Doha Debates Podcast

For years, Western vision and values have shaped the global order. Now, China is on the rise, championing a different model. Who will lead us into the future? In this episode, we explore these competing visions of the...

Who controls our money? Will China or the West lead us into the future? Is work even meaningful anymore? We’re back with a new season of the Doha Debates Podcast, featuring global experts tackling some of the world’s...

Football (or soccer) is more than just a game; it's a global phenomenon. Today, as football club ownership, team talent and the fandom all evolve, have the meaning and merits of the sport also changed? What can we learn...

In many places around the world, birth rates have dropped to historic lows. Some argue this is a good thing in a world grappling with environmental crises and waning resources. Others fear the loss of legacy and even...

History is full of resistance movements that were condemned in their time but later celebrated, including the French Resistance, women’s suffrage and the fight against apartheid led by Nelson Mandela. This begs the...

Some critics argue that contemporary art has lost touch with the principles and traditions that define artistic greatness. Others see its break with tradition as liberating; a move toward more inclusion, experimentation...

This episode was recorded on December 6th, 2025. In recent decades, traditional religious frameworks have steadily lost influence in Western societies. At the same time, we’ve seen the emergence of social justice...

Conspiracy theories used to be dismissed as paranoid fringe thinking, found only in the far corners of the internet or every day hearsay. But today, they've migrated to the mainstream. Claims about election meddling...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...