Ideas Folgen

Fact and fiction may seem poles apart but writers Esi Edugyan and Tiya Miles find the two intertwine perfectly in their award-winning storytelling. Both authors try to imagine past lives in their work, in part so that we may reimagine our own. They may operate in different realms but what they share is the telling of profoundly important stories that would otherwise go untold. It's been a longtime goal for IDEAS to bring these two accomplished authors together for a discussion — and it was worth the wait.This podcast was recorded in front of an audience in January 2026 at a Toronto Public Library event.

The world is feeling darker and darker these days. So this podcast might be a much-needed balm. It's about hope — a practice that scholar Shannon Murray argues can't be passive. That's where the German term 'freudenfreude' comes in, when someone celebrates the good fortune of others as if it's their own. Murray explains the power of freudenfreude and offers a guide to hope, empathy, and patience through the lens of Shakespeare. Yes. The Bard's words tie into all of this. *This episode originally aired on Nov. 13, 2023.

Throughout his career, it wasn't unusual for David Bowie to sing about death. But the musician used his own mortality as a theme for a final album that he released just two days before he died, on his 69th birthday. In this podcast IDEAS looks into the meaning of Bowie's enigmatic last songs, and explores the many ways that an artist’s mortality gives their work new meaning. *This episode originally aired on Jan. 11, 2016.