The Decibel

The Globe and Mail

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.

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1,335 episodes
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Episodes1335

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May 12, 2025 · 23 min
Measles is now spreading across Canada. What’s being done?
Measles is spreading at an unprecedented rate in Canada. It was considered eliminated in Canada in 1998, but last week, Ontario reported 1,440 cases of the disease, Alberta reported 313 cases, and Saskatchewan reported 27. There are also cases in British Columbia, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. In April, New York State issued a travel advisory for people coming to Ontario, warning “measles is just a car ride away.” Vaccination rates are also on the decline. In Ontario, only about 70 per cent of child
May 9, 2025 · 20 min
How serious is Alberta’s push for a referendum on separation?
While the Liberal Party celebrated winning its fourth mandate in a row in the latest federal election, thousands of Albertans spent the night calling for a referendum on separatism. This week, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith addressed growing frustrations in her province and shared her demands of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new federal government. This isn’t the first time separatism has been considered in Western Canada. But now, Alberta may soon get to vote on the question of separation. The
May 8, 2025 · 22 min
Testimony underway in Hockey Canada sexual-assault trial
Five members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team are currently on trial for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room seven years ago. Each of the accused players has pleaded not guilty. The complainant – publicly known as E.M. – has told the jury her version of events and now is under cross-examination by the players’ defence lawyers. Globe reporter Robyn Doolittle has been reporting from the courthouse from London, Ont. She recaps what the jury has been told so far.
May 7, 2025 · 24 min
What the Carney–Trump meeting signals about Canada–U.S. relations
Prime Minister Mark Carney met with U.S. President Donald Trump face-to-face in Washington, D.C. for the first time on Tuesday. Tensions between the two leaders’ nations are at a historic high: a trade war, escalating tariffs and threats against Canada’s sovereignty have all been major issues since Trump’s re-election. For many Canadians, the central question in the recent federal election was how the next prime minister would handle U.S. aggression. Carney is now facing that reality. Doug Saun
May 6, 2025 · 25 min
What’s going on with the detentions at the Canada-U.S. border?
The U.S. government is ramping up its efforts to deport immigrants. On Monday, the Trump administration announced a new policy offering anyone illegally in the U.S. $1,000 and a flight to leave the country. And on Sunday, President Donald Trump didn’t commit to upholding the right to due process for citizens and non-citizens alike. Sara Mojtehedzadeh is an investigative reporter with The Globe, and she’s been covering Trump’s crackdown on immigration. She’ll explain the rise in detentions along
May 5, 2025 · 23 min
How kids are getting hooked on gambling through online games
Problem gambling is a real issue in Canada – where reporting shows young people having even higher rates than adults. The increasing monetization of games, especially online, often uses similar mechanics to gambling, despite it being illegal for youth to gamble in Canada. And some experts say these apps and games are reinforcing feelings of risk and reward. Dr. Loredana Marchica is a pediatric psychologist at the Montreal Children’s Hospital and at Pathways Psychology Clinic. Her research focu
May 2, 2025 · 23 min
How a math prodigy-turned-fugitive siphoned millions in crypto
At 18 years old, Andean Medjedovic was a math prodigy, finishing his master’s degree in mathematics at the University of Waterloo before most young Canadians can legally drink. Medjedovic was involved in cryptocurrency trading – and according to the U.S. Department of Justice – engaged in “cryptocurrency hacking schemes” that allegedly netted him US$65-million in digital tokens. Now, he’s on the lam. Alexandra Posadzki, The Globe’s financial and cybercrime reporter, is on the show to talk about
May 1, 2025 · 32 min
Campaign Call: Obstacles ahead for Poilievre, Carney and the NDP
Now that the election is over, we’re bringing you another edition of Campaign Call, The Decibel’s weekly election panel that makes sense of the major issues. Where does Pierre Poilievre go from here without a seat in the House of Commons? What kind of Prime Minister will Mark Carney be and how will he actually handle Trump? How do the NDP rebuild? Globe columnists Robyn Urback, Andrew Coyne and Gary Mason are on the show to discuss the path ahead for the leaders and their parties.
Apr 30, 2025 · 18 min
Eyewitness accounts of the Vancouver festival attack
Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu festival was supposed to be a celebration of Filipino culture and traditions. Instead, it became a scene of horror on Saturday, after a man accused of driving an SUV into a crowd, killed 11 people and injured dozens more. Police say the youngest victim was five years old; the oldest was 65. The accused has been charged with eight counts of murder. Globe national reporter Nancy Macdonald, based in Vancouver, was on scene on the night of the attack. She brings us stories of
Apr 29, 2025 · 27 min
Carney wins, Liberals preside over ‘splintered parliament’
On Monday April 28, Canadians voted in another Liberal government.They are heading to the House of Commons with what appeared to be a minority government.The Conservatives gained seats and will form the Official Opposition; however, leader Pierre Poilievre’s seat remained undecided early Tuesday morning. Today, the Globe’s Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife and feature writer Shannon Proudfoot join us from the nation’s capital. They break down the surprises in this close race and what Monday’s res
Apr 28, 2025 · 31 min
East to West: What matters to rural Canada this election
It’s impossible to get a full picture of a country as big and diverse as Canada, but audio journalist Kasia Mychajlowycz set out on a road trip to find as many people as she could to ask: what’s the most important issue to you in this election season, and why? What people answered ranged through topics like affordability, healthcare, trust in government, reconciliation, tariffs and more. But in over 35 interviews in a dozen places over seven provinces, people went beyond politics, retelling the
Apr 25, 2025 · 30 min
Campaign Call: Unpacking the final days of the election
With the federal election nearly upon us, we’re bringing you the last edition of Campaign Call before Canadians head to the polls. This week, feature writer Shannon Proudfoot and columnists Robyn Urback and Marsha Lederman discuss how the leaders’ final pitches are sitting with Canadians. Plus, The Globe’s economics reporter Nojoud Al Mallees breaks down the costed platforms of the Liberals and the Conservatives and explains why some people are questioning the math.
Apr 24, 2025 · 24 min
What lies ahead for the NDP and Jagmeet Singh
Nearly 15 years ago, the NDP became Canada’s official opposition. Now, Jagmeet Singh and the NDP are trailing far behind the frontrunners of the upcoming federal election and are no longer campaigning to win — but instead to hold the winners accountable, raising questions about the party’s future. Gary Mason is a national affairs columnist at the Globe. He’s on the show to explain how Singh’s campaign is responding to waning support, what’s led the NDP to this point and what the party’s collaps
Apr 23, 2025 · 23 min
Tanya Talaga on Pope Francis’s apologies to Indigenous peoples
Ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday, many are remembering his time as pope as one that marked a shift towards more progressive ideals, including an apology for the role of the Catholic Church in the harm done to Indigenous peoples through the residential school system, both in Rome, and again in Canada, back in 2022. Some critics said this apology didn’t go far enough. Tanya Talaga is an Anishinaabe journalist, speaker and contributing columnist for the Globe and Mail. She’ll explain t
Apr 22, 2025 · 22 min
The companies betting on Canada despite U.S. tariffs
Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs have created an uncertain environment for Canadian businesses, and many are considering shifting investments south of the border. But, for some, tariffs are having the opposite effect – providing opportunity to grow in Canada. Pippa Norman is The Globe’s innovation reporter. She’ll explain how these businesses are expanding at home, and how risky the bet on Canada might be.
Apr 21, 2025 · 24 min
The strategists inside the Liberal and Conservative war rooms
On April 28, Canadians will vote in a new federal government. Voters have gotten to know the front-runners – Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and Liberal leader Mark Carney … but what about the people steering them? With a week left, we’re looking at the people running this election’s leading campaigns – and the strategies driving the Liberal and Conservative war rooms in this tight race. The Globe’s senior reporter Stephanie Levitz will introduce us to the strategists, advisors and campai
Apr 20, 2025 · 39 min
The changing face of election interference
Presenting Machines Like Us, a Globe and Mail podcast on technology and people. We’re a few weeks into a federal election that is currently too close to call. And while most Canadians are wondering who our next Prime Minister will be, host Taylor Owen and his guests today are preoccupied with a different question: will this election be free and fair? In her recent report on foreign interference, Justice Marie-Josée Hogue wrote that “information manipulation poses the single biggest risk to our
Apr 17, 2025 · 25 min
The case for prioritizing rest in the age of burnout
Canadians are not particularly good at resting. According to Statistics Canada data collected between July 2022 and July 2023, people over the age of 15 spent an average of 17 minutes a day resting, relaxing, or lying down, and an average of 18 minutes a day on relaxing pursuits known as “active leisure” (think: birdwatching, camping, or going to an art gallery). That’s translating into stress – more than a fifth of employed Canadians said their stress levels were high or very high. On top of al
Apr 16, 2025 · 29 min
Campaign Call: Debate prep and an inside look at polling
With less than two weeks until the federal election, The Decibel is bringing you another edition of Campaign Call, The Globe’s weekly election panel. This week, ahead of the French and English leaders’ debates, feature writer Shannon Proudfoot and chief political writer Campbell Clark will explain why debates still matter and what each leader needs to accomplish during them. In the second half, we’re joined by Nik Nanos, the chief data scientist of Nanos Research, to get a behind-the-scenes lo
Apr 15, 2025 · 20 min
Canada’s fragmented medical records system
The way medical records are handled in Canada is a patchwork of disconnected systems – creating massive headaches for patients and doctors. Patients struggle to access their own data, and practitioners have to waste time compensating for inefficiencies. But, governments, companies and healthcare professionals are searching for ways to make all these systems talk to each other. Chris Hannay is a staff reporter at the Globe who covers the business of healthcare. He’ll explain how Canada’s medical