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 DecibelCanadian NATO intern accused of spying
A Canadian woman has been arrested and accused of spying for a third country during her internship at NATO’s headquarters in Belgium. The woman had a work…
The DecibelInside ‘Davos on the dock,’ the invite-only Muskoka conference
The Dock has been around since 2015. It’s an invite-only conference where tech, business and political leaders gather to talk. This year it was at a…
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Who are the people hacking hackers?
Ransomware attacks have become more prominent in recent years, with major breaches of hospitals, like Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children in 2022, and…
The DecibelOntario’s failed bid to expand Toronto’s island airport
Billy Bishop Airport, located on the western edge of the Toronto Islands, just south of downtown, has long been the subject of controversy. There was…
The DecibelWhat’s up with Canada’s condo market?
The Canadian condo market is crumbling. As prices continue to plummet, thousands of condo units sit empty and unsold in Vancouver and Toronto – two of Canada’s…
The DecibelWhy chicken is so expensive right now
First, beef prices went sky-high. Now, the price of chicken is getting more expensive — and Canadian chicken production is struggling to keep up with demand…
The DecibelThe Odyssey and IMAX’s Canadian roots
When’s the last time going to see a movie was a cultural event? Director Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has people flocking to theatres for its star-studded…
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How much AI music is in your playlist?
What does it mean to create music? Would you be able to tell if the sounds you were listening to weren’t made or sung by a human? Artists and supporters of the…
The DecibelTrump’s gamble on a Depression-era tariff law
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 50-per-cent tariff on more than 500 Canadian goods effective next month. This is far from the first time the…
The DecibelWhat Canada can learn from Indigenous fire practices
Nearly 900 wildfires are burning across Canada, and early estimates suggest Ontario is experiencing its worst wildfire season on record. In Northwest Ontario…
The DecibelDecoding Mark Carney’s strategic narrative about Canada
One of the key jobs of a prime minister is to help build out the story of what is Canada. And while Mark Carney was considered a political neophyte when he…
The DecibelThe resistance to AI data centres in Canada
There are several development projects underway for AI data centres in Canada, with plans for many, many more. The Canadian government is behind these projects…
The DecibelPitch and Power: How the ’90 World Cup captured England’s heart
Pitch and Power is The Globe and Mail's World Cup podcast. In the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher’s England was a country under strain, marked by industrial decline…
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Another crucial strait that could strangle the global economy
A lot of attention has been given to the Strait of Hormuz amid Iran’s closure in response to attacks by the U.S. and Israel. But another key strait in the…
The DecibelHow much forest management matters in wildfires
Evacuation orders are under way in communities in northwestern Ontario, as more than 140 wildfires rage in the region. Meanwhile, smoke from the fires has…
The DecibelWhat Canada gave up to (hopefully) open the Gordie Howe bridge
A new deal between Canada and the U.S. resolves issues around the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which is now set to open on July 27. The bridge – which…
The DecibelThe Bishnoi gang and the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar
The 2023 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., led to a major diplomatic rift between Canada and India. Mr. Nijjar was a prominent Canadian Sikh…
The DecibelThe reasons Canadians aren’t taking their paid vacation
A lot of Canadians struggle to take their allotted, paid vacation days, according to new research, meaning those days go unused. It’s not just internal…
The DecibelPitch and Power: Italian agony, psychology of the penalty kick
In the heat of USA ’94, Roberto Baggio carried the nation of Italy on his shoulders— and then saw it all slip away from twelve yards. This episode explores one…
The DecibelTo ban or not to ban: Canadian teens weigh in on social media
Decisions in two landmark trials in the U.S. found social media companies responsible for harms to youth on their platforms, earlier this year. They follow…
The DecibelWhy Canada’s banks are doing so much better than the economy
Canada’s Big Six banks are doing very well financially – their stocks are up an average of 62 per cent over the past year. In previous years, five or 10 per…
The DecibelThe new pipeline push in Canada
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been front and centre of two pipeline proposal announcements in the past week. First, she and Prime Minister Mark Carney…
The DecibelWhy copper theft is on the rise and costing millions
The value of copper has sky-rocketed in the last number of years. The pink orange metal has been in high demand for data centres, telecommunications services…
The DecibelThe Canadian spy agency you may not have heard of
A recent report from the Communications Security Establishment, Canada’s electronic eavesdropping agency, revealed it conducted cyberattacks to disrupt the…
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How alcohol sales explain Canada’s internal trade problem
Interprovincial trade within Canada is complicated. Existing barriers mean that many goods, like alcohol, often can’t be sold across provincial and territorial…
The DecibelAfter 250 years of living next to the U.S., what’s next?
Canada and the U.S. share more than July birthdays. Between them is the world’s longest international land border, more than $3 billion in trade daily and…
The DecibelA new era of trade uncertainty for Canada, the U.S., and Mexico
With July 1 approaching – the formal review date for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement – it has become clear that there will be no 16-year extension of…
The DecibelWhy Canada struggles to stop the illegal wildlife trade
Billions of dollars of illegal wildlife parts get trafficked around the world each year. Think elephant tusks, rhino horns, polar bear pelts and even some rare…
The DecibelDating sucks right now, here’s why
Dating can be rough, but it seems to be especially bad right now. According to Statistics Canada, in the 1980s, 68 per cent of Canadians aged 25 to 29 were in…
The DecibelThe ‘valley of death’ for Canadian businesses
Canadian businesses don’t have an innovation problem – they have a growth funding problem. Small- and medium-sized businesses often find themselves in what’s…
The DecibelCanada’s push for nuclear power
The federal government wants Canada to get back into nuclear energy, pushing to increase nuclear power use and to build and export more Canadian-made nuclear…
The DecibelWhy more LGBTQ+ people are trying to flee the U.S.
On June 20, Rainbow Railroad released a report on the state of global LGBTQ+ persecution. As an advocacy group, Rainbow Railroad helps at-risk LGBTQ+ people…
The DecibelHow short-term rentals are fuelling human trafficking in Canada
A court case in Winnipeg has offered a rare glimpse into the mechanics of how human trafficking can work. And it showed that short-rental rentals, like Airbnb…
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Patrick Radden Keefe, in conversation at The Globe
Patrick Radden Keefe, investigative journalist and staff writer at The New Yorker, is best known for his narrative non-fiction true crime stories and deep…
The DecibelU.S. and Iran sign an initial peace deal – now the challenge begins
The U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding this week to end the war, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The 14-paragraph agreement lays out the…
The DecibelSaskatchewan could hold the key to Canada’s foreign trade goals
Could Saskatchewan be the key to unlocking Canada’s trade potential? While Ottawa works to double non-U.S. exports over the next decade and rebuild important…
The DecibelThe fight to make streaming platforms fund Canadian content
Canada’s Online Streaming Act is a thorn in the side of the U.S. administration. The law, passed in 2023, brings streaming platforms like Netflix, Paramount…
The DecibelReady to launch: Canada enters the space age
Despite Canada’s contributions to space technology and science, it lags behind other G7 nations in rocket launching capabilities. But that’s now changing –…
The DecibelSeafood supply changing East Coast menus this summer
Summer is peak tourist season for the Atlantic provinces, and many restaurants rely on revenue made during the season to get them through the rest of the year…
The DecibelIntroducing Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything
Introducing Pitch and Power: How Soccer Shapes Everything, The Globe and Mail’s new soccer podcast for World Cup 2026. Every Thursday, throughout the…
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Pierre Poilievre: An interview, in full
Following The Decibel’s analysis of a one-on-one interview with Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, listeners wrote in and asked for an uncut interview to…
The DecibelCanada’s first steps towards a social media ban
The government’s new Safe Social Media Act, introduced on Wednesday, will require social media companies to block users below the age of 16 from having…
The DecibelThe risks and rewards of the IPO hype in Canada
There’s a surge of excitement around a few big companies going public this year – like Apotex and SpaceX both going on stock exchanges this week. These IPOs…
The DecibelWorld Cup 2026: Breakout stars, dark horses and Canada’s chances
The World Cup starts on Thursday, beginning what will be the largest iteration of a hugely popular global event. This time, there are 104 matches with 48…
The DecibelIs smoking making a comeback?
Smoking cigarettes is cool again. Apparently. Social media and accounts online are raving about the habit, turning it into a trend with images from celebrities…
The DecibelCarney’s plan for AI in Canada, explained
The federal government released its plan for AI, and it includes a lot of new money ($2.3 billion, to be precise) towards training, adoption and supporting…
The DecibelPatrolling the Arctic with the Canadian military
As Canada builds out its military, there has been an increasing focus on arctic security. But military strategies that work in the southern part of the country…
The DecibelThe recession question
Canada’s economy has stalled. According to Statistics Canada, Canada’s real GDP contracted 0.1 per cent on an annualized basis in the first quarter of 2026. In…
The DecibelHow alcohol sales explain Canada’s internal trade problem
Interprovincial trade within Canada is complicated. Existing barriers mean that many goods, like alcohol, often can’t be sold across provincial and territorial…
The DecibelUnpaid and overworked: labour violations in Canadian trucking
The Canadian trucking industry touches almost every aspect of commercial life — most Canadian products on store shelves made at least some part of their…
The DecibelA crack in Carney’s Liberal caucus over climate
Liberal MP Steven Guilbeault has announced his resignation from Mark Carney’s government, after stepping down from cabinet last fall.. During his time in…
The DecibelUncovering FIFA’s costly World Cup demands on Canadian cities
Vancouver and Toronto are getting ready to host FIFA World Cup matches in June and July, and the demands FIFA makes tend to be costly. Requirements from FIFA…
The DecibelWhat’s behind the surge in military enlistment in Canada
Canada has been pushing to increase its defence efforts. Earlier this year, Canada reached their NATO defence spending target of two per cent of GDP. On…
The DecibelThe search for graves at Tk’emlups, five years on
Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation near Kamloops, B.C. was the site of a national reckoning over the legacy of residential schools. On May 27, 2021, the First…
The DecibelA reality check on Alberta separatism
Political tensions are rising in Alberta. Last week, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced the province will hold a referendum on whether to hold a…
The DecibelDeaths raise concerns over selling plasma in Canada
Getting paid for plasma – the yellow-gold liquid part of blood – in Canada is still pretty new. It’s full of protein and antibodies and can be used to make…
The DecibelAn interview with Pierre Poilievre
Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, sat down with The Globe’s editorial board for an interview last week. They asked him about a…
The DecibelThe growing concern over stray drone strikes in Europe
Drones have become a part of everyday life for many Ukrainians. Now, they’re showing up in the airspace of Baltic countries. On Wednesday, people in…
The DecibelA week without ultraprocessed foods
Finding the time to cook can be a challenge. The solution for many Canadians looks like using convenient pre-prepared foods. Ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) are…
The DecibelA big step forward for B.C. mothers subjected to ‘birth alerts’
“Birth alerts” were a controversial practice in several Canadian provinces that allowed hospitals and child-welfare agencies to flag pregnant patients they…