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Debating immigration is a perennial favorite in presidential elections, perhaps never more so than in 2016, when border walls and banning Muslims push the boundaries of what proposals are considered acceptable to American voters. The artists on this panel vary in their mediums and perspectives, but they all contend with the immigrant experience. Guided by Eric Liu, we have...
Within our lifetimes, AI will, by design, begin to behave unpredictably, thinking and acting in ways which defy human logic. Big tech companies may be inadvertently building and enabling vast arrays of intelligent systems that don't share our motivations, desires, or hopes for the future of humanity. Is it too late to change course and realize a human-centered future for a...
Kate Bowler, a young scholar of Christianity, had just written a book called Blessed, about the Christian idea that good things happen to good people, when she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer at the age of 35. Suddenly confronted with this devastating news, and people’s well-meaning but often lacking responses to it, Bowler wrote a book, launched a podcast, and became a...
Time on your hands? Looking to escape into learning? Dive deeply into a broad array of topics from Aspen Ideas. Discover how soul music became a soundtrack to some of our nation’s most defining moments. What role does the human microbiome play in inflammatory diseases? And, what is the universe made of and why don’t we know what it’s made of? Expand your perspective by lea...
Playwright Anna Deavere Smith and opera director Yuval Sharon explore how this extraordinary moment in our history will both influence their work as artists and compel all of us to reinterpret art from the past. While social change has emboldened artistic expression throughout history, evident in ancient Greek plays and centuries-old Shakespearian dramas, artistic expressi...
Great memoirs implicitly tackle the subject of identity, weaving together a cohesive self from a jumble of experiences, influences and, yes, imperfect memories. But what propels authors to write a memoir, and what compels us to read them? Join three masters of award-winning and best-selling works who dared such examination and reflection as they discuss the risks and rewar...
Javier Zamora’s migration journey took him from El Salvador to the United States by foot at age nine, while Jamie Ford’s great-grandfather emigrated from China to Nevada to mine. Both authors reflect on the ways in which migration has shaped them, unpacking what it means to be American and exploring the meaning of home.
No one knows the restorative power of music better than the musicians who make it (although brain scientists keep learning more). In collaboration with Jazz Aspen Snowmass, well-known artists performing at the June festival talk about the history and origin of the music they perform, share personal stories about their own relationship to music, and riff on its link to heal...
Meet Shimon, the marimba-playing robot that can improvise with fluency and skill exceeding that of most professional musicians. This atypical frontman’s band isn’t your average performance group either: Shimon’s band of humans hails not from a conservatory, but from the Center for Music Technology at Georgia Tech. And did we mention the drummer lays the rhythm with a bioni...
The search for meaning is at the crux of the human condition and the basis of Life Worth Living, a new book emulating one of Yale’s most popular courses. In this lively “hot seat” discussion, professor Miroslav Volf discusses the book’s framework with host Kelly Corrigan. Afterwards, distinguished guests join in contemplating key questions such as: what’s worth doing, who...
In 2016, filmmaker/photographer Pete McBride and writer Kevin Fedarko set out on a 750-mile journey on foot through the entire length of the Grand Canyon. But their quest was more than just an endurance test – it was also a way to draw attention to the unprecedented threats facing one of our most revered landscapes. Throughout their passage, McBride and Fedarko encountered...
Like all institutions operating these days, museums have had to fundamentally shift to respond in real time to a global pandemic, a reckoning around racial justice, and a crisis around the very idea of truth. We often mistakenly think about museums as places for dusty relics. But on the contrary, they have an important job to do in helping us to contextualize what is happe...
"Redeployment" takes readers to the front lines of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
How do we create a culture that brings out the best in our personal and professional lives? Rituals are powerful tools for building a culture that better aligns your values and priorities with your everyday practices. Our work shows how rituals help people bridge transitions, get to flow, deal with conflict, and increase bonding. In this session, we’ll share some of the...
For years, Adam Gopnik’s writing has delighted with charming and nostalgic observations of our behavior within the world around us. In this lecture, he’ll use findings from a series of New Yorker essays to ask us, what is it exactly that we do when we learn to do something? When we learn to drive, draw, play the piano, or do magic, what is it that we get good at when we ge...
In her latest New York Times bestselling book, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, psychotherapist and Atlantic “Dear Therapist” columnist Lori Gottlieb explores the human condition through the lives of four of her patients—and a fifth one, herself. Through this disarmingly funny, thought-provoking, and boldly revealing memoir, Gottlieb reveals our collective blind spots. Ta...
The Poetry Jam Session brings together some of the nation’s leading young poets for a spirited 80-minutes of cross-disciplinary performance, collaboration, and discussion. Lyrical and musical acrobatics will introduce ideas and issues central to this year’s arts track, bringing poetic life to the intersection of art and justice. This session is led by dancer turned directo...
Wynton Marsalis is an internationally acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, educator and a leading advocate of American culture. He is the world’s first jazz artist to perform and compose across the full jazz spectrum from its New Orleans roots to bebop to modern jazz. Jon Batiste is a New Orleans-bred, New York-based musician, educator, and humanitarian, and the new b...
Are you woke? The Afternoon Jam Session brings together some of the nation’s leading young poets, Jookin’ innovator Lil Buck, writer/activist Yosimar Reyes, and more special guests for a spirited hour of cross-disciplinary performance, collaboration, and discussion. Lyrical, musical, and physical acrobatics will introduce ideas and issues central to this year’s Aspen Ideas...