The Munk Debates Podcast
Munk Foundation / iHeartRadio
300 episodes
The Munk Debate podcasts is home to two of the most popular Canadian current affairs podcasts: Friday Focus with Janice Gross Stein and Munk Dialogues with Andrew Coyne
More about the show
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Episodes page 1 of 6
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Friday Focus: developed democracies are in crisis and the dangerous power of Elon Musk
Rudyard and Janice survey a world in turmoil, from protests across Europe and rising oil prices to Starshield disruptions in Ukraine and signs of possible renewed U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran. Are developed…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: France’s unrest and the West’s growth problem
Rudyard and Andrew examine the social unrest sweeping across France. Andrew argues that while protest is deeply embedded in French political culture, the current wave of demonstrations is being fuelled by political…
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Friday Focus: Trump tilts the war in Putin's favour and the growing threat of rogue AI
Rudyard and Janice begin today’s show with Russia and Ukraine exchanging strikes following a brief, Trump-brokered energy ceasefire that lasted just 48 hours. Is Zelensky’s open defiance of Trump connected to Starlink…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Trump's gift to Putin and Alberta's grievance referendum
Andrew and Rudyard begin today’s show with Trump’s decision to waive sanctions on Russian diesel in an effort to bring down fuel prices ahead of the midterms. Trump is once again putting Putin’s interests ahead of…
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Friday Focus: Iran on the brink and the politicization of the Nobel Peace Prize
Rudyard and Janice begin today’s show with Trump’s mixed messaging on Iran. While Trump has suggested that military action may be delayed until after the midterms, reports indicate that the U.S. military is preparing…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Canada’s separatist moment
Rudyard and Andrew focus today’s show on the separatist movements gaining traction across Canada. Quebec voters appear poised to elect a separatist government, potentially setting the stage for another referendum in…
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Friday Focus: Trump's pre-midterm warning to Tehran and Israel's high-stakes election
Rudyard and Janice begin today’s show with news that the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier is being deployed to the Middle East and the signal this is sending to Iran and the region. With Tehran facing a blockade…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Is Mark Carney governing like a Conservative?
What can we expect from a make-or-break federal budget delivered in the middle of a trade war? Rudyard and Andrew look at the growing appetite in the business community for broad tax reform—and ask whether now is the…
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Friday Focus: the danger of Canada’s “war” rhetoric
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he studied the possibility of U.S.-led military action against Canada in an hour-long interview with The New York Times. Meanwhile, politicians across Canada—from Doug Ford to Carney and…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Is Carney’s momentum pointing to a spring election?
Parliament opened yesterday with the PM determined to keep his momentum going: a labour reform bill and a major liberalization of project permitting, including for pipelines. What happened to the Trudeau-era Liberals…
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Friday Focus: Trump's latest threats carry no weight and AI leaders sound the alarm
Trump says he is weighing whether to "annihilate" Iran next week. Is this another empty threat? We have reached a point where it is increasingly difficult to know how much weight to put behind his threats. The bond…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Carney opens Canada for business and courts a new European alliance
Andrew and Rudyard begin with several important announcements from Carney’s investment summit, including a cut to the marginal effective tax rate on new investment and the opening of Canada’s airports to private…
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Friday Focus: Canada's trade war heats up and the Iranians escalate to de-escalate
Friday Focus returns from its summer hiatus to unpack two major geopolitical flashpoints. First, the trade war with the United States—and its consequences. There has been a narrowing of the debate around Carney's…
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Be it resolved, religion is a force for good in the world
On this special edition of the Munk Debates podcast, we’re revisiting one of the classic debates from the series’ 18-year history: the Munk Debate on Religion, held in 2010 before a sold-out crowd of 3,000 at Toronto’s…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Is Canada prepared for the long fight?
Rudyard and Andrew unpack a consequential week in the Canada-U.S. trade war, from Trump’s increasingly erratic and provocative behaviour—including the absurd renaming of Lake Ontario—to his apparent preference for…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Carney walks away from Trump and turns his Davos speech into action
Rudyard and Andrew react to the intensifying Canada-U.S. trade war. Trump is threatening additional tariffs starting January 1, and it’s increasingly clear he was intent on escalating regardless of whether or not…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: how far is Carney willing to bend for Trump?
Rudyard and Andrew unpack leaks from ongoing U.S.-Canada trade talks, which are focused only on the immediate threat of 50% tariffs on Canadian goods rather than negotiating a long-term deal. Even if Canada averts some…
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Be it resolved, anti-Zionism is antisemitism
On this special edition of the Munk Debates podcast we are sharing the full Munk Debate on anti-Zionism, which took place in June 2024 in front of a sold out crowd of 3,000 people at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall. The…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: the Canada-US trade deadline looms and Iran calls Trump's bluff
August 19 is fast approaching, and despite efforts to reach a deal, there is a real possibility that negotiations could collapse altogether. Do Canadian concessions actually reduce threats from Trump, or simply invite…
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Be it Resolved, let’s engineer better human beings
This special episode features the Munk Debate on the Gene Editing, held before a live audience of 800 students and faculty at Deerfield Academy in April 2026. Arguing in favour of the motion was the biophysicist,…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Carney considers concessions to Trump as U.S. power wanes abroad
What is the point of negotiating with Donald Trump when experience suggests that agreements may not be binding, concessions may not be reciprocal, and terms may not be honoured? Reports now suggest the Canadian…
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Be it Resolved, liberalism gets the big questions right
This special episode features the full Munk Debate on the Crisis of Liberalism, held before a live audience of 3,000 at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall in November 2023. Arguing for the motion was the controversial British…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Canada's two competing priorities and the new U.S. Fed Chair signals compliance to Trump
Andrew and Rudyard open the show by examining the competing priorities confronting Prime Minister Carney's government. On one hand is the immediate geopolitical imperative: reducing Canada's dependence on a U.S.…
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Be it Resolved, don't trust mainstream media
This special episode features the full Munk Debate on Mainstream Media, held before a live audience of 3,000 at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall in the fall of 2022. Arguing for the resolution Be it Resolved, don't trust…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Trump doubles down on the Iran war and tariffs, and an AI model escapes the lab
Rudyard and Andrew begin by unpacking the latest escalation in the U.S.–Iran conflict. Andrew argues that Trump cannot simply walk away if he wants to prevent Iran from gaining leverage over the global economy—but…
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Be it Resolved, this is America's golden age
This special episode features the full Munk Debate on Trump's America, held before a live audience of 3,000 at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall in May 2025. The debate resolution was: Be it Resolved, this is America's…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Trump undermines his own party and the crisis of Canadian conservatism
Rudyard and Andrew unpack President Trump's speech last night, in which he cast doubt on the integrity of U.S. elections and alleged foreign interference ahead of the midterms. Will this strategy backfire by depressing…
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Be it Resolved the capitalist system is broken, it's time to try something different
This special episode features the full Munk Debate on Capitalism, held before a live audience of 3,000 at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall in November 2019. The debate resolution was: Be it Resolved the capitalist system is…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: the Iran-U.S. ceasefire unravels and Alberta pulls ahead while Ontario and Quebec fall behind
What should we make of this week's NATO summit in Ankara? If it doesn't end with the U.S. withdrawing from NATO, should it be considered a success? Meanwhile, the U.S. and Iran resumed strikes just weeks after signing…
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Be it resolved, it is in Israel’s interest to support a two-state solution
This special episode features the full Munk Debate on the Two-State Solution, held before a live audience of 3,000 at Toronto's Meridian Hall in December 2025. The debate resolution was: Be it resolved, it is in…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: The American Experiment at 250 and Canada's pipeline gamble
What would America's Founding Fathers make of the state of U.S. politics as the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of its independence? The constitutional rules they established to guide the republic and safeguard…
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Friday Focus: Iran tests America's resolve and anti-Zionism becomes a winning strategy in New York
Programming note: Friday Focus will be taking a summer break. We will be back with new episodes starting September 11 (and, of course, if any serious news breaks over the summer!). Janice and Rudyard begin by…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Trump loses his bargaining power and has Mark Carney's “elbows up” promise delivered?
Iranians appear to be enjoying maximum leverage over the Trump administration. The argument goes that Trump had to act as he did to avoid severe risks to the global economy—an outcome that raises questions about the…
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Friday Focus: Iran flexes its leverage and Ukraine goes on the attack
Janice and Rudyard unpack another wild week in global affairs, beginning with news of heavy Israeli strikes overnight on Hezbollah in Lebanon in response to attacks on Israeli troops. Although both sides have agreed to…
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Munk Dialogue with Janice Gross Stein: $300 Billion for Iran and and a huge leap of faith
Janice and Rudyard unpack the latest details of the emerging memorandum of understanding between Iran and Israel, examining its proposed $300 billion financing package and the sweeping rollback of sanctions on Iran's…
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Friday Focus: Trump abandons his red lines for a deal with Iran
This is now the 38th time President Trump has proclaimed a “great deal” with Iran. Is this one finally real? And if so, does it vindicate his strategy of escalating tensions to force Tehran back to the negotiating…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: are we in a recession - or a growth trap?
Recent economic data suggests Canada is in a technical recession. Andrew argues that while political parties continue to sell the fiction that governments can deliver short-term economic growth, economists largely…
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Friday Focus: America's security guarantee is tested, while Canada's AI strategy comes up short
Iran and the U.S. remain locked in a dangerous standoff over the Strait of Hormuz that could drag on for weeks. How does this end? What pressure points could force either side to negotiate in good faith? Meanwhile,…
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Friday Focus: The hidden cost of a deal with Iran — and the Pope sounds the alarm on AI
We may be on the cusp of a deal between Iran and the U.S., as both sides appear to be losing interest in keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed. But is this merely a ceasefire extension, with Iran’s nuclear program…
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Munk Debate on Foreign Wars: opening statements
On this special podcast episode, we are sharing the opening statements from the Munk Debate on Foreign Wars, which took place this past Wednesday May 20th in front of a packed crowd at Toronto's Meridian Hall. Against…
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Bonus Episode: behind the scenes at The Munk Debate on Foreign Wars
Munk Debates Chair Rudyard Griffiths and Managing Director Ricki Gurwitz pull back the curtain on how they chose the four debaters who took the stage on Wednesday night — and preview the blockbuster debates already in…
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Friday Focus: America and Iran inch toward a deal as Trump’s corruption hits new depths
Another strange ping-pong week in America's conflict with Iran — and irresponsible reporting has given us so many mixed messages. Are we any closer to a deal? And why is Iran so hung up on the issue of nuclear weapons?…
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Friday Focus: No winners in the Middle East — and Xi warns Trump against falling into the Thucydides Trap
Tickets to our May 20th Munk Debate on Foreign Wars taking place in Toronto and featuring Mike Pompeo, Victoria Nuland, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, are almost sold out. Visit…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: A weakened President needs China's help and a debate over the new Governor General
As the Strait of Hormuz grinds to a halt, gas prices soar, and inflation threatens to spike, Trump arrives at his meeting with Xi Jinping looking wounded and weak. He will be looking for help from China's dictator, but…
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Friday Focus: Trump faces pressure from Gulf States, Britain's populist parties get a boost, and Canada's new GG is plucked from the Laurentian elite
Tickets to our May 20th Munk Debate on Foreign Wars taking place in Toronto and featuring Mike Pompeo, Victoria Nuland, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, are now on sale. Visit…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: America and Iran inch closer to war, Ukraine proves itself worthy of NATO, and Canada moves closer to Europe
The U.S. edges back toward war with Iran just as food and gas prices are poised to surge. Could there be a role for China to play in getting Iran and the U.S. back to the negotiating table? Meanwhile Ukraine is quickly…
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Friday Focus: Iran's window of maximum leverage and a new AI model puts financial systems at risk
The U.S. and Iran are locked in a long-term stalemate over the Strait of Hormuz. With the midterms looming, the Iranians view the next few weeks as the window of maximum leverage. If the strait stays closed into the…
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Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Mark Carney's new sovereign wealth fund is a solution in search of a problem down
Mark Carney has proposed a “Canada Strong Fund” which will launch with a C$25 billion endowment focused on domestic infrastructure, part of a broader effort to reduce Canada's reliance on the United States after…
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Friday Focus: Munk Debate on Foreign Wars, a shaky ceasefire with Iran, and Carney braces for tough trade talks
Rudyard and Janice open the show with news of the Spring 2026 Munk mainstage debate: Be it resolved, don't go hunting monsters. A timely debate on competing interventionist and restraint-based approaches to foreign…
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Friday Focus: A landmark Israel–Lebanon ceasefire and the erosion of party loyalty in Canada
The historic Israel-Lebanon ceasefire announced this week is the result of a direct conversation between the President of Lebanon and the Prime Minister of Israel. And yet, this deal was brokered by the U.S. against…
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