Ideas

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

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?

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.

Hanif Abdurraqib lives his life heart-forward. His writing is informed by the many losses he's endured, but also by his commitment to "love deeply" and to not let machines do his thinking and feeling for him. Doing so, he says, risks atrophying our hearts and minds. "For me, the cost of a heart that's fraying at the edges is too high."

Abdurraqib is the 2026 Weston International Award winner, presented by the Writers Trust of Canada for a body of work by a nonfiction author. He is a poet, essayist, cultural critic, and author of eight books, including, There’s Always Next Year and A Little Devil in America.