Ideas

Astrophysicist Hubert Reeves is one of the world's leading experts on the Big Bang theory. He was also a riveting storyteller. Reeves died this month at the age of 91. IDEAS producer Mary Lynk spoke to the acclaimed astrophysicist in 2019 at his country home in Burgundy. This is the second episode in a two-part series.

The camera may not lie, but it can produce very convincing fiction. The wedding photograph and the headshot are just some of the ways our everyday world gets defined through the frozen image. Award-winning playwright Guillermo Verdecchia presents a sound portrait of a very "visual" medium in this 2001 IDEAS episode.

What was supposed to be an on-stage interview about Donna Morrissey's latest novel, Rage The Night, expanded to a conversation about Nietzsche, Carl Jung, and sudden grief after her husband died from a stroke. The Newfoundland author was in conversation with IDEAS producer Mary Lynk in Halifax.

Indigenous scholar Noel Pearson concludes his series of lectures on Australia's history and current relationship with Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal peoples. In these later talks, Pearson views that relationship through the lens of the economy, schools, and cultural identity. He draws attention to the commonalities between Australians of all backgrounds.

Hubert Reeves is one of the world's foremost experts on the Big Bang and the origins of time. In Quebec, where he was born, he's called their Einstein. Reeves died this month at the age of 91. IDEAS producer Mary Lynk spoke to the acclaimed astrophysicist in 2019 at his country home in Burgundy, as part of a two-part series.

Chris Brookes was a documentary producer who influenced generations of radio makers worldwide. In April 2023, he died in a tragic accident. IDEAS honours the spirit of this master craftsman of sound with a documentary made by his longtime friend and colleague, David Mairowitz.

Andrey Kurkov (Grey Bees) is Ukraine’s leading novelist. Masha Gessen is a dissident Russian-American journalist. Each chronicles Ukraine’s fight for independence on the ground, and critique what we outsiders know, for the 2023 PEN Canada/Graeme Gibson Talk.

On Saturday, October 14th, Australia votes on whether to create a new representative body: the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. Indigenous lawyer and academic Noel Pearson lays out the backstory, and his view of what’s to come, in his Boyer Lectures.

Our justice system was developed under the assumption that both parties in a dispute would each have a lawyer. But most Canadians can’t afford a lawyer — which means that our justice system is tilted in favour of those who can. In a two-part series, IDEAS contributor Mitchell Stuart asks: is a system like that still capable of administering justice? *This episode originally aired on April 26, 2023.

Our justice system was developed under the assumption that both parties in a dispute would each have a lawyer. But most Canadians can’t afford a lawyer — which means that our justice system is tilted in favour of those who can. In a two-part series, IDEAS contributor Mitchell Stuart asks: is a system like that still capable of administering justice? *This episode originally aired on April 19, 2023.