Next month, The Supreme Court Institute and Arnold & Porter will be screening a documentary called Fast Talk, which tracks the Northwestern University debate team in its quest for its second consecutive championship.
The Sept. 8 event, moderated by Arnold & Porter partner Lisa Blatt, will start at 4 p.m. at the Philip A. Hart Auditorium, Georgetown University Law Center, 600 New Jersey Ave., N.W., in Washington.
The film will be followed by a panel discussion about competitive debate and oral advocacy.
The documentary (trailer posted below) was directed by Debra Tolchinsky, who according to the website IMDb.com worked as as assistant editor of films such as Kindergarten Cop and Searching for Bobby Fischer. She is also an associate professor of Radio-TV-Film at Northwestern University.
In addition to Tolchinsky, panelists will include U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Judge Brett Kavanaugh; Paul Clement, partner at Bancroft; David Frederick, partner at Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel; Thomas Goldstein, parter at Goldstein, Howe & Russell; and Neal Katyal, Georgetown University Law Center professor.
The event is free, but people wishing to attend should RSVP to [email protected] by Sept. 1.
After spending 45 years debating or coaching debate, I am saddened by what it has become. It is unpleasant to watch, not designed for hearing or in-depth thought, a turn-off to most kids now, and a great loss to a democratic society that rests on an ability to synthesize competing ideas.
Debate is dying in many schools because of its abnormality.
Posted by: David Johnson | October 28, 2011 at 08:07 PM