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It’s a tough time to try and express the complexity of life honestly. Writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie doesn’t shy away from truth-telling and believes we should all step up and do more of it. She thinks there’s more of a political “middle” in the general public than is generally represented in media, and she keeps that group in mind in her work. An essayist, poet and novel...


Creativity is as intrinsic to our species as any of our basic instincts, says Debbie Millman, designer and curator. But for millions of people in the United States, the ability to create has been thwarted. This basic human need, as important as love and shelter, Millman says, isn’t available for people serving time at the nearly 2,000 correctional facilities across America...


The entertainment industry has had to pivot and refresh time and again to adapt to constant changes in format, business models and attention spans. Somehow, producer Brian Grazer has been able to keep up. The storyteller, who has received multiple nominations and wins at the Oscars, Emmys and Golden Globes, manages to find what people connect with and turn it into a hit –...


Millions of children across America don’t have art classes in school and don’t grow up going to art museums and galleries. They might be hours away from the closest museum, or their families might not have the means to bring art into their lives. Philanthropist Alice Walton had that kind of childhood, and wants to prevent as many people as possible from repeating it.

October is National Book Month, and we’re celebrating by looking back at some of our favorite conversations about reading and writing from the Aspen Ideas Festival and Aspen Ideas: Health. Hear from beloved journalist Nicholas Kristof, National Book Award winner Imani Perry, poet and memoirist Javier Zamora, bestselling novelist Amor Towles, Pulitzer Prize winner Geraldine...

Jump in by watching our 15 most popular talks of all time. From black holes to jazz and civil rights to psychology hacks, we've collected the talks that remain audience favorites over the years.

The arts are not just forms of expression, but powerful forces that shape culture and the human experience, both reflecting and influencing our world. Join renowned artists, writers, musicians, actors, and thought leaders — including comedian Julia Louis-Dreyfus, award-winning musician Common, legendary producer Brian Grazer, and public intellectual Henry Louis Gates Jr. —...

As one of the foremost reporters of his generation, Nicholas Kristof has been witness to century-defining events and atrocities around the world. How has he managed to weaponize his pen against regimes and groups violating basic human rights, and still maintain faith in humanity?


Amid seismic shifts in the entertainment world, Oscar-, Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning Brian Grazer has managed to keep pivoting to new ways to tell stories in movies, TV and documentaries. In this session, Grazer discusses how he stays ahead of the creative curve with Michael Eisner, the entertainment powerhouse who transformed the Walt Disney Company.

In the last 30 years, conglomerates from Amazon to Netflix to Spotify have changed the way we interact with media, books, fashion and music. Creatives are struggling to maintain artistic integrity, make money and fight off AI robots that “create” at breakneck speed. Here’s how industry leaders in entertainment, fashion and journalism are forging new paths.

Images communicate truths, and also lies. Learning to pay attention to photographs can help us discern. An art and cultural historian and a visual artist host a master class on how to read the visual record in the context of racial justice and equity.

Hurray for the Riff Raff is more than Alynda Segarra’s musical moniker; they spent their youth hopping trains across America, capturing that life in youthful poetry then and acclaimed songwriting now. Join a songwriting adventure of love, loss and reflections on America.

When people in prison are given creative outlets, the impact is life-changing. Hear from a hip-hop artist setting up prison recording studios, an architect designing more humane spaces and a visual artist displaying letters, essays and poems from prisoners around the world.

Whether as Elaine Benes from “Seinfeld” or Selina Meyer from “Veep,” Julia Louis-Dreyfus delivers laughter. But in the upcoming film “Tuesday,” she communicates with death — in a quite unexpected form. The acclaimed actress sits down with Sam Fragoso for a live recording of the podcast, “Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso.”

You may not know what typeface this sentence is written in, but typography is crucial to how we convey, process and retain information. How has the form evolved? Hear from design experts and a graphic-arts great as they trace the roots of typography from Gutenberg to Bauhaus and beyond, drawing on how innovation in design is always in conversation with the past. Book sign...

Maybe all of us feel like we’ve been raised by Hollywood, but being raised in Hollywood is a different kind of drama. Actor, producer and director Griffin Dunne joins friend (and fellow multihyphenate) Fisher Stevens to discuss Dunne’s new memoir, “The Friday Afternoon Club,” with tales of adventure, fame and grief so gripping, it could be a movie. Join Griffin Dunne for...

Here’s a radical proposal: Make access to the arts free for everyone. Leaders on a mission to bring Americans into art spaces discuss the transformative power of the arts, and how to give everyone the chance to be transformed.

Rosalind, Viola, Portia and Beatrice are unforgettable roles in Shakespeare’s plays. But there were real women behind these characters — women who spoke out against patriarchy, primogeniture and arranged marriage. How does our vision of the past change when we hear the other half of the story?

Architecture doesn’t just build edifices; it shapes societies. Even as transportation infrastructure creates and locks in racial inequality, there is hope that intentional design can create more equitable, sustainable and joyous communities. Together, a visionary architect and the president of the ACLU grapple with how architecture both mends and maintains social division.