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Podcast

The Decibel

by The Globe and Mail

About the show

Context is everything. Join us Monday to Friday for a Canadian daily news podcast from The Globe and Mail. Explore a story shaping our world, in conversation with reporters, experts, and the people at the centre of the news.

Latest episodes

  • Canada’s income tax law has become a ‘Frankenstein’s monster’

    October 7, 2026 · 20 min

    The law governing income tax in Canada is as complex as the legislation is thick – it’s over 3,000 pages long. All of this complexity isn’t just a nuisance for taxpayers. It can cost people and businesses money if they are unaware of…

  • How some Alberta separatists are courting U.S. support

    October 6, 2026 · 26 min

    A secret meeting with Republican strategists near an airport hanger, and talks of access to Alberta water and royalties from oil. These are some of the revelations from a Globe investigation looking into some separatists courting American…

  • A splintered political landscape heading into Quebec’s election

    October 5, 2026 · 22 min

    Quebec is facing a fractured political landscape ahead of its election today, with no single party polling higher than 30 per cent in the run-up to the election. And there are important issues hanging over the campaign, from separatism to…

  • Hockey Night in Canada without the NHL

    October 2, 2026 · 20 min

    Hockey Night in Canada is considered a Canadian cultural institution. For almost 75 years, it was broadcast on the CBC, accessible to any Canadian who wanted to tune in. But earlier this year, CBC and Sportsnet, which owns the rights to…

  • The booze war within the trade war

    October 1, 2026 · 23 min

    In the trade war between the U.S. and Canada, alcohol has been a bargaining chip on both sides of the border. Early in 2025, Canadian premiers pulled U.S. booze off of Canadian shelves. Then, last month, the Trump administration slapped a…

  • In Her Defence: Police officer preys on vulnerable women

    September 30, 2026 · 30 min

    Officers at the Regina Police Service begin an internal investigation of one of their colleagues, and turn up a case larger and more complex than they could have imagined. Sgt. Alana Heiliger begins to identify patterns in an officer’s use…

  • Havana Syndrome: new allegation of Canadian spying

    September 29, 2026 · 14 min

    The Globe and Mail has learned that a Canadian diplomat was sharing intelligence with American spies in Havana and Canadians were using satellite equipment brought into Cuba by the United States when officials from both countries began…

  • The new AI moment we’re in

    September 28, 2026 · 25 min

    After several reports of AI agents going rogue, calls for regulation of this technology have grown louder. And some of the people advocating for more rules are the leaders of the frontier labs themselves, like Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei…