Ideas

CBC

IDEAS is a deep-dive into contemporary thought and intellectual history. No topic is off-limits. In the age of clickbait and superficial headlines, it's for people who like to think.

  • 54 minutes 7 seconds
    How Inuit Storytelling and Modern Horror Fiction Come Together

    Examining the parallels between Inuit storytelling and modern horror narratives, writer Jamesie Fournier explores the importance of being afraid and how the other side comes back to haunt us for our own good. This episode is part of our on-going series called IDEAS at Crow's Theatre.

    5 March 2025, 1:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    Be Reasonable: Scholars Define Who Is and Who Is Not

    From the interpersonal to the societal: what is reasonableness? And in a democracy, how reasonable can we reasonably demand that others be? Five Canadian thinkers try to define what “reasonableness” means and what it is to behave and think reasonably. *This episode originally aired on Feb. 6, 2024.

    4 March 2025, 1:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    How Christian ethics can inform a peaceful resolution to Russia’s war in Ukraine

    How can religion help decode the motives for Russia's aggression against Ukraine? And how can Judeo-Christian ethics inform a way forward for peace? Ukrainian Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, and historian of Central European politics Timothy Snyder explore these questions.

    3 March 2025, 1:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    Puro Cubano: The Meaning of Tobacco in Cuba

    For many people around the world, Cuban cigars are a luxury. But for Cubans, they’ve symbolized the country’s rich history and culture. Now as an economic crisis is gripping the country and people are leaving, the cigar is a bellwether of Cuba's uncertain future. *This episode originally aired on Feb. 5, 2024.

    28 February 2025, 1:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    Our Bodies, Our Cells: An Audio Exploration of Life's Building Blocks

    Our bodies are a great paradox. We are made up of trillions of cells that are both independent and interconnected units of life. IDEAS travels into the microscopic complexity of the human body to explore sophisticated nanomachines — and probe the deep mysteries of a subatomic world. *This episode originally aired on Jan. 31, 2024.

    27 February 2025, 1:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    The UN at 80: Successes, Hopes, Failures, and Challenges

    In 1945, as the Second World War ended, the United Nations brought together 50 nations of the world. Their historic charter aimed to uphold international peace, security, and human rights. Today, the UN faces a lot of criticism, but Canada’s UN Ambassador, Bob Rae, still believes in it.

    26 February 2025, 1:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    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.

     

    25 February 2025, 1:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    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. IDEAS explores 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.

    24 February 2025, 1:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    How the Outdoors Inspired Women to Become Trailblazers

    Harvard historian Tiya Miles believes the more girls and women are outdoors, the more fulfilling their lives will be. In her book, Wild Girls, Miles shows how girls who found self-understanding in the natural world became women who changed America. *This episode originally aired on April 10, 2024.

    21 February 2025, 1:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 9 seconds
    The Passion of Émile Nelligan: Canada's Saddest Poet

    Broken violins, cruel love and absent fathers... At the end of the 19th century, Émile Nelligan wrote hundreds of tragic, passionate, sonnets and rondels on these subjects and more. And yet, most English-speaking Canadians seem never to have heard of the Quebec poet. *This episode originally aired on Jan. 9, 2024.

    20 February 2025, 1:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    Naming Life: The Race to Classify Millions of Unidentified Species

    In 2023, scientists discovered thousands of unknown life forms in the Pacific Ocean. The discovery highlighted an unsettling fact: 86 per cent of land species and 91 per cent of marine species remain undiscovered. Are we running out of time to classify the life around us?

    19 February 2025, 1:10 pm
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