The Munk Debates Podcast

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. On this week’s edition of the Friday Focus podcast, Janice and Rudyard start the show with a discussion of the billions currently being spent by governments in North America to subsidize companies involved in the electrification of the economy. Do these subsidies work? What are the tradeoffs? And, can we continue to afford generous cash transfers of public funds to private enterprises? The second half of the program looks at the different countries vying to lead on a peace deal for the Ukraine War. What exactly is going on here? Do any of these countries and any one specific plan have a chance to end the war? How are Russia and Ukraine likely to be ultimately brought to the peace table, and when? 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.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the end of the Cold War marked a new era in world politics.  For many geopolitical experts, it was championed as the ascendancy of the western liberal world order over competing political ideologies. It was, as American political scientist Francis Fukuyama famously declared, “the end of history”  and the beginning of long term peace and prosperity. But that post-Soviet optimism did not last long. The past decade has seen a rise in authoritarian leadership, widespread distrust in liberal institutions, polarization on the left and right, and a new war being fought on European soil. On this episode of the Munk Debates Podcast, we’re joined by that same political scientist - Professor Francis Fukuyama - to talk about how the world has changed in 30 years, and whether liberal democracies around the world can withstand the strong forces that seek to dismantle them. Click here for more information about Francis Fukuyama’s latest book, Liberalism and its Discontents   The host of the Munk Debates is Rudyard Griffiths - @rudyardg.   Tweet your comments about this episode to @munkdebate or comment on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/munkdebates/ To sign up for a weekly email reminder for this podcast, send an email to podcast@munkdebates.com.   To support civil and substantive debate on the big questions of the day, consider becoming a Munk Member at https://munkdebates.com/membership Members receive access to our 10+ year library of great debates in HD video, a free Munk Debates book, newsletter and ticketing privileges at our live events. This podcast is a project of the Munk Debates, a Canadian charitable organization dedicated to fostering civil and substantive public dialogue - https://munkdebates.com/   Senior Producer: Ricki Gurwitz Editor: Kieran Lynch

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. On this week’s edition of the Friday Focus podcast, Janice and Rudyard spend the show talking about the upcoming June 22 Munk Debate on artificial intelligence at Roy Thomson Hall in downtown Toronto. What are the major fault lines that are likely to drive the debate between MIT’s Max Tegmark and Yann LeCun, Chief AI scientist for Meta? How could the rise of thinking machines constitute an existential threat to humanity? What are the policies or practices that industry and government could adopt to ensure AI safety? Janice and Rudyard dissect the big issues and ideas that are making the rise of AI one of the most important issues of our time. 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.

It’s a debate being argued across school boards, politics, and family dinner tables: whether educators should be including gender identity and sexual orientation in their k-5 curriculums. At least 5 Canadian provinces and seven US states now require the inclusion of LGBTQ topics, while more conservative states like Florida have banned any mention of such language altogether. Conservative lawmakers and parents argue that teaching about gender identity is inappropriate and confusing for children who are too young to understand the complexity of this subject and its potential life altering consequences. Educators, driven by liberal ideology, are ignoring parents’ wishes and using their classes to push their own political beliefs on impressionable youth. Progressives believe that as the number of children who identify as transgender and non-binary rises, teachers have an obligation to dispel misconceptions about gender and provide inclusive, safe environments for all students, especially the most vulnerable. Contrary to what some right-wing groups claim, you cannot alter or influence a person’s gender identity through education, while banning its teaching altogether will cause emotional and mental distress to our most vulnerable youth. Arguing for the motion is Jonathan Butcher, the Will Skillman Fellow in Education at The Heritage Foundation Arguing against the motion is Elizabeth Meyer, associate professor of Educational Foundations, Policy and Practice at the University of Colorado at Boulder SOURCES: CBS, CBN, Forbes   The host of the Munk Debates is Rudyard Griffiths  Tweet your comments about this episode to @munkdebate or comment on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/munkdebates/ To sign up for a weekly email reminder for this podcast, send an email to podcast@munkdebates.com.   To support civil and substantive debate on the big questions of the day, consider becoming a Munk Member at https://munkdebates.com/membership Members receive access to our 10+ year library of great debates in HD video, a free Munk Debates book, newsletter and ticketing privileges at our live events. This podcast is a project of the Munk Debates, a Canadian charitable organization dedicated to fostering civil and substantive public dialogue - https://munkdebates.com/ Senior Producer: Ricki Gurwitz Editor: Adam Karch

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. On this week’s edition of the Friday Focus podcast, Janice and Rudyard spend the show talking about the Canadian story that made international news this week in the form of media reports that Canada’s intelligence agency had information that it shared with the government that a sitting member of the national legislature was the target of a foreign intimidation campaign by the Chinese government. Who knew what, when, and why is the Chinese diplomat identified in intelligence reports still working out of the Toronto consulate? What does it mean for Canada’s national security going forward when members of its premier intelligence agency are leaking to the press and are in outright breach with the government and its handling of Chinese interference in Canadian democracy? Where does Canada-China relations go from here? Janice and Rudyard unpack it all for Munk members. 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.

60 years ago, university students were leading the protest in defense of free speech. The 1960’s Free Speech Movement at the University of California at Berkeley has been credited with paving the way for the civil liberties movement of the 1960’s and widespread social and political change. These days, however, free speech has taken on a new meaning. University students are being criticized for shutting down speech that doesn’t align with their progressive and left leaning principles. So how do free speech laws play into the current free speech debate? Where do we draw the line between speech that offends and speech that causes harm? For this conversation, we’re joined by one of the most important free speech advocates in America. Nadine Strossen served as President of the American Civil Liberties Union from 1991 to 2008, and is now a senior fellow at FIRE - the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.    The host of the Munk Debates is Rudyard Griffiths - @rudyardg.   Tweet your comments about this episode to @munkdebate or comment on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/munkdebates/ To sign up for a weekly email reminder for this podcast, send an email to podcast@munkdebates.com.   To support civil and substantive debate on the big questions of the day, consider becoming a Munk Member at https://munkdebates.com/membership. Members receive access to our 10+ year library of great debates in HD video, a free Munk Debates book, and ticketing privileges at our live events. This podcast is a project of the Munk Debates, a Canadian charitable organization dedicated to fostering civil and substantive public dialogue - https://munkdebates.com/ Senior Producer: Ricki GurwitzEditor: Kieran Lynch

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. On this week’s edition of the Friday Focus podcast, Janice and Rudyard start the show with a discussion of the U.S. debt ceiling debate and passage, this week, of a bill by the Republican-controlled Congress to cut government spending in turn for raising America’s borrowing limit. How likely is a compromise with the Biden Administration? What could happen to the U.S. economy and global markets if a deal isn’t brokered? The second half of the program dissects Canada’s new law to mandate Canadian content on online streaming platforms like Netflix. Who benefits from the law? What will be the impact on consumers of online content and small, independent digital creators? Is this a smart move for Canada? 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.

Just when inflation seemed to finally be cooling, high interest rates claimed their first major victim: Silicon Valley Bank. And yet, central banks around the world claim the job is not finished, and more needs to be done to curb runaway inflation. But for some economists and business insiders, the latest debacle confirms a long held belief that central banks have largely failed as public institutions.  Their supposed neutrality is a farce, and they are inherently political bodies run by unelected officials. Democracy requires more than accountability, transparency, and good deliberation. It requires democratic power: the power of the people and their elected officials to steer policy. They argue central banks are in desperate need of transformation to better serve the economy and the public.  But others argue that the central bank has largely succeeded at seeing the global economy through turbulent times over many decades.  The fact that central bankers play an important role in society, but are unelected, does not mean that central banks by their very nature are inherently democratic.  And while some minor reforms may be warranted, central banks have been and remain one of the most resilient and effective public bodies.  Arguing for the motion is Thomas Palley, the former Assistant Director of Public Policy at the AFL-CIO. Arguing against the motion is Steve Kamin, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he studies international macroeconomics and monetary policy. The host of the Munk Debates is Rudyard Griffiths - @rudyardg.   Tweet your comments about this episode to @munkdebate or comment on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/munkdebates/ To sign up for a weekly email reminder for this podcast, send an email to podcast@munkdebates.com.   To support civil and substantive debate on the big questions of the day, consider becoming a Munk Member at https://munkdebates.com/membership Members receive access to our 10+ year library of great debates in HD video, a free Munk Debates book, newsletter and ticketing privileges at our live events. This podcast is a project of the Munk Debates, a Canadian charitable organization dedicated to fostering civil and substantive public dialogue - https://munkdebates.com/   Senior Producer: Jacob Lewis Editor: Kieran Lynch

Discussion of Canada's federal public service strike and its impact on government service delivery. Interview with Stephen Kotkin exploring topics like the war in Ukraine and China-US relations. Highlights the importance of a well-trained public service and state capacity. Future outlook for the government and options for resolving the strike and government intervention on AI.

The indictment of Donald Trump is an historic event. The 45th president of the United States now holds the unique distinction of being the first president to face criminal prosecution in the country’s history. Some legal experts believe that prosecuting Trump sets a dangerous precedent that will open an era of politically motivated prosecutions undermining democracy and the rule of law. Future presidents will be more likely to stay in office – through undemocratic means – in order to avoid trial. Furthermore, bringing this particular case against Trump, one which has nothing to do with his time in office, will undermine and delegitimize more important prosecutions that he could face in the future. And doing so will almost certainly galvanize his supporters and all but secure his nomination as the GOP presidential candidate in the 2024 election. Other experts argue that the opposite is true. Not holding Trump accountable to the rule of law would undermine democracy and send a message to the public that elected officials are not subject to the same justice system as ordinary citizens. Prosecuting Trump shows a commitment to basic legal principles and strengthens American democracy. Arguing for the motion is Sarah Isgur, attorney, political commentator, and former spokesperson in the United States Department of Justice Arguing against the motion is Norman Eisen who served as special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee for the Trump impeachment, and was the White House's chief ethics lawyer in the Obama administration   The host of the Munk Debates is Rudyard Griffiths - @rudyardg.   Tweet your comments about this episode to @munkdebate or comment on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/munkdebates/ To sign up for a weekly email reminder for this podcast, send an email to podcast@munkdebates.com.   To support civil and substantive debate on the big questions of the day, consider becoming a Munk Member at https://munkdebates.com/membership Members receive access to our 10+ year library of great debates in HD video, a free Munk Debates book, newsletter and ticketing privileges at our live events. This podcast is a project of the Munk Debates, a Canadian charitable organization dedicated to fostering civil and substantive public dialogue - https://munkdebates.com/   Senior Producer: Ricki Gurwitz Editor: Kieran Lynch