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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The winter holidays are a time to cozy up with family – even if those family members are furry and of a different species. For many, dogs and cats aren’t just animals, they’re cherished loved ones who come into our lives at the exact moment we need them.

This holiday season, The Decibel’s editor David Crosbie, Globe and Mail staffers and Canadians share personal stories about how they met their pets and how caring for them has changed their lives.

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Many factors of modern life can make time feel like it’s moving faster than it actually is: hustle culture at work, a productivity compulsion at home, over-programmed kids – they’re all attempts to get as much as possible out of our time and keep up with the frantic pace of life. But life also has moments where time feels like it’s slowing down, or even stops. We know that time can’t actually slow down or speed up – but why does it feel like that?

The Globe’s time use reporter, Zosia Bielski, speaks to The Decibel about why our perception of time can change, what it is about this particular moment that’s making us feel so pressed for time and how we can take back control of the pace.

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The Canadian television show Heated Rivalry has found major success not just in Canada, but with American audiences, too. The show, a love story between two male hockey players, has broken television streaming records and taken over social media.

The Globe’s television critic J. Kelly Nestruck joins The Decibel to talk about why Heated Rivalry has resonated with so many people, and how significant it is for a Canadian show to break through to global audiences so quickly.

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