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Moved by her own deep hunger to belong — to have an identity that matters and a tribe of her own — Alex Wagner, author and host of Showtime’s “The Circus,” set off on a quest to find the truth about her family history. It became the memoir Futureface, and it took her from Burma to Luxembourg, from ruined colonial capitals to high-tech genetic labs. But as she closed in on the mystery of her own ancestry, she began to grapple with a deeper question: Does it even matter?
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Arts
Music and dance are humanity’s hallmarks, a shared ritual of communities the world over. Over the millennia, we’ve created some highly specialized forms, but at its root, musi...
NPR's Tamara Keith and Dan Glickman discuss what a Biden agenda might look like.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka’s family has called the city home for over 100 years.
Poet Claudia Rankine discusses the urgency of reimagining what it means to be American with Eric Liu.
Not by shying away from arguments but by embracing them. Arguments are our legacy and our shared history.
Two pro athletes talk about the perils of speaking up for justice in 2020, and what it would take to see progress and create measurable societal change.
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 t...
The youngest member of the US Senate talks about championing a new brand of conservatism.
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...
