The McCloskey Speaker Series: The Future of Conservatism and the Republican Party in the Age of Trump

David Holloway was driving the dial-a-ride bus in Aspen one afternoon in late June. He’s driven for RFTA for four-and-a-half years, but isn’t a union member. He admitted he has benefitted from the union, but thinks he could have gotten at least some of it on his own.

Author Kevin Fedarko is Aspen Words’ Writer-in-Residence for the month of July. Fedarko’s first book “The Emerald Mile” came out in 2015. It was a bestseller about three river guides who made the fastest trip in history on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. He’ll discuss his writing in Aspen Wednesday evening.

The Roaring Fork Valley’s top athlete, fitness buffs, and weekend warriors are wired up in all sorts of ways.

Meta Sarmiento is a Filipino poet and rapper. He’ll be a guest judge at a poetry slam at the Temporary on Wednesday.

Chuck Palahniuk is the author of novels, novellas, graphic novels, journalism, essays, and even a coloring book. He is best known for his 1996 novel Fight Club . His new novel is called Adjustment Day . Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes: http://apple.co/1HCVfjA

Chinese dissident and artist Ai Wei Wei became famous for works criticizing the Chinese government. He paid a high price for standing up to the authoritarian regime; he was imprisoned, and now lives in exile in Berlin. He continues to use his art to address issues ranging from freedom of expression to the refugee crisis. Ai Wei Wei spoke with Alexandra Munroe, a curator of Asian art at the Guggenheim museum, last week at Anderson Ranch Arts Center.

Update: July 22, 2:00 p.m.: The fire is now 10,406 acres and is 32% contained. There will be a community meeting tonight at 6. Following the meeting, Eagle County officials will be discussing flooding potential and how residents can better prepare themselves. Both meetings will be held at Basalt High School.

Thanks to the autocratic Maduro regime, Venezuela is in political and economic free fall, with thousands of its citizens fleeing to other countries in the region and threatening to destabilize them. Autocracy is ascendant in Honduras as well.

Representatives from the “brave new world” of artificial intelligence, drones, robots, quantum computing, and data analytics explain the promise and peril of these emerging technologies and the security implications they entail.