Aspen Ideas To Go

Joe Biden is a centrist who believes in the power of bipartisanship. To get both sides to listen to each other, he’ll have to break down the barriers created by today’s polarized politics, says New Yorker magazine staff writer Evan Osnos whose latest book is “About Joe Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Matters Now.” Osnos speaks with Margaret Brennan of Face the Nation on CBS News. They discuss how Biden’s experience with loss and grief gives him the ability to connect with people in relevant ways, how Catholic faith is truly part of who he is, and why it’s valuable to make the vice presidency into a meaningful role. Osnos also speaks about his perspective being in the Capitol during the violence on January 6th.

Last year Russia infiltrated the digital networks of federal agencies and many of America’s largest corporations, and last week’s armed insurrection on the US Capitol was fomented through disinformation campaigns on social media. Cyberattacks and manipulation of elections and domestic affairs threaten national security and global relations. John Carlin of the Aspen Institute’s Cybersecurity & Technology Program leads a conversation with Kevin Mandia, CEO of FireEye, the cybersecurity company that uncovered last year’s massive Russian hack, Senator Mark Warner, Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Luta Security’s  founder and digital defense expert Katie Moussouris. They discuss how the Russian hack was discovered and what it means for the future of digital security worldwide, including how to assign responsibility for cybersecurity and social media failures. Senator Warner also shares his assessment of the damage of a foreign-led cyber attack compared to the domestic insurrection he experi

Even though women are likely to live longer than men, their hormonal changes make them far more susceptible to age-related memory loss like Alzhemier’s disease and other conditions. Yet gender is often not a primary consideration by the medical community  — but more and more research shows that it should be. Professor of neuroscience, neurology, and radiology Lisa Mosconi directs the Women’s Brain Initiative at Weill Cornell Medical College. Her latest book is “The XX Brain.” She discusses the female brain’s unique risks and strengths and ways to maximize cognitive health with Natalie Morales of NBC’s TODAY Show.

Today’s women are warriors and peacemakers, athletes and artists. Women in leadership roles can play a crucial role in leading us toward a better and more equitable future, and women must be part of the solution to the current global crises. Former US secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright and former prime minister of New Zealand the Honorable Helen Clark are trailbreaking leaders and powerful advocates for women’s empowerment. They speak with the Aspen Institute’s Forum on Women and Girls co-chair Peggy Clark about women’s roles on the global stage now and into the future.

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 to be grateful, vulnerable, and fearless by modeling the adults in their lives. (This conversation is from the 2018 Aspen Ideas Festival.)

Corporations can play a critical role in closing the wealth gap and confronting systemic racism in America. Taking a hard look at diversity in their workforces, supply chains, and customer bases will pay off — not just in a better corporate image but in an improved economy that benefits everyone, including the corporations. “We as leaders, those of us in positions of power, have an obligation to stand up and act as true corporate citizens, says Dan Schulman, CEO of PayPal. “It also gives us competitive advantage when we do that.” Schulman and Ariel Investment Co-CEO Mellody Hobson discuss corporate responsibility, financial literacy, supporting small businesses, and more. Aspen Institute CEO Dan Porterfield leads the conversation.

With millions of Americans already infected with COVID-19, public health officials are working to ensure that a safe and effective vaccine is available for every American who wants one. They also want to be sure people aren’t afraid of getting those shots. Nancy Messonnier, M.D., is director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. She leads the Center for Disease Control’s COVID-19 vaccine efforts in the areas of distribution, administration, implementation, safety, and access. For 25 years, she’s worked to strengthen public trust in vaccines and prevent vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks. Dr. Messonnier speaks with award winning journalist and National Geographic science editor Nsikan Akpan about the speed of development of coronavirus vaccines, safety concerns, and the government’s work to distribute them quickly and equitably.

The American Dream says hard work will lead to a better life. But Harvard professor Micheal Sandel says climbing the ladder of success is getting harder in the United States, because the rungs on the ladder are growing further apart. He says inequality is deeper and upward mobility has stalled — and that’s a failure of the meritocracy, the governing elites, a group desperate to hold on to status and wealth as evidenced by recent college admission scandals. Elliot Gerson, executive vice president at the Aspen Institute, speaks with Sandel about his latest book, “The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good.”

Current political fault lines are fracturing American society as people grow further apart from one another due to differing beliefs and opinions. We often see people we disagree with as caricatures, and think we can never reconcile our differences. Yet despite that sense of contradiction we are much closer to each other than we think. To bridge the divide, we have to strengthen the bonds that make us human. In this special Thanksgiving conversation Krista Tippett longtime host of the radio program “On Being,” and Harvard professor Arthur Brooks who writes the “How to Build a Life” column for The Atlantic, discuss ways we can share our humanity and work towards re-creating politics and civil society. Their discussion is part of Unfinished Live, an online event series produced in collaboration with Aspen Ideas partner, Unfinished. Learn more at www.unsfinished.com

It’s time to slow down and start again to remake American culture and undo systemic racism, says author and Yale professor Claudia Rankine. White Americans must wade into the waters of whiteness, and interrogate their own responses to Blackness. They need to see how policies and institutions continue the patterns of segregation and legacies of white supremacy. Eric Liu of the Aspen Institute’s Citizenship and American Identity Program speaks with Rankine about her new book, “Just Us: An American Conversation.” They discuss how to have the difficult conversations necessary to confront systemic racism and about building coalitions to effect change.

The civil rights movement has affected all Americans, whether they realize it or not. The opportunity for everyone to vote represents a major shift, but changes in education, housing and even sports reflect the strategic leadership of activists throughout American history. Civil rights experts and Stanford University professors Pamela Karlan and James Steyer discuss the history of civil rights movements in this country including racial equality, women's and LGBTQ rights and how those efforts inform the work that still needs to be done today.

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks says liberal democracy has become about “me” instead of “us.” In his new book, Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times, Sacks says we are losing our strong, shared moral code and that’s challenging our sense of community and common good. Growth comes from an openness to others who may not be like us and, he says, developing a moral bond based on mutual acceptance will reduce conflict. In today’s show he speaks with Reverend Serene Jones, the first woman president of the Historic Theological Seminary in New York City. Sacks was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen in 2005 and took a seat in the House of Lords in 2009. He’s the author of more than three dozen books. Serene Jones is past president of the American Academy of Religion and was a professor of theology at Yale’s divinity school.

As scientists work to develop a vaccine to battle the coronavirus pandemic, many people question whether the process has been rushed and if the results will be effective and safe. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is responsible for approving new vaccines in this country. FDA commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn and former FDA commissioner Dr. Peggy Hamburg say the agency uses data driven techniques to review and approve any new medication and they aren’t cutting corners with this one. They speak with Fortune editor-in-chief Clifton Leaf.

From domestic election security and counterterrorism, to U.S. interests around the globe, the National Security Advisor provides solutions to the most critical challenges of our time. President Trump’s National Security Advisor, Ambassador Robert O’Brien, joins former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley. Theydiscuss critical issues including Washington’s response to China and Russia’s rising global influence, America’s future role in the Middle East and the growing North Korean nuclear threat. Previously, O'Brien was a U.S. Representative to the UN General Assembly and also led diplomatic efforts on overseas hostage-related matters. Hadley chairs the United States Institute of Peace and is on the board of the Atlantic Council. 

The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to molecular microbiologists Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier for their work on CRISPR, the revolutionary technology that gives scientists a way to accurately cut DNA and transform the genetic code of life. Likened to a pair of “genetic scissors,” CRISPR could open the door to cures for some cancers, sickle cell anemia, and other diseases. But it is not without controversy. It’s already been used to manipulate embryos. That could be the first step on the path to “designer babies,”  and it raises a multitude of ethical questions. In this encore episode recorded in 2017, Doudna spoke with Walter Isaacson, then president of the Aspen Institute, about gene editing and what it could mean to have the power to control evolution. Doudna is the Li Ka Shing Chancellor's Chair in Biomedical and Health Sciences at UC Berkeley. Her 2012 research on RNA molecules led to extraordinary insights in gene editing CRISPR technology. She wrote “A Crack in Creation,” which ch

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 cardiovascular outcomes throughout all phases of life — including strategies to improve heart health, at any age. Dr. Valentin Fuster is physician-in-chief of the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and the general director of the National Center for Cardiovascular Investigation in Madrid, Spain. His acclaimed cardiovascular health research spans the globe and has touched tens of thousands of lives. Dr. Danielle Belardo is the director of cardiology, and co-director of research and education, at the Institute of Plant-Based Medicine in Newport Beach, Calif. She also advocates for accurate scientific communication on social

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 addressing our differences, Better Arguments helps bridge divides by giving people the tools they need to listen. Eric Liu, executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Citizenship & American Identity Program discusses a groundbreaking Better Arguments Project collaboration with Stacy Sharpe, senior vice president at Allstate, and Roger Brooks, president and CEO of Facing History and Ourselves.

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 discussion with Elliot Gerson, an executive vice president at the Aspen Institute, also touched on her book My Own Words. This podcast originally dropped in June of 2017.As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. Further, the views and opinions of our guests and speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute.

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 science behind developing effective protection. Judith Aberg is Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases for Mount Sinai Health System. She’s leading Mount Sinai’s Covid-19 treatment guidelines and the hospital’s clinical trials unit. Florian Krammer is a professor of vaccinology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Kenneth L. Davis, president and CEO of Mount Sinai Health System, leads the conversation. Davis is a trustee of the Aspen Institute.As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. Further, t

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-a-mole [with the virus] in the US and other parts of the world.” He thinks a recovery will be tepid until a vaccine is developed that “returns us to normal.” When July 4th of next year rolls around, he says it won’t resemble 2019’s healthy economy but will be better than that of 2020. In a conversation with Gillian Tett, US editor-at-large of the Financial Times, he talks about the Federal Government’s decisions during the pandemic, including passage of the CARES Act, the behavior of the stock market, and how the economic situation is exacerbating social tensions.As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Aspen Inst