A Facebook algorithm that tracks posts for suicidal thoughts; an app that monitors the speed of keyboard strokes for signs of depression; a computer program that analyzes our facial expressions and tone of voice when we FaceTime. These are a few of the thousands of algorithms tracking our mental health that some experts say could revolutionize how we diagnose and treat mental illness. They say that our 24/7 use of digital devices is generating a goldmine of information about our mental state that must be accessible to mental health practitioners if psychiatric medicine is to operate like a scientific discipline in the 21st century. Instagram posts, text logs, Google searches, and GPS data, and not psychiatrists’ observations and intuitions based on conversation, offer the detail and time stamped precision we need to generate tailored and effective treatments to the millions of individuals who desperately need help in the post pandemic world. Critics say the problems with this big data approach go far beyond the obvious privacy issues that come with outsourcing mental health monitoring to digital monopolies like Google and Apple. The push for mental health algorithms reflects a reductive view of human emotions that undermines the strengths of the traditionally human centred field of psychiatric medicine. Diagnoses based on dialogue between two individuals and grounded in intuition and empathy will always be better than machine intelligence at drawing out the personal histories that explain trauma and generate helpful treatment. Engaging machines to address the mental health crisis is nothing but a quick fix solution that only helps the deeply underresourced health systems of our world today. Arguing for the motion is Daniel Barron, Medical Director of the Interventional Pain Psychiatry Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is on the faculty at Harvard Medical School and the author of the recently published book Reading Our Minds: The Rise of Big-Data Psychiatry. Arguing against the motion is Gerhard Gründer, Professor of Psychiatry and Head of the Department for Molecular Neuroimaging at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim, Germany. He is the author of How Do We Want to Live? Sources: CBSDFW, CBS Boston, The Doctors Company 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/ The Munk Debates podcast is produced by Antica, Canada’s largest private audio production company - https://www.anticaproductions.com/   Executive Producer: Stuart Coxe, CEO Antica Productions Senior Producer: Christina Campbell Editor: Kieran Lynch Producer: Nicole Edwards Associate Producer: Abhi Raheja

This is a sample of the Munk Members-Only Podcast. The 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 unfolding crisis in Afghanistan. What should Western powers do next to have a chance to get their citizens and Afghan allies out of Kabul? Is there a possible deal that could be reached with the Taliban to avert bloodshed? And what does this crisis say about the state and future of America’s engagement with the world? Specifically, what lessons should we be drawing from a failed twenty year war and botched evacuation? We wrap the show with details on our live show taping in September. 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.

While partisan fighting and gridlock has come to characterize most Western governments, one issue has united liberals and conservatives against a common foe: the rise of Big Tech. Anti-trust experts warn that Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft have become too powerful, too fast. They control our data, our discourse, and our politics. Their unmatched power is a threat to innovation and market competition. For the sake of democracy and dynamism, their days of unlimited expansion, privacy violations, and corporate acquisitions must come to an end. It is past time to regulate these internet giants. The CEOs of these tech companies, however, are fighting back. Zuckerberg, Bezos, Pichai, et al argue that they have become an easy scapegoat for the pitfalls of a digital revolution no one could have expected. Far from achieving a monopoly over the industry, these companies face stiff competition from big players in the space and emerging disruptors. Furthermore, the negative associations with these companies has overshadowed the very real benefits they have brought to the public; Google, Facebook, Youtube and Amazon have provided revolutionary and life-changing opportunities around the globe. These digital giants have transformed the world into a more inter-connected, transparent, and democratic space for all of its users, uplifting entire communities with just the push of a few buttons. We must embrace, not fear, the rise of big tech and its dominance in society. Arguing for the motion is Robby Soave, senior editor at Reason and the author of Tech Panic: Why We Shouldn't Fear Facebook and the Future Arguing against the motion is Taylor Owen, Beaverbrook Chair in Media, Ethics and Democracy at McGill University and the host of The Big Tech podcast QUOTES: ROBBY SOAVE “I don't fear the dominance of Big Tech in society. However, I do fear the dominance of government in society, particularly any effort it might undertake to fix some of big tech’s reported problems” TAYLOR OWEN “We have a set of social harms and economic harms that aren't being self-regulated because of market concentration. We have a failed market that's leading to social and economic harms.” Sources: Yahoo Finance, NBC, CNBC, FOX Business 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/ The Munk Debates podcast is produced by Antica, Canada’s largest private audio production company - https://www.anticaproductions.com/   Executive Producer: Stuart Coxe, CEO Antica Productions Senior Producer: Ricki Gurwitz Editor: Kieran Lynch Associate Producer: Abhi Raheja

This is a sample of the Munk Members-Only Podcast. The 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 three topics in the news this week. The Taliban shock the world with their rapid military takeover of Afghanistan – What explains the Taliban’s ability to overthrow the Afghan government in multiple regional capitals? How is this crisis likely the play out in the coming weeks. Vaccine mandates become an increasing part of America’s COVID response while Canada lags on making vaccinations mandatory – Why is Canada a laggard on vaccine mandates? With kids unvaccinated is it time for to make vaccination mandatory for all teachers? And, a Canadian federal election looks likely to called this Sunday – What are the issues that will dominate the campaign? How can the opposition parties challenge the incumbent Liberal government with so much of the election taking place before Labour Day? 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.

First the banning of headscarves in France’s public schools. Then prohibitions against full face coverings and religious worship in public spaces, and most recently legislation that targets Islamic fundamentalism. And in Quebec, a former colony of France, the outlawing of religious symbols in government workplaces, including schools. These are some of the strong measures that France and Quebec have taken to enforce the separation of church and state that is characteristic of Western democracies. Proponents of secularism, or laïcité as it is called in France, say that secularism promotes healthy democracies by ensuring that competing religious loyalties do not undermine the full equality and free speech necessary to be good citizens. Furthermore, secularism protects religions by providing a framework where believers and non-believers alike can privately and peacefully co-habitate. What secularism cannot tolerate is politicized religion, which secularists say we are witnessing with the rise of Islamism. They argue that this politicized form of Islam threatens democratic ideals in exactly the same way that the Catholic church undermined the French Republic at the beginning of the last century, and must be opposed just as aggressively. The lengths to which France and Quebec are willing to go to promote their vision of a secular society has provoked an international outcry. Critics argue that modern day secularism is not a neutral policy, but a form of disguised colonialism that targets religious and racialized communities, in particular followers of Islam. They argue that the activist secularist policies we are witnessing right now are based on simplistic ideas about the Muslim faith, such as the assumption that oppression of women is an essential feature of Islam, and that Muslim communities do not adapt or integrate when they join new communities. Prohibiting religious expression is undemocratic and illiberal, a denial of fundamental rights that enrich societies. Rather than supporting peaceful and productive democracies, secularism is another form of fundamentalism that sows the seeds for extremism and terrorism. Arguing for the motion is Caroline Fourest, a journalist, film maker, and expert on French secularism. She is the author of many best-selling books in France, including The Genius of Secularism. Arguing against the motion is John Bowen, who is Professor of Sociocultural Anthropology, at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He is the author of numerous books about Islam including Why the French Don’t Like Headscarves: Islam, the State, and Public Space. Sources: AFP News Agency, France 24, CBC, Al Jazeera, TVO, Euronews, Wall Street Journal 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/ The Munk Debates podcast is produced by Antica, Canada’s largest private audio production company - https://www.anticaproductions.com/   Executive Producer: Stuart Coxe, CEO Antica Productions Senior Producer: Christina Campbell Editor: Kieran Lynch Associate Producer: Abhi Raheja Research: Charlotte Fay

This is a sample of the Munk Members-Only Podcast. The 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 three stories in the news: China introduces sweeping new virus controls as delta variant outbreaks happen in multiple cities; are we seeing the limits of China’s lockdown heavy COVID control strategy? What could be the effects on global economic recovery if China can’t fight off the delta threat? And, how worried should we be about the possibility of an “omega” strain that evade vaccines completely? – Two of Afghanistan’s major cities are battling large scale Taliban military incursions with possibly thousands of civilian deaths occurring already; is a complete Taliban takeover of Afghanistan a possibility? Or, is a collapse back into outright civil war the more likely outcome? And, what is the West’s responsibility after spending two decades and trillion dollars to supposedly “rebuild” Afghanistan? – Iran swears in a new hardline President; what does the elevation of Ebrahim Raisi to president of Iran foretell for the region, Israel’s policy towards Iran, and the Biden administration’s efforts to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons? 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.

Who can forget these memorable moments in sports when reigning world champions lost their titles, medals, and invitations to compete as punishment for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. But while most sports experts agree these high-profile scandals represent just the tip of the iceberg, some say the time has come to accept that doping is part and parcel of the spectacle of elite sport. They argue that the days where athletes won medals based on natural genetic advantage and dedicated training are long gone and that the World Anti Doping Administration’s push for clean athletes is wishful fantasy. The future of sport is one where athletes will push their physiological boundaries with the help of steroids, hormones, and yes even gene editing, embracing the high-tech innovation that is revolutionizing every other aspect of our lives. Anti-doping crusaders respond that a sporting world that allows unrestricted access to performance enhancement drugs is one that threatens athletes’ lives and also spells the end of sport as we have played and watched it for thousands of years. They argue that the most powerful reason to ban doping is that it undermines the skill development and overcoming of physical and mental obstacles that lies at the heart of fair play. Substances that provide immediate athletic advantages without any work or struggle represents the beginning of a joyless and pointless brave new world in sports. Arguing for the motion is Julian Savulescu, Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, where he directs the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities. Arguing against the motion is Angela Schneider, Director of the International Centre for Olympic Studies, an Associate Professor in Kinisiology at the University of Western Ontario, and an Olympic silver medallist in rowing. Sources: BBC Sport, ABC News, Huff Post, CNBC, TNW, Calgary Herald, NBC, Channel 4, City 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/ The Munk Debates podcast is produced by Antica, Canada’s largest private audio production company - https://www.anticaproductions.com/   Executive Producer: Stuart Coxe, CEO Antica Productions Senior Producer: Christina Campbell Editor: Kieran Lynch Producer: Nicole Edwards Associate Producer: Abhi Raheja

This is a sample of the Munk Members-Only Podcast. The 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 Member’s podcast explores three important stories in the news this week: Somber Olympics kicks off in Japan as the nation battle delta variant outbreak; why is the mood of this Olympics different from past summer games? Is it the lack of crowds? The strain of the pandemic on athletes? Or, a host nation that has bigger problems on its plate in the form of a the delta variant? – The Chinese government wipes out a trillion dollars of stock value off its high flying domestic tech companies with threats of new regulations; what is behind this move on the part of the Communist Party? Are we seeing the beginnings of the “splinternet” as China takes control of its tech titans to mold a made in Beijing global world wide web? – And, millions in Australia have strict lockdowns continued to suppress delta variant spread. Is this sign of the failure of Australia’s COVID zero policies? Or, can the spread of delta be stopped by punitive lockdown measures including calling out the military to enforce public health controls? We discuss it all. 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.

It’s been 125 years since the modern Olympics were founded in Athens, and this year will see a monumental first for the world’s biggest sporting competition: the inclusion of Laurel Hubbard, a transgender female athlete, in the women’s weightlifting competition. In 2015, the IOC issued guidelines that allow transgender athletes to compete as a woman if their testosterone levels are suppressed to predetermined level prior to competing. Scientific advisers to the IOC argue that hormone therapy is sufficient in creating a level playing field between transgender athletes and biological females. Trans women, they maintain, who have undergone estrogen therapy, do not possess a material athletic advantage over cisgender women. Critics of the current IOC policy argue that the suppression of testosterone does not mitigate many of the physical advantages gained by those who have gone through puberty as males - such as developing a bigger heart, more lung capacity, longer skeletal structures, etc. Separate sports categories for women and men were created to give female athletes the chance to compete against each other and win on approximately equal terms. Including transgender women in sports competitions like the Olympics is profoundly unfair to cisgender females and denigrates their hard work and sacrifice as elite athletes. Arguing for the motion is Joanna Harper, trans athlete, medical physicist, and adviser to the IOC on matters of gender and sport. Arguing against the motion is Gregory Brown, Professor of Exercise Science at University of Nebraska at Kearney. QUOTES: JOANNA HARPER “We need to be very careful when we make arguments that trans women athletes are displacing other women, because in a sociological sense they are indeed female." GREGORY BROWN “If you're going to compete, you should have a chance to win. Including a trans woman who runs 12% faster than a cisgender woman makes it very difficult for it to be a meaningful competition.” Sources: BBC, RNZ, Good Morning Britain, Fox News, 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/ The Munk Debates podcast is produced by Antica, Canada’s largest private audio production company - https://www.anticaproductions.com/   Executive Producer: Stuart Coxe, CEO Antica Productions Senior Producer: Ricki Gurwitz Editor: Kieran Lynch Associate Producer: Abhi Raheja

This is a sample of the Munk Members-Only Podcast. The 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 two big stories in the news this week: The Chinese ride hailing app DiDi finds itself in hot water with China’s communist government after it lists on U.S. stock exchange – Why is the Chinese government cracking down on domestic tech companies bent on attracting foreign capital? What does DiDi’s fate say about the future of big data in an era of growing great power competition been China and America?; On the heels of Biden-Putin summit which promised joint cooperation on ransomware attacks the US is hit twice in one week by cyber intrusions coming from Russia – How will the Biden administration respond? Are we on the verge of dangerous escalation of state originated cyber attacks?; and we conclude the program with a discussion of what these two stories say about the future of the Internet – Are we living through the disintegration of the World Wide Web as we know it? 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.