Ideas

• Open your gift: a podcast of nonfiction recommendations

  This isn't a wrap or best of 2025 kind of list. This IDEAS podcast is packed full of all kinds of recommendations from our smart, insightful contributors. We asked them to suggest a work of nonfiction that recently made them think — maybe even think differently — about a particular topic. Their answers cover several genres and varied subjects. Some may surprise you.Don't worry about writing any titles or names down, we have that covered on our website. The online list also includes a bonus: added recommendations from IDEAS producers. Enjoy!

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• Your tomatoes have a backstory and it’s not always pretty

  In fact, author and journalist Marcello Di Cintio argues Canadians are complicit. After four years investigating the lives of migrant workers, he found that many temporary foreign workers are trapped working in precarious, exploitative conditions. These jobs are essential to our economy and society, yet invisible. Each migrant worker has a story to tell, says Di Cintio. He joined IDEAS host Nahlah Ayed on a visit through the tomato capital of Canada to hear their stories and talk about what his investigation reveals about Canada.Marcello Di Cintio's book is called Precarious: The Lives of Migrant Workers.

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• Bringing a farm — and its philosophy — back to life

  Growing up with food insecurity, Julian Napoleon yearned to be a farmer. His great-grandparents once farmed on the Saulteau First Nations reserve in northeastern B.C. Over the decades, the farm was replaced by the bush, and the ideas of communal, seasonal living started to fade away. Five years ago, Julian moved to Amisk Farm to bring it back to life. This year the farm has produced food for over 300 Indigenous households, free of cost.IDEAS visits Amisk Farm to learn about rural food security, Indigenous food sovereignty, farming in the north, and what it means to come home and grow a new home in a radically transformed landscape.

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• Pt 2 | Architect Frank Gehry on how to exit life

  There’s a constant mantra Frank Gehry would always hear from his mentors who have since died – “Don’t you dare ever stop working.” It’s a sentiment he lived by right until his death at 96. In fact his last major cultural building, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, will open in 2026. So how does his fierce, creative drive square with his mortality?In an expansive conversation from 2017 with IDEAS producer Mary Lynk, Gehry shares his thoughts about death and his life, from growing up Jewish in Toronto, to his complicated relationship with his father, to his move to L.A. at 18, to how his career flourished. *This is the second episode in a two-part series.Listen to Part One: The architecture that brought Frank Gehry to tears

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• Pt 1 | The architecture that brought Frank Gehry to tears

  Rebel architect Frank Gehry believed architecture IS art. He strived to evoke emotion in every design. Last Friday, Gehry died at 96 but he never stopped creating. In 2017, IDEAS producer Mary Lynk had a rare opportunity to spend two days with Gehry at his LA studio. Their wide-ranging conversation covers many aspects of his life and career, including a moment at 40 when the sight of an ancient piece of art from 500 BC led him to weep. "I think if you went and looked at it, you would cry too," he told Lynk.*This conversation is a two-part series that delves into Frank Gehry's infusion of humanity into his designs.Listen to Part Two: Architect Frank Gehry on how to exit life

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