Aspen Ideas to Go

When Amazon launched, it employed just ten people. Now it’s one of the largest retailers in the world. CEO Jeff Bezos describes what companies need in today’s fast-paced, high tech business environment. He explains how Alexa is different from Siri and why he decided to invest in the Washington Post and an aerospace company. AOL Cofounder Steve Case, Columbia Business School Dean Glenn Hubbard, and...

The countdown to Election Day is on, and political analysts are giving their predictions. In this bonus episode, Charlie Cook and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report weigh in on the outcome for the presidential race and contests in the US House and Senate. They spoke on Wednesday, October 26th as part of the Aspen Institute’s Washington Ideas Roundtable Series. aspenideas.org

Today, more than 200 known types of cancer exist, and it is the second leading cause of death in the US. In January 2016, President Obama announced a new effort to fight the disease: the Cancer Moonshot. Led by Vice President Joe Biden, the initiative is meant to accelerate research, broaden the number of therapies for patients, and find ways to prevent and detect cancer earlier. In this episode,...

The economy is a key issue for American voters. In July, more than 80 percent of registered voters polled by the Pew Research Center said the economy was the number one issue, right after terrorism. This episode examines the country's workforce and what's influencing job creation and job loss. Featured speakers include General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt, US Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, US Senato...

Once the realm of science fiction, smart machines are rapidly becoming part of our world—and these technologies offer amazing potential to improve the way we live. Imagine intelligent, autonomous vehicles that reduce crashes and robots that can help your aged grandma move around safely. In this episode, Gill Pratt, CEO of the Toyota Research Institute, talks with John Markoff of The New York Times...

It’s difficult to ignore anger in the United States right now—talking heads battle on cable news, protesters get violent at campaign rallies, and families can’t talk politics around the dinner table. What’s fueling the anger? And how can it be managed? In this episode, panelists Mickey Edwards, Anne-Marie Slaughter, Stephen Carter, and Arthur Brooks explore the variables contributing to an angry A...

Author Jeff Chang says America has slid back toward segregation in our neighborhoods, schools, colleges and universities, and in our culture. In his new book “We Gon’ Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation” he examines recent tragedies and protests. One chapter chronicles Chang’s visit to Ferguson, Missouri one year after Michael Brown was shot and killed by police. In this episode, Chang tal...

The average American spends a third of his or her life working. What is the secret to achieving happiness because of our work and not in spite of it? How can we make a job into a vocation? David Brooks and Arthur Brooks have both studied and written about these questions. They say, no matter what the job is, the answer is to find meaning in it. In this episode, the thought leaders discuss the elem...

The civil war in Syria has raged for five years and killed half a million people. Eleven million refugees have either fled to other countries or are displaced within Syria. In this episode, three survivors share their personal stories of strength and determination under intense and difficult circumstances. Syrian violinist Mariela Shaker says she “ran under bombs and mortars” to send applications...

In a rare interview, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency weighs in on the global security scene and explains the current risks to the United States. John Brennan is interviewed by Dina Temple-Raston, counterterrorism correspondent for NPR, at the Aspen Security Forum. Even though the Islamic State, or ISIL, has lost territory in the Middle East, it continues to be a “global menace,” ac...

Is America turning its back on the humanities? The declining enrollment in disciplines including history, literature, language, philosophy and the arts, at colleges and universities across the country, signals a significant cultural shift. In this episode, Leon Wieseltier, contributing editor for The Atlantic, and Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust unpack why the diminished appeal of the humaniti...

High-profile episodes of violence have highlighted excessive force and mistreatment of people of color by police. And this summer, police have become targets of violence with attacks in cities like Dallas and Baton Rouge. This episode examines the way forward for law enforcement and the communities they are duty-bound to “serve and protect.” We hear from law enforcement officials, including Attorn...

Helen Fisher knows a thing or two about relationships. The Kinsey Institute research fellow and Match.com’s lead scientific advisor has spent her career studying couples and romantic behavior. The author of six books, her writing traces human family life from its origins in Africa over 20 million years ago to the internet dating sites and bedrooms of today. Her cutting-edge research, using brain i...

The world doesn’t lack for creative ideas—it lacks people to champion them. Once you have an idea, how do you communicate it? In this episode, Adam Grant, Wharton’s top-rated professor and a New York Times bestselling author of Originals, shares insights on how to speak up without getting silenced, and how to find allies in unexpected places. aspenideas.org

Vladimir Putin continues to taunt the US and Europe at every turn by testing NATO’s resolve, propping up Assad, provoking Ukraine, and even doing what he can to further complicate the migrant crisis. Domestically, Russia’s involvement in hacking the Democratic National Convention is in question. Heather Conley, Senior Vice President for Europe, Eurasia, and the Arctic; Director, Europe Program, Ce...

With the historic candidacy of Hillary Clinton, feminism is front and center this election. Be it wage inequality, women’s health, or paid family leave, many issues important to women at both ends of the economic divide are hotly contested. Dinner table wars rage, as boomer women and their millennial daughters disagree on Clinton, Sanders, and what being a feminist means when it comes to the vote....

What do today’s Republicans believe America’s role in the world should be? This week’s episode features US Sen. Tom Cotton, R-AR, discussing his support for presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump. Trump has some very different ideas than the Republican foreign policy establishment about the global alliance system, free trade, and the current nuclear order. Cotton, a leading figure in Republ...

Are we witnessing a new era in American politics? Two former Republican presidential candidates weigh in on the 2016 election. Newt Gingrich, former House Speaker, says the presidential race is unlike any he’s ever witnessed, characterized by rebellion against establishment politics in both parties. He predicts presumed Republican nominee Donald Trump will redefine the electoral map. Gingrich is b...

On June 23, voters in the UK chose to leave the European Union. Three days after the vote, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde spoke at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colorado. She calls the decision to leave the EU “heartbreaking.” In this episode, Lagarde is interviewed by Jane Harman, president of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and t...

TAKEOVER is a special series of episodes that puts you on the ground during the Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colorado. This episode features Pete Dominick (comedian, radio host) as takeover host in conversation with Michele Norris (journalist, The Race Card Project) and Alec Ross (Author, "The Industries of the Future"). Dominick infuses humor into interesting conversation about politics, cultur...

TAKEOVER is a special series of episodes that puts you on the ground during the Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colorado. This episode features Emily Yoffe (The Atlantic) as takeover host in conversation with Bryan Stevenson (Equal Justice Initiative), Helen Fisher (The Kinsey Institute, Match.com), and Geoffrey Stone (Univ. of Chicago Law School). Yoffe asks probing questions and touches on issues...

TAKEOVER is a special series of episodes that puts you on the ground during the Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colorado. This episode features Franklin Leonard (The Black List Table Reads podcast) as takeover host in conversation with Melody Barnes (former assistant to the president and director of the White House Domestic Policy Council; co-founder of MB2 Solutions), DeRay Mckesson (protestor, ci...

TAKEOVER is a special series of episodes that puts you on the ground during the Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colorado. This episode features Maria Hinojosa (NPR's Latino USA) as takeover host in conversation with Jose Antonio Vargas (journalist), Melvin Mar (producer, Fresh Off the Boat), and Roberto Villaseñor (former chief, Tucson Police Dept.). Music: Gillicuddy, Podington Bear aspenideas.org

TAKEOVER is a special series of episodes that put you on the ground during the Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colorado. This episode features Perri Peltz (documentary filmmaker and journalist) as takeover host in conversation with Piper Kerman (author, Orange is the New Black), Seth Berkley (founder of International AIDS Vaccine Initiative), and Adam Foss (co-founder of Prosecutor Integrity Instit...

Homicide remains an endemic, seemingly unsolvable problem in America. And violent crime afflicts African-American communities to a much greater degree than others, as does mass incarceration — and police violence. What is the cause of this crisis? What is the role of culture? Are there any solutions? This episode features New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu who has been confronting this crisis head-o...