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 DecibelCarney, Smith agree to pipeline framework, as minister resigns
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have signed an agreement that sets the framework for building a new pipeline, carrying bitumen to…
The DecibelWhy Canada lost consensus on immigration — and how to get it back
The Canadian consensus on immigration cratered last year. In the fall of 2024, an Environics poll found that for the first time in a quarter century most…
The DecibelIf AI is a bubble, how will it pop?
Some of the world’s largest tech companies, like OpenAI, Google and Meta, have invested hundreds of billions of dollars into artificial intelligence as they…
The DecibelAlleged drug trafficking, murders and an Olympian-turned-fugitive
Last week, the FBI and the RCMP announced 10 new arrests in connection with a $1-billion drug-trafficking ring allegedly run by Canadian former Olympic…
The DecibelThe controversial push to expand private health care in Alberta
No Canadian province allows doctors to offer care under both private and public systems – but leaked draft legislation obtained by The Globe and Mail shows…
The DecibelThe bureaucracy slowing down access to life-saving drugs
For cancer patients, every day of treatment is critical. But the best care possible is not always reaching patients quickly. Despite Health Canada approving a…
The DecibelCanada courts UAE amid calls to stop its arming of Sudan militia
This week, Prime Minister Mark Carney is in the United Arab Emirates to try to shore up foreign investment ahead of next week’s G20 summit in South Africa…
The DecibelThe Epstein scandal and the Canadians who knew him
Last week, over 20,000 pages of the late Jeffrey Epstein’s emails, texts and other documents were released. In one email, Epstein – the deceased child sex…
The DecibelWhy beef is so expensive right now
Beef prices are currently around 23 per cent above their five-year average. And there’s no relief in sight. Kate Helmore is The Globe’s agriculture and food…
The DecibelWhy a B.C. billionaire’s bid for Hudson’s Bay stores failed
In May, a B.C. billionaire named Weihong (Ruby) Liu made a $69.1-million deal to acquire 28 leases of former Hudson’s Bay stores. Her company, Central Walk…
The DecibelWhat Carney is prioritizing with his new nation-building projects
Prime Minister Mark Carney has unveiled the next set of projects the federal government plans to prioritize in a bid to jumpstart Canada’s economy. The…
The DecibelWhere is the best place to rent in Canada?
Where in Canada is it best to rent right now? The Globe analyzed cities from coast to coast to coast, comparing cities’ median incomes with their average…
The DecibelTwo Conservative MPs are gone. Where does the party go from here?
On the day the budget was tabled, Chris d’Entremont, the lone Conservative MP from Nova Scotia, crossed the floor to the Liberals. Two days later, Matt…
The DecibelThe Indigenous land claim that could override private property rights
A precedent-setting ruling involving Aboriginal title at the B.C. Supreme Court has caused widespread uncertainty and tension in the province. In August…
The DecibelCarney’s big bet for $500-billion in private investments
A big part of the federal budget rests on the assumption that its measures will spur the private sector to invest in Canada…a lot. It’s projecting a…
The DecibelThe stress of shared calendars in modern parenting
Parents are increasingly relying on elaborate calendar systems to keep track of their families’ activities – from a shared calendar or paper planner to…
The DecibelWhy the condo bubble burst could lead to better housing
For more than a decade, Canada’s condo boom was on. Investors, at home and abroad, drove the craze over reselling preconstruction units. Rents skyrocketed, all…
The DecibelKey takeaways from the Carney government’s first budget
On Tuesday, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne tabled the first federal budget from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government. It had long been…
The DecibelWhat to look out for in the 2025 federal budget
Today, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is set to deliver the first budget under Prime Minister Mark Carney. Early announcements have signalled…
The DecibelWhales, extinction and the sounds of underwater noise pollution
North Atlantic right whales are nearing extinction, with fewer than 400 left in the world. We know what is killing them: getting hit by shipping boats…
The DecibelWhy a sleep doctor says we should never change our clocks again
On Sunday, most Canadians gain an hour of sleep as the clocks get turned back to standard time. But while most of us have gotten used to the bi-annual time…
The DecibelWhy Quebec doctors are threatening to leave the province
Last weekend, Quebec passed new legislation that would impose a new contract on doctors, who have been in negotiations with the provincial government since…
The DecibelU.S. trade talks stalled after Ford ad, Carney heads to Asia
On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump ended trade talks with Canada and threatened to hike tariffs on Canadian imports by another 10 per cent because of…
The DecibelWhy more young people are signing prenups
‘Til death do us part – that’s the promise couples make to each other when they tie the knot. But what happens in the event of a divorce? Disentangling a…
The DecibelDo we need a ‘buy Canadian’ movement for culture?
As Canadians, we’ve spent a lot of time over the past year talking about what it means to be Canadian and how to support our country. For some people, that…
The DecibelOK Blue Jays! A bandwagoner’s guide to the World Series
The Toronto Blue Jays are headed to the World Series for the first time in over 30 years. It’s the third time in franchise history that Canada’s team is…
The DecibelWhat record gold and silver prices tell us about the stock market
The prices of gold and silver have been climbing quickly this fall, with both precious metals setting a new high for per-ounce price. Why is this happening?…
The DecibelWhat’s going on with Pierre Poilievre?
Last week, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre made comments about the RCMP being “despicable” on a YouTube show, accusing them of “covering up” for former…
The DecibelWhy bail reform is hard to get right
On Thursday, Ottawa announced incoming legislation to reform the bail system. It comes after months of pressure both in Parliament and across the country, as a…
The DecibelAI and digital sovereignty in the ‘elbows up’ era
There has been a lot of talk about Canadian sovereignty ever since the election of Donald Trump. And that sovereignty talk extends to the digital realm too…
The DecibelThe crop caught in the crosshairs of the Canada-China trade war
This week, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is visiting China as part of an effort to improve relations amid a trade war between Canada and China. It began…
The DecibelA dispatch from Gaza as the fragile ceasefire takes hold
The ceasefire in Gaza that U.S. President Donald Trump helped broker has been in place since Friday. But already, both Israel and Hamas have accused each other…
The DecibelWhat it’s like for migrant workers on Canadian farms
Canada’s agriculture industry is big business, contributing $32-billion to Canada’s GDP in 2024 and employing an estimated 223,000 people. What garners less…
The DecibelThe fight over the notwithstanding clause
A legal battle is underway over the notwithstanding clause, which allows governments to override “[certain] rights of Canadians” that are protected by the…
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Machines Like Us: Geoffrey Hinton on AI’s future
Geoffrey Hinton, “the godfather of AI”, pioneered much of the network research that would become the backbone of modern AI. But it’s in the last several years…
The DecibelHow a new pipeline could test Canadian unity
A new pipeline pitch is stirring up an old fight. On Oct. 1, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced the province would be drawing up a proposal for a new oil…
The DecibelHow seriously is corporate Canada taking DEI these days?
Five years ago, hundreds of Canadian companies publicly pledged to address anti-Black racism. They signed the BlackNorth Initiative, which has since become the…
The DecibelKey takeaways from Carney’s second meeting with Trump
Five months after his first appearance in the Oval Office, Prime Minister Mark Carney made his second trip down to Washington. And while he said little during…
The DecibelHow October 7 is still haunting the Jewish diaspora
On October 7, 2023, members of Hamas launched attacks in Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 people hostage. Israel responded by launching a…
The DecibelHow Trump’s peace plan for Gaza could end the war
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a 20-point peace plan to end the war in Gaza. He did so alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu…
The DecibelWhy Alberta teachers are on the cusp of a historic strike
The education system has been fraught with controversy in Alberta. From the government’s recent attempt to ban certain books in school libraries, to their…
The DecibelBoiling point: the uncertain future of lobster fishing
The great boom of the lobster industry is, in many ways, a story of success. For more than 30 years, Canada’s most valuable seafood export has generated wealth…
The DecibelWhat life is like for missing Ukrainian kids in Russian camps
Official estimates from Ukraine’s government say 19,000 Ukrainian children have been taken by Russian forces since the start of the conflict. And many of these…
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Machines Like Us: AI upending higher education
Just two months after ChatGPT was launched in 2022, a survey found 90 per cent of college students were already using it. But students are no longer using…
The DecibelLet's talk about autism
Last Monday, the Trump administration linked Tylenol to autism and warned against pregnant women taking it — Health Canada says there is no conclusive evidence…
The DecibelWho’s behind Canada’s nation-building projects?
Canada’s new Major Projects Office is part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s ambition to fast-track Canada’s major infrastructure projects. And the person…
The DecibelHigh-stakes trade talks begin as Trump tariffs persist
After months of informal back-and-forth talks about Donald Trump’s tariffs, a new chapter in the U.S.-Canada trade war has begun. Last week, the U.S…
The DecibelTracing the virus: How measles made its way back to Canada
Measles is one of the most contagious respiratory viruses in the world. But for decades, it rarely infected Canadians. That’s not true any more. Since October…
The DecibelCharlie Kirk, free speech, and Canada’s new anti-hate law
A fierce debate about free speech has erupted in the U.S. in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing. Government officials have encouraged reporting against…
The DecibelMeet the people who save aggressively to retire early
Would you work two full-time jobs and live off of ramen noodles if it meant you could retire at 35? That’s the image many people have of people who follow the…
The DecibelThe disappearance of Jack and Lilly Sullivan
On May 2, 2025, Lilly and Jack Sullivan were reported missing from the small community of Landsdowne, Nova Scotia. The disappearance of the siblings quickly…
The DecibelMark Carney’s plan for affordable housing
At the beginning of the week, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the launch of Build Canada Homes, an agency tasked with building affordable and supportive…
The DecibelIsrael begins ground invasion of Gaza, UN inquiry finds genocide
After weeks of warnings, Israel has begun a full-scale ground invasion into Gaza City. Hundreds of thousands of people are living under bombardment in the…
The DecibelWhat you need to know about COVID-19 this fall
COVID-19 is currently surging again. And it’s not even respiratory illness season yet. While much of the public would like to leave the pandemic behind, the…
The DecibelThe challenges ahead for Carney as Parliament resumes
Between ramping up major infrastructure projects, trying to make a deal with the U.S., and working on strengthening ties with Europe, Prime Minister Mark…
The DecibelKPop Demon Hunters, Korean culture and why kids love it so much
The movie of the summer wasn’t in theatres this year. It was on Netflix, it’s called KPop Demon Hunters and kids are obsessed with it. It has become the…
The DecibelLeak reveals China is exporting internet censorship technology
China’s Great Firewall blocks social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok, along with certain political topics, streaming platforms, and even Google. For…
The DecibelPipelines, ports and rail: What’s Carney building first?
For months, there has been speculation about what Prime Minister Mark Carney and the federal government might put forward as “nation-building projects” under…
The DecibelThe multimillion-dollar fight over a piece of Canadian history
As the Hudson’s Bay Company continues to sell off what it owns to pay back creditors, a historic document has come up for sale. The Bay’s charter is its…
The DecibelSegregation of child inmates being challenged in landmark lawsuit
A landmark class action lawsuit is alleging that Manitoba has subjected thousands of incarcerated children to solitary confinement — the province denies it…