Open to Debate Launches New Substack to Cap Year with Most Live Events Ever

Watch “The Art of Debate Moderation: Inside the Debate” roundtable here

Open to Debate, the nonpartisan media platform, last month launched a new Substack that has already topped 50,000 subscribers, rapidly becoming one of the platform’s most vibrant destinations for debate and civil discourse. Paired with the launch of the Open to Debate Society, a new membership community for the organization’s most engaged supporters, Open to Debate is expanding from a media organization into a movement, uniting people who believe that rigorous, good-faith debate is essential to a functioning democracy. The organization celebrated with a virtual roundtable on “the art of debate moderation” with Moderator-in-Chief John Donvan joined by frequent fellow moderators Nick Gillespie (Reason) and Nayeema Raza (Smart Girl Dumb Questions), who this year won a Gracie Award for her work moderating the “Should We Address the Gender Wage Gap?” debate.

During 2025, Open to Debate produced 45 new debates and programs, including more live events than at any point in its two-decade history, both across the United States and internationally. Partners this year included esteemed organizations like Bloomberg, Johns Hopkins University, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival, Arizona State University, and the Human Rights Foundation. Tens of millions of viewers and listeners consumed Open to Debate’s thoughtful nonpartisan content across YouTube, podcasts, and NPR stations.

Some of the most prominent voices in public life took the Open to Debate stage this past year, among them Senator Chris Murphy; Justice Stephen Breyer; former Surgeon General Jerome Adams, former CDC Director Tom Frieden, and influencer Doctor Mike; Former Member of Israeli Knesset Einat Wilf; journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson; Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales; Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes; provocative monarchist Curtis Yarvin; economists Jason Furman and Stephen Moore; best-selling author Vicky Ward; and many more.

Next year promises to be even bigger still, with plans already underway to produce new debates on AI and the future of work, whether feminism failed, data privacy, public health, and much more.

ABOUT OPEN TO DEBATE
Open to Debate addresses a fundamental problem in America: the extreme polarization of our nation and our politics. We are the nation's only nonpartisan, debate-driven media organization dedicated to bringing multiple viewpoints together for a constructive, balanced, respectful exchange of ideas. Open to Debate is a platform for intellectually curious and open-minded people to engage with others holding opposing views on complex issues. We know debate works to find common ground: On average, 32% of the Open to Debate audience changes their mind on contentious topics after hearing a debate. That’s the power of debate done right, and at scale, it can change the direction we’re headed in America. Open to Debate is broadcast as a weekly public radio program, carried on NPR stations including WNYC (#1 in the nation). Open to Debate is made available as a podcast, video series, and digital platform, and records episodes with live audiences nationwide. Learn more at opentodebate.org, and subscribe to Open to Debate’s Substack to access more than 350 debate archives, explore exclusive content, and engage with our community.

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For more information on Open to Debate, please contact Ray Padgett (raypadgett@shorefire.com) or Mark Satlof (msatlof@shorefire.com) at Shore Fire Media.