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Elisabeth Rosenthal on our broken healthcare system.
How can we prepare needed talent to fuel economic growth and social mobility? With the workplace rapidly changing with advances in artificial intelligence, do we even know enough about future jobs to prepare young people with the right skills and capacities? Are our education systems prepared in light of rapid demographic shifts? Leaders in industry and academia have some...
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.
What should every American know? This question has long been debated, discussed, and deliberated. Amidst giant demographic and social shifts, it is more important than ever to define some common knowledge — cultural, pop cultural, historical, civic facts, memes, and references that every American should know. Answers need to come from all of us, not just a powerful few. Th...
America has always meant business. We’re a nation of self-starters, strivers, and entrepreneurs — with the courage to take big risks and the confidence to determine our own destiny. Entrepreneurs are seen as the beating heart of our economy, generating the jobs, wealth, and innovation that keep the American Dream alive. But what are the conditions that small businesses nee...
America’s heartland is quietly upending traditional notions of how cities work to deliver on their promise of shared prosperity. This means local governments, philanthropy, and the private sector have to work together and work differently. Jennifer Bradley of the Center for Urban Innovation and Rip Rapson of the Kresge Foundation discuss how leaders from Detroit, Fresno, M...
Shakespeare is ubiquitous in literature classes and theater, but the avenues of relating to his work are not always clear to young people and modern audiences. Some, such as Shakespeare scholar and professor Ayanna Thompson, argue that his plays make sense as living, breathing, adaptable instruments that can be shaped to fit the times. Playwright, director and professor Ja...
Americans now owe a staggering $1.5 trillion in student loan debt, according to Forbes. With growing online opportunities catered to self-taught learners and the ever-evolving digital nature of work in the modern world, do we still need to sit in classrooms to get a college education? Are companies and government institutions rethinking the long-standing requirement of a f...
How can we use this moment of post-pandemic reawakening and reinvention to ensure that every young person in America is ready for the future? Join this session to participate in an immersive discussion about the future of K–12 learning — one in which opportunity and a self-determined life are within reach for every child, no matter their background. Three leaders confront...
Higher education was once one of our most trusted sectors in American society. But today, colleges and universities are struggling to hold onto that trust. Accused of being educationally ineffective, too expensive, obsessed with their own elitism, inept at dealing well with the explosion of depression and anxiety among their students — the list of criticisms is long. Many...
Is America turning its back on the humanities?
When children see themselves and their communities mirrored in school curriculum, they learn better. But traditional curriculum situates people of the African Diaspora in a minimally positive — and many times negative — light, which has led to generations of Black students feeling disengaged.
How can we make every teacher a star teacher?
The reality of educating children during a pandemic can be overwhelming. Learn how educators and policymakers are working to ensure every child is digitally connected.
Today, the common experience of citizenship in the United States is more important than ever. We’re more connected technologically, but we’re more isolated socially, and drifting apart from each other geographically, politically, economically, religiously, and culturally. There’s a chance—right now—for bold action to inspire a renewed sense of citizenship that will fundame...
In this new Aspen Ideas format, all attendees gather each morning to kick off the day by exploring a current issue of deep complexity. This year, the Supreme Court is once again considering the constitutionality of race-based affirmative action programs, and its ruling may have a profound impact on the makeup of America’s most selective colleges and universities. How sh...
In his remarkable book, The Third Wave, AOL founder and tech leader Steve Case describes how we are moving beyond the internet as a communications tool to an era where it will be the hub of all we do. This “internet of everything” will create a level of connectivity that will allow forward-thinking entrepreneurs to reshape every major sector in society. But, he argues, mor...
“Weavers” are a diverse group of Americans who are making quiet yet extraordinary efforts to strengthen the communities in which they live. Each of these leaders is taking on a very different challenge — be it suicide prevention, housing, urban revitalization, or immigrant rights — but they all focus foremost on the transformative power of human relationships. Learn about...
Robert Runcie on the power of education, how tragedy shakes a community, and why he believes in hope