Aspen Ideas to Go

Planned Parenthood President on Reproductive Justice

16 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Who controls a woman's body? Herself? Her church? Her community? Her government? Leana Wen, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America,...

Mark Zuckerberg Wants the Government’s Help in Making Tough Decisions

09 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After Russia interfered in the 2016 US presidential election, the social media giant Facebook came under deep scrutiny. Rightly so — much of the int...

How Will the Supreme Court’s Latest Decisions Impact Our Lives?

02 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Before it wrapped up its term in June, the Supreme Court made decisions on two landmark cases: political gerrymandering and the census. How do these d...

Paul Ryan Talks Trade, Immigration, and the 2020 Election

26 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Paul Ryan may no longer be a member of Congress but he's still paying attention to the issues. The former Speaker of the US House retired in January. ...

Citizenship Without Certainty (Rebroadcast)

18 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean to be American? How is that story best told and understood? New York Times columnist David Brooks talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning ...

Technology Isn’t Only Hijacking Our Time, It’s Controlling Our Choices

11 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Millennials check their phones 150 times a day, more than 2 billion people use Facebook, and another 2 billion use YouTube. What’s the root of our d...

How to Be Less Fearful in Turbulent Times

04 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Leading up to the US presidential election in 2016, Kansas pastor Adam Hamilton noticed the people in his congregation wrestling with fear. Campaign s...

Is Activism Good Business? Just Ask Patagonia

28 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The clothing and outdoor gear company Patagonia bills itself as “the activist company” and lately, it’s been particularly active. Following the ...

The Remarkable Brain of the Bird

21 May 2019

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...

Is Social Media Threatening the American Idea?

14 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Read Jeffrey Rosen's article, America Is Living James Madison's Nightmare in The Atlantic. The views and opinions of the speakers in the podcast do no...

How Personal and National Crises are Linked

07 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How are the tools we use to solve personal crises related to national problems? Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jared Diamond says the ways we deal with...

The Gratifying and Complicated Language of Friendship

01 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The way friends talk to one another can either bring them closer or create distance. When it comes to women’s friendships, author Deborah Tannen say...

Millennials and Motivation (Rebroadcast)

23 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Millennials shoulder a lot of stereotypes. They’re called entitled and in need of instant gratification. They’re not committed to their work and e...

The Menace of Climate Change

17 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Mary Robinson’s book, Climate Justice, records the stories of people experiencing effects from climate change first-hand. They’re not staying sile...

Reversing Extinction and Re-Wilding the World

09 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What if we could turn back time and reverse extinction? Famed writer, biologist, and environmentalist Stewart Brand is attempting this with an organiz...

Finding Happiness at Every Stage of Life

02 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Economists who have researched happiness over a lifetime find it starts to decline after adolescence and noticeably dips when people enter middle age....

Trump's Close Relationship with Fox News

26 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A recent blockbuster article by journalist Jane Mayer examines close ties between the White House and Fox News. The piece, published in The New Yorker...

Escaping Hate

19 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Christian Picciolini went to his first white supremacist skinhead meeting at age 14. A lonely and bullied child, he was quickly swept into the movemen...

Democracy Dies in Darkness: A Conversation with Marty Baron

12 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The truth is under assault in America, according to Marty Baron, executive editor of The Washington Post. By labeling the press as the opposition part...

Confronting Life's Toughest Challenges

06 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Kate Bowler and Elaine Pagels both teach religion, write about religion, and have experienced immense hardships. In this frank and funny conversation,...

The Happiest Places on Earth

27 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The latest World Happiness Report puts the United States in 18th place, behind all the Scandinavian countries, Costa Rica, Canada, and others. The rep...

Colson Whitehead: “The Underground Railroad”

20 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly two decades ago, author Colson Whitehead began thinking about writing about the Underground Railroad. “I remembered when I was a kid, I first...

How to Talk About Race and Racism

12 Feb 2019

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...

Inside the Mind of a Dog

05 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When your dog wags its tail or welcomes you home, what are they thinking about? How do they perceive you and the world around them? Two canine cogniti...

Can Free Speech Silence Hate Speech?

29 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Should rules govern demeaning, disparaging, and degrading speech directed at certain groups? How can we resist hate while protecting free speech? Nadi...

LOL, Like, and Literally: Is the English Language Deteriorating?

22 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Young people tend to say “LOL” and “like” a lot. Business jargon — such as “What’s the ask?”— is surfacing in boardrooms. Is the Eng...

Pushing the Limits

16 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What does it take to rock climb one of the world’s hardest routes at night in the bitter cold? Tommy Caldwell, an accomplished climber, says he summ...

Are Leaders Born or Made?

08 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What qualities make a good leader? Are leaders born with these attributes or can they be learned? In her seventh book, Leadership in Turbulent Times, ...

Crash Course on Happiness

31 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The number of college students dealing with stress, depression, and anxiety is growing. Psychology professor Laurie Santos noticed it in her Yale clas...

Off Stage 14: Islam in America Today

25 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Imam Khalid Latif is New York University’s first Muslim chaplain. In this political and cultural moment, he says students deal with issues around ra...

Off Stage 13: One Synagogue’s Unconventional Outreach Approach

25 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Shira Stutman is senior rabbi at a historic synagogue in Washington, DC that’s doing innovative things. The ‘Sixth & I’ is a non-denominatio...

Off Stage 12: Addressing Partisanship at the Pulpit

25 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Can faith help unite us in divided times? How are religious leaders navigating divisions inside and outside their places of worship? Adam Hamilton min...

What Really Separates Men from Women?

19 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Why is it that we think boys are good at math and girls are more empathetic? Or that boys can’t focus in the classroom and girls are obsessed with r...

Repairing the Apparel Industry

12 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The clothing industry is a top polluter, but some companies are working to be kinder to the environment. The CEOs of Patagonia and Eileen Fisher talk ...

Off Stage 11: Saving the African Elephant

07 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The African elephant, the world’s largest land mammal, is threatened by poaching, human development, and climate change. As director of the Biodiver...

Off Stage 10: A Sinking Island Nation

07 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Rising sea level and contaminated fresh water could make an island paradise in the Indian Ocean uninhabitable. The effects of climate change on the Ma...

Off Stage 9: Wonder Drugs in the Arctic

07 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Will a cure for cancer be found in the North Pole? A group of Norwegian scientists are scouring the sea and shore in one of the harshest climates on e...

Atul Gawande on Love, Death, and Worth

04 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Famed writer and surgeon Atul Gawande believes there’s a gap between our aspiration for how we treat each other and the reality. In this divisive er...

Technology Is Changing How We Trust

27 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Technology is changing who and how we trust. While our faith in institutions such as governments, media, and charities has hit an all-time low, many o...

Can Character Be Learned?

20 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Why is it so hard to watch our children fail? Why might a highly structured life for a child be a bad thing? And how important is our behavior, as adu...

What Would the Founders Think of Today's America?

14 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson. What were America’s Founders like as individuals? And what would they think of American democra...

The New Science of Psychedelics

06 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and The Botany of Desire, focuses on psychedelic drugs in his most recent book. How to Change Your ...

Stopping Hate in an Era of Fragmentation

30 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The deadly shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue is the latest hate crime in an especially atrocious period. The number of hate crimes against religious ...

Off Stage 8: Tackling Twitter’s Bots

26 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Tech entrepreneur Ash Bhat dropped out of high school and college to pursue digital projects. The 20-year-old’s latest effort: combatting online bot...

Off Stage 7: How to Get off Your Screen

26 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Tristan Harris, former Google design ethicist, says the apps we use on our devices everyday are designed to maximize screen time. “Whenever we use t...

Off Stage 6: The Menace of Disinformation

26 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

With the midterm elections around the corner, should internet users be on alert for fake news? As research director at New Knowledge, Renee DiResta in...

The Cultural Revolution We Need

23 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The forces of division have been tearing America's social fabric for decades. Our country is now dealing with isolation, alienation, and tribalism. Bu...

How to Lead a More Meaningful Life at Work

16 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Adam Grant is exploring “how to make work suck less.” For his podcast WorkLife, he visited unconventional companies to discover how to improve the...

Getting In: College Access for All

09 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In June, the University of Chicago announced it will become test-optional. It's the first elite school to do so. The move is part of a bigger effort t...

How Women in the Media Are Tackling #MeToo

02 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

News reporters have covered the #MeToo movement since it gained ground one year ago. But journalists haven’t just written about the movement, some h...

Off Stage 3: The Year of the Woman

02 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Rebecca Traister’s new book Good and Mad details how women’s anger has erupted into the public conversation. In our first Off Stage interview on w...

Larry Summers on Trade, Tariffs, and the Economy

26 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Former treasury secretary Larry Summers has been vocal about his disagreements with the current direction of US economic policy, particularly in the a...

Off Stage 5: Journalism “More Important than Ever”

21 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In an era when the mainstream media is under attack, New York Times Deputy Managing Editor Rebecca Blumenstein is heartened because more people are pa...

Off Stage 4: How to Ensure the Survival of Democracy

21 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Global economist Dambisa Moyo says democracy is in crisis around the world. In her book Edge of Chaos, she explains how voter participation rates are ...

Citizenship Without Certainty

18 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean to be American? How is that story best told and understood? New York Times columnist David Brooks talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning ...

Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White (Rebroadcast)

11 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What role does faith play in bringing people together? Reverend Adam Hamilton pastors the largest United Methodist church in America. Within his Kansa...

Is There a Path out of Afghanistan and Iraq?

04 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This spring marked the 15th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, and the war in Afghanistan has gone on long enough that children born after 9/11 a...

From Tragedy to Hope: A Conversation with Robert Runcie

29 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Broward County School District Superintendent Robert Runcie remembers clearly the events of February 14, 2018. That’s the day a gunman killed sevent...

Sal Khan: Education Reimagined

28 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Sal Khan’s career journey took him from finance to the classroom. The former hedge fund manager now runs the nonprofit Khan Academy, which provides ...

From Despair to Optimism on Climate Change

24 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Costa Rican diplomat Christiana Figueres led the global adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, and continues to fight for the climate today in her w...

David Miliband on Fixing the Refugee Crisis

21 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

More than 65 million people around the globe are either refugees, asylum seekers, or displaced within their own countries. It’s the largest number o...

Madeleine Albright on Fighting Fascism

17 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

How do we save ourselves from repeating errors of our past? Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright poses this question in her new book, Fascism:...

College Students, Mental Health, and the University's Role

14 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Across the US, students are heading back to college for the start of the school year. Many will wrestle with mental health challenges. Campus counseli...

Can the Democrats Win Big in 2018—and 2020?

10 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Midterms are often seen as the first nationwide referendum on a first-term president. Donald Trump’s ratings have ranged from low to medium-low, but...

Off Stage 2: Fighting for Immigrants

09 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

At age 25, Gaby Pacheco was the first undocumented Latina to testify in front of Congress. In this conversation with New York Times Contributing Op-Ed...

Off Stage 1: Leaving Hate Behind

09 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In our first “Off Stage” bonus episode, New York Times Contributing Op-Ed Writer Wajahat Ali speaks with former white supremacist skinhead Christi...

Still Healing: Charlottesville, One Year Later

07 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

One year after a deadly hate rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the city continues to heal. White supremacists gathered at the University of Virginia...

Longtime Kremlin Critic Says He's Not Afraid

03 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Russian President Vladimir Putin in July, singled out American-born businessman Bill Browder at a joint press conference in Helsinki, Finland. Putin, ...

Conservatism in the Era of Trump

31 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Is the Republican Party in the United States having an identity crisis? Are the priorities of the Republican Party, conservative ideals, and the Trump...

The Surge of Women into Politics

27 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Since 2016, we’ve watched women rack up unprecedented wins in statehouses, city halls, and even Congress — and thousands more are throwing their h...

Dan Coats Discusses Election Interference, the White House’s Invitation to Putin, and More

24 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats goes over President Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in this discussion held July 1...

DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Russian Interference, the Border Crisis, and More

19 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has defended the Trump administration’s controversial "zero tolerance" immigration policy that has led ...

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Russian Meddling

19 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

FBI Director Christopher Wray is firm in his position that Russia was involved in the 2016 presidential campaign. “The intelligence community’s as...

First-Hand Account: Family Separation at the US-Mexico Border

18 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A lot has happened since US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in May a “zero tolerance” policy for illegal crossings at the southwest borde...

The Rising Belligerence of Putin's Russia

13 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday during a time when international relations are being tested. On the heels of a ...

The Age of Euroscepticism

10 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Hours before President Trump attends a NATO Summit in Brussels, we examine the role of the alliance and how it fits into Europe’s recent struggles. ...

James Comey on His Legacy Leading the FBI

03 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Former FBI Director James Comey says transparency and a desire to maintain his agency’s credibility prompted him to reopen the Hillary Clinton email...

A Conversation with the US Surgeon General

27 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

As the nation’s top doctor, US Surgeon General Jerome Adams has pledged to lead with science and collaborate with local entities to tackle national ...

Love, Sex, and the Brain

19 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What makes two people click? What does it really mean to say, “we have chemistry”? The Atlantic's Olga Khazan talks to biological anthropologist H...

Race, Youth, and the American Vote

13 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In a recent Alabama Senate election, 96 percent of African American voters supported one candidate, and according to a Pew Research Center survey, 66 ...

How Broadway's Hamilton is Radically Relevant

05 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A hip-hop musical about America’s founding fathers with a virtually all minority cast. A reimagining of La bohème as a rock musical uncovering the ...

How Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Industry

29 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Bill Gates portends doomsday is coming. The late Stephen Hawking said we should prepare for our robot overlords to take their thrones. But is the futu...

Threats from Abroad: Iran, North Korea, and Russia

22 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

News from around the globe is dominating US headlines. President Trump plans to meet with North Korea's Kim Jong-un in June, Trump pulled out of the I...

The Perils of Over-Parenting

15 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

By trying to provide the perfectly happy childhood, a generation of parents may be making it harder for their kids to actually grow up. Hear from psyc...

'That's What She Said' with Joanne Lipman

08 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The #MeToo Movement has exposed sexual harassment in the workplace, but what about the problem of gender inequality? Journalist Joanne Lipman says eve...

Why Being Mayor Is the Best Job in Politics

01 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter insists that serving in city council is the best job in politics. He served two terms as mayor and managed to...

Securing the Nation's Secrets

25 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

As our lives become increasingly tech driven, we’re more vulnerable to cyberattacks, and our workplaces and government are too. William Evanina, dir...

Philanthropy & Democracy: Risky Liaisons

17 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Big philanthropy can contribute to a democratic society by addressing problems that neither government nor the private sector will take on. Yet philan...

Luis Alberto Urrea on the Power of Family

11 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Author Luis Alberto Urrea's latest novel, The House of Broken Angels, is inspired by his own Mexican-American family. Set in a San Diego neighborhood,...

Stopping the Violence in Chicago

03 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In rallies from coast to coast, students across the United States are calling for tighter gun control. The deadly Parkland, Florida shooting resurface...

Runaway Slave: A Story of Triumph, Survival, and Resistance

27 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

A young, courageous African American woman risked it all to gain freedom from America’s First Family in the late 18th century. Ona, or “Oney,” J...

Living a Moral Life

21 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

For centuries the human race has been grappling with how to live a moral life. In this conversation we hear from scholars who think deeply about moral...

What's Possible When Young People Speak Up?

14 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Throughout history, young people have been at the center of activism: the Civil Rights movement, Black Lives Matter, the labor movement, and now gun v...

The Nature of Evil: Paul Bloom and Graeme Wood

06 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Why do people do evil things? We hear from Yale psychologist Paul Bloom and journalist Graeme Wood about the nature of evil. Bloom studies morality in...

Is Gun Violence a Public Health Issue?

28 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The debate around gun laws is resurfacing in the wake of the deadly high school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Can America’s shared sorrow inspire a...

How History's Mistakes Guide Today's Leaders

21 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Historian Jon Meacham has written extensively about the presidency, with acclaimed books on Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Franklin Roosevelt, and ...

US Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith

13 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

US Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith says her true self comes out in her work. Poetry, she says, helps her wrestle with dark, sometimes unresolvable questi...

Why We Need to Talk About Race

06 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re white and middle class, you were probably raised thinking that discussing race was impolite. Color blindness was seen as a virtue. But in ...

Norman Lear & Khizr Khan: Understanding American Values

31 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Norman Lear is the prolific television writer and producer of stories about diverse American life—among them “All in the Family,” “Sanford and...

What's Driving Our Political Polarization?

23 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Trust in civic, religious, and academic institutions is at an all-time low in America. But this phenomenon did not, as some Americans might believe, b...