The new year is upon us and for some of us, that means New Year’s resolutions. These goals often involve improving our fitness, or going to the gym more often. But that’s not always cheap with gym membership and classes costing more and more.

In today’s episode, host Sherrill Sutherland and The Globe’s healthy living reporter, Graham Isador, try a class at one of Toronto’s luxury gyms, Sweat and Tonic. They share their experiences and Graham discusses why gym prices have risen so drastically and how you can make your fitness resolutions possible.  

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Today is Chrystia Freeland’s last day in Canadian politics, but she still plans to work in government – just not this one. On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he had appointed the former Liberal cabinet minister his new economic adviser. The news sparked a week of backlash in Ottawa, as many raised concerns that a sitting member of parliament working with a foreign government created a conflict of interest.

The Globe’s senior reporter, Stephanie Levitz, joins The Decibel from Ottawa. She’ll explain what we know about Freeland’s new role, the questions it’s raised, and the political legacy she leaves behind while Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government teeters on the edge of a majority.

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The new year is a time of goal setting. Culturally, there’s pressure to set resolutions that you are meant to achieve in due course. Think: weight loss, healthy eating, a new hobby. But what if you commit to something you know you can’t achieve? And what if you make that your life’s work?

Mark Medley, the Deputy Editor of The Globe’s Opinion section, and author of ‘Live to See the Day: Impossible Goals, Unimaginable Futures and the Pursuit of Things That May Never Be’, profiled people who’ve done just that. He’s on the show to explain what drives them and why you, too, might want to consider an impossible goal.

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Following the U.S. attack on Venezuela, President Donald Trump referenced the Monroe Doctrine – a centuries-old ideology that posits American control and dominance in the Western hemisphere. That idea was also cited in the Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy outlining U.S. foreign policy. After campaigning on non-intervention, is this now Trump’s blueprint for dealing with the rest of the world?

Vincent Rigby, a professor at McGill University’s Max Bell School for Public Policy and former national security adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, joins The Decibel to parse through the details of Trump’s national security strategy, what it tells us about the U.S. government’s next moves – and the potential threat to Canada.

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U.S. President Donald Trump was clear on Saturday when he announced his administration’s plans for the future of Venezuela: “We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country,” he told the world.

But how feasible is that? How quickly could it happen? And even if U.S. oil companies do return to Venezuela and increase their exports, what will that mean for Canada at a time when our oil industry is trying to diversify its export base?

Jeff Jones writes for The Globe’s Report on Business. He first started reporting on the oil sector in the 1990s. He joins the show to explain the state of Venezuela’s oil sector, what obstacles lie ahead for it and what this all means for Canada’s economic sovereignty.

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On Saturday, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. military forces in an early morning raid that included attacks on the capital city of Caracas.

Since September, the U.S. has conducted deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats from Venezuela, as U.S. President Donald Trump accused Maduro of leading a criminal organization.

The future of the Latin American country is uncertain, as the Venezuelan leader is held in New York, facing U.S. federal drug trafficking, terrorism and weapons charges.

The Globe’s U.S. correspondent Adrian Morrow joins The Decibel to break down what’s known about the military attack, its connection to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, and the U.S. plan to ‘run’ Venezuela.

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After a year that was truly one for the books in Canadian politics — from Trudeau’s resignation to Trump’s trade war, an “elbows up” election, Pierre Poilievre losing his seat, Jagmeet Singh resigning his leadership, and the prospect of a new Pacific pipeline — 2025 has come to a close. What will 2026 hold?

Stephanie Levitz is a senior reporter with The Globe’s Ottawa Bureau, and she’s on the show to discuss the Liberal road to a majority, the leadership of both the Conservative Party and NDP, and the renegotiation of Canada’s trade agreement with the U.S.

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Most schools are now off for winter break — but this year, some educators are wondering how much their students are learning. A KPMG survey found that over 70 per cent of Canadians over 18 years old now use generative AI to complete their school work. Professors and students are concerned that a growing reliance on tools like ChatGPT and Gemini could be weakening critical thinking skills. Recent research is now giving us further insight into that potential connection.

The Globe’s Joe Castaldo reports on AI and tech. He tells us what educators and students say about how generative AI is impacting schools and what recent studies tell us about its effect on our collective critical thinking skills.

This episode originally aired July 2, 2025.

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Maryam Fatima was born with a condition called hemimegalencephaly, a rare birth defect where one side of the brain is abnormally large. She suffered from severe seizures from the moment she was born. They became so bad that they stopped Maryam from feeding, sleeping and breathing. Her life was at risk.

That’s when a team at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto decided to attempt a first-in-Canada procedure to save Maryam’s life.

Health Science reporter Jennifer Yang interviewed some of the medical professionals who performed the procedure, as well as Maryam’s mother, Muzna Nafees. She tells the story of how Maryam’s life was saved.

This episode originally aired June 6, 2025.

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Canadians have been spending a lot of time thinking about identity and their relationship to Canada. As U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war drags on, taking an ‘Elbows Up’ approach isn’t just about economics – it’s also cultural. Many of the songs and albums that make up the soundtrack to your life are written and performed by Canadian artists – and they’ve helped shape what this country sounds like. 

Today, deputy arts editor Rebecca Tucker and reporter Josh O’Kane are here to talk about how they put together a list of 101 essential Canadian albums, and how the music we listen to reflects us as a country. We also called up Tamara Lindeman from The Weather Station, Joel Plaskett, and Torquil Campbell from Stars, all of whom were featured on that list, to tell us about the Canadian album that has inspired their work.

This episode originally aired July 17, 2025.

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