The Decibel
The Globe and Mail
3 Listeners
All episodes
Best episodes
Top 10 The Decibel Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Decibel episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Decibel for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Decibel episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
06/27/24 • 24 min
The U.K.’s Conservative Party is in deep trouble. Britons are heading for a general election on July 4 and polls indicate the ruling Tories are headed for electoral disaster. From Brexit, to COVID and betting scandals, financial panic, and a nation-wide joke involving a head of lettuce – voters appear ready to oust the deeply unpopular party led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Paul Waldie, The Globe’s Europe correspondent, explains the stakes of the U.K. election and why a seismic change is looking likely in British politics.
Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at [email protected]
1 Listener
01/31/23 • 18 min
On Monday, Rogers Communications Inc., Shaw Communications Inc. and Quebecor Inc. extended a deadline to mid-February that would finalize the largest telecommunications takeover in Canadian history. The deal would see Rogers buy Shaw for $20-billion. In an already concentrated industry, Canada’s Competition Bureau has argued that the deal would be bad for consumers who already pay some of the highest cell phone bills in the world.
Telecom reporter, Alexandra Posadzki explains the implications of this deal and why, even though it has cleared significant legal hurdles, Canada’s Federal Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne won’t rush his signoff.
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected]
1 Listener
01/17/23 • 17 min
The economic forecast for 2023 is ... less than rosy. Inflation is still running high. Central banks may continue to raise interest rates. And what everyone wants to know is: How long will this last before rates are lowered again?
Globe and Mail columnist Tim Kiladze says you can look back in history to get some clues. And they suggest that an investor’s best asset for the next while might be patiences.
Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at [email protected]
1 Listener
07/11/24 • 22 min
This year’s NATO summit comes at a critical moment. Pledges of support for Ukraine drum up questions about why Canada and other NATO members are lagging in their commitment to meet the 2 per cent defence spending threshold. Both Trudeau and Biden are looking to show strength after a rocky start to the summer.
Adrian Morrow is the Globe and Mail’s U.S. correspondent. He’s on the show to talk about the significance of this year’s NATO summit, and what’s at stake for Canada’s position on the world stage.
Clarification: An earlier version of this episode contained an inaccurate comparison of Canadian and U.S. military expenditures. It has been updated with the correct information.
Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at [email protected]
1 Listener
07/04/24 • 19 min
Last week, the federal government ended a 32-year ban on commercial cod fishing off the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador. It reverses a policy decision that devastated the province and led to one of the biggest mass layoffs in Canadian history. While the reversal may seem like a reason to celebrate, some people in the industry are criticizing the news.
Dr. George Rose, a fisheries scientist at UBC’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, has been studying the Northern cod population since the 1980s. Though he’s optimistic about the eventual return of the industry, he warns how this decision could undo decades of work.
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected]
1 Listener
07/24/24 • 21 min
In under two days, the narrative around Kamala Harris has completely shifted. It went from questioning her ability to replace Joe Biden, to a nearly complete coalescing around her presidential candidacy after Biden bowed out.
Globe columnist Doug Saunders believes that she is the right presidential candidate for the Democrats as they mount their third campaign against Donald Trump. He explains why her strengths – and even her perceived weaknesses – are suited for the moment.
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected]
1 Listener
A family-fuelled drama within Rogers
The Decibel
10/25/21 • 21 min
The first sign that there was fighting at the highest levels of power at Rogers Communications Inc. appeared in late September. That’s when it was announced that the company’s CFO, Anthony Staffieri, was leaving. Soon afterward, The Globe reported that his departure was connected to an attempt he made to oust Rogers’ CEO, Joe Natale, with the help of then-chair of the board, Edward Rogers.
In the weeks since then, there has been a lot of fallout as the rift in the company – and within the Rogers family itself – has deepened. The Globe’s telecoms reporter Alexandra Posadzki has been breaking news on this file for nearly a month now and is on the show to explain the cast of characters involved in this corporate drama and what it means for one of Canada’s biggest telecoms companies and the family that runs it.
1 Listener
Why holiday travel chaos is the new normal
The Decibel
01/16/23 • 19 min
The holiday travel period was incredibly tumultuous – with passengers stranded, bags lost and thousands of flights cancelled. The airlines say the winter storms caused unprecedented disruptions, but The Globe’s transportation reporter Eric Atkins says the problems go beyond that.
He tells us the other factors that led to this chaos, how airlines are responding, and whether this is likely to happen again. (Spoiler: It is.)
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected]
1 Listener
04/19/24 • 21 min
On Wednesday, Kristian Firth became the first person in over a century held in contempt of Parliament and ordered to answer MP questions. It all has to do with the ArriveCan app, which his company, GC Strategies, was awarded millions of dollars to help develop.
An Auditor-General’s report estimates the app cost taxpayers $59.5 million and most of the work was outsourced to companies like GC strategies. Why the app cost so much and who got that money has come under scrutiny.
Bill Curry, the Globe’s Deputy Ottawa Bureau Chief, is on the show to tell us about what’s been going on with ArriveCan and what we learned from Kristian Firth’s historic appearance at the House of Commons.
Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at [email protected]
COP26 is under way – here’s what’s at stake
The Decibel
11/01/21 • 18 min
We’ve already warmed the climate by 1.1 C and we’re starting to see the effects with more frequent extreme weather events. On Monday, political leaders from around the globe will address the world to talk about how they plan to tackle the immense challenge of climate change.
Dr. Sarah Burch is a climate change researcher and an associate professor at the University of Waterloo. She is on the show today to discuss what to watch out for from COP26 and why – despite the complexity of the problem – she hasn’t lost hope that we can still save the world from the worst effects of climate change.
Show more best episodes
Show more best episodes
FAQ
How many episodes does The Decibel have?
The Decibel currently has 889 episodes available.
What topics does The Decibel cover?
The podcast is about News, Daily News, Canada, Canadian Politics, Journalism, News Commentary, Podcasts and News Podcast.
What is the most popular episode on The Decibel?
The episode title 'Closing fisheries devastated Newfoundland. Should they come back?' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Decibel?
The average episode length on The Decibel is 20 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Decibel released?
Episodes of The Decibel are typically released every day.
When was the first episode of The Decibel?
The first episode of The Decibel was released on Apr 24, 2021.
Show more FAQ
Show more FAQ