Aspen Ideas to Go

Once the realm of science fiction, smart machines are rapidly becoming part of our world—and these technologies offer amazing potential to improve the way we live. Imagine intelligent, autonomous vehicles that reduce crashes and robots that can help your aged grandma move around safely. In this episode, Gill Pratt, CEO of the Toyota Research Institute, talks with John Markoff of The New York Times about how scientists are pushing the boundaries of human knowledge in autonomous vehicles and robotics.

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It’s difficult to ignore anger in the United States right now—talking heads battle on cable news, protesters get violent at campaign rallies, and families can’t talk politics around the dinner table. What’s fueling the anger? And how can it be managed? In this episode, panelists Mickey Edwards, Anne-Marie Slaughter, Stephen Carter, and Arthur Brooks explore the variables contributing to an angry America. Edwards blames rhetoric from the presidential candidates, the media, and an education system that increasingly offers fewer lessons on civics and the humanities. “What are the bedrock things that our democracy rests upon that are failing?” he asks.

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Author Jeff Chang says America has slid back toward segregation in our neighborhoods, schools, colleges and universities, and in our culture. In his new book “We Gon’ Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation” he examines recent tragedies and protests. One chapter chronicles Chang’s visit to Ferguson, Missouri one year after Michael Brown was shot and killed by police. In this episode, Chang talks about the Black Lives Matter movement, respectability politics, and the power of Beyoncé’s Lemonade album. He’s interviewed by Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post. The discussion was part of the Aspen Institute’s Washington Ideas Roundtable Series.

(Photo Credit: Steve Johnson)

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The average American spends 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. They say, no matter what the job is, the answer is to find meaning in it. In this episode, the 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.

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The civil war in Syria has raged for five years and killed half a million people. Eleven million refugees have either fled to other countries or are displaced within Syria. In this episode, three survivors share their personal stories of strength and determination under intense and difficult circumstances. Syrian violinist Mariela Shaker says she “ran under bombs and mortars” to send applications to colleges in the United States. Experts in Middle East policy also examine solutions to the war. Who is most effectively helping, and how are they doing it? What should the world do beyond looking on in horrified disbelief?

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In a rare interview, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency weighs in on the global security scene and explains the current risks to the United States. John Brennan is interviewed by Dina Temple-Raston, counterterrorism correspondent for NPR, at the Aspen Security Forum. Even though the Islamic State, or ISIL, has lost territory in the Middle East, it continues to be a “global menace,” according to Brennan. He discusses what’s needed in the fight against the brutal terror group. He also discusses Russia, China, and cybercrime, and explains why Syria is the most complex issue he’s dealt with in his career.

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Is America turning its back on the humanities? The declining enrollment in disciplines including history, literature, language, philosophy and the arts, at colleges and universities across the country, signals a significant cultural shift. In this episode, Leon Wieseltier, contributing editor for The Atlantic, and Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust unpack why the diminished appeal of the humanities has huge cultural implications. Can this trend be reversed in a challenging age, when technology and quantification are highly revered?

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High-profile episodes of violence have highlighted excessive force and mistreatment of people of color by police. And this summer, police have become targets of violence with attacks in cities like Dallas and Baton Rouge. This episode examines the way forward for law enforcement and the communities they are duty-bound to “serve and protect.” We hear from law enforcement officials, including Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and activists. How will the frayed relationship between police and citizens be repaired? How has the Black Lives Matter movement changed the conversation?

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Helen Fisher knows a thing or two about relationships. The Kinsey Institute research fellow and Match.com’s lead scientific advisor has spent her career studying couples and romantic behavior. The author of six books, her writing traces human family life from its origins in Africa over 20 million years ago to the internet dating sites and bedrooms of today. Her cutting-edge research, using brain imaging, examines what love and romantic partnership does to our gray matter. In this episode, she explains why humans fall in love and form pair-bonds when the odds are against them.

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The world doesn’t lack for creative ideas—it lacks people to champion them. Once you have an idea, how do you communicate it? In this episode, Adam Grant, Wharton’s top-rated professor and a New York Times bestselling author of Originals, shares insights on how to speak up without getting silenced, and how to find allies in unexpected places.

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