Ideas
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Ideas
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 immersiv...
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How 60s Scoop 'warriors' reclaimed their Indigenous roots
Leticia Racine calls herself a “Returning Warrior” of the Sixties Scoop. As a child, she was at the centre of a landmark Supreme Court case that paved...
An homage to chickens, a dinosaur, dinner and backyard pet
Chickens are the stars of this podcast today. Our relationship with this living creature, allegedly the closest living relative to the Tyrannosaurus R...
Imprisoned Syrian wrote poetry imagining the fall of the regime. Now it's come true
For 14 years, Syrian poet Faraj Bayrakdar was imprisoned and tortured in a series of prisons. He found refuge in writing poetry. Now, the poems he wro...
How absurdist theatre is an act of resistance
Theatre of the Absurd was born postwar as a recoil against the violent fetish that totalitarian regimes had for “order.” For 75 years, absurdist playw...
How a translation movement made Western philosophers famous
From Greek to Arabic and then to Latin, translators in 8th-century Baghdad eventually brought to Europe the works of Plato, Aristotle, Galen, and othe...
Can we have new pipelines and curb climate change, too?
For the past decade, Canadians have been split 50/50 on new pipelines — that has changed. Two recent opinion polls found roughly three quarters of eli...
Why progressives may not be as 'woke' as they think
Sociologist and journalist Musa al-Gharbi identifies himself as part of an elite class of progressives that he calls: "symbolic capitalists"— knowledg...
Why a proposed 'new capitalism' is so contested
It’s loathed and celebrated, by both the left and right. It's called The Great Reset. To conspiracy theorists, it's a plot by global elites at the Wor...
How hashish may have helped a philosopher envision our future
What happens when original artworks become endless copies? German philosopher Walter Benjamin called it the death of "aura," and his concept predicted...
What life was like for Luke Galati in a psychiatric ward
Writer and filmmaker Luke Galati shares what it is like living with bipolar I disorder and staying in a psychiatric ward — an experience he says feels...
How Inuk activist Aaju Peter learned to 'decolonize' her mind
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...
Can the fierce wars of today end in peace?
If intractable conflicts in the 90s could end in peace agreements, is there hope for the ongoing wars in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and beyond? What can we...
How rhythm helps us walk, talk — and even love
Rhythm is more than a fundamental feature of music. It's what makes us human. Rhythm begins in the womb and the heartbeat. And neuroscience research r...
The natural — and unnatural — history of air on Earth
Air is one of the most essential elements for human life. Yet even though we depend on air, we humans are dramatically changing the atmosphere — makin...
Why the world feels like a shipwreck
For thousands of years, Shipwrecks have been a mainstay trope of literature and storytelling. IDEAS dives into the history of shipwreck tales to disco...
Can a conference change our troubled world?
As the United Nations turns 80, calls for reform are louder than ever. Against the backdrop of multiple global crises, strongman diplomacy and rising...
Was justice served by South Africa's peace accord?
The apartheid era in South Africa ended in 1991 with the National Peace Accords. The peace agreement also paved the way for a Truth and Reconciliation...
Can a trucker's life entice young people to take the wheel?
An Ontario trucking union predicts a shortage of 30,000 truckers in Canada as old hands retire faster than new ones take on the job. IDEAS producer To...
Listen to the sound of metal in musical form by 8 composers
Eight composers, five instruments, and a world of metal. IDEAS explores a project by the University of British Columbia called The Heavy Metal Suite t...
Without justice, can unbearable grief subside?
In June 1985, Air India Flight 182 exploded off the coast of Ireland. It's considered the worst terror attack in Canadian history. Sujata Berry's 16-y...
Why smell — our invisible superpower — deserves more acclaim
Smell this yogurt, is it still good? Our sense of smell has the ability to keep us healthy and safe. In fact in some cases, our ability to detect "off...
How leaders in the former Yugoslavia forged peace in 1995
For almost four years, the Bosnian War in the former Yugoslavia was characterized by ethnic hatreds, atrocities, and a refugee crisis. So when leaders...
How our education system is far from its original ideals
Acclaimed author Gabor Maté joins the conversation in part two of our series exploring Wilhelm von Humboldt’s public education system. Maté is a forme...
Meet Alex Neve, the 2025 CBC Massey Lecturer
Ahead of the Massey tour, Alex Neve sits down with Nahlah Ayed to talk about his lectures, Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World.
Public education was built on this key concept — now it's gone
Two hundred years ago, Wilhelm von Humboldt created the education system as we know it today. At the heart of his philosophy of education was the conc...
How this 19th-century Indian feminist defied colonial customs
In the 19th-century, feminist and scholar Pandita Ramabai travelled America delivering lectures on how the caste system and patriarchy shaped the traj...
Why there's no place like Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was an instant bestseller in 1900. It's still popular today, with a sequel to the movie Wicked coming out this fall. For 12...
Lessons from last century’s failed Mideast peace deal
When Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat met in Washington to sign the first Oslo Accords...
How the principles of St. Augustine guide the Catholic Church
Pope Leo XIV has been deeply influenced by St. Augustine, and so, the fourth century titan of Western thought has re-entered the global conversation....
Are we 'born obsolete'? How technology makes us feel ashamed
Günther Anders predicted the exact technological crises we’re facing today… but 70 years ago. The uncanny relevance of Anders’ thoughts about technolo...
What does it mean for a river to be ‘alive’?
Renowned natural history writer Robert Macfarlane traveled to Ecuador, India and Quebec, pondering the question of whether rivers are living beings --...
What Chinese Science Fiction Has to Tell Us
With vengeful alien civilizations, virtual realities and hologram wives, Chinese science fiction is in its heyday — not just in China but around the g...
# 1: What it took to end a 30-year conflict in Northern Ireland
The process of making peace is often imperfect, and can shape the future in both positive and destructive ways. In a five-part series called Inventing...
The threat next door: How NATO’s newest members are preparing to defend against Russia (via The House)
NATO’s secretary general has warned Russia could launch an attack on the alliance within the next five years. Talk to NATO’s two newest members, Finla...
Brutalist Architecture, Beyond Aesthetics
Brutalist architecture has been celebrated as monumental and derided as ‘concrete monstrosity.' But the people who depend on these buildings are often...
Libraries are fighting for their freedom — and our democracy
In Canada and the U.S., public libraries have become a target in the culture wars. It’s an urgent conversation to have, no matter where one sits on th...
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 mat...
Has the housing crisis shaken your trust in democracy?
According to Nanaimo, B.C.'s last official count, there are 515 unhoused people in Nanaimo at any given time. By population, that is a higher homeless...
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 se...
#5: What makes a great conversation?
You might think the subject makes a great conversation, but according to Massey lecturer Ian Williams, it's more than that. It's full of layers and yo...