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 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 of 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.

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 outrage and attention from his followers 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?

This week's SCO summit in China projected a series of powerful images about the rise of China and the cleaving of the world into two power blocs. Putin, Xi, and Kim Jong Un watching the military parade at Tiananmen Square was a performance of a great power, as was Narendra Modi's public display of friendship with Xi and Putin. Donald Trump's treatment of US allies is turning away in-between countries and offering China a historic opportunity to step up to the plate. The world of the US is becoming a minority compared to the countries circling China's orbit. In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to Canada's upcoming federal budget and Mark Carney's bad messaging, as the PM warned of austerity followed by investment. In an economy that is slowing, will Carney wrack up more debt? Will these be investments, or expenditures? And does our Prime Minister have a real plan to get Canada back to a fiscal balance?

Rudyard and Andrew start the show talking about this week's China summit with 20 leaders of non-Western countries, including India, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Narendra Modi's public display of friendship with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin is a searing indictment of the Trump administration and his disastrous tariff policies. Andrew argues that while countries in the global south might not be our allies, they are still willing to work with us. If we lose India, many other countries of consequence will follow. Rudyard and Andrew then turn to Canada's defense priorities in this geopolitical turmoil. We are caught in between a dictatorship across the Arctic Ocean and an emerging dictatorship to the south. Do we need to start arming ourselves and seek out other allies to protect us from these threats? And will Trump become more dangerous abroad to distract from increasing opposition to him at home?

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 Trump's firing of CDC director Susan Monarez over disputes about vaccine policy, and the attempted dismissal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook in his bid to take control of the central bank and lower interest rates. In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin brazenly launched a major ballistic and drone attack in Kyiv killing almost two dozen people, only ten days after his summit in Anchorage with the US President. Is it time to call Trump's attempt at a deal a foreign policy failure? In the remaining moments of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to events in the Middle East where Israeli troops are entering Gaza City as the first phase of a planned occupation. Why are both sides so unwilling to accept a ceasefire deal? And why is Trump so focused on ending the war in Ukraine while ignoring the destruction in Gaza?

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.

In the past week alone there has been an FBI raid on John Bolton's home and a threat to investigate former New Jersey governor Chris Christie due to his criticism of Trump. Every day there are new indicators to suggest the US is rapidly descending into dictatorship, with the President using the power of his office for his own ends. How can Americans stop this momentum? Andrew and Rudyard then turn to Canada's ongoing trade war with the US. Mark Carney's repeated attempts at being a reasonable interlocutor engaging in good faith negotiations is met with provocation from the US President. Andrew suggests the PM try to manage chaos and stall for time instead of trying to reach a deal. This is a problem that shouldn't be solved; it should be managed. In the final moments of the show Andrew and Rudyard talk about Carney's visit to Ukraine and his offer to send Canadian troops as part of a future security guarantee. Is it time for Canada to accept its defense limitations and its inability to act as the peacemaker it has always aspired to be? Or should we welcome this offer as an opportunity to fulfill our long neglected NATO obligations?

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 open today's Friday Focus with the fallout from last week's Trump-Putin meeting and Monday's Zelensky visit to Washington. Putin is walking back from almost every concession he offered last week, essentially demanding that Ukraine be demilitarized without a pathway to NATO membership. This is a non-starter for Ukraine. How did we go from the bromance of Alaska back to the stalemate of February 2022 in the span of a week? It is becoming increasingly obvious that President Trump is not able or willing to do the serious work required to get a deal in place. In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to trade with the US. Why is Canada being singled out for particularly rough treatment? Carney is trying to reset negotiations by removing retaliatory tariffs because he knows that if CUSMA collapses, Canada will pay a heavy price. The PM pushed an elbows up narrative in order to win the election. He positioned himself as the defender of Canada against Trump's America. Is he able to back away from this narrative and do a deal that might make him look weak but protect Canada's economic interests?

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.

Rudyard and Andrew unpack the latest meeting between Trump, Zelensky and European leaders that seems to have yielded no real progress in resolving the war in Ukraine. Trump indicated a willingness to offer security guarantees, but if Ukraine isn't admitted into NATO, will an Article 5 type protection promise carry any weight? What did Trump promise Putin on Friday that scared European leaders to drop everything and fly in for this emergency meeting? And why can't everyone see that Trump - on every major point - is on the side of Russia? A phony peace agreement could put all of Europe at risk and influence China's calculation vis-a-vis Taiwan. And finally, why are world leaders - including Canada's Mark Carney - so willing to engage in false flattery of Trump at great cost to their own credibility?