The Decibel

In the span of a week, OpenAI went from being Silicon Valley’s dominant artificial intelligence company, to teetering on the brink of collapse, to a total board overhaul. And at the centre of the drama were two men: Sam Altman, its CEO, and Ilya Sutskever, its Chief Scientist. Report on Business journalist Joe Castaldo explains who Ilya Sutskever is , what his role was in the past week’s chaotic c...

Israel and Hamas are negotiating a four-day ceasefire which could see the release of up to 50 prisoners being held in Gaza as well as Palestinians currently imprisoned in Israel. Israel said that for every additional 10 hostages freed by Hamas, the truce would be extended by a day. It is widely believed that hostages in Gaza are being held in a system of tunnels underneath the territory. This subt...

The Alberta government has been announcing several changes coming to the province’s health care – including dismantling the health authority , and putting more decision-making and responsibility into the hands of government . Today, The Globe’s health columnist Andre Picard explains what changes are being proposed, and why he thinks they might not fix the longstanding issues in Alberta’s health ca...

Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig – known as the two Michaels – were both detained by Chinese authorities on December 10, 2018 . That was the start of their 1,020-day imprisonment , in which Beijing accused the men of procuring and sharing Chinese state secrets. Now, two years after their release, one of the Michaels alleges that he was only detained because of information he provided to the other...

Health Canada recently approved the sale of Zonnic, a nicotine pouch that you pop into your mouth. Even though its maker – Imperial Tobacco Canada – says it’s meant to help people quit smoking, anti-smoking advocates are worried that it will actually get young people addicted to nicotine. This is in part because of how Health Canada is regulating it. Carly Weeks is a health reporter with The Globe...

The Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania was the first government-run residential school in North America. Earlier this fall, the remains of two boys, who died there more than a century ago, were returned to their tribes in South Dakota, over 2,000 kilometres away. It’s a process that took six years — and has only begun the healing and closure to the people who were part of it. Willow...

Many Afghans waiting to be resettled in Canada have taken refuge in Pakistan since fleeing their homes when the Taliban took control in 2021. That can be a dangerous and difficult situation for them – and now there’s an added concern. The government of Pakistan has begun deporting thousands of people back to Afghanistan . Today, The Globe’s Janice Dickson shares the stories of people she’s spoken...

The Israel-Hamas war is now in its sixth week and fighting is intensifying inside Gaza. On Tuesday, Palestinians trapped inside Gaza’s biggest hospital dug a mass grave to bury patients who died. Israel is encircling the hospital as they believe it sits atop an underground Hamas headquarters. On Monday Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netenyahu said he’s open to “tactical” fighting pauses but not...

There is a glacier that sits a kilometer below the highest peak within B.C.’s border, called Combatant Col. Scientists have been working on its icy surface to pull out ice cores as quickly as they can . Locked within these smooth cylinders are clues about what the region’s climate was like years ago that could help us understand today’s climate challenges. Justine Hunter is a Globe reporter based...

The reality of Quebec’s law to protect the French language is setting in, especially for the province’s three English language universities. Out-of-province students are facing a tuition hike that could see their fees go up from about $9,000 a year to $17,000… among the highest fees in the country. Joe Friesen , The Globe’s post-secondary education reporter, joins the podcast to explain what’s dri...

It can be incredibly frustrating trying to get access to historical records in Canada. There are often lengthy delays and confusing inconsistency. That’s in large part because Canada’s historical records are tied up in our access to information system, which has a lot of problems . The Globe’s investigative reporter Robyn Doolittle has been reporting on the country’s struggling access to informati...

A movement which first gained traction in Republican States in the U.S. is taking root in Canada. “Parents’ rights” is the idea that parents should have more control over what’s being taught and talked about in Canadian schools – particularly when it comes to gender identity and sexual education. Saskatchewan and New Brunswick have recently adopted policies in which students under 16 would need pa...

Weather in Canada is becoming more erratic thanks to climate change – we’re seeing cold snaps, severe thunder and hail storms, and wildfires . That’s having a big impact on Canada’s wine industry .  Today, The Globe’s wine writer Christopher Waters joins us to explain what’s going on in the industry, how that’s impacting the wines themselves, and why it’s such an important industry to pay attentio...

Canadian immigration minister Marc Miller announced the intentions of the government in its new set of targets: while the number of permanent residents being welcomed has grown annually, starting in 2026, there will be a freeze at 500,000 . This update comes at same time as the latest polls indicate that Canadians are souring on immigration. But the change may not actually address the heart of the...

There has been turmoil at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and it recently came to the public’s attention when the Alberta government dismissed the entire board in late October. The whirlwind drama started with the search for a new CEO, which led to arguments of conflict of interest and allegations of bullying and harassment. Today, The Globe’s Alanna Smith and Josh O’Kane , who have been...

Israeli tanks and troops that entered Gaza on Friday are now focusing on encircling Gaza City – the population hub of the northern part of the strip. This comes after Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement on Saturday that Israel had entered a “long and difficult” new stage of the war . He stopped short of calling this new phase an all-out invasion, but airstrikes have escalated along with an advancing...

Last week, Justin Trudeau announced an exemption for the carbon price on home-heating oil. The majority of homes that use home-heating oil are in Atlantic Canada. Premiers in other provinces, like Saskatchewan and Alberta, say that’s not fair – and are demanding carve-outs for heating fuel in their provinces too. Marieke Walsh is a senior political reporter for the Globe. She’s on the show to talk...

Over the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel was entering the “second stage” of the war with Hamas. Since then, the Israeli Defense Forces knocked out communication for people living in Gaza for two days, intensified their airstrikes, and started a sustained ground incursion by sending tanks and infantry into northern Gaza. The escalation has intensified intern...

The Supreme Court has been missing a judge ever since Russell Brown resigned in June over allegations of improper conduct. On Oct. 26, Trudeau announced his nomination to replace Justice Brown – Mary Moreau , the Chief Justice of the Alberta Court of King’s Bench. With this pick – Trudeau’s sixth – the Supreme Court of Canada becomes majority women, for the first time. The Globe’s justice reporter...

There have been a lot of challenges for Canada’s biggest book retailer, Indigo. There was a massive cyber attack . The CEO and president left . The board had four directors leave . And now, to turn the page, its founder, Heather Reisman, has returned to be its CEO after her succession plan didn’t work out. Susan Krashinsky Robertson is The Globe’s retailing reporter and she has been closely follow...

Alberta has a controversial idea that is causing a stir with other provinces and the federal government: exiting the Canada Pension Plan.  Alberta says if they exit, they’re entitled to more $330-billion of the assets that are collected from every worker and employer in the country outside of Quebec. Ontario’s finance minister says the plan risks “serious harm” for retirees across the country. Dep...

Bed bugs are pretty much everywhere. They’re being spotted in major cities like Paris , London and even Toronto now. They’ve been found in 135 countries in the world, according to a recent study , and they can live in mattresses, couches, walls, lightswitches, even books. For a while, we were doing well at keeping the bed bugs in check, but not anymore. Murray Isman, a professor and dean emeritus...

The Rafah crossing – the sole entry point between Egypt and Gaza – remains a political, diplomatic and humanitarian tinderbox. While Egypt has kept the border firmly closed to Gazan refugees fleeing from the Israel-Hamas war , it has allowed an aid corridor for several dozen trucks delivering food, water and medical supplies. But relief workers say the aid is ‘insufficient’ for people’s needs in G...

French immersion has become a cornerstone in Canadian education. One in 10 Canadian students are now enrolled in the program, as numbers doubled through the 1990s. But it has also inadvertently created a cultural and class divide – with some parents and students feeling like they’re getting left behind. Caroline Alphonso , The Globe’s education reporter, is the parent of two French immersion stude...

As Canada tries to figure out its path forward in combating climate change, the question of which level of government is allowed to do what has become a sticking point in the courts. Most recently, the government of Alberta asked the Supreme Court to rule on whether a piece of federal environmental legislation was offside. The court’s decision was a surprise to both sides. So The Globe’s climate c...