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. 

💬 Join the conversation in the comments. 

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. 

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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. 

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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 

Can the West be trusted with global justice after Gaza? 

Never has global justice faced a greater moral crisis than the destruction of Gaza, with the post-World-War-II moral order facing intense scrutiny. While Western-led institutions claim to champion human rights, when it comes to Gaza, do these institutions live up to their own ideals? In this episode of the Doha Debates Podcast, global experts debate whether the West can be trusted to promote global justice, and who should decide instead what moral framework guides the future of justice in a multipolar world.  

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Featuring: 

• Bruno Maçães: Author and member of the European Council on Foreign Relations  

• David Oldroyd-Bolt: Historian and broadcaster, specializing in Anglosphere relations 

• Dr. Randa Slim: Foreign policy expert and non-resident fellow with Middle East Institute 

• Wadah Khanfar: Palestinian journalist and former director general of Al Jazeera 
  

Should we accept aging or reverse it? 

While the search for eternal youth is not new, what does it mean to value youth above all else? What do we lose in the process?   

Many argue that science should extend our lives and reduce suffering. Others believe there must be limits. In this episode, experts debate whether we should handle the aging process with acceptance or with scientific intervention. 

The battle over online disinformation is usually framed as a fight for truth. But it is also a fight over power. 

As platforms tighten policies, algorithms quietly shape visibility and experts step in as arbiters of credibility, a deeper question emerges: are these systems protecting open discourse or controlling it? 

In this episode of the Doha Debates Podcast, we explore the rise of digital censorship and the growing assumption that the public cannot be trusted to think critically without supervision. Can harmful falsehoods be reduced without eroding the right to freely exchange ideas? And who decides where the line between protection and control is drawn? 

Experts join moderator Mohamed Hassan to debate how truth is defined, who gets to define it and what ethical responsibilities come with that authority. 

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Featuring: 

Renée DiResta: Author and associate research professor at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy  

Glenn Greenwald: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, former constitutional lawyer and New York Times bestselling author 

Siva Vaidhyanathan: Professor of Media Studies and director of the Center for Media and Citizenship at the University of Virginia 

Start the year 2026 with us as we discuss the questions shaping our world: What happens when disagreement is labeled disinformation? Can aging be cured — and should it be? After Gaza, who decides what justice looks like? 

The Doha Debates Podcast returns with a bold, reimagined season, featuring Majlis-style debates that challenge you to think differently. Each week, our moderators sit down with experts to explore these big issues through a wide range of perspectives.  

🗓️ First episode premieres Tuesday, January 6 
🎧 New episodes every Tuesday 
🔔 Subscribe and join the conversation! 

Today, the global order is facing challenges from shifting power and ongoing conflicts around the world. In this moment of rapid change, our latest town hall sought to examine the competing values and principles that underpin our societies—and uncover fundamental truths about which philosophical building blocks are most essential to building a better, more equitable and peaceful world.

Expert guests Victor Gao, Hina Khar and Vali Nasr, together with an onstage audience of students and recent graduates, joined us to explore this urgent question: which principles should shape our future?

This Doha Debates town hall was moderated by journalist Femi Oke and produced in partnership with Doha Forum. It was filmed in Doha, Qatar on December 6, 2024.

For the greater part of a century, conversations and narratives about global justice and free speech have been dominated by the West. From seminal works of history to newspapers of record to media networks to politics to public discourse, Western voices have often been louder than the rest.

And while the West has long claimed to act in the name of democracy, equality and freedom, some wonder whether it always lives up to its own ideals. Can the world rely on Western media, politics and public rhetoric to promote global justice, or is it simply furthering its own interests?

At the tenth Bradford Literature Festival, speakers Fatima Bhutto, Steve Clemons and Konstantin Kisin came together alongside an onstage audience of students and recent graduates for a lively town hall exploring how this narrative control plays out on the world stage.

This Doha Debates town hall was moderated by journalist Remona Aly and produced in partnership with Bradford Literature Festival. It was filmed at University of Bradford in Bradford, England on July 6, 2024.