{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Bridge: a Disagreeing Well podcast","title":"Is national service good for young people? With Manoj Harjani and Christos Tsoukalis","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2066,"description":"With global tensions rising and many countries increasing defence spending, the question of National Service feels more urgent than it has in decades. Supporters argue it provides young people with structure, useful skills, and national pride, but critics warn it limits personal freedom, delays education, and risks promoting a pro-war mindset. This episode enters the debate with the aim of showing you how to disagree better on a policy that frequently sidelines the voices of those it most effects: young people. \nUCL student host Tara Constantine facilitates the conversation between two people who share first-hand experience of conscription, but disagree on the extent to which it benefits young people: Manoj Harjani, who completed National Service in Singapore, frames his experience as mixed but ultimately finds it to be an essential part of the country's security, economic posture, and societal makeup. He notes that the practice is deeply embedded in Singaporean life, affecting everything from employment structure to policy. Manoj is currently a Research Fellow and Coordinator of the Military Transformations Programme at RSIS in Singapore.  Christos Tsoukalis, Senior Analyst of Economic Policy at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, completed mandatory service in Greece and questions the value of conscription. While he acknowledges personal positive moments, he argues that the opportunity cost is too high for young people, and that the nature of modern warfare is increasingly misaligned with mass, non-specialised armies. Our resident UCL expert mediator, Dr. Melanie Garson shaped the conversation to mimic real-life dialogue, where people discuss issues based purely on experience rather than prepared positions. She used a key technique: asking each guest to summarise the other's position before responding, forcing them to genuinely listen and identify areas of commonality, such as the shared goal of building a stronger sense of civic duty. \nKey takeaways...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/Kchew2b4UxxOxLrnJgwXGAWWodsT7kwKdMHBeEgb8xU/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS83MWM4/MmE4MjI5M2Y2NGVh/NTI4YWFjZTMxNDQw/YTlhNy5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}