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.

On this week's Friday Focus episode Janice joins Rudyard from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where Trump made his first state visit since taking office in January. Trump's next stop was to Qatar which came with news of a gift to the President from the small oil rich country: a $400 million dollar private jet for Air Force One, which comes on the heels of Eric Trump's $5.5 billion dollar development deal with Qatar (this is the same country that has been funding Hamas to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars). Next up on Trump's tour was the United Arab Emirates, which announced it will be using up to $2 billion in Trump's meme coin to fund a crypto exchange. The graft and bribery on display is like nothing we have witnessed before. As Janice points out, this is how Kleptocracies are born. In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to Israel and the release this week of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander. Janice believes Netanyahu is dragging on the war in Gaza to serve his own political interests even though 75% of Israelis want the war to end. It is becoming apparent that Donald Trump and Steve Witkoff are losing patience with Bibi and in the next few weeks we could see them force Netanyahu's hand to agree to a ceasefire. 

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 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.
On this week's Friday Focus episode Janice joins Rudyard from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where Trump made his first state visit since taking office in January. Trump's next stop was to Qatar which came with news of a gift to the President from the small oil rich country: a&nbsp;$400 million dollar private jet for Air Force One, which comes on the heels of Eric Trump's $5.5 billion dollar development deal with Qatar (this is the same country that has been funding Hamas to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars). Next up on Trump's tour was the United Arab Emirates, which announced it will be using up to $2 billion in Trump's meme coin to fund a crypto exchange. The graft and bribery on display is like nothing we have witnessed before. As Janice points out, this is how Kleptocracies are born. In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to Israel and the release this week of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander. Janice believes Netanyahu is dragging on the war in Gaza to serve his own political interests even though 75% of Israelis want&nbsp;the war to end. It is becoming apparent that Donald Trump and Steve Witkoff are losing patience with Bibi and in the next few weeks we could see them force Netanyahu's hand to agree to a ceasefire.&nbsp;
To support the Friday Focus podcast consider becoming a <a href="https://munkdebates.com/donate">donor</a>&nbsp;to the Munk Debates for as little as $25 annually, or&nbsp;$.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&nbsp;<a href="https://open.acast.com/shows/6008b82f0c8488532b25d16c/episodes/www.munkdebates.com">www.munkdebates.com</a>.

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

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