In 1895 a retired Canadian sea captain set off to sail alone around the world. It had never been done, and it took Joshua Slocum three years, but the book of his adventures made him famous. Since then, fewer than 200 people have sailed in his wake and two of them are also Canadian. IDEAS contributor Philip Coulter explores this greatest challenge sailors set for themselves - possibly the greatest of all human challenges.

Read More »

Listen

With every evolution in military technology comes a shift in military tactics. And each shift in tactics pushes our understanding of what is permissible and what is ethical behaviour in war. The American military's use of drones brings with it uncomfortable moral questions. Journalist Naheed Mustafa visits Pakistan and explores the dilemmas posed by drone warfare.

Read More »

Listen

In 1994, Dutch novelist Arnon Grunberg won the prize for best first novel in Holland. Six years later, using a different name, he won the same prize once again. He talks about various literary shenanigans with IDEAS host Paul Kennedy. (Recorded at Montreal's Blue Metropolis Literary Festival.)

Read More »

Listen

ideacity is a three-day gathering of minds held each June in Toronto, produced and presented by the Canadian media innovator and pioneer, Moses Znaimer. This episode includes Daniel A. Bell, author of The Spirit of Cities, and China's New Confucianism, on combining ancient Confucian and modern western values in China; Conrad Black, author, biographer and controversial businessman, on the legacy of U.S. president Richard Nixon; Michael Nicula, the founder of the Online Party of Canada, on politics and the internet; and Robert J. Sawyer, novelist and the dean of Canadian science fiction, on balancing optimism with caution.

Listen

Every pair of shoes tells the story of a life. Canadian novelist Katherine Govier helps immigrant women tell their stories by having them write about the shoes they were wearing when they arrived in Canada. Paul Kennedy hears more entrancing stories in the second of two programs about The Shoe Project.

Read More »

Listen

British philosopher A.C. Grayling surveys the origins of the ideas of individual liberties and rights that formed the modern West. Produced in collaboration with the University of Manitoba's Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics, Professor Grayling speaks before an audience at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. This lecture is the first in a series of upcoming talks called Fragile Freedoms: the Global Struggle for Human Rights.

Read More »

Listen

Scent has been used for millennia to enhance sexual attraction and mask body odour. The manufacture of scent is a billion dollar industry in today's deodorized world. Cindy Bisaillon examines the psychology and neurology of smell and the fine line between scented sophistication and our own primal animal musk.

Read More »

Listen

Fyodor Dostoevsky was one of the world's most celebrated writers, and he had a debilitating gambling problem. Sociologist Lorne Tepperman examines Dostoevsky's life to understand what led to this addiction and draws comparisons to problem gamblers today. Lorne Tepperman is the co-author of The Dostoevsky Effect: Problem Gambling and the Origins of Addiction.

Read More »

Listen

ideacity is a three-day gathering of minds held each June in Toronto, produced and presented by the Canadian media innovator and pioneer, Moses Znaimer. The speakers in this episode include Marina Adshade, economist and author, on using the market and the internet to enhance your relationship projects; author Amy Webb, on using digital tools to find Mr.or Ms. Right; and Mike Merrill, the world's first publically traded person, on turning your life over to an on-line corporation. For more information about ideacity and future conferences, visit the ideacity website.

Listen

She represents the first woman on earth in Christian and Judaic traditions. In Islam she's known as Hawwa. To many, she's the thoughtless vixen who tempted man away from God. But a closer look shows a daring champion of human ingenuity and equality. Nicola Luksic explores the mystique of the woman so many claim to understand.

Read More »

Listen