Why moral suffering can be a good thing
It's tempting to think suffering should be avoided at all costs, but moral suffering has its own distinct standing. It signals a moral consc...
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Ideas
IDEAS is a deep-dive into contemporary thought and intellectual history. No topic is off-limits. In the age of clickbait and superficial headlines, it's for people who like to think.
Ideas Podcast Guide
Listen to Ideas, a Society & Culture podcast by CBC. Stream 258 episodes in English, follow new audio stories, and play episodes online on Radio and Podcast.
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Episodes
20 of 258 episodesWhat if God is the possibility of the impossible?
Former IDEAS writer-broadcaster David Cayley passed away at his home on Wednesday June 10, surrounded by family. To honour his legacy, we wa...
From Dua Lipa to Broadway, Houdini never disappears
There may be no one alive who saw Houdini perform magic. Yet we still know his name and his legend. Dua Lipa namechecked the escape artist i...
Without justice, can unbearable grief subside?
Sujata Berry's brother, Sharad was 16 years old when he was killed. He was aboard Air India Flight 182 when it exploded off the coast of Ire...
The unforgivable crime of being queer in Africa
Homosexuality is illegal in more than half of African countries — a crime punishable by prison sentences. Or in some cases: death. In the pa...
Podcasts in Uganda and Ghana are reclaiming sex and sexuality
Uganda and Ghana have the harshest laws against LGBTQ+ people in the world. Despite the threats, podcasters in both countries are fighting b...
Why joy is most valuable when it's in public
When Jay Pitter was eight years old and out shopping with her mother, she began swaying to the music at the mall. Her mother scolded her for...
'When I'm bad, I'm better' – The revolutionary Mae West
Mae West shocked audiences and infuriated censors for more than 70 years. She was pop culture’s original blonde bombshell sex-symbol comedie...
Who's the hero when the choice is impossible?
Rachel Jedinak will never forget the day that changed her life in July 16, 1942. She was eight years old, living in Nazi-occupied France at...
The Billionaire Age Pt 3 | How oligarchs are taking over the world
Elon Musk is on the verge of becoming a trillionaire. Right now Musk's wealth is currently around $825 billion US — more than double what it...
Confronting 'Housing Inc.' | Meet the 2026 CBC Massey Lecturer
Our homes have been stripped of their essential humanity, says Leilani Farha, this year's CBC Massey Lecturer. Today housing has become a co...
Weekend Listen: Artificial Intimacy from CBC’s Understood
What happens when a human becomes intimately enmeshed with a chatbot? From people who’ve married their bots or who grieve their loved ones w...
The best — and worst — ideas of the last six decades
Sometimes the universe hands us a gift. Over the past year, our podcast listeners spent a total of 526,915 hours listening to our program. T...
How IDEAS saved a listener from sending a regrettable email
" IDEAS is often a surprise" says Cathy Pike. It's why she's been a longtime listener. To our delight, IDEAS was there for her just at the r...
CBC Massey Lecturers reveal how the talks changed them
This podcast features an all-star, and bestselling, lineup of CBC Massey Lecturers from the past decade: Payam Akhavan (2017) and the police...
Could the Dust Bowl of the 30s happen again?
The Dirty Thirties might seem like the distant past but according to IDEAS contributor and professor Evan Fraser now is the time to heed the...
Why the world feels like a shipwreck
What does an IDEAS producer do when he notices that shipwreck stories keep appearing in his life? He embarks on a journey to try and figure...
Why the world feels like a shipwreck
What does an IDEAS producer do when he notices that shipwreck stories keep appearing in his life? He embarks on a journey to try and figure...
Your tomatoes have a backstory and it’s not always pretty
In fact, author and journalist Marcello Di Cintio argues Canadians are complicit. After four years investigating the lives of migrant worker...
The 'shocking betrayal' of widespread antisemitism
Marsha Lederman is a child of Holocaust survivors. She lives with the fear that one day someone will take her and her son like the Nazis did...