Big Ideas (Audio)

322 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 10 years ago - ★★★★★ - 76 ratings

Big Ideas offers lectures on a variety of thought-provoking topics which range across politics, culture, economics, art history, science.... By nature of its lecture format, pacing and inquisitive approach, it is the antithesis of the prevailing sound-bite television norm. The simple, bold concept is a victory of substance over style. Big Ideas airs Saturdays and Sundays at 5:00 PM EST on TVO - Canada's largest educational broadcaster.

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Episodes

Ayaan Hirsi Ali on Islam

September 25, 2010 12:00 - 9.85 MB

Somali-born author Ayaan Hirsi Ali delivers the 2010 Donner Canadian Foundation Lecture. Her lecture is based on her book Nomad: From Islam to America, A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations.

Ruth Wisse on Getting Serious about Jewish Humor - 2004

September 17, 2010 12:00 - 21.5 MB

Ruth Wisse delivers her lecture entitled Getting Serious about Jewish Humor recorded at Beth Tzedec Synagogue in Toronto, in November, 2004.

Gerard t'Hooft on Science Fiction and Reality

September 11, 2010 12:00 - 18.3 MB

Gerard t'Hooft, a Nobel Laureate from Utrecht University, delivers a lecture on Science Fiction and Reality at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario on May 7, 2008

Simon Blackburn on Truth: A Guide for the Perplexed - 2005

September 03, 2010 12:00 - 18.1 MB

Simon Blackburn discusses his book Truth: A Guide for the Perplexed. The lecture was delivered at the University of Toronto, in May, 2005

Daniel Pink on his book A Whole New Mind - 2005

August 27, 2010 12:00 - 10.5 MB

Daniel Pink delivers a lecture discussing his book A Whole New Mind at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, in June, 2005.

Jonathan Berger on the Social Ethics of Music

August 21, 2010 12:00 - 15.2 MB

Stanford University professor, Jonathan Berger, presents a range of compositions, including his piece called Jiyeh, written in response to an ecological disaster arising from an act of war, in this profoundly moving lecture (and accompanying auditory soundscape) reflecting on the idea of socially responsible music.

Ralph Wood on JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis - 2004

August 13, 2010 12:00 - 19.7 MB

Ralph Wood delivers a lecture entitled Tolkien and Lewis: Friends and Combatants. It was delivered at Yorkminster Baptist Church in Toronto, in September, 2004.

Irene Khan on poverty and human rights

August 08, 2010 12:00 - 14.5 MB

Irene Khan, former Secretary General of Amnesty International, argues that economics solutions alone cannot end the problems of poverty. She believes that poverty is first and foremost a problem of human rights, and therefore to tackle global poverty we need to focus on the human rights abuses that keep people poor.

Kay Redfield Jamison on her book Exuberance - 2004

July 30, 2010 12:00 - 15.2 MB

Kay Redfield Jamison discusses her book Exuberance: The Passion for Life - 2004

George Steiner on the history of Literacy - 2002

July 23, 2010 12:00 - 19.8 MB

Author George Steiner, speaking at the Living Literacies Conference (November 2002) at York University in Toronto, delivers a lecture on the history of literacy.

Nick Mount on Eden Robinson's novel Monkey Beach

July 23, 2010 12:00 - 19.6 MB

Nick Mount discusses Eden Robinson's debut novel Monkey Beach which was nominated for both the Giller Prize and the Governor General's Literary Award.

Gerald Cohen on Rescuing Conservatism

July 17, 2010 11:00 - 14.9 MB

Political philosopher Gerald Cohen presents the 2008 Centre for Ethics Public Lecture (University of Toronto). His topic is "Rescuing Conservatism: A Defence of Existing Value".

Malcolm Gladwell on Blink - 2005

July 09, 2010 12:00 - 11.4 MB

Malcolm Gladwell discusses his bestselling book Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking

Mel Hurtig on The Truth about Canada

July 03, 2010 12:00 - 18.1 MB

Mel Hurtig delivers a lecture based on the findings in his book, The Truth about Canada, which illuminates some of the truths and myths about Canada.

Susan Sontag on modern literacy - 2002

June 25, 2010 12:00 - 22.4 MB

Author Susan Sontag, speaking at the Living Literacies Conference (November 2002) at York University in Toronto, delivers a lecture on modern literacy.

Brian Schmidt Q&A - The Universe from Beginning to End

June 18, 2010 12:00 - 3.07 MB

Brian Schmidt of the Australian National University answers questions following his lecture entitled The Universe from Beginning to End

Brian Schmidt on The Universe from Beginning to End

June 18, 2010 12:00 - 17.4 MB

Brian Schmidt of the Australian National University delivers his lecture entitled The Universe from Beginning to End. The lecture explores the geometry and age of the universe to give us a picture of the effects of Dark Energy.

Edward Shorter on the history of sex - 2005

June 11, 2010 12:00 - 9.76 MB

Edward Shorter delivers a lecture discussing the history of sex and his book Written in the Flesh at Hart House at the University of Toronto - September, 2005.

Charles Sabine & Sydney Brenner on The Personalized Genome

June 04, 2010 12:00 - 8.77 MB

Charles Sabine & Sydney Brenner speak at the Gairdner Symposium on The Personalized Genome in Toronto (October 30, 2009)

Robert Adams on Booker Prize winning novel The White Tiger

May 28, 2010 12:00 - 27.1 MB

Teacher, writer and critic, Robert Adams, reviews Aravind Adiga's Booker prize-winning novel, The White Tiger. Corruption, murder, and a series of letters composed by a former chauffeur allow the novel to explore India's caste system and how it's been affected by the country's economic miracle.

Vaclav Smil on the future of the planet.

May 21, 2010 12:00 - 19 MB

Can one planet survive the impact of a human population of close to 9 billion people? Environment writer, Andrew Revkin, interviews author and distinguished professor, Vaclav Smil, about the promise and perils of the next fifty years. This talk was part of the Q2C festival at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo in October 2009.

Jordan Peterson on Reality and the Sacred

May 14, 2010 12:00 - 15.4 MB

In his lecture entitled Reality and the Sacred, psychology professor, Jordan Peterson, explores the human search for meaning in a chaotic world and how our perceptions and beliefs shape our sense of reality.

P. Sainath on India in the Age of Inequality

May 07, 2010 12:00 - 19.3 MB

Award-winning journalist Palagummi Sainath delivers a lecture at York University entitled Slumdogs versus Millionaires: India in the Age of Inequality.

Cory Doctorow, on Copyright vs. Universal Access

April 30, 2010 12:00 - 18.8 MB

Author, activist, journalist and blogger, Cory Doctorow, delivers a lecture on Copyright vs. Universal Access. Subtitled, The State of Play in the Global Copyfight, this lecture was part of the Q2C Festival at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo.

Nick Mount on T.S. Eliot

April 23, 2010 12:00 - 16.4 MB

English professor Nick Mount analyzes T.S. Eliot's modernist masterpiece, The Waste Land.

Rupinder Brar on Exoplanets: The Search for Other Earths

April 16, 2010 11:00 - 15.2 MB

Rupinder Brar from the Science and Physics Department at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology presents his competition winning lecture entitled Exoplanets: The Search for Other Earths.

David Gray on Open Economy Macroeconomics

April 02, 2010 11:00 - 14.9 MB

David Gray from the Economics Department at the University of Ottawa presents his competition lecture entitled Open Economy Macroeconomics

Nadia Habib on Reflections on Gender and Sexuality

April 01, 2010 11:00 - 14.2 MB

Nadia Habib from the Liberal Arts and Professional Studies Department at York University presents her competition lecture entitled Reflections on Gender and Sexuality.

Bruce Meyer lecture

March 26, 2010 11:00 - 12.1 MB

Bruce Meyer from the English Department at Laurentian University at Georgian College presents his competition lecture entitled The Four Phases of Yeats.

Monika Havelka on Why Sex? The Evolution of a Paradox

March 26, 2010 11:00 - 15 MB

Monika Havelka from the Biology Department at the University of Toronto Mississauga presents her competition lecture entitled Why Sex? The Evolution of a Paradox.

Best Lecturer 2010 nominee Rupinder Brar

March 19, 2010 11:00 - 15.2 MB

Rupinder Brar from the Faculty of Science at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology presents his competition lecture entitled Exoplanets: The Search For Other Earths.

Virginia Walker lecture audio podcast

March 19, 2010 11:00 - 11.6 MB

Virginia Walker lecture audio podcast

Best Lecturer 2010 nominee Karolyn Smardz Frost

March 12, 2010 11:00 - 15.1 MB

Karolyn Smardz Frost from the History Department at York University presents her competition lecture entitled Fugitive Sources: Uncovering Toronto's Underground Railroad Connections.

Best Lecturer 2010 nominee Sohail Rashid

March 12, 2010 11:00 - 15.1 MB

Sohail Rashid from the Psychology Department at Ryerson University presents his competition lecture entitled Birth Order and Personality.

Steve Joordens on Teaching Critical Thinking

March 05, 2010 11:00 - 13.5 MB

Steve Joordens from the Psychology Department at the University of Toronto Scarborough presents his competition lecture entitled You Can Lead Students to Knowledge, But How Do You Make Them Think?

Eleanor MacDonald on Are We Postmodern?

March 05, 2010 11:00 - 11.8 MB

Eleanor MacDonald from the Political Studies Department at Queen's University presents her competition lecture entitled Are We Postmodern?

BIG IDEAS: Nick Mount audio podcast

February 26, 2010 11:00 - 17.7 MB

As part of his Literature for Our Time series, English professor Nick Mount discusses Virginia Woolf?s novel To the Lighthouse.

Michael Ruse asks Is Darwinism Past its Sell-By Date?

February 23, 2010 11:00 - 17 MB

At the 2009 Darwin conference entitled Origin of Species at 150, philosophy professor Michael Ruse asks Is Darwinism Past its Sell-By Date?

Francis Broun

February 12, 2010 11:00 - 19.1 MB

Art historian, Francis Broun, delivers an informative and entertaining lecture on the sculptures of Michelangelo. Broun is a professor in the Faculty of Liberal Studies at the Ontario College of Art

Dambisa Moyo on Innovating Away from Aid

February 05, 2010 11:00 - 12.4 MB

In her best-selling book, Dead Aid, economist Dambisa Moyo, argues that aid to Africa breeds corruption and dependence and should be replaced with more innovative ways of financing, including capital markets and microfinance. Her lecture, Innovating Away from Aid, was delivered at the University of Waterloo.

Sean B. Carroll

January 30, 2010 22:00 - 17.7 MB

The theory of evolution is credited to Charles Darwin but important contributions were also made by Henry Walter Bates and Alfred Wallace. The stories of these three adventurers are chronicled by Sean B. Carroll, author of the book Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species.

Harold Kushner

January 23, 2010 22:00 - 16.1 MB

Author Harold Kushner on his latest book Conquering Fear

Wade Davis

January 16, 2010 22:00 - 15.9 MB

Anthropologist and author, Wade Davis, delivers the 2009 Massey Lecture The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World. Davis explores the importance of the myriad and diverse cultures of the world and the impact on all of us when a culture disappears.

Peter Diamandis on promoting radical scientific breakthroughs through his X Prize foundation

January 09, 2010 22:00 - 15.9 MB

Dr. Peter Diamandis is the Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation, a non-profit initiative focused on designing and launching large incentive prizes, such as the Google Lunar X PRIZE, to drive radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity. This lecture entitled The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Invent it Yourself! was delivered at the Quantum to Cosmos science festival at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo.

Big Ideas (Audio)

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