Ideas
CBC
IDEAS is a place for people who like to think. If you value deep conversation and unexpected reveals, this show is for you. From the roots and rise of authoritarianism to near-death experiences to the history of toilets, no topic is off-limits. Hosted by Nahlah Ayed, we’re home to immersive documentaries and fascinating interviews with some of the most consequential thinkers of our time.With an award-winning team, our podcast has proud roots in its 60-year history with CBC Radio, exploring the IDEAS that make us who we are. New episodes drop Monday through Friday at 5pm ET.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Feb 17, 2026 • 54min
Why winter does not justify ditching your bike for driving
Sarah Goodyear, journalist and transit advocate, and Doug Gordon, urban policy writer, discuss policies to reduce car dependence. Tom Howell, producer who sold his car to bike winters in Montreal, narrates his winter cycling experiment. They explore winter cycling routines, infrastructure limits like snow clearing, political tactics for reallocating road space, and how social norms can make year-round biking viable.
Feb 16, 2026 • 55min
From tests to sports, why we choke when it matters most
Sian Beilock, cognitive scientist and author of Choke, explains why pressure hijacks well-practiced skills. Jennifer Montone, principal horn of the Philadelphia Orchestra, shares techniques to manage nerves and tension. Carolyn Christie, retired Montreal Symphony flutist and teacher, discusses musical performance anxiety and mental skills training. They explore attention, physiological signs, rehearsal under stress, and practical routines to prevent choking.
Feb 13, 2026 • 55min
How a man escaped slavery by mailing himself to freedom
Daphne Brooks, performance and race scholar, reframes Henry Box Brown as a Black performance artist. Martha Cutter, archivist and author, uncovers new documents about Brown’s life. They trace his mailed escape, his transformation into a touring speaker and magician, the politics of his box-themed performances, and debates over how the box shaped his art and legacy.
Feb 12, 2026 • 55min
What Chinese science-fiction has to tell us about reality
Liu Cixin, Hugo-winning author of The Three-Body Problem, and Zichuan Gan, a PhD student studying Chinese sci‑fi, explore how Chinese science fiction blurs binaries. They discuss rapid modernization, techno‑fetishism, death and technology, queer readings, censorship, and why speculative stories reshape social imagination. The conversation highlights mixed realities rather than simple oppositions.
Feb 11, 2026 • 55min
Why only the will of the people can save democracy
Jamil Jaffer, a Canadian-American civil liberties lawyer and former Knight First Amendment Institute director, discusses threats to U.S. democracy. He examines institutional failures, legal intimidation, attacks on media and campuses, and the role of civic courage. He explores historical parallels and stresses ordinary citizens' actions and voting as the path to recovery.
Feb 10, 2026 • 55min
To mudlark is to scavenge for a piece of history to keep
Tina Lacode, a Museum of London visitor experience host and archaeologist, and Marie-Louise Plum, artist, writer and Thames mudlark, explore mudlarking on the Thames. They describe tidal rhythms, permits, spotting pottery and coins, Victorian mudlarks, standout finds like a Bronze Age sword and Tudor coin, and how objects inspire art, research and personal connections.
Feb 9, 2026 • 55min
How a natural catastrophe 8,000 years ago may have fueled Brexit
Peter Frankopan, Oxford professor of global history and author of The Earth Transformed, explores deep climate history. He traces mass extinctions, the Moon's role in tides and life, and how sea-level changes like the Doggerland collapse helped isolate Britain. He links past climate shifts to social upheaval and considers modern warming, political denial, and possible futures.
Feb 6, 2026 • 55min
The trailblazing all-Black baseball team that made history
Heidi Jacobs, historian and author who reconstructed the Chatham Coloured All‑Stars' 1934 season. Dorothy Wright Wallace, local Black Historical Society voice and community leader. Families and descendants, sharing oral recollections and memories. They discuss the team’s rise to a championship, on‑field feats and showmanship, the racism and travel hardships they faced, and how community memory preserved their legacy.
Feb 5, 2026 • 55min
Following the wisdom of water to remake an unravelling world
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Nishnaabeg scholar, musician and writer, draws on Indigenous knowledge and the wisdom of water. She speaks about listening to water and music, the Great Lakes as kin and map, snow and centering as communal practice, colonial impacts on waterways, grief and resilience, and world-making as collective care and intergenerational responsibility.
4 snips
Feb 4, 2026 • 55min
Why the Monroe Doctrine has world leaders on edge
Maxwell (Max) Cameron, UBC political scientist specializing in Latin America, and Richard Drake, historian of US foreign policy, unpack the Monroe Doctrine's origins and its turn toward intervention. They trace 19th-century wars to Roosevelt's corollary, examine a Trump-era realist revival tied to resources and China, and weigh impacts on Venezuela, Canada and Greenland.
