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


    • Aug 28, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekdays NEW EPISODES
    • 53m AVG DURATION
    • 920 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)

    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.

    How to think for ourselves — is it even possible?

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2025 54:08


    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.

    A better world needs to be built on empathy: human rights scholar

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2025 54:08


    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.

    Making space for moments of joy in dark times

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 8, 2025 54:08


    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.

    Why is it so hard to embrace leisure time?

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2025 54:08


    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.

    Why philosophy needs to ditch class, and go to a pub

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2025 54:08


    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.

    A lesson in hope and why we need to slow down

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2025 54:08


    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.

    Making the case for what a university could and should be

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2025 54:08


    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.

    Why doesn't our healthcare include the well-being of doctors?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2025 54:08


    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.

    How poetry offers insight into the meaning of life

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2025 54:08


    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.

    How a novel saved the Inuktitut language from disappearing

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2025 54:08


    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.

    Decades on, David Suzuki sees the same problem: human-first mindset (via Front Burner)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2025 31:02


    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

    We have a moral responsibility to this planet: David Suzuki

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2025 54:08


    “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.

    Championing the quiet power of listening

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2025 54:08


    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.

    Autonomy is vital to MAID law and the right to die: ethicist

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2025 54:08


    Bioethicist Arthur Schafer has thought a lot about life and death. He has helped shape policy on medically assisted death (MAID) in Canada. The philosophy professor argues that an ideal end-of-life legislation would be respectful of individual choice and the wishes of individuals to die according to their own values. "The best ethical argument is that patient autonomy is a fundamental value," Schafer told IDEAS host Nahlah Ayed. He discusses the role of philosophy in addressing complex ethical dilemmas confronting individuals, and society as a whole.

    Meet the original 'Father of Economics' — it's not Adam Smith

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2025 54:08


    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.

    How anxiety over today's democracy is political

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2025 54:06


    English philosopher Thomas Hobbes believed that life would be "nasty, brutish and short" without a strong government. IDEAS explores how a new take on Hobbes that includes his writing on the topic of anxiety offers a surprising perspective on the recent American election and democracy. *This episode originally aired on Jan. 13, 2025.

    A lesson on how not to engage in polarized discussions

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2025 54:08


    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.

    Translating the powerful beauty of Canada into revered art

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2025 54:40


    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 missed. *This is the second episode in a two-part exploration of the Canadian painter. It originally aired on Dec. 18, 2018.

    The mysterious death of a great Canadian painter

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2025 54:39


    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.

    Why Canadian patriotism right now isn't blind nationalism

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2025 54:45


    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.

    Voices of a silenced history: inside Bulgaria's Gulag

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2025 54:08


    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.

    Arts icon Joan Jonas on why we are drawn to the ocean

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2025 54:08


    Joan Jonas, now 88, has been a celebrated artist since the late 1960s. But it wasn't until 2024 that she received her crowning recognition in the U.S., when New York's Museum of Modern Art organized a major retrospective of her work. The arts icon 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. As she tells IDEAS producer Mary Lynk, "We come from the sea. It's not a memory. It's a feeling. It's in our DNA."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.

    Why do people hate?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2025 54:07


    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

    The most famous French-Canadian novel you've never heard of

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2025 54:08


    Maria Chapdelaine: A Tale of French Canada, written by Louis Hémon in 1913, is one of the most widely read works of fiction ever written in French. Yet today, the book remains far less known in English Canada and the English-speaking world. It is the world's highest-selling French book, and has been translated into over 20 languages. The book has inspired four film versions, several plays, an opera, and even a pop song. Contributor Catherine Annau examines the many lives that Maria Chapdelaine has lived, and continues to live.

    How Jaws made us believe white sharks are real villains

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 54:08


    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.

    Journalist Connie Walker on uncovering her family's dark history

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2025 54:09


    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.

    How Latin translation made Western philosophers famous

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 19, 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.

    Inside Canada's loneliness epidemic

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2025 54:09


    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.

    Perdita Felicien on how to navigate life's biggest hurdles

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2025 54:09


    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."

    The making of an ‘authoritarian personality'

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2025 54:08


    A groundbreaking study conducted in the wake of the Second World War by a group of scholars rocked the academic world when it was published in 1950 — but fell out of favour. Now a new generation of scholars is reviving the lessons of The Authoritarian Personality to understand who is drawn in by fascist propaganda.

    Canadian universities as safe havens for scholars-in-exile

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2025 54:09


    There is a growing number of researchers who are 'forcibly displaced' worldwide. Thirty-four Canadian universities and colleges are currently hosting scholars who've left their jobs and homes to find safety. Scholars-in-exile from dozens of countries gathered at Carleton University in Ottawa to discuss ways to support free thinking and research whenever it is threatened.

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