Aspen Ideas to Go

Humility, loyalty, rhetorical mastery — these were the leadership traits of President Abraham Lincoln, says historian John Stauffer. When Lincoln entered office in 1861, the situation in America was dire. States were seceding and America was on the brink of war. How did he utilize his strengths in the face of great crisis? Should today’s leaders, who are challenged by the cataclysm of the coronavi...

Journalist and New York Times op-ed writer Thomas Friedman says countries around the world are undergoing a stress test thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. This test, he says, is revealing the quality of nations’ governance, their health care systems, and the strength of their communities. Perhaps surprisingly, some autocratic regimes have fared well, he says, while some democracies – like the Uni...

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 billion people make it through? Technology played a big role. In this episode, Lydia Lee, Gary Liu, and Andrew McLaughlin join Vivian Schiller, executive director of the Aspen Digital program at the Aspen Institute, to talk over the kinds of technology...

During the coronavirus epidemic, many families are spending lots of time together. Families with teenagers may notice extreme highs and lows – and it’s not just because of the global crisis. Once they reach adolescence, kids land on an emotional rollercoaster and even question their own extreme reactions. As parents, teachers, coaches, and mentors, how can we help teens communicate and navigate th...

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,” says Kansas pastor Adam Hamilton. Hamilton, who founded the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, created five sermons to help people feel less fearful. In this episode, he explains what he wrote in the sermons and later in a book , Unafraid:...

Two major news stories are dominating headlines: the novel coronavirus and the 2020 presidential contest. Both are vulnerable to disinformation campaigns, so what are newsrooms and technology companies doing to combat false news? What did journalists learn in 2016 that they can apply to political coverage in 2020? Local news is the most trusted news source but many newspapers are folding. How can...

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 the disease. That’s far less than in countries like China, Iran, and Italy. What’s being done to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in America and beyond? How quickly can a vaccine be developed? What can individuals do to stay safe? A panel of health expe...

Unpredictable weather is threatening crop production and a swelling population is increasing the demand for food. How will we eat in a hotter, more crowded world? The race to reinvent the global food system is on, and innovative solutions are already being served up. Meat produced from animal cells is one solution, says CEO of Memphis Meats Uma Valeti. "Can we start thinking about evolving our foo...

When Americans elected their first black president more than a decade ago, some questioned whether the country had transitioned into a post-racial era. But today race is a more prominent and intransigent problem than ever. As the US grapples with issues like identity politics, the Travel Ban, a wall on the southern border, and Black Lives Matter, writers Jelani Cobb and Wajahat Ali question the li...

Societal problems like income inequality have emerged from a financial system that has taken a wrong turn, says Harvard finance professor Mihir Desai. “When finance goes awry, which I think it has, we all suffer. When finance is done well, it’s absolutely remarkable,” he says. Humanity needs to be re-infused into finance so that it’s led by personal stories rather than only value extraction. Desai...

When psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb set out to write the stories of her patients she realized she should chronicle her own struggles too. The result was the bestselling book Maybe You Should Talk to Someone . In it, she explores the human condition through the lives of her patients and herself. "We're all asking ourselves, how do I love and be loved, and how do I live in a world of uncertainty. So...

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 professor John McWhorter says the original meaning of words like "liberalism" and "socialism" have changed. Now such words muddy up political discourse. In this episode, McWhorter talks about the history of political "isms": progressivism, conservatism,...

Social justice advocate Bryan Stevenson is the subject in the new movie, “Just Mercy.” The film, starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx, is based on Stevenson’s memoir with the same name. Stevenson, an attorney, founded the Equal Justice Initiative and has advocated for the release of more than 100 prisoners on death row. He’s passionate about fighting against racial injustice and using history...

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, Harvard ministry innovation fellow, says fitness classes, advocacy groups, and maker’s spaces are taking the place of congregations – they’re providing people with a sense of identity. Casper ter Kuile speaks with other spirituality experts in a conve...

Former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal thinks American democracy is at risk if President Trump isn’t held accountable for abusing his office’s power for political gain. In December, the US House impeached Trump. Now Katyal believes the Senate should vote to remove him from office. Katyal, who has argued dozens of cases before the Supreme Court, says Trump’s actions — asking foreign powers to...

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’s something really powerful in the idea that we all find joy in the same things,” especially items with little significance otherwise. Fetell Lee studied how our physical environment impacts our well-being, both physically and psychologically. She believ...

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 distribution company (remember the mailed DVDs?) to a distribution and content creation business. Some of the company’s first shows were hits like “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black.” Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix, describes...

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 feet alone and without ropes. The historic feat was captured in the Academy Award-winning film, “Free Solo.” He says self-confidence helped him complete the climb. “If you get scared while free-soloing, [your self-confidence] starts to crumble a little b...

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-selling books. While the books vary in emphasis, structure, and theme, both writers agree that people in the Heartland are easily stereotyped by the national media and politicians. “There’s a real gulf between the story we tell ourselves about a country...

Artificial intelligence isn’t something we’ll see in the future. Thinking machines are already here, and nine powerful companies in the US and China control their development. The spam filter in your email inbox is AI. So are programs like Google Translate. The next level for thinking machines is when they begin learning the way humans learn. As artificial intelligence gets refined, who’s keeping...

In the 2016 presidential election, more than 80 percent of white evangelicals voted for President Trump. At one point (in the 19th century) evangelicals were associated with malcontents who fought for prison reform, abolitionism, and even early feminism. Now, this group is “the most loyal and most vital element of the Trump coalition,” says Michael Gerson, syndicated columnist for The Washington P...

Two Pulitzer Prize-winning historians explain the difference between myth and reality in American history. David Blight, a professor at Yale, says we use myths to help process history, which can be dismal. “Much of history is dark because human nature is dark. We sometimes have to process the past in sentimentalism — in stories that allow us to wake up in the morning.” Annette Gordon-Reed, an Amer...

Tara Westover's childhood was distinct. Raised by survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she encountered extreme adversity. She wasn't allowed to attend school, and instead worked in her father's junkyard. She suffered serious injuries, and was sometimes at the mercy of a volatile and abusive older brother. She chronicled her story in "Educated," a best-selling book she hopes people find relatabl...

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 manage bias, particularly in the classroom and workplace? Jennifer Eberhardt, author of “Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do,” sits down with Adam Grant, host of the WorkLife podcast to go over the science behin...

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 life with her husband and newborn son. Bowler, who’s a scholar of Christianity, had just written the book “Blessed,” about the Christian idea that good things happen to good people. But through her experience of personal suffering, she realized no amo...