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, Janice and Rudyard look at the year that was. Who is the person who made the biggest difference in global affairs in the last twelve months? Which event will go down in history as a turning point in 2023? What surprised Janice and Rudyard this year? And what did they get right and wrong in their predictions and analysis as the year unfolded?
To access the 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.

Friday Focus: Year in Review

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The world “genocide” was first coined in the 1940s to describe the Nazi slaughter of millions of Jews. 
So it is in a sense surreal that the country created in the shadow of the Holocaust, Israel, is now accused of that same horrible crime. 
Those who argue that Israel is guilty of genocide in Gaza point to three of the five acts listed under the UN Genocide Convention: killing members of a group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of that group; and deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part. 
Israel and its allies strongly reject the accusation. They say the civilian casualties in Gaza are not an intentional act of genocide, but are an inevitable, if tragic, byproduct of war. And they stress that the war is the result of the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas, an organization that has often expressed a desire to exterminate Jews and expel them from the Holy Land – which itself would constitute genocide.
Arguing in favour of the resolution is Penny Green. She is the Director of the International State Crime Initiative at Queen Mary University of London. 
Arguing against the resolution is Arsen Ostrovsky. He’s a human rights attorney and CEO of The International Legal Forum. He is also a Senior Fellow at Misgav Institute.
SOURCES: KLKNTV, PBS NewsHour, Sky News Australia
To vote on who you think won this debate, go to our website www.munkdebates.com
 
The host of this Munk Debates podcast episode is Ricki Gurwitz
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 podcast@munkdebates.com.  
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 15+ 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
Producer: Daniel Kitts
Editor: Kieran Lynch

Be it Resolved, Israel is committing genocide in Gaza

Long-held notions of the role of government, trade and economic policy, foreign policy and immigration are being challenged by populist thinkers and movements. They argue that the government has been captured by an elite, college-educated class, and their policies benefit a privileged few while ignoring the needs of the middle and working class. Populist’s critics argue that the rising tide in anti-establishment thinking ignores the incredible progress in health care, education, and tech that has been realized under the governance of these intellectual elites. Populist anger, they warn, represents a grave threat to western democracy and the trusted institutions that paved the post-war path to peace and prosperity.
Arguing in favour of the resolution is Batya Ungar-Sargon, opinion editor of Newsweek and author of the new book Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America's Working Men and Women.
Arguing against the resolution is Joel Stein, journalist and author of In Defense of Elites.
SOURCES: radiowv, Charlie Rose
 
The host of the Munk Debates is Rudyard Griffiths 
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 podcast@munkdebates.com.  
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 15+ 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
Producer: Daniel Kitts
Editor: Kieran Lynch

Be it Resolved, the elites have betrayed America

For the protesters and their supporters, the pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations across the globe are part of a proud tradition of student activism that includes the anti-Vietnam War protests in the 1960s, and the calls to end South African Apartheid in the 1980s. And just as those past protests are now widely accepted to have been on the right side of history, today’s campus protesters are confident that history will prove their cause was just. 
Critics disagree. They say the protesters have often downplayed or made excuses for Hamas’ murderous attack on Oct. 7; that the demonstrators fail to consider the complexity of a conflict that cannot be simplified into simple binary terms; and that some of the protesters have indulged in violent and hateful rhetoric towards Israelis and Jews. 
 
Arguing in favour of the resolution is Ben Burgis. He’s a columnist with Jacobin and an adjunct philosophy professor at Rutgers University.
Arguing against the resolution is James Kirchick. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington. He’s also a columnist for Tablet magazine, and a writer at large for Air Mail.
SOURCES:
Columbia Jewish & Israeli Students, WPA Film Library, Getty Images, ABC 7 New York, The Hill. 
 
The host of the Munk Debates is Rudyard Griffiths.
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 podcast@munkdebates.com.  
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 15+ 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/
 
Executive Producer: Ricki Gurwitz
Senior Producer: Daniel Kitts
Editor: Kieran Lynch

Be it Resolved, campus protesters are on the right side of history.

University students across North America have set up encampments to protest Israel's war in Gaza. These demonstrations are well organized and supplied, with tents, signs, banners, meals, and educational workshops/ So how exactly are these demonstrations being funded?
One think tank has made it their mission to “follow the money” - so to speak. ISGAP, The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy - has uncovered that Qatar,  which is currently housing the senior leaders of Hamas, is the single largest foreign donor to American universities and is also sending money to Student for Justice in Palestine, the organization supporting pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Qatar has more than $500 billion dollars of assets in the United States.
Charles Asher Small, our guest on this Munk Dialogue, is the Executive Director of ISGAP and argues that Qatar - a small country which adheres to the ideology of the Muslim Brothers - is using soft power to influence western society, and especially our youth. 
 
 
The host of the Munk Debates is Rudyard Griffiths
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 podcast@munkdebates.com.  
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 15+ 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/
Executive Producer: Ricki Gurwitz
Senior Producer: Daniel Kitts
Editor: Kieran Lynch

Munk Dialogue with Charles Asher Small: Qatar's influence on campus protests

Iran’s missile and drone barrage at Israel earlier this month was the most brazen attack the Islamic Republic has ever conducted against the Jewish state. While Israel did respond with a limited strike, some say Israel should go further and destroy all of Iran’s nuclear facilities. The Islamic Republic doesn’t have nuclear weapons, but it has the material and know-how to put some together in a matter of weeks.
But attacking Iran’s nuclear installations comes with enormous risks: It would likely result in significant military retaliation by the Iranian government – something that could lead to a wider regional war that could draw in Israel’s allies in the west.
Arguing in favour of the resolution is Gadi Taub. He’s an Israeli historian, author, political commentator, and co-host of the popular Tablet Magazine podcast, Israel Update.
Arguing against the resolution is Trita Parsi. He’s the executive vice-president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. 
 
SOURCES:
Al Jazeera English, Times Radio, BBC News
The host of the Munk Debates is Rudyard Griffiths.
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 podcast@munkdebates.com.  
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 15+ 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/
 
Executive Producer: Ricki Gurwitz
Senior Producer: Daniel Kitts
Editor: Kieran Lynch

Friday Focus: Year in Review

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