Power to the People? Free and Fair Elections in a Deeply Divided America
Setup
Benjamin Franklin famously warned that our government is a republic, if we can keep it. Most Americans don’t follow the highly pitched partisan battles that are waged over the redrawing of electoral districts after each decennial census. Yet, as we head into the 2022 midterm elections, a flurry of court rulings have upended the maps put in place by state legislators, finding them to be the product of illegal gerrymandering. And in the wake of the contentious 2020 election and the ongoing pandemic, states have enacted new voting laws, while local election administrators have become the targets of political ire, leading to significant turnover in their ranks. Under such circumstances, how can we ensure that our democracy is truly representative?
Explore More
USA
Jump in by watching our ten most popular talks of all time. From black holes to jazz and civil rights to psychology hacks, we've collected the talks that remain audience favor...
Politics are a frenzy right now, with bombshell headlines dropping so often that it’s hard to know what to focus on. Even when you can cut through the noise, what you hear is...
From the Supreme Court's ruling on abortion rights to public health's role in addressing gun violence to the devastating human toll of the war in Ukraine, this year's Aspen Id...
The nature of beauty, and whether it’s objective or subjective, is the subject of timeless philosophical debate. Do perceptions of beauty vary culturally and generationally, o...
Psychologist Marisa Franco explains the biggest misconceptions that are hurting our friendships, how relationships shape our personalities and sense of self, and why friendshi...
Today's kids are coming of age against a backdrop of political, social, technological, and economic upheaval. While these circumstances are shaping a precocious generation tha...
From blockchain to back to school and virus-hunting to bridging divides, speakers at the 2021 Aspen Ideas Festival addressed issues in a new kind of world—one touched, and cha...
For people with post-traumatic stress disorder, therapy assisted by the drug MDMA may provide lasting relief, with a new way of seeing their trauma and themselves. Rachel Yehu...
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...
Gen-Z for Change's Aidan Kohn-Murphy on youth-led movements, his advice for young activists, and why it's impossible to lose hope.
