Friday Focus: Taliban @ 2 – Asia Summit

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 edition of the Friday Focus podcast, Janice and Rudyard open the show with a debate on the two-year anniversary of the Taliban rule in Afghanistan. Is now the time to consider some normalization of relations with Kabul? Or, are there aspects of this regime, most notably its gender apartheid, that preclude legitimatizing the Taliban? The second half of the program takes up the big summit this weekend that will see President Biden host the leaders of Korea and Japan to formalize a new security partnership meant to oppose China and the perceived threat it represents in the region. Why are Japan and Korea drawing closer? And, how is China likely to react to a strengthened US block in Asia? 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.