212 episodes

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

Give Them An Argument Ben Burgis

    • TV & Film
    • 4.6 • 122 Ratings

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

    Thursday Night Debate Breakdown: Norman Finkelstein vs. Rabbi Shmuley

    Thursday Night Debate Breakdown: Norman Finkelstein vs. Rabbi Shmuley

    Matthew Whalan once again joins Ben Burgis for a Thursday Night Debate Breakdown. This week they're watching (actual!) friend of the show Norm Finkelstein taking on Rabbi Shmuley on Israel/Palestine on Piers Morgan's show.

    Read Matthew's Substack:

    https://matthewvernonwhalan.substack.com

    Follow Matthew on Twitter: @VernonWhalan

    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

    • 2 hr 24 min
    Season 6 Episode 10: Debunking Thomas Sowell

    Season 6 Episode 10: Debunking Thomas Sowell

    Matt McManus joins us to discuss his Jacobin article "Thomas Sowell Is a Cynical Man":

    https://jacobin.com/2024/03/sowell-cynical-social-domination-conservatism

    Support the Smith College library union:

    https://www.sclwu.org/

    Support the Long Beach post union:

    https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/urge-long-beach-post-management-to-recognize-the-long-beach-media-guild

    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 bebenburgis.com

    • 2 hr 14 min
    Season 6 Episode 9: Israel/Palestine Debate w/Brianna Wu

    Season 6 Episode 9: Israel/Palestine Debate w/Brianna Wu

    Rebellion PAC Executive Director Brianna Wu joins Ben Burgis for a conversation to explore their disagreements on Israel/Palestine as well as on the Biden administration's response to the horrors happening there. Before that, we're joined for the opening segment by the one and only RM Brown. (We'll start with Jordan Peterson-on-Elmo for that.) Last but definitely not least, Rayyvana joins us for the postgame for patrons.

    Read Ben's most recent Jacobin articles on Israel Palestine:

    https://jacobin.com/2024/03/rights-ancestors-land-israel-palestine

    &

    https://jacobin.com/2024/02/new-york-times-anti-palestinian-bias

    Follow Brianna on Twitter: @BriannaWu

    Follow RM on Twitter: @xrmbrownx2

    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

    • 2 hr 2 min
    Thursday Night Debate Breakdown: Piers Morgan vs. Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett

    Thursday Night Debate Breakdown: Piers Morgan vs. Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett

    Gordon Katic joins Ben Burgis to watch Piers Morgan's recent faceoff with former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett over the war in Gaza.

    Follow Gordon on Twitter: @gordonkatic

    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

    Visit benburgis.com

    • 1 hr 29 min
    Season 6 Episode 8: Ben Shapiro's Foreign Policy/Ben Burgis on News Nation

    Season 6 Episode 8: Ben Shapiro's Foreign Policy/Ben Burgis on News Nation

    On a recent episode of his show, professional advocate for the 1% Ben Shapiro lays out his "foreign policy worldview" so we're bringing on one of our favorite foreign policy analysts, Mean Djene Bajalan, onto the show to break it down. Before that, Ben Burgis and the GTAA crew watch Ben's recent appearance on News Nation in which Ben and host Dan Abrams argue about whether the Supreme Court is "legitimate." Last but not least, in the postgame for patrons, we get through a few more credits of our education at Prager U.

    Follow Djene on Twitter: @djenebajalan

    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

    • 1 hr 56 min
    Thursday Night Debate Breakdown: Ben Shapiro vs. Alex O'Connor

    Thursday Night Debate Breakdown: Ben Shapiro vs. Alex O'Connor

    Victor and Ethan join Ben Burgis once again for a Thursday Night Debate Breakdown. This week they're watching Ben Shapiro's debate with "Cosmic Skeptic" Alex O'Connor about religion and society.

    Check out Victor and Ethan's podcast (with Matt McManus and Gordon Katic) "Academic Edgelords"):

    https://academicedgelords.com/

    Follow Ethan on Twitter: @anontwtuser11

    Follow Victor on Twitter: @victorbruzzone

    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

    • 1 hr 56 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
122 Ratings

122 Ratings

80'sVillager ,

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!

FuzzyUsh ,

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.

roll20sforpeople ,

It’s good

I’ve have not, not been fascinated or learned something from a episode yet. Ben and Forest are grounded in their beliefs enough to talk to anyone.

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