Filtrer par genre

IDEAS is a place for people who like to think. If you value deep conversation and unexpected reveals, this show is for you. From the roots and rise of authoritarianism to near-death experiences to the history of toilets, no topic is off-limits. Hosted by Nahlah Ayed, we’re home to immersive documentaries and fascinating interviews with some of the most consequential thinkers of our time.
With an award-winning team, our podcast has proud roots in its 60-year history with CBC Radio, exploring the IDEAS that make us who we are.
New episodes drop Monday through Friday at 5pm ET.
- 1784 - How Jaws made us believe white sharks are real villains
Fifty years ago, the movie Jaws put sharks on our radar in a very real way. It broke box office records and tapped into an underlying fear of sharks and the unknown lurking in the ocean. Turns out, sharks were already developing a villainous reputation before Jaws. In this documentary, producer Molly Segal explores the long history people have with the ocean, and our tendency across cultures and times to create 'sea monsters' out of the depths of the ocean.
Mon, 23 Jun 2025 - 54min - 1783 - Journalist Connie Walker on uncovering her family's dark history
She’s one of Canada’s most decorated journalists, having won a Pulitzer Prize, a Peabody and a Columbia-Dupont Prize for her podcast series, Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s. Yet Connie Walker had been reluctant to feature stories about her family in her journalism. Until she realized her family's survival in residential schools embodies the defining reality for virtually all Indigenous Peoples in Canada.*This episode originally aired on Dec. 2, 2024.
Fri, 20 Jun 2025 - 54min - 1782 - How Latin translation made Western philosophers famousThu, 19 Jun 2025 - 54min
- 1781 - Inside our loneliness epidemic
Some experts are calling loneliness an epidemic in Canada and throughout much of the world. Social isolation is a public health risk with consequences for individuals, communities and for our social systems. A multi-disciplinary panel, hosted at the University of British Columbia, examine loneliness from perspectives of men's and women's health, interpersonal relations, climate change and public policy.
Guests in this episode:
Dr. Kiffer Card is an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Health Sciences. He was the moderator of the panel presentation, All the Lonely People: the Search for Belonging in an Uncertain World.
Mandy Lee Catron is from the School of Creative Writing, at UBC.
Dr. John Oliffe is a professor and Canada Research Chair in Men’s Health Promotion at the School of Nursing, at UBC.
Dr. Carrie Jenkins is a professor in the Department of Philosophy at UBC.
Dr. Marina Adshade is an assistant professor of teaching at the Vancouver School of Economics, at UBC.
Wed, 18 Jun 2025 - 54min - 1780 - Perdita Felicien on how to navigate life’s biggest hurdles
Champion hurdler Perdita Felicien has climbed to the summits of international glory throughout her track career, and endured the excruciating lows of defeat. Those peak experiences inform the talk she gave at Crows Theatre in Toronto, in which she parses the comparison of sport to life, and life to sport. In her words: "It isn't that sport is life exactly. It's that it reveals life. It's the part of life where we play with purpose. Where effort is visible. Where character is tested. Where failure is not final, just part of the arc. It's where we try. Fully. Openly. Without guarantee."
Tue, 17 Jun 2025 - 54min - 1779 - The making of an ‘authoritarian personality’
A groundbreaking study conducted in the wake of the Second World War by a group of scholars rocked the academic world when it was published in 1950 — but fell out of favour. Now a new generation of scholars is reviving the lessons ofThe Authoritarian Personality to understand who is drawn in by fascist propaganda.
Mon, 16 Jun 2025 - 54min - 1778 - Canadian universities as safe havens for scholars-in-exile
There is a growing number of researchers who are 'forcibly displaced' worldwide. Thirty-four Canadian universities and colleges are currently hosting scholars who’ve left their jobs and homes to find safety. Scholars-in-exile from dozens of countries gathered at Carleton University in Ottawa to discuss ways to support free thinking and research whenever it is threatened.
Fri, 13 Jun 2025 - 54min - 1777 - Black history, vividly told through the colour blue
From planting periwinkles on the graves of slaves, to the blues itself, the colour blue has been core to Black Americans’ pursuit of joy in the face of being dehumanized by slavery, argues Harvard professor Imani Perry. In her latest book, Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of my People, she unpacks the deep, centuries-long connection between Black people and the colour blue, from the complex history of indigo dye to how the blues became a crowning achievement of Black American culture.
Thu, 12 Jun 2025 - 56min - 1776 - How Indigenous ecology is reviving land destroyed by wildfires
What happens to the land after a brutal wildfire?IDEASvisited St'át'imc territory near Lillooet, B.C., to follow land guardians and scientists from the Indigenous Ecology Lab at the University of British Columbia, as they document the effects of wildfires and chart a new future based on Indigenous approaches to healing and balancing an ecosystem.*This is part two of a two-part series.
Guests in this series:
Chief Justin Kane, elected Chief of Ts'kw'aylaxw First Nation
Michelle Edwards, Tmicw coordinator for the St'át'imc Chiefs Council and the former Chief of the communities of Sekw'el'was and Qu'iqten
Sam Copeland, senior land guardian for the P'egp'ig'lha Council
Luther Brigman, assistant land guardian for the P'egp'ig'lha Council
Travis Peters, heritage supervisor and interim lands manager for Xwísten First Nation
Gerald Michel, council member and the Lands Resource Liaison for Xwísten First Nation
Denise Antoine, natural resource specialist for the P'egp'ig'lha Council
Dr. Jennifer Grenz, assistant professor in the department of forest resources management at the University of British Columbia. She leads the Indigenous Ecology Lab at UBC, which works entirely in service to Indigenous communities on land-healing and food systems revitalization projects that bring together western and Indigenous knowledge systems and centres culture and resiliency.
Virginia Oeggerli, graduate student in the Indigenous Ecology Lab in the faculty of forestry at UBC
Dr. Sue Senger, biologist working with the Lillooet Tribal Council
Jackie Rasmussen, executive director of the Lillooet Regional Invasive Species Society
Wed, 11 Jun 2025 - 54min - 1775 - How brutal wildfires are 'killing' Indigenous ways of life
In 2021, a deadly heat dome produced a devastating wildfire season across British Columbia. While immediate media coverage often focuses on evacuations and the numbers of homes destroyed, many First Nations say what these fires do to the land in their territories — and the cultural lives of their communities — is often overlooked. "These fires are killing our way of life," says a Tmicw coordinator for the St'át'imc Chiefs Council. IDEASvisited St'át'imc territory around Lillooet, B.C. to learn how 21st-century wildfires are reshaping the landscape — and their consequences for plants, animals, and humans alike. *This is part one in a two-part series.
Guests in this series:
Chief Justin Kane, elected Chief of Ts'kw'aylaxw First Nation
Michelle Edwards, Tmicw coordinator for the St'át'imc Chiefs Council and the former Chief of the communities of Sekw'el'was and Qu'iqten
Sam Copeland, senior land guardian for the P'egp'ig'lha Council
Luther Brigman, assistant land guardian for the P'egp'ig'lha Council
Travis Peters, heritage supervisor and interim lands manager for Xwísten First Nation
Gerald Michel, council member and the Lands Resource Liaison for Xwísten First Nation
Denise Antoine, natural resource specialist for the P'egp'ig'lha Council
Dr. Jennifer Grenz, assistant professor in the department of forest resources management at the University of British Columbia. She leads the Indigenous Ecology Lab at UBC, which works entirely in service to Indigenous communities on land-healing and food systems revitalization projects that bring together western and Indigenous knowledge systems and centres culture and resiliency.
Virginia Oeggerli, graduate student in the Indigenous Ecology Lab in the faculty of forestry at UBC
Dr. Sue Senger, biologist working with the Lillooet Tribal Council
Jackie Rasmussen, executive director of the Lillooet Regional Invasive Species Society
Tue, 10 Jun 2025 - 54min - 1774 - The movement that unlocked a new masculinity – Dandyism
For over 200 years, the Dandy has been a provocateur, someone who pushes against the boundaries of culture, masculinity and politics. From Beau Brummell to Oscar Wilde to contemporary Black activists, IDEAS contributor Pedro Mendes tracks the subversive role the Dandy plays in challenging the status quo. *This episode originally aired on April 15, 2021.
Guests in this episode:
Rose Callahan, photographer and director
André Churchwell, vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer for Vanderbilt University
Chris Breward, director of National Museums Scotland and the author ofThe Suit: Form, Function and Style
Ian Kelly, writer, actor and historical biographer. His works includeBeau Brummell: The Ultimate Dandy
Monica Miller, professor of English and Africana Studies at Barnard College, Columbia University and author of Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity
Mon, 09 Jun 2025 - 54min - 1773 - How Canadian nationalism died
In George Grant's famous 1965 essay, Lament for a Nation, the Red Tory philosopher argued that Canadian nationalism had died. He believed that when Canada was tied to the UK, the country was committed to a collective common good. But when it became integrated with the U.S., Grant says Canada abandoned this idea. Sixty years later, our relationship with the U.S. is being tested, igniting a rise in nationalism. PhD student Bryan Heystree finds hope in Grant's work and says there's valuable criticism worthy of our attention in the 21st century.
Fri, 06 Jun 2025 - 54min - 1772 - The famously polarizing father of capitalismThu, 05 Jun 2025 - 54min
- 1771 - What it’s like to discover you have ADHD after 50
WhenIDEAS contributor Sandra Bourque was diagnosed with ADHD in her early 50s, she was relieved. Finally, everything made sense to her. Bourque became obsessed with learning everything about how her brain worked. What she found was a mountain of information that focused on ADHD deficits and challenges, ways to "fit in better and be more normal." So Bourque became an ADHD coach so she could help others cut through the misinformation, focus on their strengths and learn how their brain actually worked. *This is part two in a two-part series called Myth of Normal.
Wed, 04 Jun 2025 - 54min - 1770 - What it means to fully embrace neurodiversity
Imagine a world without Mozart or Michelangelo, Einstein or Edison. Famous for their creativity, a "mysterious force" that psychiatrist and ADHD expert, Ed Hallowell, says is a commonality in neurodiverse people. Neurodiversity is a relatively new term, but the thinking behind it has been going on for a while. There’s increasing evidence that what we know today as Autism, ADHD, BipolarDisorder, Schizophrenia, and Dyslexia may have been a way for us to extend our species chances of survival. And yet the thinking around brain variations like ADHD is that it's a deficiency, something that needs to be fixed. Sandra Bourque's two-part series,The Myth of Normal traces the social and cultural response to neurodiversity and whether there's a way back to seeing this way of thinking as an advantage.
Tue, 03 Jun 2025 - 54min - 1769 - Do books have the power to heal us?
If you're someone who thinks reading is therapeutic, you aren’t alone. On the surface, bibliotherapy might sound like another personal wellness trend, but it definitely isn’t. In fact, it’s an approved form of mental health treatment in Canada. And it’s been around for at least a century. In this episode, researchers Sara Haslam and Edmund King discuss the World War Ⅰ roots of this practice in the UK. Author Cody Delistraty considers its role in moving him forward in the grieving process. And psychiatrist Martina Scholtens explains why she created an evidence-based reading list online, tailored to a range of mental health diagnoses.
Mon, 02 Jun 2025 - 54min - 1768 - Hallelujah! The transformative power of Black gospel music
When Darren Hamilton began university, he was shocked to find that there were no Black music courses and Black music professors. He grew up singing spirituals every Sunday in church. Now at the University of Toronto, Hamilton teaches Gospel Choir, U of T's first credit course in Black gospel music. Students of all backgrounds and ages come to learn and sing songs rooted in faith, freedom and joy. He says he started the course because he wanted Black music to be valued in music education, and he wanted Black students to have a music class
where they "feel they belong."
Fri, 30 May 2025 - 54min - 1767 - Why we can’t live without the universal feeling of disgust
Disgust — an emotion that makes us human. It can keep us safe from drinking milk that's gone off, thanks to the revolting smell. And as Charles Darwin suggests, disgust serves as part of our core evolutionary function. But it also has a dark side. Disgust has been co-opted by culture, to religious and political divides. Scholars say we need to reckon with this complicated emotion that has the ability to make the world more dangerous.
Thu, 29 May 2025 - 54min - 1766 - The philosophy behind why humans are so self-conscious
For centuries, Western philosophers have contemplated the question: “Who am I?” To get to the answer, 19th-century German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel suggests, start by replacing the “I” with “we.” His philosophy looks at why we should care what others think of us because people’s perspectives play a huge part in how we see ourselves and how we look at the world. His theory is that traits and habits from the people around us impact what we see in ourselves.
Wed, 28 May 2025 - 54min - 1765 - How the fear of fire is taking control of us
Humans used fire as a tool. Now we fear its destruction. But we're responsible for changing the climate, argues John Vailliant, "in a way that favours fire way more than it favours us." The Vancouver author unpacks how fire made humans who we are — and how humans are changing fire in his award-winning book, Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast.*This episode originally aired on May 29, 2024.
Tue, 27 May 2025 - 54min - 1764 - The unforgivable crime of being queer in Africa
Homosexuality is a crime in more than half of African countries — a crime punishable by prison sentences. Or in some cases: death. New laws in some states make it illegal for anyone to even advocate for LGBTQ rights. These laws bring up questions of foreign influence, neo-colonialism, and the role the international community could and should play in nudging human rights on the continent.
Mon, 26 May 2025 - 54min - 1763 - Bringing child sex abusers out of the shadows
No one likes talking about child sex abuse. But prevention experts say we need to bring pedophilia out of the shadows if we ever want to end abuse. They insist, it is not inevitable. CBC producer John Chipman explores an innovative new program in Kitchener, Ontario, that has sex offenders and abuse survivors working together to prevent future harm and promote healing.*This episode originally aired on Sept. 23, 2024.
Fri, 23 May 2025 - 54min - 1762 - Why our long term relationship with the U.S. is done
America is just not that into you anymore, says historian Marci Shore. It's not us — it's them. The Yale professor blames the U.S. for the failed relationship and warns the world that her own country can no longer be counted on to defend democracy, not even within its own borders. Shore has been studying the history of totalitarianism for nearly 30 years. She tells Nahlah Ayed why she relocated to Canada and how her knowledge of Eastern Europe informed her choice.
Thu, 22 May 2025 - 54min - 1761 - Where did modern news culture come from? Think Shakespeare
It might seem like the vast, turbulent ocean of information we call news has always existed, but that's not the case. Theatrical plays in Elizabethan England set the stage for our modern news culture, argues Stephen Wittek in his post-doctoral work. He says the cross-pollination between theatre and news developed the norms for our contemporary public conversations. *This updated episode of Ideas from the Trenches was originally broadcast in 2014.
Wed, 21 May 2025 - 54min - 1760 - Champions of cormorants argue the water bird is unfairly vilified
It's not them, it's you. That's what fans of the cormorant argue, pointing out how people see the gangly aquatic bird all wrong. This common bird has gained a bad reputation by irritating communities with its large colonies, extreme fishing habits and tree-killing excrement. But defenders suggest maybe it's humans and their cultural assumptions that are the source of the problem. They say it's time for people to re-evaluate their perception of cormorants and acknowledge their beauty and worth. *This episode originally aired on October 6, 2021.
Tue, 20 May 2025 - 54min - 1759 - Why music — even sad music — is 'inherently joyful'
Music is joy declares Daniel Chua. The renowned musicologist says music and joy have an ancient correlation, from Confucius to Saint Augustine and Beethoven to The Blues. Of course there is sad music, but Chua says, it's tragic because of joy. Chua delivered the 2025 Wiegand Lecture calledMusic, Joy and the Good Life.
Mon, 19 May 2025 - 54min - 1758 - The three ingredients in an autocrat's recipe for power
There are three components that could end constitutional democracy as we know it, says scholar Peter L. Biro — fear and its weaponization, habituation which involves the consequence of not noticing, and the 'stupidification' of our minds and of our discourse. He argues that we, as law-abiding average citizens, have the power to save our democracy and defend against backsliding forces. Biro recently delivered a keynote address at the ominously titled conference, Liberal Democracy in the Rearview Mirror? at Massey College in Toronto.
Fri, 16 May 2025 - 54min - 1756 - Russia’s constant craving for U.S. recognition
Historian Sergei Radchenko revisits the Cold War, focusing on what the idea of global power meant to the Soviet Kremlin. He argues that Soviet leaders, from Joseph Stalin to Mikhail Gorbachev, have always had a strong desire to be recognized as a superpower on the world stage, especially from the U.S. For decades, this desire could never be satisfied, resulting in frustration, and leading to outsized consequences throughout history. Radchenko’s call for a rethink of Moscow’s motivations has made him one of the most-read scholars on Soviet history today.
Tue, 13 May 2025 - 54min - 1755 - Her job is to find buried children at residential schools
Métis archeologist Kisha Supernant was sometimes called a 'grave robber' when she started her line of work. With an eye to restorative justice, she tries to help Indigenous communities locate the graves of children who died at residential schools. Now, she's called on to find children's graves. In this public lecture, Supernant explains how the use of traditional knowledge systems, as well as cutting-edge ground radar techniques helps families find their loved ones. The work also allows communities to begin healing. It’s a science, she says, of the heart and head.
Mon, 12 May 2025 - 54min - 1754 - The power of white evangelical Christians in MAGA politics
In the past decade, there has been one stable voting bloc: white evangelical Christians. Their support has been at a constant 80 per cent for Donald Trump, according to historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez. In her book, Jesus and John Wayne, she describes the Trump era as the latest chapter in a long story of exclusion, patriarchy, and Christian nationalism in the evangelical church. *This episode originally aired on Oct. 18, 2024.
Fri, 09 May 2025 - 54min - 1753 - There's no potential danger of AI discrimination — 'it's here'
The grave consequences artificial intelligence poses aren't 'potential' — they are happening now, warns MIT researcher Joy Buolamwini. She argues that encoded discrimination embedded in AI systems — racial bias, sex and gender bias, and ableism — pose unprecedented threats to humankind. Buolamwini has been at the forefront of artificial intelligence research and encourages everyone to join in the fight for "algorithmic justice." Her book, Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines, uncovers the existential danger produced by Big Tech. "AI should be for the people and by the people, not just the privileged few.”
Thu, 08 May 2025 - 54min - 1752 - The one exception that makes killing civilians legal in war
International law is clear: warring parties cannot kill civilians. It's a war crime. But there is one exception. An attacker can justify killing them if they’re being used as a shield for military objectives. This means a belligerent could kill a civilian and claim, after the fact, they were being used as shields by the enemy. Increasingly, that justification has been applied to neighbourhoods, districts, and even entire populations. IDEASexplores the long history of humans as shields and how this legal loophole has become a norm.
Guests include Nicola Perugini, who teaches international relations at the University of Edinburgh. He is also co-author of Human Shields: A History of People in the Line of Fire. And Dr. Mimi Syed, an American emergency medicine physician who served two medical missions in Gaza in 2024.
Wed, 07 May 2025 - 54min - 1751 - The 2,000-year-old travel list to complete before you die
More than 2,000 years ago, someone sat down and wrote a travel bucket list for the ancient world — suggesting must-see places that we now call The Seven Wonders of the World. It was kind of aLonely Planet guide of its time, and included the Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the lighthouse of Alexandria, and the Temple of Artemis, among others. Historian Bettany Hughes brings monuments and archaeological discoveries back to life in her book,The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Tue, 06 May 2025 - 54min - 1750 - Canadian troops who freed the Netherlands from Nazis
On May 5, 1945, Canadian soldiers played a key role in the liberation of the Netherlands from the German forces. Almost 80 years later, a large group of Canadians travelled to the Netherlands to pay tribute to their relatives who'd helped liberate the country in the Second World War. They walked on a nine-day pilgrimage through villages and towns, visiting old battlefields and the cemeteries where Canada's soldiers are buried. The group followed in the footsteps of the Canadian troops to honour their sacrifices. *This episode originally aired on May 1, 2023.
Mon, 05 May 2025 - 54min - 1749 - What it means to call your loved one a ‘corpse’
In the hour’s following her mother’s death, Martha Baillie undertook two rituals — preparing a death mask of her mother’s face, and washing her mother’s body. That intimacy shaped her grief. She had learned earlier to witness death and be present, living with regret after she left the room to get a nurse when her father died. For Baillie her mother's body was not a corpse that has no life. To her, it would "always be something alive." The novelist and writer explains what signified the difference in her book, There Is No Blue, the 2024 winner of the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction.
Fri, 02 May 2025 - 54min - 1748 - The limitless mind and body of an 83-year-old super-athlete
"Never let anyone tell you that you're old," says Dag Aabaye, an 83-year-old super athlete who defies age. He runs two to six hours daily in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley, where he lives alone on a mountain. For him, running is “life itself." Blizzards, heat waves, even running 24 hours straight
Until he met Aabaye, Brett Popplewell used to dread growing old. But now the sports journalist says he has reframed his thoughts about life, death, and the limits placed on us as we age. Popplewell chronicles Aabaye's life from childhood to being a stuntman and extreme athlete in his book, Outsider: An Old Man, a Mountain and the Search for a Hidden Past— winner of the 2024 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction. Last month, Popplewell accepted his literary prize and delivered a public talk at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario.
Thu, 01 May 2025 - 54min - 1747 - How the American cowboy ignited the Republican movement
The cowboy — a symbol of the true American man who is anti-government, works independently and protects his family. Historian Heather Cox Richardson calls this rhetoric “cowboy individualism”, and says this myth is the basis for 40-year-old Republican ideology. In this public lecture, Cox Richardson argues that the current Trump administration has taken cowboy individualism to an extreme by gutting the government and centring power.
Wed, 30 Apr 2025 - 54min - 1746 - Elections results are in. IDEAS recommends World Report
IDEAS listeners think deeply about the state of the world and how to improve it. To do that, you need to know what's going on. That's why we're recommending World Report.
It's a daily news podcast that brings you the biggest stories happening in Canada and around the world, in just 10 minutes. Today you can get the latest Canadian election results and reaction from political leaders. It's the perfect update for IDEAS listeners who have been reimagining a better Canada.
Make World Report your daily quick hit of news here: https://link.mgln.ai/fEUb9e
Tue, 29 Apr 2025 - 10min - 1745 - Libraries are fighting for their freedom — and our democracy
Public libraries are the forum for intellectual freedom, a core value that librarians protect for the sake of democracy. Yet libraries have now become a target in the culture wars of the U.S. – and in Canada, too. It’s an urgent conversation to have, no matter where one sits on the political spectrum. Libraries exist to give everyone access to a wide variety of content, even when books may offend others. Librarians are increasingly having to persuade skeptics that all ideas belong on their shelves. In our series, IDEAS for a Better Canada (in partnership with the Samara Centre for Democracy)we ask: What do we have if the freedom to read isn’t ours anymore?
Mon, 21 Apr 2025 - 54min - 1744 - Attacking our biggest fear — political polarization
Canadians’ biggest fear for the country’s future is “growing political and ideological polarization,” according to a 2023 EKOS poll. As part of our series, IDEAS for a Better Canada (produced in partnership with the Samara Centre for Democracy), host Nahlah Ayed headed to the fast-growing city of Edmonton to talk about the creative ways local residents are working to find common ground. From video games to an engagement technique called “deep canvassing” used to bridge gaps across differences, we can learn a lot from Edmontonians on how to build a better democracy for Canada.
Mon, 21 Apr 2025 - 54min - 1743 - Has the housing crisis shaken your trust in democracy?
Like many cities in Canada, Nanaimo has a housing crisis. As rent prices have surged, so has homelessness. According to the city's last official count, there are 515 unhoused people in Nanaimo at any given time. By population, that is a higher homelessness rate than the city of Vancouver. Our series,IDEAS for a Better Canada (produced in partnership with the Samara Centre for Democracy), explores how homelessness affects the health of our democracy and why long-term solutions are so hard to achieve.
Mon, 21 Apr 2025 - 59min - 1742 - Why PEI cares more than any other province about voting
PEI has the highest voter turnout of any other province in Canada. Voting is fundamental to this community. Residents see firsthand how their vote matters — several elections were decided by 25 votes or less. In this small province, people have a personal and intimate connection with politicians. MLAs know voters on an individual basis and they feel a duty to their job. In our series, IDEAS for a Better Canada(produced in partnership with the Samara Centre for Democracy), Nahlah Ayed visits the birthplace of Confederation to hear how Prince Edward Islanders sustain the strong democracy they built.
Mon, 21 Apr 2025 - 54min - 1741 - New to IDEAS? Start hereThu, 17 Apr 2025 - 02min
- 1740 - How Hitler's 'favourite' reptile became a geopolitical symbol
Saturn, an alligator that was supposedly Hitler’s favourite animal was 'liberated' from the Berlin zoo when the Red Army invaded Germany at the end of the Second World War. The reptile was relocated to Moscow where it died in 2020. But with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Saturn’s story has become once again a symbol in wartime geopolitics. *This episode originally aired on Jan. 10, 2023.
Thu, 17 Apr 2025 - 54min - 1739 - Love or hate Elon Musk, 'we empowered him'
It’s been a few months into Donald Trump’s second presidency, with the wealthiest man in the world, Elon Musk, overseeing government operations. The U.S. has been a platform for him, a source of money, resources and leverage, says historian and author Quinn Slobodian who has studied Musk's global history. Slobodian points out that Musk is “the symptom of a society which empowered him.” When we wanted technical solutions to social problems, Musk responded. He may not be what we wanted, “but as the saying goes, he’s the one we deserve.”
Wed, 16 Apr 2025 - 54min - 1738 - Spyware abusers can easily hack your phone and surveil you
We are all vulnerable to digital surveillance, as there’s little protection to prevent our phones from getting hacked. Mercenary spyware products like Pegasus are powerful and sophisticated, marketed to government clients around the world. Cybersecurity expert Ron Deibert tellsIDEAS, "the latest versions can be implanted on anyone's device anywhere in the world and as we speak, there is literally no defence against it.” Deibert is the founder of the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, a group of tech-savvy researchers who dig into the internet, looking for the bad actors in the marketplace for high-tech surveillance and disinformation. In his new book, Chasing Shadows, he shares notorious cases he and his colleagues have worked on and reveals the dark underworld of digital espionage and subversion.
Tue, 15 Apr 2025 - 54min - 1737 - Do you truly live in a ‘free’ society? It’s complicated
There's no universal definition for the word freedom, according to American historian Timothy Snyder. He divides the word into two categories for people — the freedom "from" and the freedom "to" various things. In the U.S., Snyder calls oligarchs like Elon Musk and President Donald Trump "heroes of negative freedom,” focused on being against things. But the author of On Freedom says it's a trap, because once you’re against one thing, it builds into an endless loop of the next thing. True freedom, he says, is to thrive for the sake of our common future.
Mon, 14 Apr 2025 - 54min - 1736 - Why world maps illustrate an artificial reality
The Gulf of America/Gulf of Mexico controversy reminds us that maps may appear authoritative, but are a version of reality. At the same time, they can be rich, beautiful and informative, as Vancouver’s Kathleen Flaherty explains, in this 2005 documentary made before Google Maps changed mapmaking forever.
Fri, 11 Apr 2025 - 54min - 1735 - Need some Stompin' Tom right now to celebrate being Canadian? We thought so.
At a time when Canadians are rallying around the flag, IDEAS thought we could all use a little Stompin’ Tom Connors to keep us going. Famous for his black cowboy hat, he was an original, writing hundreds of songs about what it means to be Canadian. He may have died 12 years ago, but his songs live on, and resonate today.
Thu, 10 Apr 2025 - 54min - 1734 - Democracies 'stay true to your values' tackling borders, says U.S. expert
A German, a Canadian, and an American meet to discuss national borders — crossing them, defending them, and reimagining what they could become before the century is out. Our three experts dig into what’s happening to the concept of borders, how they work, and how border policies have changed in the past 10 years.
Wed, 09 Apr 2025 - 54min - 1733 - How a network of journalists uncovered billions and toppled world leaders
Between $21 and $32 trillion is hidden in offshore accounts. These secret stashes have been uncovered by the work of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) — a network of almost 300 investigative journalists. Their findings have led to multiple arrests and official inquiries in more than 70 countries, and the resignations of the leaders of Pakistan, Iceland, and Malta.
Tue, 08 Apr 2025 - 54min - 1732 - Can you return home? This author says revision offers radical possibilities
"The first kind of return before language or story is a return to one another," says novelist Janika Oza. She looks at the ways in which the narrative arcs of ordinary lives are shaped by ruptures like colonialism, war, and the Partition of India — and what it means to continually seek to return through stories, memories and objects. This episode is the fourth in a series collaboration with Crow’s Theatre in Toronto.
Mon, 07 Apr 2025 - 54min - 1731 - How a conspiracy theory becomes 'real'
Growing up, PhD student Sarah believed in the literal interpretation of the Bible. She predicted that non-believers faced doom in hell upon Judgment Day. Born into a devout evangelical Christian community, she draws on her religious past to understand the visceral belief people acquire in conspiracy theories — from PizzaGate to the 'stolen' 2020 U.S. election. *This episode originally aired on Sept. 21, 2022.
Fri, 04 Apr 2025 - 54min - 1730 - Loving Your Country in the 21st Century (Step Three)
Patriotism’s back in style. Along with it comes reasonable questions about when a love of your country is a good thing, and when it can lead you astray. Our series on the art of national pride continues withIDEASproducer Tom Howell gathering insights from Afghans, Israelis, and Americans in hopes of finding the key to doing patriotism right.
Thu, 03 Apr 2025 - 54min - 1729 - How Galileo revolutionized science to make way for modernity
Einstein’s theory of relativity, quantum physics, and finding evidence of black holes — trace the chain of discoveries that led to these breakthroughs and you'll end up with the Italian astronomer and inventor, Galileo Galilei. Renowned Italian theoretical physicist and author Carlo Rovelli says we can learn a lot from Galileo today. He explains how 400 years ago, this renaissance man of science was discovering new facts about the Universe to understand ourselves better — and so are we.
Tue, 01 Apr 2025 - 54min - 1728 - Joyce Wieland's art of nationhood embodied Canadian pride
In 1971, artist Joyce Wieland said: "Canada can either now lose complete control — which it almost has, economically, spiritually and a few other things — or it can get itself together." In the 60s and 70s, the artist painted, sculpted and stitched the Canadian flag and our sense of national identity. Her art called on the need to preserve its distinctness from the United States. Now, a quarter century after her death, the artist's work and words form a clarion call. *This episode originally aired on Sept. 12, 2022.
Mon, 31 Mar 2025 - 54min - 1727 - Protecting childhood innocence is a disservice to kids, argues expert
We should move away from this idea that childhood should be filled with innocence, safe from the knowledge of difficult things argues Critical Cultural Theorist of Childhood Julie Garlen. Kids do experience difficulty, even in the best of circumstances, and she suggests they need the tools and language to navigate the lives they are living. Constructing childhood as a time of innocence limits children's opportunities for growth and learning.
Thu, 27 Mar 2025 - 54min - 1726 - Why a small town newspaper is thriving in a declining industry
Need a babysitter? Phone Cindy. That's just one of the ads in The Inverness Oran, a small town newspaper in Cape Breton with a circulation of 3,000. For almost 50 years, the paper has kept the community updated on local news, many opinions, and letters to the editor. IDEAS offers a snapshot of what people are talking about in Inverness County, what newspapers used to be, and why the family-owned paper is stronger than ever.
Wed, 26 Mar 2025 - 54min - 1725 - A School that Feels like Home: Revitalizing Mi’kmaq Language in Cape Breton
In 1997, the Mi’kmaq Nation took over on-reserve education in Nova Scotia. It was the first time in Canadian history that jurisdiction for education was transferred from the federal government to a First Nation. One year later, Eskasoni First Nation high school opened, and since then, the school has become an epicentre for Mi’kmaq language revitalization. This episode is the second in a two-part series on language revitalization.
Tue, 25 Mar 2025 - 54min - 1724 - How Iqaluit's learning institute gave a generation of Inuit adults a path back to Inuktut
Younger generations in Nunavut today are less likely to grow up immersed in Inuktut. At a language school in Iqaluit, Inuit adults who didn’t grow up speaking Inuktut now have the chance to learn it as a second language at the Pirurvik Centre. By learning the words for kinship terminology, they’re also discovering things about their families they never knew. *This episode is the first in a two-part series on language revitalization.
Mon, 24 Mar 2025 - 54min - 1723 - We believe in artificial intelligence the same way we believe in ghosts
Hidden in the 1950 academic paper that launched the famous 'Turing Test' of machine intelligence, is a strange mystery. Cryptographer Alan Turing argued that humans might always be able to outsmart machines, because we have supernatural powers like ESP, telepathy, and telekinesis. His belief in the paranormal is just one part of the spooky side of artificial intelligence. Like hauntings or seances, AI is an exercise in self-deception; we imagine intelligence from computation and data, just like we imagine ghosts from strange lights and bumps in the night.
Wed, 12 Mar 2025 - 54min - 1722 - A rallying cry to extend human rights to our data-generating digital selves
In this digital age, we must think of ourselves as stakeholders, playing a vital role in the creation of data, says Wendy H. Wong. She is a political scientist and winner of the 2024 Balsillie Prize for Public Policy for her book, We, the Data.Wong argues for a human rights approach when it comes to how our data should be collected, and how it can be used.
Tue, 11 Mar 2025 - 54min - 1721 - How To Build An Empire: The Aeneid Guide to Understanding U.S. PoliticsMon, 10 Mar 2025 - 54min
- 1720 - Believe in ghosts? Why people see spirits and sense visitations
Sometimes, ghosts 'appear' for very human reasons. Loss, change, and grief can alter our perceptions of reality. In this episode, the reasons why ghosts are seen everywhere from new high-rises in Mumbai, to urban food courts, to a gay gym in San Francisco. *This episode originally aired on Oct. 25, 2022.
Fri, 07 Mar 2025 - 54min - 1719 - How Inuit Storytelling and Modern Horror Fiction Come TogetherWed, 05 Mar 2025 - 54min
- 1718 - How Christian ethics can inform a peaceful resolution to Russia’s war in UkraineMon, 03 Mar 2025 - 54min
- 1717 - The UN at 80: Successes, Hopes, Failures, and ChallengesWed, 26 Feb 2025 - 54min
- 1716 - Remember the Last Time Canada Feared the U.S. Would Swallow It Up?
Four decades ago, trade negotiations in North America prompted great trepidation in Canada. IDEAS revisits a 1986 documentary by the CBC's Carol Off exploring a flurry of Canadian nationalism and patriotism brought on by fears that the U.S. was about to absorb Canada — a threat, once again, on many Canadians' minds.
Tue, 25 Feb 2025 - 54min - 1715 - Why learn improv? Your unscripted mind can surprise even you
Even Martin Luther King Jr. didn't know he had a dream — at least not until he improvised the most famous part of his 1963 speech. For many people, public speaking or standup comedy is horrifying. Even more so without a script. IDEASexplores the art of improv — a skill that isn't just for entertainment. It's tapping into a vast well of human potential, and maybe even making the world a tiny bit better.
Mon, 24 Feb 2025 - 54min - 1714 - Naming Life: The Race to Classify Millions of Unidentified SpeciesWed, 19 Feb 2025 - 54min
- 1713 - Writer Adam Gopnik on the Evolution of Antisemitism Into Anti-urbanismTue, 18 Feb 2025 - 54min
- 1712 - Swinging and Singing: The ViolinMon, 17 Feb 2025 - 54min
- 1711 - IDEAS Introduces On Drugs | A Troubled Relationship With Alcohol
For years as host of the CBC podcast On Drugs, Geoff Turner has examined the history, culture, science and religion of drugs, from ancient Berzerkers and their mushroom rituals, to the German army’s use of amphetamines, to the caffeine in millions of people’s morning coffee. In this episode, Turner gets personal. For more episodes: https://link.mgln.ai/TKNpBc
Thu, 13 Feb 2025 - 54min - 1710 - Rights vs Deservingness: How We Decide Who Belongs
With increasingly diverse societies, the sorting of people into "us" and "them" is inevitable. This sorting brings with it a social and cultural assessment of who does, and does not, deserve social benefits and political rights. The so-called 'deservingness ladder' is shifting as democracies around the world turn towards right-wing populist leaders.
Wed, 12 Feb 2025 - 54min - 1709 - Dreaming of Better: Living With Bipolar Disorder
Writer and filmmaker Luke Galati says "living with bipolar disorder is tough." He shares the realities of his mental health struggles, what it's like living in a psychiatric hospital and finding a path to wellness. His documentary is both a personal essay and a series of conversations with health-care professionals and others who have bipolar disorder.
Tue, 11 Feb 2025 - 54min - 1708 - North on North: Stories from the Only Independent Publisher in the Canadian Arctic
Inhabit Media are at the forefront of a new era of Inuit literature and film. Since 2006, it’s been working to ensure Arctic voices are heard across Canada. From Iqaluit, IDEAS producer Pauline Holdsworth speaks with writers and illustrators about telling the stories of their home and finding creativity from the land.
Mon, 10 Feb 2025 - 54min - 1707 - From Grit to Glory: Canada’s First Black Woman Publisher
In 1853, Mary Ann Shadd Cary became the first Black woman publisher in Canada with her newspaper, The Provincial Freeman. As a lawyer, publisher, and educator, she laid the groundwork for Black liberation in Canada. Descendants and other guests share her remarkable story. *This episode originally aired on Dec. 7, 2023.
Fri, 07 Feb 2025 - 54min - 1706 - Indigenous Journalist Calls for a Revolution of Genuine ActionThu, 06 Feb 2025 - 54min
- 1705 - 'Here lived Chava Rosenfarb' : A Profile of the Canadian Yiddish writer
Chava Rosenfarb, Holocaust survivor and Canadian Yiddish writer, was born 100 years ago in Łódź, Poland. In 2023, Łódź celebrated “The Year of Chava Rosenfarb." In this episode, producer Allison Dempster revisits a 2001 IDEAS documentary that profiles Rosenfarb’s legacy and the politics of Holocaust remembrance in Poland today. *This episode originally aired on Jan. 29, 2024.
Wed, 05 Feb 2025 - 54min - 1704 - The Many Lives of Maria Chapdelaine
Maria Chapdelaine — the fictional character from rural Quebec became a global phenomenon in the 1920s, and has inspired movies, plays — even an opera. Yet the book remains far less known in English Canada and the English-speaking world. IDEASexamines the many lives that Maria Chapdelaine has lived, and continues to live.
Tue, 04 Feb 2025 - 54min - 1703 - The Amazing Henry Box Brown: From Fugitive Slave to Ingenious Entertainer
Enslaved in 1840s Virginia, Henry Brown has himself nailed into a postal crate and mailed to a free state. But that’s less than half his story. In freedom, he becomes Henry Box Brown, and uses his escape box as the basis for a subversive magic act that sees him tour the stages of the UK and Canada — his final home.
Mon, 03 Feb 2025 - 54min - 1702 - Loving Your Country in the 21st Century (Step Two)
As Canadians once again find themselves explaining why their country deserves to exist, a group of proud Quebecers brave the winter in Sherbrooke to raise their nation’s largest-ever flag. IDEAS' Tom Howell joins in, as he continues his series on where the patriotic spirit belongs in people’s lives today.
Thu, 30 Jan 2025 - 54min - 1701 - Becoming Aaju Peter: A Guardian of Inuk Language and Culture
Aaju Peter was 11 years old when she was taken from her Inuk community in Greenland and sent away to learn the ways of the West. She lost her language and culture. The activist, lawyer, designer, musician, filmmaker, and prolific teacher takesIDEAShost Nahlah Ayed on a tour of Iqaluit and into a journey to decolonization that continues still.
Wed, 29 Jan 2025 - 54min - 1700 - PT 2: What Lies Beneath the Surface: Anthropologist Wade Davis
Is it too late to save the planet? Anthropologist Wade Davis doesn't think so — he's inspired by the ability of nature to adapt, and he thinks people can change, too. He says that means looking for all the information we can get. Part two ofIDEAS producer Philip Coulter’s conversation with Wade Davis.
Tue, 28 Jan 2025 - 54min - 1699 - Inuit Approaches to Conversation and Conflict Resolution
How do conversations happen differently in the north? What’s unique about Inuit approaches to silence — and to nation-to-nation conversations?IDEAS explores dialogue from Ian Williams' first Massey Lecture in Iqaluit with lawyer and activist Aaju Peter and actor and producer Simeonie Kisa-Knicklebein.
Mon, 27 Jan 2025 - 54min - 1698 - Reith Lectures #4: Can we change violent minds?Fri, 24 Jan 2025 - 54min
- 1697 - Reith Lectures #3: Does trauma cause violence?
With very rare access, forensic psychiatrist Gwen Adshead gives her third Reith Lecture inside Grendon prison, in England, where she talks to a small number of prisoners and staff, and asks the question: Does trauma cause violence? Does being a victim of violence, in some circumstances, make you more likely to become a perpetrator of violence? *The Reith Lectures originally aired on BBC Radio 4.
Thu, 23 Jan 2025 - 54min - 1696 - Techno-Utopia or The Billionaires’ Wet Dream
Tech billionaires are on a mission to make the stories of science fiction a reality: space colonization, human/machine bio organisms, and living forever in a state of unhindered bliss. To most of us, this version of a far future utopia comes off as "billionaire boys and their toys" but critics say such a dismissive attitude is naïve.
Wed, 22 Jan 2025 - 54min - 1695 - Who Owns Outer Space?Tue, 21 Jan 2025 - 54min
- 1694 - Polarizing Times Call for Nietzsche’s Practice of 'Passing By'Mon, 20 Jan 2025 - 54min
- 1693 - Searching for Truth: The Honourable Louise ArbourFri, 17 Jan 2025 - 54min
- 1692 - Reith Lectures #2: Is there such a thing as evil?
In a career spanning over 30 years, Dr. Adshead has heard many of her patients ask: "I have done evil things, but does that mean I am evil? In her second BBC Reith Lecture, Adshead asks if there is such a thing as evil. She argues we all have capacity for 'evil' and says we need to find ways to cultivate societal and individual 'goodness.' *The Reith Lectures originally aired on BBC Radio 4.
Thu, 16 Jan 2025 - 54min - 1691 - A Minor Revolution: Prioritizing Kids' Rights Benefits Us All
What if there was one thing we could do to significantly impact poverty, crime, and climate change. Law professor Adam Benforado believes there is a solution: prioritizing kids. The author ofA Minor Revolution argues that if we centred children when enacting law and public policy, we would all benefit.
Tue, 14 Jan 2025 - 54min - 1690 - What 17th-century philosopher Thomas Hobbes would say about American democracy todayMon, 13 Jan 2025 - 54min
- 1689 - Reith Lectures #1: Is violence normal?
This month,IDEAS features the 2024 BBC's Reith Lectures by forensic psychiatrist Gwen Adshead. Her four lectures address pertinent questions she has faced in her career. To start, she asks if violence is a normal part of human life — whether we are all capable and tempted by violence — or whether it is an aberration in just some people. *The Reith Lectures originally aired on BBC Radio 4.
Thu, 09 Jan 2025 - 54min - 1688 - Woke Racism and the Language Police | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie & John McWhorterWed, 08 Jan 2025 - 54min
- 1687 - This Way to Re-Enchantment, with Philosopher Charles TaylorTue, 07 Jan 2025 - 54min
- 1686 - What Lies Beneath the Surface: Anthropologist Wade DavisMon, 06 Jan 2025 - 54min
- 1685 - Nine: A Number of Synchronicity
Going the whole nine yards, dressing to the nines, being on cloud nine. In pop culture, in ancient folklore, in music, even in sports the number nine is everywhere. In the last episode of our series, The Greatest Numbers of All Time, we explore nine and its uncanny connections. *This episode originally aired on Sept. 29, 2023.
Fri, 03 Jan 2025 - 54min - 1684 - We Give You Five: Odd in More Ways Than OneThu, 02 Jan 2025 - 54min
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