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
Updated Yesterday

Episodes1335

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Apr 27, 2023 · 20 min
How grocery prices are affecting kids at school
School food programs in Canada are struggling to make ends meet right now. With the high price of food, it’s costing some programs as much as 25 percent more than previous years to keep running. And they’re seeing higher demand too – more children in need of a balanced meal. Caroline Alphonso spoke with programs across the country that are worried their funding won’t make it to the end of the school year. Today, she tells us what’s happening with school food programs, why they’re so important a
Apr 26, 2023 · 18 min
What we’re getting wrong about climate refugees
Vietnam is in the midst of a dramatic shift caused by climate change. Some of the country’s most fertile land along the Mekong Delta has been devastated by flooding from rising ocean levels. Doug Saunders, a columnist at The Globe, is on the show today to talk about climate migration in Vietnam and what really happens when climate change forces someone from their home. This episode is part two of Undercurrents – The Globe’s year-long series devoted to the global migration crisis. You can find
Apr 25, 2023 · 21 min
The bloody struggle for power in Sudan
Sudan is on the brink of civil war, after fighting broke out between the country’s military and a paramilitary group, the RSF. Hundreds of people have been killed, and thousands more injured. This, on top of an existing humanitarian crisis that is now expected to get much worse. Today, we hear from two Sudanese-Canadians, Esraa Fadul and Ahmed Osman, who are stranded in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, surrounded by warfare. Then we’ll hear from The Globe’s Africa Bureau Chief Geoffrey York about wha
Apr 24, 2023 · 19 min
Why fewer people have confidence in childhood vaccines
Since the pandemic, confidence in childhood vaccines has decreased around the world, according to a new report by UNICEF. Before COVID hit, 91 per cent of Canadians believed vaccines are important during childhood. That number is now 82 per cent. So what has caused this drop in the faith in children’s vaccines? The Globe’s health reporter, Carly Weeks explains to us how this happened, how it could affect Canada’s future outbreaks and what can be done to get those rates back up.
Apr 21, 2023 · 18 min
After a year of scandal, Hockey Canada gets its funding back
The federal government has restored its funding to Hockey Canada after removing it following the revelation that it settled a lawsuit accusing eight members of the 2018 world juniors hockey team of sexual assault. Since the scandal broke a year ago, Hockey Canada has endured audits, board resignations, and investigations. Its executives and board members have been called to Parliament Hill to testify at hearings, and big sponsors, like Tim Hortons and Canadian Tire, have fled. So, how much has
Apr 20, 2023 · 21 min
The start of one of the largest strikes in Canadian history
The largest public sector union in Canada went on strike on Wednesday after talks broke down with the government over better wages and remote working rules. This strike is expected to cause serious administrative delays for Canadians, from passport processing to filing your taxes. It’s the most recent event in a long string of labour disputes from all over the country in the last two years. The Globe’s future of work reporter Vanmala Subramaniam explains what the significance of this strike is,
Apr 19, 2023 · 21 min
Why drag performers are the new focus of U.S. culture wars
Last month, Tennessee became the first state to pass-anti drag law and thirteen other U.S. states also have bills looking to ban or restrict drag performances. Over the past decade, drag has become more mainstream with the popularity of shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race, but this past year, drag shows have become the target of a U.S. political culture war. The Globe’s U.S. correspondent, Adrian Morrow is on the show to tell us what it is about this moment that has U.S. states targeting drag. Plus w
Apr 18, 2023 · 21 min
Behind the Trudeau Foundation controversy
The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation has been coming under fire in the past few weeks over a controversial donation it received back in 2016. The Globe and Mail learned back in February that the donation – which was initially said to be from two Chinese billionaires – was allegedly tied to the Chinese government. Now, there’s even more to the story. Today, The Globe’s Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife is back on the podcast. He and Globe reporter Steven Chase have been breaking this news. He’ll
Apr 17, 2023 · 22 min
The federally funded watchdog that hasn’t completed a single review
What happens when a Canadian company is accused of wrongdoing abroad? Well, in 2018, Ottawa announced the creation of a new ombudsperson to investigate these kinds of claims. But since then, the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise – also known as CORE – has yet to complete a single investigation of a complaint. Investigative reporter Tavia Grant – who went to Peru to see the effects of missing Canadian oversight – explains what she has found out about CORE.
Apr 14, 2023 · 20 min
The Prime Minister’s rat-infested residence
Since 1951, 24 Sussex Drive has been the Prime Minister’s official residence. Recently, It’s been making international headlines, but for the wrong reasons. The mansion is in such bad shape that rodent carcasses line the walls and are affecting the air quality. There’s a laundry list of problems including mould, asbestos, leaks and a cold winter draft. In the eight years Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been in power, he and his family have never moved in. The Globe’s writer-at-large and polit
Apr 13, 2023 · 18 min
Russian hackers are targeting Canada for supporting Ukraine
Canadian officials have been warning since the war in Ukraine began of potential cyber attacks from Russia as retribution for Canada helping Ukraine. This week, at least two Canadian government websites were down, courtesy of Russian hackers, and claims surfaced that Russian hackers had compromised a Canadian gas company. Steven Chase is The Globe’s senior parliamentary reporter. He’s seen the documents detailing the alleged attack on the Canadian company. He’ll tell us about these attacks, and
Apr 12, 2023 · 19 min
How strong is Canada’s job market, really?
For months now, Canada’s unemployment rate has been hovering around 5 per cent – a near historic low. It’s a number that economists are watching closely because they expect it to rise now that the Bank of Canada has hiked interest rates. But it hasn’t. And businesses are still complaining about a shortage of workers. So what’s going on? Economics reporter Matt Lundy explains.
Apr 11, 2023 · 18 min
The search for First Nations women in Winnipeg landfills
On April 4, the body of Linda Mary Beardy, a woman from Lake St. Martin First Nation, was discovered at a Winnipeg landfill. It’s the same landfill where, less than a year ago, the victim of an alleged serial killer was found. Police say Ms. Beardy’s death is not being considered a homicide, but it has brought renewed attention and outrage over the deaths of First Nations women in the area. In the last year, the remains of four First Nations women, believed to be victims of a serial killer, hav
Apr 10, 2023 · 25 min
The story of the world’s most premature twins to survive
Adrial and Adiah Nadarajah are the youngest twins ever born to survive to their first birthday – they were born at just 22 weeks, about half of a full term pregnancy. If they had been born just two hours earlier, medical staff would not have tried to resuscitate them. They would have been considered too young to live. Their story is part of the medical and moral challenges that arise when babies are born dangerously early. Kelly Grant spoke with the parents and doctors of the babies – and atten
Apr 9, 2023 · 26 min
City Space: Are smart cities really such a smart idea?
The smart city movement — driven by the idea that we can leverage data and technology to optimize life in our cities — is attractive for many reasons. But critics say that smart cities may not be so wise, and in some cases, they’ve proven to be dangerous for democracy. In the first episode of season three, we’re doing a deep dive into this very concept: What are smart cities, and who are they for? Where has smart-city technology helped, and when does it start to wade into surveillance-capitalism
Apr 6, 2023 · 21 min
Medical mystery in New Brunswick leads to life-changing symptoms
Insomnia, dizziness, hallucinations – these are just a few of the life-changing symptoms that dozens of people have reported having in New Brunswick. After several years and a provincial investigation, patients are still left wondering what is going on. They want the federal government to step in and examine their situations further. The Globe’s health reporter Wency Leung joins the podcast to explain the fight patients have on their hands to get answers.
Apr 5, 2023 · 22 min
What we’re missing about the Trump indictment
On Tuesday, Donald Trump became the first former U.S. president to be indicted on criminal charges. He faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records relating to hush money paid to porn star, Stormy Daniels. The scene at the Manhattan courthouse where Mr. Trump appeared was a frenzy of cameras, journalists, protesters and Trump supporters. While this moment is a first in U.S. history, Jared Yates Sexton argues that focusing solely on Trump ignores the underlying factors that brought the
Apr 4, 2023 · 21 min
Unscrambling Canada’s wireless industry post Rogers-Shaw merger
About two years after the merger was proposed, Rogers and Shaw are becoming one company. To ensure that this deal doesn’t hurt Canadians, Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne put a number of conditions on the companies involved. But are they enough? Jennifer Quaid is an expert in competition law in Canada. She’s an Associate Professor and Vice-Dean of Research of the Civil Law Section at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law. She explains what these deals mean for telecom competiti
Apr 3, 2023 · 20 min
How the RCMP failed Nova Scotians during the mass shooting
The inquiry into Canada’s worst mass shooting has ended with the release of its final report. The 3,000 page document condemns the RCMP in how the police force responded to the tragedy where 22 people were killed in Portapique, Nova Scotia, in April 2020. A number of recommendations call for a complete overhaul of Canada’s federal police force in the hopes that a tragedy like this never happens again. The Globe’s Lindsay Jones is a reporter at the Atlantic bureau who was there as the final repo
Mar 31, 2023 · 18 min
What asylum seekers face now at Roxham Road
The change came swiftly. A few hours after being announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden, the rules at Roxham Road had tightened. Globe reporter Frédérik-Xavier Duhamel went to the popular unofficial border crossing and spoke to migrants trying to make the trek as changes to the Safe Third Country Act now limit who can claim asylum in Canada via that passage.