Episode description

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 start the show with a discussion of the U.S. debt ceiling debate and passage, this week, of a bill by the Republican-controlled Congress to cut government spending in turn for raising America’s borrowing limit. How likely is a compromise with the Biden Administration? What could happen to the U.S. economy and global markets if a deal isn’t brokered? The second half of the program dissects Canada’s new law to mandate Canadian content on online streaming platforms like Netflix. Who benefits from the law? What will be the impact on consumers of online content and small, independent digital creators? Is this a smart move for Canada?

To access 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.