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PODCAST

Ideas

IDEAS is a place for people who like to think. If you value deep conversation and unexpectedreveals, 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 immersive documentaries and fascinating interviews with some of the most consequential thinkers of our time.With an award-winning team, our podcast has proud roots in its 60-year history with CBC Radio, exploring the IDEAS

society & culture

All Episodes

00:19:45

Meet Alex Neve, the 2025 CBC Massey Lecturer

Ideas ·

2025/09/11

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 tocbc.ca/masseys.

en-ca

00:54:06

Public education was built on this key concept — now...

Ideas ·

2025/09/11

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.

en-ca

00:54:08

How this 19th-century Indian feminist defied colonial...

Ideas ·

2025/09/10

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

en-ca

00:54:08

Why there's no place like Oz

Ideas ·

2025/09/09

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was an instant bestseller in 1900. It's still popular today, with a sequel to the movie Wicked coming out this fall. For 125 years, there have been an abundance of derivative works of Oz, from Broadway musicals, films, comic books, 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.

en-ca

00:54:08

Lessons from last century’s failed Mideast peace deal

Ideas ·

2025/09/08

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.

en-ca

00:54:08

How the principles of St. Augustine guide the...

Ideas ·

2025/09/06

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.

en-ca

00:54:09

Are we ‘born obsolete’? How our tech make us feel...

Ideas ·

2025/09/04

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”.

en-ca

00:58:21

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

Ideas ·

2025/09/03

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.

en-ca

00:54:09

What Chinese Science Fiction Has to Tell Us

Ideas ·

2025/09/02

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.

en-ca

00:54:08

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

Ideas ·

2025/09/01

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.

en-ca

00:47:14

The threat next door: How NATO’s newest members are...

Ideas ·

2025/09/01

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

en-ca

00:54:08

Libraries are fighting for their freedom — and our...

Ideas ·

2025/08/28

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

en-ca

00:54:08

Why PEI cares more than any other province about voting

Ideas ·

2025/08/27

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

en-ca

00:54:08

Has the housing crisis shaken your trust in democracy?

Ideas ·

2025/08/26

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.

en-ca

00:54:08

#5: What makes a great conversation?

Ideas ·

2025/08/22

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.

en-ca

00:54:08

# 4: What it means to truly listen

Ideas ·

2025/08/21

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.

en-ca

00:54:08

#3: How a dispute can lead to unity

Ideas ·

2025/08/20

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.

en-ca

00:54:07

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

Ideas ·

2025/08/19

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.

en-ca

00:54:08

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

Ideas ·

2025/08/18

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.

en-ca

00:54:08

What a cultural genocide took from Indigenous people...

Ideas ·

2025/08/15

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.

en-ca

532 results

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