Sessions

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 crit...

Raising well-adjusted children has always seemed difficult, but now the task — as well as the duty to protect them — seems more difficult and necessary than ever. As our lives are disrupted by technology and identity is viewed with more nuance than ever, how do we parent well in 21st century? How can we work to support our children instead of confining them? What stresses...

Join Dan Porterfield, Margaret Low, Peggy Clark, and Katie Drasser to kick off the Spotlight Health Festival, featuring a conversation with Larry Merlo and Bernard J. Tyson moderated by Bertha Coombs.

Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson united in support of the US Constitution, but they had very different ideas about how to strike the balance between national power and states’ rights, and between direct democracy and checks on the tyranny of the majority. Join David Rubenstein and Jeffrey Rosen for a conversation about the constitutional battles of i...

Many American Muslims — especially those who have worked in government or in other ways to counter radicalism and terrorism — feel caught in the middle: Much of American society questions their patriotism, while their own communities question their loyalty. How do they balance their interests as both Muslims and Americans?

We’ve selected some of the brightest minds on the Ideas Festival stage to participate in an afternoon of Big Ideas for young people: an interactive afternoon that will include debates, performances, poetry, presentations and interactive sessions. We’ll tackle questions like how do non-conformists move the world? We’ll consider empowerment issues like how to use the Youth V...

Today, there is global demand for prosperity that is inclusive, sustainable, and fair. Growth without equity is no longer an acceptable outcome. Who is going to lead us into a future where growth and social equity go hand in hand? From the private sector to government to philanthropy and everywhere in between, women are driving change on new terms, with powerful results. J...

Our signature event, the 2016 Afternoon of Conversation hosts an audience of more than 2,000 in the Benedict Music Tent. From criminal justice for the most vulnerable, to space exploration, to the changing Supreme Court, to artificial intelligence, and the state of the Grand Old Party, big thinkers and doers engage in serious ideas about their work and our collective futur...

The historic candidacy of Hillary Clinton meets a Supreme Court vacancy and a presumptive Republican nominee with overwhelming unfavorables amongst women—suddenly feminism is front and center this election season. Be it wage inequality, women’s health, or paid family leave, many issues important to women at both ends of the economic divide are hotly contested this election...

The 3rd annual Spotlight Health is a deep-dive into issues around health, and it’s a momentous time for health. It’s becoming easier to alter human genes, and the Zika epidemic continues to impact an increasing number of people. What’s being done to detect and respond to outbreaks like Zika? Are we combining science with values, and technology with humanity? How is pl...

Studies completed after the 2016 election show that media coverage of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump was overwhelmingly negative, extremely light on policy, and disproportionately focused on sideshows. What’s more, all of the major prediction models that use polls to game out election outcome probabilities predicted a Clinton victory. Could these entities, which are...

Deep inequality and stagnant wages. An emerging electorate of color. White anxiety. Anti-establishment anger. Millennial distaste for the duopoly of party politics. What do you get when you combine these? The combustible 2016 presidential election. What does this election say about who we are? And what will it reveal about the future of American identity?

Featured Ideas Festival Scholar includes Liz Plank. A robust fourth estate is central to the education of an engaged citizenry and healthy democracy. It informs us, shapes our thinking, and holds our leaders and institutions accountable. But if Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump agree on one thing this election season, it’s that political media is malfunctioning. On televisio...

Regardless the outcome of the 2016 election, a Trump or Clinton victory will transform the future of the Constitution, from affirmative action to campaign finance to voting rights and more. We will look at the history of how the Court has been transformed by pivotal elections in the past, examine the politics and prospects of the Garland nomination; and explore the Rober...

Featured Ideas Festival Scholars include Jessica Contreras, Saeed Jones, and Elizabeth Plank. Move over boomers. The millennials are now the largest living generation in the country, and they’ll make up about a third of eligible voters in the 2016 election. The most secular and diverse generation in American history, they helped carry Barack Obama into office in 2008, and...

Whether it's their views on immigration, gun laws, or climate change, young people today are changing the face of politics. Are millennials and post-millennials becoming more progressive, or will they "grow into" conservative views? How might they change the Democratic 2020 primary? And how has their support for Trump changed since 2016? Kristen Soltis Anderson, Republican...