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![Hank Willis Thomas on the Role of Art in Civic Life](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/ff90bf8b-ac2f-4fe3-83ff-4540644db98a/53813071832_c5daf5a965_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=2000%2C0%2C4000%2C4000&w=290)
Perspective, identity, history, commodity, race — these are just a few of the issues conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas explores through his work. He’s the 2024 Aspen Institute Harman/Eisner Artist in Residence, and we were thrilled to host two of his artworks at this year’s Aspen Ideas Festival. We caught up with him about how art helps him make sense of the world, what...
![15 Talks to Understand the 2024 Political Landscape](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/26ac3431-ada5-424c-94a2-fdbb8fbb1bc3/GettyImages-1490401931.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=500%2C0%2C3074%2C3072&w=290)
The 2024 presidential election is only months away, and the past few weeks alone have brought shocking headlines that change the political ground we stand on — an attempted assassination of Donald Trump, then President Biden dropping out of the race and endorsing Kamala Harris as his replacement. At the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival, government officials, legal experts, acade...
![Gettyimages 1488043800](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/4f1048e8-0b45-4e5c-ab68-b59fdc805164/GettyImages-1488043800.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=0a7c51&q=80&rect=2240%2C0%2C4480%2C4480&w=400)
![Gettyimages 1488043800](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/4f1048e8-0b45-4e5c-ab68-b59fdc805164/GettyImages-1488043800.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=2240%2C0%2C4480%2C4480&w=400)
Conflict and suffering can bring out the worst in people, but it can also bring out the best. This is one of the lessons New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has learned from decades of reporting on the ground in war zones and amidst humanitarian nightmares. Somehow, despite witnessing atrocities like the Tiananmen Square protests, genocide in Darfur and war in Iraq,...
![Meet 7 Women Leading the Way to a Brighter Climate Future](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/11e09403-1a70-4720-abb0-8c203f892106/GettyImages-1415703633.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=738%2C0%2C3733%2C3733&w=290)
Women are crucial to the climate movement, but their voices are often underrepresented and their work goes under-supported. Meet just a few of the women from this year’s Aspen Ideas Festival and Aspen Ideas: Health whose big ideas and bold leadership are paving the way to a better future for people and planet.
![Global Affairs](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/44bccdbd-af20-4238-accc-18fd46aba397/GettyImages-959876146.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1423%2C0%2C2833%2C2832&w=290)
The war in Ukraine continues to reshape European security and global alliances, while the war in Gaza raises urgent questions about humanitarian aid and international intervention. Is there any end in sight to these conflicts? What strategies can be employed to uphold human rights and promote democratic values? How can trade policies and economic alliances be leveraged to...
![Aif Stock Hero Images](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/d53c86d8-a116-4261-8468-bf005c53bca1/AIFStockHeroImages.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=ac473e&q=80&rect=1453%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=400)
![Aif Stock Hero Images](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/d53c86d8-a116-4261-8468-bf005c53bca1/AIFStockHeroImages.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=1453%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=400)
The federal right to abortions in the United States has been overturned, access to contraception and IVF services are threatened in many states, and the gender wage gap persists. It feels like an era of backsliding for women’s rights and freedoms. What can we do to reverse the trend and get back on the road to progress? Three experts and crusaders for women’s and family ri...
![10 Newsmaking Conversations from Aspen Ideas: Health 2024](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/58daefc2-333d-4d2e-b5b1-8ca0d98462be/240620_reception_001.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=83%2C0%2C2667%2C2667&w=290)
From the debate over reproductive rights to the epidemic of gun violence to the youth mental health crisis, this year's Aspen Ideas: Health sessions tackled many of today's most pressing health issues. Explore the timely conversations with top government officials, medical researchers, business leaders, public health experts, legal scholars, and journalists to hear the ide...
![Sarah Longwell on the Future of the Republican Party](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/b1a56fbd-4fa0-4e53-966e-f4c925e5b833/AIFStockHeroImages14.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=903%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=290)
Sarah Longwell is a political strategist and publisher of The Bulwark. She spoke at the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival, where she helped attendees unpack the first presidential debate. We caught up with her about what she's learned from hundreds of focus groups with Republican voters, why she believes we need to tell a better story of democracy, and what she hopes for the futur...
![Gettyimages 110925335](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/9060cbea-f0ea-4983-ae0b-7f4cdd4923a8/GettyImages-110925335.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=ab287a&q=80&rect=435%2C0%2C3744%2C3744&w=400)
![Gettyimages 110925335](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/9060cbea-f0ea-4983-ae0b-7f4cdd4923a8/GettyImages-110925335.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=435%2C0%2C3744%2C3744&w=400)
The grim stream of news from the Middle East has been making it more and more difficult to hold onto hope for peace. When and how will the conflict in Gaza end? And could war even spread to Israel’s northern border with Lebanon? Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who served from 2006 to 2009, takes the stage at the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival to share his frank thoug...
![Adobestock 260344316](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/f2599851-39be-4138-a0b4-165f786a48a6/AdobeStock_260344316.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=ab287a&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C2624%2C2624&w=400)
![Adobestock 260344316](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/f2599851-39be-4138-a0b4-165f786a48a6/AdobeStock_260344316.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C2624%2C2624&w=400)
The Supreme Court has issued another series of controversial and consequential decisions this term, fueling discussion on the current state of the judicial branch. Recent polling data show that seven in 10 Americans do not trust that the court can be impartial, and the justice’s actions outside of their chambers continue to make headlines. In a timely panel at the 2024 Asp...
![Chasing Hope](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/2f55539f-2197-464f-8b26-2929b02cf707/53824051485_57d377543e_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=9%2C0%2C3863%2C3864&w=290)
As one of the foremost reporters of his generation, Nicholas Kristof has been witness to century-defining events and atrocities around the world. How has he managed to weaponize his pen against regimes and groups violating basic human rights, and still maintain faith in humanity?
![Are We Alone Out There?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/336d1ff6-e32b-4ca0-9bac-94dacbf8959b/53825023100_e70fda2b21_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=397%2C0%2C5507%2C5504&w=290)
For as long as humans have looked at the skies, we’ve speculated about whether there is life in space. Scientists, the U.S. military and the CIA have all searched for proof of extraterrestrials. What’s the latest in the quest to find life beyond our planet?
![Roots and Revelations](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/9a7290c3-c71d-4303-979a-7b49449a77c4/53824082684_f2a441a5d7_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=2000%2C0%2C4000%2C4000&w=290)
Henry Louis Gates Jr. — one of America’s leading public intellectuals and director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard — explains the implications of knowing about our personal pasts. Actor and producer Joe Manganiello will then join him onstage to talk about what he learned from his appearance on Gates’ hit PBS show, “Finding your R...
![Closing Session](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/48047a1f-d980-4abf-ae89-bfbd1c8bc246/53824584793_ab831623a7_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1080%2C0%2C2121%2C2120&w=290)
![Can AI Power Inclusivity?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/ce050571-0f55-491f-99d0-d3e755006e0b/53823507301_aa0a9a1273_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=245%2C0%2C3907%2C3906&w=290)
AI has the potential to create vibrant, inclusive communities as civil society organizations harness it to tackle inequality, industry leverages it to foster fairer practices, and commercial real estate uses it to create dynamic, accessible urban spaces.
![In Defense of Misfits: The Transcendence of an Unconventional Life](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/87df6db6-1f1f-4b05-95dd-118770600fd1/53823661837_0b1ee54615_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1813%2C0%2C4641%2C4640&w=290)
A nonbinary comedian challenges us to question our notions of self, gender and society, and opens our eyes to what we may gain in the process.
![Supercommunicators: The Science of Conversation and Connection](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/4439f33b-44f3-4ce3-918c-6b7713b6017a/53825026550_67fcc31319_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=710%2C0%2C879%2C879&w=290)
Why do some conversations succeed while others stumble? The neurology and psychology of communication offer surprising explanations for why human connection goes right or wrong. Join in a live experiment — and explore how the right conversation, at the right moment, can change everything.
![Meta Presents: Building Social Trust in an AI World](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/8ddf485e-1631-4696-a795-d4e3e1501612/240628_social_trust_ai_011.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=180%2C0%2C2667%2C2667&w=290)
Increasingly, AI informs our work output, our social views and our awareness of the world. Join SiriusXM host Mike Muse in conversation with Meta officials to explore the implications of AI for individuals and tech companies as they continue to innovate. Then, go behind the scenes with members of the Meta Oversight Board, who are charged with reviewing the company’s decisi...
![Does American Capitalism Still Work?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/6ddc1a5b-c983-41dc-9fdf-c50d8411fce7/53823880878_647f9e3767_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=274%2C0%2C3101%2C3101&w=290)
In a time of growing wealth disparity and evolving societal values, can capitalism adapt to sustain the American Dream?
![Are American Women Going Backwards?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/a4f70e43-9976-4d6c-936d-6ffb4f1b3993/53824046585_143bcae259_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=224%2C0%2C3101%2C3101&w=290)
The rollback of reproductive rights, the push to end no-fault divorce, and gun laws that allow domestic abusers to own a firearm are turning the clock back on women’s rights. How can women preserve their freedoms?