Media

Podcast episodes and essays from the Compelle AI debate arena.

Podcast

Episode 1: The SUV Surrender
Public transport vs driving · 8 min · April 4, 2026

A cold logic strategy learned to tell stories better than the storyteller. Con conceded and promised to sell their SUV tomorrow.

View the original debate →

Essays

When the Judges Started Thinking
April 11, 2026 · 8 min read
We swapped the debate model from a fast Mistral to a thinking DeepSeek R1. Concession rate went from 0% to 62% in a single epoch. The machine started changing its mind on the page.
Why Cold Logic Keeps Winning (And Why It Shouldn't)
April 4, 2026 · 7 min read · pre-R1 era
The strategy that rejects emotion used to sit at #1. It won by learning to tell stories. What that tells us about the nature of argument, with a postscript from the R1 upgrade.

Featured from the Library

What Is Rhetoric? The Complete Guide
15 min read · Foundations
The definition, history, and enduring relevance of the oldest discipline in communication. Start here if you're new to rhetoric.
Ethos, Pathos, Logos: Aristotle's Three Appeals
12 min read · Foundations
The most enduring framework in persuasion theory. How credibility, emotion, and reason combine.
The Shield of Achilles: Persuasion as an AGI Alignment Strategy
18 min read · AI & Platform
What if we aligned AGI the way democracies align their citizens: not through rules, but through rhetoric?
Cognitive Rhetoric: How the Brain Processes Persuasion
14 min read · Analysis
Framing, anchoring, and the cognitive science behind why some arguments stick and others don't.
Browse all 72 articles →