Ideas

In 1989 the Canadian government was set to spring into action to address climate change. “If we don’t move now, it will be a disaster,” said then-Conservative environment minister Lucien Bouchard. “We are dealing with the survival of the species.” This podcast features David Suzuki’s prescient radio series, It’s a Matter of Survival from nearly four decades ago. It includes conversations with notable politicians and environmental experts of the day.

Listen to the first episode in this series: Suzuki's Survival Guide | A Warning

For other episodes from David Suzuki's radio days, stream audio here.

In 1989 David Suzuki hosted a radio series called “It’s A Matter of Survival,” which addressed the climate crisis head-on. He and other scientists look ahead 50 years into the future to paint a picture of what the world could be like if nothing is done to curb the human impact on climate change. The series galvanized the environmental movement in Canada, with more than 14,000 listeners writing letters of support. Nearly 40 years later, it's clear how shockingly prescient it was.

Listen to the next episode in this series: Suzuki's Survival Guide | How We Got To This Point

For other episodes from David Suzuki's radio days, stream audio here.

Oil has delivered warmth, mobility, freedom and ruin all at the same time. "It's a very hard religion to ditch," says Don Gillmor, author of On Oil. Yes, religion. Gillmor argues oil is not just a substance — but an idea … one that has come to constitute its own potent system of belief. He joins Nahlah Ayed to discuss how oil became the one true global religion.

Want to listen to more IDEAS? Here' So... who wants a pipeline?

When you're a historian and learn about Canada’s earliest reported ‘demon possession caused by witchcraft’ case, you dig right into the story. And that's what Mairi Cowan did. She's been investigating one of Quebec's weirdest true tales, and is finally able to piece together a detailed story of what happened. *This episode originally aired on Dec. 14, 2022.

Mairi Cowan is the author of The Possession of Barbe Hallay: Diabolical Arts and Daily Life in Early Canada. She is an associate professor in the Department of Historical Studies, University of Toronto-Mississauga.

Other guests in this podcast:

Scott Berthelette is an assistant professor in the Department of History at Queen’s University. He researches the history of Indigenous Peoples, the Métis, New France, and the Hudson’s Bay Company. His new book is Heirs of an Ambivalent Empire: French-Indigenous Relations and the Rise of the Métis in the Hudson Bay Watershed.

Colin Coates is professor of Canadian Studies and History at Glendon College (York University). He specializes in the history of early French Canada.

Sarah Ferber is a professor at the University of Wollongong, specializing in early modern European religious history; contemporary religion, and modern medical history. Her books include Demonic Possession and Exorcism in Early Modern France and, most recently, IVF and Assisted Reproduction: A Global History.

When Sir John Franklin set out to find the Northwest Passage in 1845, he never returned. From that mystery, began the stories. But why do we keep coming back to these Franklin stories? What do they say about us? And what does it mean today to seek a Northwest Passage? *This episode originally aired on April 19, 2022.