en-us Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:40:07 -0400 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ The end of ethnic nationalism, building societies around sets of common values, seems like a good idea. But something is going wrong. In the 2007 Massey Lectures, writer Alberto Manguel takes a fresh look at some of the problems we face, and suggests we should look at what stories have to teach us about society. From Gilgamesh to the Bible, from Don Quixote to The Fast Runner, Alberto Manguel explores how books and stories hold the secret keys to what binds us together. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:32:04 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20071105_3783.mp3 877190 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ The end of ethnic nationalism, building societies around sets of common values, seems like a good idea. But something is going wrong. In the 2007 Massey Lectures, writer Alberto Manguel takes a fresh look at some of the problems we face, and suggests we should look at what stories have to teach us about society. From Gilgamesh to the Bible, from Don Quixote to The Fast Runner, Alberto Manguel explores how books and stories hold the secret keys to what binds us together. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:32:03 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20071112_3854.mp3 887679 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ The end of ethnic nationalism, building societies around sets of common values, seems like a good idea. But something is going wrong. In the 2007 Massey Lectures, writer Alberto Manguel takes a fresh look at some of the problems we face, and suggests we should look at what stories have to teach us about society. From Gilgamesh to the Bible, from Don Quixote to The Fast Runner, Alberto Manguel explores how books and stories hold the secret keys to what binds us together. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:32:02 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20071119_3930.mp3 903355 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ The end of ethnic nationalism, building societies around sets of common values, seems like a good idea. But something is going wrong. In the 2007 Massey Lectures, writer Alberto Manguel takes a fresh look at some of the problems we face, and suggests we should look at what stories have to teach us about society. From Gilgamesh to the Bible, from Don Quixote to The Fast Runner, Alberto Manguel explores how books and stories hold the secret keys to what binds us together. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:32:00 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20071126_3967.mp3 912972 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ The end of ethnic nationalism, building societies around sets of common values, seems like a good idea. But something is going wrong. In the 2007 Massey Lectures, writer Alberto Manguel takes a fresh look at some of the problems we face, and suggests we should look at what stories have to teach us about society. From Gilgamesh to the Bible, from Don Quixote to The Fast Runner, Alberto Manguel explores how books and stories hold the secret keys to what binds us together. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:31:58 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20071203_4013.mp3 924268 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ Energy is not just a fuel. It’s an entire system that links our civilization together, says David Sanborn Scott, a hydrogen energy expert. Energy is like a currency: it can be used like money for different purposes. Throughout history, new energy sources and systems have replaced old ones. Understanding how this works is essential to combating catastrophic climate change. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:31:56 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20071210_4089.mp3 934987 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ Energy is not just a fuel. It’s an entire system that links our civilization together, says David Sanbourn Scott, a hydrogen energy expert. Energy is like a currency: it can be used like money for different purposes. Throughout history, new energy sources and systems have replaced old ones. Understanding how this works is essential to combating catastrophic climate change. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:31:55 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20071217_4165.mp3 945766 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ Underwater explorer Dr. Joe MacInnis travels to Antarctica to discover how the heroic leadership of role models like Shackleton and Scott might help us to confront climate crisis and even take us to Mars. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:31:54 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20071231_4222.mp3 964411 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ From the Amazon jungles to downtown Canada, ideas about Ayahuasca revive a decades-old argument about the uses and abuses, the ecstasies and the efficacies of mind-altering plants. Ayahuasca has been part of shamanic tradition for centuries. Broadcasters Thomas McKinnon and Leonard Cler-Cunningham travel the old trails, attend the ceremonies, and debate the religious, economic and political questions surrounding the divine vegetal. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:31:53 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20080107_4335.mp3 973920 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ From the Amazon jungles to downtown Canada, ideas about Ayahuasca revive a decades-old argument about the uses and abuses, the ecstasies and the efficacies of mind-altering plants. Ayahuasca has been part of shamanic tradition for centuries. Broadcasters Thomas McKinnon and Leonard Cler-Cunningham travel the old trails, attend the ceremonies, and debate the religious, economic and political questions surrounding the divine vegetal. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:31:52 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20080114_4340.mp3 984551 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ In this monthly feature on IDEAS, arts journalist and host of Writers & Company Eleanor Wachtel takes an in-depth look at ideas in the arts. In this episode, she talks to architect Moshe Safdie about his buildings http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ Acclaimed British-Pakistani writer, film-maker and political activist Tariq Ali discusses the inter-relationship between media and global politics today in a talk given at McGill University in the fall of 2007. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:31:49 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20080128_4451.mp3 1010764 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ In this episode,Michael Enright, host of The Sunday Edition, tackles real and imaginary mental health problems. Why is it we spend millions trying to cure shyness and nothing on making sure the mentally ill are dealt with correctly in the criminal justice system? Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:31:48 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20080204_4460.mp3 1021745 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ The world is strewn with the wreckage of utopian projects. Millions of people have been killed by social engineers who wanted to reshape humanity. The British historian of ideas, John Gray, believes politics is saturated with disguised religious longings. He calls for a new, humane realism. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:31:47 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20080211_4461.mp3 1033860 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ Sperm donation has proven to be a Pandora's Box. The vast majority of donor dads do not want to be found. In rare cases some children are seeking and finding dad and half-siblings in the process. Science journalist Alison Motluk explores the complex portrait of the brave new family. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:31:44 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20080225_4463.mp3 1055994 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ Sperm donation has proven to be a Pandora's Box. The vast majority of donor dads do not want to be found. In rare cases some children are seeking and finding dad and half-siblings in the process. Science journalist Alison Motluk explores the complex portrait of the brave new family. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:31:43 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20080218_4462.mp3 1044809 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ We are healthier than ever before, and we live longer, but improvements in health are not distributed evenly. The rich outlive the middle classes, who outlive the poor. Swedes and Japanese live longer than Canadians, and Canadians, longer than Americans. Freelance journalist Jill Eisen discovers that the reasons have little to do with our health care systems. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:31:42 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20080303_4892.mp3 1066395 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ A journey into the subtle and provocative ideas of historian Jocelyn Létourneau. As a leader of a new wave of Quebec intellectuals, he rejects melancholic myths that portray Quebeckers as victims of their past, trapped by unfulfilled political dreams. His ideas on the resilience of Quebeckers and the complexity of their history breathe new life into old debates about Quebec's identity, distinctiveness and destiny. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:31:41 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20080317_4915.mp3 1092004 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ A journey into the subtle and provocative ideas of historian Jocelyn Létourneau. As a leader of a new wave of Quebec intellectuals, he rejects melancholic myths that portray Quebeckers as victims of their past, trapped by unfulfilled political dreams. His ideas on the resilience of Quebeckers and the complexity of their history breathe new life into old debates about Quebec's identity, distinctiveness and destiny. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:31:40 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20080325_4916.mp3 1102107 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ A journey into the subtle and provocative ideas of historian Jocelyn Létourneau. As a leader of a new wave of Quebec intellectuals, he rejects melancholic myths that portray Quebeckers as victims of their past, trapped by unfulfilled political dreams. His ideas on the resilience of Quebeckers and the complexity of their history breathe new life into old debates about Quebec's identity, distinctiveness and destiny. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:31:40 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20080407_5097.mp3 1123214 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ A journey into the subtle and provocative ideas of historian Jocelyn Létourneau. As a leader of a new wave of Quebec intellectuals, he rejects melancholic myths that portray Quebeckers as victims of their past, trapped by unfulfilled political dreams. His ideas on the resilience of Quebeckers and the complexity of their history breathe new life into old debates about Quebec's identity, distinctiveness and destiny. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:31:38 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20080331_4917.mp3 1112825 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ Do we need a common identity to be a modern nation? Adam Gopnik and Malcolm Gladwell, both staff writers at The New Yorker, battle it out with wit and humour in a debate moderated by Maclean’s national editor, Andrew Coyne. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:31:35 -0400 http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/ideas_20080414_5283.mp3 1134173 http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/ We all use excuses