Before Covid-19 began spreading across the globe last year, virologist Nathan Wolfe already knew what was becoming abundantly clear: The world was woefully unprepared to prevent the spread of novel viral threats. To prevent similar devastation, he challenges people to imagine a different future where viruses are regularly tracked in groups of individuals—providing a sort of weather map of viruses. "We should have always-on systems that are capable of monitoring for all of the viruses present, al...
Aug 31, 2021•47 min•Ep. 380
A person with grit, says psychologist Angela Duckworth, uses passion and long-term perseverance to reach goals. Reaching success, she says, is about stamina over months and years, not talent or a high IQ. In her research, Duckworth studied cadets struggling through their first days at West Point, teachers working in some of the toughest schools, and young finalists in a national spelling bee. She speaks with Aspen Institute President Dan Porterfield about her book Grit: The Power of Passion and ...
Aug 25, 2021•39 min•Ep. 379
People are in constant conversation with their dogs, says dog scientist Alexandra Horowitz, and dogs pick up on things like our tone of voice. "We think meaning is all in the words but for them, the meaning is in the context, and they’re working very hard to understand it.” Horowitz studies dog cognition and the relationship between dogs and their human owners. She runs the Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College and has written widely about dogs. In a wide-ranging discussion with Aspen Id...
Aug 17, 2021•50 min•Ep. 378
Representative Liz Cheney is one of nine lawmakers investigating the January 6th attack on the Capitol. The Republican is part of a House select committee that held its first hearing last month. It's critical the committee get to the bottom of what happened that day, says Cheney, but equally important is Americans' acknowledgement that change is needed beyond Washington. “We need to have a very serious, sustained national discussion about American history, about civics, about the Constitution, a...
Aug 10, 2021•40 min•Ep. 377
Instead of coming together during the pandemic, many Americans have grown farther apart. People are increasingly living in different realities of news, politics, and information, which is putting public health, elections, and democracy at risk. False and misleading information online are partly to blame, says Vivian Schiller, director of Aspen Digital. "Much of this stems from malign actors, some who are driven by profit and others, like foreign intelligence services, strategically weaponize our...
Aug 03, 2021•32 min•Ep. 376
Imagine a new kind of democracy — one that puts governance back in the hands of the people. This is the idea behind political theorist Hélène Landemore's book Open Democracy . Contemporary representative democracies, like in the United States, are broken, she says, so why not reinvent popular rule? In a conversation with Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic , she describes a new paradigm of democracy where a randomly selected assembly of citizens could define an agenda for the polit...
Jul 27, 2021•46 min•Ep. 375
Cryptocurrency is revolutionizing the global financial system and shaking up our perception of trust. Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum, says the digital currency’s open-source, decentralized system is the opposite of what we’re used to — a bank-led financial system built in backrooms. “It’s a new kind of trust foundation for the planet,” he says. In a conversation with Gillian Tett, US editor at large of the Financial Times, Lubin talks about the difference between Ethereum and Bitcoin, what...
Jul 20, 2021•28 min•Ep. 374
As many of us know personally, the coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on mental health. As lockdowns were enacted, loneliness, isolation, and depression increased. Concerns of loved ones dying and fear of contracting the virus affected our well-being. Since April of 2020, about 40 percent of US adults have reported symptoms of depression and anxiety. In 2019, that figure was just 11 percent, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. Arthur Brooks, a Harvard business profes...
Jul 13, 2021•50 min•Ep. 373
The American Promise—that all men and women are inherently equal—is not being fulfilled because racism continues to corrode our society. Author and veteran Theodore R. Johnson says what’s need is a more multi-racial national solidarity, and the Black American experience has lessons on how to get there. In his book, When the Stars Begin to Fall: Overcoming Racism and Renewing the Promise of America , Johnson writes that a blueprint for unity can be found in Black Americans’ exceptional citizenshi...
Jul 06, 2021•52 min•Ep. 372
The emotionally charged trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd was a milestone case in a country whose legal system has historically been resistant to convict officers for alleged abuses. What did it take to break the blue wall of silence, the informal code among police officers protecting their own? Is it possible to get a fair trial and an impartial jury with this degree of pre-publicity? Was this a one-off victory, or a new beginning for increased accountability in law enforcem...
Jun 29, 2021•39 min•Ep. 371
Insanity can be defined as doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result. As a nation, America has cycled through the same defense and intelligence issues since the end of the Cold War. In her book Insanity Defense , Congresswoman Jane Harman chronicles how four administrations have failed to confront some of the toughest national security policy problems and suggests achievable fixes to move America toward a safer future. She joins Nicholas Burns, President Biden's n...
Jun 23, 2021•33 min•Ep. 370
Ransomware attacks on Colonial Pipeline and top meat producer, JBS, have catapulted malware into the mainstream. Ransomware isn't a new threat but it's getting significantly worse, say cybersecurity experts. In recent years, thousands of schools, government agencies, healthcare providers, and small businesses have fallen prey to it. The malicious software that's designed to block access to computer systems represents a direct threat to national security, physical and digital infrastructure, and ...
Jun 16, 2021•41 min•Ep. 369
People often talk about maintaining their physical health but brain health is an afterthought. It turns out brain fitness at any age heightens and protects brain function and can even prevent brain disease. Sanjay Gupta, author of Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age , Maria Shriver, founder of the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement, and Natalie Morales, West Coast anchor of NBC’s Today Show, all have personal stories about dementia. In this episode, they talk about why it's important to link l...
Jun 08, 2021•29 min•Ep. 368
Award-winning author and playwright Ayad Akhtar grapples with identity and belonging just like the protagonist in his book Homeland Elegies . "In some ways being an outsider has given me a freedom to be able to withstand and bear some of the forced outsiderness. It gives me a perspective," he says. His fictional book, named one of the 10 Best Books of the Year by the New York Times , draws from Akhtar's personal experiences and the political climate in the United States. Through the story of an ...
Jun 02, 2021•48 min•Ep. 367
Throughout American history, racism has been embedded in health and health care. To justify slavery, scientists promulgated falsehoods about African Americans and health. More recently, social policies rooted in racism have led to less access to care, higher disease rates, and lower life expectancies for communities of color. Science writer Harriet Washington says structural racism is a well-oiled, perpetual motion machine. "Once the structure of racism has been installed — the mythologies, beli...
May 25, 2021•52 min•Ep. 366
The type of conflict that's permeating America today is the intractable kind where normal rules of engagement don't apply. High conflict is the opposite of useful friction or healthy conflict. It's when discord distills into a good-versus-evil kind of feud — an us and a them . Sound familiar? In this time when everything is political, including aspects of the pandemic, everyday Americans are at each other's throats. How can we break free? In her book, High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We...
May 18, 2021•43 min•Ep. 365
The world's largest economy is rebounding from the pandemic more slowly than other global powerhouses. The European Union's economy is "on crutches," and isn't yet ready to stand on its own, says Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, which serves the 19 EU countries that use the Euro. Now that Europeans are getting vaccinated and the pandemic's peak has likely passed, she predicts a robust economic rebound in the second half of 2021. She speaks with Carlyle Group co-founder ...
May 11, 2021•40 min•Ep. 364
The professional sports industry in the United States has historically been a man's game. Men have held leadership roles, designed competition formats, chosen which sports stories get elevated, and dictated how athletes are treated. What if pro sports were owned, designed, and run by women? It's already happening, in part, because fans are demanding it. But in the midst of this change, pro sports faces financial challenges from the pandemic and waning interest from younger generations. Angela Ru...
May 04, 2021•49 min•Ep. 363
Rodney Foxworth says the racial “wealth gap” is a misnomer because it implies something that’s achievable to close. “Wealth chasm” is more on the nose since we’re talking about disparities created by centuries of oppression. Growing up in Baltimore, Rodney witnessed firsthand what many Black and brown communities face in America—systemic racism, over policing, economic dislocation. Now, as CEO of Common Future, he draws on that lived experience to create a network of organizations across the cou...
Apr 27, 2021•39 min•Ep. 362
There's no denying the world is already paying for climate change. The price is stronger hurricanes, bigger wildfires, and unpredictable heat waves. So, how can people living on a changing globe literally pay to mitigate the effects of climate change? One solution is to utilize the social cost of carbon, says economist Michael Greenstone. He co-led the development of the US government’s social cost of carbon as chief economist for President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers. President Biden h...
Apr 20, 2021•33 min•Ep. 361
America has been shaped by a hidden phenomenon that touches all of our lives. A rigid hierarchy of human rankings, or caste system, influences our culture, politics, and even our health. Race is the metric by which one’s position in the caste system is determined. In her book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, Isabel Wilkerson describes how these inherited rankings have been passed down through generations from the country's very founding. She says this system is the underlying architecture...
Apr 13, 2021•42 min•Ep. 360
The United States is facing one of the most difficult tests in its 244-year history. American democracy is struggling, economic and social justice are under interrogation, faith in institutions is declining, and a pandemic is touching us all. Is national unity a far-off dream? Jon Meacham, presidential historian, Samar Ali, research professor of political science and law, and Bill Haslam, former Tennessee governor (R), say history, research, and reasoning can unite Americans. They're part of the...
Apr 07, 2021•49 min•Ep. 359
In tax law, most people think the only color that matters is green. But, after more than two decades of research, tax scholar Dorothy A. Brown discovered that America's tax system is not color-blind. In fact, societal racism is deeply embedded in it. "Regardless of what white and Black Americans do, tax policy subsidizes white Americans and disadvantages Black Americans," she says. From attending college to getting married to buying a home, Black Americans are financially disadvantaged compared ...
Mar 30, 2021•50 min•Ep. 358
When she met him, Tanya Selvaratnam thought New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman was her perfect match. But as time went on, Schneiderman became controlling, mean, and manipulative. In her new book, Assume Nothing , Selvaratnam chronicles how domestic violence took away her voice, how she managed to get it back, and her decision to use it to help other women find their way to freedom. In a conversation with contemporary artist and personal friend Carrie Mae Weems, Selvaratnam talks ...
Mar 23, 2021•32 min•Ep. 357
Biographer Walter Isaacson's latest book tells the story of biochemist Jennifer Doudna. She helped develop a controversial tool that has the power to transform the human race. CRISPR can edit genes to cure diseases but can also be used to create designer babies. Doudna's involvement in pioneering the technology won her the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Before CRISPR, Doudna was known as the scientist who cracked the code for what the molecule RNA can do. RNA is well known now as playing a role ...
Mar 16, 2021•44 min•Ep. 356
In the United States, the odds are stacked against women and people of color who want to start a business. As a Black entrepreneur, Danielle Kristine Toussaint understood this first-hand. Before opening her creative agency She Thinks Purple, she dealt with barriers only a community of women could help her overcome. In her book, Dare to Think Purple: A Survival Guide for Women in Social Entrepreneurship , she tells still-in-progress success stories of women leading companies and organizations. As...
Mar 09, 2021•49 min•Ep. 355
The sobering impacts of the pandemic, and the need for a rapid transition to a clean energy economy compel us to consider opportunities that lie at the intersection of the two. President Biden wants to invest $1.7 trillion toward the mid-century goal of a net-zero America, creating ten million new, high-quality jobs, his administration predicts. Recent announcements from major auto companies coupled with enormous commitments from financial institutions lend the new administration strong tailwind...
Mar 03, 2021•34 min•Ep. 354
Grappling with the challenges and problems life throws at us is difficult, especially during a pandemic. Psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb says the stories we tell about ourselves and others can make it even harder to cope. She says we must look closely at the running commentary in our own minds to see if we are being too self-critical, or if we are not taking responsibility for our situation. Making connections with others can help us to hold a mirror up so we can better see ourselves. Aspen Instit...
Feb 24, 2021•31 min•Ep. 353
In this pandemic recession, millions of Americans are going hungry, and Black and Hispanic households are hit harder than white ones. Throughout US history, hunger and health have been tied to race. Slave owners gave slaves just enough food to survive. “To be enslaved was to experience hunger,” says food historian Fred Opie. Now, Covid-19 is affecting low-income, communities of color disproportionately. Poor access to healthcare, bias in clinical settings, underfunded educational and health inst...
Feb 17, 2021•50 min•Ep. 352
President Trump’s second impeachment trial is beginning. In his first days in office, President Biden is navigating a pandemic and an economic crisis. With presidential leadership once again at the forefront and President’s Day just around the corner, we’re revisiting an episode featuring presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin . In her book, Leadership in Turbulent Times , Kearns Goodwin examines the leadership qualities of past presidents. Were presidents Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevel...
Feb 09, 2021•48 min•Ep. 351
