Shows / The Decibel
The Decibel
Context is everything. Join us Monday to Friday for a Canadian daily news podcast from The Globe and Mail. Explore a story shaping our world, in conversation with reporters, experts, and the people at the centre of the news.
Episodes
The Decibel‘Associate member’ idea dropped on eve of Canada-EU summit
The European Union has dropped its offer to give Canada the status of ‘associate member.’ This comes after pushback from some member states and reluctance from…
The DecibelCanada has become an election issue in the U.S. midterms
Americans will vote for members of the U.S. Congress in the midterm elections on Nov. 3. But in a number of states, this year’s election will have a major…
The DecibelScams are on the rise in Canada
Canadians reported over $700-million lost to scams in 2025, up from $645-million the year before; that figure is recognized to be a massive undercount because…
The DecibelWhy Carney is betting on critical minerals
The Canadian government has invested billions in critical mineral companies in an effort to boost the sector so it can compete against China. But mining…
The DecibelDavid Eby’s B.C. election gamble
On Saturday, B.C. voters head to the polls in a snap provincial election. BC NDP Leader David Eby’s rationale for the election, held two years ahead of…
The DecibelWhat we know about the deadly fire at CFB Wainwright
Four people were killed and dozens injured in a fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta on Saturday. Prime Minister Mark Carney called it one of the…
The DecibelAlberta rejects separation. What comes next?
Albertans firmly rejected the option to separate from Canada in Monday night’s referendum vote, with 75 per cent of voters opting to keep the province in the…
The DecibelThe people filming their chores to train humanoid robots
Household chores can be seen as a drain on your time. But to some AI companies, how you do those chores is valuable data. Apps like Atlas Capture are using…
The DecibelThe history of Alberta separatism
Today is the referendum in Alberta, where Albertans will cast their vote either to remain part of Canada or start the process to hold another referendum to…
The DecibelAccused accomplice in Tumbler Ridge shooting appears in court
This past week, a judge in Washington state heard arguments around whether a woman accused of conspiring with the Tumbler Ridge shooter should be released…
The DecibelHow your AI search results are being manipulated
For many, AI is no longer a curiosity but increasingly built into our daily lives. Whether through intentional use of chatbots or its inclusion in online…
The DecibelThe shrinking neighbourhoods in two of Canada’s biggest cities
The populations of Vancouver and Toronto have doubled in the past 50 years, but in certain neighbourhoods of those cities, populations have declined by as much…
The DecibelThe volunteers filling the gaps in Canada’s health care
Amidst the news about Canada’s strained and struggling healthcare system, there is a bright spot. The Globe and Mail published a series recently about…
The DecibelThe other nine questions in the Alberta referendum
Albertans will go to the polls to vote in a referendum on October 19. By now, everyone knows about the question on whether Alberta should stay in Canada, or…
The DecibelA border town on the front lines of the trade war
Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., is on the front lines of Canada’s trade war with the U.S.. The city lies just a few kilometres away from the U.S., across a river from…
The DecibelCanada’s income tax law has become a ‘Frankenstein’s monster’
The law governing income tax in Canada is as complex as the legislation is thick – it’s over 3,000 pages long. All of this complexity isn’t just a nuisance for…
The DecibelHow some Alberta separatists are courting U.S. support
A secret meeting with Republican strategists near an airport hanger, and talks of access to Alberta water and royalties from oil. These are some of the…
The DecibelA splintered political landscape heading into Quebec’s election
Quebec is facing a fractured political landscape ahead of its election today, with no single party polling higher than 30 per cent in the run-up to the…
The DecibelHockey Night in Canada without the NHL
Hockey Night in Canada is considered a Canadian cultural institution. For almost 75 years, it was broadcast on the CBC, accessible to any Canadian who wanted…
The DecibelThe booze war within the trade war
In the trade war between the U.S. and Canada, alcohol has been a bargaining chip on both sides of the border. Early in 2025, Canadian premiers pulled U.S…
The DecibelIn Her Defence: Police officer preys on vulnerable women
Officers at the Regina Police Service begin an internal investigation of one of their colleagues, and turn up a case larger and more complex than they could…
The DecibelHavana Syndrome: new allegation of Canadian spying
The Globe and Mail has learned that a Canadian diplomat was sharing intelligence with American spies in Havana and Canadians were using satellite equipment…
The DecibelThe new AI moment we’re in
After several reports of AI agents going rogue, calls for regulation of this technology have grown louder. And some of the people advocating for more rules are…
The DecibelHe preyed on women using a police database. Then they found out
For years, Sgt. Robert Semenchuk, a Regina police officer, preyed on hundreds of vulnerable women using information from police databases. He often posed as a…
The DecibelWhat’s on and off the table at Trump and Xi’s meeting
Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Washington this week for his first official state visit to the U.S. in 11 years. A lot has changed since then – China has…
The DecibelLiberal omnibus bill sparks outcry from unions, environmentalists
On Monday, the governing Liberals tabled their first bill of the new session of Parliament. Bill C-39, also called the Building Canada Strong Act, is over 240…
The DecibelCanada’s controversial system of equalization payments, explained
Canada has had a system of equalization payments for decades, where money collected by federal income taxes gets distributed to provinces worse off financially…
The DecibelA reality check on Canada’s future with the EU
Canada and the EU are working toward a more integrated partnership. As the relationship with the U.S. becomes increasingly less reliable, Canadians seem to be…
The DecibelIntroducing In Her Defence: Breach of Trust
What happens when one of the “good guys” turns out to be a bad guy? The acclaimed true crime podcast series ‘In Her Defence’ returns with ’In Her Defence…
The DecibelThe Canadian military is preparing for major conflicts
The Canadian Armed Forces is undergoing a generational change. From record investment and spending, to its most extensive re-organization in decades – military…
The DecibelAirports, AI data centres and Carney’s ‘supercycle’ of investment
The Canada Investment Summit wrapped after two days of deals and announcements meant to spur more capital in the Canadian economy. This includes the federal…
The DecibelThe cash-strapped, disorganized fight to keep Alberta in Canada
Albertans will head to the polls in just over a month, on Oct. 19, to vote in a referendum. There are 10 questions, but the one that’s garnering the most…
The DecibelThe office is back (at least in Canada’s financial hub)
Headlines about vacant office buildings and deserted downtowns is old news. The return to office, in downtown Toronto especially, is back on. Vacancy rates…
The DecibelCarney pitches Canada to the world’s biggest investors
Starting today, 300 big-money investors are descending upon Toronto to take part in the inaugural Canada Investment Summit. Prime Minister Mark Carney will try…
The DecibelThe trade war has created a boom for lobbyists
Personal connections have always mattered when it comes to political lobbying, but as the trade war ramps up, and global interests try to influence U.S. policy…
The DecibelWhat the current bond market turmoil says about the economy
Scary bond market headlines – warnings of an impending financial crisis – have been in the news for weeks now thanks to a rise in U.S. Treasury yields. This…
The DecibelThe trade war is heating up. So is foreign investment in Canada
With Canada’s countertariffs coming into effect on roughly $28-billion worth of U.S. goods on Tuesday, the trade war between Canada and the U.S. is heating up…
The DecibelViolence against teachers is surging
A growing and worrying trend is happening in Canadian schools – student violence against teachers is on the rise. Data from school boards across Canada…
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Canadian professors on how AI is changing education
A big issue hangs over university students and professors, and that’s artificial intelligence. There are some rules and guidelines, but professors are largely…
The DecibelA pediatric emergency physician on the risks of e-scooters
The popularity of e-scooters on Canadian roads has exploded in recent years. But new data from health officials and the Canadian Paediatric Society shows that…
The DecibelWhat’s behind the implosion of the B.C. Conservatives
It’s been a turbulent time for the official opposition of the British Columbia provincial legislature, the B.C. Conservative party. After seeing a surge in…
The DecibelHow small businesses are handling the trade war
The 50-per-cent tariffs from the U.S. that came into effect on Aug. 22 are hitting a long list of goods — everything from cosmetics and toiletries, to…
The DecibelWhy people are taking vacations to pick up new skills
The demands of modern life seem to grow every day, leaving little time for people to pursue hobbies. Many Canadians are leaving vacation time unused. In light…
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Navigating Canada’s fertility industry
A growing number of Canadians are struggling with fertility, and the business helping people make babies is booming. The global fertility services market was…
The DecibelAt its core, the Canada-U.S. trade dispute is about autos
The auto sector is at the heart of trade discussions between Canada and the U.S. Canada’s auto sector has been hit hard over the past year with tariffs from…
The DecibelCanada hits U.S. with retaliatory tariffs
The Canada-U.S. trade war is in full effect. On Tuesday, the federal government announced retaliatory tariffs against the United States. U.S. steel, seafood…
The DecibelCanadian businesses prepare for long-haul trade war
After trade talks broke down between Ottawa and Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump implemented 50-per-cent tariffs on $28-billion dollars worth of…
The DecibelWhy Canada’s biggest paid plasma collector has paused operations
Plasma is the golden fluid part of the blood and it’s used to make life-saving medications for people with immune deficiencies. In Canada, plasma donors were…
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Skinny, Inc. Part 3: Body image in the age of Ozempic
The first episode of Skinny Inc. was all about the science behind GLP-1s, and the second episode was about the business, from the pharmaceutical companies who…
The DecibelCarney’s tricky trade balancing act
Canadians braced for new tariffs on Wednesday. Instead, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would hold off on 50 per cent tariffs for three more days because a…
The DecibelForeign actors target Alberta’s separatist referendum
New research from the University of Regina and the University of Alberta provides evidence that Russian content farms and right-wing U.S. influencers are…
The DecibelThe fate of ship crews stuck in the Strait of Hormuz
More than 6,000 ship workers, including some Canadians, have been stranded in the Persian Gulf — some in the Strait of Hormuz — since the war in Iran began at…
The DecibelTicks are spreading more than just Lyme disease
Canada is in the middle of one of its worst seasons for ticks. The tick population and tick-borne diseases are climbing year-over-year, and it’s not just Lyme…
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Skinny, Inc. Part 2: The big business of Ozempic
GLP-1 medications to treat diabetes, obesity and several other illnesses have exploded in popularity since Ozempic was approved for use in Canada back in 2018…
The DecibelWhat it’s like to flee the B.C. wildfires
Summerland, B.C., has been devastated by the Bald Range wildfire. More than 20,000 people have evacuated, and by Wednesday, it had burned 178 square…
The DecibelLuluemon’s fight to stay on top of athleisure
For years, the Canadian athletic-wear brand Lululemon both pioneered and dominated the athleisure retail market. It turned workout gear into a status symbol…
The DecibelCanadian banks are going big on AI
Canadian banks are leaning heavily into AI adoption. More than 30 per cent of finance and insurance firms are using AI, compared to just 1.5 per cent of…
The DecibelMaking Halifax into Canada’s defence city
Steeped in military and naval history, Halifax is increasingly used as the backdrop for announcements of defence investment. The city is poised to benefit from…
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Skinny, Inc. Part 1: The Canadian connection to Ozempic
Dr. Daniel Drucker’s research helped pave the way for Ozempic, the blockbuster GLP-1 class drug. The endocrinologist has been researching the effects on…
The DecibelHow Gen Z says ‘oui’: Meet Quebec’s young sovereigntists
With a Quebec provincial election on deck this fall, and the Parti Québécois leading in the polls, there’s a good chance Quebec will hold another referendum on…