IDEAS is a place for people who like to think. If you value deep conversation and unexpected reveals, 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 that make us who we are.
New episodes drop Monday through Friday at 5pm ET.
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The episode delves into how our digital landscape, marked by shrinking attention spans and a preference for convenience, is fundamentally changing the way we think. Experts discuss the physiological shift from deep reading to skimming on screens and how AI further encourages delegating cognitive effort, leading to a loss of critical thinking, creativity, and the joy of intellectual exploration. The conversation highlights the societal and individual imperative to reclaim practices that foster thoughtful engagement and independent judgment.
If AI continues to develop without appropriate guardrails, a worst-case scenario could lead to human extinction, warns the 'godfather of artificial intelligence ' Geoffrey Hinton. But the Nobel Prize winner has a solution: AI must foster 'maternal' instincts, empathy and kindness. Hinton tells host Nahlah Ayed that it's fairly inevitable AI will become smarter than humans, but if we could make it care more for us than it did about itself, good things could happen.
IDEAS producer Tom Howell recently sold his car and joined the ranks of winter cyclists in Montreal. He is not the only one who commutes on bike in North America’s snowiest metropolis. The city’s bike-sharing program operates year-round. The bicycle’s popularity as a winter vehicle is increasing. Nevertheless, winter bicycling remains a minority practice, often viewed as folly. Howell investigates whether there is indeed wisdom in it.
Under pressure, our nerves can take over. At job interviews, performing in front of an audience and it's definitely present in sports. But why do our skills desert us at such a crucial moment? And what can be done to avoid choking? Studies have shown that when people tell themselves they're excited rather than nervous, they perform better. This podcast explores more ways to avoid the choke and why it happens. *This episode originally aired on Nov. 23, 2022. Guests in this episode: Sian Beilock i...
Henry Brown earned the name "Henry Box Brown" in March of 1849. He hatched a risky plan and had himself shipped in a wooden crate, from Richmond to Philadelphia. But that’s less than half his story. In freedom, he uses his escape box as the basis for a subversive magic act that sees him tour the stages of the UK and Canada — his final home. Henry's remarkable story is a must-listen. *This episode originally aired on Feb. 3, 2025.
With vengeful alien civilizations and hologram wives, Chinese science fiction is in its heyday. One hot topic discussion is how the genre and culture view things as "inherently non-binary," says PhD student Zichuan Gan. Not just in the sense of gender but avoiding black and white categories. As in "humans or machines, west or east, Chinese science-fiction often shows that reality and life are more mixed and complicated." IDEAS explores what we can learn from China through it's science fiction. *...
Neither the legal system nor the Constitution can change the course of the United States’ descent into illiberalism, argues human rights and civil liberties lawyer Jameel Jaffer. Only the will of the people can — when ordinary citizens fight to uphold democracy with "civic courage."
Mudlarking is a hobby that's having a moment. The opportunity to take part in the painstaking, low-tech scrape through history draws thousands of people hoping to come face to face with the remnants of lives that came before them. But what can mudlarkers do that a trained archeologist cannot? This podcast takes you to the heart of London on the Southbank of the Thames River where there's mud, water — and possibility. Click here to see a collection of mudlarking finds....
For the first two billion years, the Earth didn't have oxygen. That's just one of the many fascinating details Peter Frankopan reveals in his book, Earth Transformed: An Untold History. The Oxford professor of global history takes us on a multi-million year tour, illustrating the breathtaking ways climate has shaped the Earth and human civilization. How the collapse of a sediment shelf 8,000 years ago isolated what's now Britain from Europe, and its potential influence on the Brexit vote in 2016...
More than a decade before Jackie Robinson became the first Black player to take the field in Major League Baseball, a ball team from a small Southwestern Ontario city was breaking colour barriers. They were called the Chatham Coloured All-Stars — the first all-Black team to win the Ontario baseball championship. Their historic 1934 season, including the racist treatment they endured and their exploits on the field has resurfaced in an online project. Now the team is getting their due as trailbla...
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson discusses her book, Theory of Water, which draws on Anishinaabe knowledge to reimagine a sustainable and just world. She explores water as a powerful teacher and a life force, critiquing colonialism and capitalism while sharing the Anishinaabe creation story and the concept of Nibbe. The episode delves into the profound wisdom of Indigenous ethics, the impact of climate change, and the importance of collective action and hope in remaking an unraveling world.
Firstly, you might ask: What is the Monroe Doctrine? It's a U.S. policy created in the 19th century that opposes foreign interference in the affairs of the "Western Hemisphere." It was understood to be a defense of autonomy but its interpretation is mixed. Various presidents over time have used the doctrine for their own purposes, writing their own political agenda onto it. Now is no different, as Donald Trump's government turns to the policy as a way to control the Western Hemisphere. Guests in...
You've likely experienced it: that state of being in the groove, on a roll, lost in the process. It's what researchers call 'flow': a state intimately familiar to athletes and artists — or anyone who's been fully absorbed in a given task to the point where time seems to stand still. In this state there's a sense of self disappearing, presenting a paradox between a state in which you lose yourself, yet become yourself. Writer and triathlete, Suzanne Zelazo, delves into the mystery at the heart of...
"We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition," Canada's Prime Minster Mark Carney said in a recent speech at the World Economic Forum. The shift in international relations has Carney urging middle power countries to build coalitions and act together to counteract the great power strategy of the day: coercion. How? By flexing our "soft power" — assets a country has that appeal to other countries in international affairs. As it turns out, Canada and a majority of other countries have an opp...
Our justice system was developed under the assumption that both parties in a dispute would each have a lawyer. But the reality is most Canadian's can't afford a lawyer — which makes negotiations unequal. In some jurisdictions as many as 80% of people in family court are self represented. What about legal aid? Very few people are eligible. Our series continues to explore how the justice system is designed to favour people with money. *This episode originally aired on April 26, 2023....
Marcell Wilson knows how to game the criminal justice system. He's been charged upwards of 30 times for what he says were “mostly violent crimes" and yet to this day he doesn't have a criminal record. Why? He has money to pay the high fees for a good lawyer. Many scholars and legal commentators agree it’s easier for people with wealth to secure favourable legal outcomes — not just in criminal court but in custody disputes, civil litigation, and child protection matters. In a two-part series, IDE...
It depends on who you ask. Until recently empathy was generally considered a positive thing. But a growing number of mostly conservative voices believe empathy can be extremely dangerous — even toxic. Their argument is that empathy can drive irrational thinking and behaviour in public life. The result is a growing battle over empathy in a world that has never seemed to need it more. If you like this podcast, you may want to listen to this: Why practicing empathy is far from simple . Guests in th...
"You're awakening a dragon. Public anger is stirring." A warning from Rutger Bregman to Silicon Valley. The historian is sounding the alarm over the existential risks posed by unrestrained technology and artificial intelligence in his final BBC Reith Lecture. He calls on those in power to assume responsibility, and help shape a future worthy of hope. Bregman envisions 'moral revolutions' as the path forward and urges us all to come together to take on this task. "Small groups of committed citize...
Jacques Picotte used to drive 16 hours straight, with only water and a bag of chips in the cab before resting at a pit stop. That was 20 years ago. He pushed his limits then, but now he's known as the toughest truck driving instructor — a reputation he's proud of. He believes it's vital schools take pride in putting highly-skilled truck drivers on the road. 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 p...
The potato and the Irish Famine of 1845 will forever be linked. But what's often overlooked is how deeply connected the potato was to British colonial policies during that time. To Britain it was a symbol of Irish backwardness. In the book Rot , a new history of Ireland's Great Famine is revealed, showing how the British Empire caused the infamous disaster. Author and historian Padraic X Scanlan paints a complex and compelling picture of the Irish Famine of 1845, in which the potato — and the bl...
We are all born. Birth is the story of us all. So why aren’t we more curious about its history? That's what historian Lucy Inglis wanted to know. She's spent 15 years researching birth — around the globe, and across the centuries. “When you go into labour, you are a ship on the sea," says Inglis, referring to an ancient Assyrian chant acknowledging the physical perils of giving birth. While medical advances and greater freedom of choice inform birth in countries like England and Canada today, he...
What's the secret weapon to make political change happen? It's not a trick question, it's simple: perseverance, says BBC Reith Lecturer Rutger Bregman. The historian envisions a "realist utopia" in this lecture and asks listeners to join what he describes as a “conspiracy of decency" — a world where Universal Basic Income, fairer taxation and stronger tech regulation can start to build a more just and resilient future. A great movement Bregman says needs radicals who push the fringes but also mo...
Historian Rutger Bregman delivers the first BBC Reith Lecture, arguing that modern elites exhibit deep moral rot and unseriousness, mirroring the decline of ancient Rome and Venice. He critiques the failures of both the right's corruption and the left's fragmentation, alongside the alarming rise of fascism. Bregman ultimately calls for a moral revolution, emphasizing the need for courage and public service, and discusses how small groups can drive profound historical change.
This podcast seeks answers to the question. If you are left-handed then you are part of the 10 per cent of humankind that detested craft time in elementary school that involved scissors. Left-handed people often have to accommodate their difference in our dominant right-handed world. But that can get tricky if you are training to be a surgeon. Operating rooms and surgical instruments become big obstacles for left-handed people as IDEAS contributor Mark Dance finds out in his documentary explorin...
Think of science's most momentous developments in the 20th century — Einstein’s theory of relativity, quantum physics, finding evidence of black holes. If you trace the chain of discoveries that led to these breakthroughs back far enough, you’ll end up with the Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei. Theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli says we can learn a lot from Galileo today. He explains how 400 years ago, the renowned inventor was discovering new facts about the Universe to underst...
"This is a hopeless situation but we are not helpless." This is what drives Sudanese journalist Yousra Elbagir's reporting on her homeland's forgotten war. She uses what she calls "human reporting" to let the world know Sudan is more than conflict and suffering. "Sudanese generosity is our lifeblood. That's what's keeping us alive right now. We are actually surviving in forced starvation through generosity and kindness and care." Yousra Elbagir delivered the 2025 Stursberg Foreign Correspondents...
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. *This episode originally aired on Jan. 11, 2024.
"Those who remember the disappeared would also disappear." Under dictator Bashar al-Assad, grieving publicly in Syria was punishable. Now the silenced stories of lost loved ones are emerging and there are public spaces to grieve. Syrian architect Ammar Azzouz's friend and colleague Taher Al Sebai was killed on his street in 2011. After 14 years in exile, Azzouz returned home and says it's not just a right but "a duty to remember." IDEAS hears about Azzouz's classmate from architecture school, th...
Prior to riding horses, no one wore pants. There's a lot to thank horses for in our daily lives. From the Hollywood motion picture to life-saving vaccines for diphtheria and tetanus. Historian Timothy Winegard argues horses are intertwined in our own history to the point that we overlook their importance. His research explains how they shaped societies, economies and cultures. Without us, horses would be nowhere, and vice versa. It was a partnership — our brains and their braun — that truly chan...
It's getting pretty difficult to read any article online without a paywall in the way. What happened to the internet's great promise to democratize knowledge? On an individual basis, artists, writers and scientists can create without fear of theft thanks to copyright laws. But in practice copyright laws set up barriers, stifle production and prevent equal access to art and research. In this podcast, producer Naheed Mustafa explores the fate of “open access” — all in the ever-expanding universe o...
