And it was no surprise really. In an era of bite-sized media, Jon Mallia’s ability to create a success out of a podcast featuring discussions that go on for hours is nothing short of impressive.

It started with a member of Jon’s team presenting the motion for discussion and announcing the four speakers, two for each side of the debate. For the sake of everyone who has yet to watch the show, I won’t reveal what the exact motion was or who the speakers were but I will say they were an interesting cast of personalities.

As Jon walked on stage to a round of applause, the audience was asked to cast an initial vote on the motion so as to gauge public opinion before listening to the debate. Voting was carried out online, which helped to ensure people weren’t influenced by the majority or swayed by how certain people were voting.

And then the debate got under way. All four speakers got to make an initial statement before Jon, in his capacity as moderator, got the debate underway.

Although there were a few concerns that Jon would dominate the debate himself, he largely kept a backseat, asking probing questions to all four guests while refraining from offering his own opinions.

The discussion itself was interesting and respectful, with no interruptions or guests speaking over each other, although it was clear to me that one side offered more cohesive arguments.

A fact-checking exercise took place at one point when a guest referred to something that someone might have said and Jon asked his team to find out what said person actually said.

When midway through the event the audience was asked to vote again, I decided to change my vote and I wasn’t the only one. There was a notable shift in opinion, a clear sign that minds were being influenced by the power of debate.

As the debate continued, the audience was asked to submit questions online based on what they heard. Jon’s team screened them behind the scenes and selected four people to stand up and address the debaters. Although my question wasn’t selected, it seemed like a fair process, with a good mix of chosen questions that were critical to both sides.

The debate concluded with a final vote and, once again, public opinion shifted further from the second round of voting.

Two more debates, related to education and the legacy of traditional political parties, will be held on Saturday and three debates, on abortion, sex and social media, will take place on Sunday.

If you would like to attend, you need simply fill out this form and Jon’s team will get in touch to provide you with further details.

With the axing of popular shows like Xarabank, Malta has been starved of proper debate in recent years and my guess is that this state of affairs has contributed to the sense of political disillusionment that people keep talking about.

Jon’s new show feels like a breath of fresh air, an appeal to critical thought and a message to the public that it’s perfectly fine, desirable even, to change your mind when confronted with new information.

It’s a shame that the general public will have to wait until April to see them on GO Tokis, but this is a clear step in the right direction.

Will you attend one of Jon Mallia’s debate show?