Aspen Ideas to Go

Some musicians start with formal lessons and daily practice and some get hooked by picking up a washboard between hopping train cars across the country. Alynda Segarra is the latter type, and it led them to a new life dedicated to music and community in their adopted home of New Orleans. As the band Hurray for the Riff Raff, Segarra has been making music beloved by critics and fans since 2008 and is still going strong. Their most recent album, “The Past is Still Alive,” came out last year. They sat down with poetry professor and host of the PBS series “Poetry in America,” Elisa New, at the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival to talk about writing lyrics, making music and finding their place in America. We’re bringing you the conversation for National Poetry Month. aspenideas.org

Julia Louis-Dreyfus has kept us laughing for years in her roles as Elaine Benes in “Seinfeld” and Selina Meyer in “Veep.” But her most recent work has her shifting from comedy to drama. She plays Zora in the film “Tuesday” about a mother battling to accept the impending death of her terminally ill daughter. “I really love being an actor, so even the hard stuff has a grip on me,” she tells podcast host Sam Fragoso. A master interviewer, Fragoso is known for eliciting emotions his guests don’t expect. His wide-reaching conversation with Louis-Dreyfus touches on ambition, frustration in showbusiness, Louis-Dreyfus’s battle with breast cancer, and much more. This talk was recorded at the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival. (Explicit language is included.) aspenideas.org

Living as a trans person in America comes with its share of challenges, which are sometimes even life-threatening. But some say it can also open up access to incredible freedom. What lessons can we all learn from people who’ve transitioned and transformed? Alok Vaid-Menon is a comedian and writer with remarkable patience and compassion for everyone and their inner journey – even the people sending them hate and death threats. “I am trying to look in their face and say ‘I want you to live,’” they say in a documentary short about them titled “Alok.” Artist and filmmaker Alex Hedison got to know Alok while directing the film, which she took to the Sundance Film Festival. The two reunite on stage at the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival for a conversation about confronting our fears and defying the boxes we find ourselves in. aspenideas.org

The rapid development of the Covid-19 vaccine and the ramp-up of manufacturing and global distribution were unprecedented feats of medical coordination. But those on the inside say it could have gone even smoother and faster, and if we implement the lessons learned we’ll be in much better shape if another pandemic hits. Unfortunately, most global leaders seem to want to just move on and prioritize other issues, according to Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of vaccine company Serum Institute of India. His firm is one of the only family-owned medical manufacturers, and they were able to scale up production dramatically to help provide the Covid vaccine to people in developing and lower-income countries at an affordable cost. He talks with author and journalist Michael Lewis at the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival about what it was like to have such a pivotal role in a global health crisis and what it would take to keep facilities like his ready to jump into action again. aspenideas.org

It’s a tough time to try and express the complexity of life honestly. Writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie doesn’t shy away from truth-telling and believes we should all step up and do more of it. She thinks there’s more of a political “middle” in the general public than is generally represented in media, and she keeps that group in mind in her work. An essayist, poet and novelist, Adichie published her first novel in 12 years, “Dream Count,” on March 4, 2025. Last summer, she joined podcast host Kelly Corrigan of “Kelly Corrigan Wonders” on stage for the closing session of the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival. The two meandered through polarization, cancel culture, grief and parental love in a heartfelt conversation. aspenideas.org

Few working technology reporters have been around as long as Kara Swisher. The start of her career coincided with the emergence of the internet, and she’s interviewed almost all of the major tech players between then and now. She’s still known today for making billionaire founders sweat in the hot seat. But she’s not just a technology critic, she’s also an ardent cheerleader. As she explains in her memoir, “Burn Book: A Tech Love Story,” and in this episode, her tough questions aim to be in service of better technology and a better world. The co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesky, interviews Swisher at the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival in June about her book and her latest thoughts on this often-controversial sector. “Burn Book” was released in paperback with a new afterward on March 4, 2025. aspenideas.org

Creativity is as intrinsic to our species as any of our basic instincts, says Debbie Millman, designer and curator. But for millions of people in the United States, the ability to create has been thwarted. This basic human need, as important as love and shelter, Millman says, isn’t available for people serving time at the nearly 2,000 correctional facilities across America. In this discussion, moderated by Millman, a group of artists and activists share how they’re working to bring creative outlets to people who are incarcerated. Turns out ushering creativity into these dark and lonely spaces not only increases hope for the incarcerated, it makes our country safer. Common, a hip hop artist and actor, launched the nonprofits Imagine Justice and the Common Ground Foundation. Hank Willis Thomas is a conceptual artist who co-founded For Freedoms. Claudia Peña is an artist and founding co-director of the Center for Justice at UCLA. Michael Murphy is an architect, artist, educator, and writer. This talk was recorded at the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival. aspenideas.org

The entertainment industry has had to pivot and refresh time and again to adapt to constant changes in format, business models and attention spans. Somehow, producer Brian Grazer has been able to keep up. The storyteller, who has received multiple nominations and wins at the Oscars, Emmys and Golden Globes, manages to find what people connect with and turn it into a hit – and he does this over and over. In this talk from the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival, Grazer and the entertainment leader and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner discuss what makes something work and how to go from an idea to winning content. Grazer shares the sometimes unconventional rules and guidelines that have served him well over the past 40 years while making classics like “Apollo 13” and “A Beautiful Mind.” aspenideas.org

Advances in medicine and healthy living mean that more and more people will live to be 100. But just because their bodies can last doesn’t mean their bank accounts will keep up. Retirement, and especially a long retirement, takes careful planning and sophisticated financial literacy. It’s impossible to know what the future economic world will look like, but accounting for the unexpected and finding good guidance is essential. In this talk sponsored by Aspen Institute supporter Prudential Financial, two financial planning experts lay out the options for saving later in life and spread the word on the importance of preparation. Penny Pennington is the managing partner of Edward Jones and Rob Falzon is the vice chair of Prudential. Barron’s economic reporter Megan Leonhardt moderates the conversation. aspenideas.org

In the early days of cable television, there wasn’t a single network aimed at Black audiences. Sheila Johnson and her husband at the time saw an opening, and put all their hopes, efforts and money into co-founding Black Entertainment Television. The gamble paid off and the channel grew to become an influential and successful part of culture and television history. But behind the glitter, Johnson’s marriage was difficult and degrading and she lost track of herself and her dreams. In her memoir “Walk Through Fire,” Johnson shares what those tough times were like, and how she found her way back to her power. She emerged to create Salamander Collection, a luxury hotel and resort company, and became the only African American woman to own part of three professional sports teams. And, she found love again. Johnson tells her story on stage at the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival to Kelly Corrigan, host of the podcast “Kelly Corrigan Wonders.” aspenideas.org

Owning a professional sports team is not for the faint of heart. Results are volatile and wins and losses come with the strong emotions of a city’s fan base. But it’s a sound investment for the right type of business leader, and the value of professional teams has been steadily rising over the past several years. Two legendary owners with very different backgrounds meet for this conversation about what it’s like to have a major stake in the game. Alex Rodriguez wrapped up an incredible career in major league baseball in 2016, after playing for 22 years. He’s gone on to found the investment firm A-Rod Corp. and recently bought a stake in the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA’s Lynx. David Rubenstein is a businessman, lawyer and co-founder of The Carlyle Group private equity firm. In 2024, he became the principal owner of the Baltimore Orioles, his hometown MLB team. Businessman Gregg Lemkau, co-CEO of the merchant bank BDT and MSD Partners, moderates the conversation. aspenideas.org

Looking around and experiencing the suffering and injustice in the world can make it difficult to believe that happiness exists. But the Judeo-Christian tradition teaches that it’s sinful to succumb to despair, and we have a responsibility to ourselves and others to try and find our way through dark times. On the other hand, when you avoid suffering, you avoid meaning, and therefore, you avoid happiness, says professor and author Arthur Brooks. One of the great secrets of happiness, he says, is unhappiness. Spiritual and intellectual leaders may have a lot to offer us about building our lives into something better and more meaningful, and Brooks joins writer Pico Iyer for this encore conversation, from the 2022 Aspen Ideas Festival, about navigating the complex waters of making healthy life choices. Drawing on the teachings of the Dalai Lama and many other religious practitioners, Brooks and Iyer wind through loss and emptiness, opportunity and purpose, and biology and psychology. Each thread brings them back to the ongoing challenge of taking control of one’s mental state and landing at a destination full of life and intention. In a stroke of odd serendipity, Iyer’s latest book, “Aflame: Learning From Silence,” about narrowly escaping a 1990 California wildfire, came out in mid-January just after the Los Angeles fires. He touches on that experience in this talk. aspenideas.org

Millions of children across America don’t have art classes in school and don’t grow up going to art museums and galleries. They might be hours away from the closest museum, or their families might not have the means to bring art into their lives. Philanthropist Alice Walton had that kind of childhood, and wants to prevent as many people as possible from repeating it. When she discovered the art world as an adult, she also learned how insular and urban it was, leaving out so many. These experiences led her to found the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, which opened its doors to all in 2011. Admission at Crystal Bridges is free, and Walton has also instituted educational programs that cover the costs of bringing children in from around the region. Anne Kraybill is the CEO of a related program called Art Bridges, which is attempting to spread the philosophy of art for all and help smaller museums around the country increase access to art. In this talk from the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival, Ford Foundation president Darren Walker interviews Walton and Kraybill about these initiatives and the motivations that created them. aspenideas.org

The extremely wealthy and powerful drug cartels in Mexico operate with near-impunity, perpetuating violent crime and terrorizing Mexican citizens. But they also bring pain and suffering to the United States by importing massive amounts of fentanyl, fueling the deadly opioid epidemic. Drug lords saw an opening after the U.S. government finally stepped in to stop the flow of prescription opioids created by the pharmaceutical industry. A ready-made market of addicted people just over the border provided incentive, and fentanyl was cheaper and easier to produce than other drugs. Anabel Hernandez, a Mexican journalist who’s covered the cartels for more than two decades, joins former assistant U.S. attorney Sherri Hobson for today’s talk from the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival in June. Hobson went after traffickers on the border from the San Diego office for 30 years and prosecuted hundreds of smugglers. The two break down the timeline of the fentanyl crisis and share the insider information they spent years building up from either side of the border. Reuters editor in chief Alessandra Galloni moderates the conversation. aspenideas.org

This episode is from the 2022 Aspen Ideas Festival, but we’re bringing it back because it’s still as relevant as ever. Though it can sometimes feel like conflict and discord is human nature, our brains are actually predisposed to forming groups and working together. In our individualistic society, we may think our minds stop at our skulls, but when people come together and connect effectively, they actually think in different ways, and they all become smarter and healthier together. Science writer Annie Murphy Paul, the author of “The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain,” joins NYU psychology professor Jay Van Bavel for a participatory conversation about uniting people to solve problems and work towards common goals. Again and again, research demonstrates the power of groups, and the panelists help us translate these findings into practical tips for encouraging people to collaborate functionally. New Yorker writer Charles Duhigg moderates the conversation and takes questions from the audience. aspenideas.org

Sir Ken Robinson believed that as a society, we tragically underestimate and underutilize human ability. We create linear systems for our minds modeled on industry and manufacturing, and we fail to honor the nonlinear imagination and creativity inside all of us. As a speaker and educational advisor, Robinson worked with people all over the world in various sectors and settings on helping them reconnect with their natural inclinations and aptitudes. He advocated for educational reform that treated children as individuals motivated by interests and passions. Robinson unfortunately passed away in 2020, and this episode is from our archives. He gave this timeless talk at the 2010 Aspen Ideas Festival. aspenideas.org

Scholars are still uncovering information about Britain’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and its era of slavery, piecing together how the wealth generated from these atrocities shaped the nation’s history. For some descendants, this means just now learning about their families’ roles in and benefits from these horrors. In Britain, a few horrified heirs and private institutions are stepping forward to make amends, but there are few models for what meaningful reparations or restorative justice could look like. Where do we go from here, and what would truly make a difference? In this conversation from the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival, the three panelists bring personal and academic experience to this weighty conversation. Harvard historian Vincent Brown, British TV presenter and historian David Olusoga and former BBC journalist and reparations advocate Laura Trevelyan discuss the meaning and practical application of reparations and restorative justice. New York Times editor Dean Baquet moderates the talk and takes questions from the audience. aspenideas.org

Each year brings more destructive natural disasters and growing evidence of the challenging future we face if we don’t address climate change. But the biggest cause of climate-related deaths is one that’s hard to see and hardly talked about. Extreme heat killed more than 2,000 people in the United States in 2023 and put intense stress on millions as they faced high costs of utilities and numerous life interruptions. Federal, state and local policy hasn’t kept up with rising temperatures and the scale of the heat threat, and cities are scrambling to adapt and prevent more deaths. In this panel from the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival, the chief heat officer for Miami-Dade County, Jane Gilbert, joins the chief heat officer for the city of Los Angeles, Marta Segura, to share their learnings and innovations in these brand new positions. Rolling Stone journalist Jeff Goodell, the author of “The Heat Will Kill You First,” brings a wider lens to the issue. NBC News correspondent Liz Kreutz moderates the conversation. aspenideas.org

Young people in America are struggling. The causes are varied and may not be entirely clear, but the results are unfortunately unmistakable. Many of our youth feel lonely, isolated or depressed and struggle to see a future where they can buy a house, have a family or feel connected to their community. The two panelists in this talk from the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival bring a distinct expert perspective, filling out the picture of how to come to the aid of young people and prevent these patterns from repeating. The U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has issued advisories on the youth mental health crisis and raised the alarm about social media use. Kaya Henderson is the executive director of the Center for Rising Generations at the Aspen Institute, after spending years as an educator and entrepreneur. Both see the need to address this problem holistically and see kids as more than future workers. Former university administrator Dan Porterfield, now the president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, moderates the conversation. aspenideas.org

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 immediate havoc and the eventual end of humanity, and suggest actions we can take to get the outcome we want. UK historian, writer and TV presenter David Olusoga joins UK government technology advisor Karen McLuskie and tech philanthropist Vilas Dhar of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. The executive director of Aspen Digital at the Aspen Institute, Vivian Schiller, moderates the conversation. aspenideas.org