USA
Politics
![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...
![Women's History Month: Making Strides in a New Era](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/0710591f-3c84-4d87-90f3-6b2594a64305/35245686450_b873714d6d_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1081%2C0%2C2671%2C2671&w=290)
Global conflicts and health crises have put into stark relief deeply-ingrained gender roles in society. Yet the past years have also seen record-high numbers of women running for political office and holding executive positions in Fortune 500 companies. Where are we seeing progress, and where do we still desperately need to make headway? How is feminism adapting to tumultu...
![We the People](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/ab4697c5-9867-4dc1-a4c1-b99bbdb501f3/AIFStockHeroImages10.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1312%2C0%2C3375%2C3375&w=290)
Americans seem more culturally and ideologically divided than at any point in most of our lifetimes, with no prospect of bridging those divides any time soon. The only thing we seem to agree upon is that our politics are broken and our leaders are unable to solve the nation’s most fundamental challenges. What can be done to save American democracy from itself? Can we still...
![Best of the Fest 2023](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/6c08dbbd-baac-4551-ba58-5a85fbde876b/52998635322_8bfd619a41_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1808%2C0%2C4640%2C4640&w=290)
At the 2023 Aspen Ideas Festival, we dug into some of the most important and fascinating issues of our time, from rebuilding trust in our institutions and the promise and peril of A.I. to the ingredients of a good life and the emerging geopolitical order — plus so much more!
![15 Talks to Understand the 2022 Political Landscape](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/30bd2139-0c7d-495b-94c7-7acaa3931541/AIFStockHeroImages.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1260%2C0%2C3240%2C3240&w=290)
Politics are a frenzy right now, with bombshell headlines dropping so often that it’s hard to know what to focus on. Even when you can cut through the noise, what you hear is grim. Culture wars are dividing schools and dinner table conversations. Voting rights are threatened across the country. Distrust of news media is at an all-time high. Political discourse is fraught w...
From blockchain to back to school and virus-hunting to bridging divides, speakers at the 2021 Aspen Ideas Festival addressed issues in a new kind of world—one touched, and changed, by the pandemic. Our speakers looked to the future and discussed the biggest, boldest ideas. Here's a sampling of the some of the Festival's conversations.
![How Supreme Court Decisions Impact Our Lives](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nullcaf23732-e3b7-4131-aec6-17abde9936be/48103958522_55328aa563_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=266%2C0%2C1067%2C1067&w=290)
The highest court often seems distanced from our day-to-day lives, but the rulings that come out of the Supreme Court are woven into the fabric of the nation. Though it aims to be apolitical, the court regularly hears cases that involve some of the most contentious questions dividing the nation, and its decisions can change the course of our social, political, and economic...
Leading on the Frontlines, a series from Aspen Ideas Now, features mayors and governors across the United States in candid discussions about how they're facing tough decisions during the Covid-19 pandemic. The conversations are led by CNN's Suzanne Malveaux.
![Aspen Ideas 2020: Mitt Romney, Alicia Garza, Michael Eric Dyson, Brian Greene, and Lulu Miller](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null9320e5da-2900-4c87-a8a9-254a708a1e3d/AspenIdeasFestival-episode5.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=693%2C0%2C1613%2C1613&w=290)
![Aspen Ideas Festival 2020: Stacey Abrams, Anthony Fauci, and David Byrne](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null62f85272-471d-42f3-a3cc-f01e984b3918/episode1-hero2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=693%2C0%2C1613%2C1613&w=290)
![Aspen Ideas Festival 2020: Keisha Lance Bottoms, Walter Isaacson, Erik Larson, and Henry Paulson, Jr.](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nulld240bc4e-79d0-4f0e-8414-a301e77d03f4/AspenIdeasFestival-episode42.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=693%2C0%2C1613%2C1613&w=290)
![Aspen Ideas Festival 2020: Kai-Fu Lee, Maria Ressa, and William McRaven](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nullbe1d4d5e-1da6-4c3b-beeb-7a41e4959262/episode2-hero.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=693%2C0%2C1613%2C1613&w=290)
![Progress and Struggle: Race in US Society](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null5913011e-07e0-4082-b147-92d000e2f53f/48134133167_89ea6b2216_o1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=666%2C0%2C2667%2C2667&w=290)
Race has divided our country since colonization, with some calling slavery America's original sin. The history of the US, from the Civil War to Jim Crow and Black Lives Matter, is defined as conspicuously by racial strife as it is by great achievements. So what does racial progress actually mean in practice? How can political, business, and community leaders confront the t...
![American Reckoning, American Renewal](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null33902f9a-d0ce-4853-b50a-debba24f7722/48146045446_947eec22f5_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=631%2C0%2C2737%2C2737&w=290)
Our national conversation is increasingly defined by deep divisions, worries about the stability of our political system, and even threats of political violence. Yet, in the midst of our national partisan rancor and political and cultural upheaval, you can find heroes, visionaries, and bold leaders.
![Redefining Conservatism in America](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null7e3865c6-bd79-43d3-bbaf-cc769ac1f915/48128648261_1e5d8a9b4f_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1324%2C0%2C5304%2C5304&w=290)
American conservatives have traditionally supported a free market domestically, free trade internationally, low taxes, limited regulation, and a limited federal government. Today, however, many Republicans and conservatives accept the possibility of higher deficits in their efforts to reduce taxes and support a tariff-based trade policy. Father to the right, interest grows...
![When Warriors Return: America and its Veterans](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/f02c230f-07d4-4e65-ab74-655d6e53f918/AdobeStock_207185162.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=894%2C0%2C2712%2C2712&w=290)
We put them in harm’s way all over the world, and when they return to us — often physically and mentally debilitated — we have a bad habit of forgetting their sacrifice. What do we owe our veterans, what can we learn from them, and what new strategies can we use to keep them healthy and productive in civilian society?
![A Lost Art? Citizenship and Civic Engagement](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/8eb3ac92-db46-43ec-af02-694832c6fdbe/AdobeStock_74967127.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=712%2C0%2C2832%2C2832&w=290)
In a divided nation, where conversations are siloed and every argument is ad absurdum, we seem to be losing the informed citizenry that our government requires to function. Learn what’s wrong with our current situation, and what you — yes, you, citizen — can do to help repair democracy.