20 Minutes of Political Debate, Brought to You by Commercial Breaks

"I'm sorry, you're out of time, we have to move on. Senator, what's your response? You have three minutes." Watching a political debate these days feels useless. Candidates get two minutes to make their case, and their opponents get even less time to reply. I'm reminded of Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman, where he argues that what passes for debate on TV is nothing more than an audition or a performance review. It is only an opportunity to come up with catchy sound bites or to appear likable. On the other hand, if you want long-form, one-sided podcasts where politicians can babble uninterrupted for hours without being challenged, you can tune into Joe Rogan, Lex Fridman, or whichever pseudo-comedian is trending. Our choices seem locked between traditional media, where you barely have time to clear your throat, and one-sided online echo chambers. So why not a third option? Two candidates sitting down in a long-form podcast format. Debate the issues, prove your point, and…