The Decibel
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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.
Episodis Recents
1250 episodis
Iran’s power grows ahead of peace talks as Gulf remains on edge
On Friday, negotiators from the U.S., Israel and Iran are set to talk in Pakistan about the future of the war. The Gulf Arab states, who have been att...
Groceries, airfare and EVs: the war is changing how we spend
After the U.S., Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire on Tuesday night, oil prices eased on Wednesday. Many details of the ceasefire remain unclear –...
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...
Saskatchewan’s new massive ‘pink gold’ mine
Australian mining company BHP has made the largest investment in the company’s history in Saskatchewan, opening the province’s biggest potash mine. Th...
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 mar...
Why some doctors are critical of B.C.’s new health care regulations
April 1 marked the start of a new regime to regulate health care in B.C. – the first overhaul of the system in 30 years. The Globe’s health reporter a...
Artemis II: A Canadian heads to the far side of the moon
April 1st marks the earliest possible date that lunar mission Artemis II could lift off. Decades have passed since humans last visited the moon. After...
Can Avi Lewis bring the NDP back to life?
On Sunday, the New Democratic Party elected Avi Lewis as its new leader. He takes the reins of a political party still reeling from losses in last yea...
Prediction trading is coming to Canada
Prediction trading is exploding in popularity, with the industry set to rake in about US$2 billion in revenue this year alone. Companies like Kalshi a...
To ban or not to ban: Canadian teens weigh in on social media
This week, decisions in two landmark trials in the U.S. found social media companies responsible for harms to youth on their platforms. They follow ye...
How the war in Iran exposes the limits of China’s influence
Since the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran almost a month ago, the ripple effects of the war have been felt globally. The closure of the Strait of...
How sweeping cuts could impact Canada’s public sector
The federal government is hoping to make room for the new spending outlined in last year’s budget by making cuts across the public sector. The goal is...
The trouble with enforcing Canadian food labels
Amid threats of annexation and U.S.-imposed tariffs, Canadians are using their dollars to purchase Canadian goods. However, consumer complaints about...
The landmark case over rights and freedoms at the Supreme Court
Today, a case involving Quebec’s use of the notwithstanding clause is going before the Supreme Court of Canada. In the last decade, many provinces hav...
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 supporte...
What war in Iran means for Canadian oil
Since the U.S. and Israel started a war with Iran, the price of oil has spiked. That’s largely because oil tankers are no longer travelling through th...
Why holding government to account in Ontario could get harder
Late last week, the Ontario government announced it would introduce legislation exempting the Premier, cabinet ministers and their offices from respon...
Behind schedule and over budget: Why do we keep building LRTs?
Building cities for the future means building a lot more public transit – and lately, Canadian cities have been planning LRTs, or light rail transit....
An analysis of Mark Carney’s first year as Prime Minister
It’s been one year since Mark Carney became Prime Minister. He was long known as a technocrat, having held the position of central banker for both Can...
Why Israel’s war with Iran is spreading to Lebanon
On February 28th, the US and Israel struck Iran – and Iran fired back at military bases and allies in the region. The war has since dominated global a...
How the towing industry is linked to police corruption
A wide-scale investigation into police corruption in Ontario – Project South – led to the arrests of 27 people, including seven Toronto Police Service...
Voices from the Iranian diaspora in Canada
Members of Canada’s Iranian community have been living through a complex set of emotions since the United States and Israel started a war with Iran ne...
Tumbler Ridge shooting highlights B.C.’s mental health deserts
A month has passed since the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., where eight people were killed by 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, who then turned...
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 compa...
Why a sleep doctor says we should never change our clocks again
On Sunday, most Canadians lose an hour of sleep as the clocks get turned forward to daylight time. But while most of us have gotten used to the bi-ann...
What Canada needs to learn from Alabama
When it comes to one economic indicator, Canada is lagging behind one of the U.S.’s poorest states: Alabama. And while GDP per capita is an imperfect...
After years of hostility, Carney defrosts relations with India
Prime Minister Mark Carney finished his trip to India this week, marking the start of what he says is a new partnership between the two countries. The...
How the war against Iran is choking global energy supply
Since the U.S. and Israel first struck Iran on Saturday, energy prices have been on the rise. Oil prices are up around 13 per cent, and LNG – liquefie...
What the U.S.-Israel attacks mean for Iranian leadership
The U.S. and Israel are continuing attacks on Iran for the fourth day. Iran’s leadership has been devastated, hundreds have been killed and retaliator...
Skinny, Inc. Part 2: The big business of Ozempic
You can listen to the first episode of this three-part series here.
GLP-1 medications to treat diabetes, obesity and several other illnesses hav...
The argument for AI regulation after Tumbler Ridge
Months before the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., earlier this month, the shooter was banned from OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, for violat...
Winners and losers after a year of Trump tariffs
On Tuesday night, U.S. President Donald Trump touted his tariff regime, after a Supreme Court decision that severely limited his ability to impose tar...
Mexico’s uneasy balance of power between cartels and government
On Tuesday, Canadian airlines began to resume operations in Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara. They had been suspended days earlier after the Mexican ar...
The payout and relationship that led to crisis at a pension plan
It began with three executives from the CAAT Pension Plan raising concerns over a $1.6-million vacation payout and a relationship between the CEO and...
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...
Margaret Atwood and Michael Crummey on ‘The Art of the Story’
A conversation between two acclaimed Canadian authors – Margaret Atwood and Michael Crummey on ‘The Art of the Story’. A live discussion about writing...
What would a stronger trade relationship with Mexico look like?
This week, Minister for Canada-U.S. Trade Dominic LeBlanc, led a trade delegation to Mexico. He was joined by government and industry officials, as we...
Carney’s plan to expand Canada’s defence industry
As part of its plan to remake the Canadian Armed Forces, the federal government earmarked $6.6-billion over five years in the fall budget for its Defe...
What social media for AI bots can tell us about consciousness
Much has been made about a new social media platform called Moltbook, where AI agents are posting and appear to be interacting with each other. Some s...
Why Carney and Ford are talking about a federal election
The Globe exclusively reported that Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford discussed the possibility of a snap federal election this...