Modern Family (2009–2020) is an American sitcom about an extended family. Phil Dunphy, a real estate agent and father of three, sees himself as a “cool dad”: he tries to be his children’s friend, embraces their slang and trends, avoids discipline, and is often the parent the children turn to. His wife Claire is highly organised, competitive and controlling; she sets and enforces the household’s rules and manages its day-to-day running, and is often frustrated by Phil’s leniency.

The “cool dad” trope refers to fathers portrayed as fun, permissive and friend-like, typically alongside mothers portrayed as strict, anxious enforcers of rules.

AI systems are increasingly used in high-stakes decisions, including recruitment, lending, healthcare and law enforcement. Developers design and supply these systems, while business operators, categorised as deployers integrate them into their operations and use their outputs to make decisions. Jurisdictions differ in allocating responsibility: the EU AI Act imposes distinct obligations on developers and deployers; India relies largely on existing legal frameworks alongside emerging AI governance guidelines; and the US primarily relies on existing federal and state laws and sector-specific regulation.

For the purposes of this debate, there is an international body, whose job is to implement and enforce a one year ban on the development and improvement of AI. They are sufficiently funded and equipped to reasonably fulfill their main goals. For the purposes of this debate, vertical research is further development and research in AI beyond current levels.

India’s Constitution says Election Commissioners are appointed by the President, in practice the government, subject to any law made by Parliament. For over seven decades, Parliament made no such law. In 2023, the Supreme Court ordered that, until Parliament legislated, appointments be made on the advice of a committee of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice. Parliament then passed a law replacing the Chief Justice with a Cabinet Minister chosen by the Prime Minister; challenges to that law are pending.

Judicial restraint is a legal philosophy that urges judges to limit their own power, respect the separation of powers, and avoid making new public policy.

Judicial intervention refers to the power or act of a court stepping into a legal process, administrative action, or alternative dispute resolution mechanism to supervise, assist, correct, or halt proceedings

Antitrust law restricts firms from merging with competitors, coordinating on output or prices, or acquiring dominant market positions.

For this debate, “wildlife antinatalism” is the view that human activities that significantly reduce wild animal populations (e.g., deforestation, urbanization, water pollution) are likely to improve wild animals’ overall wellbeing, including those that die.

Japan is set to release more than a million tonnes of nuclear waste water (process started in August 2023) into the sea (After treatment, the levels of most radioactive particles meet the safety standard) from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant (due to 2011 tsunami). Since the plant produces large quantities of contamined water every day, the storage tanks available on land are falling short. However, neighbouring countries and local fishermen oppose the decision considering Japan's lack of transparency of the scientific data regarding the quality of water.

Mexico has significantly expanded trade and investment ties with China over the past decade, particularly in manufacturing, electronics, EVs, and industrial supply chains. Under Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico has increasingly restricted Chinese imports and investment in strategic sectors, promoted domestic manufacturing over Chinese goods, and aligned more closely with United States industrial and trade policy.

The Garden of Eden, in the Hebrew Bible book of Genesis was the “Lord’s Paradise” where the first man and woman, Adam and Eve lived. God then planted the Garden of Eden with the “tree of life” and the forbidden “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” and commanded Adam and Eve to not eat the fruit of the forbidden tree. However, an evil serpent in the garden deceived Eve, who ate of the prohibited fruit and gave some to Adam. With newly opened eyes, they recognized their nakedness and donned fig leaves as garments. Immediately God saw their transgression and proclaimed their punishments for the woman, pain in childbirth and for the man, relegation to an accursed ground with which he must toil and sweat for his subsistence. God then cast them out of the paradise garden and the humans progressed from a state of innocence and bliss to the present human condition of knowledge of sin, misery, and death.

Mukti Bhawan is a guest house in Varanasi, India, where terminally ill and elderly people come to spend their final days. Guests are admitted only if they are close to death and are asked to leave if they haven’t died within roughly two weeks. The guest house is run as a charity, with renters only having to pay a minimal daily fee. It draws on the Hindu belief that dying in Varanasi grants moksha, release from the cycle of birth and death. Residents live among others who share this belief and its practices around death. Family members may visit the residents. In many societies, including much of South Asia, people expect the end of life to happen in their own home, cared for by family.

Mary is the mother of Jesus in Christianity. “Virgin” refers to the belief that she conceived Jesus through the Holy Spirit, without a human father. She became known as "Virgin Mary", the model of the ideal woman in Christianity.

Private equity means buying ownership stakes in companies that are not listed on a stock exchange.

Private credit means lending by non-bank lenders. These lenders act as an alternative to banks and the public bond market, lending directly to companies and negotiating the loan terms with each borrower

Mexico has significantly expanded trade and investment ties with China over the past decade, particularly in manufacturing, electronics, EVs, and industrial supply chains. Under Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico has increasingly restricted Chinese imports and investment in strategic sectors, promoted domestic manufacturing over Chinese goods, and aligned more closely with United States industrial and trade policy.

Mukti Bhawan is a guest house in Varanasi, India, where terminally ill and elderly people come to spend their final days. Guests are admitted only if they are close to death and are asked to leave if they haven’t died within roughly two weeks. The guest house is run as a charity, with renters only having to pay a minimal daily fee. It draws on the Hindu belief that dying in Varanasi grants moksha, release from the cycle of birth and death. Residents live among others who share this belief and its practices around death. Family members may visit the residents. In many societies, including much of South Asia, people expect the end of life to happen in their own home, cared for by family.