Ideas

Canada's 150th anniversary highlighted its evolving relationship with Indigenous people. Too often in that history, voices other than those from First Nations did the talking for them. In this episode, Brielle Beardy-Linklater, Sandra Henry, and Theodore Fontaine tell their stories of struggle and resilience in their own words.

Is there a connection between the enslavement of African-Canadians and their overwhelming presence in the criminal justice system today? The United Nations has sounded the alarm on anti-black racism in Canada, stating it can be traced back to slavery and its legacy. In the second of his two-part series on slavery in colonial Canada, Kyle G. Brown explores the long-lasting ramifications of one of humanity's most iniquitous institutions.

Canada's 150th anniversary highlighted its evolving relationship with Indigenous people. Too often in that history, voices other than those from First Nations did the talking for them. In this episode, Brielle Beardy-Linklater, Sandra Henry, and Theodore Fontaine tell their stories of struggle and resilience in their own words.

Acclaimed Globe & Mail journalist Doug Saunders argues in his book "Maximum Canada: Why 35 Million Canadians Are Not Enough" that Canada has had trouble keeping the immigrants it attracts. This "minimizing impulse", as he terms it, has to be jettisoned if Canada is to take its rightful place on the world stage.

Why is it common knowledge that we saved runaway slaves from the United States, but few know that Africans and Indigenous peoples were bought, sold and exploited, right here? In the first of a two part series, contributor Kyle G. Brown asks how slavery was allowed to continue for some 200 years, and be one of the least talked-about aspects of our history. Part 1 of a 2-part series.

Just over a decade ago, the iPhone was created, and its built-in camera soon sparked a photography revolution. We now use our smartphones to take an estimated 1.2 trillion images a year globally. We've gone from capturing "special" moments, to documenting virtually every aspect of our day. Printed photos in treasured albums have been replaced by intangible images -- casually shared on social media, and stored virtually in the Cloud. What are the upsides, and what are we losing? Photographers, curators, and thinkers reflect on how this new image culture affects us, as well as its surprising links to earlier eras of photography.

Political comedy is everywhere on TV, but contributor Peter Brown is concerned: the laughter on late-night shows seems to be giving way to the earnest partisan cheering that comedian Seth Meyers calls "clapter". Are our current politicians becoming satire-proof? Or has satire always merely preached to the choir? In search of answers Peter looks to the classic satire of Juvenal, Swift and the Arab-speaking world, as well as prominent current practitioners including Armando Iannucci, creator of "Veep" and "The Death of Stalin".

n the Opaskwayak Cree Nation (or OCN), they've come up with their own home-grown solution to a national housing crisis. Paul Kennedy made a mid-winter visit to the reserve - situated at the junction of the Opasquia and Saskatchewan Rivers, in Northern Manitoba - to see community members building the first small wooden house.

Jay Olson performed his first magic trick when he was five years old. The former professional magician turned McGill University PhD student reveals how the power of suggestion can be used to help treat medical conditions. Central to his research is what he calls a 'placebo machine,' which he's been using to help migraine sufferers and children with disorders such as ADHD. This episode is part of our ongoing series Ideas from the Trenches, featuring innovative work by PhD candidates across Canada.

Ali Velshi is a reporter, analyst, and self-identified "double immigrant". And he's worried about what he calls "the growing weaponization of culture." In a talk he gave at the Peter Wall Institute at the University of British Columbia, Velshi says identity politics have splintered people along ever-narrower definitions of identity - and it's derailing America.