The Munk Debates Podcast

This program provides listeners with a focused, half-hour masterclass on the big issues, events and trends driving 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. This week’s Munk Members only podcast focuses on two stories in the news. First, after a promising start to the week that featured peace talks in Istanbul, the conflict progressively took a turn for the worst with renewed fighting across Ukraine. What is the likelihood of ceasefire anytime soon? Why is Russia saying one thing and doing another? And, second, Canada’s federal budget is out next week. Will it include significant new defence and diplomacy spending? Or, is the care agenda in the form of new national health programs likely to dominate Canada’s record deficit spending?  To access the full length episode consider becoming a Munk Member. Membership is free. Simply log on to www.munkdebates.com/membership to register. Under your membership profile page you will find a link to listen to the full length editions of Munk Members Podcast. If you like what the Munk Debates is all about consider becoming a Supporting Member. For as little as $9.99 monthly you receive unlimited access to our 10+ year library of great debates in HD video, a free Munk Debates book, monthly newsletter, ticketing privileges at our live and online events and a charitable tax receipt (for Canadian residents). To explore you Munk Membership options visit www.munkdebates.com/membership. 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.

Pandemic government spending, labour shortages, rising gas prices, and supply chain bottlenecks have led to a surge in inflation and some of the fastest price gains for a broad range of goods and services in the last 40 years. In response, some financial experts expect central banks to raise rates multiple times this year and start selling off some of the hundreds of billions in bonds they purchased during the pandemic. The threat of entrenched inflation supposedly requires central banks to respond aggressively and raise interest rates repeatedly over the course of 2022 despite tightening financial conditions and seemingly slowing economic growth. Other economists disagree, insisting that central banks have responded appropriately by not taking drastic and unnecessary action that could cause a recession. Long term inflation pricing in the bond market suggest that the inflation threat is a short-term problem and small rate increases now can more than offset the risk of runaway, long-term inflation. The bigger risk is an economic slowdown or outright recession brought on by central banks raising rates too fast while selling off hundreds of billions in bonds into a global debt market that will struggle to absorb record government deficits. Arguing for the  motion is Mohamed El-Erian, President of Queens' College at Cambridge University and Chief Economic Advisor to Allianz SE Arguing against the motion is David Rosenberg, President and Chief Economist and Strategist of Rosenberg Research & Associates Inc. QUOTES: MOHAMED EL-ERIAN “The Fed has to act and act boldly. Already it has lost some credibility, and if it delays more, it will lose even more credibility and have very few policy options that are attractive.” DAVID ROSENBERG “My view is that  inflation is going to ultimately decline of its own accord and the historical record proves that.” Sources:  CNN, CNBC, PBS, France24 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: Reza Dahya

This program provides listeners with a focused, half-hour masterclass on the big issues, events and trends driving 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. This week’s Munk Members podcast digs into the latest developments out the War in Ukraine. First up, where are we at thirty days into this conflict? Is the Russian military and resolve of Vladimir Putin crumbling in the face of what looks like an increasing statement on many of the key battlegrounds inside Ukraine? What could an end game for the conflict look like if Russian war aims are slipping away while Ukraine resolve is surging? And, finally, the economic fallout of the war is fast becoming apparent in sky high commodity prices including energy. What is the likely effects of the war on rocketing inflation levels? How are policy makers going to push back against the threat of a stagflationary future? To access the full length episode consider becoming a Munk Member. Membership is free. Simply log on to www.munkdebates.com/membership to register. Under your membership profile page you will find a link to listen to the full length editions of Munk Members Podcast. If you like what the Munk Debates is all about consider becoming a Supporting Member. For as little as $9.99 monthly you receive unlimited access to our 10+ year library of great debates in HD video, a free Munk Debates book, monthly newsletter, ticketing privileges at our live and online events and a charitable tax receipt (for Canadian residents). To explore you Munk Membership options visit www.munkdebates.com/membership. 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.

World-renowned philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett joins us for a special Munk Dialogue on the origin of human consciousness, and how our minds have been shaped by natural selection and generations of cultural evolution. QUOTES: DANIEL DENNETT “We have more degrees of freedom than any other organism alive. We're autonomous, we pull our own strings… the primary moral responsibility of every human being is to not become a puppet of others.” 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/ Executive Producer: Rudyard Griffiths Senior Producer: Ricki Gurwitz Editor: Reza Dahya

This program provides listeners with a focused, half-hour masterclass on the big issues, events and trends driving 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. This week’s Munk Members podcast catches up on the week of news out Ukraine and digs into the Munk Debates recent one-on-one podcast debate on NATO and its role in the crisis. Janice and Rudyard discuss the implications for the war of the Russian army effectively stalling out on the battlefield. Do the setbacks Putin is now facing open a pathway to a ceasefire? Or, is a humiliated Putin more like to prosecute the war to an even more bloody conclusion? And finally, what is NATO’s role in helping creating the preconditions for the war? Janice and Rudyard dissect this week’s Munk Debate podcast, which you can stream here.  To access the full length episode consider becoming a Munk Member. Membership is free. Simply log on to www.munkdebates.com/membership to register. Under your membership profile page you will find a link to listen to the full length editions of Munk Members Podcast. If you like what the Munk Debates is all about consider becoming a Supporting Member. For as little as $9.99 monthly you receive unlimited access to our 10+ year library of great debates in HD video, a free Munk Debates book, monthly newsletter, ticketing privileges at our live and online events and a charitable tax receipt (for Canadian residents). To explore you Munk Membership options visit www.munkdebates.com/membership. 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.

Prior to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, talks between Vladimir Putin and Western leaders largely centered around NATO’s eastward expansion: The Russian leader demanded that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization deny membership to Ukraine and Georgia and roll back troop deployment in countries that joined after 1997. These demands were ultimately rejected, and Russia’s response was a military assault on Ukraine that has shattered longstanding peace in Europe and weakened the post-soviet liberal international order. Some experts argue that the US-led NATO expansion in the late 1990s and early 2000s must bear some of the blame for the current crisis. Welcoming the likes of Poland, Hungary, and Czech Republic, all once part of the Soviet sphere of influence, was an unnecessary provocation towards Russia when it was still reeling from a humiliating defeat. The Russians viewed this expansion near their border as an existential threat, made worse by Ukraine’s decision to pivot westward towards the EU in 2014. The west, especially the US, must be held partially responsible for the current disaster. Other foreign policy experts argue that NATO expansion is a deflection of the real cause behind this conflict: the machinations of a paranoid madman with imperialist ambitions who is using war to deflect from domestic political and economic unrest. Putin, these experts warn, is using the threat from NATO to distract from the real reason he started a bloody war with Ukraine: a ruthless desire to strengthen his power at home and re-establish waning influence in the region. All blame for the current crisis must rest on Putin’s shoulders, and his alone. Arguing for the motion is Barry Posen, the Ford International Professor of Political Science at MIT and the director of the school’s Security Studies Program Arguing against the motion is Stephen Rademacher, former Assistant US Secretary of State for International Security and Non-proliferation in the George W. Bush administration QUOTES: BARRY POSEN “If you treat a great power, even a middle power, with profound disrespect for its interest and its views, you're giving hawks on their side a major argument for why they need to mobilize against you. And that's basically what happened.” STEPHEN RADEMACHER “What changed in Ukraine was a consequence of Russian policy, Russian bullying, and Russian mishandling of the relationship with their closest neighbor. That is not America's doing, that is not NATO's doing, that is Russia's doing.” Sources:  BBC, CNN, NBC News, Sky News 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: Reza Dahya

This program provides listeners with a focused, half-hour masterclass on the big issues, events and trends driving 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. This week’s Munk Members podcast explores the issues and ideas raised in Janice Stein’s important article this week in Foreign Policy magazine. To access the article in full click here. Rudyard and Janice discuss different approaches to deterrence in the current war, how they are likely to encourage divergent risks and outcomes and the importance of considering psychological factors when trying to predict and ideally change Putin’s behavior. The episode also digs into the risks and reasons to be cautious about transferring NATO fighter jets to Ukraine and setting up “no-fly” zones. To access the full length episode consider becoming a Munk Member. Membership is free. Simply log on to www.munkdebates.com/membership to register. Under your membership profile page you will find a link to listen to the full length editions of Munk Members Podcast. If you like what the Munk Debates is all about consider becoming a Supporting Member. For as little as $9.99 monthly you receive unlimited access to our 10+ year library of great debates in HD video, a free Munk Debates book, monthly newsletter, ticketing privileges at our live and online events and a charitable tax receipt (for Canadian residents). To explore you Munk Membership options visit www.munkdebates.com/membership. 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.

He’s been heir to the throne for 70 years, waiting to take over as King of Great Britain from the country’s longest serving monarch, his mother, Queen Elizabeth. But as the Queen’s advanced age and fragile health becomes ever more apparent, many in the UK are wondering whether Charles is the right man to take over the throne from his long-beloved and admired mother. The Prince’s critics point to a sense of entitlement and dour personality unbecoming of a monarch. He lectures about the environment while flying in a private jet, is thin-skinned to criticism, and is forever tainted by his alleged treatment of Diana and the very ugly details that led to the breakdown of their marriage. And most importantly, his critics argue, a constitutional monarchy requires that the sovereign not interfere in politics, a role that Queen Elizabeth has embraced and perfected over her long reign. Charles, by contrast, has used his position to express his views and influence both popular and ministerial opinion. The Prince’s allies insist that he is the right man for the job – he will bring a more modern, European, and tolerant sensibility to a country that must adapt to a new world. His lifelong commitment to protecting the environment and raising awareness about climate change – long before it was deemed fashionable - shows a strength of character sorely lacking in today’s leaders.  And finally, as the longest serving heir to the British throne, he has long exhibited a keen sense of duty and commitment to the monarchy which has endeared him to his subjects and guarantees an easy transition when the time inevitably comes. Arguing for the  motion is Clive Irving, former editor of The Sunday Times and author of The Last Queen: Elizabeth II's Seventy Year Battle to Save the House of Windsor Arguing against the motion is Angela Levin, royal commentator and biographer, and author of Harry: Conversations with the Prince  QUOTES: CLIVE IRVING “Charles has lived in a highly privileged cocoon. William and Kate, on the other hand, fit and understand the real world in a way that Charles has never done” ANGELA LEVIN “We are living in a tumultuous world … we need security and straightforwardness. We need someone we can really trust. And I think that Prince Charles fits that role perfectly.” Sources:  GMA, CNN, 7News, The Royal Family Channel, Sky News 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: Reza Dahya

This program provides listeners with a focused, half-hour masterclass on the big issues, events and trends driving 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. This week’s Munk Members podcast focuses on the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Janice and Rudyard discuss how the conflict has escalated over the last ten days and why Western countries have moved so quickly to introduce some of the harshest economic sanctions ever levied against a nation state. Keeping on the economic theme, the second half of the program explores the long-term effects these sanctions could have on globalization, the future of the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency and what China may do economically to lessen its dependence on a Western led global financial order.  To access the full length episode consider becoming a Munk Member. Membership is free. Simply log on to www.munkdebates.com/membership to register. Under your membership profile page you will find a link to listen to the full length editions of Munk Members Podcast. If you like what the Munk Debates is all about consider becoming a Supporting Member. For as little as $9.99 monthly you receive unlimited access to our 10+ year library of great debates in HD video, a free Munk Debates book, monthly newsletter, ticketing privileges at our live and online events and a charitable tax receipt (for Canadian residents). To explore you Munk Membership options visit www.munkdebates.com/membership. 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.

This program provides listeners with a focused, half-hour masterclass on the big issues, events and trends driving 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. This is a special edition of the Munk Member’s podcast focusing on the extraordinary series of developments in Eastern Europe that have culminated with Russian troops invading Ukraine triggering the largest ground war in Europe since WWII. In this episode Janice and Rudyard are joined by U.S. security expert Joshua Rovner, Associate Professor at the School of International Service of the American University in Washington, D.C.. Joshua walks Janice and Rudyard through the different risks that could escalate the conflict in the coming days from cyber to conventional forces to nuclear. To access the full length episode consider becoming a Munk Member. Membership is free. Simply log on to www.munkdebates.com/membership to register. Under your membership profile page you will find a link to listen to the full length editions of Munk Members Podcast. If you like what the Munk Debates is all about consider becoming a Supporting Member. For as little as $9.99 monthly you receive unlimited access to our 10+ year library of great debates in HD video, a free Munk Debates book, monthly newsletter, ticketing privileges at our live and online events and a charitable tax receipt (for Canadian residents). To explore you Munk Membership options visit www.munkdebates.com/membership. 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.