Monday, November 29
SHANGHAI LADIES
Painted posters of beautiful women were used to sell all manner of goods in 1920s China. Broadcaster Christina Wong asks if these are images of subservience or liberation.

Tuesday, November 30
BLUE METROPOLIS BLEU - The Future of the Book 
Ideas host Paul Kennedy moderates a panel from the 2010 Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival in Montreal. Two publishers (Yvonne Hunter from Penguin Canada and Kim McArthur from McArthur Books) and an academic/author/blogger (Andrew Piper from McGill) discuss the uncertain future of an endangered species.

Wednesday, December 1
"SEX AND THE DEAD..."
...is how Irish poet Paul Muldoon summarizes the themes of his work. He has been called the most significant English language poet since World War II. He has garnered international praise and recognition of his work, including a Pulitzer Prize and a Griffin Poetry Prize. Today, he is poetry editor at The New Yorker. IDEAS host Paul Kennedy interviewed Paul Muldoon at the 2010 Blue Metropolis Literary Festival in Montreal.

Thursday, December 2
ORIGINAL SPARE STRANGE
Victorian poet Gerard Manley Hopkins embraced the ecstatic in nature. Conflicted by a repressed homosexuality, he entered the priesthood and adopted the rigours of Jesuit celibacy. He wrote highly original poetry, and produced some of the greatest poems of faith and doubt in the English language. A portrait by Cindy Bisaillon.

Friday, December 3
THE ORIGINS OF THE MODERN PUBLIC, Part 12
Publicity was once the exclusive property of men of rank. They alone, by virtue of their stations, could make things public. During the 18th century it became meaningful to talk about "public opinion" as something formed outside the state. Today anyone with a Twitter account can make a public. In this series IDEAS producer David Cayley examines how publics were formed in Europe, between 1500 and 1700, and how these early publics grew into the concept of "the public" that we hold today.