Listen to Ideas online

Homo (Sapiens) Neanderthalensis - Part One

Mon, Dec 1 Listen

More than 150 years after the first Neanderthal was discovered, we still can't agree on whether they were a separate species. Scientists excavate caves, chip flint to make stone tools, and use the very latest DNA sequencing techniques to try to understand them. IDEAS producer Dave Redel digs into the mysteries of the Neanderthals and discovers that knowing them is really about knowing ourselves.

The Enright Files

Mon, Nov 24 Listen

On the eve of the U.S. Presidential election, Michael Enright, host of The Sunday Edition, revisits conversations with Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman and Former US Secretary of the Treasury Robert Reich about the economy, the election and the future.

Wachtel on the Arts - Eric Fischl

Mon, Nov 17 Listen

Eric Fischl is one of America’s most celebrated and accomplished artists today. He’s also one of its most controversial. Eleanor Wachtel, arts journalist and host of Writers & Company talks to Eric Fischl about growing up in a “safe” Long Island suburb, his path to becoming an artist, and his commitment to the human body.

Chasing a Mirage

Mon, Nov 10 Listen

Tarek Fatah is a Canadian Muslim born in Pakistan. He argues that Islam has been hijacked by radicals, who falsely invoke the Quran and the Prophet Mohammad for their own purposes. He believes an Islamic state is a tragic illusion.

Stories of the Southesk Collection

Mon, Nov 3 Listen

In 1859 an eccentric Scottish nobleman toured Rupert's Land. Edmonton writer Paula Simons explores how the souvenirs he collected provide fresh understanding of the complex and vibrant culture of what later became Western Canada.

The Capture of Mary March

Mon, Oct 27 Listen

In March 1819, a Beothuk woman named Demasduit was kidnapped and taken from her tribe on frozen Red Indian Lake in central Newfoundland. She watched as the white men shot her husband, Chief Nonosabasut. They called her "Mary March," in reference to the date of her capture. Less than two years later, she was dead. Within a decade, the entire tribe was extinct. IDEAS host Paul Kennedy examines what actually happened.

Science at the Summit

Mon, Oct 20 Listen

Three superstars from the world of medical research – each the recipient of the $5 million Summit Award for Excellence – discuss the nature of scientific investigation, where and how innovative ideas evolve, and how to get serious research properly funded. A public forum moderated by Dr. David Naylor, president of the University of Toronto, and recorded at the MaRS Discovery District.

Who Owns Ideas?

Mon, Oct 13 Listen

When you download music or text from the web, you may be innocently breaking the law. Jim Lebans, a producer with CBC Radio’s Quirks and Quarks, looks at the tangled world of intellectual property and how the digital age is challenging ideas about who owns our culture.

Walking in Space

Mon, Oct 6 Listen

During Shuttle Mission STS118, Canadian astronaut Dave Williams walked in space for nearly nineteen hours. We walk there with him, as Dr. Joe MacInnis accompanies Williams (and all the other astronauts on that mission) in a voyage that very few will ever take.

The Suspect Society - Part Three

Mon, Sep 29 Listen

The Surveillance Society. The Age of Paranoid Politics. These terms, and many others, have been used to describe how the political ground has been shifting under us, particularly since 9/11. Terrorism and national security have become obsessive anxieties. A world-wide initiative has developed that combines a growing machinery of surveillance, assaults on civil liberties and increasing censorship. We are living in what IDEAS producer Mary O’Connell calls “the suspect society.”

The Suspect Society - Part Two

Mon, Sep 22 Listen

The Surveillance Society. The Age of Paranoid Politics. These terms, and many others, have been used to describe how the political ground has been shifting under us, particularly since 9/11. Terrorism and national security have become obsessive anxieties. A world-wide initiative has developed that combines a growing machinery of surveillance, assaults on civil liberties and increasing censorship. We are living in what IDEAS producer Mary O’Connell calls “the suspect society.”

The Suspect Society - Part One

Mon, Sep 15 Listen

The Surveillance Society. The New Authoritarianism. The Age of Paranoid Politics. These terms, and many others, have been used to describe how the political ground has been shifting under us, particularly since 9/11. Terrorism and national security have become obsessive anxieties. Fear and suspicion have become the order of the day. We are living in what IDEAS producer Mary O’Connell calls “the suspect society.”

The Stillborn God

Mon, Sep 8 Listen

Religious passions are stirring up politics around the globe. The West has learned to separate religion from politics. But Islam has another political theology—one that places God at the center. Historian Mark Lilla surveys this intellectual landscape.

The Enright Files - Arguments About Israel

Mon, Sep 1 Listen

Michael Enright, host of The Sunday Edition, in conversation with with Ruth Wisse and David Shulman about the past, present and future of Israel.

Are We Losing the Arctic?

Mon, Aug 25 Listen

The threats posed by climate change, the resource potential of the Arctic, and new challenges to Canadian sovereignty have re-invigorated debate about the future of the north. In a talk recorded at St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Ken Coates discusses the contradictory influences at work in this important but little understood part of Canada.

The Godfather of Canlit - Part Two

Mon, Aug 18 Listen

From the start of his career at the CBC in 1948, Robert Weaver – radio producer, editor and anthologist – committed himself to discovering and broadcasting the work of new Canadian writers, in programs such as Anthology and CBC Wednesday Night. Montreal writer Elaine Kalman Naves presents an intimate portrait of this shy man, who wore oversized glasses, smoked a pipe and influenced the course of Canadian literature for half a century.

The Godfather of Canlit - Part One

Mon, Aug 11 Listen

From the start of his career at the CBC in 1948, Robert Weaver – radio producer, editor and anthologist – committed himself to discovering and broadcasting the work of new Canadian writers, in programs such as Anthology and CBC Wednesday Night. Montreal writer Elaine Kalman Naves presents an intimate portrait of this shy man, who wore oversized glasses, smoked a pipe and influenced the course of Canadian literature for half a century.

Wachtel on the Arts - The Beijing Building Boom

Mon, Aug 4 Listen

Eleanor Wachtel returns from a trip to Beijing, where she witnessed the biggest contemporary building boom in the world. In the lead up to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, Beijing is awash in construction cranes, as Chinese and foreign architects prepare the city for the influx of athletes and tourists. Architect Yung Ho Chang tells us what he thinks of foreign "starchitects" creating flashy buildings in China in the run-up to the Olympics.

The Ideas of Joseph Martin

Mon, Jul 28 Listen

From his humble origins on a small family farm in western Canada, to his appointment as the Dean of Medicine at Harvard University, Dr. Joseph Martin has shown consistent commitment to service. The winner of the 2006 Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research talks with Paul Kennedy.

Living on Oxford Time

Mon, Jul 21 Listen

The guidebooks say that "time stands still" among the dreaming spires of Oxford - and modern physics seems to agree. Journalist Dan Falk meets with three brilliant Oxford scientists - Roger Penrose, David Deutsch, and Julian Barbour - and searches for insight into a most peculiar dimension.

The Three Lives of Multiculturalism

Mon, Jul 14 Listen

Since its adoption in 1971, multiculturalism policy in Canada has encouraged the self-organization and representation of ethno-cultural minorities. But this has changed over time, as issues of race and religion have emerged. In the 2008 UBC-Laurier Institution Multicultural Lecture, Will Kymlicka, Canada Research Chair in Philosophy at Queen’s University, explores how multiculturalism has evolved.

The Trail of Tears - Part Two

Mon, Jul 7 Listen

In 1838, the Cherokee of the American southeast were forced out of their farms and towns and relocated eight hundred miles to the west, in Indian Territory. A caravan of about 16,000 people set off across the rough roads and forests of the Midwest. In the snows of winter, many died. The journey became known as The Trail of Tears. Broadcaster Philip Coulter retraces the trail, asking questions about how the past shapes our present, and what it means to be a nation.

The Trail of Tears - Part One

Mon, Jun 30 Listen

In 1838, the Cherokee of the American southeast were forced out of their farms and towns and relocated eight hundred miles to the west, in Indian Territory. A caravan of about 16,000 people set off across the rough roads and forests of the Midwest. In the snows of winter, many died. The journey became known as The Trail of Tears. Broadcaster Philip Coulter retraces the trail, asking questions about how the past shapes our present, and what it means to be a nation.

Wachtel on the Arts: Alanis Obomsawin

Mon, Jun 23 Listen

Eleanor Wachtel, arts journalist and host of Writers & Company, talks to Alanis Obomsawin, one of Canada’s most accomplished documentary filmmakers. As an Abenaki woman, Alanis Obomsawin has dedicated her life to educating all Canadians about First Nations cultures, traditions and histories.

John Evans: Getting to MaRS

Mon, Jun 16 Listen

Innovation is the theme of the career of Dr. John Evans. Winner of the 2007 Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research, Dr. Evans talks with IDEAS host Paul Kennedy about creating the controversial McMaster University Medical School, and building the revolutionary Medical and Related Sciences (MaRS) discovery district in downtown Toronto.

The Dark End of the Spectrum - Part Two

Mon, Jun 9 Listen

First seen as a medical oddity, autism has a fascinating and troubling story. Bernice Landry takes us from the heyday of psychoanalysis, to the blame-the-mother era, the rise of the activist parent, and the decoding of the dark secrets of our genes. For Rain Man it was numbers; for Darius McCollum, it was the New York City subway. Meet the man whose compulsion to steal trains had cost him years in jail long before he ever heard about autism. Conclusion.

The Dark End of the Spectrum - Part One

Mon, Jun 2 Listen

First seen as a medical oddity, autism has a fascinating and troubling story. Bernice Landry takes us from the heyday of psychoanalysis, to the blame-the-mother era, the rise of the activist parent, and the decoding of the dark secrets of our genes. For Rain Man it was numbers; for Darius McCollum, it was the New York City subway. Meet the man whose compulsion to steal trains had cost him years in jail long before he ever heard about autism.

Blue Metropolis

Mon, May 26 Listen

IDEAS host Paul Kennedy reports from the 2008 Blue Metropolis Festival in Montreal. He talks to Israeli writer and film-maker Etgar Keret, who writes in Hebrew but has been translated around the world, and recently won two major awards at Cannes.

The Hydrogen Debate

Mon, May 19 Listen

Energy is not just a fuel. It’s an entire system that links our civilization together, says David Sanborn Scott, a hydrogen energy expert. Energy is like a currency: it can be used like money for different purposes. Throughout history, new energy sources and systems have replaced old ones. Understanding how this works is essential to combating catastrophic climate change. A debate between David Scott and Norm Rubin of Energy Probe.

Losing Place

Mon, May 12 Listen

Having a home defines normality. But what does that mean when you have no home? A Calgary community seminar explores what homelessness says about whom we think belongs in society. Co-sponsored by IDEAS and the Calgary Institute of the Humanities at the University of Calgary.

Ideas (Science-Technology)