Ideas

In Canada and the U.S., public libraries have become a target in the culture wars. It’s an urgent conversation to have, no matter where one sits on the political spectrum. Libraries exist to give everyone access to a wide variety of content, even when books may offend others. Yet librarians are increasingly having to persuade skeptics that all ideas belong on their shelves. In our series, IDEAS for a Better Canada (in partnership with the Samara Centre for Democracy) we ask: What do we have if the freedom to read isn’t ours anymore? *This series originally aired the week of April 21st, 2025.

PEI has the highest voter turnout of any other province in Canada. Voting is fundamental to this community. Residents see firsthand how their vote matters — several elections were decided by 25 votes or less. In this small province, people have a personal and intimate connection with politicians. MLAs know voters on an individual basis and they feel a duty to their job.In our series, IDEAS for a Better Canada (produced in partnership with the Samara Centre for Democracy), Nahlah Ayed visits the birthplace of Confederation to hear how Prince Edward Islanders sustain the strong democracy they built. *This series originally aired the week of April 21st, 2025.

According to Nanaimo, B.C.'s last official count, there are 515 unhoused people in Nanaimo at any given time. By population, that is a higher homelessness rate than the city of Vancouver. Our series, IDEAS for a Better Canada (produced in partnership with the Samara Centre for Democracy), explores how homelessness affects the health of our democracy and why long-term solutions are so hard to achieve. *This series originally aired the week of April 21st, 2025. 

Canadians’ biggest fear for the country’s future is “growing political and ideological polarization,” according to a 2023 EKOS poll. As part of our series, IDEAS for a Better Canada (produced in partnership with the Samara Centre for Democracy), host Nahlah Ayed headed to the fast-growing city of Edmonton to talk about the creative ways local residents are working to find common ground. From video games to an engagement technique called “deep canvassing” used to bridge gaps across differences, we can learn a lot from Edmontonians on how to build a better democracy for Canada. *This episode originally aired on April 21st, 2025.

You might think the subject makes a great conversation, but according to Massey lecturer Ian Williams, it's more than that. It's full of layers and you never really know where it’ll end up — how it will change you by the time it ends. Williams explores the art of good conversation in the final episode of his Massey Lectures. *The 2024 CBC Massey Lectures originally aired in November.  

We’re in an era where many people feel an ownership over certain words, and how a community expresses itself; the term ‘appropriation’ has come to create guardrails around what can be said, and by whom. In his fourth Massey Lecture, Ian Williams considers the role of speech and silence in reallocating power. *The 2024 CBC Massey Lectures originally aired in November.  

Difficult conversations are almost always about something under the surface, and hidden. In his third Massey Lecture, Ian Williams illustrates what we’re listening for isn’t always obvious. He explains how personal conversations aren't about finding answers — it's for communion. *The 2024 CBC Massey Lectures originally aired in November.  

In his second Massey Lecture, Ian Williams explores the power of conversation with strangers. He says humanity comes out when interacting with them. But how do we open ourselves up to connect with strangers while safeguarding our personal sovereignty? *The 2024 CBC Massey Lectures originally aired in November.  

Ever felt that no one is really listening? In the first of his 2024 CBC Massey Lectures, novelist and poet Ian Williams explores why we need to have a conversation about conversations. His five-part lecture series confronts the deterioration of civic and civil discourse and asks us to reconsider the act of conversing as the sincere, open exchange of thoughts and feelings. *The 2024 CBC Massey Lectures originally aired in November.  

2018 Massey Lecturer Tanya Talaga reflects on the legacy of cultural genocide, and on how the stories of Indigenous peoples offer lessons for Canada today. *This episode first aired on March 6, 2024, as part of a series of conversations with — and about — former Massey Lecturers to mark the 60th anniversary of Massey College, a partner in the CBC Massey Lectures. 

With the end of the Cold War, the struggle for peace, equality, and democracy wasn’t settled — it became more complex. As we mark the 60th anniversary of Massey College, IDEAS executive producer Greg Kelly interviews Jennifer Welsh about her 2016 CBC Massey Lectures, The Return of History — and how nine years on, the struggle continues. *This episode originally aired on May 9, 2024.

Technology is much more than a tool. Physicist Ursula Franklin argued that it’s a system — one so powerful that it can shape our mindset, our society and our politics. Her observations were prescient when she delivered her Massey Lecture in 1989 and they are all the more relevant today. Ursula Franklin’s friend and collaborator Jane Freeman reflects on the power of Franklin’s message. *This episode originally aired on Oct. 3, 2024.

British novelist and Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing warned us against groupthink when she delivered her CBC Massey Lectures in 1985. She argues the danger is not about belonging to a group or groups, but in not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us. Professor Miglena Todorova reflects on Lessing’s message and puts it into the context of today’s politics. *This episode originally aired on Nov. 7, 2024.

Payam Akhavan has witnessed appalling episodes of human cruelty and suffering. And that’s helped forge his commitment to pursuing justice for the victims of human rights abuses. The human rights lawyer and former UN prosecutor at The Hague argues that our salvation as a species will come ultimately through realizing that we're all one people and must live that way. In 2017, he delivered the Massey Lectures titled In Search of a Better World: A Human Rights Odyssey. He explains how the themes explored in his lectures have taken on even more relevance in today's divided and conflict-ridden world. *This episode originally aired on June 26, 2024.

For award-winning poet and bestselling author Ross Gay, joy and delight aren’t frivolous or a privilege. He argues they’re absolutely essential to a meaningful life — especially in the face of grief, sadness and suffering. "I think of joy, which gets us to love, as being a practice of survival," writes Gay. *This episode originally aired on April 2, 2024.

With a to-do list that requires 30 hours in a day to complete, leisure time often gets erased. IDEAS producer Naheed Mustafa explores a better time, when there was space for ourselves to pursue activities we value. What it comes down to is reconfiguring our relationship to the time we have and opening it up so we can pursue the good life. *Originally aired on February 20, 2020.

Music is joy, declares Daniel Chua. The renowned musicologist says music and joy have an ancient correlation, from Confucius to Saint Augustine and Beethoven to The Blues. Of course, there is sad music, but Chua says, it's tragic because of joy. He explores music, joy and the good life. *This episode originally aired on May 19, 2025.

We tend to view philosophy as a formal endeavour. Not so, says Lewis Gordon. Yes, he's an academic but he argues that confining thinking to the academy has resulted in people forgetting that philosophy “has something important to say.” The thinker and musician sees pubs and kitchens as great places to spur thinking and philosophical conversation. At a well-known pub in St. John’s, Newfoundland called the Ship's Inn, Gordon makes the case for the everyday relevance of thinking, and reflected on the vital place of food, drink, and conversation in the making of thought. *This episode originally aired on May 26, 2023.

The world is full of problems — our broken healthcare, out-of-reach housing, a democracy in shambles and a dying planet. Is it actually possible to fix this mess? IDEAS hears from people working to fix our most intractable problems at a time when it can feel easier to just give up. *This episode originally aired on Sept. 21, 2023.

Educators are wired for hope, according to English professor Jessica Riddell. She believes in the importance of slowing down in urgent times and urges educators to teach hope, share it, and to imagine a better future. *This episode originally aired on Sept. 27, 2024.

More than half of working satellites are now owned by a single company, Elon Musk's Space X company. Astrophysicist Aaron Boley says Space X satellites are built for rapid development and obsolescence. He discusses the impact of this on humanity and astronomy and asks how we can be better stewards of outer space. *This episode originally aired on Jan. 21, 2025.

Universities have always been places of protest and dissent, but University of Toronto English professor Randy Boyagoda argues that it should be something more — a place for productive discourse. He says we must check the assumption that our lived experience, well-formed arguments, or even knee-jerk responses are all there is to any given matter. That means staying open to the possibility of being wrong.In January 2024, he became the university’s Advisor on Civil Discourse, the first position of its kind in Canada, prompted in part by campus convulsions since October 7th. Boyagoda explores the question: what are universities for? *This episode originally aired on Oct. 7, 2024.

You can’t pay rent with experimental poetry, so Hilary Peach trained as a welder. Twenty-plus years on, she’s now a boiler inspector, poet, and author of an award-winning memoir, Thick Skin: Field Notes from a Sister in the Brotherhood. Peach talks about the joys and contradictions of being an outsider inside the trades. *This episode originally aired on May 1, 2024.

In 2023, about 1 in 10 Canadian doctors considered attempting suicide in 2023. That's why Winnipeg doctor Jillian Horton is advocating for the emotional well-being of doctors in our healthcare system. She's helping doctors understand that in order to care better for their patients, they must care better for themselvesIn her book, We Are All Perfectly Fine: A Memoir of Love, Medicine, and Healing, Dr. Horton shares her personal story of burnout and calls for the development of a compassionate healthcare system, one that fosters a balanced understanding of what it means to heal and be healed. *This episode originally aired on Jan. 18, 2024. 

Canadian scholar and philosopher Charles Taylor insists poetry persuades us through the experience of connection. His book, Cosmic Connections: Poetry in the Age of Disenchantment, traces how poets, beginning in the Romantic period, found a new avenue to pursue meaning in life. He argues that while poetry can often be incomplete and enigmatic, its insight is too moving — and true — to be ignored. *This episode originally aired on Jan. 7, 2025.

When Mitiarjuk Nappaaluk wrote Sanaaq in 1984, it was the first novel written in Inuktitut in Canada. She wanted to prevent the language from no longer existing. Nappaaluk who died in 2007, helped develop the Inuktitut language curriculum in Nunavik and wrote more than 20 books — most of them designed to teach Inuktitut to children. She was also a teacher, an artist and a thinker with profound ideas about justice and community. *This is the third episode in our four-part series called Another Country: Change and Resilience in Nunavik. It originally aired on June 28, 2023.

After more than four decades of activism and advocacy, David Suzuki is one of the most renowned and respected voices in the environmental movement. So when he says it's too late to stop climate change, people take notice. And that's now exactly what he's saying.He's delivering this message as Prime Minister Mark Carney's government focuses on fast-tracking major projects it deems to be of national interest, which could include a new pipeline for fossil fuels from Alberta. Suzuki says that, despite his understanding of the climate crisis, Carney — like all of us — is trapped by the economic and political systems we've created. And for Suzuki, our only hope for survival is to scrap those systems entirely.In this special episode from our colleagues at Front Burner, David Suzuki joins host Jayme Poisson on the podcast for a wide-ranging discussion from what a world of irreversible climate change looks like to what he describes as the "madness" of continued investment in fossil fuels to the lessons environmentalists of the future can take from the past. More episodes of Front Burner can be found here: https://link.mgln.ai/fb-ideas

“The future doesn't exist. The only thing that exists is now and our memory of what happened in the past. But because we invented the idea of a future, we're the only animal that realized we can affect the future by what we do today," says David Suzuki. For 44 years, the former host of The Nature of Things shared the beauty of the natural world and taught us about our moral responsibility that comes with being alive. In this episode, the award-winning scientist and environmentalist shares his life lessons as a proud elder. *This episode originally aired on June 8, 2023.

For nearly 70 years, filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin's storytelling and documentary work have served as a mirror for Canada, reflecting Indigenous experiences and providing a space for all Canadians to witness perspectives that have otherwise been ignored. At 92, the Abenaki artist is not slowing down. "I never, never get tired of hearing people telling me about their life stories," she tells Nahlah Ayed. All 60 of her films are available to stream at the National Film Board of Canada website. *This episode originally aired on Nov. 7, 2023.

Who exactly was Martin Luther? Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther translated the New Testament so that ordinary Germans could understand it. This sparked a theological, social and political revolution that we're still living in. So who was he: a freedom fighter? An antisemite? IDEAS explores the legend and legacy of Martin Luther. *This episode originally aired on April 14, 2024.

Adam Smith may be known as 'The Father of Economics,' but 400 years before him, Muslim scholar Ibn Khaldun was putting forward economic theories that are now taken for granted. IDEAS explores Ibn Khaldun's famous book, Muqaddimah and the lessons it has for us on the philosophy of history, economics, biology, sociology, and political theory. *This episode originally aired on June 24, 2021.

Our brains tell us that our intellects make us superior to animals. But after years of studying dolphins and other marine creatures, Justin Gregg has come to the conclusion that the human brain isn’t as great as it thinks it is. His research led him to a shift in his view on our much-vaunted intelligence. *This episode originally aired on June 22, 2023.

The great divide in politics is all around us. Sometimes the best way to engage in a difference of opinion is to 'pass it by.' Political theorist Shalini Satkunanandan suggests we take that lesson from Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy. Yeah, that guy — the one most known for his wrestling with nihilism. Satkunanandan argues that the constant need to engage and correct, refute or criticize "is making partisan divides even more pronounced." She views Nietzsche's method as a valuable way to navigate the highly polarized discourse of today. *This episode originally aired on Jan. 20, 2025.

If the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were rewritten today, what rights would we add to strive for a more just world? In the final episode of our five-part series, IDEAS looks beyond our fractured present and tries to imagine what new rights we need for the new millennium. *This episode originally aired on Sept. 6, 2025.

In an era of great polarization and cancel culture, our right to freedom of thought and expression is especially resonant. Written over 75 years ago, the UN's Declaration of Human Rights requires an update to reflect the times of today. In this fourth episode in our series on human rights, IDEAS explores the history and future of free expression. *This episode originally aired on Sept. 5, 2024.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to leave any country and to return to it. We also have a right to seek "asylum from persecution" in other countries. Are these rights protected for everyone? At a time when more people are forcibly displaced than at any other point in recorded history, Nahlah Ayed speaks with guests about where the rights to leave, return and seek refuge came from, and what they could mean today. *This is part three in a five-part series examining human rights. It originally aired on Sept. 4, 2024.

Our right to privacy is included in the UN's Declaration of Human Rights, but is it really protected? The document, which is over 75 years old, reads: "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with [one's] privacy..." In part two of our five-part series, IDEAS explores the profound implications this right has on our lives, from digital surveillance to sexuality and autonomy. *Episode originally aired on Sept. 3, 2024.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was published more than 75 years ago. It's a different era now. IDEAS explores the rights promised in this document and what rights we need for the future in a five-part series. We start with an examination of what the right to "life, liberty, and security of person" means, and how it could transform our world. *This episode originally aired on Sept. 2, 2024.

The answer is art by artist Divya Mehra, a 2022 recipient of the Sobey Art Award. She explains the meaning behind her inflatable art installation and joins the four finalists to discuss and celebrate where new art is taking us. *This episode originally aired on Feb. 9, 2023.Guests in this episode:Azza El SiddiqueStanley FévrierKrystle SilverfoxTyshan WrightDivya Mehra

For years, people have made the journey to Algonquin Park to see the landscapes that inspired Tom Thomson's famous paintings. IDEAS producer Sean Foley was one of them, exploring the great Canadian artist's muse while also examining Indigenous artists' perspectives of the same landscapes that Thomson and the Group of Seven may have overlooked. *This is the second episode in a two-part exploration of the Canadian painter. It originally aired on Dec. 18, 2018.

Tom Thomson is one of the most mythologized Canadian painters of his time — and ours. Over 100 years ago, the artist died suddenly on Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park, when he was at the peak of his powers. IDEAS producer Sean Foley delves into what we think we know about Tom Thomson and examines the tales that have evolved over the past century. *This episode originally aired Nov. 9, 2018.Guests in this episode:Gregory Klages, historian and author of The Many Deaths of Tom Thomson: Separating Fact from Fiction.Sherrill Grace, Professor Emerita at the University of British Columbia and the author of Inventing Tom Thomson Ian Dejardin, art historian and the former executive director of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.Pete Telford, chairman of the Friends of Leith Church, Leith, Ontario.

The outrage over threats by the U.S. to become a 51st state indicates Canadian nationalism is very much alive. IDEAS shares this 1992 award-winning documentary, which includes music compositions inspired by Glenn Gould. Composer Christos Hatzis discusses the meaning and enduring relevance of The Idea of Canada, saying, "Canada allows you to be patriotic and not to be nationalist."Credits:Composer Christos HatzisProducer Steve WadhamsAudio engineers Laurence Stevenson and Rod Crocker.

"Canada can either now lose complete control — which it almost has, economically, spiritually and a few other things — or it can get itself together," said artist Joyce Wieland in 1971. 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.

During the Communist era in Bulgaria, anyone who opposed the government could be arrested, sent to the Gulag. For 20 years, Lilia Topouzova has been collecting the stories of those who survived. She recreated a Bulgarian room where her conversations with survivors can be heard, a space about the absence of memory and what that does to a people.

"We come from the sea. It's not a memory. It's a feeling. It's in our DNA," Joan Jonas told IDEAS producer Mary Lynk at her home in Nova Scotia. The arts icon, now 88, has been celebrated for her work since the late 1960s. She splits her time between a Soho loft in NYC, and the "magical landscape" of Cape Breton, where she can be by her muse: the ocean. In 2024, she received her crowning recognition in the U.S., when New York's Museum of Modern Art organized a major retrospective of her work. Part of Jonas' MoMA retrospective called Moving Off the Land II has been acquired by the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. The exhibit will tour across Canada this summer, beginning in Cape Breton.

Even in the name of love, we can justify hatred, even murder, of the other. But why do we hate others? Scholars have identified a list of 10 reasons why one group may hate another group. They also have suggestions on how to break the cycle of hate. Guests in this episode are scholars from the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR):Prerna Singh, professor of political science, Brown University, U.S.Victoria Esses, professor of psychology, Western University, London, Ontario Stephen Reicher, professor of social psychology, University of St. Andrews, Scotland

Fifty years ago, the movie Jaws put sharks on our radar in a very real way. It broke box office records and tapped into an underlying fear of sharks and the unknown lurking in the ocean. Turns out, sharks were already developing a villainous reputation before Jaws. In this documentary, producer Molly Segal explores the long history people have with the ocean, and our tendency across cultures and times to create 'sea monsters' out of the depths of the ocean. 

She’s one of Canada’s most decorated journalists, having won a Pulitzer Prize, a Peabody and a Columbia-Dupont Prize for her podcast series, Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s. Yet Connie Walker had been reluctant to feature stories about her family in her journalism. Until she realized her family's survival in residential schools embodies the defining reality for virtually all Indigenous Peoples in Canada. *This episode originally aired on Dec. 2, 2024.

Some experts are calling loneliness an epidemic in Canada and throughout much of the world. Social isolation is a public health risk with consequences for individuals, communities and for our social systems. A multi-disciplinary panel, hosted at the University of British Columbia, examine loneliness from perspectives of men's and women's health, interpersonal relations, climate change and public policy. Guests in this episode:Dr. Kiffer Card is an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Health Sciences. He was the moderator of the panel presentation, All the Lonely People: the Search for Belonging in an Uncertain World.Mandy Lee Catron is from the School of Creative Writing, at UBC.Dr. John Oliffe is a professor and Canada Research Chair in Men’s Health Promotion at the School of Nursing, at UBC.Dr. Carrie Jenkins is a professor in the Department of Philosophy at UBC.Dr. Marina Adshade is an assistant professor of teaching at the Vancouver School of Economics, at UBC.

Champion hurdler Perdita Felicien has climbed to the summits of international glory throughout her track career, and endured the excruciating lows of defeat. Those peak experiences inform the talk she gave at Crows Theatre in Toronto, in which she parses the comparison of sport to life, and life to sport. In her words: "It isn't that sport is life exactly. It's that it reveals life. It's the part of life where we play with purpose. Where effort is visible. Where character is tested. Where failure is not final, just part of the arc. It's where we try. Fully. Openly. Without guarantee."