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 the possibility.

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 ninety years ago, led by “Boomer” Harding, “Flat” Chase, and King Terrell, the Chatham Coloured All-Stars became the first all-Black team to win the Ontario baseball championship. Now the story of their historic 1934 season, including the racist treatment they endured and their exploits on the field has resurfaced in an online project, and they’re 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

You've likely experienced it: that state of being in the groove, on a roll, lost in the process. It's what researchers call 'flow': a state intimately familiar to athletes and artists — or anyone who's been fully absorbed in a given task to the point where time seems to stand still. In this state there's a sense of self disappearing, presenting a paradox between a state in which you lose yourself, yet become yourself. Writer and triathlete, Suzanne Zelazo, delves into the mystery at the heart of flow in this documentary.

*This episode originally aired on June 25, 2021.

"We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition," Canada's Prime Minster Mark Carney said in a recent speech at the World Economic Forum. The shift in international relations has Carney urging middle power countries to build coalitions and act together to counteract the great power strategy of the day: coercion. How? By flexing our "soft power" — assets a country has that appeal to other countries in international affairs. As it turns out, Canada and a majority of other countries have an opportunity to play a significant role on the international stage, if they choose to take it.

This IDEAS episode is a discussion with Jennifer Welsh, McGill University’s Canada Research Chair in Global Governance and Security, moderated by Nahlah Ayed, at the University of Ottawa in the fall of 2025. We also hear from former high commissioner to Britain Janice Charette, former head of MSF Dr. Joanne Liu and climate campaigner Catherine Abreu.

Our justice system was developed under the assumption that both parties in a dispute would each have a lawyer. But the reality is most Canadian's can't afford a lawyer — which makes negotiations unequal. In some jurisdictions as many as 80% of people in family court are self represented. What about legal aid? Very few people are eligible. Our series continues to explore how the justice system is designed to favour people with money. *This episode originally aired on April 26, 2023.