Ideas

The world is feeling darker and darker these days. So this podcast might be a much-needed balm. It's about hope — a practice that scholar Shannon Murray argues can't be passive. That's where the German term 'freudenfreude' comes in, when someone celebrates the good fortune of others as if it's their own. Murray explains the power of freudenfreude and offers a guide to hope, empathy, and patience t...

Throughout his career, it wasn't unusual for David Bowie to sing about death. But the musician used his own mortality as a theme for a final album that he released just two days before he died, on his 69th birthday. In this podcast IDEAS looks into the meaning of Bowie's enigmatic last songs, and explores the many ways that an artist’s mortality gives their work new meaning. * This episode origina...

Alain Deneault has a philosophical cure for eco-angst. He proposes turning the angst into actions in the face of unprecedented, unpredictable times. The most famous Acadian philosopher unknown to English-speaking Canadians suggests we brace for periods of severe crisis as nation-states and global networks become strained and fail. His prescription includes strengthening regional social ties and ha...

The Wabanaki-Acadian old-growth forest is endangered — only one per cent of its old growth is left. The ancient forest, which stretches from parts of the Maritimes and Southern Quebec down into several New England states, is now comprised largely of newer forests, already cut down and logged, over and over. IDEAS explores the rare beauty of 300-year-old trees and astounding biodiversity before it'...

Our relationship with earth and water is changing in the Anthropocene, says renowned author Robert Macfarlane. Humanity has become a transformative force of planetary proportions, to the point where we are altering the composition and behaviour of the four elements: earth, water, air and fire. He tells IDEAS this has grave implications for the planet and us. *This episode originally aired on Oct....

The summer of 2026 has been defined by the smoke — and the horror — of wildfires around the world. But what comes after one of these fires? "That isn't the end of the story. That's the beginning of a whole different kind of story," says Nlaka'pamux ecologist Jennifer Grenz. That's why we have decided to follow the long-term story of one 21st century megafire: the 2021 McKay Creek wildfire in inter...

What happens to the land after a brutal wildfire? IDEAS visited St'át'imc territory near Lillooet, B.C., to follow land guardians and scientists from the Indigenous Ecology Lab at the University of British Columbia, as they document the effects of wildfires and chart a new future based on Indigenous approaches to healing and balancing an ecosystem. *This podcast is part of our ongoing series, Heal...

In 2021, a deadly heat dome produced a devastating wildfire season across British Columbia. While immediate media coverage often focuses on evacuations and the numbers of homes destroyed, many First Nations say what these fires do to the land in their territories — and the cultural lives of their communities — is often overlooked. "These fires are killing our way of life," says a Tmicw coordinator...

On the surface, bibliotherapy might sound like another personal wellness trend, but it definitely isn’t. In fact, it’s an approved form of mental health treatment in Canada. And it’s been around for at least a century. In this podcast, researchers Sara Haslam and Edmund King discuss the First World War roots of this practice in the UK. Author Cody Delistraty considers its role in moving him forwar...

We should move away from this idea that childhood should be filled with innocence, safe from the knowledge of difficult things argues Critical Cultural Theorist of Childhood Julie Garlen. Kids do experience difficulty, even in the best of circumstances, and she suggests they need the tools and language to navigate the lives they are living. Constructing childhood as a time of innocence limits chil...

Eugenics is seen as a 19th-century idea put into horrific 20th-century practice. But the attraction to breeding “better” humans has a long and persistent history, says Adam Rutherford. The geneticist and science podcaster explains, in conversation with host Nahlah Ayed. *This episode originally aired on January 20, 2023.

Thanks to Dexter and Hannibal Lecter you may think you know what a psychopath is. But a critical review of the science suggests that 'psychopath' as a diagnosis is flawed. Author of Psychopathy Unmasked Rasmus Rosenberg Larsen argues it’s time to end the misuse of controversial science in our criminal justice system — and to rethink psychopathy as a whole.

Hidden in the 1950 academic paper that launched the famous 'Turing Test' of machine intelligence, is a strange mystery. Cryptographer Alan Turing argued that humans might always be able to outsmart machines, because we have supernatural powers like ESP, telepathy, and telekinesis. His belief in the paranormal is just one part of the spooky side of artificial intelligence. Like hauntings or seances...

Thanks to AI, it's easier than ever to avoid reading books — but that convenience may come with a cost. IDEAS explores how our digital landscape, coupled with the decline of reading, is changing the way we think. *This episode originally aired on Feb. 19, 2026. If you like this episode, listen to our podcast with Geoffrey Hinton , the 'godfather of artificial intelligence' who says AI must develop...

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 c...

Millions of people are using AI to “talk” to the dead. The phenomenon has left cyberpsychologist Elaine Kasket asking what happens when we rely on for-profit AI companies to help us manage something as deeply human as grief? And where’s the line between comfort and self-destruction? IDEAS features two episodes from the CBC Podcasts series Artificial Intimacy , exploring the promise and peril of ou...

Jeans are a quintessential fashion staple for the Canadian tuxedo — and a symbol of rebellion. But the world's most popular garment comes at an environmental cost. It takes around 7,500 litres of water to make a single pair of jeans. And that's not all. Fashion expert Pedro Mendes explores the 150-year history of jeans and the 'authenticity' they are supposed to represent. *This episode originally...

"Geometry is the cilantro of math. People are not neutral about it," says Jordan Ellenberg. The mathematician is aware not everyone loves math like he does. But his book is not about the kind of geometry some people feel intimidated by. It's about geometry as a way of thinking. As a method of reasoning and argument. And as a system for making sense of the world. *This episode originally aired on M...

If the house always wins, why do we play? This documentary asks experts and observers to reflect on the casino as reality and metaphor. Skill versus luck, attention and distraction, fortune paired with loss: the casino reflects us, individually and culturally, back to ourselves. *This episode originally aired on Nov. 21, 2019. Read: Machines of Chance: How casino culture plays with us

Brutalism has become the subject of architecture tours, a coffee-table art book darling, and a highly sought-after living environment. But concrete is a complicated material, both appreciated and demonized. IDEAS explores the implications of Brutalism’s 21st century hipster aesthetic in a world of housing challenges, environmental crisis, and economic polarization. *This episode originally aired o...

Bogs, marshes, and swamps have long been cast as toxic wastelands, from the dead marshes in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings to the vegetal monster from the DC comic . But in fact wetlands store more carbon than forests. Experts argue wetlands are crucial to our future. It's time to rewrite this squelchy story. *This episode originally aired on Oct. 17, 2022.

Humans used fire as a tool. Now we fear its destruction. But we're responsible for changing the climate, argues John Vailliant, "in a way that favours fire way more than it favours us." The author unpacks how fire made humans who we are — and how humans are changing fire in his book, Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast . *This episode originally aired on May 29, 2024.

In 1989 the Canadian government was set to spring into action to address climate change. “If we don’t move now, it will be a disaster,” said then-Conservative environment minister Lucien Bouchard. “We are dealing with the survival of the species.” This podcast features David Suzuki’s prescient radio series, It’s a Matter of Survival from nearly four decades ago. It includes conversations with nota...

In 1989 David Suzuki hosted a radio series called “It’s A Matter of Survival,” which addressed the climate crisis head-on. He and other scientists look ahead 50 years into the future to paint a picture of what the world could be like if nothing is done to curb the human impact on climate change. The series galvanized the environmental movement in Canada, with more than 14,000 listeners writing let...

Oil has delivered warmth, mobility, freedom and ruin all at the same time. "It's a very hard religion to ditch," says Don Gillmor, author of On Oil . Yes, religion. Gillmor argues oil is not just a substance — but an idea … one that has come to constitute its own potent system of belief. He joins Nahlah Ayed to discuss how oil became the one true global religion. Want to listen to more IDEAS ? Her...