Synopsis
Big Ideas offers lectures on a variety of thought-provoking topics which range across politics, culture, economics, art history, science.... By nature of its lecture format, pacing and inquisitive approach, it is the antithesis of the prevailing sound-bite television norm. The simple, bold concept is a victory of substance over style. Big Ideas airs Saturdays and Sundays at 5:00 PM EST on TVO - Canada's largest educational broadcaster.
Episodes
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Noam Chomsky on international policy continuity in the wake of 9-11
12/09/2009 Duration: 01h46sMIT professor of Linguistics, Noam Chomsky, delivers his 2002 lecture on international policy continuity in the wake of 9-11.
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Leonard Susskind on the Black Hole Wars
05/09/2009 Duration: 50minStanford University professor of Physics, Leonard Susskind, on ?The Black Hole Wars?, the scientific disagreement between Susskind and Stephen Hawking.
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Elizabeth Abbott on her book A History of Mistresses.
29/08/2009 Duration: 36minAuthor Elizabeth Abbott on her 2003 book A History of Mistresses.
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Elaine Dewar on her book The Second Tree: Of Clones, Chimeras and Quests for Immortality.
22/08/2009 Duration: 34minAuthor Elaine Dewar delivers her 2002 lecture about her book The Second Tree: Of Clones, Chimeras and Quests for Immortality.
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Margaret MacMillan on her book Paris 1919
15/08/2009 Duration: 49minThe author of Paris 1919, Margaret MacMillan, delivers her 2003 lecture Making Peace is Harder than Making War.
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Niall Ferguson on his book Empire
08/08/2009 Duration: 48minHarvard University professor of History, Niall Ferguson, delivers his 2002 lecture on the lessons the US ought to learn from the British Empire experience in the Middle East.
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Saskia Sassen on citizenship in the age of globalization
01/08/2009 Duration: 53minColumbia University professor of Sociology, Saskia Sassen, delivers her 2003 lecture on the concept of citizenship in the age of globalization.
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Francis S. Collins on The Genome and Your Future (Part 1)
25/07/2009 Duration: 28minThe leader of the Human Genome Project, Dr. Francis S. Collins delivers his 2003 high school lecture entitled The Genome and Your Future.
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Maynard Olson on The Genome and Your Future (Part 2)
25/07/2009 Duration: 28minProfessor of Genome Sciences and of Medicine, Dr. Maynard Olson delivers his 2003 lecture, companion piece to the Francis S. Collins lecture The Genome and Your Future.
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Steven Pinker on his book The Blank Slate
18/07/2009 Duration: 59minHarvard University Psychology professor, Steven Pinker delivers a lecture on the modern denial of human nature with a specific focus on his 2003 book The Blank Slate.
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June Carroll on Modern Genetics
11/07/2009 Duration: 26minDr. June Carroll of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto delivers her 2003 lecture on Modern Genetics.
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Lawrence Freedman on his book A Choice of Enemies: America Confronts the Middle East
11/07/2009 Duration: 39minLawrence Freedman is a professor of War Studies at King?s College London and the author of A Choice of Enemies: America Confronts the Middle East. The lecture was recorded at Toronto?s Munk Centre for International Studies on March 31st, 2009.
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Janice Stein on the ethics of responsibility and accountability
04/07/2009 Duration: 35minThe 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.
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John Polanyi on the world that science has built
27/06/2009 Duration: 30minWinner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, University of Toronto professor John Polanyi delivers his 2002 lecture on the world that science has built.
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Alexander Wendt on why a one state world is inevitable
20/06/2009 Duration: 39minOhio State Political Science professor Alexander Wendt delivers his 2002 lecture on why he believes a one state world is inevitable.
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Philip Ball on Chemistry and Colour in Art
13/06/2009 Duration: 52minPhilip Ball outlines how developments in chemistry have impacted painters and the art world throughout history.
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Robert Fulford on A World Reconfigured: Politics and Perceptions Since 9-11
06/06/2009 Duration: 43minCanadian author, journalist and broadcaster Robert Fulford delivers his 2003 lecture A World Reconfigured: Politics and Perceptions Since 9-11
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J.B. Mackinnon, Alisa Smith, and Adria Vasil on the environment
31/05/2009 Duration: 48minThe authors of The 100-Mile Diet and Ecoholic deliver lectures on eating and living sustainably, in Part 2 of The Green Summit.
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Thomas Homer-Dixon and Chris Turner on the environment
30/05/2009 Duration: 55minAuthors 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.
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Don Tapscott on the ways the Net Generation learn differently
23/05/2009 Duration: 54minThe 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.