Ideas
CBC
Recent Episodes
The ideals behind the concept of human rights — such as the sacredness of life, reciprocity, justice and fairness — have millennia-old histories. After the carnage of the Second World War and the Holocaust, these ideas took a new legal form. In his second Massey Lecture, Alex Neve considers six dizzying years that laid out a blueprint for a new world. Visit cbc.ca/masseys for more on the series.
Universality is the core promise of human rights: these rights extend to everyone, everywhere. But above all else, this is where we have failed. In his first CBC Massey Lecture, Alex Neve explores how to ensure the “lifeboat” of human rights is seaworthy for everyone. Visit cbc.ca/masseys for more details about this lecture series.
Whether mechanical or digital, a button delivers the promise of power — but it's far from simple. The small and mighty technology has a riveting history, a story of control, power, freedom and oppression. From the podcast Media Objects, this episode traces the evolution of the button, and asks what happens when every command is reduced to a single press.