The Debate

A live debate on the topic of the day, with four guests. From Monday to Thursday at 7:10pm Paris time.

The Debate is a news podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 22 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts The Debate, a news show with 22 episodes published.

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  The Debate

  Ethiopia back to civil war? Horn of Africa fears spillover effect of renewed fighting

  Sep 30, 202643 min

  After contagion in the Arabian Peninsula, should the entire Horn of Africa fear a domino effect? Just as Donald Trump’s decision to invade Iran drew the Saudis back to Yemen: did threats over the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb light the fuse in Ethiopia, where last week, unresolved issues between the government and its Tigray region erupted? Could a potential return to civil war draw in regional rivals? Ethiopia didn’t need pressure over the Red Sea to ignite. The breakdown of dialogue after the 2022 Pretoria agreement was always going to be a ticking time bomb for Africa’s second-most populous nation. And in four years, alliances have shifted… with neighboring Eritrea no longer on Abiy Ahmed’s side and Addis Ababa accusing Egypt and Sudan of supporting the TPLF rebels. Sudan with its own vicious civil war where Abiy’s accused of siding with the same UAE whose arming of RSF militias is well documented. How and who to stop a return in Ethiopia to all-out civil war? Who to prevent a regional war? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

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  The Debate

  Still the same far-right? Le Pen's National Rally denies fresh antisemitism claims

  Sep 29, 202642 min

  Minor bump on the French far-right’s road to power—or a car crash that wipes out years of rebranding? Bombshell allegations of past antisemitic tropes by the man Marine Le Pen has touted as her future prime minister could test her years-long effort to convince French voters that the National Rally is a party of government, rather than the fringe far-right National Front of old. We’ll examine the evidence and hear the denial from 31-year-old Jordan Bardella. We’ll also chart his rise: groomed as an eventual stand-in for the presidential frontrunner after an appeals court allowed Le Pen to run despite her corruption conviction. And we’ll ask how the accusations land for a party that, since the October 7 attacks against Israel, has sought to portray itself as a rampart defending France’s Jewish community against antisemitism. Le Pen’s gut reaction was to blast the report by investigative news site Mediapart as a plot, a conspiracy. We happen to live in an age when conspiracy theories flow freely—including, of course, the conspiracy theory that Jews secretly run the world. So, in the end, what could these allegations mean for Marine Le Pen’s prospects in 2027? Produced by François Picard, Charles Wente, Rebecca Gnignati, Guillaume Gougeon and Ilayda Habip

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  The Debate

  Leo the moderate? Pope in France defends EU values

  Sep 28, 202643 min

  There's a new Pope in town and he's got very different ideas on what France's far-right calls the defense of Christian civilization. Leo the 14th concluding his trip to France in the eastern city of Metz, hometown of a founding father of present-day European federalism Maurice Schumann. There, the head of the world's largest organized religion proudly stated fact, that Europe’s roots are Christian, dating back to the Romans, all the while hailing an EU model that transcends 'us versus them' ideology, which brushes aside ‘might is right’ in favor of human rights and international law. We’ll ask how about the schism with the likes of French presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen and the leader of her National Rally Jordan Bardella. How much does Leo's brand of Catholicism clash with the values of a eurosceptic far-right that continues to make inroads in France and just over the border in neighboring Germany? More broadly, how much of a moral authority can this Pope and this church be in 2026? During his four-day tour of France, Leo acknowledged the damage done by systemic abuse within the Church when he met with victims. Beyond that private meeting, he drew huge crowds. How will this moment be remembered? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

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  The Debate

  The future of AI in their hands? Trump-Xi summit dismisses calls for global oversight

  Sep 24, 202644 min

  It's their AI world and we're just living in it. If that's the feeling of those who suffer from AI anxiety, it may worsen watching the Chinese president's first state visit to Washington in nine years. If there's one issue that the planet's biggest superpowers agree on, it's that now is not the time for global regulation of artificial intelligence. As they sit down to a White House state dinner just hours after news that OpenAI had hacked the Australian government, we ask who will call to task the US tech titans at the table. Read more OpenAI AI agent breached Australian government website, PM says While they push for more money, energy and easy access to our personal content, is the rest of the world reduced to the role of spectator? On that score, we ask why the US president's red lines have moved over the years: rolling back tariffs on China , easing chip restrictions and blocking a ban on TikTok . National interest? Personal gain? And what about a China keen to control what citizens can or cannot access when they reach for their chatbots? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

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  The Debate

  Holy regulation? Pope in Paris to press case for 'disarming' AI

  Sep 23, 202641 min

  It's all about his high holiness here in France. For weeks already, the nation's been abuzz over the upcoming visit of Leo. From Friday evening mass at Notre Dame Cathedral and mass before 600-thousand faithful in Paris to the pilgrimage city of Lourdes and a trip to Metz, hometown of father of European unity Robert Schuman. A papal visit to France usually draws much attention to the symbiotic love-hate relationship between the church and a secular state of mostly-lapsed Catholics. And yes, there have been grumblings about the visit's cost to taxpayers. But the pushback's relatively muted. This new American pope seems genuinely popular here in France. We'll ask why. Perhaps part of the answer lies with Leo’s first stop - UNESCO - where he’ll speak about artificial intelligence in what’s billed as the follow up to his Spring encyclical on the issue. As panelists in this studio repeated just last week, machines per se are not taking over. But the happy few who control the most powerful AI tools have amassed outsized power. The existential threats posed by technology, are they a matter of faith, sanctity of life, morals? And what does the world’s largest organized religion bring to the table? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

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