The Decibel
Episodes
The next generation of 9-1-1
14 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Phone technology has evolved at an incredible pace, from the first cellphone in the 1980s, to the sophisticated computers we call smartphones in our p...
Haiti and the failed promise of foreign aid
13 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Events in Haiti have been unfolding quickly following the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in his Port-au-Prince home on July 7. In t...
Exploring the connection between racism and schizophrenia
12 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Can racism cause schizophrenia? It’s an area of mental health research that has been ongoing for decades and over time, researchers are increasingly...
Lebanon’s ‘deliberate depression’
08 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lebanon’s financial crisis was only made worse last year when an explosion ripped through the port of its capital city, Beirut, killing more than 20...
The case against vaccine passports
07 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Domestic vaccine passports offer one way of letting vaccinated people get back to normal life by giving them access to privileges non-vaccinated peopl...
Hundreds dead, a town ablaze after record-setting heat wave in Western Canada
06 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The village of Lytton, BC burned to the ground a day after hitting the hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada, forcing residents to evacuate in a...
Family wealth, bidding wars, interest rates: what’s driving Canada’s wild real estate market
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Soaring house prices have made it harder to afford a house in Canada than it’s been in three decades, with experts blaming everything from low inter...
The uncomfortable conversations about #CancelCanadaDay
30 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Calls to reconsider the fireworks and celebrations of Canada Day have intensified as we approach the national holiday, in light of the announcements f...
‘You get some freedom with a vaccine’: What new guidelines mean for your double-vaccinated summer
29 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
New guidelines for people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 were published by the Public Health Agency of Canada last week, which now applies ...
Why you still can’t buy a bike this summer
28 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A lot of Canadians have pandemic-savings money to burn – and not many places to spend it. With travel, entertainment and even dining still severely ...
As China urges families to have more children, it’s cracking down on Uyghur births
25 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
China is encouraging people to have up to three children in a bid to reverse the effects of its one-child policy, which has left the country with an a...
Ticks: the ‘bags of blood with feet’ that you should know about
24 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For Dr. Vett Lloyd, there really is nothing good about a tick. That’s why she studies them. After getting bit herself and developing Lyme disease, D...
Why were two scientists fired from a Winnipeg virus lab?
23 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The head of the Public Health Agency of Canada defied an order of the House of Commons on Monday, refusing to provide unredacted documents about the d...
How long does COVID-19 immunity last?
22 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nearly 20 per cent of people in Canada have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, making almost all of them immune to the virus. But how long will t...
Hotel Rwanda hero’s trial, and how we remember the genocide
21 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The genocide in Rwanda shocked the world in 1994, and since then the country has been praised for its recovery. But the trial of Paul Rusesabagina –...
A father’s advice to his children on the other side of the world
18 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When Ethan Lou unexpectedly found himself quarantining with his uncle in Beijing, he learned that his uncle was trying to bridge the distance between ...
The Green Party’s identity crisis
17 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A defection. Calls for a leader’s resignation. Internal fighting. The Green Party of Canada is in the news for all the wrong reasons lately.On Frida...
After the Julie Payette scandal, the search for a new Governor General
16 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Six months after former astronaut Julie Payette resigned from the role of Governor General of Canada, Trudeau has yet to find her permanent replacemen...
Could hydrogen revive Alberta’s energy sector?
15 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline and the increasing pressures of climate change, transitioning Alberta from an oil-based economy is f...
State surveillance, press freedom and covering China
14 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As a correspondent based in Beijing, Nathan VanderKlippe prepares to leave his post after eight years and return to Canada. He talks about the changes...
Tension in East Jerusalem as Israel awaits a new government
11 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Globe and Mail’s European Bureau Chief Eric Reguly is in East Jerusalem, covering a very tense moment in Israel’s history. While last month’...
‘Everybody needs to look in the mirror’: London, Ont.’s Islamophobia problem
10 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Police charged a man on Monday for hitting an entire family with his truck on Sunday night in London, Ontario, alleging that he did it intentionally b...
Will the Pope apologize for residential schools?
09 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On Sunday, Pope Francis prayed for Indigenous families, addressing the announcement that remains of children were found in unmarked gravesites at the ...
The politics of trees in Fairy Creek, B.C.
08 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Three First Nations have deferred the logging of old-growth forest in and around Fairy Creek, B.C. This follows months of blockading by environmental ...
Power Gap: How progress has stalled for female academics
07 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Women have been graduating from university at higher rates than men for decades but are still under-represented in the best-paid jobs, like university...
In Kamloops with Tanya Talaga
04 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tanya Talaga is an Anishinaabe journalist, speaker and columnist for The Globe. After being invited by the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation, Ta...
A conversation with a doctor who helps people die
03 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Konia Trouton is a physician in Victoria, B.C., who provides medical assistance in dying, also known as MAID. She describes the process, discusses...
The last big battle over oil?
02 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How did a junior oil company from Calgary end up at the heart of a dispute over wildlife preservation in Namibia? Energy reporter Emma Graney talks ab...
Canada’s lost residential school children
01 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The remains of 215 children were found on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia. Residential school survivo...
Pregnant with COVID-19: Why moms-to-be are filling ICUs
31 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Two women got COVID-19 while in their third trimester of pregnancy and landed in the ICU, isolated from their newborn babies.They tell their stories, ...
Are the kids alright? The pandemic and learning loss
28 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Remote learning has allowed for education to continue in the COVID-19 pandemic, but at what cost? Some students are lost and disengaged, parents are e...
The quest for police reform
27 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After the death of George Floyd, American politicians faced huge pressure to institute changes to reform standards of policing and hold officers to ac...
Why students can’t catch a break on summer jobs
26 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As warmer months and higher vaccination rates bring hope of a return to normal life for Canadians, the summer job market for young people is still dam...
Brampton: The making of a COVID-19 hotspot
25 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For months now, Brampton resident Dr. Amanpreet Brar has been going on different Punjabi-language shows to talk about the COVID-19 pandemic and take a...
Understanding the U.S.’s influence over Israel
21 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a mutual ceasefire, ending nearly two weeks of fighting. This came after escalating pressure from U.S. President Joe B...
A historic moment for Mars: China’s lander joins NASA’s Perseverance
20 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mars is a busy place right now. There are two rovers and a helicopter on the surface, along with many orbiters circling around it. Science reporter Iv...
The Tokyo Olympics are happening despite Japan’s COVID-19 surge
19 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Despite the fourth wave of coronavirus now hitting Japan, the Olympic Games are scheduled to take place in Tokyo at the end of July. Columnist Cathal ...
Do we want to work from home forever?
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If you were able to work from home for much of the pandemic, you might be looking forward to getting back to the office – or dreading the commute, t...
Who is responsible for the death of Betty Siwicki?
17 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ron Siwicki spent two years in prison for failing to look after his bedridden mother. Wency Leung discusses how his family’s tragic story reveals th...
A deadly week in Israel and the Palestinian Territories
14 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The worst fighting in years between Israel and Palestinians broke out this week following a police raid at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. Senior int...
Alberta’s record-breaking third wave
13 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Alberta has the most active COVID-19 cases per capita, more than any other province in Canada – twice as many as Manitoba, which is in second place....
How the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy program helped big business
12 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How did big companies that had a great 2020 overall end up qualifying for millions of taxpayer dollars from the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy program?...
Making the most of your pandemic savings
11 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Fewer spontaneous coffees, commuting costs and vacations have left some with a tidy sum in their savings. Personal finance journalists and co-hosts of...
COVID-19 in Canada: Are we in the home stretch?
10 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Globe and Mail health columnist André Picard discusses how Canada has fared nearly 14 months into its COVID-19 pandemic, what to do if you have vacci...
Introducing The Decibel
24 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The new podcast from The Globe and Mail. Coming May 10, 2021. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our ...