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.
581 episodes transcribedWhen you're a historian and learn about Canada’s earliest reported ‘demon possession caused by witchcraft’ case, you dig right into the story. And tha...
When Sir John Franklin set out to find the Northwest Passage in 1845, he never returned. From that mystery, began the stories. But why do we keep comi...
Nationalism doesn't have to mean extremism. It can mean celebration. IDEAS shares this 1992 award-winning documentary about "The Idea of Canada," whic...
At the surface, Bear is about a woman who develops a sexual relationship with a bear. And though the 1976 novel earned Marian Engel a Governor General...
Canada produces legendary comedians and comic actors who excel on the world stage. So why is Canada not known for comedy? Does it have something to do...
From the medicine wheel to the building blocks of DNA, the number four has represented structure and stability. But four is also a troublemaker: a por...
There is nothing random about featuring 33,000 in our number series. It's very powerful. So much so, that the number put millions of horses out of wor...
Twenty-seven can be a pivotal and tumultuous age. It’s held up as the year of peak performance in many sports and it's also seen as a cursed age for p...
Complete. Whole. Divine order. That's just the start of what makes the humble dozen extraordinary. It's one of only two numbers ever discovered in mat...
Has there ever been a number more maligned in western culture than 13? So feared, it's got its own horror-film franchise. So infamously unlucky, a goo...
It's tempting to think suffering should be avoided at all costs, but moral suffering has its own distinct standing. It signals a moral conscience. Eve...
Former IDEAS writer-broadcaster David Cayley passed away at his home on Wednesday June 10, surrounded by family. To honour his legacy, we wanted to sh...
There may be no one alive who saw Houdini perform magic. Yet we still know his name and his legend. Dua Lipa namechecked the escape artist in a 2023 d...
Homosexuality is a crime in more than half of African countries — a crime punishable by prison sentences. Or in some cases: death. In the past few yea...
Uganda and Ghana have the harshest laws against LGBTQ+ people in the world. Despite the threats, podcasters in both countries are fighting back by cre...
When Jay Pitter was eight years old and out shopping with her mother, she began swaying to the music at the mall. Her mother scolded her for it — sign...
Mae West shocked audiences and infuriated censors for more than 70 years. She was pop culture’s original blonde bombshell sex-symbol comedienne provoc...
Rachel Jedinak will never forget the day that changed her life in July 16, 1942. She was eight years old, living in Nazi-occupied France at a time kno...
Elon Musk is on the verge of becoming a trillionaire. Right now Musk's wealth is currently around $825 billion US — more than double what it was a yea...
Our homes have been stripped of their essential humanity, says Leilani Farha, this year's CBC Massey Lecturer. Today housing has become a commodity —...
