Explore
Search results
Quick Take is a weekly dose of ideas and insights delivered in short form. Today’s episode features Gayle Smith, the State Department’s coordinator for the global response to Covid-19. Watch her full conversation from the Aspen Security Form. The talk was co-presented with the Aspen Institute Health, Medicine, and Society Program. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYXL0Ppkv...
The idea of unity is a compassionate, hopeful aspiration for a country ravaged by a global pandemic, racial injustice, economic downturn and mob violence.
Leading on the Frontlines, a series from Aspen Ideas Now, features mayors and governors across the United States in candid discussions about how they're facing tough decisions during the Covid-19 pandemic. The conversations are led by CNN's Suzanne Malveaux.
In America, interpersonal trust is in decline. Less than one-third of Americans agree that most people can be trusted. Events that might have brought people together, like the shared sacrifices of the pandemic, led instead to infighting. Social trust enables us to live meaningful lives in community and peacefully solve shared problems, from racial injustice to creating job...
The decline in trust of scientific institutions over the course of the pandemic is manifested in the number of Americans worried about the truth of scientific progress and the abilities of scientific leaders to be objective and credible. How do we rebuild trust?
Homicide remains an endemic, seemingly unsolvable problem in America. And violent crime afflicts African-American communities to a much greater degree than it does others, as does mass incarceration — and as does police violence. What is the cause of this crisis? What role does racism play? What is the role of culture? Are there any solutions to be had? The mayor of New Or...
From blockchain to back to school and virus-hunting to bridging divides, speakers at the 2021 Aspen Ideas Festival addressed issues in a new kind of world—one touched, and changed, by the pandemic. Our speakers looked to the future and discussed the biggest, boldest ideas. Here's a sampling of the some of the Festival's conversations.
What is the cause of violent crime in America? What is the role of culture? Are there any solutions?
What is the cause of violent crime in America? What is the role of culture? Are there any solutions?
“Follow the science” has become a Democratic mantra, but many Americans are wary of experts and believe elites look down on them. Have Democrats become too identified with technocratic ways of speaking — about the economy, the pandemic, climate change? Has this deepened the political divide between those with and those without college degrees? Can Democrats reconnect with...
The United States is facing one of the most difficult tests in its 244-year history. American democracy is struggling, economic and social justice are under interrogation, faith in institutions is declining, and a pandemic is touching us all. Is national unity a far-off dream?
The world is different in 2022. As we begin to emerge from a global pandemic we’re faced with a barrage of new crises that are shaking nations to their core: war, food shortages, broken supply chains, bioterrorism, energy shortages, and inflation. Will data-driven intelligence, now a critical component for countries, business managers, and economic enterprises large and sm...
Congress is engaged in vigorous debates about health reform, the federal budget, and other sweeping policy changes that could have a potent impact on health. The future of Obamacare and the possibility that Medicaid may be significantly restructured or cut back dramatically are very much in play. The level of funding for the biomedical research and public health activities...
Best known to the public as the Trump Administration’s White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator, physician Deborah Birx is a clinical immunologist who has also served as US Global AIDS coordinator and a colonel in the US Army. Challenged to speak the truth about COVID-19, she balanced candor and political pragmatism to get out accurate information. Her new book, Sile...
When Rochelle Walensky was appointed director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in December 2020, the pandemic had commandeered much of the agency’s attention. But its many other responsibilities never went on holiday. Even as the world’s premier public health agency developed guidance for COVID-19 testing, masking, quarantines, and vaccination, it...
Over the last two years, the nation seems to have been broken. Against the background of a politicized pandemic, there was a verbal and legal assault on democracy predicated on the lie of a rigged election, followed by a literal assault on the US Capitol building. Then, in spite of something so obvious to unite against, the opposition party struggled to find a solid ticket...
Mayor fatigue is real. The New York Times recently reported that a spate of mayors across the country are stepping away from elected office in a siege of burnout following an exhausting 15 months. Between managing a global pandemic on the local level and reckoning with racial inequalities, many stressed-out mayors report there’s no time to deal with common city problems li...
Beyond the everyday policy disagreements that have typically characterized Americans from blue states and red states, we seem more divided than ever about the fundamental direction of our nation. For the first time since the Civil War, our political disagreements erupted into violence at the US Capitol. And the pandemic has only made things worse, as our differences became...
President Trump’s second impeachment trial is beginning. In his first days in office, President Biden is navigating a pandemic and an economic crisis. With presidential leadership once again at the forefront and President’s Day just around the corner, we’re revisiting an episode featuring presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.
Journalist Thomas Friedman says countries around the world are undergoing a stress test thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.