"This is a hopeless situation but we are not helpless." This is what drives Sudanese journalist Yousra Elbagir's reporting on her homeland's forgotten war. She uses what she calls "human reporting" to let the world know Sudan is more than conflict and suffering. "Sudanese generosity is our lifeblood. That's what's keeping us alive right now. We are actually surviving in forced starvation through generosity and kindness and care."

Yousra Elbagir delivered the 2025 Stursberg Foreign Correspondents Lecture at Carleton University. She spoke to host Nahlah Ayed about her work and her lecture: Human reporting from Sudan and beyond — a remedy for selective empathy?

"Those who remember the disappeared would also disappear." Under dictator Bashar al-Assad, grieving publicly in Syria was punishable. Now the silenced stories of lost loved ones are emerging and public spaces to grieve have been created. Syrian architect Ammar Azzouz who lost his friend and colleague Tahir Sabai says in addition to having the right to remember, it's "a duty to remember." IDEAS hears about the lives of a father, a brother, Azzouz's classmate from architecture school and a singer who became the voice of the revolution.

We have a lot to thank horses for in our everyday lives, from the Hollywood motion picture, to life-saving vaccines for diphtheria and tetanus, to a staple in our closets: pants. "Prior to riding horses, no one wore pants," says historian Timothy Winegard. He argues that horses are intertwined in our own history to the point that we overlook their importance. His research explains how they shaped societies, economies and cultures. Without us, horses would be nowhere, and vice versa. It was a partnership — our brains and their braun — that truly changed the world. *This episode originally aired on Sept. 10, 2024.

Thanks to copyright laws, artists, writers and scientists can create without fear of theft. On an individual basis this protection is welcome. But in practice copyright laws set up barriers, stifle production and prevent equal access to art and knowledge. If you've ever tried to open a scholarly article online you know how difficult it is. What happened to the internet's great promise to democratize knowledge? In this podcast, producer Naheed Mustafa explores the fate of “open access” — all in the ever-expanding universe of copyright laws, paywalls and old-fashioned bureaucratic sludge.

Guests in this podcast:

John Willinsky is emeritus professor of education at Stanford University with an appointment at Simon Fraser University.

Lokesh Vyas is pursuing a PhD at Sciences Po in Paris working on the history of international copyright law.

Thea Lim is a Toronto-based novelist, creative writing teacher, and cultural writer focussing on the intersection of power, art and personhood, and technology.

We gorge ourselves on the internet, smartphones, social media, information overload — all of it constantly sap us of our emotional and intellectual vitality. Authors Pico Iyer and Jonathan Haidt argue it's vital we disconnect from our addictive online world to pursue a fulfilling, and richer life. By curtailing the noise of technology, media and other worldly distractions there's space to reconnect with the things that matter. "Humans were never designed to live at a pace determined by machines. The only way we could begin to do that is by becoming machines ourselves," says Iyer.

Pico Iyer and Jonathan Haidt were two of the marquee speakers at the 2025 Aspen Ideas Festival. The theme this year was 'What Makes Life Good.'

Holmes Rolston III began his career as a Presbyterian minister. But his love of the natural world — and his belief in evolution — didn't sit well with his congregation. He was ultimately fired. The late philosopher spent much of his career working to bridge the gap between science and religion because he said "the future of Earth depends on it." Rolston is the pioneer of environmental ethics, a turning point in philosophy. His ultimate goal was to define the moral worth of the planet. Rolston died in 2025 at the age of 92.

In this episode, IDEAS explores his legacy and the continuing resonance of his work.

Guests in this documentary:

Christopher Preston is a professor of environmental philosophy at the University of Montana, Missoula. His books include Tenacious Beasts and Saving Creation: Nature and Faith in the Life of Holmes Rolston III.

Stephen Scharper is an associate professor in the department of anthropology and the School of the Environment at the University of Toronto.

Kerry Bowman is a Canadian bioethicist and environmentalist who teaches bioethics and planetary health at the University of Toronto.

Nathan Kowalsky is an associate professor of philosophy at St. Joseph's College at the University of Alberta.

Karen Beazley is a professor emerita in the School for Resource and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University.

Simon Appolloni is an assistant professor in the Teaching Stream at the University of Toronto's School of the Environment.

Maria Chapdelaine: A Tale of French Canada, written by Louis Hémon in 1913, is one of the most widely read works of fiction ever written in French. Yet today, the book remains far less known in English Canada and the English-speaking world. It is the world's highest-selling French book, and has been translated into over 20 languages. The book has inspired four film versions, several plays, an opera, and even a pop song. Contributor Catherine Annau examines the many lives that Maria Chapdelaine has lived, and continues to live.

Would you 'doo-be-doo' if you know it would help bridge divides? Try vocal improvisation — singing sounds, rhythms and melodies. PhD candidate Erwan Noblet teaches the practice and says it's a great way to open up and connect at another level being together. He believes the human voice has the power to communicate creatively when it's released from everyday verbal tasks. We asked three former politicians from different political parties to communicate through vocalization, without words. Their conversation may inspire you to take on vocal improv.

*This episode is part of our ongoing series Ideas in the Trenches, which showcases fascinating new work by Canadian PhD students.