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Humility, loyalty, rhetorical mastery — these were the leadership traits of President Abraham Lincoln.
In April of 2018, two black men walked into a Starbucks in Philadelphia for a business meeting. Ten minutes later, while waiting for their colleague to arrive, a manager called the police and they were arrested. Rosalind Brewer, one of the most accomplished African American women in business had just become COO of Starbucks. In navigating how the company should respond to...
In every field — business, politics, science, tech, and sport — women are breaking barriers in unprecedented numbers. Women CEOs frequently outpace their male counterparts in delivering profits, women are at the forefront of scientific research (CRISPR, anyone?), and women coaches exceed expectations for leading teams … of men. As more women have taken up posts in DC than...
“I still can’t get his voice out of my head,” George Packer writes of the late diplomat Richard Holbrooke. “One day I know it will start to fade, along with his memory, along with the idea of a life lived as if the world needed an American hand to help set things right.” The Atlantic’s George Packer sits down with Walter Isaacson to discuss the life and ambitions of Richar...
Populism is most simply defined as support for the concerns of ordinary people, and those who call themselves populists — whether on the right or left of the political spectrum — claim they represent the people’s interests, most often against a privileged elite. But today’s waves of populism across the United States and Europe seem to be reactions, perhaps to the ways glob...
Peggy Clark asks Dan Glickman to reflect on this past year and to share what he expects from our country under President-elect Joe Biden’s leadership.
Over the past century, women have made significant strides in achieving leadership positions, but they still have a long way to go to achieve parity in jobs, pay, and representation in business, science, government, or academia. In this session, we’ll examine the embedded gender biases that bar women from leadership positions, and ask what strategies women (and men) can em...
President Trump’s second impeachment trial is beginning. In his first days in office, President Biden is navigating a pandemic and an economic crisis. With presidential leadership once again at the forefront and President’s Day just around the corner, we’re revisiting an episode featuring presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.
Donald Trump’s America First philosophy and his retreat from international alliances led pundits to dub Germany’s Angela Merkel the new leader of the free world, but today’s global leadership appears more muddled than ever, especially as Brexit and unrest in Italy threatens the integrity of the European Union. Across the Pacific and Africa, countries are being forced to re...
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has upended settled arrangements of the balance of geopolitical power and raised questions about the US approach to foreign affairs more broadly. What does the conflict in Europe mean for the challenges presented by China and other actors on the global stage? What will US leadership in the Middle East look like going forward? Has the volatility...
What will the history books say about Barack Obama's leadership?
From Washington to Biden, presidents have changed America — and the world — for both better and worse. If the American presidency is the ultimate test of leadership, what does it take to succeed as president, and how can we pick better ones?
The Aspen Institute remembers and mourns Secretary Madeleine K. Albright, who passed away on March 23, 2022. She was a diplomat, professor, author, business leader, and the first woman to be the U.S. Secretary of State. In 2018, she raised the alarm on dangerous world leadership with her book “Fascism: A Warning,” calling out the regimes of Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin,...
Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Jon Meacham shares a view of Abraham Lincoln, who managed to hold the country together despite threats to democracy and the devastations of the Civil War. Understanding Lincoln, his unwavering commitment to democratic principles, and this period in history provides a critical lens to comprehending America’s contemporary challenges, and the...
Among the things that keep former CIA director and retired General David H. Petraeus up at night: the rise of ISIS, the rise of robots, and a country straying from its basic principles of inclusiveness. Join Petraeus and security expert Jane Harman, a former congresswoman who heads the Woodrow Wilson Center, for a wide-ranging conversation about the threats we face at home...
Clothing and recreational equipment company Patagonia has sued the Trump administration over its resolution to reduce the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monument. CEO Rose Marcario says she’s acting according to the company’s values, and customers buy its products because it protects public lands, develops sustainable fabrics, and invests in sustainable...
The Democratic majority in Congress hangs by a thread, and with it the Biden administration’s ability to accomplish much of its agenda. What the past two years have shown us is a party with aging leadership, held hostage by two senators, and divided by different visions of its core mission and values. With the 2022 midterms just around the corner and questions already bein...
The US government misjudged the rise of China over the last decade — as the country has grown in economic power, it's become more rambunctious internationally, not less. Its Belt and Road Initiative is winning over countries that used to be US allies. It’s expanding its military power and reach in the South China Sea, attacking US companies in cyberspace, and advancing in...
In this episode, you’ll hear from the nation’s new White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly.
In a time of uncertainty, rapid change, and disruption, who is best positioned to move society forward? Many are losing faith not only in government, but in the institutions of journalism, nonprofits, and higher education. What role should these organs of civil society play in today’s fractured world, and how can people of good will come together to best make a difference?...