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Ideas

Ideas

By: CBC
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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.

Copyright © CBC 2026
Daily Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Why Canadian patriotism isn't blind nationalism
    Jul 1 2026

    Nationalism doesn't have to mean extremism. It can mean celebration. IDEAS shares this 1992 award-winning documentary about "The Idea of Canada," which includes music compositions inspired by Glenn Gould. Composer Christos Hatzis discusses the relevance and meaning of how "Canada allows you to be patriotic."


    Credits:


    Composer Christos Hatzis

    Producer Steve Wadhams

    Audio engineers Laurence Stevenson and Rod Crocker.

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    54 mins
  • Reimagining Franklin's quest for the Northwest Passage
    Jul 2 2026

    When Sir John Franklin set out to find the Northwest Passage in 1845, he never returned. From that mystery, began the stories. But why do we keep coming back to these Franklin stories? What do they say about us? And what does it mean today to seek a Northwest Passage? *This episode originally aired on April 19, 2022.

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    54 mins
  • A witch, a demon and an exorcism? Welcome to life in 1660
    Jul 3 2026

    When you're a historian and learn about Canada’s earliest reported ‘demon possession caused by witchcraft’ case, you dig right into the story. And that's what Mairi Cowan did. She's been investigating one of Quebec's weirdest true tales, and is finally able to piece together a detailed story of what happened. *This episode originally aired on Dec. 14, 2022.


    Mairi Cowan is the author of The Possession of Barbe Hallay: Diabolical Arts and Daily Life in Early Canada. She is an associate professor in the Department of Historical Studies, University of Toronto-Mississauga.


    Other guests in this podcast:


    Scott Berthelette is an assistant professor in the Department of History at Queen’s University. He researches the history of Indigenous Peoples, the Métis, New France, and the Hudson’s Bay Company. His new book is Heirs of an Ambivalent Empire: French-Indigenous Relations and the Rise of the Métis in the Hudson Bay Watershed.


    Colin Coates is professor of Canadian Studies and History at Glendon College (York University). He specializes in the history of early French Canada.


    Sarah Ferber is a professor at the University of Wollongong, specializing in early modern European religious history; contemporary religion, and modern medical history. Her books include Demonic Possession and Exorcism in Early Modern France and, most recently, IVF and Assisted Reproduction: A Global History.

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    54 mins
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