The Munk Debates Podcast

Friday Focus: Trump's warning to European countries, and what Canada should learn from their mistakes

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. Rudyard and Janice start today's show with Trump's address at the UN General Assembly this week where he warned European countries that they are "going to hell" due to mass migration. While citizens rightfully expect their governments to protect their borders, we can't ignore the fact that we in the West need immigrants for economic growth and low skilled labour that is not being filled by native populations. The test for any government is how they manage immigration to benefit their societies instead of destabilizing them. Is Canada better at integrating newcomers than European countries? Rudyard and Janice agree that if we aren't careful about the pace of change in society and manage our ability to welcome large numbers of newcomers we could end up with a hard right populist movement, the kind we are seeing sweep through Europe and parts of the U.S. A sense of shared history, tradition, culture, and community is required to keep people grounded and populist politics at bay. To support 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.

Carney's Palestinian statehood recognition comes without conditions and the powerful companies benefiting from Trump's authoritarianism

What should we make of Canada's formal recognition of Palestinian statehood at the UN? What happened to the conditions the government had originally tied to this recognition? Andrew believes the Carney administration is both trying to send a signal to the ascending Israeli right and join a broader coalition with the other countries - Britain, the UK, and Australia - who lead the way on this initiative. But given the fact that Mahmoud Abbas has presided over a corrupt PA for over 20 years, without elections, is this recognition of statehood simply kabuki theatre? And how is Canada's statement on this issue affecting how activists protest here in Canada? In the second half of the show Rudyard and Andrew turn to the ongoing saga that is the Trump presidency and his public threat this week to go after political enemies. But America's descent into authoritarianism cannot be blamed solely on the US President; there are a number of incredibly powerful companies, individuals, and advisors whose support of Trump has been rewarded with a concentration of wealth and political power that is handicapping the country's ability to function as a healthy democracy. Click here to purchase Andrew’s new bestselling book, The Crisis of Canadian Democracy.

Friday Focus: ABC capitulates to Trump and what to expect in Canada's upcoming federal budget

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. Rudyard and Janice start today's show with the big news story of the week: the capitulation of ABC to the Trump administration, suspending the Jimmy Kimmel Show indefinitely in response to his somewhat innocuous remarks about Charlie Kirk's assasination. Trump is continuing to attack institutions that are integral to the functioning of democracies, and forcing other, smaller organizations to adopt an attitude of anticipatory compliance. This is no longer a question of the US backsliding into authoritarianism; it is already there. In the second half of the show Janice and Rudyard turn to Canada's upcoming federal budget and rumours of a very large projected deficit, coupled with confused messaging about a commitment to austerity and investment. Is the Carney government up to the task of restructuring our economy - and making bold policy changes - to prepare us for the future? To support 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.

Friday Focus: Charlie Kirk's assassination points to a democracy in trouble and a debate about Israel's strike in Qatar

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. Rudyard and Janice discuss the social and political fallout from right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk's assassination. What does the country's online reaction reveal about the state of American culture and democracy? We are living in a climate of heated language which is becoming more and more violent. All signs point to a democracy in trouble. In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to Israel's strike this week on Hamas officials in Qatar. Janice argues that the attack was a massive misstep damaging the credibility of Trump who had given his word to Qatar that they would be protected. Netanyahu approved this strike against the advice of his senior military team, knowing it would infuriate his last and most supportive ally, Donald Trump. Rudyard disagrees with Janice's take, making the case that Israel had every right to strike Hamas in Doha. Why is Qatar - one of the largest funders of terrorism in the world, including Hamas - not a legitimate target? And finally, how does this week's events affect the plight of the remaining Israeli hostages? To support 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.

Trump is stuck in a dangerous spiral feedback loop and Rudyard and Andrew debate Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker program

Donald Trump's AI image to threaten "war" on the city of Chicago is further evidence that he is stuck in a spiral feedback loop with his followers, in which he has to get more outrageous to keep generating shock and attention from his supporters and the media. This will lead to a long term deterioration of the standards of public life, legitimizing corruption and cruelty unbound by constraints. Rudyard and Andrew then turn to the upcoming Canadian federal budget. They both agree bold policy changes are needed, including tax and competition reform, to reverse years of slow growth and address the future cost of caring for aging boomers. Andrew offers some new fiscal policy ideas that could help turn things around. In the final moments of the show Rudyard and Andrew debate the backlash to the Temporary Foreign Workers program. What is the difference between bringing in foreign workers and outsourcing production to developing countries? Are we just replacing local labour with cheap, imported labour? And is this program to blame for high unemployment rates among young Canadians?