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.

  • 29 minutes 16 seconds
    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.

    8 April 2025, 12:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 7 seconds
    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.

    7 April 2025, 12:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 9 seconds
    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.

    4 April 2025, 12:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    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 with IDEAS producer Tom Howell gathering insights from Afghans, Israelis, and Americans in hopes of finding the key to doing patriotism right.

    3 April 2025, 12:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    Walk with us through a rare old-growth forest in peril

    The World Wildlife Fund lists the Wabanaki-Acadian old-growth forest as endangered — with only one per cent remaining. The Wabanaki-Acadian forest stretches from parts of the Maritimes and Southern Quebec down into New England states. IDEAS explores the beauty and complexity of this ancient forest with 300-year-old trees. *This episode originally aired on June 11, 2024.

    2 April 2025, 12:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    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.

    1 April 2025, 12:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    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.

    31 March 2025, 12:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    Montreal's Confederate past revealed, from sympathizers to raids

    Montreal was a hotbed of spies and conspirators during the U.S. Civil War. IDEAS host Nahlah Ayed and investigative journalist Julian Sher, author of The North Star: Canada and the Civil War Plots Against Lincoln, tour Montreal’s past and present, tracing the city’s hidden Confederate past.

    28 March 2025, 12:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    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.

    27 March 2025, 12:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 7 seconds
    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.

    26 March 2025, 12:10 pm
  • 54 minutes 8 seconds
    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.  

    25 March 2025, 12:10 pm
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