Episodit
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Last week, Tesla shareholders voted to approve a huge pay package for CEO Elon Musk that a judge previously struck down. If the payout is approved, Musk will receive company shares worth around US $50-billion. Last year, Loblaw’s CEO was paid more than $22-million. These pay packages are supposed to act as incentives for reaching company targets, but most executives can still receive these massive payouts even if they don’t meet their company’s objectives.
David Milstead is a reporter and columnist with The Globe’s Report on Business. He joins the show to discuss why big paydays for executives still happen – and why they matter – even in instances of corporate failure.
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Artificial Intelligence has been creeping into our lives more and more as tech companies release new chatbots, AI-powered search engines, and writing assistants promising to make our lives easier. But, much like humans, AI is imperfect and the products companies are releasing don’t always seem quite ready for the public.
The Globe’s Report on Business reporter, Joe Castaldo is on the show to explain what kind of testing goes into these models, how the hype and reality of AI are often at odds and whether we need to reset our expectations of Generative AI.
Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at [email protected]
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Point Pelee National Park juts out into Lake Erie like a finger, as every spring thousands of birds touch down on it. It’s a key stop along their migratory routes from the southern U.S., Central and South America to northern Canada.
But climate change has been shifting the conditions of migration, making it harder for some birds and ultimately affecting bird populations, which are already in steep decline. Decibel host Menaka Raman-Wilms, producer Rachel Levy-McLaughlin and Globe and Mail columnist Marcus Gee headed to Point Pelee to see spring migration up close.
A special thanks to Matt Fuirst and Birds Canada, and, as well as, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, who provided some sounds from their Macaulay Library in this episode.
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Canada’s newest law school is in crisis. After an open-letter called for the Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Toronto Metropolitan University to drop its neutral position on the Israel-Hamas war, donors pulled funding and law firms withdrew summer internship placements – leaving students feeling ostracized and abandoned. The fallout has left the law school asking questions about who and what they represent and where they go from here.
The Globe’s corporate law reporter, Robyn Doolittle, breaks down the rift within the school, what the self-deemed progressive law school is doing to mitigate the damage and the letter’s consequences with the professional legal world.
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Yesterday on The Decibel, The Globe’s senior international correspondent Mark MacKinnon told us about the top commanders and soldiers he’s been following and speaking with in the Ukrainian army. These soldiers have been in incredibly dangerous situations, many at the centre of the major battles in the war against Russia.
Today, Mark joins us for the second part of that conversation. He’ll tell us about the critical role these soldiers played in the defence of Kharkiv, the toll the fighting and military setbacks have had on them, and how they make sense of everything they’ve been through.
You can listen to Part One here: https://pod.link/thedecibel/episode/eeee888019060f26d57415ec0d160ff8
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For the past few years, The Globe’s senior international correspondent Mark MacKinnon has been building relationships with some of the top commanders and soldiers in the Ukrainian army, following them in the war against Russia. These soldiers have been in the midst of major battles – Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv, Bakhmut – and many have been fighting Russia since long before the full-scale invasion in 2022.
Today and tomorrow, Mark tells us about this group of elite soldiers, what roles they’ve played in the major battles for Ukraine, and how they think about everything they’ve been through so far.
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected]
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Hospitals across Canada have long been overwhelmed by patient demand and staff shortages. But another category of medical experts, specializing in childbirth and pregnancy care, has been growing to lift the weight – midwives. In 2021, midwives oversaw more than 48,000 live births. So why aren’t they recognized as other health professionals are?
Carly Weeks, the Globe’s former health reporter joins the show to explain why midwives could be a vital answer to Canada’s health care labour shortage.
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected]
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Canada’s ‘green energy’ transition has begun. By 2035, the federal government is aiming to achieve a net-zero electricity grid. But is it possible? And is one of the answers to help in that transition in front of us right now? With an expected increase in energy demands, how does the aging technology of hydroelectric power plants factor in and how essential are they now to keep everything running?
The Globe’s environment data journalist, Matt McClearn, explains how important hydroelectricity is to Canada’s energy infrastructure and looks into whether the cost of keeping hydro dams in business is justified.
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A national watchdog report says some parliamentarians in Canada are ‘semi-witting’ or ‘witting’ participants in foreign efforts to interfere in our politics. The report from NSICOP says that the parliamentarians (whom are not named) may have collaborated with foreign actors to advance their own interests. This is the latest information around concerns of foreign interference in Canada since The Globe first started reporting on this over a year ago.
The Globe’s senior parliamentary reporter, Steven Chase is on the show to explain the latest report and what this means for and what might be done about fighting foreign interference in Canada.
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Canada’s cultural institutions are coming up against serious economic challenges. Theatre companies say they’re facing a crisis as they struggle to recover from pandemic closures. The Montreal-based ‘Just For Laughs’, one of the world’s biggest comedy festivals, has canceled their 2024 festival and filed for creditor protection. In May, Hot Docs, an international documentary festival, announced they would temporarily close their theatre due to financial constraints.
Globe business reporter Josh O’Kane has reported on a number of arts organizations cancelling shows, closing their doors, and announcing they’re on the brink of collapse. He joins the show to break down what factors lead up to this moment and what hope the arts industry can look towards.
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The Bank of Canada lowered the interest rate to 4.75 per cent on Wednesday – the first rate cut in four years. As the country’s central bank aims to get the inflation rate closer to 2 per cent, further cuts could be on the horizon. Realtors are hoping the rate cut will reignite a stagnant housing market, by possibly allowing more people to qualify for mortgages and increasing the number of potential buyers.
Mark Rendell is a journalist with The Globe’s Report on Business. He joins the show to discuss the art and science behind rate cuts, what the current cut means for people and the economy and how the Bank of Canada might move forward.
Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at [email protected]
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Last week, former U.S. president Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts. In speeches and interviews following the decision, he used religiously-charged language and called on supporters to get revenge at the polls. This isn’t the first time Trump has utilized evangelical references, but his 2024 election campaign is increasingly relying on apocalyptic rhetoric.
U.S. political analyst and author Jared Yates Sexton is on the show to explain the wide appeal of the religious right’s messaging, the intersection of evangelicalism and the Make America Great Again Movement and how a loss of faith in democratic institutions underlies the appeal of religious narratives.
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It’s been more than a month now since the pro-Palestinian protests started up at campuses across Canada, protesting the war in Gaza and calling for the universities to make changes. There’s been a wide range of responses to these protests.
So today, The Globe’s postsecondary education reporter Joe Friesen is here to explain where the campus protests are now, what the students are asking for, and how the universities have responded.
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford recently announced that beer and wine will soon be available for purchase in convenience stores and big-box stores across the province, fulfilling an election promise from 2018. The controversy? This deal means that people will have greater access to alcohol — for better or worse — and it will cost taxpayers $225-million.
Jeff Gray, one of The Globe’s Ontario politics reporter, outlines the policy, explains the cost, and what federal politics might have to do with it.
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Open banking could eventually be available to Canadians, which would change how we access our personal finances. This style of banking is consumer-driven and would bring transparency to a customer’s information. but despite the talk, Canada is lagging behind other Western countries when it comes to implementing open banking.
The Globe’s personal finance reporter, Salmaan Farooqui, breaks down the inner workings of open banking – its benefits and concerns, why it doesn’t exist in Canada yet, and how this new development will affect the way Canadians manage their finances in the future.
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Social media use among students is a big concern for schools across Canada. Ontario school boards and educators are taking matters into their own hands by suing social media companies like Meta, Snap and ByteDance for allegedly harming kids and disrupting education. And educators have had to devise creative methods to keep students engaged.
The Globe’s education reporter, Caroline Alphonso, explains how cell phones and social media use are affecting student learning, the details of the lawsuits, and what schools are doing to refocus student attention in classrooms.
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Recently we’ve seen a shift in the national conversation around how to deal with Canada’s ongoing opioid crisis. B.C. all but cancelled their decriminalization trial. And the federal government rejected Toronto’s request to decriminalize possession of drugs. Decriminalization is part of a harm reduction strategy which advocates argue is the best short-term solution to save lives.
Alberta is also moving away from a harm reduction model and it’s all because of Marshall Smith. He’s the man that’s overhauling the province’s drug policy with a plan that’s facing a lot of criticism.
The Globe’s Marcus Gee is a columnist focusing on cities and the opioid crisis, and he recently spent some time with Marshall Smith. He’s on the show to tell us how Smith became so influential, his plan to upend conventional wisdom on how to deal with the drug crisis and whether we might see it replicated elsewhere.
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The PWHL is wrapping up a successful inaugural season, with the three Canadian teams boasting big crowds for most games. The WNBA is adding a 14th team; this one’s in Toronto. And there’s a push from a group called Project 8 to launch a professional women’s soccer league in Canada by 2025.
There’s an undeniable momentum in the realm of women’s professional sports in Canada right now. Rachel Brady, a sports reporter for The Globe, explains what’s happening this time around that has changed the game.
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When nature calls, you have to answer, and quickly. The last thing you’d want is to walk several kilometers to find a public toilet.. And yet, public bathrooms aren’t easy to find in many cities across Canada. Overall, Canada has 18 public toilets per 100,000 people, which puts it in 15th place globally. And for those facing homelessness or a medical condition, public toilets are crucial for their ability to move freely through urban spaces.
The Globe’s urban affairs reporter, Oliver Moore, explains why good public toilets are so hard to find, how the pandemic created a two-tier system of access, and what Canadian cities are doing to address the scarcity.
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On the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, troops occupied Chornobyl. Since the nuclear disaster in 1986, the 30-kilometer exclusion zone around the nuclear plant has been largely abandoned. But 38 years later, some Ukrainians still call the land home, including a handful of elderly residents and people who oversee the disused power plant.
Janice Dickson, the Globe’s international affairs reporter, visited Chornobyl and the surrounding exclusion zone in April. She’s on the podcast to talk about what she saw there, and how Ukraine is dealing with the challenges of war, two years on.
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