Ten Years, Ten Free Events at the Aspen Ideas Festival

June 19, 2014

Contacts: Jennifer Myers
The Aspen Institute
(202) 736-2906/jennifer.myers@aspeninstitute.org

Anna Bross
The Atlantic
(202) 266-7714/ abross@theatlantic.com

More than 6,000 Public Tickets Go on Sale this Friday, With Ten Events at No Cost

Aspen, CO, June 19, 2014 Entering its tenth year, the Aspen Ideas Festival begins on Tuesday, June 24, with two and a half days of Spotlight: Health, and continues on June 27 for its annual week of discussions, presentations, debates, and interviewsStarting tomorrow at 9am MDT, individual tickets to many events throughout the week of the Aspen Ideas Festival will go on sale, with ten events offered for free in honor of the ten-year anniversary of the festival – one event each day. Along with the Ten Free Events, a number of sessions will be opened to the public starting as low as $22. All told, more than 6,000 tickets will be made available to the public at large.

“Festival passes may be sold out, but we continue to want to engage as many people at festival events that can come, be these breakfast, lunch, or evening programs in town, or on the campus of the Institute at night. The festival represents a wonderful opportunity to learn and discuss issues that affect us all, and to interact with some of the best experts in the country,” said Kitty Boone, vice president of the Aspen Institute and director of the Aspen Ideas Festival. “Across the ten days of Aspen Ideas, more than 6,000 seats are available for anyone in the area. With some offered at the unbeatable price of free, we hope for a fantastic turnout from the local community and area visitors.”

Because venues do have capacity limits, tickets for the Ten Free Events are required and can be picked up in person at the Wheeler Opera House. All other tickets can be purchased online at www.aspenshowtix.com, by calling 970-920-5770, or in person at the Wheeler. Topics for public events will touch on climate mitigation, social entrepreneurship, the challenges facing universities and college students, our economy, political dilemmas, heart health, robots versus workers, jazz — even an unofficial comedy night.

The “Ten Years, Ten Free Events” Are:
Tickets for the Ten Free Events are required and can be picked up in person at the Wheeler Opera House.

Aspen Med School 101: Women’s Health Research
June 24, 5:30pm
Speaker: Paula Johnson

Boots on the Ground: CDC’s Elite Disease Detectives
June 25, 7:30pm
Speakers: Jennifer McQuiston, Neil Vora
Moderater: Tom Frieden

The Power of the Arts to Heal
June 26, 7:30pm
Speakers: Arthur Bloom, Iva Fattorini, Jacques Sebisaho
Moderator: Andrew Revkin

Humans and Machines- Drones, Phones, and Robotic Friends: Where Is Emergent Technology Taking Us?
June 27, 8:30pm
Speakers: Mary “Missy” Cummings, Ryan Calo, Ken Goldberg
Moderator: David Kirkpatrick

“Marketplace” Presents: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Numbers (Reception to Follow)
June 28, 8pm
Speakers: Tony Fadell, Jennifer Pahlka, Beau Willimon
Host: Kai Ryssdal

Confronting Climate Change- Is There Still Room for Nature?
June 28, 8:30pm
Speaker: M. Sanjayan

Spent: Looking for Change
(Film and Discussion)
June 29, 8pm
Speaker: Bill Bynum, Dan Schulman
Moderator: Derek Thompson

Aspen Ideas Stand-Up Review
July 1, 7:30pm
Speakers: Grover Norquist, Jon Lovett, Paul J. Zak, David Brooks
Moderator: Jeffrey Goldberg

Who Can Afford College (and Who Should)?
July 2, 5:30pm
Speakers: Sandy Baum, Anthony P. Carnevale, David Leonhardt, Michael McPherson
Moderator: Josh Wyner

The Supreme Price
(Film and Discussion)
July 3, 8pm
Speaker: Joanna Lipper

Featured Speakers for Other Public Events Include:

  • Jon Batiste, Musician and Artistic Director at Large, National Jazz Museum in Harlem
  • Tony Blair, Former Prime Minister, Great Britain and Northern Ireland
  • Barbara Bush, CEO and Co-Founder, Global Health Corps
  • Katie Couric, Host, “Katie” and Global Anchor, Yahoo News
  • Robert De Niro, Actor, Co-founder of Tribeca Productions, Tribeca Film Center, and Tribeca Film Festival
  • Drew Faust, President, Harvard University
  • Tom Frieden, Director, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Jason Furman, Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers
  • Al Gore, Former Vice President of the United States
  • John Hickenlooper, Governor, Colorado
  • Arianna Huffington, Chair, President, Editor in Chief, Huffington Post Media Group
  • Gwen Ifill, Co-Anchor and Managing Editor, “PBS NewsHour”
  • Paula Kerger, President and CEO, PBS
  • Hari Kondabolu, Comedian
  • Andrea Mitchell, Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, NBC News
  • Michele Norris, Host and Special Correspondent, NPR
  • Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO, National Constitution Center
  • Curtis Sittenfeld, Author
  • Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO, New America Foundation
  • Aaron Sorkin, Playwright and Writer
  • Julie Taymor, Theater, Opera, and Film Director
  • Yu Wang, Director General, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

A full list of ticketed events is available here: http://www.aspenideas.org/content/2014-public-events-schedule.

About The Atlantic

Since its founding in 1857 as a magazine about “the American Idea” that would be of “no party or clique,” The Atlantic has been at the forefront of brave thinking in journalism. One of the first magazines to launch on the Web in the early 1990s, The Atlantic has continued to help shape the national debate across print, digital, and event platforms. With the addition of its news- and opinion-tracking site, TheWire.com, and CityLab.com on global cities, The Atlantic is a multimedia forum on the most critical issues of our times—from politics, business, urban affairs, and the economy, to technology, arts, and culture. The Atlantic is the flagship property of Washington, D.C.–based publisher Atlantic Media.

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