Ideas from CBC Radio (Highlights)

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Ideas is all about ideas \x96 programs that explore everything from culture and the arts to science and technology to social issues.

CBC Radio


    • Oct 9, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekdays NEW EPISODES
    • 53m AVG DURATION
    • 951 EPISODES

    4.6 from 239 ratings Listeners of Ideas from CBC Radio (Highlights) that love the show mention: available on podcast, hardball, thought provoking show, cbc, canada, radiolab, nothing like, robert, program, subject matter, ideas, public, intelligent, thoughtful, kind, one of the best, insightful, always, thanks, amazing.


    Ivy Insights

    The Ideas from CBC Radio (Highlights) podcast is an intellectually stimulating and thought-provoking show that covers a wide range of topics. It features insightful panel discussions, lectures, and original audio documentaries that explore various subjects in depth. The podcast is a treasure trove of knowledge, providing listeners with a new lens through which to view the world.

    One of the best aspects of this podcast is the high quality of its content. Each episode presents well-researched and well-presented information, often featuring interviews with experts in their respective fields. The topics covered are diverse and range from historical events to philosophical ideas to social issues. The episodes are carefully crafted to engage listeners and provide them with a deep understanding of the subject matter.

    Another positive aspect of this podcast is its ability to bring complex ideas to life through compelling narratives. The team behind The Ideas does an excellent job of integrating rich reflections on various themes with real-life stories. This approach makes the content more relatable and accessible, allowing listeners to connect with the issues being discussed on a personal level.

    However, one possible downside of this podcast is that it may not appeal to everyone. Some episodes cover niche subjects that may not be of interest to all listeners. Additionally, the depth at which certain topics are explored may require a developed attention span, which could be challenging for those accustomed to more fast-paced or entertainment-focused podcasts.

    In conclusion, The Ideas from CBC Radio (Highlights) podcast is a valuable resource for intellectual enrichment and exploration. It provides fascinating and nuanced conversations that go beyond knee-jerk reactions and hot takes prevalent in today's media landscape. While it may not cater to every listener's taste, for those seeking intelligent and thought-provoking content, this podcast is an absolute gem.



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    Latest episodes from Ideas from CBC Radio (Highlights)

    How absurdist theatre is an act of resistance

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 9, 2025 54:09


    Theatre of the Absurd was born in the postwar era as a recoil against the violent fetish that totalitarian regimes had for “order.” For 75 years, absurdist playwright Eugène Ionesco's plays have been running continuously in Paris. IDEAS travels to Paris, where a logic professor can conclude confidently that a dog is in fact a cat.

    How a translation movement made Western philosophers famous

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2025 54:08


    From Greek to Arabic and then to Latin, translators in 8th-century Baghdad eventually brought to Europe the works of Plato, Aristotle, Galen, and others who became central pillars of Western thought. IDEAS explores what is known as the Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement. *This episode originally aired on June 19, 2025.Fill out our listener survey here. We appreciate your input!

    Can we have new pipelines and curb climate change, too?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 7, 2025 54:09


    For the past decade, Canadians have been split 50/50 on new pipelines — that has changed. Two recent opinion polls found three quarters of eligible voters in Canada want at least one new pipeline built to export more fossil fuels. Yet, 70 per cent of people consider climate change a serious threat. IDEAS producer Tom Howell explores the incompatibilities and future scenarios.Fill out our listener survey here. We appreciate your input!

    Why progressives may not be as 'woke' as they think

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2025 54:09


    Socialist and journalist Musa al-Gharbi identifies himself as part of an elite class of progressives that he calls: "symbolic capitalists" -- knowledge workers with elevated salaries and cultural status like professors, broadcasters, and bankers. He says it's the top 20 per cent, not the notorious one per cent, who pose a substantial impediment to progress.Fill out our listener survey here. We appreciate your input!

    Why a proposed 'new capitalism' is so contested

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2025 54:08


    It's loathed and celebrated, by both the left and right. It's called The Great Reset. To conspiracy theorists, it's a plot by global elites at the World Economic Forum to control our lives. To its supporters, it represents a gentler, more humane form of capitalism. IDEAS contributor Ira Basen lays out the origins, its aims and its potential, for both good and ill. *This episode originally aired on May 23, 2023.

    How hashish may have helped a philosopher envision our future

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 2, 2025 54:08


    What happens when original artworks become endless copies? German philosopher Walter Benjamin called it the death of "aura," and his concept predicted our digital age. He describes "aura" as the energy that encases an object. In the '20s, Benjamin experimented with hashish under medical supervision, and his thinking while on drugs evolved to a theory of art history.

    What life was like for Luke Galati in a psychiatric ward

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2025 54:08


    Writer and filmmaker Luke Galati shares what it is like living with bipolar I disorder and staying in a psychiatric ward — an experience he says feels like being in a fish bowl. While being hospitalized meant he lost his sense of freedom and control, he never lost hope. Luke's documentary is both a personal essay and a series of conversations with health-care professionals and others who have bipolar disorder. *This episode originally aired on Feb. 11, 2025.Fill out our listener survey here. We appreciate your input!

    How Inuk activist Aaju Peter learned to 'decolonize' her mind

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2025 54:08


    Aaju Peter was 11 years old when she was taken from her Inuk community in Greenland and sent away to learn the ways of the West. She lost her language and culture. The activist, lawyer, designer, musician, filmmaker, and prolific teacher takes IDEAS host Nahlah Ayed on a tour of Iqaluit and into a journey to decolonization that continues still. *This episode originally aired on January 29, 2025.

    Can the fierce wars of today end in peace?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2025 54:09


    If intractable conflicts in the 90s could end in peace agreements, is there hope for the ongoing wars in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and beyond? What can we learn from the successes and failures of the past about how to create a more peaceful world? And what solutions are obstructed by lack of will? Nahlah Ayed and guests explore what peacemaking and rebuilding mean for us today, and try to chart a course for the future. *This is the last episode in our five-part series, Inventing Peace. +

    Why rhythm is essential to how we walk, talk and love

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 26, 2025 54:01


    Rhythm is more than a fundamental feature of music. It's what makes us human. Rhythm begins in the womb and the heartbeat. And neuroscience research reveals that for the rest of our lives, rhythm will continue to have a core impact on our innermost selves: how we learn to walk, read and even bond with others. Rhythm — as one researcher puts it — is life. *This episode originally aired on April 30, 2020.

    The natural — and unnatural — history of air on Earth

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2025 54:08


    Air is one of the most essential elements for human life. Yet even though we depend on air, we humans are dramatically changing the atmosphere — making the air unbearably hot in some parts of the world, unbreathable in the most polluted parts of the world, and pushing the climate toward tipping points. As humans who caused this, we have to adapt to ways we've altered our air.

    Why the world feels like a shipwreck

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 24, 2025 54:08


    For thousands of years, Shipwrecks have been a mainstay trope of literature and storytelling. IDEAS dives into the history of shipwreck tales to discover the allure of maritime disaster, why they resonate today, and why life so often feels like it's heading for the rocks.

    Can a conference change our troubled world?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2025 54:08


    As the United Nations turns 80, calls for reform are louder than ever. Against the backdrop of multiple global crises, strongman diplomacy and rising threats from climate change to AI, a growing campaign is calling on the UN to revisit the outdated charter established in 1945 and work on reinventing the organization. "We need to start rethinking what kind of institution we would like to establish to make sure the 21st century does not become as violent as the 20th century," says Tim Murithi, head of the Peacebuilding Interventions Program at the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation.

    Was justice served by South Africa's peace accord?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 22, 2025 54:08


    The apartheid era in South Africa ended in 1991 with the National Peace Accords. The peace agreement also paved the way for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Yet TRC head Desmond Tutu considered the process “scandalously unfinished.” Lawyer Prakash Diar agrees: "You don't undo centuries of colonization just like that.”Diar and writer Kagiso Lesego Molope were young activists in apartheid-era South Africa. They saw the toll that oppression and state violence took: on their families, communities, and themselves. In our fourth episode of our series Inventing Peace, they consider the history of the history of this pivotal peace agreement and what other countries might learn.

    Can a trucker's life entice young people to take the wheel?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2025 54:08


    An Ontario trucking union predicts a shortage of 30,000 truckers in Canada as old hands retire faster than new ones take on the job. IDEAS producer Tom Howell visits a trucking school in northern Ontario, where recruits consider their options, and the road ahead. *This episode originally aired on March 4, 2024.

    Listen to the sound of metal in musical form by 8 composers

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2025 54:07


    Eight composers, five instruments, and a world of metal. IDEAS explores a project by the University of British Columbia called The Heavy Metal Suite that conveys the challenges and opportunities of the mining industry, through music. Each composer draws inspiration from their country's mineral resources in their original pieces. *This episode originally aired on May 28, 2024.

    Without justice, can unbearable grief subside?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 17, 2025 54:07


    In June 1985, Air India Flight 182 exploded off the coast of Ireland. It's considered the worst terror attack in Canadian history. Sujata Berry's 16-year-old brother, Sharad was on that flight. The shock of his horrific death morphed into an unshakeable grief. The family's sorrow was augmented with the lack of justice for victims' families — a flawed investigation, evidence lost and what Sujata says was "an unsatisfactory verdict." It's taken Sujata 40 years to chip away at her grief and try to understand what happened to her and her family. She explores love, loss and the grief that binds them in her documentary, All that Remains.

    Why smell — our invisible superpower — deserves more acclaim

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 16, 2025 54:08


    Smell this yogurt, is it still good? Our sense of smell has the ability to keep us healthy and safe. In fact in some cases, our ability to detect "off" foods using our sense of smell can be superior to dogs and other animals. Smell is often undervalued and yet capable of inspiring profound admiration if we stop turning our noses at it. Producer Annie Bender examines what we lose when we take our powerful — but often misunderstood — sense of smell for granted. *This episode originally aired on June 3, 2024.

    How leaders in the former Yugoslavia forged peace in 1995

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 15, 2025 54:08


    For almost four years, the Bosnian War in the former Yugoslavia was characterized by ethnic hatreds, atrocities, and a refugee crisis. So when leaders of the warring factions were sequestered in an American air base and forced to come up with the 1995 peace agreement known as the Dayton Accord, the world was relieved. But is a cessation of violence the same as real peace? *This episode is the third in a five-part series called Inventing Peace.

    How our education system is far from its original ideals

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2025 54:08


    Acclaimed author Gabor Maté joins the conversation in part two of our series exploring Wilhelm von Humboldt's public education system. Maté is a former English teacher. In this episode we ask: Is Humboldt's 200-year-old system equipped to meet the challenging demands of the 21st century? And does it still reflect his ideals, especially at the university level? *This episode concludes our two-part series. It originally aired on April 16, 2024.

    Meet Alex Neve, the 2025 CBC Massey Lecturer

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2025 19:45


    Ahead of the Massey tour, Alex Neve sits down with Nahlah Ayed to talk about his lectures, Universal: Renewing Human Rights in a Fractured World. This year, the lectures are coming to: Toronto, Sept. 19Vancouver, Sept. 25Edmonton, Oct. 1Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Oct. 15Ottawa, Oct. 30Tickets are available now for the 2025 CBC Massey Lectures — and selling fast! For information on how to get tickets, go to cbc.ca/masseys.

    toronto lecturer massey fractured world alex neve nahlah ayed cbc massey lectures
    Public education was built on this key concept — now it's gone

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2025 54:06


    Two hundred years ago, Wilhelm von Humboldt created the education system as we know it today. At the heart of his philosophy of education was the concept of Bildung — reaching one's inner potential. Yet over the years, as his public education system was adopted, Bildung may well have been the critical piece left out. *This episode is part one of two-part series. It originally aired on April 15, 2024.

    How this 19th-century Indian feminist defied colonial customs

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2025 54:08


    In the 19th-century, feminist and scholar Pandita Ramabai travelled America delivering lectures on how the caste system and patriarchy shaped the trajectory of women's lives. When she came back to India, she explained America's customs around gender and race relations, and their experiment with democracy. IDEAS explores her rich life and legacy.Guests in this episode:Radha Vatsal is the author of No. 10 Doyers Street (March 2025), as well as the author of the Kitty Weeks mystery novels. Born and raised in Mumbai, India, she earned her Ph.D. in Film History from Duke University and has worked as a film curator, political speechwriter, and freelance journalist.Tarini Bhamburkar is a research affiliate at the University of Bristol. Her research explores cross-racial networks and international connections built by British and Indian women's feminist periodical press between 1880 and 1910, which sowed the seeds of the transnational Suffrage movement of the early 20th century. Sandeep Banerjee is an associate professor of English at McGill University and a scholar of Global Anglophone and World literature, with a focus on the literary and cultural worlds of colonial and postcolonial South Asia. Readings by Aparita Bhandari and Pete Morey.

    Why the yellow brick road to Oz continues to captivate us

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2025 54:08


    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was an instant bestseller in 1900. Thirty-nine more official Oz books followed, as well as other derivative works like Broadway musicals, films, comic books, cartoons, sitcom parodies and more. IDEAS follows the proverbial yellow brick road to uncover how this seemingly simple story of friendship, self reliance and longing for home continues to speak to us, 125 years after it was published.

    Lessons from last century's failed Mideast peace deal

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 8, 2025 54:08


    When Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat met in Washington to sign the first Oslo Accords in 1993, it was supposed to usher in a new era of peace and lay the groundwork for a more stable Middle East. Three decades later, the Accords are primarily remembered as a failure. Nahlah Ayed and guests discuss what went wrong, and what lessons the Oslo Accords hold for the future.

    How the principles of St. Augustine guide the Catholic Church

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2025 54:08


    Pope Leo XIV has been deeply influenced by St. Augustine, and so, the fourth century titan of Western thought has re-entered the global conversation. IDEAS Producer Seán Foley reaches out to Canadian scholars who have read St. Augustine closely to determine what it is about how Augustine's thought and character might shape the Catholic Church in these times.

    Are we 'born obsolete'? How technology makes us feel ashamed

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2025 54:09


    Günther Anders predicted the exact technological crises we're facing today… but 70 years ago. The uncanny relevance of Anders' thoughts about technology — from the atomic bomb to artificial intelligence — and how it makes us feel what he called “Promethean Shame."

    What does it mean for a river to be ‘alive'?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 3, 2025 58:21


    Renowned natural history writer Robert Macfarlane traveled to Ecuador, India and Quebec, pondering the question of whether rivers are living beings -- the premise behind much of the movement to legally recognize the rights of nature. He found that the answer to that question is more complicated and wondrous -- and more life-altering and world-changing -- than he could have imagined.

    What Chinese Science Fiction Has to Tell Us

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2025 54:09


    With vengeful alien civilizations, virtual realities and hologram wives, Chinese science fiction is in its heyday — not just in China but around the globe. Renowned author Cixin Liu is at the forefront of the movement. His book, The Three-Body Problem is a Netflix's series. IDEAS explores what we can learn about China through it's science fiction.

    # 1: What it took to end a 30-year conflict in Northern Ireland

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 1, 2025 54:08


    The process of making peace is often imperfect, and can shape the future in both positive and destructive ways. In a five-part series called Inventing Peace, Nahlah Ayed asks panelists to reflect on one pivotal 20th century effort to make peace, and its relevance for our own time. In this first episode, the “constructive ambiguity” of Northern Ireland's Good Friday Agreement, signed in 1998.

    The threat next door: How NATO's newest members are preparing to defend against Russia (via The House)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 1, 2025 47:14


    NATO's secretary general has warned Russia could launch an attack on the alliance within the next five years. Talk to NATO's two newest members, Finland and Sweden, and they'll tell you preparation involves a lot more than just boosting military spending. As Canada seeks to strengthen ties with both countries, what can we learn from our newest NATO allies about preparing for the worst? Supported by the R. James Travers Foreign Corresponding Fellowship, CBC's The House producer Emma Godmere travelled to the two Nordic countries to visit bomb shelters, the Russian border and military training grounds north of the Arctic Circle to see and hear how Finns and Swedes are steeling themselves for whatever the future may bring.Every Saturday, listen to The House for in-depth explorations of the biggest issues facing Canada. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts, and here: https://link.mgln.ai/IdeasxTTND

    Libraries are fighting for their freedom — and our democracy

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2025 54:08


    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.

    Why PEI cares more than any other province about voting

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2025 54:08


    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.

    Has the housing crisis shaken your trust in democracy?

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 26, 2025 54:08


    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.

    #5: What makes a great conversation?

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2025 54:08


    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.

    # 4: What it means to truly listen

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2025 54:08


    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 Massey Lectures originally aired in November of 2024.

    #3: How a dispute can lead to unity

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 20, 2025 54:08


    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 Massey Lectures originally aired in November of 2024.

    #2: What we can learn from our conversations with strangers

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2025 54:07


    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 Massey Lectures originally aired in November of 2024.

    #1: Why we need to have a conversation about conversations

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 18, 2025 54:08


    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 Massey Lectures originally aired in November of 2024.

    What a cultural genocide took from Indigenous people in Canada

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2025 54:08


    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.

    How inequality is undermining liberal democracy

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2025 54:08


    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.

    Why the power of technology relies on an adaptive mindset

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 13, 2025 54:08


    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.

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