Is SuperDebate an Oxford-style debate league?

We share the DNA: a real question, two prepared sides, and an audience verdict. SuperDebate adds judges scoring four criteria (arguments, evidence, clarity, persuasion, out of 20), cross-examination in every round, and a recurring club structure from 1v1 up to 5v5.

Do I need to be an expert to debate at SuperDebate?

The topics are questions people already argue about, sides are assigned at the event, and you get a prep window before you speak. The format carries you; expertise grows with reps.

Can SuperDebate debates be watched like Open to Debate episodes?

Featured debates are filmed and streamed, and online rounds run in live video rooms with real-time audience scoring. But the product is the room: the point is that you can be in it.

Are you affiliated with Open to Debate?

No. We admire their work; the missions rhyme. They produce debates for a national audience. We build the local league where anyone can practice the same craft.

How we compare

Open to Debate vs SuperDebate.

Two answers to the same conviction: that civil, structured argument makes public life better. Open to Debate produces world-class debates you can hear. SuperDebate runs debate nights you can join.

Find a debate How it works

Deep respect

What Open to Debate does well.

Formerly Intelligence Squared U.S., Open to Debate has spent nearly two decades proving that Americans will listen to serious, civil disagreement, and built the gold standard for produced debate.

World-class debaters
Their stages host leading experts, journalists, and public figures arguing sharply framed motions with real preparation.
The Oxford-style verdict
Audiences vote before and after each debate, so the side that moves the most minds wins. Persuasion is measured, honestly.
National reach
Distributed through NPR and PBS, their debates bring rigorous argument on hard questions to an audience of millions.

A judged SuperDebate round in progress at a club night — **Fig. 01 · A SuperDebate night**
The same seriousness, at a table you can sit at.

What we build

A designed debate, start to verdict.

A SuperDebate is a real argument with real structure: assigned sides, equal time, judges, and a winner decided on the merits. Anyone in the room can take a side.

01
A real question dropsTopics people already argue about. Sides are assigned, so you argue the position, and half the time it is the one you disagree with.
02
Equal time, real clashOpening speech, cross-examination, rebuttal, closing. Both sides get the same clock, and every claim gets answered on the spot.
03
Judges score the meritsFour criteria: arguments, evidence, clarity, persuasion. One to five each, out of twenty, with written notes you can act on.
04
The room votes, then talksSomebody wins on the night. Then the argument keeps going over drinks, and the people you debated become the people you know.

Side by side

The differences, plainly.

Open to DebateSuperDebate

Who debates: Open to Debate:Invited experts and public figures, prepared for a produced event.; SuperDebate:You, your friends, and the regulars at a weekly club night. First-timers debate the night they arrive.
The format: Open to Debate:Oxford-style: a sharply framed motion, prepared sides, moderated rounds, audience votes before and after.; SuperDebate:A designed round with assigned sides, equal time, cross-examination, judges scoring four criteria, and a room vote.
Where it happens: Open to Debate:Produced stages and studios, carried on radio, podcast, and public television.; SuperDebate:Bars, coworking spaces, and campuses in your city, plus live online video rooms anyone can launch.
Your role: Open to Debate:Listener and, at live tapings, a voting audience member.; SuperDebate:Debater, judge, or voting audience, and most people end up trying all three.
What repeats: Open to Debate:A new produced debate on a new question, on their calendar.; SuperDebate:A weekly night at your club, feeding city tournaments and championships you can climb.

An honest answer

Which one is for you?

Listen to Open to Debate when
You want the strongest version of both sides of a hard public question, argued by people who have spent their careers on it. Their catalog is a masterclass.
Come to SuperDebate when
You want the skills, and the night out. Listening teaches you what a good argument sounds like; a scored round teaches you to make one.

Common questions

Asked and answered.

Is SuperDebate an Oxford-style debate league?: We share the DNA: a real question, two prepared sides, and an audience verdict. SuperDebate adds judges scoring four criteria (arguments, evidence, clarity, persuasion, out of 20), cross-examination in every round, and a recurring club structure from 1v1 up to 5v5.
Do I need to be an expert to debate at SuperDebate?: The topics are questions people already argue about, sides are assigned at the event, and you get a prep window before you speak. The format carries you; expertise grows with reps.
Can SuperDebate debates be watched like Open to Debate episodes?: Featured debates are filmed and streamed, and online rounds run in live video rooms with real-time audience scoring. But the product is the room: the point is that you can be in it.
Are you affiliated with Open to Debate?: No. We admire their work; the missions rhyme. They produce debates for a national audience. We build the local league where anyone can practice the same craft.

Argue it yourself.

Watch one round from a seat, vote on the winner, and take a side when you're ready. Your first night can be exactly as big as you want it to be.

Find an event Find a club

More comparisons: Oxford-style debate vs SuperDebate, Jubilee vs SuperDebate, Toastmasters vs SuperDebate.

A designed debate, start to verdict.

A SuperDebate is a real argument with real structure: assigned sides, equal time, judges, and a winner decided on the merits. Anyone in the room can take a side.

A real question dropsTopics people already argue about. Sides are assigned, so you argue the position, and half the time it is the one you disagree with.

Equal time, real clashOpening speech, cross-examination, rebuttal, closing. Both sides get the same clock, and every claim gets answered on the spot.

Judges score the meritsFour criteria: arguments, evidence, clarity, persuasion. One to five each, out of twenty, with written notes you can act on.

The room votes, then talksSomebody wins on the night. Then the argument keeps going over drinks, and the people you debated become the people you know.

Open to Debate vs SuperDebate.

What Open to Debate does well.

World-class debaters

The Oxford-style verdict

National reach

A designed debate, start to verdict.

The differences, plainly.

Which one is for you?

Listen to Open to Debate when

Come to SuperDebate when

Asked and answered.

Argue it yourself.

Open to Debate vs SuperDebate.

What Open to Debate does well.

World-class debaters

The Oxford-style verdict

National reach

A designed debate, start to verdict.

The differences, plainly.

Which one is for you?

Listen to Open to Debate when

Come to SuperDebate when

Asked and answered.

Argue it yourself.