Oligarchy and Authoritarianism in Modern Governance

Friday Focus provides listeners with a focused, half-hour masterclass on the big issues, events and trends driving the news and current events. The show features Janice Gross Stein, the founding director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and bestselling author, in conversation with Rudyard Griffiths, Chair and moderator of the Munk Debates.

The following is a sample of the Munk Debates’ weekly current affairs podcast, Friday Focus.

Rudyard and Janice open the show reflecting on Trump's eye-popping appointments to key positions in government. What happened to the importance of competence, merit, and experience when assigning the most important roles within the federal government?  Rudyard and Janice then turn to Elon Musk, who this week was taking calls with the Ukrainian president and meeting with senior Iranian officials. How can we make sense of Elon's role in the Trump administration, given that he is the largest single contractor to the US government? And finally, can other institutions outside of Washington hold the line as the Trump team takes a wrecking ball to everything in their path?

To access full-length editions of the Friday Focus podcast consider becoming a donor to the Munk Debates for as little as $25 annually, or $.50 per episode. Canadian donors receive a charitable tax receipt.

This podcast is a project of the Munk Debates, a Canadian charitable organization dedicated to fostering civil and substantive public dialogue.

More information at www.munkdebates.com.