Ideas

Latest Episodes:

How philosophy plays a vital role in Canada's biggest ethical debates Jul 11, 2024

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Arthur Schafer taught ethics to medical students in 1972. His 50-year career put the philosopher at the heart of major ethical debates like MAID. Schafer discusses the role of philosophers in addressing the increasingly complex ethical dilemmas confronting individuals and society as a whole. *This episode originally aired on May 16, 2024.

The ordinary-extraordinary dimensions of Black life: Christina Sharpe Jul 10, 2024

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Christina Sharpe's award-winning book, Ordinary Notes, explores the complexity of Black life — blending memoir, history, cultural and political critique. She argues that the experience of Black people is misunderstood — but can be contested, and healed, by Black creativity, and community.

Turn the Other Cheek: the radical case for nonviolent resistance Jul 09, 2024

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The Sermon on the Mount is one of the greatest gifts of scripture to humanity; just ask Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Leo Tolstoy. But who's making any use of it today? In a time when an eye for an eye still seems to hold sway, IDEAS producer Sean Foley explores the logic of Christian non-violence, beginning with Jesus' counsel to 'turn the other cheek.' *This episode won a Wilbur Award for excellence in communicating spiritual themes. It originally aired on Oct. 14, 2022.

Astra Taylor's CBC Massey Lectures | #1: Cura’s Gift Jul 08, 2024

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Insecurity has become a "defining feature of our time," says CBC Massey lecturer Astra Taylor. The Winnipeg-born writer and filmmaker explores how rising inequality, declining mental health, the climate crisis, and the threat of authoritarianism originate from a social order built on insecurity. In her first lecture, she explores the existential insecurity we can’t escape — and the manufactured insecurity imposed on us from above.

Poet Ross Gay on the necessity of joy and delight Jul 05, 2024

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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.

Be Reasonable: Scholars Define Who Is and Who Is Not Jul 04, 2024

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From the interpersonal to the societal: what is reasonableness? And in a democracy, how reasonable can we reasonably demand that others be? Five Canadian thinkers try to define what “reasonableness” means and what it is to behave and think reasonably. *This episode originally aired on Feb. 6, 2024.

Massey at 60: Tanya Talaga on what Canada can learn from the stories of Indigenous peoples Jul 03, 2024

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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 is 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.

Flop Sweat: Why We Choke When It Matters Most Jul 02, 2024

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Championship soccer games provide some of the most dramatic moments in all of sports. And when the stakes are high, some people choke. IDEAS contributor Peter Brown looks at why our skills desert us when it matters most, and what can be done to avoid the dreaded performance “choke.”

The Never-Ending Fall of Rome Jul 01, 2024

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Rome fell, because of... divorce. Or was it immigration? Maybe moral decay. IDEAS producer Matthew Lazin-Ryder explores the political history of 'the fall of Rome' — a hole in time where politicians, activists, and intellectuals can dump any modern anxiety they wish.

International laws against genocide exist: so why don’t they work? Jun 28, 2024

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We have laws against genocide, defined as "the deliberate attempt to erase a national, ethnic, religious or racial group." But how do we make them stick? IDEAS host Nahlah Ayed speaks with scholar William Schabas about the history of the UN Genocide Convention and what needs to change.

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