The Munk Debates Podcast

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.

Twenty years and counting. 800 billion dollars spent. Over 2,000 US service members killed. America, Canada and NATO’s longest war is finally coming to a close as troops begin to withdraw from their bases in Afghanistan this summer. While fully three quarters of Americans applaud President Biden’s decision to pull out ground troops completely, many security experts are sounding the alarm. Leaving Afghanistan without a secure national government and strong army in place, they warn, will almost certainly lead to a Taliban takeover, ethnic cleansing, mass slaughter, and the destabilization of a country that has long been a regional powder keg. It’s a risky move that would destroy the West's credibility as an ally at the very moment China is on the rise as a global player. Also, without a foreign military presence, the very real risk exists that Al-Qaeda will use the country again as a base to expand their recruitment and plan terror attacks against the US and its allies. Others see 20 years of fighting and little to show for it. The Taliban remains a major force in the country and controls more territory now than it did in 2001. Efforts to build up Afghan forces, install a stable government, and curb corruption ended in failure at great expense of blood and treasure. America, NATO and the West can no longer afford to be Afghanistan's policeman. It’s time to end a conflict that is no longer in the national interest. Arguing for the motion is Elliot Ackerman, former US Marine and intelligence officer and best-selling author of 2034: a novel of the next world order Arguing against the motion is Andrew Bacevich, President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, and author of After the Apocalypse, America’s Role in a World Transformed QUOTES: ELLIOT ACKERMAN “The current policy in which the US forfeits the entire enterprise is strategically ill-advised and nearsighted, particularly given current costs, which are relatively minor.” ANDREW BACEVICH “Afghans don't want to be occupied by foreign armies. Afghans want to be the masters of their own fate. I think we should allow them to exercise that privilege.” Sources: NBC, ABC, BBC, MSNBC, Democracy Now! 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 Member’s podcast explore three big issues in the news week: After two decades all foreign troops are being withdrawn from Afghanistan as Taliban forces surge toward Kabul – What did we learn from this war? What do we owe the people of Afghanistan including its women and girls? And, what is likely fate now of this perpetually war torn country?; Mass civil unrests grips Cuba and South Africa – Why are the protestors on the street? How is food inflation playing into increasing social instability in the developing world?; and the delta variant surges across Asia, Europe and the United States – How concerned should we be about this variant? To what extent could it imperil the reopening of our economies and return to something approaching “normal” this autumn? 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 is the worst humanitarian crisis since the Second World War. Over 300,000 dead in Syria. One and a half million injured or disabled. Four and a half million people fleeing the country as refugees. And Syria is just one of a growing number of failed or failing states in the Middle East and North Africa. How should developed nations respond to human suffering on this mass scale? Do the prosperous societies of the West, including Canada and the U.S., have a moral imperative to assist as many refugees as they reasonably and responsibly can? Or, is this a time for vigilance and restraint in the face a wave of mass migration that risks upending Western nations’ openness, tolerance and ultimately their very way of life? Arguing for the motion are Louise Arbour and Simon Schama Arguing against the motion are Mark Steyn and Nigel Farage 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 and Christina Stewart Campbell Editor: Kieran Lynch Associate Producer: Abhi Raheja