Behind the Scenes with HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra
Setup
Few health and social welfare policy issues escape the oversight of the US Department of Health and Human Services, second in size only to the Department of Defense. Prescription drug costs, access to reproductive health services, national and domestic public health threats like COVID-19, and the epidemic of loneliness are all within its purview. As it implements the health provisions of the historic Inflation Reduction Act, the department is also confronting the nation's mental health crisis and tackling health disparities. Hear directly from HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra about what it is like to lead at this crucial moment.
Explore More
Health
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 mo...
The United States spends $4.3 trillion—almost one fifth of the nation’s GDP—on health care. As the scale of the medical enterprise expands, venture capitalists are pursuing th...
The recognition that all things are connected is at once a scientific principle and a philosophical touchstone. Humans, animals, and the environment are intertwined in complex...
It’s been decades since the United States has updated its immigration policies in any sort of comprehensive way, and the problems and suffering at the southern border have per...
Whether they publicly tout it or not, U.S. technology companies play a powerful role in politics, cultural issues and the way we live. Founder and investor Peter Thiel is one...
Our need for human connection is profound and deep. Yet, today, one in two adults are living with measurable levels of loneliness – and the numbers are even higher among young...
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 a...
Sizable electorates around the world are flocking to populist candidates who promise power, domination and a return to better times. The global experiment in liberalism seems...
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 persis...
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 poll...
Americans feel more polarized than ever, but two governors from opposite sides of the aisle have made it their mission to show otherwise.
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....
Former Senators Bill Nelson and Kay Bailey Hutchison discuss the bipartisan work that defined their careers, suggest ways for today’s elected officials to find common ground,...
As the Supreme Court concludes another contentious term, it is once again reshaping the legal landscape. With cases on abortion, gun rights and social media — and potentially...
Two billion people worldwide are set to vote in elections this year, amid global conflict, societal mistrust, broken information ecosystems — and the truth-destroying disrupti...
Amid seismic shifts in the entertainment world, Oscar-, Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning Brian Grazer has managed to keep pivoting to new ways to tell stories in movies, TV and...
Hurray for the Riff Raff is more than Alynda Segarra’s musical moniker; they spent their youth hopping trains across America, capturing that life in youthful poetry then and a...
Firearms are one of the leading causes of death among children in the U.S., a country where there have been more than 150 mass shootings in the first five months of 2024. Sit...
Images communicate truths, and also lies. Learning to pay attention to photographs can help us discern. An art and cultural historian and a visual artist host a master class o...
Peter Thiel has made no secret of his feelings about economic and cultural issues. Hear him discuss his vision for the future, his bets on AI and digital currencies, his thoug...