Aspen Ideas Now

Anthony Doerr talks about the inspiration for his latest book and its focus on technology, destruction, preservation, and humanity’s vast interconnectedness.

People have been thinking about happiness for thousands of years. In fact, ancient thinkers came up with strategies for cultivating pleasures over a lifetime, or creating a lasting capacity to take joy in the world.

The global Covid-19 pandemic has worsened inequality. Oxfam International found that while billionaire fortunes returned to pre-pandemic highs in just nine months, a recovery for the world’s poorest people could take over a decade.

In the 1950s and 60s, mental health providers used psychedelics to help patients open up about difficult memories. Then, the drugs were banned. Now there’s a resurgence.

The Covid-19 vaccine was developed at an unusually rapid pace, and now the public’s expectations are high for what science can deliver.

Longtime food journalist Mark Bittman says America’s food system needs to be reimagined so land is used fairly and well and people have access to food that promotes health, not illness.

We try our whole lives to avoid pain and suffering and when it does show up, we try to solve it. In her new book, “No Cure for Being Human,” religious scholar Kate Bowler says we try to out-eat, out-learn, and out-perform our humanness.

Norms in newsrooms across the United States are being upended thanks to deep polarization, a racial reckoning, and the pandemic. Hallmark journalistic traits like neutrality and objectivity are being redefined.

US Senator Michael Bennet speaks with Etsy CEO Josh Silverman about the role of the Federal Government and the private sector in assisting today’s families.

When you tick a box on an online privacy notice, just how much personal information are you giving away? Is the tradeoff worthwhile?