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As members of the Giving Pledge, Melanie and Richard Lundquist have given more than $400 million over the past decade to critical causes ranging from educational opportunity to health care access to climate change mitigation. What drives a modern philanthropist to do what they do, what models of giving work best, and where are the opportunities for private dollars to make...
Raised by uncompromising survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover survived extreme adversity, from never being allowed to go to school, to suffering serious physical injuries (and a dad that prohibited doctors or hospitals), to being at the mercy of a volatile and often abusive older brother. How did she not only make it through this childhood, but ultimately...
For over a decade, Ascend at the Aspen Institute has lifted up parents’ voices and experiences to inform bold solutions for economic mobility in the United States. How does lived expertise influence the way programs and policies are created? What can we learn from a new wave of philanthropic efforts to invest in communities and their parent leaders? Four dynamic leaders sh...
If climate change is the issue that defines the 21st century, how are we preparing the next generation to lead on this challenge? Deans from two of America’s top institutions focused on climate — Stanford and Columbia — discuss their approach to educating tomorrow’s leaders with a person key to hiring them: the chief sustainability officer at General Motors.
When the US Supreme Court rolled back the 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion, attention immediately turned to the health and economic significance for women forced to carry an unwanted or risky pregnancy to term. Those profound concerns persist, but a year later, numerous unanticipated consequences are also coming into focus. The tentacles of impact stretch in al...
Clint Smith is a high school educator, a Harvard PhD candidate, and a slam poet. In a series of spoken-word performances, Smith confronts inequality in American society. His poetry touches on black parenting, social justice, and violence against kids of color. Following his performance, three high school students from the South Washington, DC, area are interviewed about ho...
Public radio host Diane Rehm lost her husband to Parkinson’s disease nearly two years ago.
From purple mountain majesties to cities built on coastlines, American landscapes are as diverse as the people that inhabit them. How does our relationship to the outdoors define us as individuals and as a nation? In his new PBS show “America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston,” comedian and civic educator Baratunde Thurston explores this question, uncovering America’s compl...
Takeover host Franklin Leonard with guests Melody Barnes, DeRay Mckesson, and Sarah Lewis.
Alex Honnold's successful free solo of El Capitan is a remarkable triumph of humankind in collaboration with nature. But let's be careful about what lessons we take away from it.
For decades, diet and exercise fads have promised to shrink waistlines, build muscle, detoxify, and so on. But evidence is mounting that there’s no one diet or routine that works for everyone. Researchers are experimenting with AI to determine personalized nutrition algorithms based on an individual’s health, lifestyle, physiology, and immune system. Christie Aschwanden, a...
At first blush, this year might be considered the year of parental power, with the proliferation of parental bills of rights across the country that put limitations on what can be taught in public schools and allow objecting parents to seek removal of books from the school library. These bills and similar legislation purport to provide parents a greater voice in their chil...
What were the ideals of the framers, and what can they teach us about modern American democracy?
As income inequality grows, leaders have the power to unite and divide us. The Aspen Institute Ascend Fellowship invests in diverse, entrepreneurial leaders from a range of sectors who have breakthrough ideas to build economic security, educational success, and health and well-being for families in the US. Hear from several dynamic leaders from the Ascend Fellowship on the...
The Bauhaus was among the most progressive art schools in Europe in the first half of the 20th century. While it existed for only a brief period of time, from 1919 to 1933, its influence on international art, architecture, and design, as well as on educational theory and practice, is unparalleled. A key figure in the history of the school was Herbert Bayer, a Bauhaus maste...
Rick Doblin wants to be a legally licensed psychedelic therapist. Learn about his work using MDMA, or ecstasy, to help people suffering from PTSD.
Whom do we trust to tell us what to read and, perhaps more importantly, should we trust anyone to tell us what not to read? And why? We put our trust in people and organizations for so many facets of our lives and our children’s education, but the perennial issuance of banned-book lists elicits confusion, questions, and controversy. The chief executive of the nation’s larg...