Ideas from CBC Radio (Highlights)

We think nothing today of calling healthcare workers “front line workers,” engaged in a “battle” against disease. But the roots of the war metaphor in medicine go way back ⁠— entrenched by pop culture icons like the TV show M*A*S*H and Hawkeye’s army. Dr. Jillian Horton explores a less heroic but healthier way forward for doctors and health professionals. *This episode originally aired on Feb. 21, 2023.

It's the world's most prominent climate case in history. Iranian-Canadian human rights lawyer Payam Akhavan discusses the legal arguments he made before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on behalf of Bangladesh and small island states. The hearings seek to establish the legal obligations of states to mitigate climate change and the damage done by it — and the legal consequences for states which don’t fulfil those obligations.

She’s one of Canada’s most decorated journalists, having won a Pulitzer Prize, a Peabody and a Columbia-Dupont Prize for her podcast series, Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s . Yet Connie Walker had been reluctant to feature stories about her family in her journalism. Until she realized her family's survival in residential schools embodies the defining reality for virtually all Indigenous Peoples in Canada. She discusses this with Nahlah Ayed at the Samara Centre for Democracy's annual, In Defence of Democracy live event.

One of the most important roles of a university is to advance research that benefits society. Meet two winners of the prestigious 2024 Killam Prize. Humanities winner Janine Marchessault's work looks at the crisis in Canada’s film and video archives, and Social Sciences winner Tania Li examines how the good intentions of international development affects the rural people of Indonesia. (Pt 1 of 2)

2024 CBC Massey lecturer Ian Williams speaks with IDEAS  host Nahlah Ayed about the forces that have shaped him as a thinker and writer, from the encyclopedias he read as a child in Trinidad to his years as a dancer to the poetry of Margaret Atwood. 'I believe in multiplicity,' he says. The 2024 Massey Lectures, What I Mean to Say: Remaking Conversation in Our Time, begin this coming Monday.

An ideology that emerged with catastrophic consequences 100 years ago, has become a rising political force globally. With the possible re-election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, some observers believe that if he were to win again, a fascist would be inhabiting the most powerful political post in the world. IDEAS examines the ideology of fascism — and why it poses such a danger now. 

Our complicated feelings about life and death are captured in art that uses human remains, says anthropologist Myriam Nafte. Her PhD research looked at how contemporary Western artists incorporate human body parts. This 2014 episode was the first to kick off our decade-long series Ideas from the Trenches , featuring groundbreaking work by PhD students across Canada. Nafte is now an associate adjunct professor at McMaster University. 

Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election might have been a surprise to some. But to historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez, it was the latest chapter in a long relationship between white American masculinity and evangelical Christianity. As the 2024 election draws near, Du Mez shares how exclusion, patriarchy, and Christian nationalism are the basis for the evangelical church.  

In 2015, the poet-musician Grzegorz Kwiatkowski made a strange discovery at the site of the former Stutthof concentration camp in Poland — something he calls 'a carpet of abandoned shoes.' But these were more than shoes: they're both artifacts and symbols of the Holocaust — as well as a flashpoint of nationalist denialism and historical amnesia. *This episode originally aired on May 2, 2019.

Renowned author Robert Macfarlane has described his work as being about the relationship between landscape and the human heart. As part of a series on the elements in the Anthropocene, Macfarlane talks about how that relationship with earth and water has changed. Humanity has become a transformative force, altering the very nature of the elements, with grave implications for the planet — and us.

In October 1970, the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) sparked a nationwide crisis by kidnapping British diplomat James Cross and Quebec Deputy Premier Pierre Laporte, whom they later murdered. In return for Cross, the FLQ issued seven demands, one of which was to broadcast its manifesto. CBC/Radio-Canada complied. IDEAS examines the impact and legacy of the manifesto, and its relevance today. *This episode originally aired on October 13, 2020.

Technology is much more than a tool. Physicist Ursula Franklin argued that it’s a system — one so powerful that it can shape our mindset, our society and our politics. Her observations were prescient when she delivered her Massey Lecture in 1989 and they are all the more relevant today. Ursula Franklin’s friend and collaborator Jane Freeman reflects on the power of Franklin’s message. 

In recent years, the word "woke" has evolved from a catchphrase into a political ideology — and a catch-all pejorative routinely wielded on the right against its left-leaning adherents. But in her book, Left Is Not Woke , moral philosopher Susan Neiman argues that the "woke" ideology represents a fundamental break from traditional leftist ideals. *This episode originally aired on April 12, 2023.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, "Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country." We also have a right to seek "asylum from persecution" in other countries. At a time when more people are forcibly displaced than at any other point in recorded history, Nahlah Ayed speaks with guests about where the rights to leave, return and seek refuge came from, and what they could mean today.

The Arctic and the Amazon may be far apart geographically, but art connects them intimately. As part of a public art project bringing Indigenous artists from both regions together, Inuk artist Niap and the Shipibo artist Olinda Silvano worked on a mural that now graces the campus of Toronto Metropolitan University. They share their inspirations and their collaboration. *This episode originally aired on Oct. 23, 2023.

More than two years after a devastating fire, IDEAS visited St'át'imc territory around Lillooet, B.C. to learn how 21st-century wildfires are reshaping the landscape. This two-part series follows the work of the northern St'át'imc Nations, land guardians, and scientists from the Indigenous Ecology Lab at UBC as they seek to document the effects of wildfires and chart a new future. *This episode originally aired on Feb. 27, 2024.

More than two years after a devastating fire, IDEAS visited St'át'imc territory around Lillooet, B.C. to learn how 21st-century wildfires are reshaping the landscape. This two-part series follows the work of the northern St'át'imc Nations, land guardians, and scientists from the Indigenous Ecology Lab at UBC as they seek to document the effects of wildfires and chart a new future. *This episode originally aired on Feb. 26, 2024.

Lois Wilson has lived many lives during her 96 years as a United Church Minister, a Senator, a human rights advocate, and an inspiration to many. She exhibits a humility that can only be described as steadfast. For the Sake of the Common Good: Essays in Honour of Lois Wilson is a tribute to the life and work of a remarkable Canadian. *This episode originally aired Feb. 15, 2024.

In part four of our series exploring five years that shaped the world, IDEAS examines 1973. Augusto Pinochet comes to power in Chile, and dictators rule Portugal, Greece, Uganda and beyond. The OPEC oil embargo sets the world on a new path. The American Supreme Court legalizes abortion in Roe v. Wade, 50 years before it would be overturned. *This episode originally aired on Jan. 25, 2024.

Tested is a new podcast series from CBC and NPR that asks the question, who gets to compete?  Since the beginning of women’s sports, there has been a struggle over who qualifies for the women’s category. Tested follows the unfolding story of elite female runners who have been told they can no longer race as women, because of their biology. As the Olympics approach, they face hard choices: take drugs to lower their natural testosterone levels, give up their sport entirely, or fight. To understand how we got here, we trace the surprising, 100-year history of sex testing. More episodes of Tested are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/9-HlXVZB