Q&A: The Debate Without A Debate Podcast
IN AN AGE OF POLARIZATION - Asher and Joey Bykov are opening up the dialogue. Coming together to create The Debate Without A Debate Podcast, the brothers are allowing people to talk about their varying experiences and unique lives to spark some conversation. Touching on an array of topics and diverse guests, the podcast reflects the openness and diversity of our the younger generations. Check out the podcast here and read below to learn more about their beginning, how they wish to move forward and more.
LUNA: For those unfamiliar with the podcast, would you mind introducing it?
BYKOV:: The Debate Without Debate Podcast is a podcast on a mission to end polarization through conversation of the lived experiences of GenZers. Every week, my brother, Joey Bykov, and I break through our echo chambers by inviting extra-ordinary ordinary guests on to create a forum for deliberation without all the smoke and mirrors your see on the news. On our podcast, we have featured founders of organizations like Next Gen Summit and PERIOD, as well as influential teens like TikTok stars and Regeneron Science Talent Search Finalists. Over the last year, we have really grown our reach and are now streamed in 30+ countries and have thousands of listeners across the globe.
LUNA: What ultimately lead to you creating this podcast?
BYKOV: My brother and I were debaters in high school. I was honored to be a top ranked debater in the nation and led the top debate team in New York State in 2018. As a result, I was able to travel across the United States to compete in national tournaments. However, toward the end of my career, I noticed that something was horribly wrong. I found myself yelling at my opponent more than I was listening to my opponent. As my feelings toward the activity changed, I realized similar problems were occurring across my own community and all over the globe. Simply put: people are not talking to each other anymore.
Whether it is the left not talking to the right or the rich not talking to the poor, everyone is stuck in their unique echo chamber, constantly reinforcing their beliefs instead of testing. It’s a massive paradox in our modern communication because, although we have more tools to communicate with people across the globe than ever before, we feel even less connected than generations did in the past. My brother and I knew we could not sit this one out and The Debate Without Debate Podcast was born.
LUNA: Why is it important, for the younger generation in particular, to have “debates”?
BYKOV: Honestly, I don’t think anyone should have “debates.” In my opinion, debates force false division between people who actually have very similar values. Limited times to argue result in limited nuance in conversations. Part of the reason why we named our podcast The Debate Without Debate Podcast was to take the positives from our experience in Speech and Debate and remove the negative aspects. The amazing part of the activity was that we connected with people of diverse backgrounds and had to radically test our own beliefs. We continue to hold this experience close to our heart on the podcast. We try to provide our listeners with a healthy variety of conversations and guests in order to demonstrate the greater diversity of our generation. The overwhelming negative was excessive polarization. When an opponent said “black,” we always had to say “white.” This approach lacks nuance and, frankly, isn’t applicable in real life.
So, on our podcast we encourage our guests to express themselves freely and talk through the particulars of their beliefs, even if we don’t agree with them. In this way, we have been able to have remarkably in-depth conversations about education policy, health and fitness, mental health, and youth entrepreneurship. That said, GenZers must engage in these conversations because if we don’t take the mic, someone else will speak for us.
LUNA: I imagine it’s changed overtime and maybe it’s different each time, but what’s the creative process of each episode? How do you come up with each topic?
BYKOV: The process is definitely a bit different each time around. However, we really try to tailor our conversation to our guest’s story or interests. We do a deep dive into all the information we can find about our guests as a starting point. From there, we construct a handful of questions just to get the conversation started. Originally, we tried to script out almost everything we would ask, but over time, we have scaled that back.
We really want to simulate a conversation as much as possible. We are most honored and humbled when our listeners express that they feel like they were in the room with us. On the postproduction side, we try to keep our editing minimal to reveal the entire conservation with all of its quotable moments and imperfections. We also have a not-so-secret love of lo-fi. So, our listeners can frequently hear that genre throughout our episodes.
LUNA: What are some of your favorite topics/people you’ve covered so far?
BYKOV: My favorite episode is actually still the first one we ever published. It was with one of my closest friends named Aman Jaisinghani about spirituality and religion. The episode definitely wasn’t perfect, but I loved how raw and personal it was. I distinctly remember receiving many emails and DMs about how meaningful it was for our listeners to hear a conversation around this topic because most GenZers aren’t really talking about it. Ultimately, my brother and I are proudest to provide value to others by empowering and amplifying our interviewee’s story.
LUNA: If you could have anyone in the world on the podcast, who would you like to host?
BYKOV: Personally, I would love to sit down with Hasan Minhaj. I think he has mastered the art of storytelling and has truly blurred the line between journalism and comedy. Homecoming King is by far my favorite comedy special of all time and Patriot Act is this first thing I watch every Sunday. He is definitely one of my role models. Plus, I would love to dissect his comedy with him and uncover the preparation behind his weekly show.
LUNA: For those that want to start a podcast but don’t know where to start, what advice do you have? A: I think this is the greatest time to start a podcast. The industry is growing faster than ever, and the entry costs to start a podcast are lower than ever. My main recommendation would be to not overcomplicate things when you first start off. You don’t need expensive equipment. As a matter of fact, when Joey and I started, we just recorded on our phone using the Voice Memos app.
That said, if you are looking to update, there are some relatively affordable options that you can get from Amazon. I encourage anyone interested in podcasting to check out anchor.fm and the Google Podcasts creator program by PRX. Also, if anyone has any further questions, we would be more than happy to help out! Feel free to message us on our socials or at thedebatewithoutdebatepodcast@gmail.com.
LUNA: How would you like to see the podcast evolve?
BYKOV: Our main focus right now is finding more guests and reaching out to more listeners. We are trying to build a movement to bring calm, humble conversations back to daily life. We realize that this will take time, but we also think it is crucial for our survival. We are facing many crises today (climate change, gun violence, and authoritarianism to name a few). The only way we can come to a consensus is to ensure everyone is being heard and recognize that there is a chance (even if only a slim chance) that we are wrong.
LUNA: What can we expect from you in the upcoming months?
BYKOV: We have some larger, more time intensive projects in the works for the podcast over the next few months. Joey and I also want to branch out and try out new platforms. Ultimately, we want to continue providing value for our listeners and grow our base. We hope you will join us on our mission to end polarization through conversation!
