Ingram hosted the science program Quirks and Quarks on CBC Radio One from 1979 (when he took over the show from David Suzuki) to 1991 (when he was succeeded by the show's current host, Bob McDonald). During his tenure Ingram won two ACTRA Awards. In 1993, Ingram hosted The Talk Show, a CBC Radio series about language, winning the "Science in Society Journalism Award" for his efforts. He then moved to CBC Television where he contributed science features to CBC Newsworld's Canada Live and segments on the brain to The Health Show on the main network. In November 1994 he moved to the Discovery Channel.

Ingram is the author of several bestselling books including Talk, Talk, Talk: Decoding the Mysteries of Speech, The Science of Everyday Life, The Velocity of Honey: And More Science of Everyday Life and The Burning House: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Brain, which won the 1995 Canadian Science Writers Book Award. Ingram's most recent popular science book is titled Theatre of the Mind: Pulling Back the Curtain on Consciousness published by Harper Collins in October 2005. Ingram has had a weekly science column for the Toronto Star since 1993.

Ingram earned a bachelor of science degree in microbiology from the University of Alberta, followed by a master’s degree from the University of Toronto. He has also been awarded honourary degrees from four different Canadian universities including an honourary doctorate (University of Alberta, Carleton, McGill and McMaster), and his books have been awarded three Canadian Science Writers' Awards.

In January 2006, Ingram launched Jay Ingram's Theatre of the Mind, a podcast inspired by his most recent book. The weekly program was co-hosted and produced by performer and blogger David Newland.

In 2009, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada "for his contributions towards making complex science accessible to the public as a broadcaster, public speaker and author, and for his leadership of future generations of science journalists".