GEOFF BENNETT: A new documentary called# "Immutable" follows students in the Washington## Urban Debate League over a two-year period as# they faced challenges in their own lives and## on the debate stage.

In the program, students# from middle school through high school learn## how to think critically, challenge their own# opinions and find their voices through debate.

"Immutable" starts airing# tonight on many PBS stations.

I recently spoke with three people# connected to the film for a closer look.

STUDENT: I'm saying that Asia is going# to start a war if the United States... GEOFF BENNETT: The U.S.

role in NATO, Social# Security benefits and economic inequality,## not the kind of topics you# usually hear teenagers discussing,## but in debate competitions,# nothing is off the table.

Urban debate leagues took hold in the 1990s,## opening the door to competitive# debate for students in city schools.

WILL BAKER, Founder, New York Urban Debate# League: Imagine if for the first time -- and## we use this as a hook with kids -- adults# have to sit in the back of the room for## an hour and 45 minutes and just listen# to your ideas.

That's really powerful.

NOAH MILLHOUSE, Student Debater: That# they're paying money and not receiving SSI.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Noah Millhouse# is one of the students featured in## the documentary "Immutable.

"# Now a high school sophomore,## Millhouse started debate during COVID after# his mother pushed him to give it a try.

NOAH MILLHOUSE: I just saw it as a summer# opportunity.

And going into debate and## starting to compete and actually win, it felt# good.

I liked the sport of debate.

I liked the## people I met.

And it just felt like something I# was able to adjust to and just learn new things.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Millhouse is part# of the Washington Urban Debate League,## which helps students in D.C.

area# public schools hone their debate skills.

NORM ORNSTEIN, Matthew Ornstein Memorial# Foundation: It teaches life skills.

It## teaches public school kids a whole host of things,## how to speak in front of any audience, get your# own voice, how to do research, how to write,## how to sort out information from misinformation# and disinformation, because this is policy debate.

And that means that every assertion# you make has to be backed by a## piece of evidence.

And if that evidence is# bogus, you're going to get caught with it.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Norm Ornstein's late son# Matthew was a national debate champion in## high school.

After Matthew died, Ornstein# founded the Matthew Ornstein Foundation,## which now hosts a summer debate camp for students.

NORM ORNSTEIN: We looked at -- for# a way in which we could carry that## set of missions forward and thought,# let's try and bring all of this to## people who don't have those resources.# It's been just a rich experience for us## to see what happens when you can take kids# and give them the tools and the resources.

And one of the elements of this, Geoff,# is that you see brilliance emerge.

STUDENT: Wow, interesting.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Debaters have to# be ready to argue either side of a## topic.

High school senior Sitara# Mazumdar approaches it this way.

SITARA MAZUMDAR, Student Debater: I think# I have a coupled approach of both one of## strategy and one of empathy.

Even if you do# not want to debate or argue a certain side,## you will encounter people in real life who hold# those beliefs.

So it's important to kind of get## in their own minds and think about how they would# approach an issue and see it from their side.

And I think the second is, in terms# of empathy, being able to not just## understand what someone is saying, even# if you disagree, but also why they say## it and what experiences they might have had in# their life that have led them to believe that.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Along the way,## students learn how to make.. SITARA MAZUMDAR: I implore you to vote# affirmative.

Just to reiterate, all the autistic## adults are not receiving the employment services# that they need, 1.9 million autistic adults.

I think really the biggest takeaway is that# debate can be anything you want it to be.

It## is not just your standard stock image of two# people yelling at each other.

It's not just## like an argument at the dinner table that# you might have.

It can really -- you can## take it and use it as a platform to talk# about issues that you most care about.

AMNA NAWAZ: How about you, Noah?

NOAH MILLHOUSE: I feel the same.

.. at Kettering Middle School, and so I sought it# to be as an experience because of what I had## felt.

And the experience is being able to# foster a community, being able to bring## others in so they can begin to understand# not only what's going on in the world,## because we want to care about what's going# on around, but how that affects us at home.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Most of all, Ornstein says he# hopes that, in this politically polarized time,## "Immutable" can show that civil# disagreement is still possible.

NORM ORNSTEIN: We're at the 250th# anniversary of the founding of this nation.

And spreading at a time of deep division the# whole idea that you can have civil discourse,## that you can argue strenuously about things,# but not end up in a pitched battle,if people## can come away understanding that that's# possible in the society and not just while## these kids are doing debates, but, more# broadly, we hope that that will resonate.