David Leonhardt is a senior writer for The New York Times, where he pens The Morning daily newsletter. At The Times since 1999, he was previously an op-ed columnist, Washington bureau chief, co-host of “The Argument” podcast, founding editor of The Upshot section, and a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine. Leonhardt also led a strategy group that helped shape the newsroom’s digital future. Prior to this, he worked for Business Week and The Washington Post. He’s also been a senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs. Leonhardt authored “Ours Is the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream,” named one of the best books of 2023. He won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.
Previously
In a time of growing wealth disparity and evolving societal values, can capitalism adapt to sustain the American Dream?
President Biden promised to push for bipartisan legislation, and the White House Office of Management and Budget’s director has been key to the process. With a reputation as a...
Even as the clean energy transition is underway, AI and global development are demanding more energy than ever. What’s the best plan to bring massive amounts of zero- and low-...
Digital skills open doors to jobs in tech, media, and across all industries. Connecting diverse students and workers with the education and training needed for the 92% of toda...
In this new Aspen Ideas format, all attendees gather each morning to kick off the day by exploring a current issue of deep complexity. This year, the Supreme Court is once...
Drawing on decades of writing about the economy for The New York Times, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer David Leonhardt offers a preview of his forthcoming book and examines the...
In this new Aspen Ideas format, all attendees gather each morning to kick off the day by exploring a current issue of deep complexity. Debates over the content of our hist...
How do we know the real effect of inflation on the buying power of individuals in the United States? Unless we change the way we analyze data and evaluate key economic indicat...
Two-thirds of American workers do not have a four-year college degree. In an increasingly tech-driven economy, how can we ensure that a lack of higher education isn’t a roadbl...
You know his work: the iPod, the iPhone, the Nest. What you might not know is that Tony Fadell — a top Silicon Valley designer, engineer, entrepreneur, and mentor — is not the...
Our politics is polarized, and, with Donald Trump poised for a comeback, democracy is in peril. Drawing on themes from his book, The Tyranny of Merit: Can We Find the Common G...
Legacy media may not be a sinking ship just yet, but there’s no denying the leaking. A growing number of direct-to-consumer media outlets are luring elite journalists to their...
Many experts argue that massive government mobilization on the scale of World War II deployment is needed to address the catastrophe of climate change. Such is the scope of th...
Peter Georgescu arrived in this country as a penniless Romanian refugee and rose to prominence as the CEO of Young & Rubicam. It’s an American Dream success story that could n...
We know the success of our economy depends in large part on a vibrant, market-based economic system. But markets, by their nature, don’t deal effectively with many issues. We...
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...
With a dramatically reduced budget, a new system for categorizing race, an unprecedented proposal to count only American citizens, and a move to all-digital implementation (th...
Do we have a right to health care? The United States remains the only developed country in the world unable to come to agreement on the answer. While many feel that the US gov...
Since Syria and Nicaragua joined the Paris Accord last fall, the United States stands alone as the only country on the planet to reject the pact. President Trump’s withdrawal,...
Technology is swiftly disrupting all the norms of health care delivery, and more radical change lies ahead. Unmanned aerial vehicles (better known as drones) are delivering su...
How do we ensure that everyone in society benefits from economic growth? How do we narrow income disparities between the topmost earners and everyone else, such that we crea...
It is no surprise that trust in institutions, be they private, government, nonprofit, or media, has suffered huge declines globally and throughout the United States. Accordin...
Some suggest we are well into a fourth industrial revolution — a time of significant and fundamental shifts in the ways we create, manufacture, and consume goods and services....
The Second City and Caring Across Generations have joined forces to develop a unique training program that strengthens the skills of caregivers through improvisational techniq...
Poverty is a powerful stressor that influences growth and development in children, and physical and mental health throughout adulthood. Science and imaging technology are maki...
The cost of college is indisputably high. But running a college, especially one deeply engaged in research, is also extraordinarily complex. Are our public institutions at ris...
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...
A healthy America requires a broad prosperity that goes beyond GDP statistics and stock-market valuations. More Americans need to hold jobs with growth in wages and the opport...
Modern campaigns combine psychology, data, analytics, and technology to persuade and mobilize voters. The smartest campaign teams try to be one step ahead of the voters they’r...
From global health threats to the refugee crisis, to privacy and cybersecurity, international organizations and the private sector are often in a better position and more effe...
A look at the challenges facing higher education, with a leader who has a perspective unlike any other. Richard C. Levin spent two decades as the president of Yale University...