Ideas

For musician David Schulman, the violin can swing and sing like nothing else. Schulman travelled to the north of Italy to try and discover the original trees from which Antonio Stradivari made his masterpieces. It’s a journey of surprise and delight. *This episode originally aired on Nov. 28, 2023.

Marriage is on the decline in Canada. And in heterosexual unions, it’s women who more often initiate divorce, and wait longer to remarry. Why is marriage not working for women? And what fundamentally has to change for women to continue saying "I do”? *This episode originally aired on Feb. 21, 2024.

For years as host of the CBC podcast On Drugs, Geoff Turner has examined the history, culture, science and religion of drugs, from ancient Berzerkers and their mushroom rituals, to the German army’s use of amphetamines, to the caffeine in millions of people’s morning coffee. In this episode, Turner gets personal. For more episodes: https://link.mgln.ai/TKNpBc  

With increasingly diverse societies, the sorting of people into "us" and "them" is inevitable. This sorting brings with it a social and cultural assessment of who does, and does not, deserve social benefits and political rights. The so-called 'deservingness ladder' is shifting as democracies around the world turn towards right-wing populist leaders. 

Writer and filmmaker Luke Galati says "living with bipolar disorder is tough." He shares the realities of his mental health struggles, what it's like living in a psychiatric hospital and finding a path to wellness. His documentary is both a personal essay and a series of conversations with health-care professionals and others who have bipolar disorder. *This documentary originally aired on Feb. 11, 2025.

Inhabit Media are at the forefront of a new era of Inuit literature and film. Since 2006, it’s been working to ensure Arctic voices are heard across Canada. From Iqaluit, IDEAS producer Pauline Holdsworth speaks with writers and illustrators about telling the stories of their home and finding creativity from the land. 

In 1853, Mary Ann Shadd Cary became the first Black woman publisher in Canada with her newspaper, The Provincial Freeman. As a lawyer, publisher, and educator, she laid the groundwork for Black liberation in Canada. Descendants and other guests share her remarkable story. *This episode originally aired on Dec. 7, 2023.

Award-winning journalist and author Brandi Morin says reconciliation in Canada is on life support. She's calling for a revolution against the apathy and ignorance that she says keeps Indigenous people from healing and succeeding.

Chava Rosenfarb, Holocaust survivor and Canadian Yiddish writer, was born 100 years ago in Łódź, Poland. In 2023, Łódź celebrated “The Year of Chava Rosenfarb." In this episode, producer Allison Dempster revisits a 2001 IDEAS documentary that profiles Rosenfarb’s legacy and the politics of Holocaust remembrance in Poland today. *This episode originally aired on Jan. 29, 2024.

Maria Chapdelaine — the fictional character from rural Quebec became a global phenomenon in the 1920s, and has inspired movies, plays — even an opera. Yet the book remains far less known in English Canada and the English-speaking world. IDEAS examines the many lives that Maria Chapdelaine has lived, and continues to live.