Ideas

On White Coat, Black Art, trusted ER doctor Brian Goldman brings you honest and surprising stories that can change your health and your life. Expect deep conversations with patients, families and colleagues that show you what is and isn't working in Canadian healthcare.“Pistol” Pete Pearson, a 76-year-old living with a terminal lung disease, says psilocybin-assisted therapy transformed his end-of-life distress after he accessed it outside the medical system. While psilocybin remains illegal in Canada, researchers including UHN psychiatrist Dr. Joshua Rosenblat are running government-funded trials exploring its potential for mood disorders. More episodes of White Coat, Black Art are available wherever you get your podcasts, and here: https://link.mgln.ai/WCBAxIDEAS

It’s easy to admit to having biases, but much harder to pin down what they are, let alone figure out what to do about them. Nevertheless, IDEAS producer Tom Howell gives it his best shot. He looks into what the rewards might be, if we could name and identify our own most important biases.This episode is part one of a three-part series exploring the meaning of 'bias.' It originally aired on Sept. 7, 2021.

As a former negotiator of the Oslo Accords for Israel, British-Israeli author and analyst, Daniel Levy, has both a diagnosis and a prescription for the land he refers to as Palestine-Israel. He says the two-state solution is “spent” and argues we need new ideas about how Israelis and Palestinians can co-exist peacefully.

Some of the biggest minds behind AI may have you thinking a Terminator-like robot is coming for us. But literature professor Teresa Heffernan says tech giants have taken their readings of science fiction plots too far, and failed to provide strong evidence for grandiose claims that originated on the pages of science fiction. She argues there are many reasons to fear AI, but an android uprising isn’t one of them.Heffernan is a professor of English language and literature at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax. She delivered the 2026 Wiegand Memorial Foundation Lecture at the Jackman Humanities Institute | University of Toronto.

Aaron Williams has worked in fisheries, as a forest fighter and is currently an airport ramp agent. When he's not working, he's writing about work: the hard kind, requiring bodily energy and mental endurance. Physical labour has always been a part of his life. He grew up in a logging family. In this podcast, Williams talks about the challenges, rewards and changing realities of hard work.Aaron William's memoir is called The Last Logging Show: A Forest Family at the End of an Era (Harbour Publishing). The book received the 2025 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction. His public talk was recorded at the awards ceremony at Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario.

The Trump administration has been targeting higher education for some time now — freezing grants and filing lawsuits against leading universities. But these threats are not limited to the U.S. and there are growing concerns about a potential spillover effect on Canadian campuses. In this podcast, host Nahlah Ayed speaks with three panelists to explore what's at stake with the politicized attacks on universities — and why it matters to all of us.This discussion was recorded in front of an audience at the Isabel Theatre in Toronto.Guests in this episode:Malinda S. Smith is an associate vice president research and a professor of political science at the University of Calgary. She is the co-editor of Nuances of Blackness in the Canadian Academy: Teaching, Learning, and Researching While Black.Randy Boyagoda is a novelist and professor of English at the University of Toronto, where he also serves as the university’s advisor on civil discourse, the first position of its kind in Canada.Davide Panagia is professor and chair of political science at UCLA, where his work bridges philosophy, media and democratic life. Before that, he held the Canada Research Chair in Cultural Studies at Trent University.

How? Some scientists believe in the power of nuclear fusion. Environmentally, these machines would have the potential to meet our energy needs with zero carbon cost. But the other advantage is removing a significant motivation behind war — the control of energy sources. Think about it. The Middle East would look a lot different today. This podcast explores what the transition to fusion energy would entail from the challenges, the rewards and the risks.Guest in this episode:Mustafa Bahran is a physics professor at Carleton University in Ottawa. He came to Canada after his life in Yemen became too dangerous. There he founded the Yemeni Scientific Research Foundation and National Atomic Energy Commission.Greg Twinney is the the CEO of General Fusion.Mike Donaldson is senior vice president in technology development at General Fusion.Michael Mann is a climate scientist and director at the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media.JC Btaiche is founder and CEO of a nuclear fusion company called Fuse.

Elmina is a place in Ghana that poet Sarpong Osei Asamoah describes as a "two-sided wonder." A bustling, lively fishing town in contrast to the painful history of a 400 year old 'slave castle' — a UNESCO World Heritage site. Historically, it's considered 'ground zero' for global economic and racial injustice. This podcast takes you on a tour inside the dark and brutal past of the Elmina castle and through the vibrant town that's full of life.Guests in this episode:Philip Amoa-Mensah is an Elmina tour guide with more than 20 years of experience.Ato Quayson is chair of the department of African and African American studies and professor of English at Stanford University. He is the author of Oxford Street, Accra: City Life and the Itineraries of Transnationalism.Bayo Holsey is a professor of African American studies at Emory University. She is the author of Routes of Remembrance: Refashioning the Slave Trade in Ghana.Sarpong Osei Asamoah is a Ghanaian poet. His poetry includes At Elmina Castle, I Bleed.

The ancient Greek story of Jason and Medea starts as a love story and ends as a horror show — just the way the Greeks liked it. The met, fell in love, stole the magical golden fleece (a symbol of authority and kinship) and escaped like a primeval Bonnie and Clyde. Find out why one of our guests calls Jason "an absolute hypocritical pig of a husband" as IDEAS explores their turbulent relationship. *This episode originally aired on Sept.19, 2022.Guests in this episode:Edith Hall is a professor of Classics at Durham University.Florence Yoon is an assistant professor of Greek Language and Literature at the University of British Columbia.Rosie Wyles is a senior lecturer in Classical History and Literature at the University of Kent.James Clauss is a professor of Classics at the University of Washington.Lucy Jackson is an assistant professor of Classics and Ancient History at Durham University.Connor Heaney is a collections manager at the Ray & Diana Harryhausen Foundation in Edinburgh.Vanessa Harryhausen is Ray Harryhausen's daughter.Lyndsy Spence is the author of Cast a Diva: The Hidden Life of Maria Callas, published by The History Press.

"AIDS exacerbates and accentuates inequality," Stephen Lewis said in his final CBC Massey Lectures he delivered in 2005. Back then the willingness of the world’s richest countries to help in the HIV/AID crisis was in question. The former ambassador to the UN and Canadian political leader died March 31st at 88. He will be remembered for his unwavering efforts to bring international attention to the HIV pandemic in Africa — calling out Western governments and financial institutions. This podcast revisits Lewis's Massey Lectures and his overall message to make a difference."I thought I understood the way the world works. I don't. I'll devote every fibre of my body to defeating this viral contagion, but I cannot abide the willful inattention of so much of the international community. I cannot expunge from my mind the heartless indifference, the criminal neglect of the last decade [1995-2005], during which time countless people have gone to their graves, people who should still be walking the open savanna of Africa." — excerpt from Stephen Lewis in his 2005 CBC Massey Lectures.

The Queen of Sheba is a holy figure to some; a demon in disguise to others. Her indelible presence has haunted religious scholars and fuelled nationalist visions in East Africa and Southern Arabia. IDEAS explores the many afterlives of the Queen of Sheba — and how ideas about gender and power have shifted in each retelling of her life.Guest in this episode:Shahla Haeri is a professor of anthropology and a former director of the Women's Studies Program at Boston University, and one of the pioneers of Iranian anthropology. Her books include Law of Desire: Temporary Marriage in Shi'i Iran, No Shame for the Sun: Lives of Professional Pakistani Women and The Unforgettable Queens of Islam: Succession, Authority, Gender.Jillian Stinchcomb is a director's visitor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey working as a postdoctoral fellow in the "Interactive Histories, Co-Produced Communities: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam" project. In 2020, she defended her dissertation, "Remembering the Queen of Sheba in the First Millennium," a reception history of the Queen of Sheba across Jewish, Muslim, and Christian texts from the biblical to the early medieval period. She works with material in Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, Greek, Latin, and Ge'ez.Safia Aidid is an interdisciplinary historian of modern Africa and an assistant professor at the University of Toronto. Her research addresses anticolonial nationalism, territorial imaginations, borders, and state formation in the Horn of Africa, with a particular focus on modern Somalia and Ethiopia.Eyob Derillo is a reference specialist in the Reading Room of Africa and Asian Studies at the British Library, and previously served as curator for the library's Ethiopic and Ethiopian Collections. He is a Ph.D. student at the School of Oriental and African Studies, focusing on the history of Ethiopian magic.Yousra Ishaq is a director and producer in Yemen, facilitating local productions and coordinating multinational teams including international media outlets such as the BBC and PBS. In 2017, she co-founded the Yemen-based film foundation and production company, Comra Films.

St. John Passion — the complex masterpiece by Johann Sebastian Bach tells the story of Jesus during his final days. It's a work that speaks to the heart of the Christian narrative, which itself lies at the heart of Western culture. Tafelmusik Chamber Choir Director Ivars Taurins and music broadcaster Robert Harris zoom in on the work from the conductor's perspective to show how the notes translate into meaning — at a level of detail we listeners rarely discern.

The guided principles on this list are based on Jesuit Bernard Lonergan's philosophy. His thought will likely shape the world for centuries to come, according to John Dadosky who has studied and taught Lonergan’s work for decades. It’s a bold statement to make, but as he points out, Lonergan’s talking about YOU. The prolific thinker dedicated much of his life's work to understanding human consciousness. In this podcast, IDEAS explores how his insights can play a role in our every day lives.On our website: Five principles to lead a good life.

The face we give to our monsters says much about our anxieties as a culture. But birds? Two classic works of 20th-century horror featured a violent avian army. This podcast looks at why a Daphne du Maurier short story, and the Alfred Hitchcock thriller inspired by it, imagined “The Birds” as humanity’s mortal enemy. Seeded with fears of technological overreach and environmental disaster, and terror at the rise of the violent irrational, our reality was anticipated. *This episode originally aired on Sept. 6, 2023.Guests in this episode:Lynn Kozak is an associate professor in history and classical studies at McGill University and editor of Scapegoat Carnivale's Tragic Trilogy.W. Scott Poole is a professor in the department of history at the College of Charleston. He is the author of Dark Carnivals: Modern Horror and the Origins of American Empire.Catherine Wynne is a reader in English, and an associate dean for Research and Enterprise at the University of Hull. Her most recent book is on the war artist, Lady Butler. She wrote about The Birds for The Conversation.

There are 19 centibillionaires and a growing list of 3,000 billionaires worldwide. So it might not surprise you that the richest one per cent possesses nearly half of the world’s wealth. History has never seen such an extreme concentration of wealth. Some economists argue the battle of the 21st century is between oligarchy and democracy. How did we get here? IDEAS begins a four-part documentary series The Billionaire Age.Guests in this episode:Ingrid Robeyns is a philosopher and economist. She is the chair in Ethics of Instutions at Utrecht University and the author of Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth.Lucas Chancel is the co-director of The World Inequality Lab and a professor at the Paris School of Economics.Gabriel Zucman is also the co-director of The World Inequality Lab. He is a professor at the Paris School of Economics and the University of California, Berkeley.Nitin Bharti is an economist and lecturer at The University of Western Australia. He is the South and South Asia coordinator at the World Inequality Lab.Lars Osberg is an economics professor at Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His latest book is The Scandalous Rise of Inequality in Canada.Abigail Disney is an American film producer, philanthropist and social activist. She is a member of Patriotic Millionaires which advocates for higher taxes on the wealthy.Paul Krugman is an American economist and the winner of the 2008 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.Tim Wu is a Canadian/American legal scholar and a professor at Columbia Law School. He is also a contributing opinion writer at the New York Times. His latest book is The Age of Extraction: How Tech Platforms Conquered the Economy and Threaten Our Future Prosperity.Nick Hanauer is an American entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He co-authored his latest book with Joan Walsh and Donald Cohen, Corporate Bullsh*t: Exposing The Lies and Half-Truths that Protect Profit, Power and Wealth in America. And he hosts the podcast: Pitchfork Economics.Guido Alfani is a professor of economic history at Bocconi University, Milan, Italy. His latest book is As Gods Among Men: A History of the Rich in the West.

Earthworms are supposed to be a sign of healthy soil. But they're actually an invasive species that can even damage forests. So have we been sold a lie about worms and soil? Not exactly. The relationship between the two depends on the context. And the way we garden — or farm — can make all the difference. IDEAS producer Annie Bender unearths the complicated truth about the not-so lowly earthworm.Guests in this episode:Joshua Steckley is a political ecologist, postdoctoral fellow at Carleton University and the author of The Nightcrawlers: A Story of Worms, Cows, and Cash in the Underground Bait Industry.Peter Groffman is a professor at the City University of New York Advanced Science Research Center and Brooklyn College, with research interests in ecosystem, soil, landscape and microbial ecology, with a focus on carbon and nitrogen dynamics.Mike McTavish is a conservation scientist at a rare Charitable Research Reserve in Cambridge, Ontario.Janet Browne is a historian of science and Darwin biographer, author of a two-volume set called Darwin: A Biography.

In more than 40 years on the front lines of international human rights Alex Neve has heard Canada described as ‘the land of human rights’ — and seen the profound ways Canada has failed to uphold universal human rights, both at home and abroad. In his final Massey Lecture, he lays out his vision for a way forward.

The bombing of civilians has been called one of the "great scandals" of modern warfare. So why, despite nearly a century of drafting laws and signing conventions protecting the sanctity of human life, does bombing civilians remain a widespread military tactic? IDEAS producer Naheed Mustafa looks at a century of bombing civilians to try and answer that very question.Guests in this episode:Yuki Tanaka is a historian and emeritus research professor of history at the Hiroshima Peace Institute.Mark Selden is senior research associate in the East Asia program at Cornell University, and the founder of Asia-Pacific Journal.Azmat Khan is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and an investigative journalist with the New York Times.

"Our democracy is what’s at stake," says Karen Hao, an engineer who used to work in Silicon Valley. Now she’s an outspoken critic of its AI giants. The investigative journalist argues AI companies run their businesses like empires and it has to stop. In her 2025 bestseller, Empire of AI, Hao digs into the global impact of Big AI and explores how we need to rethink AI to build a better future. This podcast includes a lecture by Karen Hao and a discussion with host Nahlah Ayed.

Fact and fiction may seem poles apart but writers Esi Edugyan and Tiya Miles find the two intertwine perfectly in their award-winning storytelling. Both authors try to imagine past lives in their work, in part so that we may reimagine our own. They may operate in different realms but what they share is the telling of profoundly important stories that would otherwise go untold. It's been a longtime goal for IDEAS to bring these two accomplished authors together for a discussion — and it was worth the wait.This podcast was recorded in front of an audience in January 2026 at a Toronto Public Library event.