Big Ideas is a showcase of contemporary intellectual culture. It features lectures about subjects that shape our public debates, challenge our perceptions and contribute to our understanding of an increasingly complex world. Academics, authors and other luminaries deliver thought-provoking lectures on topics ranging across all the essential fields of human endeavor.

Host

Piya Chattopadhyay

Piya Chattopadhyay is the host of Big Ideas. She anchored The Agenda with Steve Paikin throughout the summer of 2011, and will fill in as guest host throughout the year. Piya has reported on a wide-range of issues from politics in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and the Asian tsunami to health, education, social issues and culture. A seasoned journalist with over ten years of experience, she has worked for various news outlets in Canada and abroad. Piya was a Middle East Correspondent for Fox News Radio and most recently was a fill-in host for CBC radio's The Current, The World at Six, The World This Hour and CBC TV's Breaking News Desk.

Producers

Wodek Szemberg

Wodek Szemberg is a producer on The Agenda with Steve Paikin. Wodek is also the producer of Big Ideas and the Best Lecturer Competition. Follow Wodek on Twitter.
Melissa Paterson

Melissa Paterson is a producer/director on Big Ideas and the Best Lecturer Competition. Before joining the Big Ideas team, she was an on-air promo producer and worked on dozens of special network projects. She was also the writer, producer and director of TVO @ Ten featuring hosts Ian Brown, Mary Hynes and Maureen Taylor. 
Gregg Thurlbeck

Gregg Thurlbeck is a producer/director on The Agenda with Steve Paikin and  Big Ideas. During his years at TVO Gregg has also worked on the medical documentary series Vital Signs, in the on-air promos department, and he was the producer/director for the award-winning book series Prisoners of Gravity.