 36 tournaments by the time we recorded, and has a lot to say about this new online debate scene.
For this episode, we talk about the online debate experiences we found memorable. Listen as we talk about what it was like debating, judging, adjcoring, observing, as well as organizing online tournaments.
3:31 - Motion 1: Last June 2020 PM Boris Johnson announced the merger of the Department for International Development (DfID) into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) forming a new department called Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). signaling the new direction that foreign policy will integrate development and diplomacy. THBT that the UKs decision to form the FCDO will do more harm than good for the developing world. 11:26 - Motion 2: Joe Biden recently won the US Elections in November 2020, despite this the incumbent Administration of Donald Trump isn't willing to accept the decision and has been threatening a resistance to transition. Trump is also widely believe to be concerned about future prosecution against him after he steps down as president. THBT the incoming Joe Biden - Kamala Harris administration should offer Donald Trump and his allies amnesty from future prosecution in exchange for a peaceful transition of power. 24:01 - Motion 3: Regional Peacekeeping Forces are military units organized by regional organizations to respond to a specific conflict in their neighboring regions. examples are ECOMOG a West African peacekeeping force from The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). NATO, African Union, etc. TH supports the shift from the use of United Nations peacekeeping forces in favor of regional peacekeeping forces.
5:40 - Motion 1: The labor export policy is the export of the country's labor force to foreign countries. The Philippines started the massive export of labor to foreign countries in the 1970s as an economic strategy of the dictator Marcos to resolve economic crises of his administration. THW gradually decrease the annual export of labor until it is completely abolished. 23:35 - Motion 2: In the 2022 elections, THBT Philippine progressives should prioritize winning local elections. 38:32 - Motion 3: THW prohibit multi-national and national corporations from participating in the rehabilitation of post-disaster areas.
4:00 - Motion 1: THBT schools should actively encourage children to question authority. 11:51 - Motion 2: Traditional education is defined as teacher-centered delivery of instruction to classes of students who are the receivers of information. Traditional schools generally stress basic educational practices and expect mastery of academic learning in the core subjects of math, reading, writing, science and social studies. THR parent's trust in the traditional education system. 29:04 - Motion 2: TH, as a fresh high school graduate in the US, W not apply for student loans.
6:23 - Motion 1: TH prefers a life where one is fully content but does not aspire for more over a life where one continually aspires without certainty of contentment. 21:15 - Motion 2: Scientific knowledge is the body of knowledge developed through the scientific method. The scientific method categorically rejects or does not reject phenomena (things, characteristics, events) by testing hypotheses about them through empirical or logical experiments. By contrast, traditional knowledge is the body of knowledge developed by traditional human experiences. These are experiences and beliefs of communities that stem from interactions with their environment, which are often passed down through generations via cultural practices or communal memory. THBT prioritizing scientific knowledge to the point of excluding traditional knowledge impedes humanity's growth. 39:40 - Motion 3: THBT nationalism is no longer viable in advancing modern-day democracy around the world
4:30 - Motion 1: On October 15, 2020, Col. Angela Rejano has been named Chief of Malabon Police, and the first female police chief in the history of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO). TH, as Filipino feminists, regrets the promotion of Col. Rejano. 24:19 - Motion 2: 1. Shipping - short for relationshipping, is the act of rooting for romantic relationship between two fictional characters, often by a loyal subset of viewers/readers of said fiction e.g. Johnlock - Sherlock Holmes and John Watson from Sherlock Holmes, Merthur - Merlin and Arthur from Merlin, etc. 2. Canon - as in literary canon can be narrowly defined as that which is accepted as authentic, or official in the context of the literary piece/writing of a particular author, which are considered by scholars and critics in general to be the genuine creation of that particular author. This is based on some already deduced rules intended to be applied on the future pieces in the same genre. THBT shipping of non-canonical queer characters is a step back for genuine queer representation in media. 46:25 - Motion 3: Senate Bill No. 1934 or the proposed SOGIESC-based Anti-Discrimination Act was passed early this month (December 2020) by the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality chaired by Senator Hontiveros. THBT LGTBQI Filipino Movement and its allies should coopt religious groups in the fight to pass the SOGIESC-based Anti-Discrimination Act.
4:20 - Motion 1: THBT developing countries should pursue greater economic integration with one another in regional blocs and trading agreements as opposed to actively participating in international trading agreements and economic institutions led by, and with, global superpowers (e.g. United States and China). 14:55 - Motion 2: THBT megacities (cities that have more than 10 million inhabitants) should be run by multinational corporations. 30:20 - Motion 3: The assumption of economic rationality is the assumption that economic decision-makers have a purely materialistic, individualistic, and self-interested orientation towards economic decision-making. This assumes that individuals behave in rational ways and consider options and decisions within logical structures of thought, as opposed to involving emotional, moral, or psychological elements. Furthermore, it is based on the assumption that individuals seek to maximize utility and minimize costs for themselves. THBT the assumption of economic rationality in early and modern economic models and theories has done more harm than good to the creation, development, and design of domestic and foreign economic policy
2:45 - Motion 1: “Information Deficit Model” (IDM) assumes that the public needs more and better information. In contrast the “contextual model” is a collection of strategies that attempt to incorporate social context — in the form of culturally resonant messages, frames, and other rhetorical devices — into communication with the public. TH, as the scientific community, would move away from the "Information Deficit Model" (IDM) to a "contextual model" in discussing climate change. 10:13 - Motion 2: HCTs are trials that intentionally introduce an infectious disease organism to participants. In effect, expediting the usual vaccine development process, which normally requires a large group of people to be exposed to the disease naturally and may take over several years or decades to be completed. The demand for a COVID-19 vaccine has prompted vaccine developers to consider HCTs despite the lack of rescue treatments should any participant get sick. THS the use of human challenge trials (HCTs) in the development of COVID-19 vaccines. 20:15 - Motion 3: PubPeer is an online platform for post-publication peer review (PPPR). Unlike other platforms for PPPR, PubPeer offers their readers to leave comments under their real name or anonymously. THBT PubPeer does more harm than good to the scientific community.
6:00 - Motion 1: THW prohibit all financial settlements in environmental lawsuits. 20:53 - Motion 2: In response to racially motivated police violence, THBT racial minorities are justified in resorting to violent retaliation against the police. 32:30 - Motion 3: Under the doctrine of jury nullification, jury members may vote to acquit a defendant despite their belief that the accused is guilty of the crime charged. Essentially, the jurors vote based on their conscience and thus refuse to apply the law to the accused because they believe it is immoral, harsh, or wrongfully applied. THW abandon the doctrine of jury nullification.
3:11 - Motion 1: Absolute neutrality means equal weight to all events, opinion and arguments regardless of what side they're from. THBT all news platforms should practice absolute neutrality when covering news. 9:37 - Motion 2: THW make metadata collected by social media companies available to the public. 14:00 Motion 3: THW establish a content rating system for literature (i.e. R, PG-13 etc).
This 5th of November, let's spend the time to gain a better understanding of the history behind this date, the significance of Guy Fawkes, and the arguments for and against anarchy as a political ideology.
(Also, registration for Debatable Open is still ongoing, so sign up if you havent yet: http://bit.ly/DebatableOpenTeams)
For this Halloween Special, we discuss the politics of horror, and have a long talk about the movie tropes we like and dislike! Listen to us talk about metaphors, subversion, and fear as the core tenants of what makes horror what it is.
(Also, you should check out Debatable Open if you haven't yet. Learn about it through our social media accounts: @podcastdbtbl)
For this episode of Debatable, we talk about a new project: an online tournament called Debatable Open! We go into a deep dive of the various plans we have for the tournament, and the stories behind each one.
If you want to know more about the tournament (or are interested in joining), check out our social media accounts:
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/podcastdbtbl Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/podcastdbtbl
For this episode, we discuss our past struggles with debate, how we overcame them, what has changed in debating over the past few years, and what advice we'd give ourselves if we had the chance.
Join us as we interview three musicians for this episode of Debatable! Our topic is the idea of using exposure as payment for artists and whether it's good, bad, or somewhere in between. We talked to Niño Valeriano, Quade Ilagan, and Nino Tomas to get a better understanding of the struggles of artists, and get their views on the subject matter.
Check them out and support your local artists!
Niño's Band and Project: OD Band Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/odisaband/ The After Party Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/thumbdown Nino and Q's Band: Doubtful Figure Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoubtfulFigure Doubtful Figure Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/doubtfulfigure
For this episode, we look back at our experience debating in the online tournament: Bicol Debate Festival. Specifically, we discuss the Finals topic and give our thoughts, arguments, and opinions on both sides of the debate.
Finals Motions Full Wording: We live in a world where individuals, even before their birth, are able to know how their lives would look until the age of 25. Your life until 25 is a mix of failures, heart breaks, and misery. After 25, your future is unknown. This house would choose to be born.
This episode is brought to you by Audible! Avail your 30-day free Audible trial with our link: www.audibletrial.com/debatable
Intro Music by: purple-planet.com
For part 2 of our adjudication discussion, we interview Justin Guda on how they deliberate during tournaments, as well as prepare for rounds. In this episode, listen as we ask the questions you wanted asked, and hopefully learn how to love adjudication as much as we do!
For this episode, we deal with the complexities of adjudication and give our personal thoughts and insights about it. For part 1, we talk about the basic role of an adjudicator, what judges should and should not be persuaded by, as well as how to navigate the many gray areas judges encounter during rounds.
One of the most important concepts in history is sadly also one of the most misunderstood. For this episode, we discuss what genocide is, how it has occurred in the past, as well as the severity of the term in it of itself.
Whipping can be hard to learn because the way it's talked about relies on some vague phrases like "cleaning up" or "summarizing the debate." Debaters use their own experiences to help them define these terms so they end up understanding the same terms quite differently. Here's our attempt to clarify some things!
Sometimes it's hard to scroll through our feeds on the blue bird app or on the big F of social media sites. Some say it's because of "cancel culture." But what is this culture, anyway? Does it even exist, is it the root of all evil, is it a tool for social justice? We say it's not all good, but it's not all bad, either!
What do we mean when we use the phrase "the new normal"? Does it euphemize the struggles of the less privileged, or is it a genuine and innocent way to comfort people in highly uncertain times?
Debates exist all around us. They even lurk in the media we consume to try to forget about debate (and quarantine). For this episode, we explore superhero movies and see what issues and philosophical discussions hide in plain view.
We all know that it is important to stay clean during these trying times. For inspiration, we discuss a few tips we can get from the experts of hand-washing: politicians.
At around 3 am on March 24, the Senate plenary approved the third and final reading of SB No. 1418, which gives President Duterte special powers to deal with the spread of COVID-19 in the Philippines. In this episode, Kyle discusses his hesitations with the bill and gives a breakdown of the different provisions to pay close attention to.
March 24 marks the anniversary of our podcast! To celebrate, we decided to take a break from all the anxiety of the news and play a little game of Bingo. For this episode, we take a look at the Bingo card released by the organizing committee of the Philippine Inter-Collegiate Debating Championships, and talk about our experiences as debaters.
This is the second part of our series on basic IR. In this episode, we talk about some basic IR theories and how they can be applied in a debate. (We also talk about Star Trek a bit too often.)
Nina was very happy to oblige when we received requests for an episode about international relations. That's why we decided to make two episodes dedicated to IR! In this episode, we discuss some general tips to help you prepare for IR motions.
In this episode, we talk about something that's on everybody's minds— COVID19. We discuss the origins of the disease, some issues regarding information dissemination, governance and implementation, and class.
For this episode, we explore debate motions about relationships, love, and Valentine's Day. Join us discuss the politics and discussions hidden beneath the everyday feelings of people!
Join us as we talk about one of the features of the Asian Parliamentary Format: the reply speeches! In this episode, we talk about the importance of replies, examples on how to structure them, and other tips and tricks we've learned in our years of replying!
(Music: purple-planet.com)
Join us for this episode as we discuss how vetoes work, talk about some strategies to win at veto, and showcase how to use these strategies when motions are released!
(Music Credits: Purple-Planet, Lakey Inspired, Artificial Music, and DJ Quads.)
In this episode, we welcome 2020 with a new set of resolutions so we can become better debaters, judges, and people!
Happy Holidays from Nina and Kyle! In this episode, we discuss the spirit of Christmas— by talking about all the different ways that we can consider Santa a criminal!
It's December aka "the most wonderful time of the year!" But for the debate community, it's also time for the National Debate Championship aka the most tiring time of the year. In this episode, we talk about some memories from our past nationals, and also how we got to survive this long.
On this episode of Debatable, we both prep the government case and opposition case for the motion: THW prefer to experience art knowing nothing of the artist. Here, we introduce some basic art concepts, art arguments, and give our own examples and demonstrations for how we would run these arguments in an actual debate.
During one of Nina's adjcoreships, there was a motion released that read: THR the fixation on winning debates. On this episode, we discuss this motion in detail by talking about our experiences, and how the fixation on winning has affected how we debate, how we judge, how we treat judges, how we treat each other, and how we treat ourselves.
For this episode, listen to us rant about the use and misuse of matter in rounds. We discuss the average reason person rule, the problems of lacking matter in rounds, as well as other issues we have personally encountered. This episode also features insights from debaters Tariq Maketab and Junta Park on a motion they recently released: THBT competitive debating should shift to being more evidence-based (including but not limited to. judges being allowed to intervene with expert knowledge, prepared motions, use of research during preparation).
In this episode, we discuss the stages that news outlets use in covering mass shootings in America. We talk about their problems, what they lead to, as well as what can be improved.
For this episode, we discuss the different ways you can matterload, as well as some tips and tricks to make sure you're always updated on the latest events to help you win your rounds (and be an average reasonable person). Music: https://purple-planet.com
This week we welcome the return of the season of the Superior Debate Format. Join us as we both rant about the differences of the BP Format and the Asians format in terms of motions, prep styles, debate strategies, and adjudication. Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/
To take a break from all the seriousness of debate, for this special hour long episode, we drink together as we prep strange motions. Join us as we do our best (and sometimes fail) to piece cases together.
For the final episode of the Elections series, we speculate possible changes to the Duterte administration given the new senators and legislators. We discuss the power dynamics of this new elections, as well as possible policies that might resurface as a result of the new shifts in power. Music: https://purple-planet.com
For this part of the series, we talk about what happened during Election day. We discuss vote-buying as a phenomenon, the technicalities of COMELEC, and the malfunctions that happened that day. Music: https://purple-planet.com
For this part of the Elections series, we talk to Nathan Austria and Bianca Lacaba, two PDU members who took active roles in the campaign season. We ask them about what happened, what went wrong, and what can be done in the future. Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/
What was the big fuss over the 2019 Philippine General Elections? What's so important about the "Magic 12," and who eventually entered that list? In this episode, we give a general overview of what the Midterm Elections are, what were the stakes going into the elections, and some notable winners. This is the first episode in our series covering the elections.
Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/
For this episode, we extend our list of possible extensions by introducing some scale extensions, timeline extensions, as well as theme extensions. We also give our own tricks and tips for making sure you never run out of arguments to introduce in a debate round. Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/
For part 1 of this lesson on extensions, we discuss the basics of creating extensions, the distinctions between the two types of extensions, and introduce the first of four forms of extensions debaters can utilize in a round. Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/
For today's episode of Debatable, we discuss one of the most under-utilized and feared debate themes: sports! We are joined by Ferdin Sanchez, who is the PDU Vice President, NLIV 2019 Champion, and an avid sports fan, to discuss relevant facts, issues, and opinions about the theme. Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/
In this Holy Week Special episode of #Debatable, Kyle rants for an hour about the social significance of religions, and how different actors influence and are influenced by religious organizations.
Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/
For this episode, we discuss the bread and butter of all debaters! Here, we review the basics of constructing arguments and rebuttals, and reveal some tips and tricks that have helped us through our years of debating. Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/
As two debaters who enjoy being first speaker, we debunk some misconceptions surrounding the role, providing a layout of what a good first speaker speech contains, as well as provide tips and tricks you can use in your next debates!
Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/
We promised you a prep, we give you a prep! For this episode, we put the previous episode to the test by prepping for the motion: THBT movements should exclude privileged allies from discourse that is integral to the identity of the social movement.
We apologize for the audio quality of this one! We're still trying to get a hang of all of this.
Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/