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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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Yesterday · 39 min
Introducing In Her Defence: Breach of Trust
What happens when one of the “good guys” turns out to be a bad guy? The acclaimed true crime podcast series ‘In Her Defence’ returns with ’In Her Defence: Breach of Trust”. A seven-episode series exploring the case of Sgt. Robert Semenchuk, a Regina police officer who preyed on hundreds of vulnerable women using information from police databases. Some of those women risked it all to expose him, and hold him accountable. But would the system punish one of its own? Hosted by award-winning crime
Friday · 24 min
The Canadian military is preparing for major conflicts
The Canadian Armed Forces is undergoing a generational change. From record investment and spending, to its most extensive re-organization in decades – military officials say this is Canada’s preparation for a “future battlefield.” Gavin John, journalist and photographer for The Globe, has covered the Canadian Armed Forces extensively. He joins The Decibel to discuss why the military is moving with such urgency, what it says about future conflicts and how the nature of warfare has changed. Ques
Thursday · 22 min
Airports, AI data centres and Carney’s ‘supercycle’ of investment
The Canada Investment Summit wrapped after two days of deals and announcements meant to spur more capital in the Canadian economy. This includes the federal government leasing parts of some of the country’s biggest airports and unveiling new tax incentives, and companies doubling down on AI data centres. Prime Minister Mark Carney is hoping that this will create a “supercycle” of investment. Report on Business columnist Andrew Willis explains what the Prime Minister said to him during their int
Wednesday · 25 min
The cash-strapped, disorganized fight to keep Alberta in Canada
Albertans will head to the polls in just over a month, on Oct. 19, to vote in a referendum. There are 10 questions, but the one that’s garnering the most attention is the question about separation: do they want to remain in Canada, or hold another referendum on whether to separate? Polling suggests 70 to 75 per cent of Albertans want to stay in Canada, but the federalists are having trouble raising enough money to get the message out. We’re talking to Marieke Walsh, a senior political reporter
Tuesday · 22 min
The office is back (at least in Canada’s financial hub)
Headlines about vacant office buildings and deserted downtowns is old news. The return to office, in downtown Toronto especially, is back on. Vacancy rates have plummeted, commute-fuelled traffic is up and businesses are scrambling to find more space for their workers. Globe reporter Jason Kirby takes us behind the numbers, the return-to-office mandates and what this post-pandemic shift tells us about the future of work. Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com
September 14 · 24 min
Carney pitches Canada to the world’s biggest investors
Starting today, 300 big-money investors are descending upon Toronto to take part in the inaugural Canada Investment Summit. Prime Minister Mark Carney will try to convince them to fund development projects in the country, such as oil and gas pipelines, critical mineral mines and data centres. Getting their buy-in is a crucial plank in the prime minister’s plan to diversify and fortify the country. James Bradshaw is The Globe’s institutional investment reporter. He’ll be covering the event. He’s
September 11 · 21 min
The trade war has created a boom for lobbyists
Personal connections have always mattered when it comes to political lobbying, but as the trade war ramps up, and global interests try to influence U.S. policy as set by U.S. President Donald Trump, industry sources told The Globe that those connections at the executive level matter now more than ever. Today, Irene Galea is on the show. She’s a business reporter for The Globe, and she was in Washington, D.C. in the lead up to Canada’s countertariffs coming into effect. She’s here to talk about
September 10 · 22 min
What the current bond market turmoil says about the economy
Scary bond market headlines – warnings of an impending financial crisis – have been in the news for weeks now thanks to a rise in U.S. Treasury yields. This market is the bedrock for much of the global financial system and changes in it can ripple across governments and companies and right into people’s bank accounts. Scott Barlow is a columnist for Globe Investor. He explains the worry about the current rising bond yields, what’s behind the increase and what kind of impact it may have on your
September 9 · 18 min
The trade war is heating up. So is foreign investment in Canada
With Canada’s countertariffs coming into effect on roughly $28-billion worth of U.S. goods on Tuesday, the trade war between Canada and the U.S. is heating up. With neither side indicating whether they plan to return to the negotiating table anytime soon, we wanted to look at how Carney’s goal to drum up foreign investment is going. Tim Shufelt is the Globe’s investment reporter. He’s here to talk about whether Carney’s bet on foreign investment is working, which sectors are seeing an increase
September 8 · 26 min
Violence against teachers is surging
A growing and worrying trend is happening in Canadian schools – student violence against teachers is on the rise. Data from school boards across Canada supports this finding, with one study finding that the modern-day classroom is a hazardous workplace. But the reasons why violence is more common are complex, and educators, school boards and unions aren’t always in agreement on how to fix it. Dave McGinn, The Globe’s education reporter, joins the show to recount the experiences of teachers who’
September 4 · 28 min
Canadian professors on how AI is changing education
A big issue hangs over university students and professors, and that’s artificial intelligence. There are some rules and guidelines, but professors are largely left on their own to determine how much they want to adopt AI or not – and that’s created a wide range of opinions. Today, we hear from five Canadian university professors about how they’re thinking about education and students in the world of AI. We speak with Amanda Perry, professor of literature at Champlain College-Saint Lambert and C
September 3 · 21 min
A pediatric emergency physician on the risks of e-scooters
The popularity of e-scooters on Canadian roads has exploded in recent years. But new data from health officials and the Canadian Paediatric Society shows that the risks of e-scooters can lead to hospitalization and death. Has policy and regulation kept up with how readily available the transportation has become? Dr. Daniel Rosenfield, pediatric emergency physician at SickKids Hospital in Toronto and chair of the Injury Prevention Committee for the Canadian Paediatric Society, joins The Decibel
September 2 · 25 min
What’s behind the implosion of the B.C. Conservatives
It’s been a turbulent time for the official opposition of the British Columbia provincial legislature, the B.C. Conservative party. After seeing a surge in popularity leading up to the 2024 provincial election, they’ve now lost a third of their sitting members. Seven MLAs have left since mid-August alone. Today, Globe national affairs columnist Gary Mason is on the show. He’ll explain the party’s surprising implosion, how they lost their surge in popularity and what lessons there are for politi
September 1 · 18 min
How small businesses are handling the trade war
The 50-per-cent tariffs from the U.S. that came into effect on Aug. 22 are hitting a long list of goods — everything from cosmetics and toiletries, to electronics, clothing, and chemicals. For Canadian small businesses selling to the U.S., the levies are having a big impact already; a 50-per-cent tariff means that, for example, a wedding dress that costs $1,000 will now cost $1,500 overnight. A survey from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business this summer, found that 40 per cent of it
August 31 · 18 min
Why people are taking vacations to pick up new skills
The demands of modern life seem to grow every day, leaving little time for people to pursue hobbies. Many Canadians are leaving vacation time unused. In light of this, a growing number of people have started devoting their vacations to intensive workshops, where they can pick up new skills or hone a craft. Toronto-based audio journalist and frequent Decibel producer Allie Graham recently looked into the phenomenon of “skillcations” to find out how people across the country are spending their va
August 28 · 30 min
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 market was valued at more than $21-billion in 2021 and is projected to more than quadruple by 2031. As more hopeful parents turn toward services like in-vitro fertilization – or IVF – and surrogacy to conceive, Globe investigative journalist Kathryn Blaze Baum worries they may not know exactly what they’re signing up for. Today, Baum shares her first
August 27 · 24 min
At its core, the Canada-U.S. trade dispute is about autos
The auto sector is at the heart of trade discussions between Canada and the U.S. Canada’s auto sector has been hit hard over the past year with tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump. How the U.S. was planning on dealing with the auto industry was one of the reasons the trade deal between the two countries fell apart over the weekend. So today, The Globe’s economics reporter, Mark Rendell, explains why trade discussions focus so heavily on the auto industry, what impact the tariffs have had,
August 26 · 25 min
Canada hits U.S. with retaliatory tariffs
The Canada-U.S. trade war is in full effect. On Tuesday, the federal government announced retaliatory tariffs against the United States. U.S. steel, seafood, dishwashers, forks, and all manner of other things are facing tariffs of 15, 25 or even 50 per cent. These new countertariffs take effect in just two weeks, on Sept. 8 – the same day that President Trump’s new round of tariffs against Canadian goods are set to begin. Jason Kirby, from The Globe’s Report on Business, tells us how Canada i
August 25 · 27 min
Canadian businesses prepare for long-haul trade war
After trade talks broke down between Ottawa and Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump implemented 50-per-cent tariffs on $28-billion dollars worth of Canadian goods. Over the weekend, Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed to retaliate with dollar-for-dollar countertariffs, which are set to take effect after Labour Day. On Monday, President Trump announced the U.S. would also be doubling its tariffs on Canadian auto parts and steel to 50 per cent come Jan. 1, 2027. As the trade war escalates and de
August 24 · 24 min
Why Canada’s biggest paid plasma collector has paused operations
Plasma is the golden fluid part of the blood and it’s used to make life-saving medications for people with immune deficiencies. In Canada, plasma donors were historically volunteers, for the most part. While paid donation was legal in some provinces, it wasn’t especially common. But in 2022, Canadian Blood Services partnered with Grifols, a Spanish company, to expand paid plasma donation. Now, they operate 17 sites across six provinces. After the deaths of two donors in the past year, however,

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