Henry Brown earned the name "Henry Box Brown" in March of 1849. He hatched a risky plan and had himself shipped in a wooden crate, from Richmond to Philadelphia. But that’s less than half his story. In freedom, he uses his escape box as the basis for a subversive magic act that sees him tour the stages of the UK and Canada — his final home. Henry's remarkable story is a must-listen. *This episode originally aired on Feb. 3, 2025.

With vengeful alien civilizations and hologram wives, Chinese science fiction is in its heyday. One hot topic discussion is how the genre and culture view things as "inherently non-binary," says PhD student Zichuan Gan. Not just in the sense of gender but avoiding black and white categories. As in "humans or machines, west or east, Chinese science-fiction often shows that reality and life are more mixed and complicated." IDEAS explores what we can learn from China through it's science fiction. *This episode originally aired on Sept. 2, 2025.

Neither the legal system nor the Constitution can change the course of the United States’ descent into illiberalism, argues human rights and civil liberties lawyer Jameel Jaffer. Only the will of the people can — when ordinary citizens fight to uphold democracy with "civic courage."

Mudlarking is a hobby that's having a moment. The opportunity to take part in the painstaking, low-tech scrape through history draws thousands of people hoping to come face to face with the remnants of lives that came before them. But what can mudlarkers do that a trained archeologist cannot? This podcast takes you to the heart of London on the Southbank of the Thames River where there's mud, water — and possibility.

Click here to see a collection of mudlarking finds.

For the first two billion years, the Earth didn't have oxygen. That's just one of the many fascinating details Peter Frankopan reveals in his book, Earth Transformed: An Untold History. The Oxford professor of global history takes us on a multi-million year tour, illustrating the breathtaking ways climate has shaped the Earth and human civilization. How the collapse of a sediment shelf 8,000 years ago isolated what's now Britain from Europe, and its potential influence on the Brexit vote in 2016. Or how climate fluctuations correlate to periods of antisemitic violence. There's a lot to learn in this podcast. Have a listen.

More than a decade before Jackie Robinson became the first Black player to take the field in Major League Baseball, a ball team from a small Southwestern Ontario city was breaking colour barriers. They were called the

Chatham Coloured All-Stars — the first all-Black team to win the Ontario baseball championship. Their historic 1934 season, including the racist treatment they endured and their exploits on the field has resurfaced in an online project. Now the team is getting their due as trailblazing Black Canadian athletes. *This episode originally dropped on Nov. 25, 2024.

Water has been "a powerful teacher" for Nishnaabeg scholar Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, a member of Alderville First Nation north of Lake Ontario. With so much uncertainty about the kind of world that’s taking shape, her award-winning book Theory of Water draws on Anishinaabe creation story, Indigenous ethics of relationality and reciprocity, and the wisdom of water to chart a course for remaking a better, more sustainable and just world. Simpson's Theory of Water: Nishnaabe Maps to the Times Ahead won the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Non-Fiction in 2025.

Firstly, you might ask: What is the Monroe Doctrine? It's a U.S. policy created in the 19th century that opposes foreign interference in the affairs of the "Western Hemisphere." It was understood to be a defense of autonomy but its interpretation is mixed. Various presidents over time have used the doctrine for their own purposes, writing their own political agenda onto it. Now is no different, as Donald Trump's government turns to the policy as a way to control the Western Hemisphere.

Guests in this episode:

Richard Drake is the Lucile Speer Research Chair in politics and history at the University of Montana

Max Cameron teaches in the department of political science at the University of British Columbia and is president of the Latin American Studies Association