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Step into an infinite world of stories

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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.

Ideas

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.

First historian Herodotus knew the power of story

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.

Hope lies in knowing that "we've changed the world before”

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.

How mind-bending theories could solve mysteries in physics

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.

To fix America's caste system, acknowledge it exists: author

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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Mexican fiction turns drug kingpins into vicious vampires

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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Can democracies survive the attacks on the rule of law?

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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This lawyer turns real legal cases into page-turners

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.

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How Indigenous Americans discovered Europe

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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33 years of the campus free speech controversy

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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Can you have compassion for someone you never agree with?

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.

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George Eliot's invaluable life lessons on confronting reality

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