Aspen Ideas to Go

Should rules govern demeaning, disparaging, and degrading speech directed at certain groups? How can we resist hate while protecting free speech? Nadine Strossen , longtime president of the ACLU, says hate speech, as painful as it may be, is justifiably protected. Instead of censoring hate speech, she advocates fighting it with free speech. In her conversation with Conor Friedersdorf , staff write...

Young people tend to say “LOL” and “like” a lot. Business jargon — such as “What’s the ask?”— is surfacing in boardrooms. Is the English language deteriorating before our ears? Linguist and author John McWhorter pushes back, saying these modern terms are examples of language evolving. Words’ meanings have always changed and those shifts will continue. “Language is like clouds,” says McWhorter. “If...

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 summoned focus, drive, and endurance to summit Yosemite’s nearly vertical 3,000 foot Dawn Wall. He completed the climb with partner Kevin Jorgeson in January of 2015. Since then, he’s written a memoir, The Push , that chronicles the climb and the life exp...

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 , presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin writes about the lives of four presidents: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson. Though their backgrounds were different, these men shared a powerful ambition a...

The number of college students dealing with stress, depression, and anxiety is growing. Psychology professor Laurie Santos noticed it in her Yale classroom and set out to change the campus culture. Her course “Psychology and the Good Life” is the most popular class in Yale’s 300-year history. In this episode, she talks about her efforts to infuse wellness into her students’ lives. She gives a cras...

Imam Khalid Latif is New York University’s first Muslim chaplain. In this political and cultural moment, he says students deal with issues around race and religious intolerance. “A lot of identities in the United States are seen through the prism of racialized identities.” In his interview with WAMU’s Joshua Johnson , he talks about Islamophobia, building interfaith bridges, and the role of religi...

Shira Stutman is senior rabbi at a historic synagogue in Washington, DC that’s doing innovative things. The ‘Sixth & I’ is a non-denominational, non-membership, non-traditional Jewish synagogue. Talks, concerts, and comedy shows are held there with a goal to enlighten and inspire people to live more meaningful lives. In her conversation with “1A” host Joshua Johnson , Stutman describes how rel...

Can faith help unite us in divided times? How are religious leaders navigating divisions inside and outside their places of worship? Adam Hamilton ministers to about 20,000 Methodists in and around Kansas City. He says he’s determined to mend the deep divisions he sees in his congregation. He speaks with guest host Joshua Johnson . Johnson hosts “1A,” a national news/talk radio show produced by WA...

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 relationships? These sometimes damaging gender stereotypes have become part of our culture, but are they backed up by science? Neuroscientist Lise Eliot says our default assumption is that our gender differences are hardwired, but that’s not the case. I...

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 about their shared value of social consciousness. Rose Marcario and Eileen Fisher delve into why a holistic approach, one that goes beyond a single company and its bottom line, is essential to doing business that’s good for everyone. They give tips o...

The African elephant, the world’s largest land mammal, is threatened by poaching, human development, and climate change. As director of the Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services Branch of the UN Environmental Program, Max Gomera advocates for the elephant. Ensuring elephants and other animals thrive is important for the human species. In this episode, Gomera talks about improving the relationship b...

Rising sea level and contaminated fresh water could make an island paradise in the Indian Ocean uninhabitable. The effects of climate change on the Maldives are difficult to ignore. Maldivian climate activist Thilmeeza Hussain says these changes are impacting everyday life for the 400,000 people who live there. Will Maldivians become climate refugees? How can this island nation be saved? Hussain i...

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 earth, looking for wonder drugs. Writer Kea Krause experienced their search when she spent twelve days aboard a research vessel in the Arctic Ocean. In this episode, she talks about her journey and why this part of the world may unlock answers to some...

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 era, it’s especially challenging to see that all lives have equal worth. He explains to Lucy Kalanithi , professor of medicine, how we can bridge the gap. Kalanithi is the widow of the late Dr. Paul Kalanithi who wrote the bestselling book When Breath Be...

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 of us will rent a complete stranger’s home, exchange digital currencies, and trust bots. When we trust Airbnb more than our elected leaders, what does that mean for society? Rachel Botsman , expert in technology and trust, says this fundamental shift...

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 adults, in the development of a child? In this episode, psychologist Angela Duckworth explains how to raise a child with strong character. Duckworth, who’s the author of Grit and a MacArthur “Genius,” talks with Jackie Bezos about how young people learn...

Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson. What were America’s Founders like as individuals? And what would they think of American democracy today? In this lighthearted conversation, National Constitution Center President Jeff Rosen interviews David Rubenstein , co-founder of The Carlyle Group, collector of historic documents, and funder of American cultural and educational institutions....

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 Mind dives into the latest developments in trials using psychedelic therapy to treat depression, anxiety, obsession, and trauma. For the book, Pollan immersed himself in the psychedelic experience, saying it helped him become more open, emotionally a...

The deadly shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue is the latest hate crime in an especially atrocious period. The number of hate crimes against religious minority communities has surged in recent years, and it’s likely driven, in part, by the country’s deep polarization. Luckily, solutions are surfacing and some are led by this episode’s speakers. Christian Picciolini is a former white supremacist who...

Tech entrepreneur Ash Bhat dropped out of high school and college to pursue digital projects. The 20-year-old’s latest effort: combatting online bots, or Twitter accounts with no human oversight. It’s a job that’s worth a break from school, he thinks. “We have a moral responsibility to make a difference.” With his company RoBhat Labs, he and his co-founder are working to tackle the spread of fake...

Tristan Harris , former Google design ethicist, says the apps we use on our devices everyday are designed to maximize screen time. “Whenever we use these products, we’re activating supercomputers pointed at our brains.” They draw you in and keep you there, he says, and the result is loneliness. Harris, who founded the Center for Humane Technology, talks with Gizmodo’s Kashmir Hill about what we ca...

With the midterm elections around the corner, should internet users be on alert for fake news? As research director at New Knowledge, Renee DiResta investigates the spread of disinformation across social networks. Since the 2016 presidential election, tech companies like hers have taken “meaningful steps,” she says. In her conversation with Kashmir Hill , investigative reporter for Gizmodo Media,...

The forces of division have been tearing America's social fabric for decades. Our country is now dealing with isolation, alienation, and tribalism. But a new coalition of community builders with a new set of beliefs is rising to turn things around. New York Times columnist David Brooks is leading an effort at The Aspen Institute to bridge the differences that divide Americans. In this talk, he goe...

Adam Grant is exploring “how to make work suck less.” For his podcast WorkLife, he visited unconventional companies to discover how to improve the work experience. Grant, who authored Give and Take and teaches at the Wharton School, thinks we should be leading more creative and meaningful lives at work. After all, we spend a quarter of our lives there. He speaks with Mike Kaplan , president and CE...

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 to expand access to a broader talent pool of well-deserving applicants. But, will removing the requirement that incoming undergraduates submit ACT and SAT scores make a difference? What are the best ways to reach aspiring students who are stopped from...