Friday Focus
The Friday Focus podcast is a weekly, half-hour masterclass on current events with Janice Stein, the founding director of the Munk School of Global Affairs, and Rudyard Griffiths, Chair of the Munk Debates. To access full length episodes of Friday Focus consider becoming a donor to the Munk Debates. For as little as a $25 CAD annual charitable donation you can listen to 50+ weekly Friday Focus programs online or on your favorite podcast platform.
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Rudyard and Janice start today’s show with the big news story of the week: the capitulation of ABC to the Trump administration, suspending the Jimmy Kimmel Show indefinitely in response to his somewhat innocuous remarks about Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Trump is continuing to attack institutions that are integral to the...
Rudyard and Janice discuss the social and political fallout from right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk’s assassination. What does the country’s online reaction reveal about the state of American culture and democracy? We are living in a climate of heated language which is becoming more and more violent. All signs point to...
This week’s SCO summit in China projected a series of powerful images about the rise of China and the cleaving of the world into two power blocs. Putin, Xi, and Kim Jong Un watching the military parade at Tiananmen Square was a performance of a great power, as was Narendra...
Rudyard and Janice start the show with Trump’s firing of CDC director Susan Monarez over disputes about vaccine policy, and the attempted dismissal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook in his bid to take control of the central bank and lower interest rates. In the second half of the show...
Friday Focus: Trump is a foreign policy wrecking ball, and Carney goes from elbows up to elbows down
Rudyard and Janice open today’s Friday Focus with the fallout from last week’s Trump-Putin meeting and Monday’s Zelensky visit to Washington. Putin is walking back from almost every concession he offered last week, essentially demanding that Ukraine be demilitarized without a pathway to NATO membership. This is a non-starter for...
Rudyard and Janice open today’s show reacting to China’s 75% tariff on Canada’s canola seed, a retaliation against our government’s decision to impose duties on Chinese electric vehicles. Is the Trump administration ultimately to blame for the retaliatory tariff climate we now find ourselves in? And as the weakest G7...
Rudyard and Janice start the show talking about developments in the Middle East, where Netanyahu ordered his war cabinet to take over Gaza City temporarily and hand it over to Arab security forces. This would involve evacuation orders for residents of Gaza city, who have already been displaced multiple times...
Rudyard and Janice start the show with Trump’s late night tariff announcement which sets a 35% tariff on Canada, but only really affects 10% of goods that fall outside of CUSMA. The punishing tariffs on aluminum, steel, and the auto industry, however, remain. Why did Mark Carney not try to...
Rudyard and Janice open today’s show talking about starvation in Gaza. How do we find ourselves here, and what can be done about it? While it is true that Hamas steals food to sell on the black market to pay its fighters, there is no justification for using food as...
Rudyard and Janice open today’s show with the Epstein Files: how Trump’s alleged birthday letter to the convicted pedophile from 2003 – just leaked to the public – has added fuel to the fire of his already enraged base. What is it about the Epstein Files that has his otherwise...
Rudyard and Janice devote today’s entire show to one of the biggest news stories of the year that is not being covered by mainstream outlets: an upcoming change in the Google search engine that will have a devastating effect on everything from business profitability to how we consume news. Google’s...
Rudyard and Janice open the show unpacking the effect America’s pause on military shipments will have on Ukraine’s war effort. Putin has managed to drive a wedge between the US and Ukraine, thus removing the biggest obstacle to his maximalist ambitions. Has America officially walked away from Ukraine? And does...
Rudyard and Janice start today’s show unpacking the intelligence information about the effectiveness of America’s attack on Iran’s nuclear sites. While centrifuges at Fordo have been rendered inoperable, a significant amount of enriched uranium has been moved from the site to an unknown location. A diplomatic solution should be explored...
Rudyard and Janice begin today’s special Friday Focus episode with the Trump initiated ceasefire that allows both Israel and Iran to claim some measure of victory. But does Trump have the power to make the truce hold? Bibi is learning that American help comes with a price, and the Israeli...
In this emergency Friday Focus episode, Rudyard and Janice assess what the US strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities means for the future of the Middle East. What are the big takeaways from this game changing moment in the region? Has Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium been permanently disabled? And finally,...
Rudyard and Janice start today’s show talking about the long term prospects of this war: while Israel has had amazing military successes in the first week, their ability to intercept Iran’s ballistic missiles will diminish as this war drags on. Is there a diplomatic opportunity to bring this conflict to...
Rudyard and Janice start the show with Israel’s spectacular strike on Iran that targeted ballistic missiles, nuclear sites, and top military leaders. Janice argues that while this was a successful attack it is far from a devastating blow, and Iran still has the means to retaliate. In the second half...
Rudyard and Janice start the show talking about the bromance blowup 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...
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...
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...
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...
Rudyard and Janice open today’s show with the fast developing and worrying situation between India and Pakistan. What started in the long disputed territory of Kashmir has expanded into strikes along the border shared by these two nuclear powers. As Janice argues, when the global policeman (the U.S.) retires from...
Rudyard and Janice open today’s show with their key takeaway from the Canadian election: Mark Carney’s functional minority was delivered to him by the Boomers who want to protect their assets and wealth accumulation, often at the expense of the younger generation who are faced with poor job prospects and...
Rudyard and Janice open the show with the Ukraine-Russia ceasefire deal put forward by the Trump administration that would recognize Crimea as a Russian territory, deny NATO membership to Ukraine, and give Moscow control of 20 percent of Ukrainian territory in the Donbas region. This is a huge capitulation to Russia...
Rudyard and Janice open the show with last night’s Canadian English language leaders’ debate. Rudyard thinks that Pierre Pollievre looked prime ministerial for the first time in this campaign, while Mark Carney showed a calmness and dexterity for someone with limited political experience. Bottom line: it was a good night...
Rudyard and Janice open the show talking about the escalating trade war between the US and China. The pace and magnitude of this growing dispute are destabilizing the global economy and forcing both countries down a dangerous path. Instead of talking to China about trade, Trump should be talking to...
Rudyard and Janice open the show with Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcements and specifically China’s response: a punishing 34% countervailing tax on all imports from the US. Is this the start of a more dangerous moment between these two adversaries? President Trump is about to find out how vulnerable the...
Rudyard and Janice open the show with Trump’s announcement of auto tariffs which, coupled with the tariffs on steel and aluminum, could cripple the Canadian car sector. Instead of doubling down on a dying industry that is bound to the US, why not invest in an industry like mining that...
With a Canadian election just around the corner, Rudyard and Janice agree that the most important question on the ballot is who is the best candidate to see Canada through this unprecedented period of economic warfare with the Trump administration. Rudyard thinks the outcome of this election could reveal cracks...
Rudyard and Janice begin today’s show trying to make sense of Trump’s tariff policy. Rudyard argues that Trump is not concerned with stock market losses if it means keeping promises to his voter base and reworking the American economy so it benefits blue-collar workers. However Janice and Rudyard agree: tariffs...
Rudyard and Janice start today’s show discussing a New York Times article that details a phone conversation between Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump, during which it is seriously suggested by the Americans that the two countries revise the boundary that separates them. Trump wants access to our resources, including water...
On this week’s Friday Focus, Janice and Rudyard react to the shocking Oval Office press conference between Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump. Was Zelensky’s decision to respond in kind to Trump’s aggression a smart move? Zelensky showed great courage, but did he make gains for his country?
In the second half...
On this week’s Friday Focus, Rudyard and Janice start the show by talking about Donald Trump’s personal attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Are business opportunities in Russia causing the US to abandon its allies and European partners? The long-term consequence of this – depriving the US of any legitimacy...
On this week’s Friday Focus, Rudyard and Janice start the show by reacting to the big news announced by Trump’s defense secretary this week: Russia gets to keep the Donbas border region, no pathway to membership for Ukraine, and no security guarantee from the US. While Putin’s aggression is being...
On this week’s Friday Focus, Rudyard and Janice start the show by talking about President Trump reversing the course on tariffs at the last minute. While some say this was all a negotiating tactic by creating confusion to get concessions from Canada and Mexico, others are more concerned that this...
On this week’s Friday Focus, Rudyard and Janice dedicate the entire episode to Trump’s announcement of high tariffs on Canadian goods, which are set to come into effect this Saturday, February 1st. How will excluding oil and gas from these taxes fracture Canada’s national unity and resolve in responding to...
On this week’s Friday Focus, Rudyard and Janice start the show reacting to some of Trump’s most shocking announcements and executive orders since taking office on Monday. How is the opposition mobilizing to challenge these orders? Why has the reaction to these consequential decisions been so muted? In the second...
On this week’s Friday Focus, Rudyard and Janice start the show with the big international news of the week: A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that will suspend fighting and see the release of 33 Israeli hostages. Why now? And, can it last? Rudyard and Janice then turn to...
On this week’s Friday Focus, Rudyard and Janice start with Donald Trump’s comments about territorial expansion in Greenland, the Panama Canal, and even Canada. Is this part of an America First agenda? And how should Canada respond to an incoming U.S. President who does not take well to weaker countries...
On this week’s Friday Focus, Rudyard and Janice talk about what to expect in Ottawa in January: Trudeau’s support in caucus has collapsed, MPs are speaking out, and there are rumours he will resign as early as next week. Will the Liberals opt to prorogue Parliament for a leadership race? And...
On this week’s Friday Focus, Rudyard and Janice discuss the latest political developments in Canada and look ahead to the big trends that will dominate the headlines in 2025.
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Rudyard and Janice open this week’s Friday Focus with the surprising events out of Ottawa this week: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resigning in a blistering rebuke of the Prime Minister just hours before she was due to present the fall economic statement. What is next for the embattled Justin Trudeau?...
Rudyard and Janice begin this week’s Friday Focus by reflecting on Justin Trudeau’s relationship with the Trump administration. Why would he make public statements that provoke ire from our southern neighbours? And how should Trudeau respond to Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on Canadian goods? In the second half of...
This week’s Friday Focus examines how Democracies are in trouble from South Korea to France to the U.S., where voters have lost trust in political elites, especially in France where the blowback to Macron’s brand of politics has made room for the ascendency of the far-right under Marine Le Pen....
This week’s Friday Focus takes up the Trump tariffs on Canada. What are his motivations for threatening a 25% tariff on Canadian imports into the U.S.? How will American conservative politics and a G.O.P. that has shifted even further towards a MAGA “America First” agenda likely impact trade negotiations? What...
On this week’s edition of the Friday Focus podcast, Rudyard and Janice start the show with the biggest geopolitical news of the week: the Biden administration gave Ukraine the green light to use American long range missiles to attack deep into Russia, which was met with an unprecedented Russian response....
On this week’s edition of the Friday Focus podcast, Rudyard and Janice open the show by reflecting on Trump’s eye-popping appointments to key positions in government. What happened to the importance of competence, merit, and experience when assigning the most important roles within the federal government? Rudyard and Janice then...
On this week’s edition of the Friday Focus podcast, Rudyard and Janice try to make sense of the events of this week as Democrats begin pointing fingers and blaming each other for their stunning defeat. How did they fail to recognize that people vote for issues like the economy and...
On this special edition of the Friday Focus podcast, Rudyard and Janice react to the election of Donald Trump. Voters this time around knew who Trump was and voted for him anyway. Rudyard sees this as significant a vote as Brexit: voters are fed up with the elite and showing...
On this week’s Friday Focus, Rudyard and Janice open the show with an analysis of where the candidates stand as we enter the final stretch of this US election campaign. Rudyard believes Trump is positioned to squeak out a win thanks to the importance of the Electoral College over the...
On this week’s Friday Focus, as we enter into the final stretch of one of the most consequential presidential elections in US history, Janice and Rudyard disregard the often inaccurate polls to make their own predictions about who will win on November 5th. Regardless of the revelations about his personal...
On this week’s Friday Focus, Rudyard and Janice open the show with the big news of the week: the death of Yahya Sinwar. How significant is his death to the current conflict? How will Israel’s allies and adversaries take advantage of this moment to get a framework in place for...
Today’s Friday Focus begins with the disagreement between Israel and the US about how Israel should retaliate against Iran. While the US is trying to scale the response back to a series of limited strikes, Israel has waited for a long time to go after Iran – their biggest strategic...
On today’s Friday Focus, we find ourselves in a shape-shifting moment with major escalations taking place in the Middle East. How can Israel and Iran back down from this back and forth show of force? Meanwhile, there is strong support in Israel for a forceful counter-attack on Iran. The presence...
Today’s Friday Focus begins with Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to push forward in Israel’s war with Hezbollah. Why is he antagonizing Washington by changing his mind on their proposal for a ceasefire? Janice asks the same question she did when the war in Gaza first started: what is the endgame in...
This week’s Friday Focus is all about Israel’s pager and walkie-talkie attacks on Hezbollah members in Lebanon. Rudyard argues that you can’t continuously fire rockets at civilian neighbourhoods in northern Israel without expecting a response. But Hezbollah is not Hamas: its army has a vast and sophisticated weapons arsenal that...
On this week’s Friday Focus, Rudyard and Janice dedicate the entire Friday Focus episode to the very dangerous showdown taking place between Putin and the West. In what could be the tipping point in the war in Ukraine, Western powers are contemplating giving Ukraine permission to use their long range missiles...
On this week’s Friday Focus, Rudyard and Janice start off the show talking about the significant judicial reforms underway in Mexico, and why they will affect Canada and our important trade agreements. On the second half of the show, they turn to Canadian politics where the NDP, under the leadership of...
On this week’s Friday Focus, Rudyard and Janice start off the show with news out of the Middle East, specifically Israel’s incursion into the West Bank to thwart planned terror attacks. How will its aggressive approach to external threats further harm its relationship with Western allies? Next, Rudyard and Janice...
On this week’s Friday Focus, Janice and Rudyard start the show by reflecting on the DNC convention and Kamala Harris’s ability to speak to a generation of voters via social media. While she might be light on policy she’s heavy on “vibes” – will this help her in a race...
On this week’s Friday Focus, Janice and Rudyard talk about resumed negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas with pressure on both sides to finally come to an agreement, or risk an all-out war in the Middle East. If a deal is reached, Iran will claim victory and use...
In this week’s Friday Focus, as Israel waits for a response from Tehran following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Rudyard and Janice discuss the possibility of a last minute ceasefire deal and whether a Harris/Walz win in the US would deter Iran’s nuclear ambitions and bring more stability...
In this week’s Friday Focus, Rudyard and Janice start off talking about the dangerous situation in the Middle East. After two high profile assassinations by Israel on leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, there is a real threat of escalation and a coordinated attack against Israel. What goes on behind the...
This week’s Friday Focus starts off with Rudyard and Janice’s discussion with the big US political news story of the week: Kamala Harris is shaking up the presidential race and breathing a breath of fresh air into a party that was languishing behind Joe Biden. Rudyard argues that in their...
This week’s Friday Focus podcast begins with a look at the growing assumption that Donald Trump is all but guaranteed to win the November presidential election, and what that means for the rest of the world – particularly when it comes to the international trading system and the global economy....
On this week’s Friday Focus, Rudyard and Janice open the show with a discussion about Joe Biden, who is desperately trying to prove that he is ready to be President for a second term. Is he passing the test? And in a struggle between the leaders of the Democratic party...
On this week’s Friday Focus podcast Janice and Rudyard discuss Joe Biden’s reluctance to step down as the Democratic candidate in the face of growing dissent in the party. Are Washington’s elites betraying the American public by insisting he stay on despite his obvious cognitive decline and diminished chance of...
This week’s Friday Focus podcast kicks off with reactions to the first U.S. presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump — where a halting performance by Biden has renewed discussions over his age and whether he should drop out so a different Democrat can take on Trump. Rudyard Griffiths...
The Friday Focus podcast starts this week with Rudyard Griffiths and Janice Stein discussing the big international news story of the week: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korea. Find out why Janice says this meeting between these two states is a sign that the international liberal order is...
This week’s Friday Focus podcast starts with updated analysis from Janice Stein about all the twists and turns of the Hamas-Israel-United States-Qatar-Egypt negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza, which appear to have again gone off the rails. Do Hamas’ latest demands make the prospect of a negotiated ceasefire impossible? Rudyard...
This week’s Friday Focus podcast examines a Canadian parliamentary committee’s blockbuster report on foreign interference that finds some members of Parliament and senators are “providing information learned in confidence from the government to known intelligence officers of foreign states” and providing privileged information on their fellow parliamentarians to foreign officials....
This week’s Friday Focus podcast tackles what virtually everyone is talking about at the moment: Former U.S. president Donald Trump’s conviction for election interference after deliberately concealing hush-money payments on the eve of the 2016 vote. Was this a fair judicial process or a politicized show trial? Rudyard Griffiths and...
On this week’s Friday Focus podcast, Janice Stein has some “controversial” comments about the decision by the International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor to seek warrants for the arrest of key Israeli and Hamas leaders. Does it actually make the prospect of a ceasefire in the Gaza war less likely? Also,...
Our latest Friday Focus podcast looks at Chinese President’s Xi Jinping’s decision to “poke a finger in the eye” of the United States by openly embracing Russian President Vladimir Putin during a recent summit. What does this moment say about where the global order is going? Rudyard Griffiths and Janice...
This week’s Friday Focus podcast looks at why the world went from thinking Israel and Hamas were finally on the verge of a hostage and ceasefire deal earlier this week, only to see the talks completely collapse within a few days. Find out why Janice Stein calls this moment “a...
On this week’s Friday Focus podcast, Rudyard Griffiths and Janice Stein analyze a new offer from Israel to establish a ceasefire in Gaza, and explore why Hamas’ leadership seems to be holding out for even more. Can negotiations between Israel and Hamas bear fruit, or is it an exercise in...
On the latest Friday Focus podcast, Rudyard and Janice talk about the pro-Palestinian protests rocking many campuses across the United States. They discuss why these protests seem to have escalated recently, the disturbing calls for violence that some of the protesters are making, and accusations foreign money is somehow influencing...
This week’s Friday Focus podcast analyzes Israel’s military strike in Iran. Rudyard and Janice discuss why the Netanyahu government chose a relatively modest response to the hundreds of missiles and drones the Iranian government fired at Israel less than a week before. They delve into the myriad military and political...
This week’s Friday Focus podcast examines the fears that Iran is preparing a significant attack on Israel. Janice explains what the attack might look like, what the Iranian regime might be trying to accomplish, and the enormous risk Tehran may be taking.
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On this week’s edition of Friday Focus, Rudyard and Janice scrutinize the Israel Defence Forces’ explanations for the killing of seven humanitarian workers with World Central Kitchen earlier this week. Then, they discuss some provocative remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken regarding Ukraine and NATO membership.
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In this week’s Friday Focus, Rudyard and Janice discuss how Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to turn a horrific terrorist attack in Moscow to his political advantage. They also talk about how gang violence and lawlessness is plaguing a number of Latin American and Caribbean nations, and how governments...
This week’s Friday Focus is dedicated to getting listeners up to speed with the state of nuclear weapons. We’re hearing a lot more about them in the press lately: Russia has issued several nuclear threats since the war in Ukraine started, China is growing its nuclear stockpile, and the United...
This week’s Friday Focus kicks off with rumours that the long-awaited hostage and temporary ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas might be close. Rudyard and Janice discuss reports on what the deal might contain, and evaluate how well or poorly the Netanyahu government has handled the hostage situation. They also...
On this week’s Friday Focus, Rudyard and Janice react to U.S. President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address amid some polls showing rival Donald Trump ahead as we get ever closer to the November election. They also debate whether Canadian officials are taking the possibility of a second Trump...
This week’s Friday Focus starts with a conversation about some striking remarks French President Emmanuel Macron made this week about possibly sending NATO troops to Ukraine, which then leads to a spirited debate between Rudyard Griffiths and Janice Stein as to who should foot the bill for European security. The...
This week’s edition of Friday Focus begins with an update on the fast evolving situation in Gaza. Will the latest round of high level hostage negotiations in Paris lead to a breakthrough? What are listeners to make of Netanyahu’s “day after” plan for the war? How is it possible to...
This week’s edition of Friday Focus starts with a discussion of the news of the death of Russian democracy advocate and politician Alexei Navalny in a Siberian prison. What does this targeted killing say about the state of Russian politics? How is it likely to impact Western support for the...
This week’s edition of Friday Focus focuses on the performance of two presidents this week: Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden. The former sat for a two hour interview with American pundit Tucker Carlson. The two discussed 1,000 years of Russian history, supposed CIA treachery against Russia and the potential for...
This week’s edition of the Friday Focus podcast begins with a discuss of pending U.S. airstrikes against Iranian backed militias in Iraq and Syria in response to the killing of three American servicepeople. What are the strikes meant to do? Could they escalate into a full blown conflict between Iran...
This week’s edition of Friday Focus opens with a summary of the International Court of Justice ruling on the case of genocide brought against Israel by South Africa. What did the court decide? The body of the show focuses on the high stakes hostage negotiations underway between Israel, Qatar, the...
This week’s edition of Friday Focus starts with a discussion of the battle lines shaping up between the Biden administration and Benjamin Netanyahu over the viability of a “two-state” solution. What are the argument’s pro and con? Is this likely to be the ballot question for the next Israeli election?...
This week’s installment of Friday Focus deals with the U.S. and allied forces’ airstrikes on Yemen. Do these attacks herald the beginning of a wider war in the Middle East? How are the other regional powers from Israel to Iran to Saudi Arabia likely to react? And what does it...
This week’s Friday Focus discusses the slew of assassinations that have taken place recently in Syria, Lebanon and Iran. Do they herald the coming regionalization of the War in Gaza to the wider Middle East? How are the different parties from Hezbollah to the Mullahs in Tehran to Israel’s war...
The final episode of Friday Focus for 2023 looks to the year ahead and asks what are the issues and ideas that will define the year to come. Janice and Rudyard also discuss how to make better predictions. Are there specific ways we can think about the future which can...
The penultimate edition of Friday Focus for this calendar year explores the sleeper issue for 2023 of immigration. From America to Europe to Canada, immigration is obsessing policy makers, voting publics and reshaping the political map of much of the Western world. The cause is surging levels of migration that...
This episode of Friday Focus opens with a discussion of Canada’s vote in favour of a UN resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire. How are we to interpret Canada breaking from the U.K. and U.S. and voting for the resolution? Was the accompanying statement released alongside the vote important to...
This week’s episode of Friday Focus is dedicated exclusively to discussing the congressional testimony of the presidents of some of America’s leading universities and why they were unwilling to assert that advocating for the genocide of Jews on their campuses contravenes their organizations’ codes of conduct. What does this episode...
This week’s edition of Friday Focus begins with a discussion of the forces that propelled a return to hostilities in Gaza. How is Israel likely to fight its campaign to remove Hamas as a military force in the refugee congested southern regions of the territory? Will Hamas consider more hostage...
This week’s edition of Friday Focus starts with a look ahead at the next four days of planned hostage exchanges between Hamas and Israel. What should we expect from both parties as the exchanges unfold? How could Hamas take advantage of the pause in hostilities? Will Israel restart its military...
On this week’s edition of Friday Focus, Janice and Rudyard begin the program with a discussion of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s remarks this week excoriating Israel for the civilian casualties caused by its war against Hamas in Gaza. Why has the prime minister changed his tone on the conflict and...
This week’s instalment of Friday Focus starts off with a discussion of the two major wars now ongoing in Gaza and Eastern Ukraine. How are these two conflicts similar and different? And how are they playing off each other both in terms of their future trajectories and domestic support in...
This week’s Friday Focus starts off with a recap of Israel’s war on Hamas. What have we seen in the past seven days in terms of new developments and trends in the conflict? Why is the border crossing in Egypt only allowing a trickle of dual passport holders and critically injured...
This week’s edition of Friday Focus examines what we have learned in recent days about Israel’s war on Hamas and the international community’s response. Janice and Rudyard’s discussion begins with the growing calls for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Is this a realistic response to the current humanitarian crisis...
This week’s edition of Friday Focus digs into the last week of events on the ground as Israel prepares for a ground invasion of Gaza. What do Janice and Rudyard think about the argument that Israel should agree to a temporary ceasefire? Why do parts of the media seem to...
This week’s edition of Friday Focus discusses the latest developments in Israel’s war on the Hamas terrorist organization. Janice and Rudyard discuss the dynamics and risks of the impending ground invasion of Gaza and why weeks, if not possibly months, of hard fighting in the streets and tunnels of Gaza...
This is a special Friday Focus episode with Janice Stein’s analysis of the horrible events that have taken place over the weekend in Israel. Janice provided her usual on-point, thoughtful commentary of now fast developing war.
This special podcast comes courtesy of The Hub, Canada’s leading source for timely analysis and...
This week’s edition of Friday Focus with Janice Stein and Rudyard Griffiths sets sail into the stormy weather that defined the last week in U.S. politics. For the first time in history, the Speaker of the U.S. Congress was removed from office by a vote of its members. The putsch...
On this edition of Friday Focus Janice and Rudyard begin the show with a discussion of how Canada made international news this week by inadvertently inviting a veteran of the Waffen-SS to address parliament on the occasion of President Zelensky’s visit to Ottawa. How did this happen? What does it...
On this week’s edition of Friday Focus Janice and Rudyard dedicate the show to discussing the fallout in Canada-India relations precipitated by Prime Minister Trudeau’s revelations that there are “credible allegations” Indian security services murdered a Canadian citizen in Canada who supported an independent homeland for Sikhs in Punjab. What...
On this edition of the Friday Focus podcast, Janice and Rudyard spend the first half of the show talking about two concepts that have emerged that help explain some of the West’s aspirations and fears about the Ukraine War. Some analysts are now arguing that an end game to the...
On this edition of the Friday Focus podcast, Janice and Rudyard dedicate the show to talking about the upcoming G20 meeting in India. How should we understand the G20 meeting of the world’s largest economies in a world that is more divided than ever along regional lines? What is the...
On this edition of the Friday Focus podcast, Janice and Rudyard spend the show talking about housing and how it has become the “theory of everything” in advanced economies around the world from China to Canada. What are the opportunity costs for nations that are making housing an outsized driver...