Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchWhy cities are targeted in wartime (updated)
In 2022, IDEAS explored how the brutal strategy called "urbicide" — the intentional killing of a city — is used in war to destroy residents' sense of…
5 months ago
Why hospitals stopped being hospitable
Hospitality — and hospitals. Two words that share a root, but whose meanings often seem at odds with each other. IDEAS traces the historical roots of…
5 months ago
How guest-host power dynamics shape migration
In ancient Greece, hospitality (or xenia) was seen as a sacred moral imperative. Someone who defied the obligations placed on both host and guest ris…
5 months ago
Can you ever truly return home again?
At age 11, writer Andrew Lam fled Vietnam during the Fall of Saigon. Nearly 45 years later, he returned to a radically different city. He believes "y…
5 months ago
Buttons give the illusion of power but hide the consequences
Whether mechanical or digital, a button delivers the promise of power — but it's far from simple. The small and mighty technology has a riveting hist…
5 months, 2 weeks ago
How overlooked veterans make history in their own words
There’s history, and then there’s oral history. And when it comes to the impacts of war on those who fight them — oral history opens doors to the pas…
5 months, 2 weeks ago
Why Canadian veterans are conflicted about Remembrance Day
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 h…
5 months, 2 weeks ago
Not a war story. This is about what comes after for veterans
Even when wars end, they go on — transforming the people who fought them, their families, and even society. A former war correspondent interviewed mo…
5 months, 2 weeks ago
What it takes to become a ruthless tyrant
Look back about 3,000 years and you will find the playbook on authoritarianism remains pretty much the same as it is today. Back in the 5th century B…
5 months, 3 weeks ago
First historian Herodotus knew the power of story
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 cor…
5 months, 3 weeks ago