The Decibel

Recent visits to Taiwan by U.S. House Rep. Nancy Pelosi and a delegation of five U.S. lawmakers earlier this week have set the stage for rising tensions in the Taiwan strait.Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory and sees U.S. visits as encouragement for Taiwan’s pro-independence movement. But there’s a crucial industry on the self-governing island critical to both China, the U.S. and the entire global economy. Taiwan makes 90 per cent of the world’s advanced semiconductors. The hyper-miniscule components are used in everything from your phone, computer, car and even military fighter jets. So important is Taiwan’s involvement in the industry that some argue it could even deter a war.The Globe’s Asia correspondent James Griffiths is on the show to talk about how Taiwan came to dominate the industry and why it’s crucial to the delicate geopolitical situation today. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You’re never far from a parasite, no matter where you are. They’re responsible for illnesses like malaria that cause death around much of the world; the word itself is a derogatory term for something freeloading and disgusting.They’re also very important to the health of ecosystems.Parasite ecologist and University of Washington associate professor Chelsea Wood makes her case for parasite conservation, and why they’re actually beautiful, complex forms of life that need to be protected. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The CEOs of the 100 largest Canadian companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange saw their compensation go up 23 per cent in 2021. Some chief executives took home pay packages that were valued around in the tens of millions of dollars or more.So how do boards of these publicly-traded companies decide on these huge sums? And what do the shareholders of these companies think of it all? David Milstead, The Globe’s Institutional Investment reporter, takes us inside the complex world of executive pay. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today we're bringing you an episode of City Space, a Globe and Mail podcast about how to make our cities better, hosted by Adrian Lee.Cities are filled with seemingly endless options when it comes to food. But we’re also increasingly disconnected from what we eat and how it makes its way to our plate. In this episode, we’re taking a look at how the pandemic has given us the opportunity to rethink our relationship with food, both in terms of the restaurant industry and farmed food that fills our fridge. Adrian speaks to Corey Mintz, a food writer and critic about his new book The Next Supper: The End of Restaurants As We Knew Them, and What Comes After. Corey shares how the pandemic has changed the restaurant industry, from tipping to labour demand, and what diners should think about next time they eat out. Plus, we hear from Carolyn Steel, architect and author of Sitopia: How Food Can Save the World. Carolyn shares how cities have lost some of their essential connections to the food that fuels their citizens, and what we can do about it. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

With so many ups and downs in headlines and our personal lives, what often brings us together is food. Food has a way of supporting, nurturing and healing. To explore the depths of how food connects us, we cook with chef and author Suzanne Barr.Barr teaches us how to make her famous Caribbean curry chicken and reflects on how the dish that’s so close to her heart helped launch her cooking career, celebrate her Jamaican culture and encourage more women to take charge in professional kitchens. We hope you not only learn a new recipe, but also how a meal can shape your home and history.It’s Food Week here at The Decibel. We take a special look at what keeps us alive – and, some say, makes life worth living. We’ll look at food from different angles, from the ethics of eating so-called ‘smart animals’, to how the war in Ukraine showed us the fragility of our food system, to the business of potatoes. Plus, we’ll take you into the kitchen to cook something delicious.Let us know what you think by emailing 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.

Potatoes! They’re affordable, accessible, ultra-versatile, and most importantly, delicious. But a case of potato warts found on two farms in Prince Edward Island last November has wreaked havoc on the local potato economy. The wart led the Canadian government to restrict exports of all P.E.I. potatoes to the U.S. for months. Even though potato warts aren’t unsafe to eat, over 300 million pounds of potatoes were destroyed.Adrian Lee is a content editor at the Globe and Mail’s Opinion section, and has come to consider the economic and cultural importance of the spud.It’s Food Week here at The Decibel. We take a special look at what keeps us alive – and, some say, makes life worth living. We’ll look at food from different angles, from the ethics of eating so-called ‘smart animals’, to how the war in Ukraine showed us the fragility of our food system, to the business of potatoes. Plus, we’ll take you into the kitchen to cook something delicious.Let us know what you think by emailing 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.

In the past two years alone, the number of severely food insecure people doubled to 276 million, according to the UN, because of issues like inflation and supply chain problems related to the invasion of Ukraine.Evan Fraser, professor of geography and director of the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph, continues to stay optimistic despite a global food system long plagued with wealth inequality, political instability and the ongoing climate crisis. He tells us how more people can be fed through changes in policies, green innovations in agriculture and other changes to how we farm food.It’s Food Week here at The Decibel. We take a special look at what keeps us alive – and, some say, makes life worth living. We’ll look at food from different angles, from the ethics of eating so-called ‘smart animals’, to how the war in Ukraine showed us the fragility of our food system, to the business of potatoes. Plus, we’ll take you into the kitchen to cook something delicious.Let us know what you think by emailing us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com.Correction: An earlier version misspelled the name of the Institute where Dr. Fraser is director. We regret the error. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As the global demand for octopus meat rises, a company in Spain is set to open the world’s first ever octopus farm. But scientists and philosophers warn that it would be a mistake to farm these clever cephalopods. By opening the farm, they say, we’d be opening the door to consequences we may not yet even conceive of.Erin Anderssen, a feature writer for the Globe, joins us to talk about what makes the octopus such a compelling character, and why learning about them has challenged the way she thinks about eating meat.This is the first episode of Food Week here at The Decibel. A special look at what keeps us alive – and, some say, makes life worth living. We’ll look at food from different angles, from the ethics of eating so-called ‘smart animals’, to how the war in Ukraine showed us the fragility of our food system, to the business of potatoes. Plus, we’ll take you into the kitchen to cook something delicious.Let us know what you think by emailing 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.

With e-commerce largely replacing brick-and-mortar stores, how we shop is having real, physical effects on how our cities work. So in this episode, we’re looking at all things retail: As consumers, have we become addicted to convenience? How are businesses able to offer us even quicker delivery times than ever before, sometimes within even 15 minutes – and what is that doing to our main streets? What is the “last mile,” and why is it so important for making sure we’re taking care of the environment? Adrian speaks to Josué Velázquez Martínez, the director of the MIT Sustainable Supply Chain Lab, about the ins and outs of how products get to where they need to be – and why e-commerce, if done more thoughtfully, could actually be better for our planet. Plus, we hear from Alex Bitterman, a professor and the chair of Architecture and Design at Alfred State University of New York, about the rise of “dark stores”: private warehouses in the heart of our cities that allow for extra-speedy delivery times, while simultaneously threatening to snuff out our main streets. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Monkeypox cases are climbing worldwide. In July, the World Health Organization declared the virus a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” And in Canada, as of Aug. 3, there are almost 900 cases, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. With this worrying news, many people have questions.The Decibel put a callout on social media to find out what our listeners wanted to know about the disease. To get answers, we asked The Globe and Mail’s health reporter, Wency Leung, who’s been following the outbreak closely. She walks us through what we know so far – including the severity of the disease, who it’s affecting, and the availability of vaccines today. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.