Aspen Ideas to Go

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

Midterms are often seen as the first nationwide referendum on a first-term president. Donald Trump’s ratings have ranged from low to medium-low, but a “blue wave” of victories is far from guaranteed this fall. Where Democrats strive for inclusiveness with regard to race, gender, and immigration status, critics see “identity politics,” and successfully fending off that critique may determine the party’s fate across the country. Who are the rising Democratic stars to watch, and what internal clashes must the Democrats resolve as they look toward 2020? This episode features Amy Walter, national editor of The Cook Political Report; Reihan Salam, executive editor of National Review; Jamelle Bouie, chief political correspondent for Slate; Mike Allen, chief White House correspondent for Politico; and Celinda Lake, pollster and political strategist for progressives. Show Notes Listen to the Aspen Ideas to Go episode, Off Stage 2: Fighting for Immigrants. 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

At age 25, Gaby Pacheco was the first undocumented Latina to testify in front of Congress. In this conversation with New York Times Contributing Op-Ed Writer Wajahat Ali, she talks about the struggles immigrants still face years later. She spearheaded efforts that led to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and participated in the Trail of Dreams, a four-month walk from Miami to Washington, DC, calling attention to the plight of immigrants. In this one-on-one conversation, she speaks with Ali about her frustrations with the Trump administration, the challenges facing immigrants who want to become citizens, and the crisis at the US-Mexico border. Pacheco and Ali were speakers at the Aspen Ideas Festival in June. 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

In our first “Off Stage” bonus episode, New York Times Contributing Op-Ed Writer Wajahat Ali speaks with former white supremacist skinhead Christian Picciolini. For 8 years, Picciolini was a follower, then a leader in the white supremacist movement. When the people he thought he hated showed compassion, he left the group. Now he helps others disengage from extremism. In this one-on-one discussion, he talks about what draws someone to join an extremist group, why white supremacy is growing in the United States, and how we can stop hate in its tracks. Ali and Picciolini were speakers at the Aspen Ideas Festival in June. 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

One year after a deadly hate rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the city continues to heal. White supremacists gathered at the University of Virginia and then in downtown Charlottesville in mid-August last year. Protesters clashed and a young woman, Heather Heyer, died in the fray. Now, the historic city that was once home to Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe is also associated with the white supremacist hate rallies. Why did these groups choose Charlottesville? What has Charlottesville learned, and what can it teach America about healing and resilience in a time of re-surging hate and divisiveness? Slate Chief Political Correspondent Jamelle Bouie leads a conversation with former Charlottesville Mayor Michael Signer, domestic policy advisor for President Obama Melody Barnes, and Leslie Greene Bowman, president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello. Show Notes Listen to the Aspen Ideas to Go episodes featuring Jerome Adams, Bill Browder, and Christine Matthews. 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