Big Ideas

Lectures on a variety of thought-provoking topics that range across politics, culture, economics, art history, science. The lecture format, pacing and inquisitive approach,provide the antithesis of the prevailing sound-bite television norm. Engaging, articulate speakers stand behind lecterns across Ontario addressing audiences - a stark, on-air aesthetic running counter to fast edits and whizzy sound effects. The simple, bold concept is a victory of substance over style.

Part 1 - Lectures - Dr . Steven Pinker . Are we really born a blank slate? Dr. Pinker uses his book - "The Blank Slate" - to explore the idea of human nature and its moral, emotional, and political colorings Part 2 - lectures- Dr. Leon Kass, Chair of the President's Council on Bioethics, examines the distinct ethical dilemmas that surround stem cell research. Dr. Kass will address a fundamental philosophical question underlying these latest scientific advances: Why not immortality?

John O'Leary is the president of Frontier College, an organization which historically took to the wilds of Canada in order to teach working men and women how to read. In this talk, O'Leary looks back at the history of the college as well as the current challenges it faces in bringing literacy to the new frontier -- Canada's inner cities. Robert Logan is a noted physicist ... which might make him seem an unlikely choice to address a conference on the future of literacy. But Logan is also author of The Alphabet Effect, an influential book which argues that one reason for the rise of `Western' science is our alphabet. That the ability to think symbolically arose from our language, and drove technological advance. Logan looks not only at the origins of technological innovation, but also how literacy alters the way we think. Part 2: George Steiner George Steiner is one of the world's leading literary theorists. In this talk, Steiner addresses the fundamental questions of literacy: what does it mean to be `literate'? Does literacy always correlate to intelligence? And are we really moving into a post-literate age, or will we always cling to literacy? All three talks were delivered to the Living Literacies conference at York University.

Jordan Peterson, University of Toronto professor of psychology talks about fear of the unknown and fear of dealing with problems.

A showcase of ideas; engaging, articulate speakers stand behind lecterns across the province addressing audiences, exposing us to the differing ways of defining what matters and how that affects our understanding of the world.

Yossi Klein Halevi lectures on "The View From Israel"

John Ibbitson author of "The Polite Revolution"/Maude Barlow, author of "Too Close for Comfort" disagree about challenges facing Canada

Through historical documents and experiments that demonstrate alchemical processes, Indiana University professor of History and Philosophy of Science William R. Newman explains why one of the most insightful scientists in history was convinced that alchemical transformations were scientifically plausible.

Journalist, broadcaster and bestselling author Simon Winchester tells the remarkable story of Joseph Needham, an eccentric English chemist who wrote a vast book on Chinese science which remains the longest book about China ever written in the English language

Author, professor and clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson delivers the 2010 Hancock Lecture. He discusses virtue from a contemporary perspective that both encompasses and extends beyond moral and religious contexts.

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author Chris Hedges delivers a lecture on his latest book The Death of the Liberal Class. He argues that American liberalism, a once proud political tradition, is dead, having sold out to corporate interests and abandoned its original principles. The result is a breakdown of the very fabric of democracy.

The Canadian Space Agency's Chief Astronaut, Julie Payette delivers a lecture entitled Canadian Space Agency Perspectives from Space: Research and Diplomacy.

Psychiatrist and author, Allen J. Frances, believes that mental illnesses are being over-diagnosed. In his lecture, Diagnostic Inflation: Does Everyone Have a Mental Illness?, Dr. Frances will outline why he thinks the DSM-V will lead to millions of people being mislabeled with mental disorders. His lecture is part of Mental Health Matters, an initiative of TVO in association with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). The lecture is followed by a short Q & A.

Lisa Harvey-Smith of CSIRO discusses the mega-telescope known as the Square Kilometre Array. CSIRO, the Australian Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organization, is part of the continent-spanning next-generation radio telescope project which is due to be completed in 2019.

Neil Turok, Director of Perimeter Institute, delivered the 2012 CBC Massey Lectures to sold-out audiences across Canada. Turok’s lectures, The Universe Within: From Quantum to Cosmos, are a visionary look at the way the human mind can shape the future.