Columns / The Debate

Symon Hill and Archie Woodrow get to grips with a thorny and salient question.

Tansy E Hoskins and Matthew Wilson discuss the tensions – or not – between individual action and system change.

Khin Ohmar and Toby Lanzer explore the complex trade-offs made by humanitarians working under repressive regimes.

Do zoos represent pointless captivity or an opportunity for conservation and education? Linda Kimotho and Oluwaseun S Iyasere have different takes.

Are legal punishments an effective way to tackle domestic violence, or are they failing to go to the heart of the problem? Leigh Goodmark and Stella Nyanzi go head to head.

Does being educated at home limit or enrich children’s experiences? Lindsey T Powell and Cheryl Fields-Smith have different opinions.

Is it time for reparations for transatlantic slavery? Kehinde Andrews and KA Dilday deliberate.

Could the UN Sustainable Development Goals deliver on their promises? Gary Rynhart and Jan Vandemoortele beg to differ.

Does celebrity activism do more harm than good? Andrés Jiménez and Paul Cullen politely disagree on this tricky issue.

Prisons damage people and have always been used by the powerful to control the most marginalized. But when some criminals undoubtedly pose great danger to others, can society really do away with incarceration altogether? Kelsey Mohamed and Andrew Neilson go head to head.

Few argue that the mass movement to combat inertia on the climate crisis has a point. But is it going about it the right way? Chay Harwood and Marc Hudson, both environmental campaigners, go head to head.

What’s happening to human numbers – and what should happen – is a hot topic again. Mohan Rao and Sara Parkin go head to head.

Anti-EU sentiment is rising across much of the continent. The European Union’s institutions can appear undemocratic. And the wisdom of its commitment to austerity policies in member states like Greece has been roundly questioned. Almost everyone agrees that the EU needs to be reformed. But is it possible? Hilary Wainwright and Grace Blakeley take sides.

Thou shalt not kill. It seems simple enough. But can pacifism work as a strategy against violence and injustice? Tim Gee and Rahila Gupta go head to head. Illustrations by Kate Copeland.

It’s the place where you can find everything – from an academic painstakingly listing forgotten medieval words, to the rambling stream-of-consciousness of the US president. But with research showing links between its use and depression and loneliness, is it time we gave up on social media altogether?

Is challenging members of the public with the reality of animal suffering and slaughter counterproductive? Vegans Chris Saltmarsh and Hannah Short agree to disagree.

From religious leaders who take on political roles to the daily influence of faith on political values, Dawn Foster and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown – two practising believers – find themselves on opposite sides of the debate.

Firoze Manji and Pablo Yanguas go head to head on the thorny topic of development assistance.

Dalia Gebrial and Thomas Jeffrey Miley go head to head on this complex and topical issue. Illustrations by Kate Copeland.