Ideas

Chickens have followed humankind around the world, giving us eggs and meat, and also spiritual and social comfort. And it’s the living animal who stars in this podcast by IDEAS producer, Tom Howell. Spend an hour with this helpful creature and hear its tales of adventure from dinosaur times to the modern city. *Originally aired on October 19, 2020.

There's a fantasy about Canada’s role in the Vietnam War: that from the beginning, Canada was the conscience of America, taking a stand against conflict, welcoming war resisters, and opening the doors for refugees. But historian John Boyko picks apart that fantasy, showing how divisive the war was in Canada, in his book 'The Devil's Trick.'

Acclaimed author, poet and activist Lee Maracle of the Stó:lō Nation delivers the Margaret Laurence Lecture, an annual event commissioned by the Writers' Trust of Canada. This episode features excerpts from her lecture, and Maracle in conversation with award-winning author, and former Massey Lecturer, Tanya Talaga.

Each year seems worse than the one preceding. For Andrew Potter, author of On Decline, these events indicate that our entire civilization is in decline. And he argues we're left without the social cohesion, economic growth and political leadership that we'd need to turn things around.

Is the concept of God useful at a time of crisis? German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and French writer and philosopher Voltaire had different views on that question. *This episode originally aired on December 14, 2020.

For decades, non-Indigenous scientists have taken samples from Indigenous peoples for future studies, often without clear consent. But a new generation of Indigenous scientists are revolutionizing biomedical research, asking important questions about who controls the research process and the data derived from it.

Former Globe and Mail war correspondent Graeme Smith travels deep inside Taliban territory to catch a glimpse of their growing control over the country and uncovers what went wrong with the 'forever war' in his TVO documentary, Ghosts of Afghanistan.

Zombies are shuffling, moaning metaphors for all our apocalyptic fears. In this 2015 documentary, journalists Garth Mullins and Lisa Hale revisit pop culture's zombie obsession, and why it's so easy to imagine a future full of catastrophe and monsters.

If 2021 makes you feel like the end is near, you’re not alone. But it might help to know that history shows people have always felt the end is near. This archive episode from 1998 looks at the longevity of apocalyptic thinking.

Writer and broadcaster Jesse Wente says that it's important to frame stories about Indigenous people in joy, even if those stories also contain other, darker emotions. In his November 2020 lecture called The Story of Joy: Reducing the Harm So We Can Heal he looks at the state of reconciliation in Canada today, and the role that joy can play in moving forward. *This episode originally aired on January 5, 2021.