The Decibel

4.2 (780)
DAILY NEWS
UPDATED DAILY

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.

10 HRS AGO

How the L.A. wildfires could increase Canadian insurance rates

The wildfires in Los Angeles have caused massive devastation over the past two weeks and may end up being the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history. That will likely increase insurance rates, not just in the United States, but also in Canada. Salman Farooqui writes for the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business. He explains why American disasters could affect Canadians’ insurance premiums, and how Canada’s insurance industry is adapting to record levels of extreme weather damage. You can find the Impact Centre for Climate Adaptation’s resources on reducing risks to your home from climate change events: https://www.intactcentreclimateadaptation.ca/

19 min
1 DAY AGO

Fallout from the TD Bank money laundering scandal

It’s been over three months since the U.S. Department of Justice announced that TD Bank had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. After paying a US$3-billion fine, Canada’s second largest bank is now shaking up its senior-most ranks of leadership. Stefanie Marotta is The Globe and Mail’s banking reporter. She explains what prompted the early departure of TD’s CEO, how this money laundering scandal could affect TD customers and what the ripple effects might be for the entire Canadian banking industry.

17 min
2 DAYS AGO

Who will be the next Liberal leader?

The Liberal leadership race is on – and its biggest candidates are in. Former deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland, House Leader Karina Gould and former governor of the Bank of Canada Mark Carney all launched their campaigns this past week. The shortened leadership race will see the deeply unpopular party select Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s replacement as figures like Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and U.S. President Donald Trump loom large. The Globe’s senior reporter Stephanie Levitz joins us from Ottawa. She’ll take us through the top contenders, the challenges ahead for the candidates and the choice the Liberal Party has to make ahead of a federal election – a leader who can rebuild, or one who can go toe-to-toe with Poilievre?

25 min
3 DAYS AGO

How Canada is preparing for day one of the second Trump era

For months, Donald Trump has threatened economic pain on Canada, with tariffs of up to 25 per cent on imports. This could begin as early as today, when he’s inaugurated as U.S. president. Canada has said that nothing is off the table when it comes to its response — whether that’s dollar-for-dollar tariffs or blocking oil exports. But with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing he will resign and a Liberal leadership campaign underway, premiers have been stepping forward to take a more prominent role in the ‘Team Canada’ approach. By day, Jeff Gray covers Ontario politics for the Globe, but in his free time, he coaches House League hockey – so he understands how delicate team dynamics can be. He’s on the show today to talk about how premiers have been filling the leadership vacuum, and how they are dealing with conflicting interests in an attempt to show a united front against Trump.

24 min
6 DAYS AGO

The difficult path ahead for peace in Gaza

The mood in Israel and Gaza turned from celebratory to uncertain in the hours after a ceasefire deal was announced. The day after the deal was made public, Israel continued air strikes in Gaza and then delayed a vote on the deal. But by the end of Thursday, it looked like the process may be back on track. Thomas Juneau is a professor of public and international affairs at the University of Ottawa. He explains what we know about the deal so far, and how the most difficult part of this ceasefire has yet to happen.

26 min
JAN 16

Machines Like Us: This mother says a chatbot led to her son’s death

In February, 2024, Megan Garcia’s 14-year-old son Sewell took his own life. As she tried to make sense of what happened, Megan discovered that Sewell had fallen in love with a chatbot on Character.AI – an app where you can talk to chatbots designed to sound like historical figures or fictional characters. Now Megan is suing Character.AI, alleging that Sewell developed a “harmful dependency” on the chatbot that, coupled with a lack of safeguards, ultimately led to her son’s death. They’ve also named Google in the suit, alleging that the technology that underlies Character.AI was developed while the founders were working at Google. ‘Machines Like Us’ reached out to Character.AI and Google about this story. Google did not respond to request for comment and a spokesperson for Character .AI said “we do not comment on pending litigation.” Host Taylor Owen spoke to Megan Garcia and her lawyer, Meetali Jain, to talk about her son and how chatbots are becoming a part of our lives – and the lives of children.

49 min
JAN 15

What 2025 holds for your personal finances

If you kicked off 2025 making personal finance resolutions, it can be hard to know where to start. That question is made more difficult when factoring in all the uncertainty around how the tariffs that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to enact will affect our economy. Rob Carrick is the Globe’s personal finance columnist and co-host of Stress Test, the Globe’s personal finance podcast for Gen Z and millennials. He’s on the show to talk about what to expect from the year ahead in personal finance, whether you’re looking to get on top of your investments, establish an emergency fund, or dip your toe into the housing market.

23 min
JAN 14

The women changing the face of Canadian rodeo

Cowgirls love the rodeo just as much as cowboys, but for the better part of the past century, there’s only been one event for women — until now. Breakaway roping, dubbed the fastest event in rodeo, has swept competitions across North America, and is corralling more space for cowgirls in the process. The Globe’s Jana Pruden was at the 50th Canadian Finals Rodeo this fall, where the second-ever women’s event was showcased at the country’s biggest rodeo for the first time. She speaks with Canadian breakaway ropers and gives us a sense of the history of women in rodeo, and just how hard they’ve worked to rope and ride alongside the cowboys. Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

24 min

See All (600)

Menaka Raman-Wilms

Host

4.2

out of 5

780 Ratings

Factual and Informative

2024-09-19

AOCSN

I enjoy the podcasts that I choose to listen to. The further insight into the topic, by the guest, is usually factual and not sensationalized and gives me a better understanding of the issues. Thanks for keeping me informed.
Informative Podcast

2024-11-24

MadnessMethod

The host, Menaka, is intelligent, well-spoken, and does a great job overall. I'm curious to see what she could do with longer interviews. I feel like the relatively short episode length could explain other reviewers' criticism that she does not push back on guests or ask more difficult questions.
Good on occasion

2024-11-07

I’m they

Depending on the topic / day it ranges from very interesting to annoying. I think if they cut down to maybe one or two episodes per week they could cut out most of the filler ones.
Productivity

2024-10-30

Olfactionist

Request an episode on THE BIG FIX I heard Steve Paikin's interview on TV Ontario and would love to hear Globe and Mail's business section take Rebecca Hagey

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.