The Munk Debates Podcast

Rudyard and Janice begin today's show unpacking Trump's increasingly erratic behaviour. A Truth Social post attacking Rob Reiner was followed by the Trump appointed board voting to add his name to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Topping this off was a video of a new hallway of portraits in the White House featuring past U.S. presidents and plaques with Trump's personal commentary of these l...

The full length edition of this week's' Friday Focus podcast is being made available to all paying and non-paying subscribers.

America's new national security strategy doctrine is getting a lot of attention and for good reason. Two main points stick out for Rudyard and Janice: the assumption that Europe is a civilization in decline, and that the western hemisphere belongs to the United States. Up until this point many of us accepte...

On this special podcast episode we are sharing the opening statements from the Munk Debate on the Two-State Solution which took place on December 3rd in front of an audience of 3,000 people at Toronto’s Meridian Hall.

The debate resolution was Be it resolved, it is in Israel’s interest to support a two-state solution

Arguing in favour of the resolution was former Israeli prime minister, finance minister, and mayor of Je...

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.

Chair Rudyard Griffiths and managing director Ricki Gurwitz start today's show with a bri...

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 the show with a preview of next Wednesday's mainstage Munk Debate on the two-state solution. What kind of arguments are they anticipating from both sides? How will this discussion resonate in Israel? And why did we feel this was the right time to convene this debate? ...

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. Go to www.munkdebates.com to sign up.

Rudyard and Andrew talk about this week's memorandum of understanding between Ottawa and Alberta that would provide premiere Danielle Smith with the approval to build a pipeline from Alberta, through BC, to west...

The full length edition of this week's' Friday Focus podcast is being made available to all paying and non-paying subscribers.

To sign up to watch the livestream of our upcoming December 3rd Munk Debate on the Two-State Solution, click here.

Rudyard and Janice unpack the leaked 28-point draft peace plan for Ukraine negotiated between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian counterpart Kirill Dmitriev. The deal requires Ukraine t...

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 fo...

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 firearm...

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 Yor...

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 yea...

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 ...

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 wh...

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:...

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 ...

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:...

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 aggr...

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 dedicate today's show to the monumental Gaza ceasefire deal which incl...

Rudyard and Andrew react to the deployment of U.S. National Guard troops to American cities, specifically guards from red states being sent into blue states. This is a watershed moment, speeding up America's worrying slide into authoritarianism. Is it fair to separate Trump's ego-driven action from his handlers like Stephen Miller and Russell Vought who have more concrete designs on America? And what are the chances there will be f...