New technologies have always led to changes in society, though not always as quickly or drastically as people feared. Could artificial intelligence be different? Instead of letting a new AI reality unfold amid helpless hand-wringing, what if we tried to learn from the past? In this talk recorded at the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival, a panel of thoughtful technology experts from various perspectives meet to discuss what might happen in a future AI-infused world. They explore the possibilities between...
Nov 13, 2024•52 min•Ep. 515
Research on aging and extending life and healthspan has ventured beyond humans to our best animal friends – dogs. In less than a year, dog owners may be able to buy a drug that would extend their dog’s life and hopefully keep it healthier for longer. Especially for owners of big dogs with short lifespans, this could be welcome news. And what the drug developers learn about dog aging might contribute to learnings on human aging. Scientists are also building some of the first long-term studies on ...
Nov 06, 2024•46 min•Ep. 514
After a lifetime of successful acting and passionate activism, Jane Fonda is far from done. At 86, she’s now pouring all of her efforts into pushing for action that will stop climate change, and she’s willing to put it all on the line for this fight. From protesting and getting arrested in DC to talks and appearances across the country, Fonda is lending her famous face and using her platform every chance she gets to ensure our planet has a future. Her latest book, from 2020, is called “What Can ...
Oct 31, 2024•33 min•Ep. 513
Many more Americans are struggling to survive and make ends meet than is typically portrayed in the media and public policy debates. And when poverty is depicted, harmful and inaccurate stereotypes often contribute to divisiveness rather than sympathy. Outdated measurement systems and unrealistic living standards have artificially kept U.S. poverty rates low over the past few decades. But Reverend William Barber II and his colleagues at the social change organization Repairers of the Breach have...
Oct 23, 2024•54 min•Ep. 512
Leaders are the face of their institution, answering for all its missteps and sometimes taking the fall for the actions of others. How can anyone manage that job in today’s divisive world, and why would anyone want to? Three successful leaders come together in this episode for a frank conversation full of wisdom on the recipe for great leadership and recruiting and shepherding the next generation. Darren Walker is the head of the Ford Foundation, and speaks to the challenges of running a philant...
Oct 16, 2024•57 min•Ep. 511
Technological innovations are led by people, and in this episode, the leaders of two of the most influential companies in Silicon Valley provide some insight into the human drivers of their products. Sam Altman is co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, which created the artificial intelligence tools ChatGPT and DALL-E. Brian Chesky is co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, which has revolutionized the hospitality industry. Altman and Chesky are also close friends, exchanging advice and support when the road gets ...
Oct 10, 2024•41 min•Ep. 510
Relations between the United States and China have become increasingly tense over the past few years. Trade wars have escalated, and U.S. national security experts are bracing as China bulks up its military power, purportedly for a 2027 anniversary. If China invaded Taiwan, it would spark major conflict between the two nations. In this June panel from the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival, experts with varying perspectives debate how to interpret the countries’ recent actions and speculate on where this...
Oct 02, 2024•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 509
America’s “second founding” came on the heels of the Civil War, when the architects of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments thought long and hard about how to enshrine civil rights that were truly for all into the U.S. Constitution. Despite an immediate backlash, including from the Supreme Court, and repercussions we’re still dealing with today, that second generation of framers added a profoundly important layer to our legal foundation. With demagoguery on the rise and increasing evidence that so...
Sep 25, 2024•54 min•Ep. 508
If we do absolutely nothing to mitigate climate change, scientists estimate the toll could be $38 trillion a year in damages. Industrialized countries like the United States, China, Russia and European nations are the biggest contributors to the problem, but as things stand, they probably won’t pay most of the costs from catastrophes that happen in other parts of the world. Transitioning to clean energy and staving off the worst possible climate harms will cost less in the long run, but requires...
Sep 19, 2024•55 min•Ep. 507
Hope seems like a simple concept, but the feeling can be difficult to hold onto. And when times are difficult and chaos swirls around us, it’s more important than ever. How do we find and practice hope when it’s elusive? Spiritual and religious leaders rely on centuries of experience and wisdom to continually guide people back to hope, and this episode’s discussion from the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival draws from these experts. Lutheran pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber founded the House for All Sinners and ...
Sep 11, 2024•55 min•Ep. 506
Almost anyone with a computer can figure out how to make a deepfake photo, video or audio. With a contentious and vitally important election around the corner in the United States, what can we do to prepare for convincing misinformation aimed at voters? Experts around the country and the world have been preparing for this issue, and many have already gone through their own recent elections. At the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival, public and private sector officials met for a discussion on how to inocu...
Sep 04, 2024•48 min•Ep. 505
It’s been decades since the United States has updated its immigration policies in any sort of comprehensive way, and the problems and suffering at the southern border have persisted. Meanwhile, worsening conflicts around the world push more and more people to leave their homes and try and make their way to America. Immigration is a top concern of U.S. voters, and almost everyone agrees that something needs to change. Why is immigration reform so difficult? Four experts with diverse perspectives ...
Aug 28, 2024•55 min•Ep. 504
Where will artificial intelligence be in five years, or 10 or 20? What happens if the technology is regulated? And if it isn’t? How will it shape the world and the way we live our lives? The CEO of Microsoft AI, Mustafa Suleyman, has been working in this young field for more than a decade. He knows the AI landscape inside and out, and is a level-headed advocate for the technology’s future. He talks with journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin, the co-anchor of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” about how to proceed car...
Aug 22, 2024•47 min•Ep. 503
The challenges for university presidents keep coming, from Middle East protests to standardized testing and admissions debates, to complaints over classroom content and pedagogical methods. The American public has little faith in college administrators right now, according to polling, and it’s often unclear how institutions can move forward and assuage the critics. Not to mention how to best educate our future leaders and citizens. A panel of wide-ranging experts on college life tackles these is...
Aug 14, 2024•52 min•Ep. 502
Whether they publicly tout it or not, U.S. technology companies play a powerful role in politics, cultural issues and the way we live. Founder and investor Peter Thiel is one of the more visible and outspoken Silicon Valley figures. A member of the so-called "PayPal Mafia," a highly successful group of PayPal founders and employees, Thiel waded into the limelight in the lead-up to the 2016 election when he became an avid supporter and funder of the Trump campaign. While Trump and Thiel’s relatio...
Aug 07, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 501
Sizable electorates around the world are flocking to populist candidates who promise power, domination and a return to better times. The global experiment in liberalism seems to be suffering a setback. In his latest book, “Age of Revolutions,” journalist Fareed Zakaria teases apart the foreign policy decisions that got us to this point. Several U.S. missteps, such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the 2008 financial crisis, eroded trust in the vision of the American project, he says. And g...
Jul 31, 2024•51 min•Ep. 500
Conflict and suffering can bring out the worst in people, but it can also bring out the best. This is one of the lessons New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has learned from decades of reporting on the ground in war zones and amidst humanitarian nightmares. Somehow, despite witnessing atrocities like the Tiananmen Square protests, genocide in Darfur and war in Iraq, Kristof still believes in humanity and holds onto optimism about the future. In his latest book, a memoir called “Chasing Hop...
Jul 24, 2024•54 min•Ep. 499
The federal right to abortions in the United States has been overturned, access to contraception and IVF services are threatened in many states, and the gender wage gap persists. It feels like an era of backsliding for women’s rights and freedoms. What can we do to reverse the trend and get back on the road to progress? Three experts and crusaders for women’s and family rights meet on stage at the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival for a conversation and strategy session on standing up for women. U.S. Re...
Jul 17, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 498
The grim stream of news from the Middle East has been making it more and more difficult to hold onto hope for peace. When and how will the conflict in Gaza end? And could war even spread to Israel’s northern border with Lebanon? Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who served from 2006 to 2009, takes the stage at the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival to share his frank thoughts on the situation. Washington Post reporter David Ignatius interviews Olmert, pushing to the heart of the issue in this ra...
Jul 11, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 497
The Supreme Court has issued another series of controversial and consequential decisions this term, fueling discussion on the current state of the judicial branch. Recent polling data show that seven in 10 Americans do not trust that the court can be impartial, and the justice’s actions outside of their chambers continue to make headlines. In a timely panel at the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival, three constitutional law experts meet for a lively and hard-hitting conversation on the court’s latest rul...
Jul 02, 2024•58 min•Ep. 496
People and families suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia often feel desperate for a cure and will try anything. Unfortunately, no cure exists and not a single treatment has been shown to reverse the effects of these brain diseases once they’ve started. Millions of Americans are afflicted by Alzheimer’s and dementia, and dishearteningly, the numbers are growing. But studies show that prevention via simple lifestyle habits is extremely effective, and some simple changes in diet, exercise and sl...
Jun 06, 2024•57 min•Ep. 495
Death is understandably difficult – and for some people, nearly impossible – to conceive of and talk about. Especially our own. It may seem like there’s nothing we can do to prepare for our last moments on earth, but several innovative panelists at the 2023 Aspen Ideas Festival would disagree. Alua Arthur is a “death doula,” who helps people find peace with themselves when nearing the end of their life. A former lawyer, she founded the organization Going With Grace to help redefine the end-of-li...
May 08, 2024•49 min•Ep. 494
Climate change is demanding an extraordinarily rapid transformation of human society, and we don’t have a manual. The people who have done the least to cause the problem are the people who will be feeling it most, and that pattern of inequality exists both within and between nations. Mapping a course to an adapted planet is an incredibly complex task that requires the cooperation of millions. Atmospheric scientist Katharine Hayhoe is one of those pitching in, and she has co-authored the past fou...
Apr 17, 2024•19 min•Ep. 493
For years, Yale undergraduate students have lined up to take a wildly popular course called Life Worth Living. Bucking the highly competitive tone you might expect at an Ivy League school, the class teaches students to look beyond traditional markers of success for deeper meaning. Theology professor Miroslav Volf is one of the co-teachers, and also one of the co-authors of a book version of the course that came out last year called “Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most.” Podcast and T...
Apr 04, 2024•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 492
In the late 1990s, HIV and AIDS was killing people in Sub-Saharan Africa at an astonishing rate. Generations of children were growing up without parents and the workforce of civil society was hollowing out. Drugs effectively treating the disease were just becoming available, and the George W. Bush administration wanted to explore a way to bring treatment to Africa. Anthony Fauci was head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the time, and under near-secrecy, he was assi...
Mar 21, 2024•51 min•Ep. 491
The world seems to be moving and evolving faster than ever before, and democratic ideals are under threat in many countries around the globe. New York Times columnist and journalist Thomas Friedman has spent his career learning how to see things from many sides and identify the seams in the fabric of society. He believes we’re at a moment in time when it’s critical that we focus our energy on coming together and rebuilding functional democracy. In the closing session of the 2023 Aspen Ideas Fest...
Mar 07, 2024•33 min•Ep. 490
It doesn’t look like we’re going to be able to put the generative artificial intelligence genie back in the bottle. But we might still be able to prevent some potential damage. Tools like Bard and ChatGPT are already being used in the workplace, educational settings, health care, scientific research, and all over social media. What kind of guardrails do we need to prevent bad actors from causing the worst imaginable outcomes? And who can put those protections in place and enforce them? A panel o...
Feb 22, 2024•56 min•Ep. 489
History has the power to teach us what to do in the present, but do we actually make good use of that tool? Many events in our recent past might suggest otherwise. American history is complex and full of pain, suffering and missteps. Harvard professor Imani Perry’s interdisciplinary work draws from African American studies, legal history and cultural studies to find insights into how we live today. In this talk from the 2023 Aspen Ideas Festival, she joins author, historian and Vanderbilt profes...
Feb 14, 2024•55 min•Ep. 488
After millennia of human existence, we’re still figuring out and talking constantly about one of our most fundamental behaviors – sex. Despite the sexual revolution of the 60s and 70s and the growth of sex positivity in recent decades, a lot of people still report having a lot of bad sex. The reasons for that are varied and multiple, but culture has a role to play, and we can help each other get to the root of what might be making sex feel unsatisfying, or even scary or shameful. In this panel f...
Feb 08, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 487
Teenagers and young adults today are dealing with challenges their parents never experienced and couldn’t have prepared for. Nobody has a map and the road to resolution can be bumpy for all involved. Two adolescent psychologists published books last year aimed at helping parents understand and empathize with what their kids are going through and guiding everyone toward helpful solutions. Clinical psychologist and author Lisa Damour wrote “The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capa...
Feb 01, 2024•56 min•Ep. 486
