Big Ideas

Janice Stein on the ethics of responsibility and accountability

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST

The Director of the Munk Centre for International Studies, Janice Stein, delivers her 2002 lecture on the ethics of responsibility and accountability in North American society.

John Polanyi on the world that science has built

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:00:00 EST

Winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, University of Toronto professor John Polanyi delivers his 2002 lecture on the world that science has built.

Alexander Wendt on why a one state world is inevitable

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:00:00 EST

Ohio State Political Science professor Alexander Wendt delivers his 2002 lecture on why he believes a one state world is inevitable.

Philip Ball on Chemistry and Colour in Art

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:00:00 EST

Philip Ball outlines how developments in chemistry have impacted painters and the art world throughout history.

Robert Fulford on A World Reconfigured: Politics and Perceptions Since 9-11

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 16:00:00 EST

Canadian author, journalist and broadcaster Robert Fulford delivers his 2003 lecture A World Reconfigured: Politics and Perceptions Since 9-11

J.B. Mackinnon, Alisa Smith, and Adria Vasil on the environment

Sun, 31 May 2009 16:00:00 EST

The authors of The 100-Mile Diet and Ecoholic deliver lectures on eating and living sustainably, in Part 2 of The Green Summit.

Thomas Homer-Dixon and Chris Turner on the environment

Sat, 30 May 2009 16:00:00 EST

Authors Thomas Homer-Dixon and Chris Turner deliver lectures on issues including climate change, green energy, and creating the foundations of a sustainable future, in the first of the 2-part special, The Green Summit.

Don Tapscott on the ways the Net Generation learn differently

Sat, 23 May 2009 16:00:00 EST

The author of Grown Up Digital, Don Tapscott, refutes the belief that the internet is turning today's youth into "the dumbest generation". Tapscott illustrates how the net has changed the way people learn and offers suggestions on how to tap into the expertise that the Net Generation possesses.

John Ralston Saul on what defines Canada as a nation

Sat, 16 May 2009 16:00:00 EST

John Ralson Saul argues that Canada is a Metis nation, critically influenced and shaped by aboriginal ideas.

Gwynne Dyer on global warming and his book Climate Wars

Sat, 09 May 2009 16:00:00 EST

Journalist and historian, Gwynne Dyer, discusses his book Climate Wars, outlining the impact that climate change is likely to have on international relations. Dyer focuses particularly on the military conflicts that he sees resulting from global warming.

Leo Panitch on the lessons of Marxism

Sat, 02 May 2009 16:00:00 EST

Leo Panitch delivers this year's Phyllis Clarke Memorial Lecture entitled "Still a Marxist After All: Lessons and Insights for our Time".

Hazel Carby on the British slave trade and the question of identity for people of West Indian heritage in the U.K.

Sat, 25 April 2009 16:00:00 EST

In her lecture, Belonging to Britain, Hazel Carby looks at the historic relationship between England and Jamaica, including the history of the slave trade in Bristol and the complex question of identity for those of mixed British and West Indian heritage. Carby is a professor of African American Studies and American Studies at Yale University.

Bernard-Henry Levy's "Stand Against the New Barbarism"

Sat, 18 April 2009 16:00:00 EST

Philosopher and journalist Bernard-Henri Levy critiques present-day leftist politics for its anti-liberalism, anti-Americanism, and for being soft on radical Islamism.

Merv Mosher - Best Lecturer Finalist - on Statistics: What's the Point?

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:00:00 EST

Merv Mosher from the Kinesiology and Health Science department at York University in Toronto is profiled and delivers his lecture entitled, Statistics: What's the Point?

Rod Carley - Best Lecturer Finalist - on Adapting Shakespeare within a Modern Canadian Context

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:00:00 EST

Top ten finalist, Professor Rod Carley, from the Communication Arts department at Canadore College in North Bay is profiled and delivers his competition lecture entitled, Adapting Shakespeare Within a Modern Canadian Context.

Clare Hasenkampf - Best Lecturer Finalist - on Chromosomes Dividing: How It Is Done and Why It Matters

Sun,22 Mar 2009 16:00:00 EST

Clare Hasenkampf from the Biological Sciences department at the University of Toronto Scarborough delivers her competition lecture entitled "Chromosomes Dividing: How It Is Done and Why It Matters".

Darryl Davies - Best Lecturer Finalist - on Explaining Crime

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 16:00:00 EST

Darryl Davies from the Sociology and Anthropology department at Carleton University in Ottawa delivers his competition lecture entitled "Explaining Crime".

Shawn Lehman - Best Lecturer Finalist - on Primate Infanticide: Adaptation or Social Pathology?

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 16:00:00 EST

Shawn Lehman from the Anthropology department at the University of Toronto St. George delivers his competition lecture entitled "Primate Infanticide: Adaptation or Social Pathology?"

Paul Stevens - Best Lecturer Finalist - on Milton's Satan

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:00:00 EST

Paul Stevens from the English department at the University of Toronto St. George delivers his competition lecture entitled "Milton's Satan".

Doug Richards - Best Lecturer Finalist - on Stretching: The Truth

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:00:00 EST

Doug Richards from the Physical Education and Health department at the University of Toronto St. George delivers his competition lecture entitled "Stretching: The Truth".

James Allard - Best Lecturer Finalist - on Frankenstein: Five Ways

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 16:00:00 EST

James Allard from the English Language and Literature department at Brock University in St. Catharines delivers his competition lecture entitled ": Five Ways".

Anton Allahar - Best Lecturer Finalist - on Why Isn't the Whole World Developed?

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:00:00 EST

Anton Allahar from the Sociology department at the University of Western Ontario in London delivers his competition lecture entitled "Why Isn't the Whole World Developed?"

Matthew Bellamy - Best Lecturer Finalist - on A Watershed Moment: Canada and the Second World War

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:00:00 EST

Matthew Bellamy from the History department at Carleton University in Ottawa delivers his competition lecture entitled "A Watershed Moment: Canada and the Second World War".

Toby Miller on electronic waste

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:00:00 EST

Professor of Media and Cultural Studies, Toby Miller, examines the environmental impact of our obsession with technology.

Jean Bethke Elshtain on religion and democracy

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 16:00:00 EST

"Religion and Democracy: Antagonists or Allies?" is the topic of the 2008 Seymour Martin Lipset Memorial Lecture.

David Weinberger on Knowledge at the End of the Information Age

Sat, 7 Feb 2009 16:00:00 EST

The author of "Everything is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder", David Weinberger, delivers a lecture entitled "Knowledge at the End of the Information Age". In this talk Weinberger argues that the internet is both profoundly weird, and deeply familiar. He claims that, by changing the way we receive information from the broadcast era's one-way monologue into a multi-directional conversation, the internet has humanized information.

Maude Barlow on the global water crisis

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST

Barlow argues that access to safe drinking water should be a basic human right and makes a compelling case for why the global water crisis will be the greatest environmental and human crisis of this century.

Lewis Lapham on education

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST

Lewis Lapham laments the state of the American education system.

Umberto Eco on Beauty and Ugliness

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST

Internationally renowned author and philosopher, Umberto Eco, gives "An Illustrated Presentation on the History of Beauty and Ugliness", based on his two recent books "On Beauty" and "On Ugliness".

Margaret Atwood's 2008 Massey Lecture

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST

Author Margaret Atwood delivers the 2008 Massey Lecture, "Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth".

October 25 2008: Gabor Mate

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 16:00:00 EST

Drawing on his experience with drug addicted patients from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, Dr. Gabor Mate discusses how the medical and legal systems are failing in the so called "war on drugs". Dr. Mate reads from his fourth book, "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction", and suggests ways in which society's approach to dealing with drugs and drug addicts could be improved.

September 20 2008: William D. Phillips

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 16:00:00 EST

"Time and Einstein in the 21st Century: The Coolest Stuff in the Universe" is the title of this exceptionally entertaining lecture. Phillips, who works with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, demonstrates the cooling potential of liquid nitrogen, the laser based technique known as "optical molasses" and shows how magnetic bottles can help science built more accurate atomic clocks.

Margaret Visser on The Gift of Thanks

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST

Cultural historian and author, Margaret Visser, explores the history and significance of gratitude.

Ernesto Spinelli on death anxiety

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST

Dr. Ernesto Spinelli delivers a lecture "Exploring Death Anxiety" at an International Conference on Personal Meaning

Kirk J. Schneider on the mystery of being

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST

Dr. Kirk Schneider explores therapeutic approaches to the mystery of being in a lecture delivered at an International Conference on Personal Meaning.

Jordan Peterson on the nature of evil

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST

University of Toronto Professor of Psychology Jordan Peterson discusses the nature of evil and its distinction from tragedy in this lecture presented at the 2008 Conference on Personal Meaning.

December 6 2008: Thomas Homer-Dixon

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST

Author and scholar, Thomas Homer-Dixon, explores the convergence of natural, social, and economic stresses that could lead to the breakdown of world economies and political systems.

November 29 2008: Mark Federman

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 16:00:00 EST

"No Educator Left Behind" is the title of this lecture by Mark Federman. In it Federman contends that, as a result of the changes the internet has brought to the way students communicate and interact, universities, if they are to remain relevant, must move from the current model of education as skills centered to one that is more focused on connectivity.

November 22 2008: Ron Deibert

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 16:00:00 EST

Political science professor Ron Deibert looks at the issue of internet censorship and surveillance around the world.

November 15 2008: Richard Florida

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 16:00:00 EST

Best-selling author, Richard Florida, describes how the creative class is impacting cities, business and society at large.

November 8 2008: Leanne Simpson

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 16:00:00 EST

Leanne Simpson of Athabasca University's Centre for World Indigenous Knowledge and Research delivers a lecture entitled, "Can Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge Survive in the Modern World?"

November 8 2008: Ronald Wright

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 16:00:00 EST

Ronald Wright, the author of , examines the dichotomy between "America's ideals and the realities". Wright discusses how such conflicts as those between Native Americans and the Europeans who came to settle the new world have shaped the American identity.

November 1 2008: Mark Kingwell and Malcolm Gladwell

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:00:00 EST

University of Toronto philosophy professor and author, Mark Kingwell, and journalist Malcolm Gladwell square off in a lively debate about social change and how best to achieve it.

October 18 2008: Ovide Mercredi

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:00:00 EST

In light of the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Canada, Ovide Mercredi, chief of the Misipawistic Cree nation and former chief of the Assembly of First Nations, reflects on what true reconciliation means and explains that it will only work if the reconciliation process engages aboriginals as equal partners.

October 11 2008: Salman Akhtar

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:00:00 EST

Jefferson Medical College professor Salman Akhtar discusses "The Trauma of Geophysical Dislocation", proposing that psychoanalysts need to pay special attention to their immigrant patients. Akhtar suggests that the immigration experience creates disruptions to the waking screen that are too often ignored in therapy and that the objects and landscapes that are left behind have a more significant impact on the immigrant's psychological well being than has generally been recognized.

October 4 2008: Strobe Talbott

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 16:00:00 EST

Strobe Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., delivers this year's Donner Canadian Foundation lecture drawing upon his recently released book The Great Experiment: The Story of Ancient Empires, Modern States and the Quest for a Global Nation.

September 27 2008: Benjamin Barber

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:00:00 EST

Benjamin Barber's books include , and . Speaking at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Barber explains how the ideal of people as citizens has been undermined by the drive to turn us all into consumers. The title of his talk is, "Consumerism, Globalization and the End of Sovereignty".

June 28 2008: Norman Doidge

Sat, 28 June 2008 16:00:00 EST

Psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and best-selling author, Dr. Norman Doidge, discusses the findings in his latest book, The Brain that Changes Itself, an examination of brain neuroplasticity.

May 24 2008: Charles Jencks

Sat, 24 May 2008 16:00:00 EST

Architect and author, Charles Jencks, presents a lecture based on his recent book "Critical Modernism: Where is Post-Modernism Going?"

May 17 2008: Paul Collier

Sat, 17 May 2008 16:00:00 EST

Paul Collier, Professor of Economics at Oxford University, delivers the 2008 Lionel Gelber Public Lecture on his award-winning book, ?The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It?.

April 12 2008: Daniel Bell

Sat, 12 April 2008 16:00:00 EST

Daniel Bell, Professor of Philosophy at Tsinghua University in Beijing presents a lecture on "China's New Confucianism".

May 10 2008: Margaret MacMillan, Part 1

Sat, 10 May 2008 16:00:00 EST

Author and historian Margaret MacMillan delivers this year's Trinity College Larkin-Stuart Lecture. The topic of her 2-part lecture is "History: The Next Secular Religion?"

May 11 2008: Margaret MacMillan, Part 2

Sun, 11 May 2008 16:00:00 EST

Author and historian Margaret MacMillan delivers this year's Trinity College Larkin-Stuart Lecture. The topic of her 2-part lecture is "History: The Next Secular Religion?"

December 8 2007: H. Jay Melosh

Sat, 8 Dec 2007 16:00:00 EST

What killed the dinosaurs? And is humanity headed for a similar fate? These questions are addressed by H. Jay Melosh, a Professor of Theoretical Geophysics at the University of Arizona, in this lecture entitled, Death of the Dinos: Giant Impacts and Biological Crises. With the help of sophisticated computer simulations Melosh presents his 'hot' new theory on the KT extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago.

June 7 2008: Marina Nemat

Sat, 07 June 2008 16:00:00 EST

A lecture by Marina Nemat, author of "Prisoner of Tehran".

June 7 2008: Hamida Ghafour

Sat, 07 June 2008 16:30:00 EST

Journalist Hamida Ghafour on her book "The Sleeping Buddha: Portraits of a Changing Afghanistan".

April 19 2008: John English

Sat, 19 April 2008 16:00:00 EST

In his lecture entitled "Trudeau's World: The Making of an Internationalist", historian and author John English, discusses Trudeau's path to political prominence and influence, particularly in the domain of international affairs.

December 15 2007: Eric Thurman

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 16:00:00 EST

Microcredit expert and consultant, Eric Thurman, discusses the ideas behind his book, A Billion Bootstraps.

February 16 2008: David Halperin

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:00:00 EST

David Halperin is a Professor of the History and Theory of Sexuality in the Department of English at the University of Michigan. His lecture is entitled ?Tragedy Into Melodrama: Towards a Poetics of Gay Male Culture?.

February 23 2008: Oliver Sacks

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 16:00:00 EST

World-famous neurologist and author, Oliver Sacks, discusses his latest book, Musicophilia, a look at how music can impact on the brain. Sacks' love of music is well known, and now he turns his attention to his patients for whom music can be both treatment and affliction. He describes the power of music to move us, to heal, and to haunt us.

February 2 2008: Steven Pinker

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 16:00:00 EST

Harvard psychology professor, Steven Pinker, presents a talk on his latest book, The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature.

January 20 2008: Hope in the Balance, Part 2

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 16:00:00 EST

Stephen Lewis, James Orbinski, and Stephanie Nolen present lectures as part of a recent symposium called "Hope in the Balance: Humanitarianism in the 21st Century".

January 19 2008: Hope in the Balance, Part 1

Sat, 19 Jan 2008 16:00:00 EST

Romeo Dallaire, Chimamanda Adichie, and Marilyn McHarg present lectures as part of a recent symposium called "Hope in the Balance: Humanitarianism in the 21st Century".

November 10 2007: Bruce Kuwabara

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:00:00 EST

Award-winning architect, Bruce Kuwabara, discusses emerging models of urbanization and sustainability that are transforming Toronto and other major Canadian cities.

November 17 2007: Ariel Garten

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 16:00:00 EST

Psychotherapist and artist, Ariel Garten, explores the neuroscience of conflict.

November 17 2007: Minelle Mahtani

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 16:00:00 EST

Minelle Mahtani, Professor of Geography at the University of Toronto, explores issues of mixed race identity.

November 24 2007: Darlene Ehrenberg

Sat, 24 Nov 2007 16:00:00 EST

Psychoanalyst Darlene Ehrenberg addresses the impact of trauma on desire.

December 1 2007: Deepak Chopra

Sat, 1 Dec 2007 16:00:00 EST

Deepak Chopra, renowned spiritual thinker and author, discusses the nature of human consciousness.

February 3 2001:Kay Redfield Jamison

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EST

Kay Redfield Jamison of Johns Hopkins University gives a lecture about suicide drawing on the research from her book, Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide.

April 15 2001: Mark Kingwell

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EST

Mark Kingwell delivers a lecture on Representations of the Intellectual in Everyday Life. Has pop culture ruined the intellectual?

January 24 2004: Lee Smolin

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EST

Lee Smolin of Perimeter Institute delivers his lecture, Why Does Science Work?

January 24 2004: Zach Hall

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EST

Zach Hall - Dean of Research at the School of Medicine of University of Southern California discusses, Neuroethics: A Challenge for a New Age.

February 18 2006: Clifford Will

Sat, 19 July 2008 16:00:00 EST

Clifford Will delivers a lecture entitled, "Was Einstein Right? Can Einstein?s Theories Survive Today?s Scientific Scrutiny?"

March 21 2003: Leon Kass

Sat, 26 July 2008 16:00:00 EST

Dr. Leon Kass, Chair of the President's Council on Bioethics, examines the distinct ethical dilemmas that surround stem cell research. Dr. Kass addresses a fundamental philosophical question: Why not immortality?

February 10 2001: Alberto Manguel

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:00:00 EST

Alberto Manguel on the duality of Pablo Picasso's artistic brilliance and personal evil.

May 11 2003: Richard Lewontin

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 16:00:00 EST

Professor Richard C. Lewontin of Harvard University delivers a lecture on the topic of The Co-evolution of Organisms and the Environment.

February 18 2006: Arthur I. Miller

Sat, 05 July 2008 16:00:00 EST

Arthur I. Miller compares Einstein to Picasso. Miller is the author of a book entitled "Einstein, Picasso: Space, Time, and the Beauty That Causes Havoc".

March 11 2001: Wendy Steiner

Sat, 12 July 2008 16:00:00 EST

Wendy Steiner, a professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania presents a lecture based on her book The Trouble with Beauty.

May 11 2003: Guy Proulx

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EST

Dr. Guy Proulx, Director of Psychology and NeuroRehabilitation at the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care delivers a lecture entitled, Wisdom Versus Dementia: A Walk Through the Aging Brain.

January 12 2008: Naomi Klein

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 16:00:00 EST

Author and activist Naomi Klein discusses the thesis of her latest book "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism".