Schedule

May 2012 | June 2012


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May

Monday, April 30 - Friday, May 4
AFTER ATHEISM: NEW PERSPECTIVES ON GOD AND RELIGION
Public discussion of religion tends to polarize between two extremes: religious fundamentalism, and the aggressive atheism of such writers as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. But much of what people actually believe falls somewhere in between. It is subtler and more tentative. David Cayley explores the work of five thinkers whose recent books have charted new paths for religion: Richard Kearney (Anatheism: Returning to God After God); John Caputo (The Weakness of God); William Cavanagh (Migrations of the Holy: God, State and the Political Meaning of the Church); James Carse (The Religious Case Against Belief); and Roger Lundin (Believing Again: Doubt and Faith in a Secular Age).

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Monday, May 7
THE ENRIGHT FILES
Michael Enright, host of The Sunday Edition, and noted jazz critic Gary Giddins celebrate the 100th anniversary of the King of Swing, Benny Goodman. Through story and song we discover just how important Benny Goodman was to 20th century music.

Tuesday, May 8
CAIRO: HER CITY, OUR REVOLUTION
Best-selling Egyption author Ahdaf Soueif (who wrote The Map of Love, which was nominated for the 1999 Booker Prize) talks with IDEAS host Paul Kennedy about the 18 days in Cairo's Tahrir Square that defined the Arab Spring. This interview occured at Montreal's Blue Metropolis Literary Festival, where Soueif had just been rewarded the Al Majidi Ibn Dhaher Arab Prize.

Wednesday, May 9
MR. PUNCH
How a deformed, child-murdering, wife-beating, psychopathic hand puppet became a cultural icon, a famous satirical magazine, and a four-century-old folkplay cherished by small children for enacting horrendous acts of violence. A documentary by Chris Brookes.

Thursday, May 10
WIRED FOR CULTURE
Human beings have a unique evolutionary history. We are at the mercy of neither biology nor luck. We survive by learning from each other. Evolutionary biologist Mark Pagel tells us humans are successful because we are "wired for culture."

Friday, May 11
SEARCHING FOR ATLANTIS
From 1985, a witty and illuminating examination of the fabled "lost continent", from its beginnings in the works of Plato through the twists and turns of later interpretations. Featuring the distinguished classicist A.Trevor Hodge (1930-2012) and the former IDEAS host Lister Sinclair (1921-2006).

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Monday, May 14
FOOTPRINTS IN KENYA
An ongoing annual series about the connection between Sport and Society, "Footprints 2012" takes IDEAS host Paul Kennedy to the Great Rift Valley, in Kenya. He spends time in the training camp for distance runners that may produce pots of gold at this summer's London Olympics.

Tuesday, May 15
WACHTEL ON THE ARTS
Eleanor Wachtel speaks with the American composer Philip Glass. Perhaps the most prominent composer of his generation, his works helped reinvent the sound of music for Western audiences from the late 1960s on. He's coming to Canada in June with a revival of his first opera, Einstein On the Beach, part of the celebrations for Glass' 75th birthday.

Wednesday, May 16
A QUESTION OF OPTIMISM
Research seems to indicate that we're genetically inclined to optimism. But what if we're too optimistic to deal with social problems? A Calgary forum mulls the implications. Produced in association with the Calgary Institute for the Humanities at the University of Calgary.

Thursday, May 17 - Friday, May 18
THE NATION OF HOCKEY
The back of our five dollar bill shows kids playing shinny on a timeless pond somewhere in Canada. But Calgary writer Bruce Dowbiggin argues that hockey is far more than simple nostalgia or big business. It's a clear window into the complexity of modern Canada: from shifting political power and economics, to multiculturalism and what we think it means to be a Canadian in the 21st century

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Monday, May 21
ELEVEN THOUSAND METRES UNDER THE SEA
In an IDEAS exclusive, James Cameron talks about his recent expedition to Challenger Deep, in the Mariana Trench - the deepest place in the world's oceans. Shortly after he returned to the surface, he recorded this conversation on board the Mermaid Sapphire with the expedition's electronic journalist and backup physician, Dr. Joe MacInnis. For more about the National Geographic-Rolex sponsored expedition, visit the National Geographic Deep Sea Challenge website.

Tuesday, May 22
OUR FRACTURED STORY
Digital culture has transformed the way society understands itself. Information comes to us unfiltered, without mediation. Digital memory is forever. All versions of a story are equal. Vancouver journalist Greg Buium explores what happens to knowledge in a digital age.

Wednesday, May 23
THE SWORD BROTHERS, Part 1
Christians against Muslims, the Crusades that began in the eleventh century were wars for control of the Holy Land. The Crusaders themselves were a hybrid of warrior and priest, defending the pilgrim, attacking the Infidel. These Military Orders were also the first multinational corporations, and until their eventual destruction and diminishment, the Knights Templar, the Hospitallers and the Teutonic Knights held unparalleled power, enough to threaten whole kingdoms and the Papacy itself. Philip Coulter tells the story. Part 2 airs next Wednesday, May 30.

Thursday, May 24 - Friday, May 25
WILLIAM NOTMAN OF MONTREAL
He arrived in Montreal in 1856 as a fugitive from the law. He became Canada's most successful photographer. A rare combination of canny businessman and master craftsman, William Notman embraced the wondrous new medium of photography and left us a unique record of Canada's social history. A portrait by Montreal writer Elaine Kalman Naves.

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Monday, May 28 - Tuesday, May 29
TALKING PHILOSOPHY: FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of a democratic society. Our liberty depends on free and open debate. How then are we to think about nasty, hurtful and offensive speech? Does it need to be heard and discussed? Join IDEAS host Paul Kennedy and philosophers Michael Blake, Simone Chambers and Arthur Ripstein as they freely debate the merits and the limits of expression, in even the freest of democracies.

Wednesday, May 30
THE SWORD BROTHERS, Part 2
Christians against Muslims, the Crusades that began in the eleventh century were wars for control of the Holy Land. The Crusaders themselves were a hybrid of warrior and priest, defending the pilgrim, attacking the Infidel. These Military Orders were also the first multinational corporations, and until their eventual destruction and diminishment, the Knights Templar, the Hospitallers and the Teutonic Knights held unparalleled power, enough to threaten whole kingdoms and the Papacy itself. Philip Coulter tells the story. Part 3 airs next Wednesday, June 6.

Thursday, May 31
THE MUNK DEBATES
The Munk Debates convenes four influential Europeans to tackle the resolution: Be it resolved the European experiment has failed. Arguing for the resolution are: Niall Ferguson, Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University; and Josef Joffe,  publisher-editor of the German weekly Die Zeit and a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, TIME and Newsweek. Arguing against the resolution are Daniel Cohn-Bendit, who rose to public prominence as a leader of student revolts in France in the 1960s and is now a highly influential voice in Europe serving as the co-president of the Greens/Free European Alliance Group in the European Parliament; and Peter Mandelson, a Member of the House of Lords, and Chairman of Global Counsel, a strategic advisory firm. The Munk Debate will be recorded in Toronto on Friday, May 25. For tickets and further information, please visit The Munk Debates website.

Friday, June 1
LEGENDS OF THE CAYUGA
In their longhouses, the Cayuga tell stories of a world where hunters stalk a powerful bear in the sky, maple trees hold the secret to life, and a fearsome battle creates Niagara Falls. Dramatized, cast and recorded in Ohsweken, on the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory.

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June

Monday, June 4
THE ENRIGHT FILES
Our monthly Monday night feature with Michael Enright, host of The Sunday Edition, in conversation with some of the most original and influential thinkers of our time.

Tuesday, June 5
DELUSIONS OF GENDER
In 1797, the English clergyman Thomas Gisborne wrote a popular book called, An Enquiry into the Duties of the Female Sex. It outlined the different mental abilities of men and women and was a Victorian best-seller. Today many scientists believe there is a male and female brain. Australian academic psychologist Cordelia Fine begs to differ. She has written several books about brain development and the science of sex differences. The latest is Delusions of Gender: The Real Science Behind Sex Differences. Cordelia Fine speaks with IDEAS producer Mary O'Connell.

Wednesday, June 6
THE SWORD BROTHERS, Part 3
Christians against Muslims, the Crusades that began in the eleventh century were wars for control of the Holy Land. The Crusaders themselves were a hybrid of warrior and priest, defending the pilgrim, attacking the Infidel. These Military Orders were also the first multinational corporations, and until their eventual destruction and diminishment, the Knights Templar, the Hospitallers and the Teutonic Knights held unparalleled power, enough to threaten whole kingdoms and the Papacy itself. Philip Coulter tells the story. Conclusion.

Thursday, June 7
IN THEIR SHOES
Novelist Katherine Govier works with immigrant women, honing their English writing skills. With the Bata Shoe Museum, she's created a small exhibition featuring 'the shoes that brought me to Canada'. These women reach out to help other women "In Their Shoes".

Friday, June 8
PLAY
Living is playing. Poets know this is true. So do scientists and artists.
From pat a cake to war games, if you have to learn anything, you know that play is the way to do it. Featuring the former host of IDEAS, Lister Sinclair, playing with players extraordinaire, in 1987: Jane Goodall, Bruno Bettelheim, George Plimpton, Richard Feynman, Earle Birney and Gloria Saarinen.

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Monday, June 11
WHERE IS THE INTERNET?
Can you come up with an answer? Most of us can't. And those who do have an answer-those in the field-often respond in technical language and with explanations that are intellectually counterintuitive. Barbara Nichol asks experts in the field a simple question: where is the Internet?

Tuesday, June 12
DANCING IN THE DARK: THE INTELLIGENCE OF BEES
Bees are remarkable among insects. They can count, remember human faces, and communicate through dance routines performed entirely in the dark. But are they intelligent? Even creative? Bee aficionado Stephen Humphrey, along with a hive of leading bee researchers and scientists, investigates the mental lives of bees.

Wednesday, June 13
BUYING INTO BIODIVERSITY
The 2012 Muskoka Environmental Summit brings together prominent scientists and influential policy makers to discuss critical questions about biodiversity and the environment. IDEAS host Paul Kennedy moderates the plenary panel discussion.

Thursday, June 14
THE SIGNAL OF NOISE
Once long past, listening gave clues for survival. Now we listen unconsciously, blocking noise and tuning in to what we want to hear. Yet the unwanted sounds we filter out tell us a lot about our environment and our lives. Broadcaster Teresa Goff listens for the messages in our walls of sound.

Friday, June15
A SERPENT'S TALE
World religions and ancient mythology are replete with snake imagery and folklore. Whether we fear them, love them, pray to them, keep them as pets or eat them to increase virility, snakes have fascinated humans for millennia. IDEAS contributor Hassan Ghedi Santur discusses the mysterious evolutionary history of snakes and their fearsome reputation. Along the way, he confronts his own case of ophidiophobia - you guessed it: the "abnormal fear of snakes."

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Monday, June 18
WHO STARTED THE WAR OF 1812?
It was a war that nobody really wanted, although both sides ultimately claimed to win. IDEAS host Paul Kennedy considers the causes and the consequences of the War of 1812-14, from both sides, and includes an "Indian" perspective that is all too frequently ignored.

Tuesday, June 19
WACHTEL ON THE ARTS
Will Alsop is widely known as an enfant terrible in the architecture world, not bad for someone who just celebrated his 64th birthday. His designs are often brash and colourful, and always live up to his motto that architecture should be fun. Will Alsop is Eleanor Wachtel's guest on this edition of Wachtel on the Arts.

Wednesday, June 20
IDOLATRY FOR BEGINNERS
At a time of widespread obsession with everything from money to celebrity to the latest in techno gadgetry, does the idea of idolatry have more than religious significance? IDEAS producer Frank Faulk explores the meaning of idolatry in a secular age.

Thursday, June 21
PONDERING THE PATRIATION
Thirty years after pivotal constitutional negotiations, an Edmonton conference brings together many of the original participants to consider what happened and how it changed Canadian history

Friday, June 22
WHAT'S WRONG WITH MULTICULTURALISM?
How should European societies respond to the influx of peoples with different traditions, backgrounds and beliefs? In the 2012 Milton K. Wong Lecture, Kenan Malik looks at multiculturalism policies in Europe, at the ways in which different countries have approached immigration and diversity, and at the reasons for the current dissatisfaction. The lecture is presented by the Laurier Institution, UBC Continuing Studies and CBC Radio One. For more details, please visit the Laurier Institution website. (If you're in the Vancouver area, the lecture will be recorded at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts on Sunday, June 3 at 7:00 pm. For ticket details, please phone 604-822-1444.)

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Monday, June 25 - Wednesday, June 27
THE IDEAS OF NORTHROP FRYE
On the 100th anniversary of his birth, we present an IDEAS classic about Northrop Frye. Frye was one of the greatest thinkers of our time. His Anatomy of Criticism, published in 1957, rewrote the rules of literary criticism. His writings on Canada and Canadian literature defined a generation's understanding of what it is to be Canadian. He asked the famous question, "Where is here?" Northrop Frye inspired and challenged students at the University of Toronto for nearly half a century. IDEAS producer David Cayley examines the evolution of Frye's ideas from Fearful Symmetry, his ground-breaking study of William Blake, to The Great Code, his investigation of the relationship between the Bible and literature. Frye himself is heard, along with the comments of friends, colleagues and critics.