Aspen Ideas to Go

Usually, heart health is only addressed in adults. But recent research shows that cardiovascular damage is detectable as early as age 15. The good news is teaching even very young children about good nutrition, exercise and ways to deal with stress, may help combat heart disease, the leading cause of death around the world. Two cardiologists discuss recent discoveries and research in improving car...

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 or heard, leading to bitter disagreements that drive wedges between family members, neighbors, and communities. That’s where the Better Arguments Project comes in. Designed to foster a culture where we can learn to come together by arguing and directly...

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 as a woman gave her a unique perspective on the Court. She talked about her relationships with Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and the late Antonin Scalia. She also explained what it was like to work with newly-elected Justice Neil Gorsuch. Her discussi...

Antibodies, convalescent plasma, gene-based vaccines — you may have heard these terms on the evening news, but what do they mean? How might they help in the battle against Covid-19? As the race to develop a vaccine continues, questions remain about effectiveness, testing, and whether people will actually get the vaccine once it’s on the market. Two medical experts involved in the fight explain the...

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 bearable for the rich than the poor. He believes the recovery includes three stages: collapse, bounce-back, and slog. We’ve experienced collapse and bounce-back already. “Now we’re headed for a slog,” he says, “where we’re going to play mediocre wack...

Disinformation online is on the minds of voters, candidates, government officials, and technology platforms as the US election gets closer. Already experts have seen disinformation campaigns around the Covid-19 pandemic, which could spell trouble in November, says Laura Rosenberger, director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy. “When you’re sowing doubt about the information the government is p...

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 Jackson, CEO of Chicago Public Schools, says it’s time to address long-standing inequities in education. In her district, the third largest in the country, students have been learning about justice and restorative practices — even before the death of Geo...

Wes Moore, author of Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City  (written with Erica Green), says communities around the United States must confront systemic racism. His book, about the life of Freddie Gray delves into the uprising that followed Gray’s death just days after he was taken into police custody. With the recent death of George Floyd, Moore says we’re reliving history. In a conv...

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 the right to vote lasted decades. Since then, what strides have women made toward gender equality? What hurdles remain? Cecile Richards, former president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, says women are becoming the most powerful poli...

The time we’re living in is unusually tumultuous. The Covid-19 pandemic is causing loss, disruption, illness, grief, anxiety, and uncertainty. The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others have fueled pain and anger around racial injustice. “We have all lost our fundamental way of life to some degree or another,” say psychologist Guy Winch, “We are all dealing with massive uncertai...

George Will, author of The Conservative Sensibility , says conservatism is “an orphan persuasion.” Will, who changed his voter affiliation from Republican to unaffiliated four years ago, thinks conservatism is under threat — both from progressives and elements inside the Republican Party. In a broad-reaching discussion with Susan Page, Washington bureau chief for USA Today , he talks about the tra...

As the presidential election approaches, voters are considering factors unique to 2020. While divides on a number of fronts and growing distrust in government may motivate some voters, there’s also deepening concern about America’s response to the Covid-19 crisis and the resulting recession. How will such a chaotic environment continue to shape the public's interests and discourse, and how much wi...

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 technology can customize care. Tools that track behavior like how much we sleep and walk are now widely available. Such technology, says Agus, can help us control chronic conditions, reverse aging, and improve health overall. In his conversation wit...

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 the national fervor around anti-racism different than in the past when people rallied following the death of Trayvon Martin in 2012, or when Civil Rights protestors called for an end to segregation in the 1960s? Alicia Garza, co-creator of #BlackLive...

Social unrest and physical distancing are not making it easy to connect with other people. Mia Birdsong says it’s particularly important that in this time we show up for one another to offer strength, support, and accountability. Birdsong’s new book, How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community , digs into why many people feel isolated in a society built on community. In this polar...

Nearly three decades ago, the play “Twilight Los Angeles” — about the Rodney King trial verdict — premiered. Just like in 1992, the world is seeing the problem of racial injustice come back into focus. How is art confronting a racist system in America? What has changed since the riots in LA? Oskar Eustis, artistic director at the Public Theater in New York, speaks with Anna Deavere Smith, the crea...

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 became clear the disease was infecting people of color more than any other group. Black people are 3.5 times more likely to die of the virus than white people, and Latino people are nearly twice as likely to die, according to researchers at Yale and t...

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 corners of the earth and what happened on the streets of Minneapolis launched action around the globe. We live in a global era and what happens thousands of miles away can deeply affect our lives. Richard Haass, author of the new book The World: A Brief...

Demonstrations over race and police brutality have erupted after the death of George Floyd. Floyd, and African-American, died in police custody in Minneapolis. A leading voice on antiracism, Ibram X. Kendi says countering racism is essential to the formation of a just and equitable society — so, how can we fight it? To recognize racism, we need to define it and then understand it’s opposite. Racis...

Are Zoom connections and physical distancing making us lonelier? Vivek Murthy, former Surgeon General and author of Together , says prior to the pandemic people dealt with loneliness, which affects our health and well-being. Now, feelings of disconnection may be more difficult to bear. “If we allow physical distancing to translate into social distancing, we will experience a deepening of our lonel...

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 their routines, and quarantine? Even before the pandemic, an increasing number of kids were experiencing anxiety, depression, and suicide. How can parents best support kids who may be dealing with additional stressors now? A panel of child experts includin...

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 fostering pets during the Covid-19 crisis. Before you bring home a new canine companion, dog cognition expert Alexandra Horowitz says there are a few things to consider. Horowitz, who runs the Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College, wants these newly form...

The growth of American institutions like public education and organized labor has been stunted by racial hostility. Eduardo Porter, author of American Poison , explains how racial animus has blocked social cohesion throughout history. With the coronavirus pandemic, this stunted growth is partly to blame for why the United States has dealt with the crisis so poorly. While millions become infected a...

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 becoming more acute during the coronavirus pandemic. As schools move to distance learning, workers are displaced from their jobs, and public services move online, the need for an affordable, reliable broadband connection and productivity technology is...

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 of the coronavirus pandemic, is universal coverage needed now more than ever? Emanuel says in such an uncertain environment, people are craving security. He thinks the pandemic will lead the Federal Government to rethink the importance of safety net...