The Liberal leadership race is on – and its biggest candidates are in. Former deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland, House Leader Karina Gould and former governor of the Bank of Canada Mark Carney all launched their campaigns this past week.

The shortened leadership race will see the deeply unpopular party select Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s replacement as figures like Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and U.S. President Donald Trump loom large.

The Globe’s senior reporter Stephanie Levitz joins us from Ottawa. She’ll take us through the top contenders, the challenges ahead for the candidates and the choice the Liberal Party has to make ahead of a federal election – a leader who can rebuild, or one who can go toe-to-toe with Poilievre?

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For months, Donald Trump has threatened economic pain on Canada, with tariffs of up to 25 per cent on imports. This could begin as early as today, when he’s inaugurated as U.S. president. Canada has said that nothing is off the table when it comes to its response — whether that’s dollar-for-dollar tariffs or blocking oil exports. But with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing he will resign and a Liberal leadership campaign underway, premiers have been stepping forward to take a more prominent role in the ‘Team Canada’ approach.

By day, Jeff Gray covers Ontario politics for the Globe, but in his free time, he coaches House League hockey – so he understands how delicate team dynamics can be. He’s on the show today to talk about how premiers have been filling the leadership vacuum, and how they are dealing with conflicting interests in an attempt to show a united front against Trump.

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The mood in Israel and Gaza turned from celebratory to uncertain in the hours after a ceasefire deal was announced. The day after the deal was made public, Israel continued air strikes in Gaza and then delayed a vote on the deal. But by the end of Thursday, it looked like the process may be back on track.

Thomas Juneau is a professor of public and international affairs at the University of Ottawa. He explains what we know about the deal so far, and how the most difficult part of this ceasefire has yet to happen.

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In February, 2024, Megan Garcia’s 14-year-old son Sewell took his own life.

As she tried to make sense of what happened, Megan discovered that Sewell had fallen in love with a chatbot on Character.AI – an app where you can talk to chatbots designed to sound like historical figures or fictional characters. Now Megan is suing Character.AI, alleging that Sewell developed a “harmful dependency” on the chatbot that, coupled with a lack of safeguards, ultimately led to her son’s death.

They’ve also named Google in the suit, alleging that the technology that underlies Character.AI was developed while the founders were working at Google. ‘Machines Like Us’ reached out to Character.AI and Google about this story. Google did not respond to request for comment and a spokesperson for Character .AI said “we do not comment on pending litigation.”

Host Taylor Owen spoke to Megan Garcia and her lawyer, Meetali Jain, to talk about her son and how chatbots are becoming a part of our lives – and the lives of children.

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, support is available 24-7 by calling or texting 988, Canada’s national suicide prevention helpline.

If you kicked off 2025 making personal finance resolutions, it can be hard to know where to start. That question is made more difficult when factoring in all the uncertainty around how the tariffs that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to enact will affect our economy.

Rob Carrick is the Globe’s personal finance columnist and co-host of Stress Test, the Globe’s personal finance podcast for Gen Z and millennials. He’s on the show to talk about what to expect from the year ahead in personal finance, whether you’re looking to get on top of your investments, establish an emergency fund, or dip your toe into the housing market.

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Cowgirls love the rodeo just as much as cowboys, but for the better part of the past century, there’s only been one event for women — until now. Breakaway roping, dubbed the fastest event in rodeo, has swept competitions across North America, and is corralling more space for cowgirls in the process. 

The Globe’s Jana Pruden was at the 50th Canadian Finals Rodeo this fall, where the second-ever women’s event was showcased at the country’s biggest rodeo for the first time. She speaks with Canadian breakaway ropers and gives us a sense of the history of women in rodeo, and just how hard they’ve worked to rope and ride alongside the cowboys. 

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Dry January – when people decide to consume no alcohol – is a common new year resolution for many. But this month, the U.S. Surgeon General gave the public another reason to take stock of their drinking habits. They recommended that warning labels of cancer risks should be placed on alcohol containers, akin to the labelling on cigarette packaging. 

Dr. Adam Sherk, senior scientist and Special Policy Advisor at the Canadian Centre in Substance Use and Addiction joins the podcast to explain the push for warnings on alcohol and what the latest science tells us about the definitive links between alcohol and a number of cancers.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation earlier this week came after months of people calling for him to step down. How he will be remembered will largely depend on what comes next – how the Liberal party moves forward, what the next government does, and how Trudeau himself writes his next chapter.

Campbell Clark is the Globe’s chief political writer. Today, he joins The Decibel for a look back at Trudeau’s career from the very beginning: the rise to the top, the long fall from grace, and what may come to define his legacy.

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Beyond picking a new leader, the federal Liberals also need to repair their reputation with voters – while continuing to run the government as Donald Trump ratchets up his pressure on Canada. And they have about 75 days to do all this.

Shannon Proudfoot is an Ottawa-based feature writer for The Globe and Mail. She’s on the show to talk about the existential questions the party is grappling with at this moment, and how it compares to past times when the party has found itself in the political wilderness.

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When Trudeau announced his plan to resign on Monday morning, he also shut down Parliament until March 24, giving the Liberal Party time to select a new leader. A confidence vote will follow shortly after the House returns, almost certainly triggering a spring election.

Bill Curry is the Globe’s Deputy Ottawa Bureau Chief. He’s on the show to talk about how the government proceeds from here – what happens to the bills that haven’t been passed yet, like proposed changes to the capital gains tax, what we can expect when the House returns, and what all of the political upheaval means for how Canada deals with the incoming Trump administration.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at [email protected]