Ideas

Latest Episodes:

How Indigenous Americans discovered Europe Oct 28, 2025

Show notes

Indigenous Americans on European soil can be found throughout historical records, but historian Caroline Dodds Pennock says they have largely been ignored. In her book, On Savage Shores, she traces the history of Indigenous lives in Europe during the 1500s. The author told IDEAS host Nahlah Ayed about her research collecting evidence of the widespread Indigenous presence in Portugal, Spain, France, and England in the 100 years before Britain attempted to establish its first North American colony. *This episode originally aired on April 5, 2023.

We'd love to hear from you. Fill out our listener survey here.

33 years of the campus free speech controversy Oct 27, 2025

Show notes

In the early 1990s, “woke” was "politically correct," "DEI" was known as "affirmative action,” and the term “cancel culture” had yet to be coined. The language was different, but the controversies of today were just beginning. In a 1992 episode of IDEAS, journalist Linda Frum took on the issue of free speech on campus.

With notable guests like Dinesh D’Souza and Alan Borovoy, the episode tackled the issue of speech codes, tokenization, victimhood, and a culture of victimhood on Canadian campuses. We revisit this documentary, to see what’s changed, what’s the same, and whether the pendulum is swinging again.

We'd love your feedback. Please fill out our listener survey.

Can you have compassion for someone you never agree with? Oct 24, 2025

Show notes

Ask yourself: can you? It is a question that George Eliot asks over and over through her characters in Middlemarch, a 19th-century novel that speaks to our own fractious age. Eliot highlights how important it is to see the world from the point of view of others — even characters we don’t like. *This is second episode in our two-part series. It originally aired on April 7, 2002.

We'd love to hear from you! Complete ourlistener survey here.

George Eliot's invaluable life lessons on confronting reality Oct 23, 2025

Show notes

Virginia Woolf called George Eliot's novel, Middlemarch “one of the few English books written for grownups.” It’s a book full of characters asking: is it a good thing to live a life of duty, or is it ridiculous? Even after over 150 years since the book was published, it provides up-to-date lessons in how to live a modern life. *This is part one or two-part series. It originally aired on April 6, 2022.

We'd love to hear from you! Complete ourlistener survey here.

This Italian painter was a feminist before the word existed Oct 17, 2025

Show notes

*Please note that this episode features descriptions of a sexual assault that some listeners may find disturbing.* Seventeen century artist Artemisia Gentileschi upended traditional depictions of women in her paintings by creating gutsy, strong female figures. With her paintbrush as in her life, she fought gender inequality and helped to reimagine womanhood and what it could mean to be a female artist. *This episode originally aired on May 24, 2022.

Fill out our listener survey here. We appreciate your input!

New to IDEAS? Start here Apr 17, 2025

Show notes

IDEAS is a place for people who like to think. We value curiosity and deep conversation. And we work hard to bring you the ideas that shape and re-shape our world. No topic is off-limits. New episodes drop Monday through Friday at 5 pm ET.

How to Flourish in a Broken World Nov 12, 2024

Show notes

The world is full of problems — our broken healthcare, out-of-reach housing, a democracy in shambles and a dying planet. Is it actually possible to fix this mess? IDEAS hears from people working to fix our most intractable problems at a time when it can feel easier to just give up. *This episode originally aired on Sept. 21, 2023.

Pt 2: Acts of Remembrance: Canadian Veterans Share Postwar Experiences Nov 11, 2024

Show notes

Canada’s veterans have a conflicted relationship with Remembrance Day, an idea that may be shifting as older war vets leave us. In a two-part series, IDEAS continues exploring postwar experiences from The Canadian War Museum’s oral history project called In Their Own Voices. *This is part two of a two-part series.

Pt 1: What Came After: Canadian Veterans Share Postwar Experiences Nov 08, 2024

Show notes

Even when wars end, they go on — transforming the people who fought them, their families, and even society. More than 200 veterans were interviewed for a project by the Canadian War Museum called In Their Own Voices. The initiative explores the profound changes that come after veterans return home. *This is part one of a two-part series.

Massey at 60: The Legacy of Doris Lessing and the 'Prisons We Choose to Live Inside' Nov 07, 2024

Show notes

Doris Lessing addressed Canadian audiences with her CBC Massey Lectures in 1985, warning warn us against groupthink and what she called the intellectual “prisons we choose to live inside." Now, a response from the present day: Professor Miglena Todorova reflects on Lessing’s message and puts it into the context of today’s politics.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected