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![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...
![Festival Fellow Spotlight: Jahnavi Rao](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/1feb5b65-9ef0-4e8f-b92e-04a965461db1/AIFStockHeroImages12.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=2623%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=290)
Meet Jahnavi Rao, a 2024 Festival Fellow and the founder and president of New Voters, a nonpartisan organization on a nationwide mission to help young people register to vote. Learn how she founded the organization when she was 17 years old and how it’s grown to over 400 high school chapters with 80,000 young students registered to vote.
![A Civic Health Check-Up with Vot-ER Founder Alister Martin](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/6e1f4257-6d79-4e3f-a359-e3d64b3a2bb1/Untitleddesign13.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=677%2C0%2C1444%2C1444&w=290)
It’s a fact: In communities where voting rates are higher, health outcomes are better. That’s why ER physician Alister Martin, the Founder of Vot-ER and CEO of A Healthier Democracy, is on a mission to engage patients and fellow healthcare providers in the civic process. Learn how he's tapping into the power of healthcare settings to drive positive social change for all.
![Can We Make Social Media Better?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/2d5a512f-b95b-478c-9ea5-ccd31f5fed8e/AIFStockHeroImages1.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1288%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=290)
Can technology bolster democracy? MIT’s Deb Roy thinks so.
![Books From Our 2023 Festival Speakers](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/73022030-cd26-4fbd-8611-0522ce246300/AIFReadingList.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1407%2C0%2C2814%2C2813&w=290)
The Aspen Ideas Festival team is proud to showcase the diverse writing of our speakers. Their books will be highlighted in talks at the Festival and available at the campus bookstore. See the list below for recent releases by Festival presenters.
![Jonathan Haidt on Structural Stupidity](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/c32a760c-fbdf-449d-8116-6bfcf8a6d5ef/2022BLOG-AIFSpeakerGuestBlogs5.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=2518%2C0%2C3242%2C3240&w=290)
Plus — Building a religiously diverse democracy and highlights from Aspen Ideas: Climate.
![Making Health Tech Work for All: Democratizing, Decentralizing and Digitizing Care](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/4233da07-725e-47fb-ad47-351bcebaac6c/Aspenpanelimage16-9ratio.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=691%2C206%2C1930%2C1929&w=290)
Many people who could benefit from health advances are left behind, and it’s clear that scientific innovation alone is not enough to fill the gap. So what needs to be done? An inspiring panel at Aspen Ideas: Health tackled this question and explored emerging solutions that prioritize access and affordability. Presented by Abbott.
![Books From Our 2022 Festival Speakers](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/578b0ee8-4c7f-4f3e-89f8-28413874bf8a/2022-Books.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=338%2C0%2C844%2C844&w=290)
The Aspen Ideas Festival team is proud to showcase the diverse writing of our speakers. Their books will be highlighted in talks at the Festival and available at the campus bookstore. See the list below for recent releases by Festival presenters. The books are arranged by Festival track.
![Aspen Ideas 2021 Monday, June 28](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/5741a452-5013-44cc-b68d-003cc11c6409/calendar2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=233%2C0%2C1241%2C1242&w=290)
Find direct links to Monday's breakout sessions and evening plenary below.
![Reading List: Aspen Ideas 2021](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/2dd97cab-0a59-45c1-86ea-155dcbadba97/Blog-AIFBooks4.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=364%2C0%2C1351%2C1350&w=290)
The Aspen Ideas team is proud to showcase the diverse writing of our speakers.
![Rolling Back Voting Rights to Jim Crow Era](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/e9f0996a-7f44-4676-87c4-c01bf529b6b0/AdobeStock_378178815.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=880%2C0%2C4022%2C4024&w=290)
Voting rights are under assault in America. More than 250 bills that would restrict access to voting are pending in 43 states.
![The Press's Critical Role in a Healthy Democracy](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/88a1bec5-aac5-4515-ac18-376f62452bb5/AdobeStock_31460894.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=968%2C0%2C2953%2C2953&w=290)
In a time of heightened distrust, how can media outlets reclaim the public’s confidence? We hear from a longtime journalist.
![Joe Biden Understands Grief—That's a Valuable Skill Right Now](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nullb648c6e7-c532-4674-956a-963f2191c149/27470520864_f147df2742_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1555%2C366%2C3714%2C3723&w=290)
Biden believes deeply that actions like the January 6th violence at the Capitol are not who we want to be as a country, says Evan Osnos, author of a Biden biography.
![Ideas for a Nation in Crisis](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null96f68be5-0201-4563-a058-8f88a0d54d06/USCapitalBldg.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C5301%2C5304&w=290)
As the nation reels from the attack on the Capitol, we look for ideas that will move us forward.
![Is the American Dream Finished?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nulld28f5b58-c82f-4921-a652-cb64814a4d67/iStock-1178922617.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=937%2C0%2C2066%2C2066&w=290)
![Embracing the Zig and the Zag](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null42eaf9b9-839a-4470-972f-d6f60bc53f3f/48121201393_f3a034b3f8_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=533%2C0%2C1067%2C1067&w=290)
Valerie Jarrett shares advice on stepping out of your comfort zone, her favorite memories from inside the White House, and how we can empower women and working families.
![Is Democracy in Crisis?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/d40c5e23-569a-46d4-bae3-643d5944e0ae/AdobeStock_64908172.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1071%2C0%2C3744%2C3744&w=290)
Which countries are doing the most harm to democracy? And why is the United States struggling to maintain a healthy democratic system?
![With Honor and the Politics of Tribalism](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/fecc56a6-a55b-4ef7-9773-dd333ee2fb9f/AmericanFlag.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C800%2C800&w=290)
![Confronting the Pandemic Threat](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nullc3e6615a-b69d-4121-aa17-29a9277771c2/AdobeStock_318596849.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=697%2C0%2C3840%2C3840&w=290)
Ronald Klain was White House Ebola Response Coordinator from 2014 to 2015. This post has been updated and adopted from the author’s piece, Confronting the Pandemic Threat, published in Democracy Journal (No. 40, Spring 2016).
![Are We Flunking Democracy 101?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/af2eee0f-1797-4a77-8d7f-f910d0821558/AdobeStock_208078880.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1151%2C0%2C2833%2C2830&w=290)