Aspen Ideas Festival

This is not a moment to take democracy for granted. The 2016 emergence of Donald Trump and his populist counterparts in Europe didn’t signal the start of something new. Rather, they announced a long simmering, troubling trend away from liberal democracy in the United States and elsewhere. How did we get here? How are Western values shifting? What might the future hold?

For 60 years, the US government has been laying secret doomsday plans to save itself in the event of nuclear war — even while the rest of us die. Today, a third generation of doomsday planners are settling into life inside a network of bunkers that are staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, ready to house top government officials in the event of catastrophe.

Markets Can Solve the Global Energy and Climate Challenge, if We Let Them

Economic Policy

Hate groups and hate-fueled incidents are spiking in America. What is the evidence of this rising tide, and what does it look like in our communities? What groups are most frequently targeted today? What theories might explain this rise, and what can Americans who value tolerance do to fight back?

The Future of Human-Robot Interaction

Are we a union, or are we 50 states? States are finding themselves at odds with federal policy on a wide range of issues: immigration enforcement, marijuana legalization, environmental regulation, health issues including reproductive services and Medicaid, and social issues from gay marriage to who can use what bathroom. What are the constitutional roots of these conflicts?

Aspen Ideas Festival Young Adult Forum

Art historian Sarah Lewis (Vision and Justice) and architect Michael Murphy (MASS Design Group) discuss the art and architecture of social justice in America. How do our artistic works create the fabric of national memory both cherished and shameful? How do our structures provide the framework of collective conscience? How does culture help us learn from history and inform today’s struggles?

Long-range forces are changing the nature of work and how jobs will be created; they are also changing what kinds of jobs will be created. With tech and automation coming so quickly, which jobs will be replaced by machines? For those of us who will be hired, what skills should we possess?

On Founders

What’s the state of this historically fraught relationship? Do today’s politics and rhetoric around the Middle East, immigration, and national security constitute a unifying force, or a divisive one? Are we entering a time of particular challenge, or one of opportunity?