Ideas

Latest Episodes:

The Poetry of Why: Chimwemwe Undi Mar 12, 2024

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A conversation with Winnipeg Poet Laureate Chimwemwe Undi about home, belonging, racism, living downtown, and about poetry as a vehicle for life’s big questions — as her first collection of poetry, Scientific Marvel, is set to be published.

Alanis Obomsawin: The Art of Listening Mar 08, 2024

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Indigenous filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin has witnessed nearly a century of change. At 91 years old she continues to produce documentaries featuring Indigenous stories and voices. The Abenaki artist delivered the 2023 Beatty Lecture at McGill University. *This episode originally aired on Nov. 7, 2023.

Swinging and Singing: The Violin Mar 07, 2024

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For musician and radio producer, David Schulman, the violin can swing and sing like nothing else. Schulman recently travelled to the north of Italy to try and discover the original trees from which Antonio Stradivari made his masterpieces. It’s a journey of surprise and delight. *This episode originally aired on Nov. 28, 2023.

The Way of the Trucker Mar 04, 2024

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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.

Herodotus: The Power and Peril of Story Mar 01, 2024

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Herodotus was committed to understanding the human causes of conflict and war. He gathered stories — some believable, others not — to show how different cultures understand themselves. Readings for this documentary by writer Michael Ondaatje. *This episode originally aired on Oct. 16, 2023.

A Life-giving Chord: The Power of Gospel Music Feb 28, 2024

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A century after the founding of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, the sounds of Black gospel — which from its very beginnings has been steeped in the idea of community — echo at last, from its classrooms. Documentary producer Alisa Siegel takes us into that room where Black gospel is helping to transform the way that students learn, create, and perform music.

Singing in Dark Times | Sandeep Banerjee Feb 22, 2024

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"In the dark times, will there also be singing?" Bertolt Brecht once asked. World literature scholar Sandeep Banerjee explores the power of art in times of war — and how ghost stories can help us imagine another world. This talk kicks off a new public lecture series called IDEAS at Crow’s Theatre.

From Page to Stage: Exploring sex and gender in Shakespeare's work Feb 20, 2024

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In the thorny thickets of love and desire, how do Shakespeare’s characters talk to each other? And what’s changed in 400 years? From the Stratford Festival, IDEAS explores the challenges around issues of sex and gender in staging Shakespeare’s plays.

What’s Up with The Birds? Feb 19, 2024

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Fears of technological overreach, environmental decline, and the violent rise of the irrational: our 21st-century anxieties were anticipated in an unlikely 20th-century horror metaphor. “The Birds” – a haunting 1953 short story by Daphne duMaurier, and the truly bizarre 1963 Alfred Hitchcock movie that it inspired. *This episode originally aired on Sept. 6, 2023.

Smart Cities, Technology and the Pursuit of Urban Utopias Feb 16, 2024

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Nothing seems to make a city politician’s eyes light up like the promise of the smart city. In his book, Dream States, journalist John Lorinc questions whether smart technologies live up to the hype and whether ultimately smart cities serve the interests of city dwellers or big tech companies. *This episode originally aired on Sept. 19, 2023.

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