The famously polarizing father of capitalism
Episode Date: June 5, 2025<p>The 18th-century philosopher Adam Smith is often called “the father of economics,” and sometimes “the father of capitalism.”<em> IDEAS&...
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.
337 episodes transcribed<p>The 18th-century philosopher Adam Smith is often called “the father of economics,” and sometimes “the father of capitalism.”<em> IDEAS&...
<p>When<em> IDEAS</em> contributor Sandra Bourque was diagnosed with ADHD in her early 50s, she was relieved. Finally, everything ma...
Imagine a world without Mozart or Michelangelo, Einstein or Edison. Famous for their creativity, a "mysterious force" that psychiatrist and ADHD exper...
If you're someone who thinks reading is therapeutic, you aren’t alone. On the surface, bibliotherapy might sound like another personal wellness trend,...
When Darren Hamilton began university, he was shocked to find that there were no Black music courses and Black music professors. He grew up singing sp...
Disgust — an emotion that makes us human. It can keep us safe from drinking milk that's gone off, thanks to the revolting smell. And as Charles Darwin...
For centuries, Western philosophers have contemplated the question: “Who am I?” To get to the answer, 19th-century German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Fr...
Humans used fire as a tool. Now we fear its destruction. But we're responsible for changing the climate, argues John Vailliant, "in a way that favours...
Homosexuality is a crime in more than half of African countries — a crime punishable by prison sentences. Or in some cases: death. New laws in some st...
Homosexuality is a crime in more than half of African countries. New laws in some states make it illegal for anyone to even advocate for LGBTQ rights....
No one likes talking about child sex abuse. But prevention experts say we need to bring pedophilia out of the shadows if we ever want to end abuse. Th...
America is just not that into you anymore, says historian Marci Shore. It's not us, it's them. The Yale professor blames the U.S. for the failed relat...
It might seem like the vast, turbulent ocean of information we call news has always existed, but that's not the case. Theatrical plays in Elizabethan...
It's not them, it's you. That's what fans of the cormorant argue, pointing out how people see the gangly aquatic bird all wrong. This common bird has...
Music is joy declares Daniel Chua. The renowned musicologist says music and joy have an ancient correlation, from Confucius to Saint Augustine and Bee...
There are just three ingredients in the recipe that could end constitutional democracy as we know it, according to scholar Peter L. Biro — fear, habit...
In 1859, an American shot a pig that belonged to the Hudson’s Bay Company. Suddenly, the U.S. and British Empire were on the brink of war once again....
More than ninety years ago, led by “Boomer” Harding, “Flat” Chase, and King Terrell, the Chatham Coloured All-Stars became the first all-Black team to...
Historian Sergei Radchenko revisits the Cold War, focusing on what the idea of global power meant to the Soviet Kremlin. He argues that Soviet leaders...
The direction of the Cold War depended on more than the strategies of two superpowers. It also depended on psychological motivations — in particular,...