Friday Focus: Patriots vs. Putin – Effective Altruism

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 off the program with a look at the latest developments in the Ukraine War. Will American Patriot missile systems make a difference? What is the rationale behind a new Russian offensive in early 2023? In the second half of the show, available to donors to the Munk Debates, Janice and Rudyard unpack the philosophy of effective altruism as espoused by its now notorious proponent, Sam Bankman Fried, the now criminally indicted founder of the crypto exchange FTX. What do we owe the future morally? And how do we balance the value of humanity’s future potential versus its immediate needs? To access the 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.