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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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70 episodes
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Avg 25 min
English

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August 18 · 21 min
The 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 end of February. Some workers — also known as seafarers — have been stuck on board without pay, or help from their ships’ owners. With little signs of progress on talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the fate of these workers remains unclear. One of the people they turn to for assistance is Mohamed Arrachedi, a co-ordinator for th
August 17 · 24 min
Ticks 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 disease that experts say we should be concerned about. Today, the Globe’s health science reporter Jennifer Yang joins the show to discuss the emergent tick-borne disease causing concern in Canada, why our country’s tick problem is only getting worse, and what we can do to protect ourselves.
August 14 · 32 min
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. Ozempic and Wegovy, the GLP-1s which contain semaglutide, are the third-most prescribed drug in Canada and by far the bestselling one. Chris Hannay, The Globe’s business of health reporter, will explain why the introduction of generic semaglutide will mean lower prices and more options for Canadians. And we’ll explore access to these dru
August 13 · 32 min
What 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 kilometres. The evacuees don’t know when they can return home yet, and many don’t know if their home is standing at all. Today, we bring you conversations with people on the ground about how they fled the fast-moving wildfire, and how they’re coping with uncertainty and loss.
August 12 · 25 min
Luluemon’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, growing its international operations to 30 countries. But there’s trouble – a public battle with its founder, controversies over its marketing and a cratering stock price have all amounted to serious problems for the once-stalwart brand. Susan Krashinsky Robertson, The Globe’s retailing reporter, dives into the issues Lululemon faces, crun
August 11 · 24 min
Canadian 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 businesses in accommodation and food services. The banks are spending millions, in some cases billions, of dollars on AI programs, like chatbots for customers, for employees, and even for a CEO’s morning briefing. Today, we’ve got The Globe’s banking reporter Stefanie Marotta on the show. She’ll explain how banks are using AI (including ways cu
August 10 · 22 min
Making 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 substantial investment thanks to Mark Carney’s commitment to meeting NATO targets. But as more development arrives, is Halifax able to support the demands of an increased strain on its infrastructure and housing supply? Chris Wilson-Smith went there to find out. He’s a business reporter and the author of one of The Globe’s daily newslett
August 7 · 32 min
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 Ozempic’s active ingredient semaglutide in the body for decades. Today, he’ll show us around his lab and explain how a stout lizard kept in a freezer helped unlock the science behind a drug taken by more than a million Canadians. Then, health reporter Kelly Grant tells us about rising obesity rates in Canada, and we’ll hear from a doctor who p
August 6 · 24 min
How 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 independence. Support for separation is polling at around 30 per cent — far below the majority vote result needed to form an independent country. However, a new generation of sovereigntists is cropping up, one that hadn’t even been born for the last referendum, in 1995. Maura Forrest is a Quebec correspondent for The Globe and Mail. She’
August 5 · 20 min
Canadian 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 history with Canadian government agencies and was once found to have committed fraud when trying to apply for a job with the Canada Border Services Agency. This case is now raising questions about how the Canadian government vets its candidates, especially for roles that could have access to sensitive information. Greg Mercer is an investigat
August 4 · 22 min
Inside ‘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 billionaire real estate magnate’s cottage estate in Ontario’s Muskoka region. And Prime Minister Mark Carney attended for part of the three-day conference. Guests are asked not to talk about what happens there, but business reporters Tim Kiladze and Sean Silcoff managed to report details about who goes, what ideas get suggested to the government an
July 31 · 22 min
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 companies like Indigo in 2023. In 2025, damages from ransomware attacks were expected to reach US$57-billion dollars worldwide.Alongside the rise of ransomware attacks came the emergence of a new kind of industry: ransomware negotiators. They communicate with attackers to try to convince them to lower the ransom fee. Today, the Globe’s financial
July 30 · 27 min
Ontario’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 opposition to its expansion when Porter Airlines launched back in 2006, and again in the early 2010s when Porter wanted to allow jet traffic. The latest push to expand Billy Bishop took off in earnest in the spring, when Ontario Premier Doug expropriated Toronto’s stake in the agreement between three levels of government that govern the airport. Ho
July 29 · 24 min
What’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 largest real estate markets. While buyers grow increasingly hesitant, both federal and provincial governments are trying different tactics to revive the market, with degrees of success. The Globe’s real estate reporter, Rachelle Younglai joins The Decibel to talk about how the condo market ended up in this state, what’s being done about
July 28 · 22 min
Why 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. Between a protein craze driving up demand and a supply crunch affecting producers, the wholesale price of chicken has shot up 12 per cent since May, 2025. Kate Helmore is The Globe’s agriculture and food policy reporter. She joins us to explain what’s contributing to chicken’s dramatic rise, and when prices might start to level out.
July 27 · 25 min
The 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 cast and action-packed storytelling — but also because of the way it was made. The Odyssey is the first full-length feature shot entirely with IMAX film and getting a ticket to see it in ‘the best format’ has sent some Canadians on odysseys of their own. Today, the Globe’s Deputy Arts Editor and Film Editor, Barry Hertz, is here. He’ll exp
July 24 · 25 min
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 music industry are asking some of these existential questions, as technology in consumer generative AI has grown in leaps and bounds and record companies are settling legal battles with AI companies. Josh O’Kane, Globe reporter on arts and business, joins The Decibel to talk about the friction between musicians and AI tools, how AI slop
July 23 · 24 min
Trump’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 Trump administration has threatened levies on Canada. But this time, the administration has pulled a lever that dates all the way back to the 1930s. Today, Adrian Morrow, The Globe’s U.S. correspondent based in Washington, walks us through the Smoot-Hawley Act Trump has invoked, the strategy behind using it and what legal challenges the
July 22 · 24 min
What 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, more than a dozen communities – most of which are First Nations – have been evacuated, with some people taken to places as far away as Niagara Falls. As fire seasons get worse, Indigenous people are disproportionately affected, but their historical practices of forest management – practices that could improve conditions – had historically
July 21 · 27 min
Decoding 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 became Prime Minister, he’s proven to be adept in using political symbolism to build out his version of what it means to be Canadian at this moment in time. Shannon Proudfoot, a feature writer for The Globe, pieces together the actions, speeches and policies that Prime Minister Carney has used over the last year and a bit to build out his st

Showing 41–60 of 70 episodes