The Decibel

After a very public and heated battle with the federal government, Google has come to an agreement to support Canadian news to the tune of $100 million a year. Countries around the world have been watching this play out in Canada, as they try to tackle the imbalance between tech giants and media outlets.Taylor Owen, founding director of The Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy and an associate professor at McGill University, joins us today. He explains the details of the deal, and what precedent it sets for other places looking to bring in similar legislation.Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Data editor Mahima Singh and personal finance reporter Salmaan Farooqui from The Globe and Mail discuss ranking Canada's most livable cities. They explore factors like affordability, safety, education, and access to amenities and healthcare. Victoria, BC takes the top spot despite housing shortages. The podcast delves into the methodology of the rankings, the impact of demographics, climate, and amenities on city rankings, and the preference of immigrants for mid-sized cities.

On Tuesday, a walkout and rally at York University’s campus in Toronto saw 200 faculty and staff protesting the administration’s decision to suspend three employees, including one professor. The employees were charged for their alleged involvement in defacing an Indigo bookstore. It’s the latest incident involving a Canadian university where the Israel-Hamas war has created conflict on campus.The Globe’s post-secondary education reporter Joe Friesen is on the show to explain why university campuses are a flashpoint of spillover tensions from the Israel-Hamas war and why it’s testing how free speech is handled at universities.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Binance is the world’s largest crypto trading platform and its founder is the most recent crypto leader to be charged criminally in the U.S. That man – Changpeng Zhao – also happens to be Canada’s richest person.But despite his guilty plea to money-laundering charges, the reaction from the crypto industry has been much more muted than when FTX collapsed and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was charged. Ethan Lou is an editor in The Globe’s Report on Business and explains what’s going on and why multiple crypto bosses have been charged recently.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Last week, a far-right party and its controversial leader in the Netherlands won a surprising election victory. This comes on the heels of several other European countries that are seeing far-right parties become more popular.Today, The Globe’s international affairs columnist Doug Saunders explains why we’re seeing this shift to the far-right and what it will mean for European politics.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers revealed what BMO’s chief economist calls the “new villain” of inflation: rent. While inflation is finally cooling for items such as groceries, the price for renting a place to live has increased 8.2 per cent – the largest increase in more than 40 years.Matt Lundy is an economics reporter with The Globe’s Report on Business. He’s on the show to explain why rents keep climbing and whether there’s any relief in sight.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Learn about London, Ontario's unique approach to homelessness, shifting the focus from hostility to hospitality. Explore the scale of the homelessness crisis in London and the city's efforts to improve the habitability of encampments. Discover the introduction of supportive hubs and the controversies surrounding their cost. Gain insights into the perspectives of individuals living in encampments and city workers on a program for the homeless.

Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI's Chief Scientist, played a role in recent dramatic events at OpenAI. The podcast discusses his background, involvement in key events, changing stance, and interest in advancing neural networks. It also explores the potential risks and benefits of AI development.

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 subterranean network is believed to have existed under Gaza. But how big and connected the tunnels are remains still unclear.Drew Craig is a consultant geologist and a member of the International Working Group on subterranean warfare, based in England. He’s on the show to tell us what we know about the tunnels and how it’s made the strategy of this war even more complicated.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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 care – and could lead to other problems for the province.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.