Friday Focus: Diplomacy with Iran and a Democratic socialist stuns New York City

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. 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 to prevent Iran from rebuilding their nuclear program, but will Iran trust the US and move towards non-enrichment, or go the way of North Korea and secretly sprint towards a bomb? In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to the surprising Democratic mayoral primary in New York City where Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani upset former NY governor Andrew Cuomo. Mamdani's affordability message resonated with voters and showed that Trump and MAGA do not have a monopoly on the public's growing frustration with economic inequality. This crushing defeat of an established politician reflects a powerful desire for change that party elites - on both sides of the aisle - ignore at their peril.     Thank you to this week’s Munk Curators and Supporters. Your contribution supports our efforts to bring back civil and substantive dialogue to the public square. Curators: Dixi LVincent CFrederic GBill M     Supporters: Mary GJames HCynthia SMaria Jose MAshvini DTheodora PTim CJacob KJoslyn BEugene TAlexander PHannah WVictor Nstefan SKevin BKristin ESarah CUlrike HKurt JSeth BDan WChristine BJesse BBen RTilanthi JChris BTrevor WAna RMichael CNeil MJim BJordan GFrances AEric PKaren BJOSE A ALawrence CLuke ANatasha MRobert CGintare MErin FJOSIE WJoe WRick CSuzanne HJay Nflorence MSimon JPaola LSylvia AJonathan WCharles LKatrina LDan BJake SSebastian TJulia NMark ANouri CMadeleine SNathaniel JThomas GMichelle GJohn LRichard CRyan LBraxley LPatrice TAviva RAlexis KCathy GMatt MKevin JJocelyn NBen PMike LDavid LArin KJordan HElena TStephanie HDarren KWilliam KRon BAndy DArvind SJulie PPatrick HJuliane SOmri GJohn MColin HJulie CLinda AMichael H To support 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.

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