Aspen Ideas to Go

Christian Picciolini went to his first white supremacist skinhead meeting at age 14. A lonely and bullied child, he was quickly swept into the movement and eventually became a leader. In this candid conversation, he speaks with journalist Matt Thompson about why he decided to leave the skinhead movement and turn his life around. Picciolini now helps people disengage from hate groups through an organization he leads, Free Radicals Project. Picciolini is the author of White American Youth: My Descent into America’s Most Violent Hate Movement. His interviewer, Matt Thompson, is executive editor of The Atlantic. Show Notes Listen to the episode Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: When Women Lead from The Bridge. Follow Aspen Ideas to Go on Twitter and Facebook. Email your comments to aspenideastogo@gmail.com. The views and opinions of the speakers in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute. aspenideas.org

The truth is under assault in America, according to Marty Baron, executive editor of The Washington Post. By labeling the press as the opposition party and calling into questions facts, President Trump is subverting the role of free and independent news, says Baron. Baron talks with Brian Stelter, host of CNN’s “Reliable Sources,” about how his journalists are operating in a fake news atmosphere where people doubt the truth. He describes how newsrooms need to change — incorporate more transparency and diversify staff — to earn back trust. Finally, he goes into what it’s like working with Post owner Jeff Bezos. Show Notes Listen to Technology Is Changing How We Trust from Aspen Ideas to Go. Register for the 2019 Aspen Ideas Festival. Follow Aspen Ideas to Go on Twitter and Facebook. Email your comments to aspenideastogo@gmail.com. The views and opinions of the speakers in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute. aspenideas.org

Kate Bowler and Elaine Pagels both teach religion, write about religion, and have experienced immense hardships. In this frank and funny conversation, they explore why people still seek ancient religious teachings in our modern age. In moving and relatable moments, they explain how they overcome loss, illness, and isolation. Pagels is the author of The Gnostic Gospels and Why Religion?: A Personal Story. Bowler is the author of Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel and Everything Happens for a Reason (and other lies I’ve loved). They speak with Gina Murdock, a writer, yoga teacher, and community organizer. Show Notes Listen to How to Save a Democracy in Decline on Aspen Insight. Follow Aspen Ideas to Go on Twitter and Facebook. Email your comments to aspenideastogo@gmail.com. The views and opinions of the speakers in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute. aspenideas.org

The latest World Happiness Report puts the United States in 18th place, behind all the Scandinavian countries, Costa Rica, Canada, and others. The report, issued annually by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, looks at income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust, and generosity. Another happiness list from National Geographic puts Boulder, Colorado in first place because of its high levels of civic engagement, walkability, and healthful food options. Boulder Mayor Suzanne Jones sits down with Dan Buettner, author of The Blue Zones, and journalist Steve Clemons to talk about the relationship between place and happiness. Show Notes Listen to The Bauhaus Roots of Aspen on Aspen Insight. Follow Aspen Ideas to Go on Twitter and Facebook. Email your comments to aspenideastogo@gmail.com. The views and opinions of the speakers in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute. aspenideas.org

Nearly two decades ago, author Colson Whitehead began thinking about writing about the Underground Railroad. “I remembered when I was a kid, I first heard those words…I thought it was a literal train beneath the earth,” he says. He put pen to paper and the result was the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Underground Railroad. In it, the historic secret network of safehouses for runaway slaves becomes a make-believe set of tracks and tunnels beneath southern cities and towns. The book tells the story of Cora, a runaway slave who makes various stops along the railroad in her search for freedom. Whitehead recreates the terror black people in the pre-Civil War era faced. It’s an essential read to understand America’s past and present, according to The New York Times. In this episode, he talks about the novel and about the process of writing. Show Notes Listen to the Aspen Ideas to Go episode Pushing the Limits, featuring climber and author Tommy Caldwell. Follow Aspen Ideas to Go on Twitter and Facebook. Email your comments to aspenideastogo@gmail.com. The views and opinions of the speakers in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute. aspenideas.org

When Americans elected their first black president more than a decade ago, some questioned whether the country had transitioned into a post-racial era. But today race is a more prominent and intransigent problem than ever. As the US grapples with issues like identity politics, the Travel Ban, a wall on the southern border, and Black Lives Matter, writers Jelani Cobb and Wajahat Ali question the likelihood of a post-racial America. Cobb, a staff writer at The New Yorker and journalism professor at Columbia, says America needs to closely examine its imperfections and reflect on its history of slavery. He speaks with Ali, a New York Times op-ed contributor. Show Notes Follow Aspen Ideas to Go on Twitter and Facebook. Email your comments to aspenideastogo@gmail.com. The views and opinions of the speakers in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute. aspenideas.org

When your dog wags its tail or welcomes you home, what are they thinking about? How do they perceive you and the world around them? Two canine cognition scientists, Alexandra Horowitz and Brian Hare, share what dogs know, understand, and believe. This field of research is growing and these scientists are gaining valuable insight in the minds of America’s most popular pet. Show Notes Listen to The Bauhaus Roots of Aspen from Aspen Insight. Follow Aspen Ideas to Go on Twitter and Facebook. Email your comments to aspenideastogo@gmail.com. The views and opinions of the speakers in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute. aspenideas.org

Should rules govern demeaning, disparaging, and degrading speech directed at certain groups? How can we resist hate while protecting free speech? Nadine Strossen, longtime president of the ACLU, says hate speech, as painful as it may be, is justifiably protected. Instead of censoring hate speech, she advocates fighting it with free speech. In her conversation with Conor Friedersdorf, staff writer for The Atlantic, she dispels the idea that censorship effectively counters the impacts of hate speech. Strossen is the author of HATE: Why We Should Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship. Show Notes Listen to Joshua Johnson's conversation with Imam Khalid Latif. It's part of our Off Stage series on spirituality. Follow Aspen Ideas to Go on Twitter and Facebook. Email your comments to aspenideastogo@gmail.com. The views and opinions of the speakers in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute. aspenideas.org

Young people tend to say “LOL” and “like” a lot. Business jargon — such as “What’s the ask?”— is surfacing in boardrooms. Is the English language deteriorating before our ears? Linguist and author John McWhorter pushes back, saying these modern terms are examples of language evolving. Words’ meanings have always changed and those shifts will continue. “Language is like clouds,” says McWhorter. “If the clouds are in the same position they were in when we came in, something’s wrong.” In this conversation with Georgetown linguistics professor Deborah Tannen, he talks about his book Words on the Move and explains why we shouldn’t be frustrated when language changes. Show Notes Watch John McWhorter's talk, Adjusting to Modernity in American English, from the Aspen Ideas Festival. McWhorter is also featured in the Ideas Festival panel discussion, Just Words. Follow Aspen Ideas to Go on Twitter and Facebook. Email your comments to aspenideastogo@gmail.com. The views and opinions of the speakers in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute. aspenideas.org

What does it take to rock climb one of the world’s hardest routes at night in the bitter cold? Tommy Caldwell, an accomplished climber, says he summoned focus, drive, and endurance to summit Yosemite’s nearly vertical 3,000 foot Dawn Wall. He completed the climb with partner Kevin Jorgeson in January of 2015. Since then, he’s written a memoir, The Push, that chronicles the climb and the life experiences that led to it. Caldwell is also featured in two films: “The Dawn Wall” and “Free Solo,” which is considered to be on the short list for an Oscar nomination. In this episode, he speaks with mountaineer and climber Penn Newhard about conquering fear, cultivating tenacity, and turning failure into growth. Show Notes Follow Aspen Ideas to Go on Twitter and Facebook. Email your comments to aspenideastogo@gmail.com. The views and opinions of the speakers in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute. aspenideas.org