Lost Debate

4.6 (603)
Politics
Updated Weekly

Lost Debate is a weekly podcast from The Branch that brings you news, ideas, and arguments from around the political spectrum. We engage in the good-faith discussions that too much of our society and media miss. It's hosted by Ravi Gupta, a former Obama staffer turned school principal.

8h ago

The Case for Constraints

Why do constraints so often lead to better results? In this conversation, Ravi chats with bestselling author David Epstein, who explains how limitations can spark creativity, improve focus, strengthen decision-making, and drive innovation across writing, business, sports, and technology. Drawing on stories from Haruki Murakami, David Chang, Pixar, Amazon, and NASA, David argues that success comes from balancing exploration with focused execution. The lesson is counterintuitive but powerful: having fewer options is often what unlocks our greatest potential. ––––– Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 201-305-0084⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@LostDebate Follow Ravi at @RaviMGupta Notes from this episode are also available on Substack: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/ Read more from Ravi on Substack: https://realravigupta.substack.com Follow The Branch at @thebranchmedia Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lost-debate/id1591300785 Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7xR9pch9DrQDiZfGB5oF0F Listen to Where the Schools Went: https://thebranchmedia.org/show/where-the-schools-went/

53 min
4d ago

An Optimist’s Guide to Investing

Ravi sits down with financial writer and Animal Spirits co-host Ben Carlson to discuss investing, inflation, market psychology, and why long-term optimism still wins. From stock market crashes and recessions to AI, passive investing, retirement, and wealth building, Ben explains why trying to time the market often backfires—and what investors should do instead. They also explore today's biggest economic risks, from government debt and tariffs to tech concentration and speculative investing. If you're wondering how to build wealth in an uncertain world, this conversation offers a practical framework for staying invested and thinking long term. Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 201-305-0084⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@LostDebate Follow Ravi at @RaviMGupta Notes from this episode are also available on Substack: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/ Read more from Ravi on Substack: https://realravigupta.substack.com Follow The Branch at @thebranchmedia Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lost-debate/id1591300785 Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7xR9pch9DrQDiZfGB5oF0F Listen to Where the Schools Went: https://thebranchmedia.org/show/where-the-schools-went/

43 min
Jun 5

Will Platner Cost Dems the Senate?

Ravi Gupta examines the growing scandals surrounding Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, from newly revealed sexting allegations to controversial past comments and mounting questions about his character and judgment. He explores whether Platner's supporters—and the Democratic influencers and leaders who helped elevate him—are overlooking serious warning signs. With control of the Senate potentially on the line, Ravi asks whether Platner has become a political liability and what his rise says about the future of the Democratic Party. Pre-order Ravi’s new book The Invisible List Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-List-Passion-Year-Every/dp/0593980859/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2TKS6Y9B9VBMT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5LDAYpIV1QkF6qGXMXrOoA.RwdEWCV1lydW_PuYCdxwhLCv2L61Iu1CcRT9HDQXAxQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=ravi+gupta+invisible+list&qid=1780260764&sprefix=%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-1 Local: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-invisible-list-a-guide-to-conquering-deferred-dreams-ravi-gupta/cc0da5aa0e8c5bb9?ean=9780593980859&next=t Book website: https://readinvisiblelist.com/ Email pre-order receipts to: lauren@orangeboatmedia.com ––––––– Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 201-305-0084⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@LostDebate Follow Ravi at @RaviMGupta Notes from this episode are also available on Substack: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/ Read more from Ravi on Substack: https://realravigupta.substack.com Follow The Branch at @thebranchmedia Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lost-debate/id1591300785 Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7xR9pch9DrQDiZfGB5oF0F Listen to Where the Schools Went: https://thebranchmedia.org/show/where-the-schools-went/

40 min
Jun 2

The Case Against Dating Apps

Dating apps promised to make finding love easier. Instead, many people feel more disconnected, discouraged, and lonely than ever. Ravi sits down with relationship coach, matchmaker, and founder of The Feels, Allie Hoffman, to explore why dating apps may be failing us, what we've lost by outsourcing connection to technology, and how real-world community can help us find our way back. Together, they unpack modern loneliness, the hidden costs of swipe culture, and the case for getting off the apps and into real life. Ravi's new book The Invisible List –––––––––––– Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 201-305-0084⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@LostDebate Notes from this episode are also available on Substack: ⁠https://thelostdebate.substack.com/⁠ Follow Ravi at @RaviMGupta Read more from Ravi on Substack: https://realravigupta.substack.com Follow The Branch at @thebranchmedia Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lost-debate/id1591300785 Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7xR9pch9DrQDiZfGB5oF0F

53 min
Jun 1

Eight Years in the Making

What did you used to want to learn, make, or finish? Guitar. Spanish. Salsa. The novel you've been starting for a decade. We all carry an invisible list: the skills we wish we'd learned, the talents we wish we'd developed, and the dreams we meant to pursue. Most of us file that list away, telling ourselves we'll get back to it someday. Most of us never do. In this episode, Ravi Gupta shares the framework behind his new book, The Invisible List, why he believes it's never too late to start, and how you can pre-order the book and begin reclaiming the dreams you've deferred. ––––––––– To Pre-Order The Invisible List: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-List-Passion-Year-Every/dp/0593980859/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2TKS6Y9B9VBMT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5LDAYpIV1QkF6qGXMXrOoA.RwdEWCV1lydW_PuYCdxwhLCv2L61Iu1CcRT9HDQXAxQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=ravi+gupta+invisible+list&qid=1780260764&sprefix=%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-1 Local: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-invisible-list-a-guide-to-conquering-deferred-dreams-ravi-gupta/cc0da5aa0e8c5bb9?ean=9780593980859&next=t Book website: https://readinvisiblelist.com/ Email pre-order receipts to: lauren@orangeboatmedia.com ––––––––– Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 201-305-0084⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@LostDebate Follow Ravi at @RaviMGupta Notes from this episode are also available on Substack: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/ Read more from Ravi on Substack: https://realravigupta.substack.com Follow The Branch at @thebranchmedia Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lost-debate/id1591300785 Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7xR9pch9DrQDiZfGB5oF0F Listen to Where the Schools Went: https://thebranchmedia.org/show/where-the-schools-went/

6 min
May 27

The $40 Billion Money Pit

New York City spends over $40,000 per student — more than almost anywhere in America — yet its schools deliver painfully average results while enrollment continues to collapse. Ravi sits down with journalist Marc Novicoff to unpack the exploding costs, shrinking classrooms, special education loopholes, and political dysfunction driving the crisis. They explore how billion-dollar programs, empty school buildings, and untouchable bureaucracy are reshaping public education in America’s largest city — and why almost nobody in power seems willing to confront it. _______________________ Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 201-305-0084⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@LostDebate Follow Ravi at @RaviMGupta Notes from this episode are also available on Substack: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/ Read more from Ravi on Substack: https://realravigupta.substack.com Follow The Branch at @thebranchmedia Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lost-debate/id1591300785 Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7xR9pch9DrQDiZfGB5oF0F Listen to Where the Schools Went: https://thebranchmedia.org/show/where-the-schools-went/

40 min
May 20

Surprising Truths about Sex and Relationships

Everything we think we know about dating, sex, love, and marriage may only be half true. In this episode, Dr. Justin Garcia, director of the Kinsey Institute and author of The Intimate Animal, joins Ravi to unpack the hidden forces shaping modern relationships — from dating apps and Gen Z’s “sex recession” to infidelity, pornography, monogamy, and why so many Americans are single. Drawing on decades of research, they explore the gap between what people say they want and how relationships actually work. It’s a fascinating, surprising conversation about intimacy, trust, desire, and what it really means to find connection today. –––––––––––– Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 201-305-0084⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Ravi at @RaviMGupta Notes from this episode are also available on Substack: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/ Read more from Ravi on Substack: https://realravigupta.substack.com Follow The Branch at @thebranchmedia Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lost-debate/id1591300785 Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7xR9pch9DrQDiZfGB5oF0F Listen to Where the Schools Went: https://thebranchmedia.org/show/where-the-schools-went/

53 min
May 13

The Mississippi Miracle

How did Mississippi — long seen as one of the worst states in America for education — become one of the fastest-improving in the country? In this episode, education reformer Rachel Canter joins Ravi Gupta to unpack the “Mississippi Miracle” — the controversial policies, hard choices, and cultural shifts that transformed student outcomes against all odds. They explore why Mississippi’s success challenges assumptions across the political spectrum — and what the rest of the country may be getting wrong about education. Ravi's recent piece on Hasan Piker Rachel Canter’s Atlantic piece and full report on the Mississippi Miracle ––––––– Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 201-305-0084⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Ravi at @RaviMGupta Notes from this episode are also available on Substack: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/ Read more from Ravi on Substack: https://realravigupta.substack.com Follow The Branch at @thebranchmedia Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lost-debate/id1591300785 Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7xR9pch9DrQDiZfGB5oF0F Listen to Where the Schools Went: https://thebranchmedia.org/show/where-the-schools-went/

52 min

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Trailer

Introducing: The Lost Debate

Lost Debate is a non-profit media company founded to tell the stories of those misunderstood, overlooked, or just plain threatening to those with privilege and power. We’re ethically contrarian, which means we challenge conventional wisdom —not to be different or provocative —but to tell stories and highlight issues we believe are valid and underrepresented. Through originally produced podcasts, long and short-form videos, written commentary, and investigative journalism, we’ll build fresh narratives.

10/21/2021

•

2 min

Ravi Gupta

Host
Rikki Schlott

Host

4.6

out of 5

603 Ratings

Been Listening

Feb 12

alw61299

on and off for awhile and it was refreshing to listen to two old friends talk about their families, histories, choices, and moving forward tonight. And not just two old friends, but two gentlemen with everything awful going on around us right now. Thanks, guys. 👏🏼
Loved the episode on the economic state but one question

08/16/2025

Stilik

Been listening to this show for a year or 2 now and its really my favorite when it comes to politics. I just recently listen to the episode on the economic state of the US and I have one question, what use outside of currency does cryptocurrency have that gold does not? Btw when are you getting a new co-host? I do miss Rikki but she been gone long enough. Time to get a new right leaning co-host. Anyways, keep up the good work!!
Parroting Trump's line

Feb 5

El Phantsmo

Apparently the release of the Epstein files will be damaging.. To who'm I wonder. What a hack.
All Self Promotion

10/27/2025

AB96Port

This used to be one of my favorite shows because he brought real depth and nuance to important issues. Now, we go weeks without episodes, and when there is a new one, it’s just a reread of his personal substack. Take those rereads to therapy and bring us back the real Lost Debate.

Lost Debate is a weekly podcast from The Branch that brings you news, ideas, and arguments from around the political spectrum. We engage in the good-faith discussions that too much of our society and media miss. It's hosted by Ravi Gupta, a former Obama staffer turned school principal.