Ideas
CBC Podcasts & Radio On-Demand
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.
Location:
Canada, ON
Networks:
CBC Podcasts & Radio On-Demand
Description:
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.
Twitter:
@CBCradio
Language:
English
Contact:
Ideas CBC Radio P.O. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6 (416) 205-3700
Website:
http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/
Email:
ideas@cbc.ca
Episodes
Why Canadian veterans are conflicted about Remembrance Day
11/11/2025
Remembrance Day. Every year we are called on to remember, to reflect on the sacrifices of those who fought in Canada’s wars. Veterans of those wars have a conflicted relationship with Remembrance Day: sometimes their own acts of remembrance include official ceremonies, while others avoid them altogether.
*This the second and last of a two-part series exploring the post-war experience, gathered by the Canadian War Museum’s In Their Own Voices oral history project.
Duration:00:54:08
Why Canadian veterans are ambivalent about Remembrance Day
11/11/2025
Remembrance Day. Every year we are called on to remember, to reflect on the sacrifices of those who fought in Canada’s wars. Veterans of those wars have a conflicted relationship with Remembrance Day: sometimes their own acts of remembrance include official ceremonies, while others avoid them altogether.
*This the second and last of a two-part series exploring the post-war experience, gathered by the Canadian War Museum’s In Their Own Voices oral history project.
Duration:00:54:08
Not a war story. This is about what comes after for veterans
11/10/2025
There’s no shortage of war stories in Canada’s history, but far less in the way of oral history, A former war correspondent interviewed more than 200 veterans of all of Canada’s wars or members of their families for an online oral history project presented by The Canadian War Museum. The focus is not so much on preserving memories their combat experiences, but to reflect on what came after. *This is part one of a two-part series.
Duration:00:54:08
First historian Herodotus knew the power of story
11/6/2025
For someone who died more than 2,400 years ago, Herodotus's voice is still very much alive. "He knows the way [a good story] can elevate but also corrupt and destroy our thinking," says professor Lindsay Mahon Rathnam in this IDEAS episode. The ancient Greek writer observed different cultures first-hand, while capturing the stories they share in an attempt to better understand how they came into being, and why they came into conflict with each other. *This episode originally aired on Oct. 16, 2023.
Duration:00:54:09
Hope lies in knowing that "we've changed the world before”
11/5/2025
Political analyst Rachel Maddow and author/activist Rebecca Solnit are sharp observers of Trump 2.0. They both share a common ground: opposition to anti-democratic actions taken by the second administration of U.S. President Trump, and where those actions are taking America, if not the world.
The two American writers spoke with Nahlah Ayed about the existential issues of this American moment, a public conversation hosted by the International Festival of Authors and PEN Canada. The onstage event, in front of a Toronto audience, was part of the 5th annual Graeme Gibson Talk in Toronto.
Duration:00:54:39
How mind-bending theories could solve mysteries in physics
11/4/2025
Physics has been full of astonishing discoveries over the past century. But they open up even bigger mysteries that scientists are working feverishly to explain. What is dark energy? And why is the expansion of the universe accelerating?
In public talks at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario, two prominent physicists – Sarah Shandera of Penn State University and Stanford University’s Savas Dimopoulos – discuss the breakthroughs of recent decades and what it will take to solve the most nettlesome mysteries that have deepened in their wake.
Duration:00:54:39
To fix America's caste system, acknowledge it exists: author
11/3/2025
The true story of America is that it was built on a caste system comparable to India’s, says Pulitzer-prize-winning American journalist Isabel Wilkerson. The author argues that it's key to recognize the roots of the U.S. caste "structure" as she calls it, to understand why conflicts relating to race and class persist. Wilkerson delivered the 2025 Beatty Lecture at McGill University in Montreal.
Duration:00:54:08
Mexican fiction turns drug kingpins into vicious vampires
10/31/2025
There’s a burgeoning genre of fiction coming from Mexico — stories that merge socio-political history and the impact of drug-related violence with fantastical stories of eerie ghosts, zombies, and monstrous cannibals. IDEAS explores dozens of gothic, horror and crime fiction novels. *This episode is part of our ongoing series, IDEAS from the Trenches, about outstanding PhD scholars across the country. It originally aired on June 5, 2023.
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Duration:00:54:08
Can democracies survive the attacks on the rule of law?
10/30/2025
Even in some of the world’s sturdiest democracies, leaders are deliberately undermining courts to weaken checks on their power. In many cases, the justice system is being sidelined. How much damage has already been done? And how worried should we be about the future of democracies around the world?
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Duration:00:54:08
This lawyer turns real legal cases into page-turners
10/29/2025
War criminals, Nazi fugitives, and a viable threat to American democracy — sounds like a classic page-turner but author and lawyer Philippe Sands isn't making this up. His book, 38 Londres Street is a retelling of legal history that probes the connections between former Nazi leaders and Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. The payoff isn’t just an intriguing read. For Sands, broad public engagement is key to the survival of hard-won systems of international justice.
Philippe Sands delivered the 3rd Annual Irving Abella Lecture at Massey College in October 2025.
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Duration:00:54:08
How Indigenous Americans discovered Europe
10/28/2025
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.
Duration:00:54:09
33 years of the campus free speech controversy
10/27/2025
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.
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Duration:00:54:07
Can you have compassion for someone you never agree with?
10/24/2025
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.
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Duration:00:54:08
George Eliot's invaluable lessons on how we treat others
10/23/2025
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 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.
Duration:00:54:08
The real reasons why more young women freeze their eggs
10/22/2025
Egg freezing is one of today’s fastest-growing reproductive technologies. It's seen as a kind of 'fertility insurance' for the future, but that doesn’t address today’s deeper feelings of uncertainty around parenthood, heterosexual relationships, and the reproductive path forward. In this documentary, freelance producer Alison Motluk explores the history, significance, and reality of egg freezing for women.
Duration:00:54:08
New details on Canada's first documented 'demon possession'
10/21/2025
A demonic possession, a do-it-yourself exorcism, and the execution of an accused witch — welcome to daily life in Quebec City, circa 1660. IDEAS digs into the story of Canada’s earliest reported ‘demon possession caused by witchcraft’ case. *This episode originally aired on June 9, 2023.
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Duration:00:54:08
Can abolishing all political parties topple fascism?
10/20/2025
In the aftermath of the First World War, French philosopher Simone Weil had a solution to address the fascism that surged across Europe: abolish political parties. She argued political parties were not democratic, they were dangerous. With the help of former politician Michael Ignatieff and other guests, IDEAS producer Nicola Luksic explores the radical thinking of Simone Weil to help us better understand the current political climate.
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Duration:00:54:08
This Italian painter was a feminist before the word existed
10/17/2025
*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!
Duration:00:54:08
Why the practice of empathy is far from simple
10/16/2025
In today's fractured world, the many threats facing humanity seems to be an empathy deficit. Writer and journalist Leslie Jamison discusses the complicated nature of empathy and the dearth of it at a time when it’s needed more than ever. Jamison argues it's important to maintain a certain kind of humility when it comes to understanding other people.
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Duration:00:54:09
Why modern spirituality is actually a form of religion
10/15/2025
Traditional religious institutions have been in decline since the '60s. As congregations dwindle, more Canadians are identifying as 'spiritual.' Sociologist Galen Watts traces the history of the modern spiritual movement and asks what we have gained — and lost — as it has become the dominant religious tradition of our time.
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Duration:00:54:08