On this special podcast episode we are sharing the opening statements from the Munk Debate on Trump’s America, which took place on May 29th in front of a sold out crowd of 3,000 people at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall.

The debate resolution was: Be it resolved, this is America’s golden age

Arguing in favour of the motion was the political consultant, pollster and senior counselor to President Trump during his first term in office, Kellyanne Conway. Her debate partner was the President of the right-wing think tank the Heritage Foundation, and the architect of Project 2025, Kevin D. Roberts.

Opposing the motion was the New York Times columnist, podcaster, bestselling author, and one of America’s most influential commentators, Ezra Klein. His debate partner was Ben Rhodes, who served as President Obama’s senior advisor and is the co-host of the popular podcast Pod Save the World.

To watch the full Munk Debate on Trump's America go to our website 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.

Rudyard and Janice start the show talking about the blowup of the bromance between Donald Trump and Elon Musk which took place in spectacular fashion over twitter. Was Elon's performance a genuine show of dismay at a congressional spending bill that flies in the face of all the cost cutting initiatives he was pursuing with DOGE? Or Is this a man having a nervous breakdown in public? And how will this breakup affect support from other tech billionaires and fracture the MAGA coalition? In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to the surprise Ukrainian drone attack that targeted Russian air bases hosting nuclear-capable strategic bombers thousands of km away from the border of Ukraine. What will Putin's response be to this brazen attack? How will the use of cheap weapons to destroy expensive weapons change the face of warfare? And finally, how will the loss of some of its military capacity affect Russia's war with Ukraine and its relationship with NATO?

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 welcomes back Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Coyne to talk about Mark Carney's early economic plan for Canada. Andrew suggests that the PM's vision is a mixture of centre right and centre left politics and mimics the language of Stephen Harper. Rudyard and Andrew then try to break down the reasons for Canada's stagnant growth and agree that we need more labour, more investment, and more innovation driven by competition. Talk then turns to this week's meeting between Canada's premiers which will focus on interprovincial trade: how might national unity suffer if trade barriers are dismantled? And why is the Prime Minister dragging his feet on this obvious made-in-Canada solution to Trump's tariff threat?

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 begin today's show by unpacking last night's sold out Munk Debate where Ezra Klein and Ben Rhodes debated Kevin Roberts and Kellyanne Conway about whether America has entered its golden age. It was a surprising show of civility between the debaters, and both Rudyard and Janice agree that a debate of this kind could not have taken place in the U.S. In the second half of the show they turn to the Middle East where Israel is hinting at a willingness to strike Iran's nuclear facilities against the wishes of the U.S. How will this impact ongoing nuclear negotiations between America and Iran? What role is Saudi Arabia playing in trying to prevent a war between these two rivals? And will Netanyahu go against Trump's explicit wishes, alienating its most important ally?

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 is joined once again by The Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Coyne to reflect on Mark Carney's bumpy first few weeks in office: delaying the spring budget, a chief of staff search coming up empty, and cabinet ministers going off message all point to a challenging start for Canada's newest Prime Minister. Rudyard and Andrew then turn to Canada's relationship with the US. Are we still in the crisis of our lifetime, as claimed by our political leaders during the election? Andrew argues that even if the immediate threat has subsided for now, the crisis helped us see that we are too exposed to a partner we can't depend upon. Leaders must seize on this moment of clarity by beefing up Canada's defense contributions and addressing interprovincial trade barriers.

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 the show with Donald Trump's Oval Office meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, where the US President accused his guest of genocide against white farmers. Was this an open display of racism in the White House? And why has the public reaction to this been so muted? Rudyard and Janice agree that Trump - right out of an authoritarian playbook - has created a permissive structure that allows for the breakdown of societal norms and civility. In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to Canada where Mark Carney released a statement with Keir Starmer and Emanuel Macron criticizing Israel's withholding humanitarian aid to Gaza and threatening consequences should Israel not change course. Most notable here is that the statement did not align with US policy, showing that Canada is moving away from America and building stronger relationships with European allies. And finally, Janice and Rudyard wonder: How are changing demographics within these countries - Canada, France, and the UK - informing policy towards Israel, Gaza, and Palestinian statehood?

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 $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 Israel-American hostage Edan Alexander. 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 increasingly apparent that Donald Trump and Steve Witkoff are losing patience with Bibi and in the next 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.

We are a long way from a fully functioning democracy, according to Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Coyne. That's the main argument in his new book, the Crisis of Canadian Democracy, in which Andrew points to the many ways our political system is broken: a dysfunctional parliament, MPs whose party loyalty is valued more than their constituents' concerns, and elections that reward regional interests at the expense of national unity. Andrew offers thoughtful and substantive solutions for how Canada can change course and make this country's democracy work for the citizens whom it is supposed to represent.

Find out how to purchase Andrew's book here.