Ideas
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Ideas
IDEAS is a place for people who like to think. If you value deep conversation and unexpected reveals, this show is for you. From the roots and rise of authoritarianism to near-death experiences to the history of toilets, no topic is off-limits. Hosted by Nahlah Ayed, we’re home to immersiv...
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How a 'conspiracy of decency' could build a better future
What's the secret weapon to make political change happen? It's not a trick question, it's simple: perseverance, says BBC Reith Lecturer Rutger Bregman...
It's time for a 'moral revolution.' This is a call to action
We live in an "age of immorality," argues historian and author Rutger Bregman. "The moral rot runs deep across elite institutions of every stripe," Br...
What makes left-handers special?
This podcast seeks answers to the question. If you are left-handed then you are part of the 10 per cent of humankind that detested craft time in eleme...
How Galileo revolutionized science to make way for modernity
Think of science's most momentous developments in the 20th century — Einstein’s theory of relativity, quantum physics, finding evidence of black holes...
How Sudan’s generous spirit survives war and neglect
"This is a hopeless situation but we are not helpless." This is what drives Sudanese journalist Yousra Elbagir's reporting on her homeland's forgotten...
The bittersweet freedom to grieve in Syria
"Those who remember the disappeared would also disappear." Under dictator Bashar al-Assad, grieving publicly in Syria was punishable. Now the silenced...
How horses shaped humankind, from wearing pants to vaccines
Prior to riding horses, no one wore pants. There's a lot to thank horses for in our daily lives. From the Hollywood motion picture to life-saving vacc...
Why copyright laws do more harm than good
It's getting pretty difficult to read any article online without a paywall in the way. What happened to the internet's great promise to democratize kn...
We're not machines. Why should our online world define life?
We gorge ourselves on the internet, smartphones, social media, information overload — all of it constantly sap us of our emotional and intellectual vi...
'Dialogue between science and religion matters to the planet'
Holmes Rolston III began his career as a Presbyterian minister. But his love of the natural world — and his belief in evolution — didn't sit well with...
The most famous French-Canadian novel you've never heard of
Maria Chapdelaine: A Tale of French Canada is one of the most widely read works of fiction ever written in French. It's considered the world's highest...
When words get in the way, vocal improv saves the day
Would you 'doo-be-doo' if you know it would help bridge divides? Try vocal improvisation — singing sounds, rhythms and melodies. PhD candidate Erwan N...
Ditch democracy. This movement wants tech-elites to govern
What do you get when you take some of the classic Enlightenment values like reason, fairness, and justice, and substitute them with opinion, privilege...
Autonomy is vital to MAID law and the right to die: ethicist
Bioethicist Arthur Schafer has thought a lot about life and death. He's helped shape policy on medically assisted death (MAID) in Canada. The philosop...
New Year's Levee | Episodes we're working on in 2026
Today we bring you our annual New Year's Levee looking ahead at episodes in the works to keep your curiosity satiated. You can anticipate a fresh rost...
Could resetting the body's clock help cure jet lag?
Kritika Vashishtha has been pursuing a cure for jet lag and it's possible she's found the answer. The Canadian aerospace engineer recently invented a...
How the invention of the book shaped humanity
If we weren't so used to having books, we would think of them as a "miracle." That's how historian Irene Vallego
views what she says is humankin...
Hallelujah! The transformative power of Black gospel music
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...
Jazz fan or not, you've probably heard this musician play
If you think you've never heard Jerry Granelli play drums — you likely have. Think of a comic strip holiday special and an iconic soundtrack: A Charli...
Revealing facts about the Christmas song meant for Easter
Handel’s Messiah is one of the best-loved pieces of Christmas music. Only it was meant for Easter. But it draws on far more from the Old Testament tha...
An apocalyptic retelling of the Christmas story
The nativity story that Christians believe is that God took the form of a baby named Jesus who was born to save the world and bring about an enduring...
What water can teach us about hope in hard times
In an era of political polarization and fatigue from ongoing crises, hope is critical. But it's not something you have; it's something you do, argues...
Why spirituality is central to Indigenous mathematics
Indigenous math isn't just about numbers and equations, it involves culture, spirituality and more. Math professor Edward Doolittle, a Mohawk from Six...
How 'body horror' helps us confront the fears within us
"We are the monsters" — that's the premise for the genre of film known as body horror — movies that fixate on monstrous and grotesque changes to the b...
How to change minds and find common ground
In 2024, 'polarization' was Merriam-Webster's word of the year. That division still grows, making it increasingly difficult to connect to one another....
Why yellow traffic lights were invented to be ambiguous
The yellow traffic light is a perfect example of imperfection — with intention. While driving you have to think fast. Do you speed up or stop, whether...
The 'dangerous' promise of a techno-utopian future
Tech billionaires are on a mission to make the stories of science fiction a reality: space colonization, human/machine bio organisms, and living forev...
Open your gift: a podcast of nonfiction recommendations
This isn't a wrap or best of 2025 kind of list. This IDEAS podcast is packed full of all kinds of recommendations from our smart, insightful contribut...
Your tomatoes have a backstory and it’s not always pretty
In fact, author and journalist Marcello Di Cintio argues Canadians are complicit. After four years investigating the lives of migrant workers, he foun...
Bringing a farm — and its philosophy — back to life
Growing up with food insecurity, Julian Napoleon yearned to be a farmer. His great-grandparents once farmed on the Saulteau First Nations reserve in n...
Pt 2 | Architect Frank Gehry on how to exit life
There’s a constant mantra Frank Gehry would always hear from his mentors who have since died – “Don’t you dare ever stop working.” It’s a sentiment he...
The architecture that brought Frank Gehry to tears
Rebel architect Frank Gehry believed architecture IS art. He strived to evoke emotion in every design. Last Friday, Gehry died at 96 but he never stop...
The best — and worst — ideas of the last six decades
Sometimes the universe hands us a gift. Over the past year, our podcast listeners spent a total of 526,915 hours listening to our program. That's 21,9...
How IDEAS saved a listener from sending a regrettable email
"IDEAS is often a surprise" says Cathy Pike. It's why she's been a longtime listener. To our delight, IDEAS was there for her just at the right time....
CBC Massey Lecturers reveal how the talks changed them
This podcast features an all-star, and bestselling, lineup of CBC Massey Lecturers from the past decade:
Payam Akhavan (2017) and...
Harvard historian tells IDEAS host "I love you!"
That's not something you expect to hear in an interview. But the Harvard historian and author of All That She Carried, Tiya Miles did not hesitate to...
How an IDEAS episode on traffic changed a doctor's practice
Not many people like to think about traffic but Joanna Oda says this very topic on IDEAS in 2005 permanently changed the way she views medical care as...
How music transports the Afghan diaspora to their homeland
For Afghans, listening to a traditional song can bring them back "home." In 2021, when the Taliban seized power again in Afghanistan, orchestras disba...
Why cities are targeted in wartime (updated)
In 2022, IDEAS explored how the brutal strategy called "urbicide" — the intentional killing of a city — is used in war to destroy residents' sense of...
Why hospitals stopped being hospitable
Hospitality — and hospitals. Two words that share a root, but whose meanings often seem at odds with each other. IDEAS traces the historical roots of...