Ideas CBC Discover & Learn
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- Society & Culture
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IDEAS is a deep-dive into contemporary thought and intellectual history. No topic is off-limits. In the age of clickbait and superficial headlines, it's for people who like to think.
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The Passion of Émile Nelligan: Canada's Saddest Poet
Broken violins, cruel love and absent fathers... At the end of the 19th century, Émile Nelligan wrote hundreds of tragic, passionate, sonnets and rondels on these subjects and more. And yet, most English-speaking Canadians seem never to have heard of the Quebec poet. *This episode originally aired on Jan. 9, 2024.
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What role can solidarity play when confronting political and social issues?
In a time of rapidly changing politics and never-ending crises, what role can solidarity play in confronting political and social problems to create stronger bonds among people? A group of thinkers, writers, and artists tell IDEAS how solidarity is shaping politics and culture.
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The Return of Inequality | Lessons of History
In 2016 Jennifer Welsh delivered her CBC Massey Lectures, The Return of History — a wake-up call to those of us who may have felt a little too optimistic about the future after the fall of the Berlin Wall. IDEAS revisits the final lecture in her series, The Return of Inequality.
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Massey at 60: Jennifer Welsh on how inequality is undermining liberal democracy
With the end of the Cold War, the struggle for peace, equality, and democracy wasn’t settled — it became more complex. As we mark the 60th anniversary of Massey College, IDEAS executive producer Greg Kelly interviews Jennifer Welsh about her 2016 CBC Massey Lectures, The Return of History — and how eight years on, the struggle continues.
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Our Bodies, Our Cells: An audio exploration of life's building blocks
Our bodies are a great paradox. We are made up of trillions of cells that are both independent and interconnected units of life. IDEAS travels into the microscopic complexity of the human body to explore sophisticated nanomachines — and probe the deep mysteries of a subatomic world. *This episode originally aired on Jan. 31, 2024.
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How a nation could be both free and equal
Freedom and Equality — can societies aim for both at the same time? Author Daniel Chandler argues that they can, with some help from the American political theorist, John Rawls. He tells IDEAS what a political platform based on Rawls’ books would look like.
Customer Reviews
Great Show
Always enjoy topics presented and great interview partners are picked. I’ve learned a lot from various episodes. Listening from Germany.
Where are the ideas?
There is a unique amount of discouragement and helplessness in these episodes; it might be expected that ideas worth investigating ought to at least occasionally exhilarate, surprise, liberate, or point to joy and mirth in some form or another. Solemnity and worrying and being troubled are not the same as taking something seriously, and raising one’s voice is surely not curiosity. Rarely has anyone ever answered a question with a question on this show, which would indicate a form of engagement resembling a solution-oriented process and therefore approaching an idea. I am not trying to be merely pedantic and obtuse to get the point across here: this kind of discourse is toxic and fueling much of what it purports to address with mild concern.
Architecture of war and peace
Excellent story told thru the lens of many.