The Munk Debates Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The MAGA coalition is coming apart and Mark Carney's government underwhelms voters Nov 19, 2025

Show notes

To listen to the full episode consider becoming a donor to the Munk Debates for as little as $50 annually, or $1.00 per episode. Canadian donors receive a charitable tax receipt.

Rudyard and Andrew talk about the MAGA coalition fracture over an upcoming vote to release the Epstein files. Cracks have already surfaced over Ukraine and tariffs, but so far no one has been willing to publicly criticize Trump. Why is this the red line for the President's supporters? Internal divisions over Nick Fuentes and Tucker Carlson are further sowing the seeds of discontent inside the GOP. In the second half of the show Rudyard and Andrew turn to the Canadian federal budget which passed this week without serious opposition from the other parties. Andrew gives his take on where the parties stand: Will the NDP vote for far left politician Avi Lewis as their next leader? Will Pierre Poilievre get enough support in his upcoming leadership review? And can Mark Carney build bridges with Alberta's Premier Danielle Smith and start delivering real results to voters after a long grace period?

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Friday Focus: The Canadian military's shocking plan to train civil servants and will new Epstein revelations affect Trump's hold over the Republican Party? Nov 14, 2025

Show notes

To find out how to purchase tickets to the Munk Debate on the Two-State Solution (or to access the livestream) go to www.munkdebates.com

To access a 50% discount on tickets for those under 25 become a Munk Donor, Supporter, or Curator

Rudyard and Janice begin the show with a Canadian news story that is almost too crazy to be believed: the Chief of the Defence Staff giving a directive to train civil servants on how to handle firearms, drive trucks and fly drones in a bid to ramp up military service. Is it a good idea to give firearms training to government workers? What does this say about how unprepared and unserious we are about protecting our borders? And is there a case to be made that now is the right time to introduce mandatory national service in Canada? In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to the Epstein files and a release of documents with new revelations about the close connection between Epstein and President Trump. The documents also surfaced other prominent names including Peter Mendalson and Larry Summers. Why do these powerful and influential people think the rules don't apply to them? Will the revelations about Trump's closeness to Epstein loosen his iron grip over the Republican Party? And finally, should the President's downward trajectory and weakened support influence how we in Canada engage in trade negotiations with the U.S.?

To support the Friday Focus podcast consider becoming a donor to the Munk Debates for as little as $50 annually, or $1.00 per episode. Canadian donors receive a charitable tax receipt.

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Friday Focus: Important lessons from Mamdani's victory and a U.S. government shutdown holds the public hostage Nov 07, 2025

Show notes

This special episode of Friday Focus was recorded in front of a live audience at the Hot Docs Curious Minds Festival and the full length edition being made available to all paying and non-paying subscribers

To find out how to purchase tickets to the Munk Debate on the Two-State Solution (or to access the livestream) go to www.munkdebates.com

Rudyard and Janice start today's show unpacking Zohran Mamdani's mayoral victory in New York City. How did this young and inexperienced politician build such a broad coalition? What is the message we should take away from his big win? Janice argues that this race is not the only one that matters; Democratic wins in Virginia and New Jersey with more moderate candidates offer an important lesson that in order to win you need a big tent with a wide variety of voices. What role did technology play in these elections, and should we be worried about how it is affecting the democratic process? Rudyard and Janice then turn to the US government shutdown which is being weaponized by both parties. Unfortunately neither side will negotiate without concessions and the public is being held hostage. In the remaining moments Rudyard and Janice offer their analysis of Mark Carney's first federal budget as Prime Minister. Both agree that the budget did not live up to expectations; the government needed to make some big cuts and ask Canadians to sacrifice to get our economy back on track. As Janice puts it, the biggest problem we have in this country is we think being nice is the most important value. It's not.

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.

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An uninspiring budget and Carney's government inches closer to a majority Nov 06, 2025

Show notes

To listen to the full episode 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.

After weeks of hype Mark Carney's government presented a disappointing traditional Liberal big spending budget. While there are incremental measures to promote economic growth, they are not in the order of what this country needs, and in a few years we are going to be borrowing money just to pay the interest on our debt. Andrew offers a charitable take: we are in an immediate crisis, and Mark Carney decided to implement an interventionist budget in the short term to ride out the Trump craziness. Regardless, this was a missed opportunity to introduce radical tax and competition reform that is badly needed to jumpstart our economy. In the second half of the show Rudyard and Andrew assess the political fallout from the budget, specifically a Conservative MP crossing the floor to the Liberals and rumours that others are set to follow suit. Could Mark Carney soon have a majority government? And why are MPs not talking to their constituents before crossing party lines?

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Friday Focus: Munk Debate on the Two-State Solution and China's chokehold on the U.S. Oct 31, 2025

Show notes

To find out how to purchase tickets to the Munk Debate on the Two-State Solution (or to access the livestream) go to www.munkdebates.com

Rudyard and Janice preview our upcoming 2025 autumn mainstage Munk Debate on the Two-State Solution taking place on December 3rd in Toronto. What can we expect from the team of Ehud Olmert and Tzipi Livni, who believe Israel's future depends on pursuing two states for two peoples? Can the team of Ayelet Shaked and Micheal Oren make a compelling case that it is in Israel's best interest not to pursue this path? Rudyard explains how and why we landed on this debate and these speakers. In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to Chinese-American relations following Trump's trade meeting this week with Xi Jinping. The US backed down on a range of tariff threats and most importantly on high tech exports to China. Why did Trump agree to this? There is a codependency between these two superpowers that will only break when either China is able to manufacture advanced AI chips or the US breaks China's monopoly on critical rare earth minerals. Does Trump have the patience and resolve to stay the course? And how should Canada pursue its own trade relationship with China in order to protect our interests and specifically the struggling auto sector?

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.

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trump's trade tantrum and will Mark Carney's first federal budget meet the moment? Oct 28, 2025

Show notes

To listen to the full episode 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.

Rudyard and Andrew try to make sense of the Canada-US trade chaos of the past 72 hours. Andrew offers two interpretations: either Trump was looking for a reason to walk away from the table as a negotiating ploy, or he is a genuinely needy child who cannot tolerate criticism. Canada is not the unreasonable party here. Is there a point to negotiating at all if we can't have confidence that the agreement will be respected? Trump is ratcheting up turmoil on a weekly basis to the point where the public is being numbed into submission. What will happen if the U.S. Supreme Court strips Trump of his trade powers? Rudyard and Andrew then turn to the upcoming Canadian federal budget. What are Mark Carney's priorities? As the leader of a minority government will he attempt the bold action required to address our productivity and trade crisis? And if he fails, are we headed for a spring election?

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Friday Focus: Trump cancels trade talks with Canada and targets Russia with sanctions Oct 24, 2025

Show notes

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 the show with the big news stories coming out of Gaza this week: the public executions Hamas is conducting in the Gaza strip in order to terrorize and intimidate civilians, and the Israeli government's growing concern that Hamas is breaking the ceasefire deal by not returning all of the dead hostages as agreed upon. How will rival Gaza clans thwart Hamas's attempt to cling to power? Could Gaza be on the verge of a civil war? How fast can you get a rudimentary police force to make Hamas pull back? And perhaps most importantly, who would want to go in there? Janice is optimistic that this time, at least, the Arab world is taking ownership over this problem in a way they never have before. In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to an important phone call that took place this week between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin just ahead of Zelensky's visit today to Washington, where the Ukrainian President intends to make the case for long-range Tomahawk missiles to hit targets deep inside Russia. The transfer of these weapons, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned this week, could lead to nuclear war. Meanwhile, Europeans have never been more scared, interpreting Russia's drone excursions into NATO territory as preparation for a larger war with the continent. Are weak European governments using the bogeyman of Russia to rally their public to distract from domestic problems and rising populism? Everybody is rolling the dice here, and when you do that there is always a chance that someone will miscalculate, and everyone will pay the heavy price.

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.

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Putin's hold over Trump and Pierre Poilievre makes a stunning accusation Oct 21, 2025

Show notes

To listen to the full episode 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.

Rudyard and Andrew begin with the war in Ukraine and Trump denying Zelensky's request for Tomahawk long range missiles. Russia has suffered mass casualties - more than 400,000 dead and many more wounded - and shows no signs of weakening Ukraine's resolve, and yet all it takes is one phone call from Putin for Trump to reverse track and breathe new life into Russia's war effort. Trump's fickle support begs an important question: What can we do to strengthen ties with allies and even adversaries to protect ourselves from instability south of the border? In the second half of the show Rudyard and Andrew turn to a bombshell accusation from Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre that the RCMP covered up crimes committed by Justin Trudeau. This is an irresponsible accusation that suggests Poilievre is not leadership material. And while his behaviour plays well to the party's base, it spooks moderate Conservatives. How can any leader straddle this cultural divide?

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Friday Focus: Hamas's public executions and Zelensky presses Trump for Tomahawk missiles Oct 17, 2025

Show notes

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.

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trump's Middle East diplomacy and why Canada should re-evaluate its auto sector subsidies Oct 16, 2025

Show notes

To listen to the full episode 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.

Should Donald Trump win the Nobel Peace Prize? Andrew thinks we should wait to see how this ceasefire unfolds before heaping praise on the US President. The current cessation of hostilities has more to do with Netanyahu and Israel's extremely aggressive war policy that has redrawn the map in the Middle East. Does Trump's brand of diplomacy work better in that part of the world? Or did Trump have the benefit of coming after Biden and two years of fighting that exhausted both sides? And finally has the media been fair in their overall coverage of Trump since he started his second term? In the second half of the show Rudyard and Andrew turn to ongoing trade negotiations between the US and Canada, and specifically Trump's hostility towards our auto industry. Is it time to let the sector go instead of pouring millions of dollars of subsidies into propping it up? Do we put tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to protect our industry? And why aren't we supporting industries that are not subsidized and excelling on their own in the new economy? Rudyard and Andrew agree that trade has now become intermingled with climate change and security issues, and we need to take those factors into account as we negotiate new agreements for Canada.

This podcast is a project of the Munk Debates, a Canadian charitable organization dedicated to fostering civil and substantive public dialogue.

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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