The “Aspen Ideas to Go” podcast is a weekly show featuring fascinating speakers who have presented at the Aspen Ideas Festival and other public programs offered by the Aspen Institute — including Aspen Words, the Alma and Joseph Gildenhorn Book Series, and various events around the country. Listen to some of our favorite episodes from 2016 below. For a curated listening experience, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or listen to each episode on the Aspen Ideas website.
Finding Meaning in Our Work
The average American will spend a third of his or her life working. What is the secret to achieving happiness because of our work and not in spite of it? How can we make a job into a vocation? David Brooks and Arthur Brooks have both studied and written about these questions, and they argue that in all kinds of work the answer is to find meaning. In this conversation, the two thought leaders discuss the elements of meaningful work, the ways to achieve it, and how we can use these insights to improve culture and policy.
How to Learn Anything Fast
Best-selling author of The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything Fast!, Josh Kaufman shares universal, field-tested approaches to effective learning and rapid skill acquisition in adults. From deconstructing complex skills to maximizing productive practice and removing common learning barriers, Kaufman describes how 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice can help you develop surprising levels of skill in any field. And, he may even play his ukulele.
Takeover 5: Pete Dominick with Michele Norris and Others
This episode features host Pete Dominick in conversation with journalist Michele Norris and author Alec Ross. Dominick infuses humor into interesting conversation about politics, culture and future business.
First Lady Michelle Obama on Making Sports Accessible and Affordable
First Lady Michelle Obama says play, nutrition, and physical activity aren’t available to every child, and that’s a problem.
First Lady Michelle Obama
Obama discusses accessibility and affordability of sports with her brother and ESPN analyst Craig Robinson. Michael Wilbon, host of ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption moderates the conversation.
Christine Lagarde on Brexit:
On June 23, voters in the UK chose to leave the European Union. Three days after the historic vote, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde spoke at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colorado.
Christine Lagarde and Jane Harman
She called the decision to leave the EU “heartbreaking.” In this episode, Lagarde is interviewed by Jane Harman, president of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and trustee of the Aspen Institute.
