Ideas for a New Century

An electrifying collection of thought-provoking interviews from recent broadcasts of CBC Radio’s Ideas. In these remarkable dialogues — most of them in the company of Ideas host Paul Kennedy — some of the great intellectuals of our time reflect, interject, and project on the course of human civilization, addressing topics such as social engineering and human rights, the directions of science and technology, the influence of art, music, and literature, and the quest for truth.

Compiled and edited by Bernie Lucht, this volume explores the ideas of nineteen inspiring international and Canadian thinkers, including Louise Arbour, David Schindler, Jerome Kagan, John Gray, Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Leonore Tieffer, Nat Hentoff, Theodore Dalrymple, Mark Lilla, and many others.

AUTHOR

Bernie Lucht

Bernie Lucht has been the executive producer of Ideas since 1984. He is also the executive producer of Tapestry, the Sunday afternoon program of religious and spiritual exploration. Born and raised in Montreal, he earned a BA from Concordia University in 1966. That same year, he joined the CBC as a producer for Radio-Canada International, and in 1969 went on to produce Cross-Country Checkup. That same year, Lucht left for West Africa to work as a CUSO volunteer teacher in rural Nigeria. He returned to Canada in 1971, starting work as a production assistant at Ideas, then rising to become the program’s executive producer in 1984. Under his direction, Ideas has won many national and international awards.

Reviews

An electrifying collection of thought-provoking interviews from recent broadcasts of CBC Radio’s Ideas. These conversations cover vast terrain, from politics and religion to the possibility of achieving human immortality through technology; from new questions about human sexuality to the enigma of finding private space in a wired world. In these remarkable dialogues — most of them in the company of Ideas host Paul Kennedy — some of the great intellectuals of our time reflect, interject, and project on the course of human civilization, addressing topics such as social engineering and human rights, the directions of science and technology, the influence of art, music, and literature, and the quest for truth.
“Listeners to the show can appreciate how difficult it must have been to narrow the candidates for inclusion in this book to only 18. Assuredly, those who were chosen are worthy indeed.”
– Scene Magazine

“The ideas and opinions the program’s guests present motivate people to care about what’s happening around the world.”
– Nick Around the World