Aspen Ideas to Go

Thinking about the far-off future isn’t just an exercise in intellectual curiosity. It’s a practical skill that, as new research reveals, has a direct neurological link to greater creativity, empathy, and optimism. In this session from master game designer and acclaimed futurist Jane McGonigal, you’ll learn three practical habits that will increase the power of your imagination—and you’ll have the chance to use your creativity to foresee some of the biggest ways our lives will change by the year 2026. aspenideas.org

Netflix releases the fifth season of House of Cards today (5/30). In this encore episode Katie Couric interviews House of Cards creator Beau Willimon. The interview, from the Aspen Ideas Festival, took place before the show’s third season in 2015. The two have a lively conversation about Willimon’s career (he studied painting in college and later worked on political campaigns), and the turbulent lives of the show’s characters. NOTE: This episode contains explicit language. aspenideas.org

In this era of deep partisanship, how can common ground be found on Capitol Hill and on Main Street? In this episode, a pair of party leaders tackle relevant political questions, focusing on the divided state of America. Former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele sits down with Tom Perez, head of the Democratic National Committee. Voters are increasingly disappointed by candidates who win an election but then, don’t follow through on campaign promises. Could voter dismay lead to the emergence of a third party? This conversation is moderated by Mickey Edwards, former Republican congressman and vice president of the Aspen Institute. aspenideas.org

Elisabeth Rosenthal writes about our broken healthcare system in her new book, An American Sickness: How Healthcare became Big Business and How You Can Take it Back. She says the system, comprised of hospitals, doctors, insurance companies, and drug manufacturers, is in tatters. Social and financial incentives have infected it, she says, rendering it disastrous and immoral. How has the Affordable Care Act impacted the system? And what kind of effect would a repeal have? Rosenthal is an emergency room doctor turned journalist. She spent 22 years at The New York Times before becoming editor-in-chief at Kaiser Health News. aspenideas.org

While the subject of race and racism will likely continue to be a contentious topic for years to come, it is a discussion that is imperative for civil society. How does the dialogue on race continue? Will protests in the streets and boycotts become the new mode of discourse? What can be done to ease racial anxiety and promote common understanding? Former NPR Host and Director of The Race Card Project Michele Norris leads a discussion about how to converse about race with Khizr Khan, Adam Foss, and Amy Hinojosa. aspenideas.org

When poet Elizabeth Acevedo taught creative writing to young women of color in a detention center, she recognized their trauma and avoided the teacher-as-savior mentality. Acevedo spoke at the Aspen Institute’s Summit on Inequality and Opportunity. The Summit brings together policymakers, thought leaders, and social entrepreneurs to talk about widening the opportunity gap. This episode features Acevedo and Arthur Brooks, president of American Enterprise Institute. He talks about the secret to renewal in business, and in life. aspenideas.org

Why do human beings explore? And, why are the most adventurous explorers drawn to outer space? Naturalist and astronomer David Aguilar explains why the drive for adventure fades after childhood, and how we can regain it as adults. Also, a group of physicists dig into what the universe is made of. Janna Levin, Lisa Randall, and Lawrence Krauss debate black holes, and whether they actually exist. Their conversation is led by Ira Flatow, host of Public Radio International’s Science Friday. aspenideas.org

Less than a month into his presidency, Donald Trump made combative and accusatory remarks on Twitter about the intelligence community for a report on Russian connections. Are his messages undermining the legitimacy of the intelligence community? If so, will the agencies be less effective in making decisions around national security? Former CIA and NSA Director Michael Hayden joins former acting CIA Director John McLaughlin and Juan Zarate, former Deputy National Security Adviser for Combating Terrorism, to discuss the impact Trump’s statements have had. The discussion is moderated by David Ignatius, columnist and associate editor of The Washington Post. aspenideas.org

Kleptocracy presents a growing threat to US national security and international peace, as money laundering and other forms of public “grand corruption” increasingly undermine democracy, cripple development, weaken Western soft power, and accelerate state collapse. Can an International Anti-Corruption Court, modeled on the International Criminal Court in The Hague, tackle the problem? Meryl Chertoff, head of the Aspen Institute Justice and Society Program, leads a discussion with Deborah Connor, acting chief of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery section at the US Justice Department, senior US District Judge Mark Wolf, and Frank Vogl, co-founder of Transparency International. aspenideas.org

Margot Lee Shetterly, author of Hidden Figures, says “It’s one thing to tell your own story, it’s another thing to take responsibility to tell someone else’s life.” Her book about a group of black women mathematicians who helped catapult the US space program to success became a blockbuster film. In this episode, she tells Michele Norris, former NPR host and director of an Aspen Institute program, that she grew up among the women she wrote about. Later in the show, another award-winning author who writes about race and identity, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, discusses her book Americanah. aspenideas.org