220 episodes
Give Them An Argument Ben Burgis
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- TV & Film
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4.6 • 126 Ratings
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Give Them An Argument is a YouTube show and podcast dedicated to building a smarter, funnier and more strategic Left. New episodes are live on YouTube on Monday nights with an exclusive postgame for GTAA patrons after the main show. (To become a patron, go to patreon.com/benburgis and sign up for the monthly cost of a milkshake at a 50s nostalgia diner in 1994.) Past guests have included Slavoj Žižek, Richard Wolff, David Pizarro, Gregory Sadler, Glenn Greenwald, Krystal Ball, Bhaskar Sunkara, Sam Seder, Ana Kasparian, Emma Vigeland, Matt Christman, and Amber Frost. The show has also featured debates between host Ben Burgis and opponents ranging from Walter Block to Charlie Kirk.Ben is a philosophy professor, Jacobin columnist, and frequent debater. He did a regular "Debunk" segment on the Michael Brooks Show until 2020. He's appeared on the Debate Night with Charlie Kirk, System Update with Glenn Greenwald, Rising, Krystal, Kyle & Friends, the Majority Report w/Sam Seder & the Joe Rogan Experience.benburgis.compatreon.com/benburgis
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Season 6 Episode 16: Friendly Marxism Debate w/Spencer Case & Talking NJ Palestine Organizing
Ben Burgis is freshly back from New Jersey where among other things he did a Palestine teach-in at the Princeton encampment. He also recently sat down for a friendly debate with goodhearted but right-leaning philosophy podcaster Spencer Case. We watch most of that and then bring on Rutgers professor and New Jersey Uncommitted organizer Elektra Kostopoulou to talk about her Palestine activism and (a little bit) about her related academic work. Eleketra also sticks around for the postgame for GTAA patrons.
Watch the full interview on Spencer's podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ57COJSIIU
Check out the Uncommitted campaign in NJ:
https://uncommittednj.org/
Here's some coverage of the Rutgers-Newark encampment:
https://www.pbs.org/video/rutgers-protest-1714597214/
Follow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgis
Follow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_Show
Become a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:
patreon.com/benburgis
Read the weekly philosophy Substack:
benburgis.substack.com -
Season 6 Episode 15: Fascism is When Austrian Painter (ft. Daniel Bessner & Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins)
Two of our favorite Daniels--Bessner and Steinmetz-Jenkins--join Ben Burgis to talk about the Daniels' Jacobin article "Liberals’ Heated Fascism Rhetoric Sidesteps Self-Reflection" and the broader debate on the relationship between Trumpism and Fascism.
Read the article:
https://jacobin.com/2024/04/liberals-fascism-rhetoric-democrats-election
Follow Daniel (Bessner) on Twitter: @dbessner
Follow Daniel (Steinmetz-Jenkins) on Twitter: @daniel_dsj2110
Follow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgis
Follow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_Show
Become a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:
patreon.com/benburgis
Read the weekly philosophy Substack:
benburgis.substack.com
Visit benburgis.com -
Season 6 Episode 13: Who's Afraid of Collectivism?/Ben on MSNBC & SiriusXM
[Scheduling: Sorry to be releasing these slightly out of order--things got messed up with traveling and etc. but Ep. 15 should be coming out in a couple days, then Ep. 16 on Saturday and we'll be caught up!]
Friend of the show Jordan Peterson recently referred to Luke Savage as an "idiot socialist." This week we talk to Luke himself (as well as actual-friend-of-show Matt McManus) about the article that got Dr. Peterson's attention--"Don't Fear Collectivism":
https://jacobin.com/2024/04/collectivism-individualism-socialism
We're also watching GTAA host Ben Burgis's clips from the MSNBC documentary XCLD: The Story of Cancel Culture, as well as listening to Ben's recent appearance with Laura Coates on SiriusXM.
Follow Luke on Twitter: @LukewSavage
Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattPolProf
Follow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgis
Follow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_Show
Become a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:
patreon.com/benburgis
Read the weekly philosophy Substack:
benburgis.substack.com
Visit benburgis.com -
Season 6 Episode 14: Alexander Herbert on Lenin/Ben on WABC/Watching Tucker in the Postgame
Alexander Herbert, a historian of the Soviet Union, joins us to chat about his Substack essay "Do We Really Need Lenin Today?" Before that, Ben Burgis and the GTAA crew listen to some of Ben's recent appearance on the WABC show "The Other Side of Midnight" where he answers some questions from host Frank Marano about objections to his views on Gaza. In the postgame for patrons, we watch Tucker Carlson's deeply strange appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience
Read Alex's essay:
https://alexherbert.substack.com/p/do-we-really-need-lenin-today
Follow Alex on Twitter: @alextherbert
Follow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgis
Follow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_Show
Become a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:
patreon.com/benburgis
Read the weekly philosophy Substack:
benburgis.substack.com -
Season 6 Episode 12: Jay Ponti on QAnon, Trump, and "Neo-Fascism"
Jay Ponti, the author of "Be The Revolution: How Occupy Wall Street and the Bernie Sanders Movement Reshaped American Politics" joins Ben Burgis to talk about the chapter on QAnon, Trump, and "neo-fascism"--including some surprising personal connections. Before that, Ben and the crew will be joined joined by the great RM Brown to watch, among other things, Charlie Kirk lose his mind on the subject of Haitian voodo.
Order Jay's book:
https://www.amazon.com/Be-Revolution-Movement-Reshaped-American/dp/B0CLJXZ5Q5
Follow him on Twitter: @jayponti
Follow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgis
Follow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_Show
Become a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:
patreon.com/benburgis
Read the weekly philosophy Substack:
benburgis.substack.com -
Thursday Night Debate Breakdown: Sam Seder vs. Majority Report Caller On Social Security
Ben Burgis and J. Andrew World continue the weekly series of Thursday Night Debate Breakdowns by watching Sam Seder debate a Majority Report caller who called him a "f---ing idiot" on Twitter for his position on Social Security.
Follow Andy on Twitter: @rightaboutnow2
Follow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgis
Follow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_Show
Become a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames every Monday night to our undying love and gratitude for helping us keep this thing going:
patreon.com/benburgis
Read the weekly philosophy Substack:
benburgis.substack.com
Customer Reviews
Foolhardy Ross & Ryan
Seems Abortion Rights and January 6 Election Denial were much more significant issues to voters than Red Wave prophets Ross & Ryan assured us. With Fetterman heroically flipping Pennsylvania,Democrats will gain an extra seat to balance Manchin. IF Democrats do lose the house it will only be because a Republican judge replaced their gerrymandered map with a map gerrymandered by a Republican Special Master. But don’t worry Ross and Ryan. James Carville and Jake Tapper made fools of themselves as well. Just don’t underestimate the popularity of Joe Biden. In the real poll he got 81 million votes!
Daily Wire…cash?!?
Was interesting till they went for the Daily Wire cash…ya that’s not going to influence the show and opinions m. Thanks I’ll pass on DW nonsense.
Lazy
I'm giving this show a two-star rating instead of just one because of the content and intriguing perspectives it offers. Ben Burgis and his guests present interesting opinions, and as a supporter of Jacobin magazine, I appreciate Ben’s work. However, I recently listened to an episode that was supposed to feature a Norm Finkelstein debate. The first 30 minutes were filled with Ben and his team troubleshooting audio issues, followed by a backup debate that didn't include Norm. It seems that the primary preparation for this show is just getting a few people together and hitting the record button. While I’m not looking for extensive editing and appreciate elements of a loose format, there are segments that feel like a waste of listeners' time. Waiting for 30 minutes to access the content is not a productive use of the audience's time.