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Rudyard and Andrew react to the explosion of anger in the U.S. over the killings in Minnesota by ICE agents. Is this the first time the U.S. President has had to respond to a public outcry and recalibrate his position? Andrew believes that the point of these ICE exercises has nothing to do with immigration reform. They are looking to provoke fear, anger, and terror in the population. Ultimately the responsibility rests with Trump: this is his policy, these are his people. In the back half of the show Rudyard and Andrew break down some of the big domestic developments from last week, specifically Mark Carney's Davos speech. Carney recognizes that Canada is at the centre of a geopolitical crisis. And while this has given him a boost in his personal approval ratings, he hasn't been able to convert that into support for the Liberal Party. Does Carney's Davos speech give us insight into how he will approach CUSMA negotiations?  Andrew believes we should not invest too heavily in the success of these talks, and it's time to develop policies to reduce the cost of walking away from trade with the U.S. 

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Rudyard and Janice begin the show with the remarkable-sized TACO Trump delivered this week, whipping the world into a frenzy over threats to take over Greenland. His tough talk turned into a whimper after a meeting with the NATO Secretary General and a framework of a deal that has not been accepted by European leaders. What happened behind closed doors that made Trump back down from these threats? How did the bond market play into this? Meanwhile Mark Carney's Davos speech was well received by the European elite, but what is his plan for Canada? How will he enact sweeping and fundamental change in this country that match the substance of his speech? In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice discuss an AI-generated video impersonating former UN Ambassador John Bolton discussing Mark Carney's China visit. The convincing video - which has been viewed over 180,000 times - is a reminder of how easily AI can be used by interference and influence campaigns by foreign governments. What if 2026 is the year we can't tell what's real and what's not? 

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President Trump refuses to rule out invading Greenland following revelations that his aggression towards the self-governing territory is a response to being denied the Nobel Peace Prize by Norway. We are now facing the very real possibility that the US will attack a NATO ally, putting everyone in a unique and untenable situation. Should the EU send troops to Greenland? As both a NATO member and a US neighbour Canada is faced with a serious dilemma. Andrew argues that we have to be an ally, and that means drawing a land in the snow and showing up for Greenland. It is now clear that NATO is hanging by a thread. What will be its successor? And what should we make of Trump's new 'Board of Peace' which critics believe is his attempt to undermine the United Nations? 

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Rudyard and Janice react to Mark Carney's trip to China this week and a dramatic shift away from Trudeau's hawkish doctrine which viewed China as an adversary. Carney understands that we are moving into a world where we will not be able to trade only with countries that share our values. Janice says this reset will allow Western Canada to resume their exports - mainly lobster, canola, and pork - to the Chinese market. But after years of being treated badly by China, should Canadians welcome this about face? In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to the U.S. and internal unrest over the killing of an American citizen by an ICE agent this week in Minnesota. Trump is threatening to enact the Insurrection Act which will give the government emergency powers and allow them to deploy the military to crush the protests without the consent of the governor or local police. This has been both a terrible week for the President and a frightening one for Americans who are concerned about their fundamental rights. What happens next will have huge implications for this fall's U.S. midterm elections. 

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Rudyard and Andrew react to the U.S. Justice Department's criminal investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell alleging he lied to congress about renovation construction costs. This administration is using trumped up charges and the instruments of the state to go after people they can't otherwise control. What makes Jerome Powell a more formidable opponent to Trump compared to others who have tried to stand up to the U.S. President in the past? In the second half of the show Rudyard and Andrew turn to Iran and the regime's brutal response to countrywide protests. What should we think of Trump's musings about intervening in this conflict? It has become fashionable to oppose any type of regime change following America's forever wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but if the West does not intervene, what will be the cost of human life in Iran and the region? 

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Rudyard and Janice begin today's show discussing the ongoing protests in Iran and whether they pose more of a threat to the regime than previous demonstrations. They also discuss the controversial killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minnesota, the Trump administration's gaslighting response, and the subsequent backlash from the American public. Will this tragic incident have an impact on immigration policy more broadly? In the second half of the show, Rudyard and Janice turn to Venezuela and the fallout from the U.S. attack and capture of President Nicolas Maduro. How seriously should we take Trump's imperialist rhetoric regarding Cuba, Colombia, and Greenland? Does this signal a new age of rank colonialism? And is this the end of the international rules-based world order as we know it? 

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Rudyard and Janice begin today’s show discussing the ongoing protests in Iran and whether they pose more of a threat to the regime than previous demonstrations. They also discuss the controversial killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minnesota, the Trump administration's gaslighting response, and the subsequent backlash from the American public. Will this tragic incident have an impact on immigration policy more broadly? In the second half of the show, Rudyard and Janice turn to Venezuela and the fallout from the U.S. attack and capture of President Nicolás Maduro. How seriously should we take Trump's imperialist rhetoric regarding Cuba, Colombia, and Greenland? Does this signal a new age of rank colonialism? And is this the end of the international rules-based world order as we know it? 

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

Rudyard and Andrew react to Trump's 2025 national security doctrine being put into action this past weekend with the US military operation in Venezuela and the abduction of its president Nicolas Maduro. Both hosts agree this was not about restoring democracy. Trump's use of hard power while dismantling the country's soft power and sources of genuine American strength is a backward, simplistic and adolescent view of American power. It is a foreign policy that supposes the 19th century great power competition model is most conducive to American interests. Rudyard and Andrew unpack different public reactions to this military raid - specifically from the leaders of Mexico and Denmark - and explain why it is in Canada's interest to draw a line in the sand and stand firmly against our southern neighbour. In the final moments of the show they discuss Pierre Poilievre's political future as he continues to trail in the polls behind Mark Carney. Will his lack of discipline and vocal support of Trump's military raid hurt his leadership aspirations? 

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The full length edition of this special Friday Focus episode is being made available to all paying and non-paying subscribers.

In this special emergency episode Rudyard and Janice unpack the stunning US invasion of Venezuela and abduction and arrest of its President Nicolas Maduro. Trump's statement that the US would "run" Venezuela for some indeterminate period of time gave little to no indication of a planned transition or a commitment to a democratic outcome. Was Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, the country's new leader, part of a deal with the US prior to Maduro's extraction? If so, the US now has a client regime in Venezuela signalling that the world is indeed returning to a system of spheres of influence. Does Putin now own Eastern Europe? Can Xi Jinping do what he wants in Taiwan? This one abduction could be the green light Russia and China have been waiting for and thus has huge global implications. Meanwhile every leader in the western hemisphere who opposes Trump is now worried about the possibility of being taken in the middle of the night. 

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Become a Munk Donor ($50 annually) to watch and listen to full episodes of Friday Focus with Janice Stein. Your donor membership comes with other great perks like access to the videos of our main stage debates and full length episodes of our weekly podcasts with Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Coyne.

Rudyard and Janice open today's Friday Focus with Russia's allegation of a Ukraine drone attack on Putin which took momentum away from Zelensky's attempts to negotiate an end to the war. Why does Putin have a hold over Trump? Does this have anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein? In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to Iran and growing domestic unrest that has spread beyond the streets of Tehran. In a surprising move the President of Iran has said he wants to speak with the protesters and suggested that the government has failed to meet the needs of its citizens. In the long history of this regime, no president has talked this way so openly. Their currency is in free fall, there is a weakened supreme leader and deepening divisions among the political elite. Will the Revolutionary Guards be ordered to take to the streets and brutally suppress these protests like they have done in the past? Or will this time prove different?

This podcast is a project of the Munk Debates, a Canadian charitable organization dedicated to fostering civil and substantive public dialogue.

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Become a Munk Donor ($50 annually) to get 72-hour advanced access to the full length editions of Friday Focus and Munk Dialogues. Go to www.munkdebates.com to sign up.

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