"What's the Big Idea" is a new podcast featuring University of Manitoba President and Vice-Chancellor Michael Benarroch in conversation with some of today's big thinkers. Together, they’ll unpack “the big idea” their work explores. A series featuring an exciting and diverse array of voices from the UM community contributing to the cultural, social, and economic well-being of the people of Manitoba, Canada, and the world.
What's the Big Idea
Claim This Podcastby University of Manitoba
5.0(11 reviews)
30 episodes
Updated Bi-weekly
Accepts GuestsHas SponsorsLocation 🇨🇦
74
Podcast Authority
BetaGoodBased on show quality, social media presence, reviews, charts, and more
Quality83
Social0
YouTube93
Engagement71
Podcast Overview
"What's the Big Idea" is a new podcast featuring University of Manitoba President and Vice-Chancellor Michael Benarroch in conversation with some of today's big thinkers. Together, they’ll unpack “the big idea” their work explores. A series featuring an exciting and diverse array of voices from the UM community contributing to the cultural, social, and economic well-being of the people of Manitoba, Canada, and the world.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
9/16/2022
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74
Podcast Authority
BetaGoodBased on show quality, social media presence, reviews, charts, and more
Quality83
Social0
YouTube93
Engagement71
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23 episodes over 2.7 years
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Recent Episodes
May 6, 2026
Are we designing AI to serve us - or replace us? with David Gerhard
<p>A thought-provoking discussion with Dr. David Gerhard, a leading AI researcher and computer scientist on the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, its potential to transform society, and the ethical challenges that come with it. In this conversation, interspersed with excerpts from AI pioneer and Nobel Laureate, Geoffrey Hinton’s Knight Distinguished Lecture, we hear how AI's decision-making processes differ from human cognition, about the risks and benefits of large language models, the role of governance, regulation, and international cooperation in shaping AI development, and the importance of designing AI to serve human values.</p><p><strong>About David Gerhard:</strong> </p><ul><li>Professor and Department Head of Computer Science, University of Manitoba;</li><li>2018 & 2014 Paragon Award of Innovation, University of Regina / Regina Chamber of Commerce);</li><li>2016 Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Regina Alumni Association;</li><li> Co-founder; Co-owner; Head of research and applied innovation, Shiverware Interactive Software Developments, Inc;</li></ul><p><strong>About Geoffrey Hinton</strong></p><ul><li>Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, University of Toronto; </li><li>Fellow of the <a href="https://cifar.ca/">Canadian Institute for Advanced Research</a>;</li><li>Set up the <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/life-sciences/gatsby">Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit</a> at University College London;</li><li>Director of "Neural Computation and Adaptive Perception" program funded by the<br> <a href="https://cifar.ca/">Canadian Institute for Advanced Research</a> (2004-2013);</li><li>Worked at Google where he became a Vice President and Engineering Fellow (2013-2023);</li><li>Fellow of <a href="https://royalsociety.org/">the UK Royal Society</a>, <a href="https://rsc-src.ca/">the Royal Society of Canada</a>, <a href="https://aaai.org/">the Association for the<br> Advancement of Artificial Intelligence</a>;</li><li>One of researchers who introduced the <a href="https://www.cs.toronto.edu/~hinton/backprop.html">back-propagation</a> algorithm and first to use<br> backpropagation for learning word embeddings;</li><li>His research group in Toronto made major breakthroughs in deep learning that have<br> revolutionized speech recognition and object classification;</li><li>Awards include the <a href="https://www.cnbc.cmu.edu/derprize/announce2001.html">David E. Rumelhart prize</a>, the <a href="http://ijcai.org/awards/">IJCAI award for research excellence</a>,<br> the <a href="https://canadacouncil.ca/prizes/killam">Killam prize for Engineering</a>, The <a href="https://nserc-crsng.canada.ca/en/prizes">NSERC Herzberg Gold Medal</a>, the IEEE Frank Rosenblatt<br> medal, the IEEE James Clerk Maxwell Gold medal, the NEC C&C award, the BBVA award, the<br> Honda Prize, the Princess of Asturias Award, the ACM Turing Award and the Queen Elizabeth<br> Prize for Engineering;</li></ul><p><strong>About Michael Benarroch</strong></p><ul><li>President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manitoba since July 2020;</li><li>Professor in Department of Economics, Toronto Metropolitan University (2017-2020);</li><li>Provost and Vice-President (Academic) at Toronto Metropolitan University (2017-2020), acting as the institution’s chief academic and operating officer;</li><li>Dean of the I.H. Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba (2011-2017);</li><li>For more information about Michael Benarroch, see <a href="https://umanitoba.ca/about-um/president">here</a>.</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>About What’s the Big Idea?<br></strong><br></p><p>What’s the Big Idea? is an award-winning podcast hosted by University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch. Each episode features conversations with big thinkers from the UM community who are contributing to the cultural, social, and economic well-being of people everywhere. It is produced by the University of Manitoba in partnership with Everything Podcasts.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Links and Resources</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4t9xZQF1U0">Q&A with David Gerhard and Geoffrey Hinton</a>. </li><li><a href="https://umanitoba.ca/science/directory/computer-science/david-gerhard">Dr. David Gerhard at the University of Manitoba</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO_HRmfSQmQ">Can Machines Think? David Gerhard | TEDxFort Garry</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2024/hinton/facts/">Geoffrey Hinton - Nobel Prize in Physics 2024</a></li><li>University of Manitoba: <a href="https://umanitoba.ca/">Discover programs and opportunities</a></li><li>Alumni Relations: <a href="https://umanitoba.ca/alumni">Stay connected with UM</a></li><li>UM News: <a href="https://news.umanitoba.ca/">Read more about UM events and research</a></li></ul><p><strong>Help make big ideas possible<br></strong>Research at the University of Manitoba is driven by curiosity and made possible through partnership and philanthropy. If this conversation sparked your curiosity, we’d love to connect you with opportunities to support world-class research and discovery at UM.</p><p><a href="https://umanitoba.ca/giving/#contact-us">Learn more or get in touch</a> today.</p><p><strong>Music<br></strong><br></p><p>Adrenaline Rush by Will Bonness, Associate Professor, Desautels Faculty of Music.</p><p><strong>Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe, share, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Help us spread the big ideas from the UM community.<br></strong><br></p><p>#podcast #Education</p>
March 25, 2026
Strategic Real Estate: Canada's Quiet Power in North American Defence with Andrea Charron
<p><strong>Season 4, Episode 6</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Episode Summary:<br></strong>Our guest is Andrea Charron, Director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies and an academic working closely with the Canadian Armed forces. In conversation with UM’s President Michael Bennaroch, she discusses the evolving security landscape facing North America and Canada's crucial role in Arctic security and U.S. defense needs. Charron details security risks such as cyber threats and foreign interference and sheds light concerning NORAD modernization and the importance of international partnerships, including with Greenland, Denmark, the UK and Mexico.<strong><br> <br> About Andrea Charron:</strong> </p><ul><li>Professor of Political Science at the University of Manitoba</li><li>Director of the <a href="https://umanitoba.ca/arts/centre-defence-and-security-studies">Centre for Defense and Security Studies</a></li><li>Network Co-Lead for the <a href="https://www.naadsn.ca/">North American and Arctic Security Network NAADSN</a></li><li>Operations Node Co-Lead for the <a href="https://www.cdsn-rcds.com/">Canadian Defence and Security Network</a></li><li>Featured twice in the Economist for her Canadian foreign policy and NORAD expertise (2019 and 2021) and on the CBC radio show Ideas (2020)</li></ul><p><strong>About What’s the Big Idea?</strong></p><p>What’s the Big Idea? is an award-winning podcast hosted by University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch. Each episode features conversations with big thinkers from the UM community who are contributing to the cultural, social, and economic well-being of people everywhere. It is produced by the University of Manitoba in partnership with Everything Podcasts.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Links and Resources</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.dia.mil/Portals/110/Documents/News/golden_dome.pdf">Golden Dome for America</a> (map)</li><li><a href="https://umanitoba.ca/arts/centre-defence-and-security-studies">Centre for Defence and Security Studies</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nato-pa.int/">NATO Parliamentary Assembly</a></li><li><a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/operations/allies-partners/norad/norad-modernization-project-timelines.html">NORAD modernization project timelines</a></li><li><a href="https://armscontrolcenter.org/fact-sheet-golden-dome/">Fact sheet about the Golden Dome</a></li><li>University of Manitoba: <a href="https://umanitoba.ca/">Discover programs and opportunities</a></li><li>Alumni Relations: <a href="https://umanitoba.ca/alumni">Stay connected with UM</a></li><li>UM News: <a href="https://news.umanitoba.ca/">Read more about UM events and research</a></li></ul><p><strong>Help make big ideas possible<br></strong>Research at the University of Manitoba is driven by curiosity and made possible through partnership and philanthropy. If this conversation sparked your curiosity, we’d love to connect you with opportunities to support world-class research and discovery at UM.</p><p><a href="https://umanitoba.ca/giving/#contact-us">Learn more or get in touch</a> today.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Music</strong></p><p>Adrenaline Rush by Will Bonness, Associate Professor, Desautels Faculty of Music.</p><p><strong>Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe, share, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Help us spread the big ideas from the UM community.</strong></p>
March 4, 2026
Unlocking Brain Resilience: Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions for Alzheimer's and Dementia
<p><strong>Season 4, Episode 5<br></strong><br></p><p>Zahra Moussavi discusses her findings into using non-pharmaceutical interventions for Alzheimer's and dementia. With a background in electrical engineering, Moussavi’s groundbreaking research highlights the role of synapses and brain activity in cognitive health. Her innovative treatment strategies include electrical stimulation, VR navigation, and neurorehabilitation. These have shown success in potentially slowing, stabilizing, and reversing cognitive decline. In her conversation with UM President Michael Bennaroch, she emphasizes the importance of early detection and the need for innovative approaches to manage dementia as a chronic condition rather than a progressive one.<strong><br> <br> About Zahra Moussavi:</strong> </p><ul><li>Canada Research Chair Tier I.</li><li>Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Manitoba.</li><li>Founder and former director, Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, University of Manitoba.</li><li>Recipient of the 2018 Technical Excellence Award.</li><li>Awarded IEEE EMBS Distinguished Lecturer, 2014 and 2019. </li></ul><p><strong>About What’s the Big Idea?</strong></p><p>What’s the Big Idea? is an award-winning podcast hosted by University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch. Each episode features conversations with big thinkers from the UM community who are contributing to the cultural, social, and economic well-being of people everywhere. It is produced by the University of Manitoba in partnership with Everything Podcasts.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Links and Resources</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://umanitoba.ca/engineering/faculty-staff/electrical-and-computer-engineering-faculty-and-staff/zahra-moussavi">Professor Zahra Moussavi</a></li><li>Contact: <a href="mailto:Zahra.Moussavi@umanitoba.ca">Zahra.Moussavi@umanitoba.ca</a></li><li><a href="https://agewell-nce.ca/an-app-for-brain-fitness">Agewell – Canada’s Technology and Aging Network</a></li><li>University of Manitoba: <a href="https://umanitoba.ca/">Discover programs and opportunities</a></li><li>Alumni Relations: <a href="https://umanitoba.ca/alumni">Stay connected with UM</a></li><li>UM News: <a href="https://news.umanitoba.ca/">Read more about UM events and research</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Help make big ideas possible<br></strong>Research at the University of Manitoba is driven by curiosity and made possible through partnership and philanthropy. If this conversation sparked your curiosity, we’d love to connect you with opportunities to support world-class research and discovery at UM.</p><p><a href="https://umanitoba.ca/giving/#contact-us">Learn more or get in touch</a> today.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Music</strong></p><p>Adrenaline Rush by Will Bonness, Associate Professor, Desautels Faculty of Music.</p><p><strong>Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe, share, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Help us spread the big ideas from the UM community.</strong></p>
30 total episodes available
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This podcast updates bi-weekly.
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This podcast is available on 9 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
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