From trade wars to the war in Iran, there has been a lot of geopolitical tension in the world. This can sometimes cause jitters on the stock market, but that hasn’t been the case as of late. In fact, the stock market has been thriving, even at a time when Canadians are feeling like there is an affordability crisis.

Tim Shufelt is an investment reporter for The Globe. He’s been looking into what’s behind the booming bull market. He’s on the show today to talk about why investors seem so confident right now.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

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Canada has seen a decline in deaths related to drug overdose the past two years. But the reality at the local level is a little more complicated. In some cities, like Edmonton, this rate is increasing. The city saw its deadliest year for drug deaths in 2025.

One of the Globe’s health reporters, Alanna Smith was in Alberta to figure out what’s going on. She’s here to share what she learned about why the situation in Edmonton is so bad, and the pushback against harm reduction policies, like safe consumption sites.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

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The war in Iran has radically changed the way that oil and gas moves around the globe. Since the war began, North American energy exports – such as petroleum and liquefied natural gas – have increased. Now, there is pressure on Canada to meet the increased demand.

The Globe’s energy reporter, Emma Graney, is on the show to explain how some Canadian companies are changing course to try to meet that demand, what’s getting in the way for other Canadian companies to do the same and what all this means for a transition away from fossil fuels.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

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Saudi Arabia has spent a decade pouring billions into investments to modernize their finance, entertainment, sports, technology and tourism industries, to help shift their economy away from oil. Now these efforts, called Vision 2030, are being challenged, in part, by the war in Iran, the missile and drone strikes against Saudi and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Doug Saunders is the Globe’s International affairs columnist. He’s on the show today to explain how Saudi’s vision for its future and relationships with other countries are now changing.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

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This week marked an important milestone in the separatist campaign in Alberta. After months of getting people to sign their petitions to trigger a referendum on independence, the separatist leaders submitted their signatures to Elections Alberta for verification. But Elections Alberta cannot count the signatures right now.

That’s because of a court injunction that was put in place last month while a judge considers whether the treaty rights of some First Nations have been violated. It’s one of many legal challenges the separatist movement in Alberta is facing. Matthew Scace is a Globe reporter based in Alberta. He’ll explain the two major cases against the separatists, and what the leaders say they’ll do if the courts don’t rule in their favour.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

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Canada has spent the last year shoring up defence spending. Now a new multilateral financial institution, the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, is being established with the promise of offering stable financing to member countries. After months of negotiations, Canada was selected to be the bank’s host country last week.

Pippa Norman is the Globe’s innovation reporter, and also covers Canada’s defence industry. She’s going to explain what it means for Canada to host the bank and how this move fits into the country’s broader defence strategy.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

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A big issue hangs over university students and professors, and that’s artificial intelligence. There are some rules and guidelines, but professors are largely left on their own to determine how much they want to adopt AI or not – and that’s created a wide range of opinions.

Today, we hear from five Canadian university professors about how they’re thinking about education and students in the world of AI. We speak with Amanda Perry, professor of literature at Champlain College-Saint Lambert and Concordia University; Matt Dinan, associate professor and director of the Great Books program at St Thomas University in New Brunswick; Sarah Elaine Eaton, professor in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary; Adegboyega Ojo, professor and Canada Research Chair in AI Governance at Carleton University; and Mike Welland, professor of Engineering Physics at McMaster University.

A previous version of the show notes incorrectly identified the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary.

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Food affordability remains a priority for many Canadians. This week, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government unveiled the spring economic update. It included some already announced measures aimed to make groceries more affordable.

But some people are considering others measures to make food cheaper: public grocery stores. Federal NDP leader, Avi Lewis, has been talking about establishing a network of public grocery stores across Canada and municipalities like Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver are also considering the concept.

Mike von Massow is a food economist at the University of Guelph. He joins us today to stress-test the concept of public grocery stores and whether they could make food more affordable in Canada.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com

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