Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchHow to think for ourselves — is it even possible?
British novelist and Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing warned us against groupthink when she delivered her CBC Massey Lectures in 1985. She argues the…
8 months, 2 weeks ago
A better world needs to be built on empathy: human rights scholar
Payam Akhavan has witnessed appalling episodes of human cruelty and suffering. And that’s helped forge his commitment to pursuing justice for the vic…
8 months, 2 weeks ago
Making space for moments of joy in dark times
For award-winning poet and bestselling author Ross Gay, joy and delight aren’t frivolous or a privilege. He argues they’re absolutely essential to a …
8 months, 3 weeks ago
Why is it so hard to embrace leisure time?
With a to-do list that requires 30 hours in a day to complete, leisure time often gets erased. IDEAS producer Naheed Mustafa explores a better time, …
8 months, 3 weeks ago
Why music — even sad music — is 'inherently joyful'
Music is joy, declares Daniel Chua. The renowned musicologist says music and joy have an ancient correlation, from Confucius to Saint Augustine and B…
8 months, 3 weeks ago
Why philosophy needs to ditch class, and go to a pub
We tend to view philosophy as a formal endeavour. Not so, says Lewis Gordon. Yes, he's an academic but he argues that confining thinking to the acade…
8 months, 3 weeks ago
How to flourish in a broken world
The world is full of problems — our broken healthcare, out-of-reach housing, a democracy in shambles and a dying planet. Is it actually possible to f…
8 months, 3 weeks ago
A lesson in hope and why we need to slow down
Educators are wired for hope, according to English professor Jessica Riddell. She believes in the importance of slowing down in urgent times and urge…
8 months, 4 weeks ago
Who owns Outer Space?
More than half of working satellites are now owned by a single company, Elon Musk's Space X company. Astrophysicist Aaron Boley says Space X satellit…
9 months ago
Making the case for what a university could and should be
Universities have always been places of protest and dissent, but University of Toronto English professor Randy Boyagoda argues that it should be some…
9 months ago