Aspen Ideas to Go

Balancing Work and Life with Mary Louise Kelly

13 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

About two decades ago, NPR host Mary Louise Kelly had her first child and went down the extremely common yet commonly daunting life path of balancing ...

Thinking, Innovating and A.I. with Walter Isaacson

07 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Artificial intelligence is clearly going to change our lives in multiple ways. But it’s not yet obvious exactly how, and what the impacts will be. W...

Harnessing A.I. in Education with Sal Khan

30 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When Sal Khan created Khan Academy, he was trying to scale up the successful experiences he’d had tutoring his cousins one-on-one in math. He saw ho...

The Dilemmas of Hostage Diplomacy

23 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The White House has declared hostage-taking to be a national emergency. In July 2022, Biden issued an executive order outlining steps to deter the pra...

Wicked Problem: The Road Ahead for Immigration Policy

17 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Almost everyone agrees that immigration policy in the United States is lacking, but despite decades of debate, Congress has not been able to pass comp...

Rainn Wilson and Spiritual Revolution

10 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Actor Rainn Wilson had his dream job on the hit TV show “The Office,” but was still being kept up at night by anxiety, depression, and life’s bi...

Mary Barra: The Future of General Motors and EVs

02 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The automotive industry is going through a time of profound transformation, facing internal and external pressure to electrify America’s fleet of pe...

Democracy Dilemma

26 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Populations around the world have been electing more and more autocratic leaders in the past couple decades, via supposedly free, fair, and democratic...

Solving the Problem of Guns in America

19 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Merely defining gun violence is difficult, and coming to agreement on what to do about it often seems near-impossible in the United States. But people...

Reviewing the Supreme Court’s Latest

13 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. Supreme Court continues to issue major decisions that have profound impacts on the lives of Americans and the political future of the country...

Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Everything

05 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Like all technology, artificial intelligence can be used for good, and it can be used for evil. What little federal regulation the United States has g...

The Surprising Source of Joy (Encore)

25 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why is it that simple pleasures such as bubbles, rainbows, and hot air balloons bring joy to most people? Designer Ingrid Fetell Lee says, “there’...

Why People Want to Ban Books

11 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The desire to try and stop people from reading certain printed material has been around since material was first printed. In the modern era, book bann...

Sex Recession: Why Isn’t Everyone Doing It?

03 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The age of technology and the internet provides constant easy access to sexual content and information about sex, for all tastes and curiosities. But ...

Geraldine Brooks on Spirit, Obsession and Injustice

12 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As a budding journalist in Sydney, Australia, Geraldine Brooks was assigned to the horse racing beat in the sports department, with no experience or k...

Separated: Inside an American Tragedy with Jacob Soboroff

05 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

During the period of several months in 2018 when the Trump administration was separating migrant families at the U.S. border with Mexico, NBC News and...

Bret Stephens and John Englander on Climate Skepticism

23 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Even people who agree that climate change is a problem don’t necessarily agree on what to do about it. And some people still need a little more conv...

Vice President Kamala Harris Believes We Can Tackle Climate Change

15 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A problem as big as climate change relies on millions of incremental solutions of all sizes, but also requires leaders who can keep their eye on the b...

Can Gen Z Trust Their Elders?

08 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s young people have not seen a lot of good examples of adults working together to solve problems. Generation Z is coming of age amidst dauntin...

Managing Our Eco-Anxiety (Encore)

02 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Heat waves. Wildfires. Floods. This summer has served up some of the most extreme weather on record, and it’s clear many of us are overwhelmed by cl...

How Trauma Lives in the Body with Bessel van der Kolk

22 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A traumatic event can literally change the way our brain functions, and live on in our body in unexpected ways. The field of psychiatry has not always...

Hot Stuff: Love, Sex and the Brain

15 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is it that pulls one person toward another, and connects them? What does love and attraction do to our brain, and vice versa? Biological anthropo...

Patrick Radden Keefe on Rogues and Rebels

08 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We could look at people who veer off society’s dominant tracks into moral gray zones as simply bad, or damaged, or living the consequences of bad ch...

The Kids Are Not Alright – But We Can Help

01 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kids growing up in the U.S. today are facing some terrifyingly real, daunting problems. Almost every day, they hear about political polarization, raci...

Curbing Gun Violence Through Public Health

26 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Despite the deeply tragic, terrifying and high-profile nature of gun violence, the United States has not been able to make significant progress on the...

ENCORE: What the Ancients Got Right about Happiness

18 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

People have been thinking about happiness for thousands of years. In fact, ancient thinkers came up with strategies for cultivating pleasures over a l...

The Invisible Kingdom of Chronic Illness

11 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The pain and discomfort brought on by a newly-developed chronic illness can be exhausting. On top of symptoms, millions of people also have frustratin...

What if Wanting Less Gets You More?

04 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Most of us know where to find quick hits of pleasure and enjoyment. But what about satisfaction that lasts for years, or decades, or a lifetime? It ca...

The Promise and Pull of Psychedelic Therapy

22 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Psychedelics are emerging from a period of prohibition and association with counterculture into the rigorous world of medical research and treatment. ...

BONUS: How to Influence People

17 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Zoe Chance, who teaches the most popular class at the Yale School of Management, illuminates the skills and strategies necessary to improve ...

Hacked! Medical Devices at Risk

14 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Cybersecurity gaps in the technological systems that run our lives are becoming more and more apparent. Hardly a day goes by that we don’t hear abou...

BONUS: Rebuilding Trust in Science

10 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The pandemic amplified political polarization. As doctors learned more about COVID-19, protocols changed and people started to question the guidance. ...

Finding Happiness Despite Suffering

08 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Looking around and experiencing the suffering and injustice in the world can make it difficult to believe that happiness exists. But the Judeo-Christi...

BONUS: Can Robots Curb Loneliness?

02 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Robots as caregivers? Meet “Pepper,” a robot that can tell a joke, recognize emotions and help people remember special times in their lives. Rebek...

A Wrinkle in Time: On Beauty and Aging

01 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Right when women feel like they have it all figured out, many of them enter a stage of life in our society where they feel dismissed, ignored and cast...

Bad Things Do Happen to Good People (Encore)

24 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We try our whole lives to avoid pain and suffering and when it does show up, we try to solve it. In her new book, No Cure for Being Human, religious s...

The Science of Groupiness

17 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Though it can sometimes feel like conflict and discord is human nature, our brains are actually predisposed to forming groups and working together. In...

Rewilding the Land

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As the world’s nations face the realities of climate change negotiation in Egypt this week at CoP27, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, w...

How Do You Know if Your Vote is Counted?

02 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Americans across the country will go to the polls and cast their ballots next week, but they won’t all do it in exactly the same way. The U.S. has 8...

Are We Stupider than Ever?

26 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Does it feel like the quality of our national discourse has gone down in the last several years? You’re not the only one who’s noticed. It’s not...

Awe Is More Powerful than You Think

19 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

So much of adult life is about learning the rules and then using those rules to navigate the world. We become certain that we know what we know — th...

How Do We Stop the Rise of Hate?

13 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hate has unfortunately been a part of the United States since the founding of the country, enshrined at various times in policies and regulations, and...

Building Brain Health at Any Age (Encore)

05 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

People often talk about maintaining their physical health but brain health is an afterthought. It turns out brain fitness at any age heightens and pro...

David Brooks on Building Trust and Connection

28 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Are we experiencing a “crisis of connection"?” Fifty-four percent of American adults report that not a single person knows them well. Our politica...

Is It Time for New Economic Metrics?

21 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Do we really understand what’s happening in the economic lives of regular Americans? How is inflation hitting people with middle and lower incomes, ...

Bringing the Democratic Party Back to the People

14 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Have Democrats become too identified with technocratic ways of speaking — about the economy, the pandemic, climate change? Has this deepened the pol...

Managing Our Eco-Anxiety

07 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Heat waves. Wildfires. Floods. This summer has served up some of the most extreme weather on record, and it’s clear many of us are overwhelmed by cl...

Time for a Friendship Reset?

31 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For many people, the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown became an unexpected opportunity to take stock of our relationships. Some friendships deepened and tra...

Following Dirty Money Around the World

24 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We are in a golden age for organized crime and corruption, according to watchdog groups. Technological innovations like cryptocurrency have given crim...

When it Comes to Education, Do Parents Know Best?

17 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Parents have always cared about what their kids are learning in school, but education debates have become particularly explosive in the U.S. in the la...

Free Speech: Where Should We Go From Here?

10 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In public forums and institutions all across America, people are arguing about what free speech means in the age of the internet. What are the rules, ...

Will Inflation Come Down Anytime Soon?

03 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Inflation is dominating the financial news headlines, and millions of Americans are really hurting from high prices for gas and food. The unemployment...

A Firsthand Report of Ukrainian Suffering and Resolve

20 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, reporters bring us more and more heart-wrenching stories and images of suffering caused by the conflict. Th...

Is the Supreme Court Still the Weakest Branch?

15 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alexander Hamilton called the U.S. Supreme Court the “weakest” branch of government, because it has no direct control over the military or budget....

Beyond Roe and Dobbs: the Future of Reproductive Rights

14 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on June 24, 2022, has clear consequences: abortion is no longer a ...

SCOTUS: Roe v. Wade is Overturned

13 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, revoking the federal right to an abortion. The Aspen Ideas Festival kicked off the nex...

Digital Surveillance and the Fight for Reproductive Rights

17 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The reversal of Roe v. Wade would make it difficult or impossible for millions of people to obtain abortions, but would also open the doors to crimina...

Reckoning with America’s History of Slavery

14 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

History is taught with textbooks and lectures, but it’s also passed down in more informal ways, within families from generation to generation. Diffe...

Remembering Madeleine Albright

29 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Aspen Institute remembers and mourns Secretary Madeleine K. Albright, who passed away on March 23, 2022. She was a diplomat, professor, author, bu...

A New and Improved Social Contract

16 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The industrial revolution and consequent terrible labor conditions sparked a wave of revolutions in Europe, and then a string of laws and protections ...

The Russian Cyber Threats Facing Ukraine

02 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Any organization, public or private, with any connection to Ukraine, should be exercising extreme technological vigilance, says cybersecurity expert S...

How to Build Diversity, Equity and Inclusion that Sticks

16 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We may have moved from a time of reckoning on racial equity to a time of transformation, says business leader Dr. Rohini Anand, and that gives her hop...

How Can Activism Repair Our Democracy?

02 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The cornerstone of democracy is the principle that all citizens have the right and ability to participate in their own governance, either directly or ...

A Conversation with Author Anthony Doerr

20 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Anthony Doerr is probably best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning novel All the Light We Cannot See. Just like that book, his latest work, Cloud Cuc...

What the Ancients Got Right about Happiness

05 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

People have been thinking about happiness for thousands of years. In fact, ancient thinkers came up with strategies for cultivating pleasures over a l...

Brain Health and the Pitfalls of "Bikini Medicine" (Encore)

28 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Even though women are likely to live longer than men, their hormonal changes make them far more susceptible to age-related memory loss like Alzhemier’...

The Remarkable Brain of the Bird (Encore)

22 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It used to be that having a “bird brain” was an insult. Now, it’s practically a compliment! Turns out the brain of a bird, which is small enough...

Psychedelics for the Win

15 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1950s and 60s, mental health providers used psychedelics to help patients open up about difficult memories. Then, the drugs were banned. Now th...

How Do We Build Wealth for Everyone?

07 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The global Covid-19 pandemic has worsened inequality. Oxfam International found that while billionaire fortunes returned to pre-pandemic highs in just...

We're in a science moment. What will come out of it?

30 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Covid-19 vaccine was developed at an unusually rapid pace, and now the public's expectations are high for what science can deliver. It's a good th...

The Most Important Rule for a More Civil Thanksgiving: No Eye Rolling (Rebroadcast)

23 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Current political fault lines are fracturing American society as people grow farther apart from one another due to differing beliefs and opinions. We ...

Mark Bittman on Reimagining America's Food System

18 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Longtime food journalist Mark Bittman says America's food system needs to be reimagined so land is used fairly and well and people have access to food...

Why Our Partisan Differences Are Threatening National Security

09 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's clear the United States isn't united right now. A Pew Research poll done before the 2020 election showed about 9 in 10 voters worried a victory b...

QUICK TAKE | We Need to Treat the Pandemic like a Global Security Threat | Gayle Smith

06 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Quick Take is a weekly dose of ideas and insights delivered in short form.Today’s episode features Gayle Smith, the State Department’s coordinator...

Bad Things Do Happen to Good People

02 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We try our whole lives to avoid pain and suffering and when it does show up, we try to solve it. In her new book, No Cure for Being Human, religious s...

QUICK TAKE | Rules Schmules | Adam Grant

29 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Want to raise creative kids who learn how to think for themselves? Go easy on the rules. Quick Take is a weekly dose of ideas and insights delivered ...

Journalism's norms are changing. Here's why you should care.

26 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Norms in newsrooms across the United States are being upended thanks to deep polarization, a racial reckoning, and the pandemic. Hallmark journalistic...

QUICK TAKE | How a Cosmic Perspective Could Unify Earthlings | Jill Tarter

22 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Quick Take is a weekly dose of ideas and insights delivered in short form.Today’s episode features astronomer Jill Tarter. She co-founded SETI, or t...

Will this Anti-Poverty Measure Stick?

19 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When President Biden expanded the nation's Child Tax Credit in March, US Senator Michael Bennet applauded the move. Bennet, a democrat from Colorado, ...

QUICK TAKE | Get Off Your Duff to Improve Your Brain | Sanjay Gupta

15 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What if the key to a healthier brain is as simple as getting up out of your chair?Quick Take is a weekly dose of ideas and insights delivered in short...

Whose Job Is It to Protect Your Online Data?

12 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When you tick a box on an online privacy notice, just how much personal information are you giving away? Is the tradeoff worthwhile? When it comes to ...

QUICK TAKE | How a Dating App is Making the Internet more Humane | Whitney Wolfe Herd

08 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Quick Take is a weekly dose of ideas and insights delivered in short form.Today’s episode features Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd. Watch ...

Why Big Social can't Coexist with Democracy

05 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Technology has changed the way we think and interact with one another, and social media platforms are intentionally engineered to be addictive and man...

QUICK TAKE | How to Leave a Conspiracy Movement | Yasmin Green

01 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How can technology be used to help people leave conspiracy movements? A technologist for Google weighs in.Quick Take is a weekly dose of ideas and ins...

Conquering Fear Everywhere, from the Office to Everest

29 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

John Hagel, author of The Journey Beyond Fear, says there's increasing fear and uncertainty in the world and it's not just from the pandemic. Competit...

QUICK TAKE | This Moment in Education | Tim Shriver

24 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What classrooms need now: A focus on emotional health.Quick Take is a weekly dose of ideas and insights delivered in short form.Today’s episode feat...

Are We on the Brink of Finding Life on Mars?

21 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The history of exploration on Mars reads like a good book with twists and turns and unexpected findings. None of these findings, though, have turned u...

9/11: The Hinge of History

15 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Twenty years ago, terror attacks on September 11th took place in the United States over the course of a morning but the effects have been felt ever si...

When the 'Woke Playbook' Kills Free Speech

08 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How is social justice best pursued in a time when America is facing a reckoning on race? In today's cancel culture, many believe making the world a be...

A 'Weather Map' of Viruses Could Prevent the Next Pandemic

31 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Before Covid-19 began spreading across the globe last year, virologist Nathan Wolfe already knew what was becoming abundantly clear: The world was woe...

Why Do Some People Succeed and Others Fail?

25 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A person with grit, says psychologist Angela Duckworth, uses passion and long-term perseverance to reach goals. Reaching success, she says, is about s...

The Culture of Dogdom

17 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

People are in constant conversation with their dogs, says dog scientist Alexandra Horowitz, and dogs pick up on things like our tone of voice. "We thi...

An Insider's Take on the Capitol Riot Probe

10 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Representative Liz Cheney is one of nine lawmakers investigating the January 6th attack on the Capitol. The Republican is part of a House select commi...

How Can We Fix a Broken (and Dangerous) Internet?

03 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Instead of coming together during the pandemic, many Americans have grown farther apart. People are increasingly living in different realities of news...

Politics Minus Politicians

27 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine a new kind of democracy — one that puts governance back in the hands of the people. This is the idea behind political theorist Hélène Land...

Is Cryptocurrency a Good Bet?

20 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Cryptocurrency is revolutionizing the global financial system and shaking up our perception of trust. Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum, says the d...

Learning from the Pain of the Pandemic

13 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As many of us know personally, the coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on mental health. As lockdowns were enacted, loneliness, isolation, and depre...

Can the Promise of America Be Renewed?

06 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The American Promise—that all men and women are inherently equal—is not being fulfilled because racism continues to corrode our society. Author an...

Breaking the Blue Wall of Silence: Reflections on the Derek Chauvin Trial

29 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The emotionally charged trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd was a milestone case in a country whose legal system has historically be...

Why America Should Be Safer than It Is

23 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Insanity can be defined as doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result. As a nation, America has cycled through the same...