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 edition of the Friday Focus podcast, Janice and Rudyard start the show with a discussion of the ongoing political fallout around former Governor General David Johnston’s report on Chinese interference in Canadian democracy and his recommendation not to hold a public inquiry. With Parliament’s censure this week of Johnston, are his days as the Prime Minister’s “special rapporteur” numbered? What are the implications for Canada’s democratic institutions, including the office of the Governor General, if he continues in his role? The second half of the program looks at the economic news that has dominated headlines the last week. New inflation numbers suggest higher prices are persisting despite interest rate hikes. Is it time for central banks to come off their self-declared “pause” and push forward with more rate increases? And, if they don’t, what are the risks that we are repeating the inflation-fighting missteps of the 1970s? 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.

In November 2022, substack journalist Matt Taibbi joined us on stage for our Munk Debate on Mainstream Media. Matt and his debate partner, political commentator Douglas Murray, argued in favour of the resolution, Be it resolved, don’t trust mainstream media, against best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell and New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg (Matt and Douglas won a decisive victory, it was the biggest voter swing in Munk Debate history). Right after the debate, Matt got on a plane to San Francisco, where he went directly to Twitter’s head office to meet with its new CEO, Elon Musk. What came next was perhaps the biggest news story to close out 2022: the release of the twitter files, which exposed content moderation decisions at the social media company, often at the behest of politicians and government agencies. What followed was a tumultuous few months for Matt which included testifying before congress, a house visit from the IRS, a public fallout with Musk, and the end of his reporting on twitter. On this episode of the Munk Debates Podcast, we're joined by Matt Taibbi for an in depth chat about his life post-debate, why his reporting on the twitter files came to an end, and how growing distrust in the mainstream media could affect the 2024 US election cycle.   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 [email protected]   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/   Senior Producer: Ricki Gurwitz Editor: Kieran Lynch

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 is dedicated to analyzing the fallout from former Governor General David Johnston’s report on Chinese interference into Canadian democracy and his recommendation not to call for an independent public inquiry. Janice and Rudyard assess the decision, it’s reasoning and debate what is ultimately in the public’s interest when it comes to restoring public confidence.   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 no secret that both China and the US are preparing for war. Some American military experts think that an armed conflict between the two superpowers is inevitable and could begin as early as 2025. And while there is a general consensus among Americans that the US should defend Taiwan from Chinese aggression, there is also widespread disagreement about whether the US government should make a public commitment to do so. Some foreign policy experts argue that strategic ambiguity will signal that an invasion will be met by a weak response, thus bolstering China’s resolve to attack. Strategic clarity in the form of a pledge to defend Taiwan would intimidate Xi Jinping, deter his re-unification ambitions, and send a strong message of support to allies in the region. Other analysts say that a security guarantee by the US could force Xi’s hand and lead to a military conflict that would have otherwise never come to pass. The US should focus on deterring China from attacking Taiwan without resorting to military commitments that could spiral into a long, protracted and devastating war with a rising superpower. Arguing for the motion is David Sacks, Research Fellow at Council on Foreign Relations, where he specializes in U.S.-China relations Arguing against the motion is Michael Mazarr, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. He previously served as a special assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.   SOURCES: CBS, CNN, ABC, China Policy Research   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 [email protected]   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/   Senior Producer: Ricki Gurwitz Editor: Kieran Lynch

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.  The following is a sample of the Munk Debates’ weekly current affairs podcast, Friday Focus. On this week’s edition of the Friday Focus podcast, Janice and Rudyard start the show with a discussion of the billions currently being spent by governments in North America to subsidize companies involved in the electrification of the economy. Do these subsidies work? What are the tradeoffs? And, can we continue to afford generous cash transfers of public funds to private enterprises? The second half of the program looks at the different countries vying to lead on a peace deal for the Ukraine War. What exactly is going on here? Do any of these countries and any one specific plan have a chance to end the war? How are Russia and Ukraine likely to be ultimately brought to the peace table, and when? To access full-length editions of 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.