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.

This week’s edition of Friday Focus analyses the sweeping victory of the new leader of Canada’s conservative party in its recent leadership race. What does Pierre Poilievre’s big win say about the future of Canadian politics, especially on the center-right? Has populism now firmly supplanted the older strains of conservatism that made up the conservative party in Canada? Given this trend seems to be happening in almost all western democracies, what does this mean for the future of democracy? Janice and Rudyard dig into it all and share their analysis and insights.

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 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.
This week’s edition of Friday Focus analyses the sweeping victory of the new leader of Canada’s conservative party in its recent leadership race. What does Pierre Poilievre’s big win say about the future of Canadian politics, especially on the center-right? Has populism now firmly supplanted the older strains of conservatism that made up the conservative party in Canada? Given this trend seems to be happening in almost all western democracies, what does this mean for the future of democracy? Janice and Rudyard dig into it all and share their analysis and insights.
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 Munk Debates podcast is an extension of the main stage events - in subject, speaker selection, tone and format. It will introduce the iconic brand - and its engaging debates about significant issues of our time. Audiences will hear strong and passionate arguments from both sides of an issue so they will have enough information to make up their own minds about where they stand.

The Munk Debates podcast is an extension of the main stage events - in subject, speaker selection, tone and format. It will introduce the iconic brand - and its engaging debates about significant issues of our time. Audiences will hear strong and passionate arguments from both sides of an issue so they will have enough information to make up their own minds about where they stand.

The Munk Debates Podcast

The Munk Debates Podcast is dedicated to convening civil and substantive debates and dialogues on the big issues of the day. 

 

The podcast is an extension of the charitable Munk Debates' commitment to pushing back against the political polarization and restoring the art of public debate in our time. For more information about the Munk Debates visit www.munkdebates.com/podcast

The Munk Debates Podcast is dedicated to convening civil and substantive debates and dialogues on the big issues of the day.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
The podcast is an extension of the charitable Munk Debates' commitment to pushing back against the political polarization and restoring the art of public debate in our time. For more information about the Munk Debates visit www.munkdebates.com/podcast

Munk Debates Podcast

Friday Focus: Democracy Debate

Become a Munk Donor ($50 annually) to get 72-hour advanced access to the full length editions of Friday Focus. Go to www.munkdebates.com to sign up.

This week, the U.S. President became a troll under a bridge, we learned AI is coming for our jobs, and America could be headed towards war with Iran. But amidst it all, a big story in Minnesota did not get the coverage it deserves: in a major retreat, the Trump administration is withdrawing significant numbers of ICE agents from the area. This story shows the importance of local people on the ground organizing and recording unseemly and unlawful behaviour for the public. Meanwhile there are musings that the President is considering pulling out of CUSMA negotiations as relations with Canada continue to decline and his behaviour gets more erratic. What will happen if he loses in the midterms? A defanged Trump is a more dangerous president than the version we are currently witnessing. In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice talk about the likelihood of the Liberals calling a spring election to seize on high poll numbers, presenting their case to Canadians as needing a national mandate as they enter into tough CUSMA negotiations. Rudyard and Janice suggest, however, that there is more going on behind the scenes that is driving Canada towards a snap election.

Become a Munk Donor ($50 annually) to get 72-hour advanced access to the full length editions of Friday Focus. Go to www.munkdebates.com to sign up.
This week, the U.S. President became a troll under a bridge, we learned AI is coming for our jobs, and America could be headed towards war with Iran. But amidst it all, a big story in Minnesota did not get the coverage it deserves: in a major retreat, the Trump administration is withdrawing significant numbers of ICE agents from the area. This story shows the importance of local people on the ground organizing and recording unseemly and unlawful behaviour for the public. Meanwhile there are musings that the President is considering pulling out of CUSMA negotiations as relations with Canada continue to decline and his behaviour gets more erratic. What will happen if he loses in the midterms? A defanged Trump is a more dangerous president than the version we are currently witnessing. In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice talk about the likelihood of the Liberals calling a spring election to seize on high poll numbers, presenting their case to Canadians as needing a national mandate as they enter into tough CUSMA negotiations. Rudyard and Janice suggest, however, that there is more going on behind the scenes that is driving Canada towards a snap election.

Friday Focus: Trump becomes more erratic as the midterms approach and why Canadians should anticipate a spring election

For 72-hour advanced access to the full-length editions of Munk Dialogues with Andrew Coyne consider becoming a donor to the Munk Debates for as little as $50 annually, or $1.00 per episode. Go to www.munkdebates.com to sign up.

Donald Trump is trying to claim that the new $6.4-billion bridge built between Windsor and Detroit - fully funded by Canada - should belong in part to the US. This is not just about a bridge, it's a commentary on the decline in US-Canada relations. Trump's bizarre Truth Social post also tries to delegitimize Canada as a vassal state of China and a threat to the United States. Trump is trying to destabilize Canada and all signs suggest he will attempt to use the leverage of CUSMA to impose all kinds of conditions on us as we enter into new trade negotiations. Andrew believes he is overstating his leverage and destroying the American trade position such that every traditional US trade partner is looking elsewhere to make deals. In the second half of the show Rudyard and Andrew turn to Canadian domestic politics and rumours that Mark Carney will call a spring election to shore up a majority government. Why would the Liberals want an election sooner than later? And can Carney get his majority without forcing Canadians to head to the polls?

For 72-hour advanced access to the full-length editions of Munk Dialogues with Andrew Coyne consider becoming a donor to the Munk Debates for as little as $50 annually, or&nbsp;$1.00 per episode. Go to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.munkdebates.com">www.munkdebates.com</a> to sign up.
Donald Trump is trying to claim that the new $6.4-billion bridge built between Windsor and Detroit&nbsp;- fully funded by Canada - should&nbsp;belong in part to the US. This is not just about a bridge, it's a commentary on the decline in US-Canada relations. Trump's bizarre Truth Social post also tries to delegitimize Canada as a vassal&nbsp;state of China and a threat to the United States. Trump is trying to destabilize Canada and all signs suggest he will attempt to use the leverage&nbsp;of CUSMA to impose all kinds of conditions on us as we enter into new trade negotiations. Andrew believes he is overstating his leverage and destroying the American trade position&nbsp;such that every traditional US trade partner is looking elsewhere to make deals. In the second half of the show Rudyard and Andrew turn to Canadian domestic politics and rumours that Mark Carney will call a spring election to shore up a majority government. Why would the Liberals want&nbsp;an election sooner than later? And can Carney get his majority without forcing Canadians to head to the polls?

Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne:  Trump demands half ownership of the Gordie Howe Bridge and will Carney call a spring election?

Become a Munk Donor ($50 annually) to get 72-hour advanced access to the full length editions of Friday Focus. Go to www.munkdebates.com to sign up.

Will the US go to war with Iran? Donald Trump is being taunted: if he backs down on his demand that Iran restrict its ballistic missiles program he will lose face in the Middle East. Janice believes that if Iran agrees to a deal that pauses its nuclear weapons program indefinitely Trump should take it and claim a big win. In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to the big finance news of the week, specifically the mass selloff in software stocks that wiped one trillion dollars from the stock market due to the release of new AI bots that can automate legal and financial services. How can software companies survive in this environment? Why was the market response to these AI bots so severe? This is a signal to how new technologies are coming for white collar jobs in a way that we can't even imagine. Are policymakers working on a response to how radical this job dislocation will be to our economy?

Become a Munk Donor ($50 annually) to get 72-hour advanced access to the full length editions of Friday Focus. Go to www.munkdebates.com to sign up.
Will the US go to war with Iran? Donald Trump is being taunted: if he backs down on his demand that Iran restrict its ballistic missiles program he will lose face in the Middle East. Janice believes that if Iran agrees to a deal that pauses its nuclear weapons program indefinitely Trump should take it and claim a big win. In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to the big finance news of the week, specifically the mass selloff in software stocks that wiped one trillion dollars from the stock market due to the release of new AI bots that can automate legal and financial services. How can software companies survive in this environment? Why was the market response to these AI bots so severe? This is a signal to how new technologies are coming for white collar jobs in a way that we can't even imagine. Are policymakers working on a response to how radical this job dislocation will be to our economy?

Friday Focus: Democracy Debate

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