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Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Beto O'Rourke, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar — some of the political leaders who have taken the Aspen Ideas Festival stage are now running to be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2020. What's ahead for the news media, pollsters, and the candidates, themselves? Journalists and political experts debate what the 2020 candidates could and should do...

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...

In America, millions of people struggle with mental illness including depression, anxiety, and more. The National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that one in five adults experience mental illness each year. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10 to 34. Our experts discuss tackling mental health in developing nations; helping first responders, wh...

Urban areas around the world are growing at rates not seen since the throes of the Industrial Revolution, and they're facing pressures never experienced before.

A 2018 UN report on climate change urged swift and unprecedented action to curb the rise of the planet’s temperature. Experts argue that avoiding a crisis will require significant breakthroughs in technology, a full stop on fossil fuel projects, fundamental changes to the way we feed the world, and ubiquitous carbon policies. Who will lead the charge towards a multilateral...

More and more, companies are embracing the concept of corporate purpose as Americans' perceptions of big business have shifted. While declaring a purpose beyond profit is a starting point, how do you actually deliver on it to drive positive change for communities and society?

Where do emotions come from? Are they hardwired at birth, or are they constructed by our brains as we develop? Are our varied reactions somehow part of our genetic makeup? Why do emotions feel involuntary? Explore the science of emotion and the hidden forces that drive our behavior and that of those around us.

Today’s athletic champions are delivering peak performances that defy well-established limits of age. Olympians are consistently shattering long-standing world records. What is allowing these remarkable advances in superhuman feats? Featuring elite athletes, researchers, doctors, and coaches, explore the technology, nutrition, training, and psychological tools that enable...

Artificial intelligence is working its way deeper into our lives. Intelligent systems are reading and responding to human emotions, playing a critical role in medicine, and gathering vast amounts of data, often without us knowing. Does this kind of technology share our motivations, desires, or hopes for the future of humanity? How can big tech companies and users of AI ste...

How can Yo-Yo Ma help sixth graders learn earth science? How does ballet strengthen the mind along with the body? The below clips, which feature dance, music, and performance art pieces performed at the Aspen Ideas Festival, are tantalizing parts of whole sessions that explore how the arts can heal and educate. Watch a clip or two and gain a deeper appreciation for how per...

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.

Designers are tackling the world’s most complex problems in the most remarkable ways. Whether it is a simple and utilitarian object like a mouse, or a complex, extravagant system like a solar farm, design gives definition to our aesthetic sensibilities and our definition of quality. Designers' ideas amaze and inspire, but they also challenge us to imagine progress in an al...

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...

Economic growth is frequently defined as the increase in value of everything in an economy. Standard of living, access to health care, and minimum wage are some of the standard measures of economic well-being. But with the ubiquity of technology, impacts of artificial intelligence on jobs, new limits to free trade, and increased pressure to address climate, how should we n...

International order, as we’ve known it for more than 70 years, is in flux. With changing alliances, abandoned treaties, disputes over globalism versus nationalism, and the rise of authoritarian rule, liberal democracy is deteriorating. Populist movements in Europe, America, and beyond are fueled, in part, by deep-seated grievances. Throughout much of Africa and the Pacific...

Aspen Ideas: Health dove deep on topics like CBD, health advocacy, and fecal transplants, and it really got people talking. We put together a list of some of the most attention-grabbing sessions from 2019 Aspen Ideas: Health so you can join the conversation.

There are many species of great ideas. There are ideas that are mind-bendingly complicated, built on paradigm-upending research. There are those that have clearly been good ideas all along, and will be incredible once everyone decides to actually put muscle and money behind it.

The Festival presents a cornucopia of more than 200 sessions over seven days. Since there's no way to pack it all in, we've gathered these don't miss presentations to help you get started.

When we tell the story of humankind, we tend to tell it through stories of the exceptional among us, be they visionaries or villains. But the famous are more than mere archetypes, and their complicated lives can give us inspiration for making the most of our own.