The Decibel

4.3 (35)
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.

7H AGO

Why the Calgary Stampede is this summer’s biggest political event

The 113th Calgary Stampede is in full swing. But the 10-day festival wouldn’t be complete without the biggest names in Canadian politics and business walking the grounds in cowboy cosplay. Politicians are flipping pancakes, corporate parties are packed, and with Prime Minister Mark Carney pledging to make Canada an energy superpower, oil patch optimism is on full display. But tensions between Alberta’ and Ottawa persist, despite Carney announcing this week that a new Canadian oil pipeline proposal is highly likely. Emma Graney is the Globe’s energy reporter based in Calgary. She’ll tell us about all the politicking on the grounds, the energy deals getting made, and how separatist sentiment is playing out at this year’s Stampede. Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

22 min
1D AGO

How to talk to kids about climate change

The threat and realities of climate change are real and visceral – punishing heat waves, families displaced, towns destroyed by wildfires, dangerous smoke hanging over communities and flash floods that can be deadly and unpredictable. But how do you talk to kids to prepare them for the reality, without overwhelming or scaring them? Amberly McAteer is a contributing columnist for The Globe, who often writes about parenting. She joins the show to talk about the challenging conversations we’re having with children and how climate change anxiety is influencing the way parents approach these talks. Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

21 min
2D AGO

The B.C. billionaire fighting to take over Hudson’s Bay stores

On June 1, Hudson’s Bay – the iconic department store brand whose operation predates the founding of Canada – sold its last striped blanket. Struggling under $1.1 billion in debt, the company was granted court protection from its creditors in the spring. Since then, it’s cleared the shelves in liquidation sales, sold its brand identity and laid off more than 8300 people. Now, the courts are selling off what’s left, including the leases to nearly 100 massive store locations left sitting empty. B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu is set on buying 28 of those leases – but nearly every landlord involved is trying to stop her. The Globe’s retailing reporter, Susan Krashinsky Robertson has been reporting on the collapse of Canada’s oldest retailer. She’ll tell us all about who Ruby Liu is, what she plans to do with all of these stores and why she’s facing such dramatic opposition. Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

23 min
3D AGO

Canada’s emergency room crisis is worse than we thought

Ever since the pandemic, emergency-room closures have become more common in Canada, especially in rural communities. This can leave people in dangerous situations that can require them to drive an hour or more to access emergency medical care. When time is of the essence, emergency-room closures can be deadly. Because there’s no centralized data on how common closures are across Canada, it’s challenging to parse out how bad the problem is. As part of The Globe’s Secret Canada series, health reporter Kelly Grant, investigative reporter Tu Thanh Ha and data editor Yang Sun analyzed data on emergency room closures across Canada. Kelly and Ha are on the show to talk about how widespread these closures really are, what it means for people living in those communities and what kinds of solutions are possible. Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

29 min
6D AGO

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. This episode originally aired January 14, 2025. Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

25 min
JUL 3

Making sense of Carney’s tactics in the U.S.-Canada trade talks

Prime Minister Mark Carney set a deadline of July 21 to reach an economic and security deal with the United States after last month’s G7 summit. But negotiations were derailed last week when U.S. President Donald Trump called off talks, blaming Canada’s digital services tax, which was set to come into effect on June 30. Two days later, Carney rescinded that tax, and talks were back on. Adrian Morrow is the Globe’s U.S. correspondent, based in Washington. He’s on the show to talk about the risk Carney took by giving up on the digital services tax so quickly, whether this is really in line with his ‘Elbows Up’ campaign, and what Trump seems to want from negotiations. Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

23 min
JUL 2

Is AI making us dumb?

School is out for summer but this year some educators are wondering how much their students really learned. A KPMG survey found that over half of Canadians over 18 years-old now use generative AI to complete their school work. Professors and students are concerned that growing reliance on tools like ChatGPT and Gemini could be weakening critical thinking skills. And now, recent research is giving us further insight into that potential connection. The Globe’s Joe Castaldo reports on AI and tech. He’ll tell us what teachers and students say about how generative AI is impacting education and what recent studies tell us about its affect on our collective critical thinking skills. Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

24 min
JUN 30

The benchmark of housing affordability has changed in Canada

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has said it is no longer possible to return Canada to 2004 levels of housing affordability. We cannot build enough new housing supply to hit that target. So it’s changing its benchmark. Rachelle Younglai covers housing and real estate for The Globe. She explains the CMHC’s new approach to affordability, what they say needs to happen to improve the cost of housing and what it means for home prices and rents. Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

19 min

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Menaka Raman-Wilms

Host
Adrian Morrow

Guest

4.3

out of 5

35 Ratings

Great Canadian Perspective

Jan 12

SamsunRo

Great balance of Canadian issues and Canadian views on global issues.
Huge fan

01/26/2022

NizkR

High quality stories with a Canadian perspective.
Finally! A Canadian perspective

10/15/2021

Danoftheforest

An outstanding podcast on both domestic issues and global affairs. Tamara Khandaker is an excellent host, and the level of analysis is second to none.
A considered perspective

06/06/2021

EmmaMollyMay

I’m a midwife in the US who has cared for many COVID+ patients this pandemic. I have to say that your episode on pregnant people in the ICU with COVID is one of the only times I’ve heard the voices of parents really highlighted in this pandemic. So many families have welcomed newborns after quarantine. It can be painful and scary and unnatural, even for asymptomatic parents. I appreciate the fact that you not only made parents feel safe enough to share concerns about bonding but that you also centered those concerns. Thank you for that.

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.