meridian

PhilosophyCivic education

Meridian, pronounced mə-RID-ee-ən, and phi.

meridian. noun. [Latin meridies.]

  1. …Every place on the globe has its meridian and when the sun arrives at this circle, it is mid-day or noon.
  2. Mid-day, noon.
  3. The highest point; as the meridian of life; the meridian of power or of glory.

Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828

Φ phi.

  1. The 21st letter of the Greek alphabet.
  2. the irrational number (1 + √5)/2, often denoted by the Greek letters ϕ (phi)… approximately 1.618

American Heritage Dictionary, 5th ed. · Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Golden ratio”

The world’s best ideas die unheard.

EssayThe Case for Debate

Debate is the means by which we search for truth.

I · The Purpose of DebateRead
Drag to turn

Mission

Civic education

Expand civic education through discourse.

The internet and artificial intelligence have widened the distance between people and insulated us in digital echo chambers. Meridian works to close that distance. We build the software that hosts discourse. We also teach the communication skills that discourse depends on.

The stake is older than any technology. A people that cannot disagree civilly will settle its disagreements another way. It starts with the demagogue who names an enemy. At the far end is the rhetoric of genocide, which teaches a people that their neighbors are no longer people.

Learning to engage one another civilly is our society’s greatest tool against populist extremism, and debate is where it is learned. A debater has to state the other side’s case fairly before answering it, and has to answer it with reasons. A people that practices this can disagree deeply and still govern itself together.

Doctrine

Full documents

The founding documents

Essay11 minThe Case for DebateWhat We Believe Debate Is ForRead the document Founding doctrine7 minThe ProblemThe Decline of Public DiscourseRead the document Founding doctrine6 minThe ResolutionRebuilding Public Discourse from First PrinciplesRead the document

Resonance

Founding doctrine

Universal resonance.

Who we are

Our team has communicated in corporate boardrooms, in law offices, and on the national stage.

What we do

We teach you how to think critically and speak clearly anywhere. Most coaches teach insular techniques that trap you inside one format.

Founders

The people

Founders

Two friends founded Meridian from opposite sides of the world, Justus Aryani in Frankfurt and Nathan Chen in Seattle.

Nathan Chen, left, and Justus Aryani, co-founders of Meridian, in Wengen, Switzerland.

Nathan Chen

Co-Founder, Head Coach

Seattle, Washington

Nathan is the 2024 NCFCA National Champion in Team Policy. He studies Computer Science at the University of Washington.

Full profile

Justus Aryani

Co-Founder, Platform Lead

Frankfurt, Germany

Justus is the inaugural Coolidge President’s Cup Champion. He studies Cyber Security at Collin College.

Full profile

Wengen, Switzerland

Work with us

Partnership modes

Ways to work with Meridian

Partner with Meridian.

We work with a small number of programs, individuals, and institutions each cycle. The founders read every inquiry themselves.

Send an inquiry