Policy analysis and prescription have, for some decades now, been strongly informed by the ideas of interpretation and discourse. It seems fitting, at this moment in global affairs, to reflect on what we have learned about the application of the communicative model to public policy. What is its unfulfilled potential and limitations, and what are some emerging questions for policy researchers to contend with? What does deliberation mean in an age of fundamentalism? What are some ways forward, vis-à-vis engaging the excluded or crafting dialogue, in post-LKY Singapore, Xi’s China, Trump’s America? Join the public forum as three policy scholars moderate a dialogue with the rest of our scholarly community.