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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Camille Paglia on The Future of Education
05/01/2011 Duration: 33minEducator and author, Camille Paglia, discusses The Future of Education at the 2010 Globe and Mail Open House Festival in Toronto. The event moderator is broadcaster, Valerie Pringle.
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Sean M Carroll on Origin of the Universe & the Arrow of Time
01/01/2011 Duration: 56minSean M. Carroll of CalTech discusses how the direction of the arrow of time was defined by the Big Bang. He also speculates about what might have come before the Big Bang. The lecture is entitled The Origin of the Universe & the Arrow of Time.
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Werner Bohleber on The Phenomenon of Adolescent Violence
29/12/2010 Duration: 57minGerman psychoanalyst, Werner Bohleber, on The Phenomenon of Adolescent Violence.
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Craig Kaplan on Mathematical Art and Artistic Mathematicians
25/12/2010 Duration: 54minCraig Kaplan discusses origami, tiling patterns and other areas of art where mathematics and computers have had a significant impact. The lecture, entitled Mathematical Art and Artistic Mathematicians, was deliverd at the Quantum to Cosmos Festival.
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Art historian Francis Broun on The Art of Sir Edwin Landseer
17/12/2010 Duration: 53minArt historian Francis Broun presents his lecture entitled Genius Denied: The Art of Sir Edwin Landseer. It was recorded at the Women's Art Association in Toronto on May 24th, 2010.
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William R. Newman on Why Did Isaac Newton Believe in Alchemy
10/12/2010 Duration: 48minIndiana University professor of History and Philosophy of Science, William R. Newman presents his lecture, entitled Why Did Isaac Newton Believe in Alchemy? Through historical documents and experiments that demonstrate alchemical processes, this lecture explains why one of the most insightful scientists in history was convinced that alchemical transformations were scientifically plausible. It was delivered at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario, on October 6th, 2010.
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James Hansen on Human-Made Climate Change
03/12/2010 Duration: 53minDr. James Hansen of the NASA Goddard Institute delivers a lecture on Human-Made Climate Change: A Moral, Political, and Legal Issue.
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Climate Reality
03/12/2010 Duration: 54minA panel discussion on climate science and climate justice with the world 19s foremost climate scientist, Dr. James Hansen, as well as Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, and Clayton Thomas-Muller, the Indigenous Environmental Network's Tar Sands Campaigner. The event moderator is Dr. Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux.
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S. James Gates, Jr. on Does Reality Have a Genetic Basis?
26/11/2010 Duration: 52minS. James Gates Jr., Director of the Center for String and Particle Theory at the University of Maryland, discusses the question "Does Reality Have a Genetic Basis?"
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Nick Mount on Sylvia Plath's Ariel
19/11/2010 Duration: 47minAs part of the Literature for Our Time series, University of Toronto English Professor Nick Mount examines Ariel, Sylvia Plath's posthumously published collection of poems
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Stewart Brand on his book Whole Earth Discipline
12/11/2010 Duration: 56minStewart Brand delivers a lecture focusing on his book Whole Earth Discipline: An Ecopragmatist Manifesto.
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Bhikhu Parekh on secularism and the role of religion
05/11/2010 Duration: 43minLord Bhikhu Parekh is Emeritus Professor of Political Philosophy at the Universities of Westminster and Hull and a Fellow of the British Academy. He is the author of several books in political philosophy including Rethinking Multiculturalism and A New Politics of Identity. This lecture on Secularism and the Role of Religion in Public Life was hosted by the Centre for Ethics at the University of Toronto on April 6, 2010.
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John Mighton on The Ubiquitous Bell Curve
30/10/2010 Duration: 54minJohn Mighton of the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences delivers a lecture on The Ubiquitous Bell Curve: What It Does and Doesn't Tell Us. The talk focuses on JUMP Math and Mighton's work helping teachers learn how to excite students about mathematics.
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Robert Adams on The Reluctant Fundamentalist
23/10/2010 Duration: 01h08minRobert Adams discusses Mohsin Hamid's 2007 novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, which was short listed for the Booker Prize.
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Terry Eagleton on Marxism as a Theodicy
16/10/2010 Duration: 31minBritish literary and cultural theorist, Terry Eagleton, delivers a lecture at York University entitled Is Marxism a Theodicy?
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Terry Eagleton on the metaphysics of terror
15/10/2010 Duration: 24minBig Ideas presents British cultural theorist, Terry Eagleton, on The Metaphysics of Terror. This archival lecture was originally part of a 4-part series and recorded at the University of Toronto in January 2004.
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Chris Lintott on The Galaxy Zoo
09/10/2010 Duration: 55minChris Lintott of the University of Oxford discusses The Galaxy Zoo, an internet-based program for enlisting the help of amateur astronomers in cataloguing other galaxies.
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Tariq Ramadan
04/10/2010 Duration: 51minThe Swiss-born Muslim philosopher gives a lecture based on his recent book In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad.
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Jeremy Rifkin on The Empathic Civilization
02/10/2010 Duration: 55minJeremy Rifkin, President of the Foundation on Economic Trends, and author of The Empathic Civilization, spoke on global environmental issues at the Tulip Festival in Ottawa on May 16, 2010.
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Jeff Rubin and Andrew Nikiforuk on the future of oil
02/10/2010 Duration: 33minAuthors Jeff Rubin and Andrew Nikiforuk discuss The Future of the Oil Economy, with moderator Paul Waldie. This panel was part of the 2010 Globe and Mail Open House Festival.