The Decibel

In August, a man allegedly broke into someone’s home in a small Ontario town. After an altercation, the intruder was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. Now, both men face charges. The case has sparked a country-wide conversation about the limits of self-defence, with politicians across Canada weighing in . Today, the Globe’s opinion columnist Andrew Coyne joins The Decibel. He’ll tell us...

Maryam Fatima was born with a condition called hemimegalencephaly , a rare birth defect in which one side of the brain is abnormally large. She suffered from severe seizures from the moment she was born. They became so bad that they stopped Maryam from feeding, sleeping and breathing. Her life was at risk. That’s when a team at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto decided to attempt a first-i...

Having social media accounts hacked is stressful. Usually, companies have formal channels for users to regain access. But for Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram, some users say the social media giant isn’t responding. Now, a new kind of broker has sprung up, helping people locked out of their accounts connect with a Meta employee or contractor who can expedite their request … for the right...

Problem gambling is a real issue in Canada – where reporting shows young people having even higher rates than adults. The increasing monetization of games, especially online, often uses similar mechanics to gambling, despite it being illegal for youth to gamble in Canada. And some experts say these apps and games are reinforcing feelings of risk and reward. Dr. Loredana Marchica is a pediatric psy...

The way medical records are handled in Canada is a patchwork of disconnected systems – creating massive headaches for patients and doctors. Patients struggle to access their own data, and practitioners have to waste time compensating for inefficiencies. But governments, companies and health care professionals are searching for ways to make all these systems talk to each other. Chris Hannay is a st...

Bill C-2, also known as the Strong Borders Act, is one of the first pieces of legislation by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government . The 140-page bill proposes a series of enhanced powers for law enforcement and major changes to how the government processes some asylum claims and immigration applications . Sara Mojtehedzadeh is an investigative reporter at The Globe who writes about immigration...

In 2021, mine workers in Morocco made a huge discovery. They found a fossil that scientists believed to be a new species of mosasaur – a large swimming reptile that lived in the same era as the Tyrannosaurus Rex. However, many scientists, including a group in Alberta, are now questioning whether the fossil is real or fake . Ivan Semeniuk is The Globe’s science reporter. He’s on the show today to e...

When the U.S. first imposed sweeping tariffs on Canada, setting off a trade war, businesses and consumers braced for high inflation . But nearly half a year later, prices for consumer goods have not risen as much as expected . So what happened? Consumer affairs reporter Mariya Postelnyak talks about why prices haven’t gone up as much as predicted and why that could soon change. Questions? Comments...

A national strike by Air Canada flight attendants ended on Tuesday morning , three days after it began. One of the key issues that Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees were fighting over was " ground pay ," the amount flight attendants are paid for their work before takeoff and after landing. Jason Kirby is a business reporter for The Globe and Mail. He’s on the show to talk about...

Since Wikipedia was founded nearly 25 years ago as a free, online encyclopedia, it has consistently ranked as one of the top 10 most visited websites globally. In an era when so much of the internet is full of misinformation, polarization, and social media platforms designed to keep you doomscrolling for hours, you could argue that Wikipedia – free of ads, and maintained by volunteer editors – is...

A Globe and Mail investigation has revealed the extent to which Canadians have been caught up in U.S. President Trump’s immigration crackdown . Analysis of data, obtained through a federal lawsuit, shows nearly 150 Canadians have been detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since the beginning of this year. These Canadians range from 2 years old to 77 years old.  Kathryn Bla...

For decades, scientific research at the Great Lakes has meant close partnership between Canada and the U.S., but President Trump’s latest job cuts may be changing that. In March, the U.S. agencies overseeing the health and conditions of oceans, lakes and rivers became the latest target of the Trump administration’s federal job-cutting spree. Patrick White reports on water issues for The Globe. Tod...

In late July, French President Emmanuel Macron said France would recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September. The U.K. then said it, too, would recognize a Palestinian state if Israel did not agree to a ceasefire. Canada and then Australia soon committed to recognizing Palestine. Dr. Mira Sucharov is a professor of political science at Carleton University in O...

The conversation around sleep is shifting. Hustle culture views sleep as a waste of time. But in a culture increasingly focused on health and wellness, sleep is seen as something to be optimized and even perfected. Sleep hygiene trends are taking over social media, but experts warn that fixating on rigid routines and products may do more harm than good. Dr. Rebecca Robillard is a neuropsychologist...

Popeyes Chicken is one of the most well-known fast food franchises in North America. But its reputation could be tested by a lawsuit alleging that some of the chain’s franchise owners purchased meat from an unauthorized seller. The accusations from a former chicken supplier – which Popeyes’ parent company refutes – include “unsafe” and “rotten” meat, according to the statement of claim. Susan Kras...

An Afghan family fleeing the Taliban and attempting to join relatives in Canada have been held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention for months. Their lawyers say they’re stuck in a “legal trap.” Due to the sweeping immigration crackdown and migrant detentions in the U.S., people trying to claim asylum in Canada face a very different reality than they would have a year ago. S...

At 18 years old, Andean Medjedovic was a math prodigy, finishing his master’s degree in mathematics at the University of Waterloo before most young Canadians can legally drink. Medjedovic was involved in cryptocurrency trading – and according to the U.S. Department of Justice – engaged in “cryptocurrency hacking schemes” that allegedly netted him US$65-million in digital tokens . Now, he’s on the...

Canada failed to secure a trade deal with the U.S. by the Aug. 1 deadline. In response, U.S. President Donald Trump raised tariffs on certain Canadian goods to 35 per cent . And while other trading partners announced agreements with Trump, Ottawa enters its sixth month of negotiations. But recently, both Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump have doubted whether a deal can be made without some tari...

Parents seem to be turning to ChatGPT for advice more and more – but what do robots have to offer when it comes to such a core human relationship? What guardrails are necessary when trusting artificial intelligence with shaping the development of our children? Contributing columnist Amberly McAteer weighs in after ChatGPT’s advice actually got one of her daughters to stop stealing from the other....

The Hockey Canada case captivated the country — raising complex questions about consent, hockey culture and even how sports organizations handle accusations of assault. In late July, all five of the accused members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team were found not guilty of sexual assault. After the verdict, a lawyer for one of the players, Megan Savard, said her client, Carter Hart, would...

Canadians are not particularly good at resting. According to Statistics Canada data collected between July 2022 and July 2023, people over the age of 15 spent an average of 17 minutes a day resting, relaxing, or lying down, and an average of 18 minutes a day on relaxing pursuits known as “active leisure” (think: birdwatching, camping, or going to an art gallery). That’s translating into stress – m...

More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid since May. And more than 150 deaths have been attributed to malnutrition, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel denies there is any starvation. But recently, there has been mounting pressure from humanitarian groups and governments, including Canada. On Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Carney announced that Canada intends to...

Scams are becoming more common and more sophisticated. As quickly as safeguards are developed to protect people, scammers are finding workarounds. And if you do fall victim to a scam, does your bank owe you anything? Alexandra Posadzki joins The Decibel to discuss what current regulations say about who is liable for losses from a scam , the risks for consumers and whether the current system reflec...

What’s in a name? For the past century, people have clamoured to categorize people by their age and the life events they’ve gone through – but how and why did we get so preoccupied with generations? The Globe’s Generations Reporter Ann Hui joins the show to break down where the names came from and how they play out online and in popular culture. Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@g...

Travel to the U.S. has plummeted ever since U.S. President Donald Trump started talking about annexing Canada and imposing tariffs on us. Politicians on this side of the border are embracing the moment, encouraging people to take trips closer to home. So how is it all working out for Canadian tourism? The Globe’s Jason Kirby , who writes for the Report on Business, joins us to talk about what this...