Bet On America? Intelligence Squared U.S. Celebrates 100th Debate, Tackling U.S.'s Future, at NYC's Kaufman Center On February 11

In their nearly 100 debates, award-winning debate series Intelligence Squared U.S. (IQ2US) has tackled everything from health care to drones to, most recently, Amazon's impact on readers. Started as a way to encourage civil dialog on hot-button issues, IQ2US has grown to reach an audience of millions on radio, television, live streaming, podcasts and interactive digital content. And on February 11, IQ2US will take on a big topic for its 100th debate, one that touches on many of the complex issues it has addressed over the years: America's prospects for the future.

Go here for more info on IQ2US's successes en route to the 100-debate milestone.

The motion for 100th debate is "Declinists Be Damned: Bet on America," surveying what the U.S.'s current geopolitical, economic, and cultural states indicate about the future. From a $6-trillion debt to China to partisanship paralyzing our political process, America's problems are legion. But we’ve been warned about America’s decline before. Times are tough, but America is recovering from the Great Recession faster than almost any other advanced country and our military strength and geopolitical advantages remain unrivaled. Are our best days behind us, or should the world still bet on America?

The four debaters include Joseph Joffe, the publisher of influential German weekly Die Zeit, and respected geopolitical strategist Peter Zeihan arguing for the motion. Arguing against them will be a member of the Canadian Parliament, Chrystia Freeland, and influential economist James Rickards.

Arguing for the motion:
* Joseph Joffe, Spogli Institute & Publisher-Editor, Die Zeit
Josef Joffe is the publisher-editor of the German weekly Die Zeit and a senior fellow of Stanford's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. A visiting professor of political science at Stanford and a fellow of the Hoover Institution, he has also taught at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Munich. In 2005, he co-founded the foreign policy journal The American Interest with Zbigniew Brzezinski and Francis Fukuyama. He is a regular contributor to the op-ed pages of Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, and others.

* Peter Zeihan, Geopolitical Strategist & Author, The Accidental Superpower
Peter Zeihan is a geopolitical strategist who has lived in the world of international affairs throughout his career. After stints with the Center for Political Strategic Studies under Susan Eisenhower and the State Department in Australia, Zeihan was part of the core team that built Stratfor into a geopolitical consultancy and publishing house, ultimately serving as the firm’s vice president of analysis. Zeihan’s first independent book, The Accidental Superpower, was published in November 2014.

Arguing against the motion:
* Chrystia Freeland, Member, Parliament of Canada & Journalist
Chrystia Freeland is the Canadian Member of Parliament for the riding of Toronto Centre. After starting as a Ukraine-based stringer for the Financial Times, Washington Post, and The Economist, she went on to do many jobs at FT, including deputy editor, UK news editor, Moscow bureau chief, Eastern Europe correspondent, editor of its weekend edition, editor of FT.com, and US managing editor. From 1999 to 2001, she was deputy editor of The Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper. In 2010, Freeland joined as editor-at-large for Thomson Reuters, where she most recently worked as managing director and editor of consumer news. She is the author of Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else (2012), a New York Times bestseller which won the National Business Book Award.

* James Rickards, Economist, Investment Banker & Author, Currency Wars
James Rickards is chief global strategist at the West Shore Funds, editor of Strategic Intelligence, and director of The James Rickards Project, an inquiry into the complex dynamics of geopolitics and global capital. He is the author of New York Times bestseller The Death of Money (2014) and national bestseller, Currency Wars (2011) and an op-ed contributor to the Financial Times, Evening Standard, New York Times and Washington Post. He is also an advisor on capital markets to the U.S. intelligence community and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

The debate will also stream live online, then air soon after as part of the syndicated NPR show "Intelligence Squared U.S." On February 11, online viewers can tune in here (http://bit.ly/1BPHYBV) or via IQ2's new app (http://shorefi.re/VTwKwx)

WHAT: Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates "Declinists Be Damned: Bet on America"
WHEN: Wednesday, February 11, 2014 / Reception 5:45-6:30 / Debate 6:45-8:30 PM
WHERE: Kaufman Center/129 W. 67th Street (bet. Broadway and Amsterdam)/New York, NY 10023
TICKETS: $40 ($12 for students w/ ID). To purchase, visit http://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/

ABOUT INTELLIGENCE SQUARED U.S. DEBATES (IQ2US)
A non-partisan, nonprofit organization, Intelligence Squared U.S. was founded in 2006 to restore civility, reasoned analysis and constructive public discourse to today’s often biased media landscape. IQ2US reaches millions through multi-platform distribution, including radio, television, live streaming, podcasts and interactive digital content. It is one of the top 25 most popular podcasts on iTunes, and has won the 2014 Clarion Award for Radio Regular Feature Program and back-to-back 2013-2014 New York Festivals International Radio Awards for Best Public Affairs Program. The debates have attracted some of the world's top thinkers, including Malcolm Gladwell, Steven Forbes, Dr. Neal Barnard, Arianna Huffington, Paul Krugman, and Karl Rove. With close to 100 debates, Intelligence Squared U.S. has encouraged the public to "think twice" on a wide range of provocative topics. Author and ABC News correspondent John Donvan has moderated IQ2US since 2008. The executive producer is Dana Wolfe.

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