Will AI unite or divide us? 

Artificial intelligence systems often reflect the priorities, biases and beliefs of the people who designed and created them. It’s critical to determine the sources of its worldview as it continues to influence how we think, learn and even love. 

This episode explores whether AI will bring us together or widen social divides. Can we create AI models that truly reflect cultural and ideological diversity? Or are we heading into an era of “AI tribes” that leads us in different directions?  

💬 Join the conversation in the comments. 

Featuring:  

• James Brusseau: Professor of philosophy and computer science, Pace University 

• Evgeny Morozov: Theorist and publisher, The Syllabus 

• Elina Noor: Senior fellow, Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 

• Robert Wright: Publisher, Nonzero Newsletter; host, Nonzero Podcast 

Moderated by award-winning journalist and writer Mohamed Hassan 

The idea of taxing the rich is hardly new, but the question of whether it creates a fairer world remains highly contested. 

This debate asks what would happen if we increased taxation on the billionaire class. Would it actually create greater economic stability and social equity? Or would it make things worse? Are taxes even aneffective way to redistribute wealth, or should we be looking at other models? 

💬 Join the conversation in the comments. 

Featuring: 

• Sanjit Dhami: Professor of economics, University of Leicester 

• Gustavo Flores-Macías: Dean of the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland 

• Martín Krause: Visiting professor, Francisco Marroquín University (Guatemala) 

• Pedro Solimano: Journalist, DL News 

Are we truly able to shape our own lives, or are we following a script we can’t rewrite?  

From Islamic perspectives to groundbreaking neuroscientific research, this episode examines how differing theories about free will shape the way we look at morality, responsibility and justice. 

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Featuring: 

• Heather Berlin: Associate professor of psychiatry and neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai 

• Gregg Caruso: Professor of ethics and director of the Patrick J. Waide Center for Applied Ethics, Fairfield University 

• Shadi Hamid: Columnist, the Washington Post

• Peter Tse: Cognitive neuroscientist, professor and chair of the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College 

Archaeology textbooks tell a familiar story about human history: Stone tools, cave art, nomadic life, then civilization.  

But a growing number of voices think we're missing a chapter—signs of an earlier advanced culture, lost to time.  

This episode explores the question underneath it all: Is there really a forgotten era of human ingenuity, or are we inventing a more epic past because it makes the human story feel bigger? 

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Featuring: 

• Eduardo Góes Neves: Professor of archeology, University of Sao Paulo  

• Edwin Barnhart: Director, Maya Exploration Center 

• Flint Dibble: Teacher in archaeology, Cardiff University 

• Sarah Parcak: Professor of anthropology, University of Alabama at Birmingham 

For millennia, we’ve wondered about the possibility of intelligent life beyond Earth. Recently, former U.S. president Barack Obama asserted that aliens are, in fact, real, and the Trump administration has pushed to declassify government files on UAPs and UFOs, leaving us with even more questions.  

In this episode, we explore what might happen if we discovered that we are not alone in the universe. What if our morality, spirituality and intelligence was not unique? How would the discovery of extraterrestrials reshape our understanding of ourselves and our role in the cosmos? 

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Featuring: 

• Matthias Determann:  Historian, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar 

• David Grinspoon: Senior scientist, Planetary Science Institute 

• Shaykh Hamza Karamali: Founder of Basira Education 

• Nick Pope: UAP investigator, UK Ministry of Defense (retired

This program was recorded in August 2025. The views expressed in this episode are the participants’ own and do not necessarily reflect those of Doha Debates. 

Is war inevitable, or preventable? This episode examines whether we’re capable of breaking the cycle of war.  

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Featuring: 

Charli Carpenter: Author and professor of political science and legal studies 

Ian Morris: Historian, archaeologist and classics professor 

R. Brian Ferguson: Professor, author and specialist in Indigenous conflict studies  

Noha Aboueldahab: Author, professor and transitional justice specialist 

What does our architecture say about who we are—and who we want to become? 

For centuries, architecture has represented our cultural beliefs, traditions and needs. It’s shaped how we live, how we relate to each other and even our mood. 

But modern architecture’s critics say it has a big problem. They argue it’s disconnected from human expression and context, with uniform or minimalist buildings that erase uniqueness, ignore the landscape and even increase stress. Modern architects, however, praise it for functionality and efficiency, saying it addresses global problems like climate change and affordable housing.  

In this episode, we explore whether architecture in the modern age has lost touch with humanity, or whether it is just as expressive and responsive as in any other era. 

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Featuring: 

Marwa Al-Sabouni: Architect, urbanist and author 

Bidisha Sinha: Associate director at Zaha Hadid Architects  

Lucien Steil: Author, professor and architect 

The prospect of societal collapse has been examined throughout human history. Thinkers from Ibn Khaldun to Karl Marx have argued that civilization carries the seeds of its own downfall.  

This episode asks whether we are witnessing modern-day civilization’s collapse or renewal. Will our modern-day focus on individualism, technology and comfort lead to decline or a revolutionary new beginning? Or are we living in a transitional moment where terms like “civilization” fail to capture our global reality altogether? 

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Featuring: 

Aurora Payal: Author, professor and digital anthropologist 

Jonathan Brown: Author, professor and scholar of Islamic studies 

Faisal Devji: Professor of global and Iimperial history 

Joseph Tainter: Author, anthropologist and historian 

Would you live in a futuristic, tech-run city?  

Tech leaders from across the globe are racing to build so-called tech utopias, claiming that they’re a new societal blueprint for humanity. But will this approach actually uplift us all or leave most of us behind? 

This debate explores whether tech-run cities like Praxis or Próspera truly offer a brighter future for all, or whether they are exclusive enclaves for the elite. 

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Featuring: 

Gökçe Günel: Author and professor of anthropology at Rice University 

Titus Gebel: Tech entrepreneur; founder and president of the Free Cities Foundation 

Evgeny Morozov: Theorist and publisher of The Syllabus 

Are superheroes moral leaders—or caped propagandists? 

From comic books to billion-dollar blockbusters, superheroes have fascinated us for over a century. But what do these stories really teach us? Are they our moral guides or do they reinforce Western ideals, individualism and even militarism? 

This debate explores why anti-heroes like the Joker captivate us, what it means when our moral icons are billionaires or kings created by entertainment giants, and whether superhero stories shape a new moral compass or uphold the status quo. 

 💬 Join the conversation in the comments. 

Featuring: 

• Nnedi Okorafor:  Award-winning novelist, Black Panther comics author 

• Hussein Rashid: Independent scholar of religion and pop culture 

• Keith Spencer: Author and social critic focused on culture, media, and tech 
  

Over the past decade, critics argue that identity politics and censorship have stifled academic freedom, while others say these concerns are overstated. This debate explores whether initiatives for justice and inclusion of historically excluded voices actually strengthen academia’s truth-seeking mission or risk replacing critical inquiry with moral conformity—and what kind of intellectual culture universities should build for the future. 

💬 Join the conversation in the comments. 

Featuring: 

Dorian Abbot: Professor of Geophysics at the University of Chicago 

Pablo Avelluto: Former Minister of Culture of Argentina 

Omer Bartov: Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University 

Mohammad Fadel: Professor of Law at the University of Toronto