This podcast seeks answers to the question. If you are left-handed then you are part of the 10 per cent of humankind that detested craft time in elementary school that involved scissors. Left-handed people often have to accommodate their difference in our dominant right-handed world. But that can get tricky if you are training to be a surgeon. Operating rooms and surgical instruments become big obstacles for left-handed people as IDEAS contributor Mark Dance finds out in his documentary exploring the history and mystery of left-handers. *This episode originally aired on May 6, 2022.

Einstein’s theory of relativity, quantum physics, and finding evidence of black holes — trace the chain of discoveries that led to these breakthroughs and you'll end up with the Italian astronomer and inventor, Galileo Galilei. Renowned Italian theoretical physicist and author Carlo Rovelli says we can learn a lot from Galileo today. He explains how 400 years ago, this renaissance man of science was discovering new facts about the Universe to understand ourselves better — and so are we.

"This is a hopeless situation but we are not helpless." This is what drives Sudanese journalist Yousra Elbagir's reporting on her homeland's forgotten war. She uses what she calls "human reporting" to let the world know Sudan is more than conflict and suffering. "Sudanese generosity is our lifeblood. That's what's keeping us alive right now. We are actually surviving in forced starvation through generosity and kindness and care."

Yousra Elbagir delivered the 2025 Stursberg Foreign Correspondents Lecture at Carleton University. She spoke to host Nahlah Ayed about her work and her lecture: Human reporting from Sudan and beyond — a remedy for selective empathy?

"Those who remember the disappeared would also disappear." Under dictator Bashar al-Assad, grieving publicly in Syria was punishable. Now the silenced stories of lost loved ones are emerging and public spaces to grieve have been created. Syrian architect Ammar Azzouz who lost his friend and colleague Tahir Sabai says in addition to having the right to remember, it's "a duty to remember." IDEAS hears about the lives of a father, a brother, Azzouz's classmate from architecture school and a singer who became the voice of the revolution.

We have a lot to thank horses for in our everyday lives, from the Hollywood motion picture, to life-saving vaccines for diphtheria and tetanus, to a staple in our closets: pants. "Prior to riding horses, no one wore pants," says historian Timothy Winegard. He argues that horses are intertwined in our own history to the point that we overlook their importance. His research explains how they shaped societies, economies and cultures. Without us, horses would be nowhere, and vice versa. It was a partnership — our brains and their braun — that truly changed the world. *This episode originally aired on Sept. 10, 2024.

Thanks to copyright laws, artists, writers and scientists are able to create without fear of theft. On an individual basis protection of intellectual property is a good thing. But systematically these laws create barriers and unequal access to art and knowledge. If you've ever tried to open a scholarly article or research online you know how difficult it is to access. What happened to the internet's great promise to democratize knowledge? In this podcast, producer Naheed Mustafa explores the fate of “open access” — all in the ever-expanding universe of copyright laws, paywalls and old-fashioned bureaucratic sludge.

We gorge ourselves on the internet, smartphones, social media, information overload — all of it constantly sap us of our emotional and intellectual vitality. Authors Pico Iyer and Jonathan Haidt argue it's vital we disconnect from our addictive online world to pursue a fulfilling, and richer life. By curtailing the noise of technology, media and other worldly distractions there's space to reconnect with the things that matter. "Humans were never designed to live at a pace determined by machines. The only way we could begin to do that is by becoming machines ourselves," says Iyer.

Pico Iyer and Jonathan Haidt were two of the marquee speakers at the 2025 Aspen Ideas Festival. The theme this year was 'What Makes Life Good.'

Holmes Rolston III began his career as a Presbyterian minister. But his love of the natural world — and his belief in evolution — didn't sit well with his congregation. He was ultimately fired. The late philosopher spent much of his career working to bridge the gap between science and religion because he said "the future of Earth depends on it." Rolston is the pioneer of environmental ethics, a turning point in philosophy. His ultimate goal was to define the moral worth of the planet. Rolston died in 2025 at the age of 92.

In this episode, IDEAS explores his legacy and the continuing resonance of his work.

Guests in this documentary:

Christopher Preston is a professor of environmental philosophy at the University of Montana, Missoula. His books include Tenacious Beasts and Saving Creation: Nature and Faith in the Life of Holmes Rolston III.

Stephen Scharper is an associate professor in the department of anthropology and the School of the Environment at the University of Toronto.

Kerry Bowman is a Canadian bioethicist and environmentalist who teaches bioethics and planetary health at the University of Toronto.

Nathan Kowalsky is an associate professor of philosophy at St. Joseph's College at the University of Alberta.

Karen Beazley is a professor emerita in the School for Resource and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University.

Simon Appolloni is an assistant professor in the Teaching Stream at the University of Toronto's School of the Environment.