How to Tune-In to Aspen Ideas: Health 2023!

3:30-4:30 pm MT / 5:30-6:30 pm ET

The Health Sector Goes Green with Shanda Demorest, Seema Gandhi, Jeff Thompson, and Justin Worland (moderator)

More than 8% of US greenhouse gas emissions originate in the health sector. Recognizing the urgency of change, almost 1,000 hospitals, industry organizations, and trade associations have embraced the federal government’s voluntary Health Sector Climate Pledge, promising to cut their emissions in half by 2030. Practical, cost-effective actions with dramatic payoffs include designing green surgical suites that limit the use of the most polluting anesthetics, reducing building emissions, reconfiguring transportation and supply chains, and curbing single-use plastics. In a domain that pledges to do no harm, reducing the health sector’s immense carbon footprint is a must.

9:00-9:50 am MT / 11:00-11:50 am ET

The Fight for Reproductive Health with Chelsea Clinton, Chanel L. Porchia-Albert, and Kristen Welker (moderator)

There is no sugar-coating the grim data on women’s reproductive health. Globally, hundreds of millions of women lack access to modern contraception and almost 300,000 women die annually from complications linked to pregnancy. Meanwhile, the incidence of breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers is rising amid unconscionable disparities in outcome by race and income. Determined to drive change, activists in every corner are working to protect and expand women’s access to health services that allow them to make their own choices. NBC correspondent Kristen Welker talks with Chelsea Clinton and birth justice advocate Chanel L. Porchia-Albert about women’s health, commitments to equity, and what reproductive justice demands.

1:30-2:20 pm MT / 3:30-4:20 pm ET

Behind the Scenes with the HHS Secretary with Xavier Becerra and Elizabeth Cohen (interviewer)

Few health and social welfare policy issues escape the oversight of the US Department of Health and Human Services, second in size only to the Department of Defense. Prescription drug costs, access to reproductive health services, national and domestic public health threats like COVID-19, and the epidemic of loneliness are all within its purview. As it implements the health provisions of the historic Inflation Reduction Act, the department is also confronting the nation's mental health crisis and tackling health disparities. Hear directly from HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra about what it is like to lead at this crucial moment.

2:50-3:40 pm MT / 4:50-5:40 pm ET

Mental Health First Aid: Minutes Matter with Essam Daod, Arthur Evans, Cynthia Germanotta, and Luria Freeman (moderator)

The trauma associated with natural disasters, refugee flight, teenage bullying, or gun violence can endure for a lifetime if appropriate mental health services are not provided. Just as we don’t wait for a wound to become infected before providing treatment, so too we must act quickly to curb emotional damage before it festers. Models of mental health first aid training show us how we can equip first responders, teachers, work colleagues, teen peers, and others in the community to recognize someone at risk, provide early support, listen without judgement, encourage self-help strategies, and offer connections to timely, professional intervention.

11:40 am-12:30 pm MT / 1:40-2:30 pm ET

It's Hot: The Truth About Menopause with Jen Gunter, Nanette Santoro, and Margot Sanger-Katz (moderator)

For many women reaching middle age, menopause is a liberating signal that the childbearing years have come to an end. But with its characteristic hot flashes and complex effects on memory, sleep, sexual functioning, bones, and mental health, this inevitable part of aging is also marked by physical and emotional challenges. Misinformation, research gaps, cultural myths, and sexism further complicate how menopause is viewed and treated. From hormone replacement therapy to patches, supplements, and beauty products, healthcare providers, alternative healers, and marketers have countless “cures” to offer. What do women going through menopause actually need?

1:30-2:20 pm MT / 3:30-5:30 pm ET

Moonshots to Transform Health with Amy Jenkins, Renee Wegrzyn, and John Torres (moderator)

Research that can generate transformative, high-impact biomedical and health breakthroughs, from the molecular to the societal, is gaining traction as the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) gets off the ground. Launched by federal legislation in March 2022, ARPA-H will make pivotal investments to stimulate dynamic health solutions that can reshape millions of people’s lives. In one of their earliest public appearances, the agency’s inaugural leaders talk about the agency’s audacious mission. By funding some of the nation’s smartest people to join multidisciplinary teams, ARPA-H expects breakthroughs in cancer, diabetes, dementia, osteoarthritis, and other catastrophic diseases.

2:50-3:40 pm MT / 4:50-5:40 pm ET

Does the Future of Medicine Lie in Space? with Dorit Donoviel, Tara Ruttley, and Nicholas St. Fleur (moderator)

When it comes to biomedical research, Earth’s gravity can be an obstacle, making it harder to program stem cells into viable organs, obscuring the crystalline structure of proteins, and interfering with cellular communication channels. The possibility of using space to advance science is no longer an exercise in imagination as biotech start-ups begin sending experiments into orbit. The costs are high, but many researchers believe the work can lead to new treatments for osteoporosis, cancers, influenza, and neurodegenerative diseases. Pharmaceutical companies hope to commercialize the findings and researchers and policymakers see broader potential for open science to benefit all humanity.

9:00-9:50 am MT / 11:00-11:50 pm ET

The Surgeon General Speaks Truth on Public Health with Vivek Murthy and Andrea Mitchell (interviewer)

As US Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy brings attention to urgent public health issues, using his platform to ensure that Americans have scientifically grounded advice and resources to improve their health and wellbeing. In his most recent advisory, Murthy warned that social media carried a “profound risk of harm to the mental health of children and adolescents.” He has also highlighted the epidemic of loneliness, a health risk that increases the risk of death as much as daily smoking, and created initiatives to tackle health misinformation, health worker burnout, addiction, e-cigarettes, the importance of vaccines, and more. Murthy talks about using his bully pulpit to transform lives.

BONUS LIVESTREAM!

10:30 am-12:00 pm MT / 12:30-2:00 pm ET

Closing Session with Iliza Shlesinger, Kate Bowler, Mia McLeoad, Penry Gustafson, Elizabeth Cohen, Anthony Fauci, and Nicholas St. Fleur

Featuring three one-on-one conversations, our tenth anniversary closing session is not to be missed! We begin with comedian Iliza Shlesinger, who opens up to bestselling author Kate Bowler about using humor to confront trauma and other health challenges. Then the spotlight moves to Mia McLeoad, an independent, and Penry Gustafson, a Republican, two of the South Carolina Sister Senators who stood together to slow passage of state legislation imposing a near-total ban on abortion. And we wrap up with Anthony Fauci talking to STAT’s Nicholas St. Fleur about the triumphs and perils of leading NIAID for 40 years.