The Decibel

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

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

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

Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig – known as the two Michaels – were both detained by Chinese authorities on December 10, 2018. That was the start of their 1,020-day imprisonment, in which Beijing accused the men of procuring and sharing Chinese state secrets.Now, two years after their release, one of the Michaels alleges that he was only detained because of information he provided to the other Michael, that was in turn passed onto the Canadian government.Globe and Mail Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife broke the story with colleague Steven Chase. Robert explains the allegations, what the Canadian government is saying now and what this means in the claims of hostage diplomacy between Canada and China.Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

Health Canada recently approved the sale of Zonnic, a nicotine pouch that you pop into your mouth. Even though its maker – Imperial Tobacco Canada – says it’s meant to help people quit smoking, anti-smoking advocates are worried that it will actually get young people addicted to nicotine. This is in part because of how Health Canada is regulating it.Carly Weeks is a health reporter with The Globe and Mail and she explains the details around the regulation of this product and why it’s not being treated like the last nicotine product that got teens hooked, vaping.Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

The Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania was the first government-run residential school in North America. Earlier this fall, the remains of two boys, who died there more than a century ago, were returned to their tribes in South Dakota, over 2,000 kilometres away. It’s a process that took six years — and has only begun the healing and closure to the people who were part of it.Willow Fiddler, a national reporter for the Globe, visited those tribes to find out what it took to bring their boys home. She’s on The Decibel to talk about how the United States is reckoning with its history of boarding schools, and where Canada stands when it comes to repatriating the remains of Indigenous children who died at residential schools.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

Many Afghans waiting to be resettled in Canada have taken refuge in Pakistan since fleeing their homes when the Taliban took control in 2021. That can be a dangerous and difficult situation for them – and now there’s an added concern. The government of Pakistan has begun deporting thousands of people back to Afghanistan.Today, The Globe’s Janice Dickson shares the stories of people she’s spoken with who are in hiding in Pakistan, or who have been deported already. She explains the dangerous limbo they’re in, and why it’s taking so long to get help from the Canadian government.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

The Israel-Hamas war is now in its sixth week and fighting is intensifying inside Gaza. On Tuesday, Palestinians trapped inside Gaza’s biggest hospital dug a mass grave to bury patients who died. Israel is encircling the hospital as they believe it sits atop an underground Hamas headquarters.On Monday Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netenyahu said he’s open to “tactical” fighting pauses but not to a ceasefire until the more than 200 Israeli hostages held by Hamas are released. Behind the scenes, intense negotiations are taking place to facilitate the release of these hostages as well as help civilians trapped inside Gaza and a central figure in these talks is Qatar.Kristian Coates Ulrichsen is the Fellow for the Middle East at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston Texas. He’s on the show to explain why this tiny Gulf nation is acting as mediator in the Israel-Hamas war.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com