Aspen Ideas to Go

Global economist Dambisa Moyo says democracy is in crisis around the world. In her book Edge of Chaos, she explains how voter participation rates are low, money is seeping into politics via big donations, and political freedoms have declined. “We do have democracy on paper, but in terms of the efficacy and efficiency of the democratic process, I think there are deep concerns.” In her conversation with guest host and journalist Susan Page, she also describes the hurdles she’s overcome to work in a field dominated by men. The "Off Stage Series" goes into the issues that impact all of us. These conversations feature presenters at the Aspen Ideas Festival. Off Stage is part of the Aspen Ideas to Go podcast. The views and opinions of the speakers in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute. aspenideas.org

What does it mean to be American? How is that story best told and understood? New York Times columnist David Brooks talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and undocumented immigrant Jose Antonio Vargas about citizenship without certainty. Vargas was smuggled from the Philippines to his grandparents’ home in California when he was 12 years old. He discovered a few years later that he was undocumented. In Vargas's memoir, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen, he describes the psychological toll he experienced from hiding from the government. The book, his first, was released September 18, 2018. Show Notes Watch What Is It Like to be Inside the American Immigration System Today? from the Aspen Ideas Festival. Listen and subscribe to Aspen Insight. Follow the show on Twitter @aspenideas 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 role does faith play in bringing people together? Reverend Adam Hamilton pastors the largest United Methodist church in America. Within his Kansas congregation, he observes deep divisions that reflect the larger disunity in our nation. These divisions, he thinks, are tearing at our social fabric. His plan: to get people to think differently by focusing on influencing, not irritating, and seeing the humanity in others — even those we strongly disagree with. He speaks with David Brooks, New York Times op-ed columnist and commentator on the “PBS Newshour.” Brooks is also an executive director at the Aspen Institute. Show Notes This week's recommended companion episode is Faith and the Public Square. Follow the show on Twitter @aspenideas and Facebook at facebook.com/aspenideas. 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

This spring marked the 15th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, and the war in Afghanistan has gone on long enough that children born after 9/11 are now old enough to enlist in the military. Is there any path out of conflict for Iraq and Afghanistan — for the United States, or for the citizens of the war-weary countries? This episode features individuals who were deeply involved in both conflicts. David Petraeus, former CIA director, led the 101st Airborne Division in the invasion of Iraq. Douglas Lute was US ambassador to NATO and Ryan Crocker served as ambassador in six countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan. Dan Senor was based in Baghdad as an official for the Defense Department and Jane Harman, who leads the conversation, served nine terms in Congress. Follow Aspen Ideas to Go on Facebook and Twitter. 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

Broward County School District Superintendent Robert Runcie remembers clearly the events of February 14, 2018. That’s the day a gunman killed seventeen people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. In this conversation with the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart, Runcie talks about the power of hope and how some of the radical academic changes he brought to the District, the sixth largest in America, may have helped the school’s students become powerful leaders in the gun control movement. Show Notes Discover more about the Aspen Institute. Follow Aspen Ideas to Go on Facebook and Twitter. 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

Sal Khan’s career journey took him from finance to the classroom. The former hedge fund manager now runs the nonprofit Khan Academy, which provides free online education. He says online learning is changing the way students learn and instructors teach. For classrooms that have integrated the Academy into their lessons, students are learning at their own pace and teachers have more time to tutor kids one-on-one. In this conversation, Khan talks about how the Academy is personalizing education for its 60 million users worldwide. Show Notes Follow Aspen Ideas to Go on Facebook and Twitter. 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

Costa Rican diplomat Christiana Figueres led the global adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, and continues to fight for the climate today in her work with Mission 2020. Working to reduce greenhouse gases globally can be frustrating, she admits, but she chooses optimism over pessimism. She recalls a moment where her attitude shifted, “I many years ago, decided — because it is a decision — that I was going to be optimistic about addressing climate change.” We won’t solve climate change, she says, but we can prepare for a future that will look different than today. She speaks with Jeff Goodell, author of The Water Will Come about how individuals can harness hope and take action as they face the seemingly impossible. Show Notes Listen to the Aspen Ideas to Go episode, The Road from Paris, Featuring Ernest Moniz. Follow Aspen Ideas to Go on Facebook and Twitter. 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

More than 65 million people around the globe are either refugees, asylum seekers, or displaced within their own countries. It’s the largest number of people forced to flee their homes since World War II. From South Sudan to El Salvador and Yemen to Afghanistan, the International Rescue Committee is working to help people recover and resettle. David Miliband leads the organization and thinks the world’s refugee problem is solvable. In this conversation with Steve Clemons, editor at large for The Atlantic, he suggests how governments and citizens can help. “The work of rescue isn’t just about the people we’re helping. It’s actually about us,” he says, “It’s about what we in the Western world stand for. It’s about whether the values we write in our laws and constitutions mean anything.” Show Notes Listen to the Aspen Ideas to Go episode, Off Stage 1: Leaving Hate Behind, featuring Christian Picciolini. Find last week's bonus episode, Madeleine Albright on Fighting Fascism. Follow us 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

How do we save ourselves from repeating errors of our past? Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright poses this question in her new book, Fascism: A Warning. She thinks fascism now presents a greater threat to peace than at any time since the end of WWII. In this episode, she speaks with Aspen Institute CEO Dan Porterfield about what tools in the “national security toolbox” we can use to fight fascism. She explains how her childhood led her to write the book and why she calls herself an “optimist who worries.” She spoke with Porterfield on July 31st. Follow us 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

Across the US, students are heading back to college for the start of the school year. Many will wrestle with mental health challenges. Campus counseling offices are busier than ever and peer-run mental health clubs are popping up. Colleges are working to keep up as students’ academic, social, and athletic demands sometimes become too much to bear. In this episode, Teen Vogue editor Samhita Mukhopadhyay leads a conversation with Paula Johnson, president of Wellesley College, and Dan Porterfield, now president of the Aspen Institute and former head of Franklin & Marshall College. Show Notes Listen to the Aspen Ideas to Go episode, Still Healing: Charlottesville, One Year Later. Follow us 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