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Siva Vaidhyanathan, chair of the Media Studies Department at the University of Virginia and the author of The Googlization of Everything: (And Why We Should Worry), previews his Intelligence Squared defense of the argument that, "When it comes to politics, the Internet is closing our minds."

→ Event: Intelligence Squared debate with Eli Pariser, Siva Vaidhyanathan, Evgeny Morozov and Jacob Weisberg on Tuesday, April 17 at the NYU Skirball Center. Watch Live.

The Republican candidates convene in Jacksonville, Fla. tonight for the final debate before the Florida primary. Join It’s A Free Country as we host a live-chat of the conversation starting at 7:45!

After a big win in South Carolina, Newt Gingrich tries to take his case to Florida while Mitt Romney hopes to re-establish his front-runner position. Monday night's debate will go a long way towards defining the conversation in the Sunshine State, and as always the It's A Free Country politics team will be live-chatting during the debate. 

Join Brian Lehrer, Anna Sale, Jody Avirgan and more from WNYC -- chat starts at 8:45pm EST, debate kicks off at 9!

NOTE: We expect to have a live video stream available here. In the meantime, you can visit the NBC politics page for their stream.

Gingrich misrepresented King’s question – and its newsworthiness. That Gingrich’s ex-wife accused him of having an affair might not be “news.” But that it comes after Gingrich himself spent months trying to get Bill Clinton impeached for lying about Monica Lewinsky IS.

Only four days left until the South Carolina Republican presidential primary. That means only four days for the candidates to derail front-runner Mitt Romney off the path to the GOP nomination. At last night's debate in Myrtle Beach Romney fended off attacks on his business record, his personal wealth, and his moral character.

Republican presidential candidates held their final debate last night in Sioux City just weeks before the Iowa caucus takes place on January 3. In the Fox News debate candidates attempted to draw distinctions from one another and defend their record to conservative voters. The latest New York Times/CBS News poll shows Newt Gingrich gaining ground on consistent front runner Mitt Romney. But some voters are still undecided.

Republican presidential candidates held their final debate last night in Sioux City just weeks before the Iowa caucus takes place on January 3. In the Fox News debate candidates attempted to draw distinctions from one another and defend their record to conservative voters. The latest New York Times/CBS News poll shows Newt Gingrich gaining ground on consistent front runner Mitt Romney. But some voters are still undecided.

Recap from It's a Free Country.

Welcome to Politics Bites, where every afternoon at It's A Free Country, we bring you the unmissable quotes from the morning's political conversations on WNYC. Today on the Brian Lehrer Show, Matt Barreto, advisor to impreMedia/Latino Decisions polling and a professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, discussed the findings of a new poll, which suggests that Latino voters do not care as much about religion or social issues as previously thought.

The Republican candidates will debate again tonight on foreign policy. But this time around, Newt Gingrich is leading in the polls. It's a major comeback for Gingrich who started out ahead and took a heavy hit early on. He's now doing one percentage point better than former front-runner Mitt Romney. But is this just a passing trend? Or is he now a serious contender? 

The Republican presidential candidates met for another debate last night in Rochester, Michigan. Herman Cain was in the hot seat over accusations of sexual harassment from four women. But the crowd was supportive as he tried move on from the many allegations which were made against him this week. Texas Governor Rick Perry, who had entered the debate hoping to get his campaign back on track, suffered the night's worst humiliation when he asserted that he would abolish three federal agencies, but failed to remember the third.

The Republican presidential contenders took their latest debate to Las Vegas on Tuesday night, where they discussed immigration, health care, and the economy. The debate was tense at times as Rick Perry tried to regain his momentum, and Mitt Romney defended his Massachusetts health plan. Candidates also briefly weighed in on the Occupy Wall Street movement. Did Herman Cain prove to be a viable opponent to Mitt Romney? And did Rick Perry help his chances, or further sink his campaign?

Republicans will hold their next debate in Las Vegas, Nevada on Tuesday. Maggie Haberman, senior political writer for Politico thinks this is a make or break moment for Rick Perry. "If Perry has a bad performance," Haberman said, "it'll be virtually impossible for him to come back." Herman Cain's performance will also be closely watched as he is running very high right in the polls now. If Perry falters, could Cain be a valid challenger to Romney? In response to the GOP's debate, Democrats began their Project New West summit on Sunday, also in Vegas.

Texas governor and GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry branded Social Security a "Ponzi scheme" and "a monstrous lie" during last week's Republican debate in California. Traditionally, Social Security is usually a topic candidates shy away from, out of fear of losing the support of elderly voters. Perry's fellow candidates used his statements as ammunition against him during last night's Tea Party-sponsored debate.

President Barack Obama continues his jobs tour this week, with stops in Columbus, Ohio and Raleigh-Durham, N.C., rallying support for his jobs plan. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is expected to speak at a conference on regulation of systemic risk on Thursday, five days before the Federal Open Market Committee begins its meetings next week. Tonight, is the first Tea Party debate, which GOP presidential hopefuls Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry are expected to attend. And Anthony Weiner's old Congressional seat in New York's ninth district is up for grabs in a special election tomorrow.

On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four planes, flying two into the Wold Trade Center towers and one into the Pentagon. The day will forever be known simply as 9/11. Ten years later, America has become involved in two overseas wars, the assassination of Osama bin Laden, and the spread of revolution through the Arab world. Is it time to finally end the "War on Terror"?

You'd think the Republicans would be smiling. The economy shows no signs of turning by the 2012 election, a bad sign for any incumbent. The GOP caucus in the Capitol has ensured that Democrats can't govern effectively, giving the president very little to run on in his re-election bid. And Obama is ...

President Obama stood before the nation and pleaded with Congress to come to an agreement as soon as possible, in a prime-time speech to the American public last night. "We can't allow the American people to become collateral damage to Washington's political warfare," he said. House Speaker John Boehner immediately followed Obama's speech with his response, agreeing that the debate needs to be resolved, but urging Obama to sign on to the Republican proposal to raise the debt limit.

The Republican presidential candidates squared off last night in New Hampshire. It wasn’t the first debate – South Carolina beat the state to the punch. But it was the first one with former Massachusetts governor and front-runner Mitt Romney on stage, and a litmus test for Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann.

The GOP will see it's first major debate with all its prominent players in New Hampshire today. Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Santorum are all expected to participate. Todd Zwillich, The Takeaway's Washington correspondent, is most interested in how Bachmann and Santorum try to "out-conservative" each other to gain the following of those who don't support Mitt Romney. A topic that will surely be a key part of the debate will be the poor state of the economy. A set of key economic indicators is set to be released this week. Charlie Herman, economics editor for The Takeaway and WNYC, is expecting retail sales to fall, and a stock market finishing down for six weeks in a row is certainly not helping either. 

The Cambridge Union Society was recently host to a debate on the issue, “classical music is irrelevant to today's youth.” One side argued that the art form isn't interactive or diverse; the other said it could spark a deep emotional response.