The Decibel

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.

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After three federal election wins and just over nine years in office, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation on Monday. Trudeau had been facing mounting pressure within his party to step down, after many months of polls showing dwindling public support for the Liberal party and several key by-election losses.

Now, the Liberal Party has to choose a new leader while Parliament is prorogued.

The Globe’s senior political reporter Marieke Walsh joins The Decibel to explain what led to Trudeau’s exit and what comes next as political uncertainty now looms over Canada.

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When it comes to enrolling your kids in extracurricular activities, how many is too many? Is there such a thing as over-scheduling your kids? Parenting experts say ‘yes,’ and that doing so can have long-term negative effects on your children.

Amberly McAteer is a contributing columnist for The Globe and Mail who recently looked into what the research says about programming activities for your kids, how long we’ve been ignoring expert advice, and what it means for their well-being.

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Neal’s Yard Dairy, a cheese distributor in England, has been an essential part of the artisanal cheddar revival in the United Kingdom. In October 2024, they announced that 22 tonnes of artisanal cheddar — about 300,000 pounds worth, or around CAD$541,000 — had been stolen from them.

Paul Waldie is the Globe’s Europe correspondent, based in London. Today, he’s on the show to talk about how this scam unfolded… and why someone might go after cheddar cheese, of all things.

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Life is noisy and stressful for a lot of people. And so sound baths – where a practitioner creates harmonies and chords with singing crystal bowls – are growing in popularity. Many people say that this provides them with a deep sense of relaxation. But what does the science say?

Today on the show, Menaka tries a sound bath to see what it’s like. Later, Dave McGinn explains the hype around this wellness trend. And then, music therapy professor Dr. Heidi Ahonen from Wilfrid Laurier University explains what we know about the therapeutic benefits of sound.

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Point Pelee National Park juts out into Lake Erie like a finger, as every spring thousands of birds touch down on it. It’s a key stop along their migratory routes from the southern U.S., Central and South America to northern Canada.

But climate change has been shifting the conditions of migration, making it harder for some birds and ultimately affecting bird populations, which are already in steep decline. Decibel host Menaka Raman-Wilms, producer Rachel Levy-McLaughlin and Globe and Mail columnist Marcus Gee headed to Point Pelee to see spring migration up close.

A special thanks to Matt Fuirst and Birds Canada, and, as well as, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, who provided some sounds from their Macaulay Library in this episode.

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Distance running, once a relatively niche sport, has exploded in popularity. The trend has been ongoing for at least a decade, but 2024′s running season may be the biggest one yet. Marathon race organizers are expecting record participation in races this year, both in Canada and in cities around the world.

Today, Ben Kaplan, general manager of iRun Magazine, Allison Hill, co-founder of Hill Run Club, and members of The Decibel’s own running club explain how the sport has grown more inclusive and diverse, drawing in a whole new generation of runners.

This episode originally aired on May 1, 2024.

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