Intelligence Squared US has announced a new partnership with the School’s Richard Paul Richman Center for Business, Law, and Public Policy, a joint venture of Columbia Business School and Columbia Law School. Launched in 2006, Intelligence Squared provides a forum for discussion that promotes the idea that there are intellectually respectable points of view on both sides of contentious issues. The Oxford-style debate series, which takes place in New York City, is recorded for broadcast on NPR and on select public television stations. It is also accessible via live stream to audiences at FORA.tv and Slate.com.
ABC's John Donvan moderates the debates. Each debate features four panelists who are among the world’s leading authorities in their areas of expertise; two argue for and two argue against a carefully worded motion. Members of the live audience are actively engaged, voting electronically both before and after the debate to determine the winning side.
The Richman Center will cosponsor two debates during the fall 2012 and spring 2013 Intelligence Squared debate seasons. The first will be an October 24 debate on domestic tax policy featuring Dean Glenn Hubbard. Hubbard previously served as deputy assistant secretary for the US Treasury and as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors. The debate will take place in Intelligence Squared’s new venue, the Kaufman Center, in midtown Manhattan.
The Richman Center’s partnership with Intelligence Squared US complements the center’s efforts to promote evidence-based public policy and dialogue on emerging policy questions. The center supports empirical, theoretical, and institutional research targeting central issues at the nexus of law and markets, both domestically and internationally, and helps translate this academic research into practical strategies for executing new regulatory reforms and business opportunities. It also fosters curricular innovations and student activities by tapping synergies between Columbia Business School and Columbia Law School.