Aspen Ideas to Go
Episodes
Battling the Increasing Threat of Ransomware
16 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ransomware attacks on Colonial Pipeline and top meat producer, JBS, have catapulted malware into the mainstream. Ransomware isn't a new threat but it'...
Building Brain Health at Any Age
08 Jun 2021
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...
An Outsider's Search for Belonging in America
02 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Award-winning author and playwright Ayad Akhtar grapples with identity and belonging just like the protagonist in his book Homeland Elegies. "In some ...
Unequal from the Start: Racism’s Deep Roots in American Medicine
25 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Throughout American history, racism has been embedded in health and health care. To justify slavery, scientists promulgated falsehoods about African A...
Why Good People get Caught Up In High Conflict
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The type of conflict that's permeating America today is the intractable kind where normal rules of engagement don't apply. High conflict is the opposi...
Christine Lagarde: The European Economy Is "on Crutches"
11 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The world's largest economy is rebounding from the pandemic more slowly than other global powerhouses. The European Union's economy is "on crutches," ...
Women Changing the Game in Pro Sports
04 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The professional sports industry in the United States has historically been a man's game. Men have held leadership roles, designed competition formats...
Introducing: SOLVERS
27 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Rodney Foxworth says the racial “wealth gap” is a misnomer because it implies something that’s achievable to close. “Wealth chasm” is more o...
Can We Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change by Putting a Price on Carbon?
20 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There's no denying the world is already paying for climate change. The price is stronger hurricanes, bigger wildfires, and unpredictable heat waves. S...
America's Unspoken Caste System
13 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
America has been shaped by a hidden phenomenon that touches all of our lives. A rigid hierarchy of human rankings, or caste system, influences our cul...
Is National Unity Possible?
07 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The United States is facing one of the most difficult tests in its 244-year history. American democracy is struggling, economic and social justice are...
How One Woman's Detective Work Uncovered a Racist Tax System
30 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In tax law, most people think the only color that matters is green. But, after more than two decades of research, tax scholar Dorothy A. Brown discove...
Finding the Strength to Leave: One Woman's Story of Domestic Abuse
23 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When she met him, Tanya Selvaratnam thought New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman was her perfect match. But as time went on, Schneiderman...
Walter Isaacson on the Next Great Innovation Revolution
16 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Biographer Walter Isaacson's latest book tells the story of biochemist Jennifer Doudna. She helped develop a controversial tool that has the power to ...
Women Beating the Odds in Business
09 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the United States, the odds are stacked against women and people of color who want to start a business. As a Black entrepreneur, Danielle Kristine ...
Net Zero or Bust
03 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The sobering impacts of the pandemic, and the need for a rapid transition to a clean energy economy compel us to consider opportunities that lie at th...
Stop Being an Unreliable Narrator of Your Own Story
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Grappling with the challenges and problems life throws at us is difficult, especially during a pandemic. Psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb says the storie...
How Racism Feeds the Hunger Crisis
17 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this pandemic recession, millions of Americans are going hungry, and Black and Hispanic households are hit harder than white ones. Throughout US hi...
Are Leaders Born or Made? (Rebroadcast)
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump’s second impeachment trial is beginning. In his first days in office, President Biden is navigating a pandemic and an economic cris...
Are Posts and Tweets the Greatest Threats to Democracy?
03 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
America’s Founders didn’t envision activist groups mobilizing on social media and disinformation spreading across the internet. Thanks to the web,...
Religious Freedom for All, Not Just the Majority
27 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Most Americans see religious freedom as an important right. Yet how that freedom is defined and applied isn’t consistent, and efforts to safeguard t...
How Joe Biden’s Successes, Failures and Tragedies Prepared Him to Be President
20 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Biden is a centrist who believes in the power of bipartisanship. To get both sides to listen to each other, he’ll have to break down the barrier...
Unpacking Cybersecurity and Social Media Failures: Where Do We Go from Here?
13 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last year Russia infiltrated the digital networks of federal agencies and many of America’s largest corporations, and last week’s armed insurrecti...
Brain Health and the Pitfalls of "Bikini Medicine"
06 Jan 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 World Needs Women in Leadership Roles
29 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s women are warriors and peacemakers, athletes and artists. Women in leadership roles can play a crucial role in leading us toward a better an...
Can Character Be Learned? (Rebroadcast)
22 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Psychologist Angela Duckworth explains how to raise a child with strong character. Duckworth, who's the author of Grit and a MacArthur "Genius," talks...
Profit and Purpose Go Hand in Hand: Corporate Leaders Dan Schulman and Mellody Hobson on Values-Driven Business
16 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Corporations can play a critical role in closing the wealth gap and confronting systemic racism in America. Taking a hard look at diversity in their w...
Building Public Confidence in COVID-19 Vaccines
09 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With millions of Americans already infected with COVID-19, public health officials are working to ensure that a safe and effective vaccine is availabl...
How Meritocracy's Luster Tarnishes The American Dream
02 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The American Dream says hard work will lead to a better life. But Harvard professor Micheal Sandel says climbing the ladder of success is getting hard...
The Most Important Rule for a More Civil Thanksgiving: No Eye Rolling
24 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Current political fault lines are fracturing American society as people grow further apart from one another due to differing beliefs and opinions. We ...
Beyond Good Intentions: Facing Racism in America Head On
18 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s time to slow down and start again to remake American culture and undo systemic racism, says author and Yale professor Claudia Rankine. White Am...
Can We Draw on Civil Rights History to Combat Systemic Racism Today?
11 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The civil rights movement has affected all Americans, whether they realize it or not. The opportunity for everyone to vote represents a major shift, b...
Elevating The Common Good Over Self-Interest
02 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks says liberal democracy has become about “me” instead of “us.” In his new book, Morality: Restoring the Common Good ...
A Look Behind The Scenes of Coronavirus Vaccine R&D
28 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As scientists work to develop a vaccine to battle the coronavirus pandemic, many people question whether the process has been rushed and if the result...
An Insider's Perspective: Trump’s National Security Advisor
21 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
From domestic election security and counterterrorism, to U.S. interests around the globe, the National Security Advisor provides solutions to the most...
A Crack In Creation: The Power and Ethics of Gene Editing (Encore)
13 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to molecular microbiologists Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier for their work on CRISPR, the re...
Heart Disease Isn’t an Adults-Only Condition
06 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Usually, heart health is only addressed in adults. But recent research shows that cardiovascular damage is detectable as early as age 15. The good new...
Bridging Social Divides With Better Arguments
30 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Tensions are mounting across the United States and around the world. People from all walks of life often feel like their opinions aren’t respected o...
A Conversation with Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Rebroadcast)
22 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second female justice confirmed to the US Supreme Court, told an Aspen Institute crowd in 2017 that her experiences ...
The Race to Develop a Covid-19 Vaccine
15 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Antibodies, convalescent plasma, gene-based vaccines — you may have heard these terms on the evening news, but what do they mean? How might they hel...
Why the US Economy is Headed for a “Slog”
09 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When the US economy begins to recover, former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers says there will be winners and losers. The recovery will be more ...
A Perfect Storm of Disinformation
01 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Disinformation online is on the minds of voters, candidates, government officials, and technology platforms as the US election gets closer. Already ex...
Using 2020 as a Teachable Moment in Education
25 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The pandemic and social unrest around racism make it a challenging time for students and educators, but it’s also a period of opportunity. Janice Ja...
Confronting Systemic Racism in America
19 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Wes Moore, author of Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City (written with Erica Green), says communities around the United States must co...
Are Women the Most Powerful Political Force in America?
11 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
One-hundred years ago this month, women suffragists celebrated the passage of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution. The hard-fought battle to win...
Our Emotional Health is Under Assault
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The time we’re living in is unusually tumultuous. The Covid-19 pandemic is causing loss, disruption, illness, grief, anxiety, and uncertainty. The k...
George Will on Modern American Conservatism
29 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
George Will, author of The Conservative Sensibility, says conservatism is “an orphan persuasion.” Will, who changed his voter affiliation from Rep...
What Will Motivate Voters in 2020?
21 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As the presidential election approaches, voters are considering factors unique to 2020. While divides on a number of fronts and growing distrust in go...
Using Today’s Science and Tech to Improve Health
14 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
David Agus, author of The Lucky Years: How to Thrive in the Brave New World of Health, says we’re living in a golden age when the latest science and...
Will Today’s Anti-Racism Marches Lead to Meaningful Change?
08 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Across the United States, from rural areas to cities and suburbs, people have been hitting the streets to protest racism and police brutality. How is ...
Showing Up and Creating Community
30 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Social unrest and physical distancing are not making it easy to connect with other people. Mia Birdsong says it’s particularly important that in thi...
The Role of Art in an Uncertain World
24 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nearly three decades ago, the play “Twilight Los Angeles” — about the Rodney King trial verdict — premiered. Just like in 1992, the world is s...
Race, Covid-19, and America’s Health Care System
17 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When Covid-19 first started appearing in the United States, it was perceived as an illness that affected travelers, like Tom Hanks. Soon, though, it b...
We’re All Connected: The Importance of Global Literacy
10 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As we’ve seen with the coronavirus pandemic and anti-racism protests — distance no longer means much. What started in a Chinese city spread to the...
What Is Antiracism and Can It Save Society? (Rebroadcast)
02 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Demonstrations over race and police brutality have erupted after the death of George Floyd. Floyd, and African-American, died in police custody in Min...
How to Be Less Lonely in the Pandemic
27 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Are Zoom connections and physical distancing making us lonelier? Vivek Murthy, former Surgeon General and author of Together, says prior to the pandem...
How to Help Kids Process the Pandemic
19 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Covid-19 crisis isn’t easy to bear as adults but what about young kids and teenagers? How are they coping with virtual learning, changes to thei...
Adopting a Dog during Quarantine? You’re Not Alone
12 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Have you considered adopting a dog lately? You’re not alone. Animal shelters and nonprofits are seeing a rise in the number of people adopting and f...
Race, Society, and the Coronavirus Crisis
05 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The growth of American institutions like public education and organized labor has been stunted by racial hostility. Eduardo Porter, author of American...
Digital Access: The Haves and Have Nots
29 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Digital Divide is the gap between those who have easy access to computers and the internet, and those who don’t. The problem this gap creates is...
How Will America Reopen? A Bioethicist Weighs In.
21 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Zeke Emanuel was an architect of the Affordable Care Act, which turned 10-years-old this spring. With 22 million people unemployed in America because ...
Lincoln's Leadership in a Time of Crisis
14 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Humility, loyalty, rhetorical mastery — these were the leadership traits of President Abraham Lincoln, says historian John Stauffer. When Lincoln en...
A Coronavirus Stress Test for the World
08 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Journalist and New York Times op-ed writer Thomas Friedman says countries around the world are undergoing a stress test thanks to the coronavirus pand...
China, Technology, and the Coronavirus
01 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
China was the first country in the world to experience effects from COVID-19. Now the epidemic there is slowing. How did the country of more than 1 bi...
Highs and Lows: Unpacking Teen Emotions
25 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
During the coronavirus epidemic, many families are spending lots of time together. Families with teenagers may notice extreme highs and lows – and i...
How to Be Less Fearful in Turbulent Times (Rebroadcast)
17 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What are the best tools for dealing with fear, particularly in an uncertain period? “Human beings wrestle with fear. We are living in anxious times,...
Reporting the News in a Fractured America
10 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Two major news stories are dominating headlines: the novel coronavirus and the 2020 presidential contest. Both are vulnerable to disinformation campai...
Straight from the Source: Experts Discuss Novel Coronavirus
03 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
More than 100 cases of the novel coronavirus have been reported in the United States, as of March 3, 2020. Nine people in the country have died from t...
What Will We Eat in a Hotter, Drier World?
25 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Unpredictable weather is threatening crop production and a swelling population is increasing the demand for food. How will we eat in a hotter, more c...
How to Talk About Race and Racism (Rebroadcast)
19 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When Americans elected their first black president more than a decade ago, some questioned whether the country had transitioned into a post-racial era...
Putting Humanity Back Into Finance
12 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Societal problems like income inequality have emerged from a financial system that has taken a wrong turn, says Harvard finance professor Mihir Desai....
Exploring the Inner Chambers of Our Lives
05 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb set out to write the stories of her patients she realized she should chronicle her own struggles too. The result...
How 'Isms' Are Ruining Political Discourse
29 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's already difficult to talk about politics in a polarized United States, but a few choice words are making it even harder. Columbia linguistics pro...
Confronting History, featuring Bryan Stevenson (Rebroadcast)
21 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Social justice advocate Bryan Stevenson is the subject in the new movie, “Just Mercy.” The film, starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx, is bas...
What do Church and CrossFit have in Common?
14 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the United States, the number of people attending church is declining. So where are people going to find meaning and community? Casper ter Kuile, H...
Neal Katyal: Why I Wrote “Impeach”
08 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal thinks American democracy is at risk if President Trump isn’t held accountable for abusing his office’...
The Surprising Source of Joy
01 Jan 2020
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’...
Netflix’s Ted Sarandos on Streaming, Competition, and What’s Next
23 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In the age of streaming entertainment, there’s Apple, Disney, Comcast, and many others. But it began with Netflix. In 2013 Netflix shifted from a di...
Daring or Reckless? Alex Honnold Explains the Difference
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In July of 2017, Alex Honnold became the first person to ever free-solo climb the face of Yosemite’s El Capitan. He climbed nearly 3,000 vertical fe...
Don’t Call Kansas (Or Any Middle America State) ‘Flyover’
10 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Writers Tara Westover and Sarah Smarsh grew up in rural parts of the mid-section of America and chronicled the stories of their childhoods in best-sel...
How Your Data Powers Artificial Intelligence
04 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Artificial intelligence isn’t something we’ll see in the future. Thinking machines are already here, and nine powerful companies in the US and Chi...
Evangelicals and America’s Culture War
26 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In the 2016 presidential election, more than 80 percent of white evangelicals voted for President Trump. At one point (in the 19th century) evangelica...
Separating Myth from Reality in American History
20 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Two Pulitzer Prize-winning historians explain the difference between myth and reality in American history. David Blight, a professor at Yale, says we ...
"Educated" with Tara Westover
13 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Tara Westover's childhood was distinct. Raised by survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she encountered extreme adversity. She wasn't allowed to att...
How to Quash Bias
05 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Bias is natural — it’s one way we make sense of the world. It becomes problematic when our biases become stereotypes and prejudices. So how do we ...
Life Will Break Your Heart, with Kate Bowler
29 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When she was 35 years old, Kate Bowler was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. She had been on an upward spiral: thriving in her career and loving l...
What Is Antiracism and Can It Save Society?
22 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Countering racism is essential to the formation of a just and equitable society — so how can we fight it? Ibram X. Kendi says to be able to recogniz...
Using Tech to Bring Humanity Back to Medicine
15 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In modern-day medicine, doctors have little time to spend with patients because rote tasks, like taking notes and performing medical scans, use up the...
The Chief: Will a Swing Vote Change the Future of the Supreme Court?
09 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Supreme Court will take up contentious issues like gay rights, health care, abortion, and DACA this term, which kicked off Monday. The outcome of ...
Lawlessness on the High Seas
01 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most lawless places on earth is the high seas – remote waters, often hundreds of miles from shore. These largely ungoverned waters play h...
Getting the Biggest Happiness Bang for Your Buck
24 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When our bank accounts are full, are we happier? Does a pay raise at work equal increased joy? What is the link between money and happiness? Behaviora...
Combating Climate Change One Protest at a Time
17 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Three decades ago, writer Bill McKibben gave a warning about impacts from global warming in his book The End of Nature. Since then, little has been do...
What's Facebook Doing to Protect Elections?
10 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With just five months until primary season ramps up in the United States, what’s being done to ensure bad actors don’t attack our elections? In 20...
How Valerie Jarrett Overcame Race, Gender Barriers on Her Way to the West Wing
03 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How did an Iranian-born single mom make her way to the “room where it happened,” ultimately serving as one of the closest advisors to the presiden...
An Unstable Global Economy: What’s to Blame?
27 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
As the US and China continue their trade war, economic instability is rising in countries around the world. Gita Gopinath, chief economist at the Inte...
What Does Dignity Have to Do with Liberal Democracy?
20 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Starting in the 1970s, political scientist Francis Fukuyama says the world saw a significant expansion of democracy. Dozens of countries were becoming...
Karl Rove on the Future of Conservatism
13 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Karl Rove served as deputy chief of staff and senior advisor to President George W. Bush before becoming a Fox News contributor. He has his finger on ...
Are the US and Mexico at a Breaking Point?
06 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Is the relationship between the United States and Mexico on shaky ground? This year, President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Mexican imports i...
NATO Chief on Cyberspace, Trump, and Threats From Abroad
30 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In a wide-reaching discussion from the Aspen Security Forum, Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), dis...
The Inside Story of the Mueller Investigation: How Will It Play Out?
22 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller is scheduled to testify in front of Congress Wednesday. He’ll answer questions about the 400-plus page report ...