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 podcast, Janice and Rudyard take on two stories in the news this week that made headlines. First up, Ukraine suffers brutal Russian missile attacks knocking out power, water and heating to millions as civilian deaths mount. Is it time for NATO to step up its involvement in the conflict in the face of Russia’s blatant war crimes and complete disregard for the safety and welfare of the Ukrainian population?

The donors-only second half of the program explores what Canadians have learned from a week of testimony by cabinet ministers into the government’s decision to implement the Emergencies Act to clear protesting “truckers” from Ottawa earlier this year. Was there an imminent national security risk? How are these decisions made in moments of crisis?

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.