The Decibel

The Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania was the first government-run residential school in North America. Earlier this fall, the remains of two boys, who died there more than a century ago, were returned to their tribes in South Dakota, over 2,000 kilometres away. It’s a process that took six years — and has only begun the healing and closure to the people who were part of it.

Willow Fiddler, a national reporter for the Globe, visited those tribes to find out what it took to bring their boys home. She’s on The Decibel to talk about how the United States is reckoning with its history of boarding schools, and where Canada stands when it comes to repatriating the remains of Indigenous children who died at residential schools.

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Many Afghans waiting to be resettled in Canada have taken refuge in Pakistan since fleeing their homes when the Taliban took control in 2021. That can be a dangerous and difficult situation for them – and now there’s an added concern. The government of Pakistan has begun deporting thousands of people back to Afghanistan.

Today, The Globe’s Janice Dickson shares the stories of people she’s spoken with who are in hiding in Pakistan, or who have been deported already. She explains the dangerous limbo they’re in, and why it’s taking so long to get help from the Canadian government.

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The Israel-Hamas war is now in its sixth week and fighting is intensifying inside Gaza. On Tuesday, Palestinians trapped inside Gaza’s biggest hospital dug a mass grave to bury patients who died. Israel is encircling the hospital as they believe it sits atop an underground Hamas headquarters.

On Monday Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netenyahu said he’s open to “tactical” fighting pauses but not to a ceasefire until the more than 200 Israeli hostages held by Hamas are released. Behind the scenes, intense negotiations are taking place to facilitate the release of these hostages as well as help civilians trapped inside Gaza and a central figure in these talks is Qatar.

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen is the Fellow for the Middle East at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston Texas. He’s on the show to explain why this tiny Gulf nation is acting as mediator in the Israel-Hamas war.

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There is a glacier that sits a kilometer below the highest peak within B.C.’s border, called Combatant Col. Scientists have been working on its icy surface to pull out ice cores as quickly as they can. Locked within these smooth cylinders are clues about what the region’s climate was like years ago that could help us understand today’s climate challenges.

Justine Hunter is a Globe reporter based in B.C. and she explains how researchers get these precious time capsules off the top of the mountain and what scientific secrets they are looking for once the cores are safely stored in a very cold lab in Edmonton, Alta..

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The reality of Quebec’s law to protect the French language is setting in, especially for the province’s three English language universities. Out-of-province students are facing a tuition hike that could see their fees go up from about $9,000 a year to $17,000… among the highest fees in the country.

Joe Friesen, The Globe’s post-secondary education reporter, joins the podcast to explain what’s driving the province’s push and whether Anglophone schools students are headed for financial disaster.

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It can be incredibly frustrating trying to get access to historical records in Canada. There are often lengthy delays and confusing inconsistency. That’s in large part because Canada’s historical records are tied up in our access to information system, which has a lot of problems.

The Globe’s investigative reporter Robyn Doolittle has been reporting on the country’s struggling access to information system through the Secret Canada project. Today, she explains why it’s so difficult to access records that are decades – even centuries – old, and why it’s so important that we can see what happened in the past.

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A movement which first gained traction in Republican States in the U.S. is taking root in Canada. “Parents’ rights” is the idea that parents should have more control over what’s being taught and talked about in Canadian schools – particularly when it comes to gender identity and sexual education.

Saskatchewan and New Brunswick have recently adopted policies in which students under 16 would need parental consent to change their pronouns at school. Alberta premier, Danielle Smith and Ontario premier, Doug Ford have also mused about the importance of parental rights inside classrooms. At the heart of this are the students, whose voices are often missed in all the noise of this heated debate.

Education reporter, Caroline Alphonso and National news reporter, Zosia Bielski spoke to some students about the movement. We hear from some of them and learn about what’s behind this movement in Canada.

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Weather in Canada is becoming more erratic thanks to climate change – we’re seeing cold snaps, severe thunder and hail storms, and wildfires. That’s having a big impact on Canada’s wine industry. 

Today, The Globe’s wine writer Christopher Waters joins us to explain what’s going on in the industry, how that’s impacting the wines themselves, and why it’s such an important industry to pay attention to – and we even try some wines, for research, of course.

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Canadian immigration minister Marc Miller announced the intentions of the government in its new set of targets: while the number of permanent residents being welcomed has grown annually, starting in 2026, there will be a freeze at 500,000. This update comes at same time as the latest polls indicate that Canadians are souring on immigration. But the change may not actually address the heart of the problem of why pressure is being exerted on the immigration system. 

Campbell Clark, The Globe’s chief political writer, joins the show to explain how the immigration system works – and why the federal government’s policies are failing current and hopeful Canadians.

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There has been turmoil at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and it recently came to the public’s attention when the Alberta government dismissed the entire board in late October. The whirlwind drama started with the search for a new CEO, which led to arguments of conflict of interest and allegations of bullying and harassment.

Today, The Globe’s Alanna Smith and Josh O’Kane, who have been covering this story, explain what led to this moment, and tell us about the battle for the future of the Banff Centre.

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