Spark

CBC

Spark on CBC Radio One Nora Young helps you navigate your digital life by connecting you to fresh ideas in surprising ways.

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Spark presents What On Earth: "Can Earth Day be badass again?"

Spark presents What On Earth: "Can Earth Day be badass again?"

The climate is changing. So are we. On What On Earth, you’ll explore a world of solutions with host Laura Lynch and our team of journalists. In 1970, 20 million people showed up to fight for the environment on the first Earth Day. More than five decades later, is it time for this much tamer global event to return to its radical roots? OG organizer Denis Hayes recounts how – amidst other counterculture movements at the time – his team persuaded roughly one in ten Americans to take to the streets. As he approaches 80, Denis offers his singular piece of advice to the next generation of climate leaders. Then, environmental warriors Maria Blancas and Axcelle Campana share ideas on what a reinspired Earth Day could look like – including making it a public holiday.More episodes of What On Earth are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/fHfXfjAJWe love to hear from our listeners and regularly feature them on the show. Have a question or idea? Email Earth@cbc.ca

Episodes

Spark presents What On Earth: "Can Earth Day be badass again?"

Spark presents What On Earth: "Can Earth Day be badass again?"

The climate is changing. So are we. On What On Earth, you’ll explore a world of solutions with host Laura Lynch and our team of journalists. In 1970, 20 million people showed up to fight for the environment on the first Earth Day. More than five decades later, is it time for this much tamer global event to return to its radical roots? OG organizer Denis Hayes recounts how – amidst other counterculture movements at the time – his team persuaded roughly one in ten Americans to take to the streets. As he approaches 80, Denis offers his singular piece of advice to the next generation of climate leaders. Then, environmental warriors Maria Blancas and Axcelle Campana share ideas on what a reinspired Earth Day could look like – including making it a public holiday.More episodes of What On Earth are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/fHfXfjAJWe love to hear from our listeners and regularly feature them on the show. Have a question or idea? Email Earth@cbc.ca

Being Human Now - Music

Being Human Now - Music

From the earliest musical instruments to the metronome, to vocoders, auto-tune and beyond, music creation has always been a collaboration between humans and machines. But now that generative AI is shaking up songwriting, have we crossed a new threshold where the distinctively human talent for music is no longer ours alone?

Should robots work for us or with us?

Should robots work for us or with us?

Strides in AI software are finding their way into physical robots. It's promising a new era of human-robot interaction, where robots can assist us, respond to our needs and to cues in the environment. Question is: are we ready for robots among us?

Building more responsive, AI-driven infrastructure

Building more responsive, AI-driven infrastructure

Like most of us, you probably only think about infrastructure when it doesn't work: the power goes off, the roads flood. But in the face of climate change and the increasing energy demands of our digital tech, how can we rethink what infrastructure looks like to meet our future needs?

How yeast and bacteria could be key to future fashion design

How yeast and bacteria could be key to future fashion design

One of civilization's oldest technologies, textiles have long been linked to money, power, and politics. Now, researchers are looking to produce novel, more sustainable textiles using organisms like yeast, fungus, and bacteria.

Being Human Now - Play

Being Human Now - Play

What does play mean in a digital age, when so much happens on our all-consuming phones, and tech erases the boundaries between work and play?

Can we put a watermark on reality?

Can we put a watermark on reality?

In an age of misinformation and generative AI, how do we know if anything we read or hear is even real anymore? From the latest trends in internet search to watermarking images to (re)establishing trust in journalism, we examine the role of proof in a post-truth world.

Predicting problems before they happen

Predicting problems before they happen

Digital twin technology is growing rapidly across multiple industries. From race cars to the human heart to the entire country of Canada, a look at how these virtual replicas use real-time data to model and predict the future.

Being Human Now - Work

Being Human Now - Work

We keep hearing that AI is going to revolutionize jobs. But what if the language of inevitable automation hides the ongoing need for distinctly human skills?

Confronting bias and privacy for better tech tools

Confronting bias and privacy for better tech tools

Along with huge advances in data-driven technologies like machine learning and digital health, there are troubling concerns about our data privacy in healthcare, and persistent problems with bias in artificial intelligence. So how do we get the tools we want with the ethics we need?

How 'compassionate ageism' made its way into designing new tech

How 'compassionate ageism' made its way into designing new tech

By some measures, nearly 90% of Canadians 65 and older use the internet every day. And yet, the design of new technologies and platforms often leaves out the needs, desires and interests of seniors. But if older people are using technology, why aren't they factored into its design?

The extraordinary power of terrestrial radio

The extraordinary power of terrestrial radio

In honour of World Radio Day, we explore the magic behind one of the most important technological creations in history, the innovations it inspired and its enduring power in an increasingly digitized world.

How to set our imagination free to build the technological futures we want

How to set our imagination free to build the technological futures we want

Imagination is often dismissed as childish, or a frill. But it also lets us picture alternative futures, and technologies that haven't been invented yet. So how do we harness our imagination? And in an age where Big Tech promises to solve our problems for us, how do we use our imaginations to build the futures we want?

Being Human Now - Memory

Being Human Now - Memory

In a world where our digital tools keep an accurate record of handy facts and events, what is our fragile, fallible human memory good for?

Pushing the limits of athletic performance

Pushing the limits of athletic performance

The competition in sports equipment is heating up — with everything from high-tech "super shoes" for marathoners to "smart blades" for ice skating. Beyond the hype, how much difference can these innovations make to you and me?

Surprising reasons to be optimistic in 2024

Surprising reasons to be optimistic in 2024

Sure, the tech we use every day is littered with disinformation, bad behaviour and privacy violations…but it's not all bad news! To mark the 600th episode of Spark, we look at the surprising reasons to be optimistic in 2024 — from quantum computing to learning from video games.

Predicting the present

Predicting the present

How sci-fi can help us harness the power of imagination and visionary storytelling to inspire real-world innovation and frame our collective visions of the future. An updated episode from June 2023.

Bring a little more balance to your digital life in 2024

Bring a little more balance to your digital life in 2024

Is it possible to control our compulsive—and reflexive—use of our digital tech so we can savour the space for rest, relaxation and restoration? We offer a start of the year check up, exploring tech overuse and how to restore some balance to our busy, digital lives.

Being Human Now - Belonging

Being Human Now - Belonging

The feeling of belonging is a core, human drive. And feeling excluded is painful. But has our desire to belong—and how we try to achieve that—changed in digital culture?

Surprising new uses for DNA tech and the deep questions they raise for our human future

Surprising new uses for DNA tech and the deep questions they raise for our human future

DNA-based technologies are increasingly used for real world, high impact purposes—from tracking biodiversity, to designing crops for climate change, to treating debilitating diseases. How do we democratize the availability while mitigating the risk?