Speech Topics

Environment and Agriculture

  • Regulating pesticides
  • Protecting the oceans
  • Global pollution
  • Food safety
  • Climate change
  • Genetically modified food
  • Invasive species
  • Global hunger
  • Farm policy
  • Raising food prices
  • U.S. trade policy
  • Tobacco industry
  • Animal rights
  • SUV debate
  • Global warming
  • Electric cars
  • Mass transit
  • Saving the rainforests
  • Natural disasters
  • Recycling
  • Zoos
  • Endangered species

Arts, Culture, and Sports

  • Future of TV
  • Humanities education
  • Arts funding
  • The book business
  • Liberal arts education
  • New directions in architecture
  • Dance
  • Movies as art
  • Archaeology
  • Teaching history
  • American Revolution
  • War
  • Paying college athletes
  • Violence in media
  • Gambling in America
  • Social media
  • Prostitution
  • Hip-hop
  • Cosmetic surgery
  • Celebrity culture
  • Consumer culture
  • Artists’ rights and copyright
  • America’s pampered pets
  • Pornography
  • Country music
  • Dining in America
  • Fashion
  • Christmas customs and origins
  • Trends in advertising
  • Fast food
  • Alcoholism
  • Legalization of marijuana
  • Anti-Americanism abroad
  • Voting
  • Sex on campus
  • Political polls
  • Beauty business
  • Sunday selling
  • Transition to digital TV
  • Hosting the Olympics
  • College football
  • Women and sports
  • Extreme sports
  • National parks under pressure
  • Sports and drugs
  • Hazing
  • Gender equality in sports
  • Fantasy sports
  • Soccer in America
  • Hunting controversy
  • Native Americans
  • Free agency
  • TV sports
  • Physical fitness
  • Betting
  • Vacation in America
  • Tourism
  • Summer camps
  • Passport policy

Business and Economics

  • Advertising overload
  • Alcohol advertising
  • Direct marketing
  • Oil business
  • Airlines
  • Natural gas regulation
  • Wealth and inequality
  • Minimum wage
  • Internet shopping
  • Consumer debt
  • America in debt
  • Identity theft
  • Credit cards
  • E-cigarettes
  • Privacy
  • Future of the music industry
  • Copyright and the Internet
  • Dollar depreciation and devaluation
  • The economics of recycling
  • Hard times at the nation’s newspapers
  • Economic recovery
  • Gasoline prices
  • Unemployment
  • Small business
  • Lottery
  • Rebuilding after natural disaster
  • Business ethics
  • Chain stores
  • Internet shopping

Education

  • Bilingual and multicultural education
  • Immigration
  • Student debt
  • Getting into college
  • College recruiting
  • Public vs. private colleges
  • Bullying
  • Urban schools
  • Dropout rate
  • Affirmative action
  • AP and IB programs
  • Testing in schools
  • Homeschooling
  • Religion in schools
  • Learning disabilities
  • Youth suicide
  • Arts funding
  • Textbooks
  • Sex education
  • Cost of education
  • Early childhood education
  • Future of libraries
  • Video games
  • Children’s television
  • Technology in the classroom
  • Online education
  • Evolution vs. creationism
  • Teen sex
  • Gay rights
  • Homeless students
  • Academic tenure
  • Foreign language study
  • Drinking on campus
  • Community colleges
  • Vocational and adult education

Government and National Security

  • National debt
  • Health care
  • Taxes
  • Gun control
  • Jury
  • Political polarization in America
  • Campaign finance
  • Women and politics
  • U.S. foreign policy
  • Disarmament
  • Chemical weapons
  • Mexico’s drug war
  • Nuclear test ban
  • Government spending
  • American military abroad
  • Gays and lesbians in the military
  • Disaster preparedness
  • Military draft
  • Military bases
  • Prosecuting terrorists
  • Torture
  • Border security
  • Threat from al Qaeda
  • Remembering 9/11
  • Jihadists
  • Women in the military

Health

  • Abortion
  • Contraception
  • Cancer
  • Elderly health issues
  • HIV and AIDS
  • Hospitals
  • Mental health
  • Smoking
  • Substance abuse
  • Nursing homes
  • Obesity
  • Nutrition in America

Human Rights

  • Death penalty
  • Gay rights
  • Racial profiling
  • Assisted suicide
  • Press freedom
  • Voting rights
  • Communism today
  • Honor killings
  • Child soldiers
  • Genocide
  • Religious persecution

Media

  • Media bias
  • Google’s dominance
  • Computer hacking
  • Social networking
  • Cyberbullying
  • Blogs
  • The future of books
  • The digital divide
  • Media ownership
  • Movie ratings
  • Future of newspapers

Personal and Family Relations

  • International adoption
  • Foster care
  • Children and divorce
  • Gay marriage
  • The changing American family
  • Feminism
  • Teen pregnancy
  • Domestic violence
  • Homelessness
  • Child care

Religion

  • Prayer and healing
  • Sexual abuse and the clergy
  • Future of the papacy
  • Religion and politics
  • Megachurches
  • Religious persecution
  • Eastern religions
  • Prayer in schools

Social Movements

  • Youth volunteerism
  • Declining birthrates
  • Gourmet cooking
  • Communal living
  • Underage drinking

Social Services and Disabilities

  • Regulating nonprofits
  • Rights of the handicapped