Give Them An Argument Podcast

Give Them An Argument

Ben Burgis
Give Them An Argument is a YouTube show and podcast dedicated to building a smarter, funnier and more strategic Left. New episodes are live on YouTube on Monday nights with an exclusive postgame for GTAA patrons after the main show. (To become a patron, go to patreon.com/benburgis and sign up for the monthly cost of a milkshake at a 50s nostalgia diner in 1994.) Past guests have included Slavoj Žižek, Richard Wolff, David Pizarro, Gregory Sadler, Glenn Greenwald, Krystal Ball, Bhaskar Sunkara, Sam Seder, Ana Kasparian, Emma Vigeland, Matt Christman, and Amber Frost. The show has also featured debates between host Ben Burgis and opponents ranging from Walter Block to Charlie Kirk.Ben is a philosophy professor, Jacobin columnist, and frequent debater. He did a regular "Debunk" segment on the Michael Brooks Show until 2020. He's appeared on the Debate Night with Charlie Kirk, System Update with Glenn Greenwald, Rising, Krystal, Kyle & Friends, the Majority Report w/Sam Seder & the Joe Rogan Experience.benburgis.compatreon.com/benburgis
Season 6 Episode 39: From Plato to Marx w/David Lay Williams
David Lay Williams comes on to talk about his excellent new book, "The Greatest of All Plagues: How Economic Inequality Shaped Political Thought from Plato to Marx."Order the book:https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691171975/the-greatest-of-all-plaguesRead Ben's review of the book in Compact:https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-ancient-curse-of-inequality/Order Ben's pamphlet "Four Essays on Palestine":https://everyday-analysis.sellfy.store/p/four-essays-on-palestine-by-ben-bur...
Nov 2, 2024
1 hr 58 min
Season 6 Episode 38: Talking Palestine w/Deep State Kuba
Deep State Kuba joins Ben Burgis for a deep dive into the ongoing atrocities in Palestine--both debunking Zionist apologetics and pushing back against the dumb and counterproductive things leftists sometimes say in the name of Palestine solidarity and crafting a better and more effective message.Order Ben's pamphlet "Four Essays on Palestine" from Everyday Analysis:https://everyday-analysis.sellfy.store/p/four-essays-on-palestine-by-ben-burgis-print-and-digital-edition/Follow Kuba on Twitter:...
Nov 1, 2024
2 hr 35 min
Season 6 Episode 37: The Catholic Left (and Also Some Protestants)
First-time guest Tony Annett and Matt "I Brought My Own Mic" McManus return for an in-depth look at thinkers like Alasdair McIntyre and Paul Tillich, the relationship between left-wing economic ideas and Catholic social teaching, and more. (Turns out that, while an adamant atheist when "in the streets" arguing about philosophy, Ben is "in the sheets" of political practice extremely friendly to this kind of thing.)The launch event for Ben's pamphlet "Four Essays on Palestine" is going to be in...
Oct 18, 2024
1 hr 49 min
Season 6 Episode 36: Debunking the Many Bad Arguments Made By Israel’s Apologists in the West
On the one-year anniversary of Hamas's atrocities on October 7th, which have been used as a pretext for unfathomably worse atrocities for the last year, Ben Burgis does an on-air version of his lecture "Debunking the Many Bad Arguments Made By Israel’s Apologists in the West" which he gave as a teach-in at the encampment at Princeton last April, and before that as a presentation to Metro Detroit DSA & Wayne State University YDSA. (Sadly, we couldn't line up anyone to record either of thos...
Oct 12, 2024
1 hr 46 min
Season 6 Episode 35: Ukraine War Update w/Danny & Derek from American Prestige
We talk some Marxism, and then Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison of the American Prestige podcast join us to talk about their article "America Must Grapple With the Limits of Ukraine's Kursk Offensive":https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/america-must-grapple-limits-ukraines-kursk-offensive-212795Order Ben's Palestine pamphlet:https://everyday-analysis.sellfy.store/p/four-essays-on-palestine-by-ben-burgis-print-and-digital-edition/Petition for the Smith College workers:https://docs.google.co...
Oct 12, 2024
1 hr 39 min
Season 6 Episode 34: Inequality Debate w/Will Cooper/Anti-Haitian Racism from Yarvin to Trump
Will Cooper, op-ed columnist and author of "How America Works ... And Why It Doesn't," joins Ben Burgis for a friendly debate on how much economic inequality is too much. In an article for Newsweek, Cooper argued that America is much too unequal but he also said that:"And, importantly, there's nothing necessarily wrong with some people getting rich. A relatively large amount of inequality should even be encouraged. Hard work and ingenuity should be rewarded, as wealth first needs to be create...
Sep 20, 2024
1 hr 55 min
Season 6 Episode 33: Norm Finkelstein on Robin DiAngelo/Matt McManus on Charlie Kirk
Stormin' Norman Finkelstein joins us in the first half of the show to talk to Ben Burgis about the rise and fall of Robin DiAngelo. Then for the second half we switch to examining the other side of the aisle with a conversation with Matt McManus about his very funny review of Charlie Kirk's latest....let's just say "book," "Right-Wing Revolution: How to Beat the Woke and Save the West." Last but not least, Matt's sticks around the postgame for patrons, where we may look into Matt Walsh's thou...
Sep 13, 2024
2 hr 3 min
Season 6 Episode 32: Debating Palestine w/Walter Block
Do Palestinians have the same rights as everyone else, or have they collectively forfeited these rights by being "criminals"? In an article for Merion West, libertarian economist Walter Block argued the latter:https://merionwest.com/2024/06/07/yes-to-a-palestinian-state-just-not-inside-or-right-next-to-israel/Ben Burgis responded:https://merionwest.com/2024/06/10/in-reply-to-walter-block-relocation-should-be-off-the-table/...and Walter responded to that:https://merionwest.com/2024/07/06/why-i...
Sep 6, 2024
2 hr 19 min
Season 6 Episode 31: Mastering the Universe w/Rob Larson
The people's econ prof, Rob Larson, joins us to talk about his new book, "Mastering the Universe: The Obscene Wealth of the Ruling Class, What They Do With Their Money, and Why You Should Hate Them Even More." Before that, Ben and the crew talk about the highlights and the (sadly more numerous) lowlights of the DNC. In the postgame for patrons, they watch Tim Pool be very confused about labor unions.Contribute to Andy's GoFundMe so he can continue making great art for this show, for his own s...
Aug 30, 2024
2 hr 24 min
Season 6 Episode 30: Is Kamala a Kammunist? Is Vance a Populist? (ft. Nathan J. Robinson)
Current Affairs editor Nathan J. Robinson joins us once again to talk about Peter Thiel's favorite "populist," J.D. Vance, the (sadly inaccurate) hysteria from Trump, Musk and the New York Post about Kamala Harris being to the left of Bernie and possibly even a revolutionary communist, and his "anti-socialist bingo" card. Before that, Ben and the crew take a moment to remember Michael Brooks, whose 41st birthday would have been last Tuesday. No postgame this week--sorry about that, it's Ben's...
Aug 26, 2024
1 hr 56 min
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