Current Affairs Discussion Group
Hosted by Barry Zussman
If keeping up with the news is important to you, but you’re becoming increasingly baffled and bamboozled by the proliferation of information sources, and their veracity, then this is the group for you! Once a month, on the third Thursday morning at 10:30am, we meet online for an hour of lively debate on a wide range of current or emerging issues of national and/or global significance, so why not join us.
To subscribe to our mailing list, just click here: subscribe form, fill in your contact details, and we’ll do the rest, ensuring that you’ll automatically receive the latest updates, and those all-important log-in details. If you’d like to suggest a topic for discussion, drop me a line at currentaffairs@u3acommunities.org.
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Previous Meetings
Burnham’s Britain
It is now all but certain that, by next weekend, Andy Burnham will become our next Prime Minister. He may have a Messianic appeal within his party, but the man[...]
The Welfare State: Is it Still Affordable?
In Britain today, few issues provoke more heated debate than this. On one side are those who argue, on humanitarian grounds, that the less fortunate among us deserve all the[...]
Current Affairs discussion group: Open Forum
With so much going on at the moment, both domestically and around the world, it's time once again to open the floor to all of you - our members -[...]
Finding the Truth in the Fog of War
For more than a month now, the world has held its breath ever since the Middle East was plunged into another deadly conflict between its most hard-line of sworn enemies.[...]
Electoral Reform
With the Middle East in flames and oil prices soaring, a significant piece of legislation - the 'Representation of the People' Bill - attracted little attention when it was debated[...]
The Future of the BBC
In 2027, the BBC will reach a historic milestone, having been established by Royal Charter exactly a hundred years ago. Under the terms of that Charter, its remit must be[...]
Donald Trump’s Unforgettable First Year
Barely a year has passed since his inauguration, yet even the most fanciful of apocalyptic predictions about how Trump’s second term as US President would unfold, have fallen way short[...]
Current Affairs discussion group: Open Forum
For our final meeting of the year, I'm once again opening the floor to all of you - our members - to share your thoughts on anything that's been making[...]
The Demographic Time-bomb
In common with many other developed countries, the UK's birth-rate has been falling for some time, and now stands at around 1.5 children per woman, far below the so-called 'replacement'[...]
Current Affairs group: Open Forum
Since we last met in July, much has happened in the world, and yet, in many ways, little has changed. The conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine are no closer to[...]
Freedom of Speech
"I disapprove of what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it". This famous quotation, usually - but incorrectly - attributed to the pioneering Enlightenment-era[...]
The Israel-Iran Crisis
This week, in a change from our previously-advertised subject, we will now be discussing the escalating conflict that has erupted between Israel and Iran. Could it have been avoided, or[...]
The Mental Health Crisis
Here in the UK, this week has been officially designated as 'Mental Health Awareness Week'. And if that's news to you, you're not alone, because domestic and global events seem[...]
Antidisestablishmentarianism: Has it had its day?
In the wake of former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby's ignominious resignation over the John Smyth cover-up, followed last week by his ill-judged public forgiveness of this prolific abuser, is[...]
Trump’s New World Order: Strongmen Make the Rules
Following last month's jaw-dropping Oval Office ambush of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the subsequent freezing of military aid to his country, the full horror of Donald Trump's determination to completely rewrite[...]
Preparing for the AI Revolution
Hardly a day goes by without news of yet another amazing breakthrough in AI and/or robotics, which, we are told, will transform our lives in ever more dramatic and profound[...]
Starmer’s First Six Months: Can Things Get Any Worse!?
Back in July, after 14 years in the political wilderness, Labour swept back into power with a huge majority, and a commitment to change our country for the better. But[...]
Good News Stories from 2024
As another year draws to a close, and the nights draw in, it can sometimes feel like the most significant events of the last twelve months were all doom and[...]
The Middle East Crisis: Stepping Back from the Brink
A year on from the brutal Hamas incursion into southern Israel, the bloody chain of events it triggered has left tens of thousands dead across the region, and has brought[...]
Assisted Dying: The End of Unnecessary Suffering, or a Slippery Slope Towards Execution of the Unwanted?
Our subject for this month's meeting could hardly be more topical, coinciding as it does with the introduction, in the House of Commons, of Labour MP Kim Leadbeater's Private Member's[...]
America at the Crossroads: The Battle for the White House, and Why it Matters so Much More This Time Around
By popular demand, the Current Affairs Discussion Group is up and running again, so we're looking forward to welcoming back some of our old friends, and hopefully many new ones[...]
