The Decibel

Over the last few years, a movement has grown where followers are spending thousands of dollars on rigorous and sometimes extreme health practices with the goal of extending their lives. The leaders of the “longevity” movement reach their mostly male audience largely through YouTube and podcasts.

Longevity has become a major wellness industry, with big money involved. But critics say the science behind it is often unfounded and misleading. The Globe’s demographics reporter Ann Hui spoke to the men who practice longevity, those who preach it, and those who criticize it.

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From Stress Test, The Globe’s personal finance podcast for Gen Z and millennials:

We’re taking a peek into the TFSAs of regular Canadians to give you ideas of how to better use yours. In this episode, Rob chats with Aravind Sithamparapillai of Ironwood Wealth Management to break down TFSAs, FHSAs and RRSPs. Aravind is not an accredited planner. We’re also joined by two guests with very different investment strategies: a tech entrepreneur in the midst of launching his own business, and a millennial whose investment journey started somewhat unintentionally.

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For nearly four years, researchers have been using data collected from wastewater samples to determine when and where COVID infections were rising in the province. Now, Ontario is shutting down its COVID wastewater testing program. The province says they don’t need to continue testing because the federal government does the same thing. But critics disagree and say we could be losing vital information about the spread of viruses in the future.

Ivan Semeniuk is the Globe’s science reporter. He’s on the show to talk about what we can learn from wastewater testing, how it’s been used in other regions, and why experts are worried about Ontario shutting down this system.

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One of the biggest stories of the Paris Olympics has centred on the Canadian women’s soccer team, as the reigning gold medal winners have been embroiled in an international spying scandal. Last week, French police arrested a Canada Soccer staffer for flying a drone above opponents’ training sessions before the games began. FIFA have docked the team six points, while head coach Bev Priestman and two assistants have been suspended for a year.

The Globe’s Robyn Doolittle joins The Decibel from Paris to talk about the fallout of the scandal, how it affects government funding for Canada Soccer and the pall its cast over the Canadian Olympic story.

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Last week, wildfires tore through the town of Jasper, Alta., and the surrounding national park. Around 30 per cent of the town was destroyed, but some are saying that it could have been much worse.

Today, we’re speaking with Globe reporters Carrie Tait and Nancy Macdonald about what’s left of Jasper, how residents are doing, and how the fire became so destructive. Then we’ll speak with Jen Beverly, a wildfire researcher at the University of Alberta, about Jasper’s fire prevention efforts in the years leading up to this, and how communities can help protect themselves from wildfire.

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Opponents of Donald Trump have been sounding alarms about Project 2025, a policy plan for a conservative presidency put forward by an influential think tank called the Heritage Foundation. But what exactly is the Heritage Foundation and how much power do they really have?

Donald Abelson is a political scientist at McMaster University who has written extensively about think tanks. He joins us to discuss their history and evolving role in American politics.

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Plant-based meat has been touted as a way of having our steak and eating it too. The industry had grand plans to remake the way we eat, cut down greenhouse gas emissions in meat and dairy production and address animal welfare concerns. Companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible had a meteoric rise in the late 2010s, with influencers, celebrities and investors backing the companies.

But now, it appears the hype over plant-based meat is over. Sales have dropped off and stock prices are worth less than a tenth of its peak.

Vox staff writer and journalist Kenny Torrella tells us why the noise around plant-based meat’s potential – and its flop – doesn’t tell the whole story.

This episode originally aired on January 4, 2024.

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A serial killer in Winnipeg has been convicted in the murders of four Indigenous women – Morgan Harris, Rebecca Contois, Marcedes Myran and an unidentified woman Indigenous elders have named Buffalo Woman. The case and decision garnered significant national attention, due to the graphic nature of the crimes and the families of the women fighting to have a search conducted for the missing remains of the women in city landfills.

The Globe and Mail’s national reporter in Manitoba, Temur Durrani, joins the podcast to talk about the trial, the women at the centre of the case and the continued push for answers and justice for the victims.

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In under two days, the narrative around Kamala Harris has completely shifted. It went from questioning her ability to replace Joe Biden, to a nearly complete coalescing around her presidential candidacy after Biden bowed out.

Globe columnist Doug Saunders believes that she is the right presidential candidate for the Democrats as they mount their third campaign against Donald Trump. He explains why her strengths – and even her perceived weaknesses – are suited for the moment.

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The Globe and Mail’s Cathal Kelly has high hopes for the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris. He thinks that 2012 was the last great Olympics and right now, with so much conflict and division, the world really needs a global event to rally around.

He explains what the Olympics offer beyond the highest competition for amateur athletes, as well as, what Canada has to do to have a successful Games and which Canadians may end up becoming cultural heroes.

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