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.
263 episodes transcribedNeed 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. F...
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 w...
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...
At a language school in Iqaluit, a generation of Inuit adults who didn’t grow up speaking Inuktut now have the chance to learn it as a second language...
2024 CBC Massey lecturer Ian Williams speaks with IDEAS host Nahlah Ayed about the forces that have shaped him as a thinker and writer, from...
Hidden in the 1950 academic paper that launched the famous 'Turing Test' of machine intelligence, is a strange mystery. Cryptographer Alan Turing argu...
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 polit...
For leaders who built empires throughout history, Virgil's Aeneid has been a blueprint for how to take over land that belongs to someone else. Now whe...
Sometimes, ghosts 'appear' for very human reasons. Loss, change, and grief can alter our perceptions of reality. In this episode, the reasons why ghos...
Smell has been called the 'Cinderella sense,' capable of inspiring profound admiration if we stop turning our noses at it. Producer Annie Bender exami...
Examining the parallels between Inuit storytelling and modern horror narratives, writer Jamesie Fournier explores the importance of being afraid and h...
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? U...
In 1945, as the Second World War ended, the United Nations brought together 50 nations of the world. Their historic charter aimed to uphold internatio...
Four decades ago, trade negotiations in North America prompted great trepidation in Canada. IDEAS revisits a 1986 documentary by the CBC's Carol Off e...
For many people, public speaking is horrifying. Imagine trying to make people laugh. Without a script. IDEAS explores the art of improv — a skill that...
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 s...
In 2023, scientists discovered thousands of unknown life forms in the Pacific Ocean. The discovery highlighted an unsettling fact: 86 per cent of land...
The current wave of anti-elitism, and anti-urbanism we’re seeing from authoritarian leaders and their followers may seem to have erupted out of nowher...
Marriage is on the decline in Canada. And in heterosexual unions, it’s women who more often initiate divorce, and wait longer to remarry. Why is marri...
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...
