The Decibel

Two women got COVID-19 while in their third trimester of pregnancy and landed in the ICU, isolated from their newborn babies.They tell their stories, plus national health reporter Kelly Grant on why COVID-19 hits pregnant people harder and why doctors recommend getting vaccinated if you’re expecting. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Remote learning has allowed for education to continue in the COVID-19 pandemic, but at what cost? Some students are lost and disengaged, parents are exhausted trying to help and many teachers feel frustrated.Caroline Alphonso, The Globe and Mail’s education reporter, talks about the barriers different kinds of kids face, what educators know about how far behind students are sliding in basic skills like reading, and what schools are doing to try to help. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After the death of George Floyd, American politicians faced huge pressure to institute changes to reform standards of policing and hold officers to account. Adrian Morrow, The Globe and Mail’s U.S. correspondent, discusses what progress has been made a year later and how movement on one specific issue – qualified immunity – has drawn both controversy and commendation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As warmer months and higher vaccination rates bring hope of a return to normal life for Canadians, the summer job market for young people is still dampened for now by public health restrictions in its most important sectors.Economics reporter Matt Lundy tells us why young people’s jobs got hit the hardest in the pandemic, and how people starting their working lives during the pandemic may feel the effects for years to come. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For months now, Brampton resident Dr. Amanpreet Brar has been going on different Punjabi-language shows to talk about the COVID-19 pandemic and take audience questions. She is on The Decibel today to talk about her outreach efforts, her former life as a temporary factory worker and why Brampton is one of Canada’s worst coronavirus hot spots.This episode is part of The Globe and Mail’s L6P project. It is a multi-story examination of Brampton’s L6P neighbourhood, which not only has some of the highest COVID-19 positivity rates in Canada, but is also home to a huge population of essential workers. Read the series, in English, Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi and Gujarati: tgam.ca/L6P Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a mutual ceasefire, ending nearly two weeks of fighting. This came after escalating pressure from U.S. President Joe Biden. American politics expert and Globe contributing columnist David Shribman explains the history and relationship between the two countries. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mars is a busy place right now. There are two rovers and a helicopter on the surface, along with many orbiters circling around it. Science reporter Ivan Semeniuk talks about the lure of the red planet and how new players in the space race are propelling us closer and closer to getting humans on Mars. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Despite the fourth wave of coronavirus now hitting Japan, the Olympic Games are scheduled to take place in Tokyo at the end of July. Columnist Cathal Kelly tells us why that’s still the plan even in the face of widespread disapproval among Japanese and the threat of COVID-19 infecting the games. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If you were able to work from home for much of the pandemic, you might be looking forward to getting back to the office – or dreading the commute, the bad lighting and the work clothes. So what does corporate Canada think about a shift to remote work and flexible hours – and what might workers be missing out on if they keep the home office?Zabeen Hirji is an executive adviser on the future of work for the consulting company Deloitte, and she says HR departments across the country are trying to keep the best parts of how we learned to work together, apart. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ron Siwicki spent two years in prison for failing to look after his bedridden mother. Wency Leung discusses how his family’s tragic story reveals the difficulties of at-home elder care. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.