The Decibel

Cryptocurrencies have taken another dive this week. And this crash follows seven months of declines, even for the big names in the game. Bitcoin, for example, is down more than 60 per cent from its peak in November. And on Monday, a crypto trading platform froze all activity, further rupturing the price of a lot of digital currencies.Globe and Mail columnist Tim Kiladze explains why even with such a volatile sector that has constant ups and downs – this crash matters and what retail investors with money caught up in crypto should do. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

They’re the front line in defending British Columbia from flooding – but no one can agree who’s responsible for them. Dikes, levees, whatever you want to call them, we need them. But there are over 100 in B.C. that are “orphaned” – and when the next flood comes, the people behind them could be in trouble.The Globe’s Justine Hunter toured one of these “orphan dikes” with flood-management engineer Tamsin Lyle. They discussed where these dikes came from, what needs to happen to fix them and what we risk if we do nothing. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ontario’s proposed Highway 413 would cut through the habitat of several species at risk in the province. Critics are concerned it would harm local waterways as well, far beyond the actual highway itself, highlighting the ongoing push-and-pull between the federal and provincial governments across Canada, and between species protection and development.Science reporter Ivan Semeniuk is back to walk us through how this struggle is playing out around the proposed highway and what it says about Canada’s efforts to protect its biodiversity. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When it comes to the issue of salary gaps, some experts say one solution is to make salaries more transparent. In 2021, the federal government introduced new legislation that would do just that: the Employment Equity Act requires federally regulated companies to disclose salary data. June 1st was the deadline for employers to submit their first rounds of data.Erica Alini, the Globe’s personal finance reporter, joins us to break down how this legislation might impact salaries – even those not covered by the bill – and offers advice on how you can take this kind of data to your employer when it comes time to negotiate a raise.Correction: This episode had previously and mistakenly referred to the Pay Equity Act, rather than the Employment Equity Act. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Siphe November is one of the most talented ballet dancers of his generation. At just 23, he’s the National Ballet of Canada’s youngest principal dancer and only the second black principal dancer in the company’s 70-year history. His ballet technique, the passion he brings to his performances and his magnetic pull both on stage and off make him a worthy star. With his popularity on Instagram, his move into choreography where he weaves together different genres of dance, his rise in the ballet world signals an artform that’s evolving.Sherrill Sutherland is a producer on The Decibel and also a ballet fan. She talks to Siphe November about his latest role in the National Ballet’s production of Swan Lake, the importance of Black representation in ballet and where he wants to take his career and the artform in the future. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Last year, a heat dome in B.C. led to the deaths of 619 people. It’s the deadliest weather event in Canadian history. Temperatures rose to above 40 degrees and stayed high even at night. On Tuesday, the province’s coroner service released a report with recommendations to prevent deaths in the future.Frances Bula is a frequent Globe contributor who reports on urban issues in British Columbia. She’ll explain how the urban landscape contributes to the deaths, what’s being recommended to help cool B.C. buildings and what the rest of Canada can learn from it all. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Boris Johnson has been called the Teflon prime minister, because no scandal seems to stick to him. He has a long history of being at the centre of scandals, dating back to his time as a journalist when he was fired for fabricating a quote. As a politician, he’s been criticized for lying several times but he has somehow managed to get out of all of those unscathed.Globe’s Europe correspondent Paul Waldie is back to tell us about Johnson’s uncanny ability to skirt scandal and why this Partygate scandal he’s embroiled in now might be the thing that brings him down. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As we learn more about Canada’s worst mass shooting, the families of the people killed are so frustrated with how the inquiry’s going that they’ve started to boycott the proceedings. Senior RCMP officers have been spared cross-examination as they detail the series of missteps they made in April, 2020.The Globe’s Greg Mercer has been following the inquiry, and he tells us how the RCMP didn’t believe the reports they received from the public, lacked training in their own communications systems, and gave commands after having several drinks. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You may know Rollie Pemberton by his stage name, Cadence Weapon. He’s the Edmonton-born rapper, who won the Polaris Music Prize in 2021, is known for his music with a political bent. Though he’s long been a writer of poetry – he was Edmonton’s poet laureate in 2009 – he’s now adding a new title to his list of accomplishments: non-fiction writer.In his new book, Bedroom Rapper: Cadence Weapon on Hip-Hop, Resistance and Surviving the Music Industry, Pemberton charts his path through the music industry. He joins Globe Associate Arts editor Aruna Dutt for a conversation on creativity in the pandemic and emerging with a new album – and now a book – to live audiences. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Canada abolished the death penalty in 1976. Now, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that it is unconstitutional for the state to jail someone for life with no reasonable hope for parole. That includes mass murderers, like the man who pled guilty to killing six worshippers at Quebec City mosque in 2017.The recent ruling has raised questions about where the rights of prisoners and victims’ families begin and end. Sean Fine, the Globe’s justice writer, discusses the court’s reasoning behind its unanimous – yet controversial – decision to strike down a 2011 tough-on-crime law brought forward under Stephen Harper’s government. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.