300 Best Debate Topics Controversial & Juicy (Copy+Use) For Real Talks

Should a city be allowed to fine people for feeding pigeons in public parks?

Now that’ll get a few heads turning.

A good debate question puts a specific idea on the table and gives people enough room to argue from completely different points of view using their critical thinking and communication skills to argue against opposing viewpoints on social issues and controversial ideas.

The interesting part starts when someone says, “Absolutely,” and someone else immediately asks, “But what about…?”

That’s what makes debate topics controversial in the first place and these 300 debate topics cover everything from silly everyday disagreements to controversial issues and questions with genuine social, ethical, and personal stakes.

What Is a Controversial Debate?

Infographic explaining controversial topics as one of the types of debates where opposing values and priorities can clash

Controversial topics for debate ask people to take a position on an issue where the answer can clash with someone else’s values, priorities, experiences, or interests. The disagreement needs some substance behind it, giving both sides the opportunity to think critically using persuasive essay topics worth defending.

For example, asking “Should universities replace traditional lectures with four-day intensive courses?” help students create room for arguments about learning, workload, cost, and student life.

What is a controversial topic?

Controversial topics or debate ideas involve an issue that can produce strong disagreement among people who may have completely different reasons and often opposing opinions for reaching their position.

Moral beliefs: Questions about animal testing can pit medical research against concerns about animal welfare.
Money and resources: A debate over whether museums should charge admission raises questions about public funding and access to society and culture.
Personal freedom: A proposed ban on energy drinks for under-16s can divide opinions around parental choice and youth protection.

What makes a debate topic controversial?

Students and professors debating current issues including mental health support at colleges

Debate topics that spark discussion built off of diverse perspectives, different levels of critical thinking skills, and interesting and engaging yet complex issues become controversial when the answer carries enough weight to create competing arguments.

The strongest questions usually involve a genuine trade-off from different sides and various viewpoints to address complex and contemporary issues or ethical considerations through lively discussions, engaging debate and persuasive speech topics, rather than a simple factual answer.

Why Are Debate Topics Controversial?

People can look at the same situation and reach different conclusions because they place different importance on fairness, freedom, safety, tradition, cost, or personal responsibility. That tension gives a debate its substance.

Consider “Should professional athletes be allowed to refuse interviews after a match?” One person might focus on media obligations, while another might prioritize an athlete’s privacy.

What are the main categories of controversial debate topics?

Participants debating religion face-to-face in a discussion designed to elicit strong opinions

Controversial questions can come from almost any part of life. The category gives you the subject area, while the specific question creates the disagreement.

Work and careers: Should companies publish every employee’s salary internally?
Health and medicine: Should cosmetic procedures have a minimum legal age?
Environment: Should cruise ships face higher taxes for their carbon emissions?
Entertainment and culture: Should film studios remake movies originally made in another language?
Law and justice: Should first-time shoplifting offenses automatically result in community service?
Family and parenting: Should parents receive paid leave when a child starts kindergarten?

Best Debate Topics Controversial, Exciting & Funny

If you’re looking for a question that’ll get people talking, you’re in the right place. These debate topics range from easy conversation starters to informational speech topics and questions that can turn a quiet room into a full-blown argument in about 30 seconds.

Debate topics examples

I’ve mixed everyday disagreements with bigger questions flexible enough for classrooms, workshops, podcast discussions, dinner tables, or casual group conversations.

Restaurants: Should restaurants replace tipping with an automatic 20% service charge?
Exotic pets: Should people be allowed to keep capuchin monkeys as household pets?
Public libraries: Should libraries lend video game consoles alongside books?
City planning: Should drivers pay a higher fee to enter crowded downtown areas during rush hour?
Weddings: Should guests be allowed to wear white when the bride has explicitly said she’s fine with it?
Supermarkets: Should grocery stores stop selling fruits and vegetables in plastic packaging?
Children and social media: Should anyone under 13 need parental permission before creating a YouTube channel?
Hotels: Should hotels offer cheaper room rates to guests who decline daily housekeeping?
Air travel: Should passengers be able to pay extra to guarantee space in an overhead bin?
AI transparency: Should influencers have to disclose when artificial intelligence helped create their social media content?
Coffee shops: Should cafes charge customers who occupy a table for hours after finishing their drink?
Public transportation: Should buses allow passengers to reserve seats through a mobile app?
Work lunches: Should employers give employees a daily lunch allowance instead of providing an office cafeteria?
School uniforms: Should students be allowed to customize their uniforms with approved patches and accessories?
Movie theaters: Should theaters let customers bring their own snacks?
Grocery shopping: Should stores create checkout lanes exclusively for customers buying fewer than five items?
Apartment buildings: Should landlords provide soundproofing in every unit by law?
Theme parks: Should amusement parks allow guests to pay extra to skip every line?
Birthday parties: Should parents stop giving classmates invitations at school unless the entire class is invited?
Remote work: Should employees who work from home be allowed to move to another state without telling their employer?
Pet ownership: Should apartment complexes charge the same rent to tenants with cats and tenants without pets?
Streaming services: Should streaming platforms allow subscribers to pause their monthly fee for unused months?
Food delivery: Should delivery apps let customers see the courier’s exact route before ordering?
Neighborhoods: Should residents get a vote before a new convenience store opens on their street?
Office meetings: Should companies automatically cancel meetings when fewer than three people are attending?
Concerts: Should venues prohibit attendees from recording entire songs on their phones?
Hotel rooms: Should guests be charged for checking out several hours late?
Public parks: Should cities reserve certain picnic areas exclusively for large groups?
Online reviews: Should customers have to verify a purchase before leaving a product review?
Household chores: Should roommates split chores according to the amount of time each task takes instead of dividing them equally?
Neighborhood parking: Should homeowners be allowed to reserve the public parking space directly outside their house?
Bookstores: Should bookstores give customers a discount for buying books from local authors?
Office dress codes: Should employees be allowed to wear casual clothes every day unless their job requires formal attire?
School cafeterias: Should students be allowed to spend their entire lunch period off campus once they reach age 16?
Public Wi-Fi: Should cities provide free Wi-Fi in every public park?
Wedding gifts: Should couples be allowed to ask guests for cash instead of physical gifts?
Customer service: Should businesses compensate customers automatically after making them wait more than 30 minutes?
Personal belongings: Should schools and workplaces ban oversized water bottles because they take up too much shared space?

Most controversial debate topics

U.S. senator speaking during a hearing that illustrates political debates on controversial social issues

These questions are more likely to produce strong reactions, so they’re best suited to groups that can handle genuine disagreement.

Parental surveillance: Should parents be allowed to track the real-time location of their 17-year-old without telling them?
Voting rights: Should people convicted of serious crimes permanently lose the right to vote?
Medical autonomy: Should a person be legally allowed to refuse a lifesaving blood transfusion for religious reasons?
Personal wealth: Should governments impose a maximum limit on how much wealth one person can accumulate?
Facial recognition: Should governments ban facial recognition technology in public spaces?
Genetic selection: Should parents be allowed to choose specific genetic traits for their future children?
Crime and entertainment: Should people convicted of serious crimes be allowed to financially profit from movies or books about their offenses?
Executive pay: Should publicly traded companies be required to disclose every executive’s salary in full?
School discipline: Should students who repeatedly bully classmates be permanently expelled after other interventions have failed?
Digital identity: Should every adult be legally required to have a government-issued digital identity?
Prison conditions: Should incarcerated people have access to the same internet services as the general public?
Organ donation: Should adults automatically become organ donors unless they actively opt out?
Drug policy: Should governments decriminalize possession of all drugs for personal use?
Death penalty: Should capital punishment be abolished for all crimes?
Surrogacy: Should commercial surrogacy be legal when both parties voluntarily agree to the arrangement?
Immigration: Should countries give undocumented immigrants who have lived there for 20 years a path to legal residency?
Religious exemptions: Should businesses be allowed to refuse certain services when providing them conflicts with the owner’s religious beliefs?
Free speech: Should social media companies remove legal speech that they consider deeply offensive?
Police body cameras: Should police officers face automatic suspension for intentionally disabling a required body camera?
Inheritance: Should children have a legal right to inherit a portion of their parents’ estate?
Universal basic income: Should every adult receive a government-funded monthly income regardless of employment status?
Mandatory voting: Should citizens face a small fine for refusing to vote in national elections?
Abortion access: Should governments impose a nationwide legal limit on abortion after a specified stage of pregnancy?
Privacy and DNA: Should police be allowed to search publicly available genetic databases to identify criminal suspects?
Gun ownership: Should governments require every gun owner to pass a psychological evaluation before purchasing a firearm?
Corporate responsibility: Should companies face criminal penalties when executives knowingly cause severe environmental damage?
Child influencers: Should parents be prohibited from earning money from videos featuring their children?
Political advertising: Should corporations be prohibited from funding political advertisements?
Homeschooling: Should parents have to meet minimum educational requirements before homeschooling their children?
Prison voting: Should incarcerated people retain the right to vote during their sentences?
Public housing: Should governments give priority for subsidized housing to families with children?
Animal experimentation: Should pharmaceutical companies be legally required to exhaust non-animal testing methods before using animals in research?
Workplace monitoring: Should employers be allowed to monitor employees’ private messages on company-owned devices?
Artificial intelligence: Should companies be legally liable when an AI system makes a harmful decision that no human directly reviewed?
Wealth taxation: Should governments tax unrealized investment gains held by extremely wealthy individuals?
Education records: Should parents automatically receive access to every counseling record created by a school for their child?
Public protests: Should cities be allowed to restrict demonstrations that block major roads?
Celebrity privacy: Should photographers be legally prohibited from selling photos of celebrities taken outside their homes?

Debate topics funny

These funny debate topics are deliberately ridiculous, familiar, and low-stakes. They’re useful for breaking the ice when you want people arguing over something far less serious than politics, money, or morality.

Cereal: Should cereal technically count as soup?
Sandwiches: Is a hot dog actually a sandwich?
Dessert: Is eating dessert before dinner acceptable if you already know you’re skipping dinner?
Toilet paper: Should the person who uses the final sheet of toilet paper always have to replace the roll?
Napping: Does a 90-minute afternoon nap still count as a nap, or is it an accidental second sleep?
Pizza toppings: Should pineapple be banned from pizza restaurants?
Burritos: Should burritos be eaten with your hands or with a knife and fork?
Sidewalks: Should people walking slowly in large groups have to stay on one designated side of the sidewalk?
Parties: Is leaving a party without saying goodbye to everyone rude?
Restaurant decisions: Should someone who says “I don’t care where we eat” lose the right to reject the first three restaurant suggestions?
French fries: Should fries be eaten one at a time or grabbed by the handful?
Bedtime: Is going to bed at 8:30 p.m. on a Friday night responsible or socially unacceptable?
Alarm clocks: Should anyone who sets seven alarms in the morning have to choose a different ringtone for each one?
Ice cream: Should ice cream sandwiches be eaten from the wrapper or placed on a plate first?
Ketchup: Does ketchup belong in the refrigerator or the pantry?
Movie snacks: Should popcorn be considered a meal if you eat an entire large bucket?
Pajamas: Is it acceptable to wear pajamas during a video call when your camera only shows your shoulders?
Shopping carts: Should abandoned shopping carts in parking lots be considered evidence of poor character?
Text messages: Is replying “haha” without actually laughing misleading?
Elevators: Should people inside an elevator always press the door-open button for someone running toward it?
Pizza crust: Is leaving the crust behind evidence that someone hasn’t properly eaten their pizza?
Leftovers: Should the person who cooked dinner automatically get first choice of the leftovers?
Shower temperature: Should couples be required to agree on one permanent shower temperature?
Blankets: Is stealing the blanket during sleep a crime against your partner?
Board games: Should someone who reads the instructions aloud during Monopoly be allowed to play?
Birthday candles: Should adults still have to blow out candles on their birthday cake?
Phone chargers: Should borrowing someone’s charger for more than an hour require permission?
Grocery carts: Should supermarkets install a designated lane for shoppers who stop their carts in the middle of an aisle?
Music: Should the person who owns the car always control the playlist?
Names: Should parents be allowed to give their child a name that is traditionally used for the opposite gender?
Socks: Should wearing socks with sandals be considered acceptable everyday fashion?
Leftover pizza: Is cold pizza genuinely better than reheated pizza?
Pets: Should dogs be allowed on every couch in a home they live in?
Photos: Should friends have to approve a group photo before anyone posts it online?
Air conditioning: Should the person sitting closest to the thermostat control the temperature?
Breakfast: Should restaurants serve pancakes and waffles at dinner without calling it breakfast?
Books: Is it acceptable to skip the final chapter of a novel if you’ve already figured out the ending?
Phone calls: Should people have to text before calling someone unexpectedly?

Debate questions controversial

Found your next podcast guest? These questions cover personal freedom, technology, work, culture, money, and social expectations, with enough detail to give people something concrete to argue about.

School smartphones: Should public schools confiscate a student’s phone for the entire school day after a first violation?
Workplace relationships: Should managers be required to disclose romantic relationships with employees they supervise?
Artificial intelligence: Should AI-generated artwork be eligible for the same copyright protection as human-created artwork?
Social media accounts: Should parents be allowed to delete a teenager’s social media account as a punishment?
College admissions: Should universities consider an applicant’s family income when evaluating academic merit?
Remote employees: Should companies reduce salaries for employees who permanently move from expensive cities to lower-cost areas?
Reality television: Should reality TV participants receive royalties when episodes featuring them are repeatedly streamed?
Food waste: Should grocery stores be legally required to donate edible food they can no longer sell?
School homework: Should teachers be prohibited from assigning homework over holiday breaks?
Public transportation: Should passengers who repeatedly refuse to give up priority seats face fines?
Streaming passwords: Should streaming services be legally prohibited from charging households extra for password sharing?
College athletes: Should college athletes receive guaranteed minimum salaries from their universities?
Advertising: Should companies be prohibited from advertising unhealthy foods directly to children?
Online anonymity: Should social media platforms require users to verify their legal identity before posting?
Workweeks: Should full-time employees receive the same salary for a 32-hour workweek as they currently receive for 40 hours?
Influencer marketing: Should influencers be legally responsible when followers lose money after following a sponsored financial recommendation?
School grading: Should students be able to replace their lowest exam grade with the average of their remaining scores?
Public funding: Should taxpayers be able to opt out of funding public art projects they disagree with?
Sports venues: Should professional teams be required to refund tickets when a star player doesn’t participate?
Dating apps: Should dating platforms verify that users are single before allowing them to create profiles?
Workplace age limits: Should companies be allowed to set mandatory retirement ages for physically demanding jobs?
Online education: Should online university degrees cost less than equivalent in-person programs?
Customer data: Should companies have to pay customers for using their personal data to train artificial intelligence systems?
Public holidays: Should governments replace some traditional holidays with floating personal days?
Restaurant reservations: Should restaurants charge customers for making reservations they fail to use?
Childcare: Should employers be required to provide on-site childcare for employees with young children?
Professional licensing: Should people be allowed to practice certain professions without a college degree if they can pass the licensing exam?
School sports: Should high school athletes receive academic credit for their competitive training?
Digital subscriptions: Should companies automatically cancel subscriptions that customers haven’t used for six months?
Public criticism: Should employers be allowed to fire workers for offensive opinions expressed publicly outside work?
Museum collections: Should museums return artifacts acquired from foreign countries when another nation claims historical ownership?
Food labeling: Should restaurants be required to display the carbon footprint of every menu item?
Paid leave: Should employees receive unlimited paid sick days as long as they provide appropriate documentation?
College tuition: Should universities forgive student debt when graduates work for nonprofit organizations for a set number of years?
Children’s privacy: Should parents have the legal right to post embarrassing photos of their children online?
Public speaking: Should students be allowed to complete alternative assignments instead of giving presentations to the class?
Online dating: Should dating apps allow users to filter potential matches by income?
Workplace communication: Should employers be allowed to require employees to answer work messages outside their scheduled hours?

Controversial debate topics for adults

These work better with mature audiences because they touch on money, relationships, careers, parenting, lifestyle choices, and other parts of adult life.

Homeownership: Should couples split mortgage payments based on their individual incomes instead of dividing them 50/50?
Marriage: Should married couples keep completely separate bank accounts?
Parenting: Should grandparents have a say in how their grandchildren are raised when they provide regular childcare?
Careers: Should someone accept a job they dislike if it doubles their current salary?
Friendship: Should adults remain friends with someone who repeatedly cancels plans at the last minute?
Divorce: Should couples be required to attend counseling before filing for divorce?
Renting: Should landlords allow tenants to paint and remodel rental properties without prior approval?
Work travel: Should employees receive additional vacation days for frequent business travel?
Dating: Should couples discuss their credit scores before becoming exclusive?
Parenting costs: Should adult children be expected to financially support parents who failed to save for retirement?
Career changes: Is leaving a stable career at age 40 to pursue a creative profession financially irresponsible?
Marriage proposals: Should couples discuss engagement expectations before one person plans a surprise proposal?
Roommates: Should adults over 30 be expected to live alone if they can financially afford it?
Inheritance: Should parents divide an inheritance equally when one child provided years of unpaid care?
Workplace friendships: Should coworkers avoid becoming close friends with their direct supervisors?
Household labor: Should the partner who earns less money handle more household chores?
Wedding planning: Should couples invite relatives they barely know simply because those relatives helped pay for the wedding?
Career breaks: Should employers treat a five-year caregiving gap as a neutral part of a resume?
Prenuptial agreements: Should every couple discuss a prenup before getting married?
Adult children: Should parents be allowed to charge rent to a 25-year-old child living at home?
Retirement: Should people prioritize paying off their mortgage before increasing retirement contributions?
Dating expenses: Should the person who asks someone on the first date automatically pay the entire bill?
Family events: Should adults be allowed to skip family gatherings when they have unresolved conflicts with relatives?
Job loyalty: Should employees stay with one company for at least three years before changing jobs?
Pets and relationships: Should someone give up a pet if their partner develops a severe dislike of living with animals?
Career ambition: Should parents turn down promotions that would require frequent international travel while their children are young?
Wedding traditions: Should couples be expected to invite both sets of parents to every major wedding planning decision?
Personal debt: Should couples combine finances after marriage if one partner enters the relationship with significant debt?
Adult friendships: Should close friends be expected to attend each other’s major life events even when traveling is expensive?
Home repairs: Should homeowners split repair costs equally when one person caused the damage?
Retirement age: Should adults be encouraged to retire as soon as they can financially support themselves?
Family businesses: Should parents give adult children jobs in a family business even when another candidate is more qualified?
Work boundaries: Should employees tell their bosses when they plan to take a long vacation before booking the trip?
Living arrangements: Should couples move in together before getting engaged?
Financial transparency: Should spouses have access to each other’s complete financial records?
Career sacrifices: Should one partner put their career on hold when the other receives a major promotion in another city?
Aging parents: Should adult children be expected to move closer to elderly parents who need regular help?

Controversial topics to debate with friends

Group discussions about relationships with several people sharing different opinions

These are built for conversations where people already know each other and can handle a little disagreement. They’re personal enough to get interesting without going overboard.

Group trips: Should the person who organizes a group vacation get the final say on the itinerary?
Friendship boundaries: Is it acceptable to date a friend’s ex if the relationship ended several years ago?
Social media: Should friends ask permission before tagging each other in unflattering photos?
Money: Should friends split a restaurant bill evenly when one person ordered significantly more expensive food?
Birthday parties: Should close friends be expected to spend a large amount of money on milestone birthday celebrations?
Secrets: Is keeping a friend’s secret always more important than telling someone who could be affected by it?
Group chats: Should someone who repeatedly ignores messages still be included in major group decisions?
Dating friends: Should you tell a friend if you think their new partner is a bad match?
Travel: Should everyone on a group trip have to agree before one person invites an additional guest?
Borrowed clothes: Should friends charge each other for clothes that come back stained or damaged?
House parties: Should the host be responsible for cleaning up after guests leave?
Restaurant choices: Should the hungriest person in a group get priority when choosing where everyone eats?
Friendship history: Does knowing someone for 20 years automatically make them a closer friend than someone you’ve met recently?
Wedding invitations: Should a friend invite you to their wedding if you haven’t spoken in several years?
Social plans: Is canceling dinner plans because you received a better invitation from someone else acceptable?
Gaming: Should friends who lose repeatedly in a multiplayer game get to change the teams?
Concert tickets: Should friends who can’t attend a concert be allowed to resell their ticket to a stranger instead of offering it to the group first?
Dating advice: Should you give an honest opinion when a friend asks if you like their new partner’s personality?
Friendship expenses: Should the wealthiest person in a friend group pay more for shared vacations?
Moving away: Is a friendship worth maintaining when one person consistently refuses to make long-distance plans?
Social media follows: Should friends be expected to follow each other’s professional accounts?
Ex-friendships: Can two people remain close friends after one ends a serious relationship with the other?
Group photos: Should the person who looks worst in a group picture have veto power before it gets posted?
Shared streaming: Should friends who share a streaming account contribute equally even when they use it at very different rates?
Dating history: Should close friends tell each other how many previous partners they’ve had?
Friendship loyalty: Should you defend a friend in public even when you privately think they’re wrong?
Invitations: Is it rude to invite one friend to an event while deliberately leaving another friend out?
House guests: Should friends be allowed to stay overnight without giving their host several days’ notice?
Group vacations: Should everyone pay an equal share when one friend gets the largest bedroom?
Friendship breaks: Should adults take a temporary break from a friendship after a major argument?
Career success: Should friends celebrate a promotion even when they believe the person didn’t deserve it?
Personal news: Should a close friend hear about your engagement, pregnancy, or new job before you post it publicly?
Friendship and money: Should you lend money to a close friend if there’s a serious chance they won’t repay it?
Party invitations: Should bringing an uninvited plus-one to a small dinner count as disrespectful behavior?
Friendship milestones: Should friends celebrate friendship anniversaries the same way couples celebrate relationship anniversaries?
Dating overlap: Is it acceptable for two friends to date different people from the same close social circle?
Friend group conflicts: Should the entire group stop inviting someone after they repeatedly create arguments between other friends?

Controversial debate topics for students

I’ve kept the student debate topics specific enough to work well for middle school, junior high school, and college discussions where students need a clear question with room for different viewpoints.

School start times: Should high schools in California start no earlier than 9:00 a.m.?
College admissions: Should colleges stop requiring standardized test scores from applicants?
Class participation: Should students lose points for refusing to speak during class discussions?
School lunches: Should public schools provide free lunch to every student regardless of family income?
Homework: Should high school teachers coordinate assignments so students never receive major projects from multiple classes in the same week?
AI tools: Should students be allowed to use ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas for essays?
Graduation requirements: Should students be allowed to graduate early after completing all required coursework?
Attendance: Should students receive attendance credit when they watch a recorded class from home?
College housing: Should universities require first-year students to live on campus?
School newspapers: Should student newspapers be allowed to publish articles that school administrators strongly disagree with?
Academic competition: Should schools publicly display the names of their highest-ranking students?
College majors: Should universities charge different tuition rates for different majors?
Extracurriculars: Should participation in community service count toward a student’s graduation requirements?
Classroom technology: Should schools provide every student with a laptop instead of maintaining traditional computer labs?
School dances: Should schools allow students to attend dances with guests from other schools?
College applications: Should applicants be allowed to submit a creative portfolio instead of writing a traditional admissions essay?
Sports eligibility: Should student athletes maintain a minimum GPA to remain eligible for competition?
Textbook costs: Should colleges provide required digital textbooks at no additional charge?
Teacher evaluations: Should students have a formal role in evaluating their teachers?
School lockers: Should high schools eliminate assigned lockers because students can carry everything they need digitally?
Group projects: Should students receive individual grades instead of one shared grade on group assignments?
College rankings: Should universities be prohibited from advertising their position in national college rankings?
Gap years: Should high schools actively encourage graduating seniors to consider taking a year off before college?
School cafeterias: Should students be allowed to leave campus during lunch if they have written permission from a parent?
Academic failure: Should students be allowed to retake any failed course without it lowering their original GPA?
Class recordings: Should teachers be required to record every lecture for students who miss class?
Student employment: Should high schools limit how many hours students can work at part-time jobs during the school year?
College attendance: Should professors be prohibited from requiring attendance in courses where all lectures are recorded?
School funding: Should public schools receive additional funding based on the number of students with high academic needs?
Dress codes: Should schools remove gender-specific rules from student dress codes?
College athletics: Should universities stop using academic scholarships as a condition for participating in varsity sports?
Exam schedules: Should schools prohibit students from taking more than one final exam on the same day?
Student privacy: Should teachers be allowed to search a student’s backpack when they suspect a school rule has been broken?
Online classes: Should students be allowed to complete an entire high school diploma through online classes?
School traditions: Should schools eliminate traditions that students can’t explain or understand?
College orientation: Should universities make orientation optional for students who already live near campus?

Non controversial debate topics

These questions still give people two sides to argue, but the stakes are low enough that disagreement can stay fun and friendly.

Breakfast foods: Are pancakes better than waffles?
Pets: Are cats easier to care for than dogs?
Movies: Are movie theaters better for watching new releases than watching them at home?
Books: Are physical books better than e-readers?
Travel: Is a road trip more enjoyable than flying to a destination?
Music: Is listening to an entire album better than creating a playlist?
Weather: Is a rainy day better for staying home than a sunny day?
Cooking: Is cooking at home more enjoyable than eating at a restaurant?
Vacations: Is a beach vacation more relaxing than a mountain vacation?
Photography: Are printed photographs more meaningful than digital photos?
Exercise: Is walking a better everyday exercise than running?
Board games: Are cooperative board games more fun than competitive ones?
School supplies: Are handwritten notes more useful than typed notes?
Coffee: Is iced coffee better than hot coffee?
Pets at work: Should offices allow employees to bring their dogs to work?
Travel planning: Is planning a trip months in advance better than making spontaneous plans?
Movies: Are animated movies equally enjoyable for adults and children?
Reading: Is it better to finish one book before starting another?
Music: Is live music with an emcee better than listening through headphones?
Shopping: Is shopping online better than visiting physical stores?
Cooking: Are leftovers better the next day than when the meal was first served?
Games: Are card games more entertaining than video games for a group of friends?
Morning routines: Is waking up early better than staying up late?
Travel: Is visiting a new city more exciting than returning to a favorite destination?
Movies: Is a movie with a surprising ending better than one with a predictable ending?
Food: Is homemade pizza better than restaurant pizza?
School breaks: Are longer summer breaks better than shorter breaks spread throughout the year?
Clothing: Are sneakers the best everyday footwear?
Technology: Are tablets more convenient than laptops for casual use?
Entertainment: Are TV series better than movies for telling long stories?
Workspaces: Is working in a coffee shop more productive than working at home?
Travel: Is it better to visit one destination thoroughly or several destinations quickly?
Hobbies: Are creative hobbies more satisfying than competitive hobbies?
Food: Is a big breakfast better than a big dinner?
Free time: Is spending a free afternoon outdoors better than staying inside?
Weekend plans: Is a completely unplanned weekend more enjoyable than one filled with scheduled activities?

How to Choose a Controversial Debate Topic That Works (Checklist)

Flat Earth believer discussing her position in a debate that challenges the ability to think critically about evidence

Need a debate topic fast? Run your idea through this checklist. If it passes most of these, you’ve probably got a question worth asking.

☐ Know the audience: Would your specific group care about this topic?
☐ Name the exact issue: Can you turn the broad subject into one clear question?
☐ Give both sides room: Can reasonable people argue opposite positions?
☐ Make the stakes clear: Does the answer affect people, money, rules, relationships, or beliefs?
☐ Keep it specific: Could someone answer the question without asking, “What exactly do you mean?”
☐ Match the setting: Would you ask this question at a high school debate, team meeting, dinner party, or if you got booked on a podcast?
☐ Check the temperature: Is the topic provocative enough to begin a discussion without making the setting uncomfortable?
☐ Test the question aloud: Does hearing it make you immediately think, “Hang on, I disagree”?

Right Around the Corner

A great debate topic can get people talking. What happens when they want to hear your take on the bigger conversation?

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