The Decibel

Parents are increasingly relying on elaborate calendar systems to keep track of their families’ activities – from a shared calendar or paper planner to high-end devices that can create a calendar for you by scraping data from your emails. Some parents say it helps them better involve their teen children in scheduling their lives; for others, they feel themselves becoming beholden to their calendars – a draconian digital personal assistant.Zosia Bielski is The Globe’s time use reporter. She joins us to talk about how families are using technology to try to ease the mental load, and what these ever-evolving calendar systems reveal to us about how we value our time.Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For more than a decade, Canada’s condo boom was on. Investors, at home and abroad, drove the craze over reselling preconstruction units. Rents skyrocketed, all while the condos themselves shrank in size. Today, the bubble has burst and the housing crisis continues. New condo sales in markets like Toronto and Hamilton are at 35-year lows and prices are driving potential homebuyers out of the city core. Is this actually an opportunity for developers to course correct to find “the missing middle?”Erica Alini, personal economics reporter for The Globe, explains why shoebox condos have been so appealing for North American developers, why the market for them has cratered and what needs to change to build cities with higher density at a liveable scale.Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On Tuesday, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne tabled the first federal budget from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government. It had long been advertised as a fiscal plan that would make difficult decisions to put Canada’s economy on the right track.The Globe sent more than a dozen journalists to Ottawa to study the details and assess how transformative this budget actually is. We break down what it says in terms of the deficit, job cuts to the federal public service, defence spending, health care supports, immigration plans and other measures that will affect Canadians.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is set to deliver the first budget under Prime Minister Mark Carney. Early announcements have signalled sweeping cuts to the public sector. There’s no guarantee that the budget will pass, given Carney is presiding over a minority government. The NDP has said they wouldn’t rule out abstaining from the budget vote; for his part, Carney has said he’s ready to fight another election campaign if it comes down to that.But beneath all the politics surrounding the budget are actual policies and plans for the government. It’s the job of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, or PBO, to provide non-partisan analysis of these plans to parliamentarians – does the math add up? Are these predictions sound? Today on the show, Yves Giroux, who was the PBO from 2018 until early September this year, is here to walk us through what to watch for when the budget drops later today.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

North Atlantic right whales are nearing extinction, with fewer than 400 left in the world. We know what is killing them: getting hit by shipping boats, entangled in fishing lines and the impacts of climate change — which is changing the location of their food sources. But now, researchers think that human-made noise in the ocean may be having an effect too.Jenn Thornhill Verma is an environmental journalist who has been reporting on the plight of the North Atlantic right whale as part of her Entangled series for The Globe and Mail, in partnership with the Pulitzer Center’s Ocean Reporting Network. She explains how scientists are starting to understand how these whales communicate and how loud noises we’re making may be driving them closer to extinction.Some of the sounds from today’s episode were provided by Syracuse University, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the New England Aquarium and NOAA, the National and Atmospheric Administration in the U.S.Underwater animal and environmental sounds courtesy of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). Passive Acoustics Group. 2021. Stfr_Multisound_NOAA_PAGroup_01. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/science-data/sounds-oceanQuestions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On Sunday, most Canadians gain an hour of sleep as the clocks get turned back to standard time. But while most of us have gotten used to the bi-annual time change, our bodies have not. And with a growing number of experts saying the practice messes with our sleep – should Canadians stop messing with the clock?Today, psychology professor Joseph De Koninck is here. He studies sleep at the University of Ottawa, and his recent research looks at how Daylight Savings Time impacts our circadian rhythms, what we can do to minimize the health effects the change has, and why he thinks Canada should consider staying on Standard Time year-round.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Last weekend, Quebec passed new legislation that would impose a new contract on doctors, who have been in negotiations with the provincial government since March, 2023. Known as Bill 2, it sets out targets that Quebec doctors must meet in order to achieve the government’s health care goals, including access to primary care for all Quebeckers by January, 2027.The catch? If doctors don’t meet these targets, they can be penalized by having up to 15 per cent of their pay clawed back.André Picard, Globe health reporter and columnist, is on the show to break down why Bill 2 is drawing controversy, how doctors are responding to it, and what that means for patient care in Quebec.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump ended trade talks with Canada and threatened to hike tariffs on Canadian imports by another 10 per cent because of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s anti-tariff ad. Now, Trump says he doesn’t plan to meet with Carney “for a long time”, as both leaders head to Asia for trade summits and turn their attention to repairing trade relations with China.The Globe’s chief political writer, Campbell Clark, joins the show. He’ll explain why Ford’s ad struck such a nerve, the fallout from halted U.S.-Canada trade negotiations, and the stakes for Canada as both Carney and Trump prepare to meet with President Xi Jinping.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

‘Til death do us part – that’s the promise couples make to each other when they tie the knot. But what happens in the event of a divorce? Disentangling a marriage can carry a big financial burden if the division of property, pets and assets are in the mix. Once derided as unromantic, the pre-nuptial agreement is now gaining popularity among young Canadians planning to get married.Mariya Postelnyak, consumer affairs reporter for The Globe, talks about how pre-nups legally work in Canada, what’s included and what isn’t in agreements, and why more couples are navigating the tricky conversation before marriage.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As Canadians, we’ve spent a lot of time over the past year talking about what it means to be Canadian and how to support our country. For some people, that looks like checking labels at the grocery store or limiting travel to the United States. But as the Globe’s film and deputy arts editor Barry Hertz argues, now is also the moment to bolster Canadian culture.And we’re squandering it.So today, Barry is on the show to talk about the state of the arts in Canada right now (and yes, Quebec is a different story), what the government should be doing differently, and what we stand to lose if we blow this generational opportunity to strengthen Canadian culture.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Toronto Blue Jays are headed to the World Series for the first time in over 30 years. It’s the third time in franchise history that Canada’s team is playing for the championship. But this monumental moment isn’t just for the diehard Jays fans – everyone can get in on the fun.So today, we bring you The Decibel’s bandwagoner’s guide to not feeling totally lost as the Jays try to make history. Producer and lifelong fan Madeleine White will walk us through some baseball 101 – including the lingo, superstitions, weird stats, what makes this season’s team so special, and whether she thinks we’ve got a shot against the Los Angeles Dodgers.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The prices of gold and silver have been climbing quickly this fall, with both precious metals setting a new high for per-ounce price. Why is this happening?Columnist and reporter Tim Kiladze explains how central banks, Trump and even AI factor into it.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Last week, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre made comments about the RCMP being “despicable” on a YouTube show, accusing them of “covering up” for former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. This sparked backlash from opposition parties as well as Conservatives, and earlier this week, Poilievre walked those comments back, explaining that he meant to direct his comments towards the former RCMP commissioner. Between his YouTube appearance and some recent social media activity, Globe opinion columnist Robyn Urback wonders: is Pierre Poilievre okay?Today, Robyn is on the show to try to unpack what Poilievre has been saying, and what all this could signal about the future of his leadership — and the state of the Conservative Party.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On Thursday, Ottawa announced incoming legislation to reform the bail system. It comes after months of pressure both in Parliament and across the country, as a surge of Canadians say they feel crime is worsening, and that the bail system is too lenient. But with overall crime down, will making our bail system stricter really make Canadians safer?The Globe’s justice reporter, David Ebner, joins the show. He’ll explain what we know about the reforms the Liberals and Conservatives have been calling for, what the data tells us about how the system is currently operating, and the tensions in reforming bail.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There has been a lot of talk about Canadian sovereignty ever since the election of Donald Trump. And that sovereignty talk extends to the digital realm too. Last month, nearly 70 public figures and experts sent a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney demanding he take sovereignty in the digital space more seriously. The government is currently working on that, with plans to build a sovereign cloud and AI infrastructure. These projects would have major implications for Canada’s data security and economy.Globe business reporter Joe Castaldo and innovation reporter Pippa Norman explain why building sovereign digital companies is not as straightforward as it might seem.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is visiting China as part of an effort to improve relations amid a trade war between Canada and China. It began last year, when Ottawa imposed a 100-per-cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles. China responded by launching an anti-dumping probe into Canada’s canola imports, and later issued its own 100-per-cent tariff on Canadian canola oil, meal, and peas, followed by a 78.5-per-cent tariff on Canadian canola seed.Kate Helmore is the Globe’s agriculture and food policy reporter. She’s on the show to explain what’s going on with the trade war between Canada and China, and how tensions with the U.S. are contributing to an unstable situation for one of Canada’s most important crops.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The ceasefire in Gaza that U.S. President Donald Trump helped broker has been in place since Friday. But already, both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the agreement. Tensions flared over a slower-than-expected return of deceased hostages, and Hamas has, so far, refused to disarm and cede power in Gaza. Despite the disagreements, humanitarian aid trucks began entering Gaza on Wednesday, and Israel is set to open Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt this week. But as cracks in this deal emerge, where does this ceasefire go from here?Today, Globe freelance journalist Hasan Jaber joins us from Gaza. He’ll describe the mood in the region, as thousands of Palestinians return and Hamas fighters remerge. Then, The Globe’s senior international correspondent Mark MacKinnon will discuss the state of this deal, and whether this ceasefire can hold.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Canada’s agriculture industry is big business, contributing $32-billion to Canada’s GDP in 2024 and employing an estimated 223,000 people. What garners less attention is how heavily dependent the agriculture industry is on migrant labourers, with about 80,000 workers in the sector. The job is often gruelling and typically pays around minimum wage, but that money tends to go a lot farther in the workers’ home countries.Jason Kirby, a business reporter for The Globe and Mail, revisits his roots in an Ontario farming community and digs into the influence of foreign labour in Canada’s farms. He talks about why Canadian farmers have become so reliant on migrant labour, and what keeps foreign agricultural workers coming back year after year. Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A legal battle is underway over the notwithstanding clause, which allows governments to override “[certain] rights of Canadians” that are protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It’s a tool provincial governments have invoked often in recent years.But the federal government is bringing the dispute to the Supreme Court, asking it to consider new limits on the clause. Divisions over that legal review are breaking out, with five conservative premiers calling on Ottawa to back off.Globe columnist Andrew Coyne joins us to talk about the roots of this battle. He argues that there’s a deeper fight going on – that is not about the notwithstanding clause but rather, longstanding grievances with the Charter itself.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Geoffrey Hinton, “the godfather of AI”, pioneered much of the network research that would become the backbone of modern AI. But it’s in the last several years that he has reached mainstream renown. Since 2023, Hinton has been on a campaign to convince governments, corporations and citizens that artificial intelligence – his life’s work – could be what spells the end of human civilization.Machines Like Us host Taylor Owen interviews Hinton on the advancements made in AI in recent years and asks: if we keep going down this path, what will become of us?Subscribe to The Globe and Mail’s ‘Machines Like Us’ podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.