The Munk Debates Podcast Munk Foundation / Antica Productions / iHeartRadio

Falling wages. Failing infrastructure. Soaring public debts. Many believe that America’s future looks anything but bright. Stark ideological and partisan divisions have fractured the country at home while a string of failed foreign military interventions have soured Americans on the country’s role as defender of the liberal international order. Add in exploding disparities between rich and poor, a bungled pandemic response, and lacklustre economic growth and you have all the markers of a country in decline. Others argue that betting against America has always been a losing proposition. Declinists fail to account for the country’s amazing ability to adapt and re-invent itself time and time again. From world beating technological innovations in Silicon Valley to vaccine breakthroughs to the frontiers of commercial space exploration, America has proven it can rise to meet new challenges and opportunities. The strength of its diversity, size of its population, its entrepreneurial drive, military might, and financial prowess all ensure its continued dominance as a global power in the 21st century. In a world beset with authoritarian regimes, statist economies and the absence of human liberty, America will remain a powerful magnet for talented people the world over committed to democracy and freedom.

Arguing for the motion is Gideon Rachman, Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator of the Financial Times and author of Easternization: Asia's Rise and America's Decline From Obama to Trump and Beyond.

Arguing against the motion is Kori Schake, Director of Foreign and Defense Policy at the American Enterprise Institute and the author of America vs the West: Can the Liberal World Order Be Preserved?

QUOTES:

GIDEON RACHMAN

“I've never seen the country in the state it's in now...it seems to me to be of a different order and one that does raise quite profound questions about the enduring success of the American experiment.” 

KORI SCHAKE

“Don’t underestimate the loud raucous conflictual way America solves its problems... that’s how we have traditionally clawed our way towards being a better republic and I believe that continues to happen now.”

Sources: The Hill, CNET, Global News, CNN, Yahoo Finance, CNBC, Thames TV, ABC

The host of the Munk Debates is Rudyard Griffiths - @rudyardg.  

Tweet your comments about this episode to @munkdebate or comment on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/munkdebates/

To sign up for a weekly email reminder for this podcast, send an email to podcast@munkdebates.com.  

To support civil and substantive debate on the big questions of the day, consider becoming a Munk Member at https://munkdebates.com/membership

Members receive access to our 10+ year library of great debates in HD video, a free Munk Debates book, newsletter and ticketing privileges at our live events.

This podcast is a project of the Munk Debates, a Canadian charitable organization dedicated to fostering civil and substantive public dialogue - https://munkdebates.com/

The Munk Debates podcast is produced by Antica, Canada’s largest private audio production company - https://www.anticaproductions.com/

 

Executive Producer: Stuart Coxe, CEO Antica Productions

Senior Producer: Ricki Gurwitz

Editor: Kieran Lynch

Associate Producer: Abhi Raheja

This is a sample of the Munk Members-Only Podcast. The program provides listeners with a focused, half-hour masterclass on the big issues, events and trends driving 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.

This week’s Munk Members podcast explores three stories in the news. Talk of rising inflation was everywhere this week with an above-consensus CPI print in the U.S., soaring energy prices and a major Canadian bank CEO highlighting the growing risk of “sticky” inflation building across the economy. Are we in the early moments of a sustained upswing inflation? Or, are the deflationary forces stalking the global economy before COVID what lies in our mid-term futures? – Czech voters went to the polls this week and removed their populist, incumbent Prime Minister. Is this a sign that populism in on the wane in Europe? – And, Canada will see the swearing in of a new cabinet later this month. What can we expect in terms of players and personalities? Is there any reason to hope our political culture could allow for some strong voices and personalities in the country’s next cabinet? Janice and Rudyard discuss it all.

To access the full length episode consider becoming a Munk Member. Membership is free. Simply log on to www.munkdebates.com/membership to register. Under your membership profile page you will find a link to listen to the full length editions of Munk Members Podcast.

If you like what the Munk Debates is all about consider becoming a Supporting Member.

For as little as $9.99 monthly you receive unlimited access to our 10+ year library of great debates in HD video, a free Munk Debates book, monthly newsletter, ticketing privileges at our live and online events and a charitable tax receipt (for Canadian residents).

To explore you Munk Membership options visit www.munkdebates.com/membership.

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.

While the conversation around a universal basic income - a government program which provides every adult with regular cash payments - has gained traction in recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic turned the fringe experimental program into a reality for millions of people around the globe. Facing skyrocketing unemployment and an impending economic crisis, some governments decided to act swiftly and without conditions: they transferred cash directly into the hands of all their citizens - regardless of age, income, or geography. Proponents of UBI see the pandemic era handouts as proof that the program works. COVID-19 exacerbated income inequality and sped up technological innovation which disproportionately hurt lower wage earners and marginalized communities. Direct cash payments offered financial security to society’s most vulnerable and helped transform the broken relationship between individuals and the labour market. It bought precious time and resources for those seeking new economic opportunities in a rapidly-changing workforce. Critics worry that UBI disincentivizes work and rewards indolence. They point to pandemic recovery rehiring difficulties as proof that getting cash handouts without strings attached encourages people to stay out of the workforce all together. Re-positioning government into the role of economic provider threatens individual aspiration for self-reliance and betterment. Furthermore, the already well-off do not need to benefit from cash handouts. If the government wants to address racial and economic injustices it would have much more success by enriching already existing social welfare programs that target those most in need.

Arguing for the motion is Scott Santens, Senior Advisor to Humanity Forward and Editor of Basic Income Today.

Arguing against the motion is Oren Cass, executive director of American Compass and author of The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America.

QUOTES:

SCOTT SANTENS

“Basic income is an acknowledgement that everyone has basic needs, and we should make sure that those absolute most basic needs are being met at all times.”

OREN CASS

“It has always been an American tradition to value reciprocity, and a universal basic income runs directly against that.”

Sources: ABC News, Global, Yang Speaks, CNBC, Newzroom Afrika

The host of the Munk Debates is Rudyard Griffiths - @rudyardg.  

Tweet your comments about this episode to @munkdebate or comment on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/munkdebates/

To sign up for a weekly email reminder for this podcast, send an email to podcast@munkdebates.com.

To support civil and substantive debate on the big questions of the day, consider becoming a Munk Member at https://munkdebates.com/membership

Members receive access to our 10+ year library of great debates in HD video, a free Munk Debates book, newsletter and ticketing privileges at our live events.

This podcast is a project of the Munk Debates, a Canadian charitable organization dedicated to fostering civil and substantive public dialogue - https://munkdebates.com/

The Munk Debates podcast is produced by Antica, Canada’s largest private audio production company - https://www.anticaproductions.com/

 

Executive Producer: Stuart Coxe, CEO Antica Productions

Senior Producer: Ricki Gurwitz

Editor: Kieran Lynch

Associate Producer: Abhi Raheja

This is a sample of the Munk Members-Only Podcast. The program provides listeners with a focused, half-hour masterclass on the big issues, events and trends driving 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.

This week’s Munk Members Podcast explores two events in the news. First up, what is driving surging energy prices around the world? With some governments now subsidizing consumer and business use of hydrocarbons what is the fate and future of the climate change agenda? The show’s second half looks the implications of China’s increasingly aggressive air incursions in and around Taiwan. Is America willing and prepared to militarily defend the Taiwanese? What risks are the Chinese running – economically and geopolitically – in continuing to assert their interest through demonstrations of military force and so called “wolf pack” diplomacy. Rudyard and Janice discuss it all.

To access the full length episode consider becoming a Munk Member. Membership is free. Simply log on to www.munkdebates.com/membership to register. Under your membership profile page you will find a link to listen to the full length editions of Munk Members Podcast.

If you like what the Munk Debates is all about consider becoming a Supporting Member.

For as little as $9.99 monthly you receive unlimited access to our 10+ year library of great debates in HD video, a free Munk Debates book, monthly newsletter, ticketing privileges at our live and online events and a charitable tax receipt (for Canadian residents).

To explore you Munk Membership options visit www.munkdebates.com/membership.

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.

This past year has seen an onslaught of disruptions that call into question our ability to coexist with our environment. The devastating effects of climate change have arrived, and show no signs of abating. Flash flooding has swept across China and Northern Europe. The Eastern United States has been inundated by hurricanes of historic size. Record breaking heat waves and wildfires have decimated large swaths of Western North America. And a global pandemic continues to rage on. All of this begs the question, must we look elsewhere in our universe to ensure the survival of humanity? A growing movement of astrophysicists, biologists, and billionaire space enthusiasts believes our salvation does indeed lie offplanet. Supporters of this movement argue that we are on the cusp of technology that puts this possibility within reach, and that exploration and settlement to deal with issues of environmental instability and scarcity is nothing new. Settling the reachable regions of our universe is merely an extension of this age-old trend. But detractors of the plans to settle space dismiss it as an immeasurably expensive fever dream. In their minds, it would be far more prudent to invest our time and resources into fixing the problems here on Earth, the only known planet to host life. Beyond the massive technological advancements required, there are simply far too many unknowns about how and where life originated to assume it can be simply transported through the cosmos.

Arguing for the motion is Milan Cirkovic, Research Professor at the Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade and author of Global Catastrophic Risks.

Arguing against the motion is Lord Martin Rees, Lord Martin Rees Astronomer Royal, former President of The Royal Society. He is the author of On the Future whose updated paperback edition is due out in October, and The End of Astronauts due out in March of 2022.

Milan Cirkovic: “There are many human achievements which, almost by definition, could never be realized if humanity remains bound to Earth.”

Lord Martin Rees: “It is a dangerous delusion to think that we could escape the Earth's problems by going to Mars."

Sources: Engadget, Blue Origin, SpaceX, European Space Agency, World Government Summit and 60 Minutes Australia

The host of the Munk Debates is Rudyard Griffiths - @rudyardg.  

Tweet your comments about this episode to @munkdebate or comment on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/munkdebates/

To sign up for a weekly email reminder for this podcast, send an email to podcast@munkdebates.com.  

To support civil and substantive debate on the big questions of the day, consider becoming a Munk Member at https://munkdebates.com/membership

Members receive access to our 10+ year library of great debates in HD video, a free Munk Debates book, newsletter and ticketing privileges at our live events.

This podcast is a project of the Munk Debates, a Canadian charitable organization dedicated to fostering civil and substantive public dialogue - https://munkdebates.com/

The Munk Debates podcast is produced by Antica, Canada’s largest private audio production company - https://www.anticaproductions.com/

 

Executive Producer: Stuart Coxe, CEO Antica Productions

Senior Producer: Jacob Lewis

Editor: Kieran Lynch

Associate Producer: Abhi Raheja

This is a sample of the Munk Members-Only Podcast. The program provides listeners with a focused, half-hour masterclass on the big issues, events and trends driving 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.

This week’s Munk Members podcast focus on two important stories in the news. First up, the return of the “two Michael’s” and what this says about the past, present and future of Canada’s relationship with China and the brewing energy crisis in China and Europe. Janice and Rudyard discuss the three important takeaways from China’s return of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig. Does the end resolution of this diplomatic crisis herald a reset in Canada-China relations or a return to closer ties? And second, as coal, gas and oil prices surge globally, are we collectively at risk of a 1970s style energy crisis? What will the effect be on inflation and the climate change fight as renewables struggle to keep up global power demand?

To access the full length episode consider becoming a Munk Member. Membership is free. Simply log on to www.munkdebates.com/membership to register. Under your membership profile page you will find a link to listen to the full length editions of Munk Members Podcast.

If you like what the Munk Debates is all about consider becoming a Supporting Member.

For as little as $9.99 monthly you receive unlimited access to our 10+ year library of great debates in HD video, a free Munk Debates book, monthly newsletter, ticketing privileges at our live and online events and a charitable tax receipt (for Canadian residents).

To explore you Munk Membership options visit www.munkdebates.com/membership.

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.