Ideas

The story of geometry is bound up in the Renaissance, the rise of nation states, and the expression of absolute power. Geometric designs came to represent order in the universe. But order’s war with chaos continues — just compare the geometric plans for Washington, D.C., with the lived reality. Historian Amir Alexander traces the rise of geometry from Euclid to the United Nations.

In 2019, the first up-close image of a black hole was recorded. And yet, so much about them, their bizarre properties and the role they play in the universe remains a mystery. The distinguished Yale astrophysicist Priya Natarajan dives into black holes and dark matter in her lecture and book: Mapping The Heavens.

In a public talk she gave in 2018, journalist Sue Gardner argues that we’ve returned to the same set of ominous social conditions which led to the creation of public broadcasting in the first place — and that now is the time to recommit to public service journalism.

We are used to hearing how capitalism goes hand-in-hand with freer, more democratic societies. But it's not always so. Investigative journalist Bruce Livesey reveals historical examples that show when wealth becomes concentrated among the very few, the stage can be set for totalitarianism, and for the destruction that totalitarianism inevitably brings.

In the midst of a pandemic is it too soon to talk about renewal? For some, it’s well past time. Previous LaFontaine-Baldwin lecturers and emerging leaders gather to look upon the fault lines COVID-19 has exposed, and what needs to be done in the aftermath.

Conspiracy theories may be ultra divisive today, but there was a time when they were an acceptable form of knowledge. They are powerful in political battle — and even more so in the age of rising populism. But if you think we're in a golden age of conspiracy theories, think again.

We’re dazzled, and sometimes frazzled, by our encounters with contemporary art. Marc Mayer, former director of the National Gallery of Canada, draws back the curtain to show what’s behind the art that seduces — and confounds — us.

Humans have a strong sense of fairness, and we know that the good things in life are unequally divided among us. We’ve justified inequality by creating concepts of class, race, gender and so on. It’s only in the last century that the concept of universal human rights has taken hold, and we’re still struggling to make an equitable world a reality. So where do we go from here?

The Canada Council Killam Prize recognizes and celebrates inspiring scholars and eminent thinkers. Nahlah Ayed spends time with each Killam Prize winner to learn about their cutting-edge work in engineering, the humanities and the sciences: natural, health and social.

We’re all in this together, suffering equally, as the planet struggles through the Anthropocene age — an era created by human activity. It’s why the author of The Democracy of Suffering, Todd Dufresne, calling on philosophy — and all of us — to revolutionize what it means to be human. *Originally aired on April 8, 2020.