Ideas

Magician Harry Houdini crusaded against for-profit psychics and séances in the years before his death. He deplored the tools of his own art being used to exploit grief, says author David Jaher. Now those same tools are being used in politics, marketing, and scams, say psychologists Massimo Polidoro and Alice Pailhès.

"We are the monsters" — that's the premise for the genre of film known as body horror — movies that fixate on monstrous and grotesque changes to the body. There have been good body horror films and bad ones, but "The Fly" starring Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis was perhaps the most consequential. The movie captured anxieties around bodily autonomy and physical decay, just as the AIDS epidemic was becoming catastrophic. Forty years later, body horror is back with films like "The Substance" and "Together." Producer Matthew Lazin-Ryder examines what these films reveal about our bodies, our minds and our sense of who we are. *This episode originally aired on Dec. 18, 2025.

Math may be the language of the universe, and brilliant minds and technology may have unlocked many of the secrets of the universe. But the pursuit of knowledge and insight always starts with the same thing: curiosity. Asimina Arvanitaki, a groundbreaking researcher with the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ont., reprises a talk she recently gave in her native Greece about the role of curiosity has played in the history of scientific discovery and in her own passion for science. And, in a wide-ranging onstage interview with Nahlah Ayed, she discusses the importance of fundamental research, the responsibilities of scientists to the public, and the appropriate role of AI in scientific research.

Erik Satie’s music is everywhere: in advertisements, coffee shops, and elevators. His iconic compositions like Gymnopédies have been streamed millions of times and become staples of background music worldwide. But Satie’s relationship to "background music" goes far deeper than simply having a knack for writing it. Over a century ago, he began composing what he called "furniture music" – pieces designed to fit into an environment just like a table, or chair. It was the beginning of a background music revolution, paving the way for everything from Brian Eno to Muzak. In "Satie’s Furniture," contributor Craig Desson tells the story of why Satie created furniture music, and how his radical idea transformed the way we listen today.

For most of human history there was one problem with our food: there wasn’t enough of it. But the food system we built to solve that problem — the one capable of feeding eight billion people — is responsible for a third of greenhouse gas emissions. It’s also made poor diet the leading cause of early death globally — ahead of smoking. Producer Mitchell Stuart spent a year asking: what should we be eating instead?

From the earliest days of cinema to our era of streaming, zooming, and scrolling, the screen has become a central part of our lives -- so central that it actually impedes our lives, erasing our bodies, and to hiding from one another. Kim Nelson, film professor and director of the Humanities Research Centre at the University of Windsor, argues in a public talk that remaining connected entails protecting and treasuring the enduring wisdom of the humanities -- literature, history, philosophy, art, and drama. This event was held at the University of Windsor and features an onstage interview between Kim Nelson and IDEAS host Nahlah Ayed.

For more than a thousand years the Oracle of Delphi sat on a stool at the ‘navel of the universe.’ Under a mystical trance, she would offer cryptic predictions of the future. People would wait months, even years, for their chance to ask the Oracle for guidance on matters ranging from reproductive challenges, to family tiffs to when and how to wage war. While the ritual around her remains shrouded in mystery, her predictions were – strangely – always right. Today our urge to predict the future mirrors the same psychological need that drove leaders to the Oracle at Delphi -- discomfort with uncertainty and deep seeded desire to control the unpredictable.

More than 2,000 years ago, someone sat down and wrote a travel bucket list for the ancient world — suggesting must-see places that we now call The Seven Wonders of the World. It was kind of a Lonely Planet guide of its time, and included the Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the lighthouse of Alexandria, and the Temple of Artemis, among others. Historian Bettany Hughes brings monuments and archaeological discoveries back to life in her book, " The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World." *This episode originally aired on Nov. 6, 2024.

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. Or how climate fluctuations correlate to periods of antisemitic violence. There's a lot to learn in this podcast. Have a listen. *This episode originally aired on Feb. 9, 2026.

Without the Moon, the Earth would be unrecognizable. Across the eons, it has shaped our seasons, our calendars — and even the evolution of life itself. Producer Annie Bender traces our nearest neighbour's powerful influence over humanity — and the planet we call home. Guests in this podcast: Charlie Duke is a retired NASA astronaut who walked on the Moon as part of the Apollo 16 mission. Rebecca Boyle is a journalist, historian and author of "Our Moon: How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are." Christopher Cokinos is a professor emeritus of English at the University of Arizona, and author of "Still as Bright: An Illuminating History of the Moon from Antiquity to Tomorrow."

Authors Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor want to stop apocalyptic end-of-the-world thinking and its fantasies about colonizing other planets. “We love it here… we want to stay,” they say. They diagnose today's fascism as having an “Armageddon Industrial Complex,” whose main agents are apocalyptic fundamentalists, ethnonationalists, and tech billionaires fixated on creating a super-intelligence at any cost. In their book “End Times Fascism and the Fight for a Living World,” Klein and Taylor explore the convergent forces which not only welcome the end of the world, but seek to accelerate it. Guests in this podcast: Naomi Klein Naomi Klein is the author of several books including "No Logo" and "The Shock Doctrine," and "Doppelganger" which have sold in the millions around the world. Her work as a social activist, journalist, and documentary filmmaker critiques both the systems and the agents that have produced the climate crisis, consumer capitalism, and unaccountable corporatism. She is also a professor of Climate Justice at the University of British Columbia. Astra Taylor delivered the 2023 CBC Massey Lectures , called "The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart." Among her other books are "The People's Platform" and "Democracy May Not Exist, but We'll Miss It When It's Gone." She's also a journalist, a documentary filmmaker, and co-founder of The Deck Collective. She once declared publicly that she doesn't see herself primarily as a public intellectual, but rather as a “feral intellectual."

If you ask security expert and author Patrick Lennox the answer is a resounding ‘yes.’ He argues Alberta separatism is less about Western alienation and more about a global effort to destroy liberal democracy. In his book, On Treason , Lennox says what’s unfolding in Alberta is part of a nefarious — and treasonous playbook that’s been used worldwide. To survive the threat, he suggests Canada must call out the traitors and arm ourselves against disinformation and deceit. *This is the final episode in our three-part series asking: what makes a nation? Listen to other episodes in this series: Map of Cascadia Quebec Separatism for Newcomers Guest in this podcast: Patrick Lennox is an international relations scholar and worked as a security expert for the Canadian government. He has written extensively about Canadian foreign policy and our relationship with the U.S. His latest book is called On Treason: Alberta Separatism, Foreign Interference and Canada’s Survival in a Revolutionary Age.

With a newly elected government in Quebec promising to turn the province into its own country, and another separatist party warning against ethno-nationalism, immigrants in the province are asked to consider their loyalties. IDEAS producer Tom Howell finds out why newcomers might want to join the movement to leave Canada and help forge Quebec's new national path. *Part two in a three-part series asking: what makes a nation? Listen to another episode from this series: A Map of Cascadia On Treason: Alberta Separatism Guests in this podcast: Aisha Issa is a Parti Québécois candidate for the provincial riding of Maurice-Richard in Montreal, Quebec. She has been a supporter of Quebec sovereignty since the 1995 referendum. Marie-Anne Alepin is the president of the Societé St-Jean Baptiste of Montreal. Gary Owen is a playwright and screenwriter from Cardiff, in Wales. His play, Owain & Henry is a historical epic about a Welsh military commander who rebelled against the English king, Henry IV, in the year 1400. Michael Sheen is an actor who plays Owain Glyndŵr in the play Owain & Henry , which he also co-directed.

There’s a place where people make hoppy beer, fresh sushi, and damn fine coffee. It's called Cascadia. The lifestyle is laid-back, the scenery is majestic, and they even have a flag. Where is it exactly? Think of it as an ecological region stretching from Alaska to B.C. through the Pacific Northwest to Northern California. Its national identity transcends borders, and is bound through culture, history, attitude and language. Welcome to Cascadia: the West Coast utopian dream. *Part one in a three-part series asking: what makes a nation? Listen to another episode in this series: What draws a new immigrant to Quebec separatism? On Treason: Alberta Separatism Guests in this podcast: Fritz Götz is an associate professor in psychology at the University of British Columbia. He is also the director of the PANGEA lab, which stands for Personality and Geographical Ambiance Lab, studying geographical psychology. Julia Swan has a doctorate in linguistics from the University of Chicago, and she is an associate professor at San Jose State University. Alexander Baretich designed the Cascadian Bioregional Flag. Some people have nicknamed it “The Doug,” because of the Douglas Fir tree on the flag.

Bureaucracies were created to get the work done and get it done efficiently, according to 19th-century thinker Max Weber. So why are there more and more meaningless executive jobs that contribute nothing but soak up the pay? IDEAS examines the corporate tendency to "bureaumania.” *This episode originally aired on Sept. 18, 2024.

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. Liked this episode? Have a listen to this: Why practicing empathy is far from simple . Guests on this podcast: Matt Richins – neuroscientist and psychologist, who did research on empathy at Exeter University, UK. Susan Lanzoni – author, historian of psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience and professor at Harvard’s School of Continuing Education Mary Gordon – founder of Roots of Empathy program, Toronto Michael Slote – author, philosopher and professor of ethics at the University of Miami Margaret Davidson – Roots of Empathy classroom facilitator, Chiganois Elementary Kourtney Simms – Chiganois Elementary teacher Ellie – Grade 1 student, Chiganois Elementary

Imagine seeing an atrocity with eyes wide open and then returning to a life that doesn't ask much about it. This is the experience of five Canadian doctors who have been offering urgent medical aid in Gaza for almost three years. But in Gaza, the absence of resources means often all they can do is bear witness. In this podcast, each doctor shares how what they experienced changed their lives. Guests in this episode: Mel Brecknell is a physician specializing in emergency medicine. Rizwan Minhas is a board certified physician in family medicine in Canada and the U.S. Ben Thomson is a Toronto physician working in nephrology, general internal medicine, and public health predominantly in humanitarian work zones. Eman Lubani is a pediatric emergency physician in London, Ontario. Noor Amin is a physician in Ontario practicing sports and exercise medicine.

In the mid-20th century, convenience was presented as 'the wave of the future,' where revolutionary home appliances would reduce work and save time. Today, convenience drives the success of tech and retail giants, our phones have become 'convenience machines,' and AI has taken the concept to terrifying heights. What happens when a culture positions convenience as a 'supreme value'? In this podcast, IDEAS contributing producer Olivia Trono explores the cult of convenience and considers what inconvenience may have to offer us. Guests in this episode: Luang Por Amaro is the abbot of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery. His talk “Choose Life, Choose Inconvenience” is available on YouTube. Rebecca Beausaert is a history professor at the University of Guelph, and co-curator of "Kitchens of the Future: Food, Technology, and Convenience Culture in Cold War Canada." Joshua Neves is a professor of film and moving image studies at Concordia University, and co-author of In/Convenience: Inhabiting the Logistical Surround. Siva Vaidhyanathan is a media studies professor at the University of Virginia, and author of Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy. Tim Wu is a law professor at Columbia University, and author of The Age of Extraction and The Attention Merchants.

Theatre of the Absurd was born in the wake of the Second World War as a recoil against the violent fetish that totalitarian regimes had for “order.” For 75 years, absurdist playwright Eugène Ionesco's plays have been running continuously in Paris. IDEAS contributor Danny Braun went to Paris to delve into Ionesco's world where a professor can conclude confidently that a dog is in fact a cat. *This episode originally aired on Oct. 9, 2025.

The 21st century is witness to resurgent global authoritarianism, driven by leaders who answer to no law other than their own. Nahlah Ayed and panelists consider the rise of today’s authoritarians — Trump, Putin, Orban, Duterte and beyond — and what we can learn from history about how authoritarianism can be challenged, and ultimately defeated. This final episode in How to Defeat Authoritarianism examines our present moment, identifying the ways in which authoritarian politics has returned — and the tools to resist them. Listen to other episodes in this series: How to Defeat Authoritarianism | Benito Mussolini's Italy How to Defeat Authoritarianism | Idi Amin's Uganda How to Defeat Authoritarianism | Bashar al-Assad's Syria How to Defeat Authoritarianism | Augusto Pinochet's Chile Guests on this podcast: Marie-Joelle Zahar is a professor of political science at the University de Montréal. She is a 2023-26 Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Fellow, and has served multiple terms as a mediation expert for the United Nations, including a senior expert in the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria in 2017. Miriam Mufti is an associate professor of political science at the University of Waterloo. She’s the author of Pathways to Power, Recruitment and Regime Stability in Pakistan. Lucan Ahmad-Way is the distinguished professor of democracy in the political science department at the University of Toronto, and is the co-author of Revolution and Dictatorship: The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism.