This week: a special Aspen Ideas Festival episode. Host Alycin Bektesh is joined by Dan Porterfield, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, Gillian Tett, US managing editor of the Financial Times, and Jonathan Capehart, opinion writer for the Washington Post and host of the "Cape Up" podcast.

For centuries, humans’ relationship with animals has been related to use and utility. Scientists are now delving into more complex understanding of our fellow creatures. Seeing birds of prey up close offers a chance to appreciate both the evolutionary science — and the emotional beauty of raptors.

Welcome to the beginning of another week in the Roaring Fork Valley! This is Week in the Arts, a curated list of upcoming exhibitions and events.

A new fashion collection commissioned by the Aspen Art Museum will be on display Monday night. Artist Cheryl Donegan’s garments are inspired by New York City street art.

What is a university if not a true marketplace of ideas — a place where scholarly pursuits in a wide range of subjects can be nurtured and questioned, where crosscurrents of diverse thought and perspectives can co-exist?

Artist Tyler Sean’s show “a collection of pretty things” is currently on display at the Aspen Art Gallery. As Sean wants to challenge the way viewers interpret art.. Tyler Sean, a twenty-three year old from South Florida, started his career in his parent’s basement. He was recently named the “best rising artist” in 2017 from Art Basel Miami. He makes his Aspen debut this weekend. Sean mixes mediums and combines what he calls “unlike things.” He says he wants his art to force his viewers to

Atlanta-based defense attorney and #BillionDollarLawyer Drew Findling shares the stage with his client, international hip-hop star Kiari Cephus — known onstage as Offset, one third of the music trio Migos — to discuss the intersection of criminal justice, race, and hip-hop. These issues, common themes in hip-hop music, reflect deeply rooted societal schisms which play out endlessly in the collateral consequences of criminal conviction and mass incarceration.

Young people have galvanized social change throughout American history. As a new exhibit on the Aspen Institute campus shows, art has been a source of inpiration and a way to get the message out. This past spring, students became the leaders of anti-gun violence protests. Arts and culture reporter Christin Kay met with three students, on the forefront of the fight to make schools and society safer, to talk to them about the role of art in social unrest.

Grammy-award winning a capella group TAKE 6 performs the songs of blues-and-soul legend Ray Charles Saturday evening at the Benedict Music Tent in Aspen.

Inspectors at Ruedi Reservoir have spotted invasive mussels on two boats so far this summer, and officials think there are more to come.