The Decibel

Could your next favourite foods be created by a robot? While artificial intelligence has long been used in the production and assembly lines of food, some companies are now turning to AI to create new kinds of food, recipes and combinations that the human brain hasn’t conceived of before.

Ann Hui, the Globe’s demographics reporter and former food reporter, joins the show to talk about this new frontier of food creation and the vital question of: does it taste good?

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Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group based in Lebanon, is seen as a serious threat to the Israel-Hamas war. There are fears the group, considered the most powerful non-state actor in the world, could dramatically escalate the conflict if it joins the fight against Israel.

Nathan Vanderklippe, international correspondent for the Globe, is on the show to explain Hezbollah’s influence, its ties to Hamas and how Lebanon factors into potentially being swept up in the war.

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With inflation still stubbornly high, it seems like interest rates could remain elevated for quite some time. And the stress of that has some Canadians wondering who gets to make these big economic decisions.

Report on Business columnist David Parkinson explains the relationship between the Bank of Canada and the federal government, how interest rates are set and what changes might be worth considering when it comes to changing how Canada’s central bank works.

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In Canada, 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. It’s the second leading cause of death from cancer in Canadian women and second most common cancer in the country. Currently, guidelines say that screening should begin at the age of 50, but the task force in charge of these recommendations might lower the age to 40. And that has re-ignited a heated debate. 

Carly Weeks is the Globe’s health reporter. She’s on the show to explain why there’s advocates for and against this change – why some see it as a way to save more lives and others see it as causing more harm than good. 

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Warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled south in Gaza after Israel told 1.1 million people living in the northern part of the Gaza Strip to evacuate. Israel is expected to begin a significant ground offensive soon. As of Sunday evening, 150 Canadians are stuck in Gaza, hoping to flee to neighbouring Egypt.

Israel has called up more than 360,000 reservists and has amassed tanks and troops at the Gaza border. This comes after Hamas’ surprise deadly attack in areas across Israel on October 7th. Since the conflict began, more than 3,600 have been killed on both sides, many of them civilians.

Mark Mackinnon is on the show. He’s the Globe’s Senior International Correspondent and he’s been travelling through the region since the war began.

Editor’s note: On this episode of The Decibel, Mark MacKinnon stated that in 2005, Israelis demolished greenhouses in Gaza. A detail omitted from that comment is that half the land occupied by greenhouses remained after Israelis withdrew from the area in the summer of that year. The remaining greenhouses were later damaged and looted by Palestinians.

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When Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, the U.S. was among the first nations to firmly side with Israel, pledging unequivocal support. The U.S. has historically been a staunch supporter of Israel, but this particular conflict has a different dimension due to the fact that some Americans and Canadians are among the hostages Hamas kidnapped.

Adrian Morrow is The Globe’s Washington correspondent and he explains the geopolitical strategy of the Biden administration in response to the ongoing war, as the possibility of a military ground offensive into the Gaza Strip by the Israeli army grows.

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In Her Defence, a new podcast series from The Globe and Mail, tells the story of Helen Nasland, in her words for the first time. Through a series of jailhouse interviews with The Globe’s Jana G. Pruden, Naslund speaks about the domestic violence she suffered and what led to a fateful night – that led to the murder of her husband. 

Naslund’s story and harsh sentencing captured the attention and outrage of tens of thousands of Canadians, asking what is fair punishment when a victim becomes the accused. This series dives into her fight for freedom and how the justice and legal systems deal with women who kill their abusers.

If you’re experiencing intimate partner violence, you can find resources and your nearest shelterat sheltersafe.ca.

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The RCMP has begun an investigation into allegations of misconduct made by two tech entrepreneurs. Their warnings to senior officials and experiences have cast a new light on alleged improper contracting practices and close ties between public services and private consultants.

Bill Curry, the Globe’s Deputy Ottawa Bureau Chief, joins the show to break down the allegations that throw into question the accountability of the federal government’s multi-billion dollar practice of outsourcing and where taxpayer money is ending up.

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Warning: This episode contains descriptions of violence

On Saturday, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group, launched one of the largest and deadliest attacks on Israel in decades. Militants stormed past borders on the Gaza Strip, killed civilians in nearby towns and took an unknown number of Israeli hostages. In retaliation, Israel formally declared war on Hamas and sent airstrikes into Gaza. In a single weekend, 900 are dead in Israel and close to 700 in Gaza have been killed.

Emily Rose, Reuters correspondent in Jerusalem, joins the show to break down the attacks as they unfolded, Israel’s response and where the war could be headed next.

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For over a decade now, the rescue pups of PAW Patrol have been an obsession for toddlers around the world. And now, the box office is responding too — last week, its second feature film had the largest opening for a Canadian movie in more than a decade. This kids franchise is a big business. And it’s Canadian.

Barry Hertz is the Globe’s deputy Arts editor and Film editor. And he is on the show to talk about the recent success of PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie and how a Canadian toy company struck gold with this brand.

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