Aspen Ideas to Go

Adam Grant is exploring “how to make work suck less.” For his podcast WorkLife, he visited unconventional companies to discover how to improve the work experience. Grant, who authored Give and Take and teaches at the Wharton School, thinks we should be leading more creative and meaningful lives at work. After all, we spend a quarter of our lives there. He speaks with Mike Kaplan, president and CEO of the Aspen Skiing Company based in Aspen, Colorado. Show Notes Listen to the Aspen Insight episode Beyond a Level Playing Field. 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

In June, the University of Chicago announced it will become test-optional. It's the first elite school to do so. The move is part of a bigger effort to expand access to a broader talent pool of well-deserving applicants. But, will removing the requirement that incoming undergraduates submit ACT and SAT scores make a difference? What are the best ways to reach aspiring students who are stopped from applying by fees and tuition costs? And how should universities measure merit and success? University of Chicago President Robert Zimmer talks with David Coleman, president and CEO of the College Board, a nonprofit that provides free SAT practice. The conversation is led by Aspen Institute President and former college president Dan Porterfield. Show Notes Listen to the Aspen Ideas to Go episode Sal Khan: Education Reimagined. Follow the show 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

News reporters have covered the #MeToo movement since it gained ground one year ago. But journalists haven’t just written about the movement, some have experienced sexual harassment and violence themselves. In this episode, a group of leading female journalists share their personal stories and discuss how newsroom culture must shift. What concrete steps can the industry take to serve women currently working as journalists and the next generation of writers? Speakers include Katie Couric, Mona Charen, Adrienne Green, Shannon Van Sant, Susan Page, and Rebecca Blumenstein. Their conversation was held June 28, 2018 at the Aspen Ideas Festival. Show Notes Listen to the Aspen Insight episode The Old West: Reshaping the Myth. Follow the show 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

Rebecca Traister’s new book Good and Mad details how women’s anger has erupted into the public conversation. In our first Off Stage interview on women, she tells USA Today Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page that women are “mad that Donald Trump is president and they’re mad about sexual harassment.” Women in the past have been angry individually, but a new movement that emerged following the 2016 election reflects collective anger, says Traister. Her book Good and Mad was released October 2nd. 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. 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

Former treasury secretary Larry Summers has been vocal about his disagreements with the current direction of US economic policy, particularly in the areas of trade, tariffs, and the rethinking of international agreements on commerce and investment. What would he do differently? What do we need to do to really ensure economic growth? He speaks with Jillian Tett, US Managing Editor of the Financial Times. Show Notes Listen to the Aspen Ideas to Go episode How Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Industry. Follow the show 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

In an era when the mainstream media is under attack, New York Times Deputy Managing Editor Rebecca Blumenstein is heartened because more people are paying for news. “Our circulation has almost doubled. People have realized that facts have value,” she says. In her Off Stage conversation with USA Today’s Susan Page, she talks about fake news, covering Trump, and what advice she would give to young women entering the news business. 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

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