Ideas

The American Revolution is often depicted as a struggle between the common man and the callous elite. Yet most of the famous American figures of the revolution were powerful landowners, with vast wealth and ownership over other human beings. A Duke University podcast from the Centre for Documentary Studies revisits how contested ideas of "democracy" reverberate in American politics today. *This episode originally aired on Nov. 7, 2022.

Bobby Kenuajuak was a promising filmmaker with a grand ambition: to change the narrative about his people. A quarter century later, Bobby’s remembered as a pioneer, whose tragic end confounds a hopeful beginning. *This is the final episode in our four-part series, Another Country: Change and Resilience in Nunavik.

When Mitiarjuk Nappaaluk wrote Sanaaq, the first novel written in Inuktitut in Canada, that was just the beginning. Over the course of her extraordinary life, she wrote more than 20 books, many of them aimed at young Inuit readers. She was also a teacher, an artist and a thinker with profound ideas about justice and community. *This is the third episode in our four-part series called Another Country: Change and Resilience in Nunavik.

In the early 1950s, 22-year-old Mitiarjuk Nappaaluk began compiling Inuktitut phrases as a language guide for missionaries. Then she created fictional characters and began imagining their lives, loves and encounters during a period of profound change. Those stories would eventually become Sanaaq — the first novel written in Inuktitut syllabics in Canada. *This is the second episode in our series, Another Country: Change and Resilience in Nunavik.

Outside the co-op store in Puvirnituq, an Inuit community on the north eastern shore of Hudson Bay, there’s a sign that reads “Puvirnitumiut Katujjuiyut Immiguutut”: the people of Puvirnituq, working together for themselves. This spring, IDEAS visited Puvirnituq to learn how its residents have fought to shape their own future in a rapidly changing world. *This is the first episode in our four-part series, Another Country: Change and Resilience in Nunavik.

We're thrilled to announce that this year’s Massey lecturer is Astra Taylor, a filmmaker, writer and political organizer who was born in Winnipeg and currently lives in the United States. She speaks with Nahlah Ayed for a sneak preview of her lecture series, "The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart." You can find more information on our website, cbc.ca/ideas.

Five Canadian minds changing the world with their contributions to science and scholarship have won the 2023 Killam Prize, a $100,000 award handed out by the National Research Council of Canada. Each scholar has significantly impacted their respective fields of engineering, health sciences, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences.

There's a growing culture war over history with efforts throughout western nations to revert to "virtuous origin" stories. IDEAS explores what happens when we sanitize history and remove criticism and doubt from the myth. If we kill history, how can we look to the future?

Acclaimed columnist and author André Picard reflects on 40 years of health journalism, from how health care has changed over the decades, and where he believes it’s headed. Picard delivered the 2023 Dalton Camp Lecture in Journalism, at St. Thomas University in New Brunswick.

A demonic possession, a do-it-yourself exorcism, and the execution of an accused witch — welcome to daily life in Quebec City, circa 1660. Historian Mairi Cowan shares the story of Canada’s earliest reported ‘demon possession caused by witchcraft’ case. *This episode originally aired on Dec. 14, 2022.