Aspen Ideas To Go

Hear what former prisoner Shaka Senghor, who was incarcerated for 19 years and now directs strategy for the bipartisan initiative #cut50, has to say about President Obama's recent pledge to end solitary confinement for juveniles and low-level offenders. Senghor shares his insights from seven years in solitary in one of the nation's most violent prisons. Since 1980, the number of people incarcerated in the United States has more than quadrupled; the US now has the largest prison population in the world. aspenideas.org

Can art tackle some of the most difficult social-justice questions we face today? Over the past year we have witnessed images of our country at war with itself; how can poetry dispel alienation and give rise to a new level of citizenship in America Featuring three of America's most powerful poetic voices: Elizabeth Alexander (author of The Light of the World), Juan Felipe Herrera (current United States Poet Laureate), and Claudia Rankine (author of Citizen: An American Lyric). The conversation is moderated by Eric Liu, executive director of the Aspen Institute Citizenship and American Identity Program. aspenideas.org

Meditation and mindfulness have gone mainstream. From improvements in perception to body awareness, to pain tolerance and emotion regulation, to an increase in complex thinking and a sense of self, two experts in the field explore the benefits and outcomes of these practices. Featured speakers: Richard Davidson, William James and Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin and Robert Roth, Executive Director, David Lynch Foundation. Their discussion is moderated by documentary filmmaker Perri Peltz. aspenideas.org

I wrote this book not sure I could follow the road to character, but I wanted at least to know what the road looks like and how other people have trodden it, David Brooks has said about his experience writing his latest New York Times bestseller about personal virtues and honesty in a materialistic age. Katie Couric explores this journey with the deeply thoughtful author. aspenideas.org

Clint Smith is a high school educator, a Harvard PhD candidate, and a slam poet. In a series of spoken-word performances, Smith confronts inequality in American society. His poetry touches on black parenting, social justice, and violence against kids of color. Following his performance, three high school students from the South Washington, DC, area are interviewed about how they experience systemic inequality in their neighborhoods. aspenideas.org

We'll be back in January with new episodes. In the meantime, don't miss this inspiring episode with stories of human resilience and ingenuity. During the Ebola crisis, strong grassroots relationships and homegrown leadership made the difference between life and death. Drawing on that learning, movers and shakers from the Aspen New Voices Fellowship will share their stories about the silo-busting connections that can be forged under stress. From Sierra Leone to Nepal, these kinds of bonds keep our most vulnerable communities healthier and safer in perilous times. Aspen New Voices Fellows: Rubayat Khan, Relebohile Moletsane, Serufusa Sekidde, David Kuria, Kopano Mabaso, Abraham Leno, Samuel Kargbo, ElsaMarie D'Silva, Esther Ngumbi. Learn more at http://www.AspenNewVoices.org aspenideas.org

AITG is taking off a couple of weeks for the holidays. We'll be back in January with new episodes. This week, we revisit an earlier episode — A Formula for Happiness. Want to be happy? Arthur C. Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, has read all of the books and studies about what makes us happy — so you don't have to. By marrying ancient wisdom and new data, he says we can identify what brings the most happiness, and the most unhappiness, to the most people. In short, love people, not pleasure. This Aspen Lecture was recorded live at the Aspen Ideas Festival. Check out the Aspen Lectures Compendium on iTunes U. aspenideas.org

Three authors shed light on the writing life and the stories behind their works. New York Times bestseller Jess Walter ("Beautiful Ruins"), former US Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey ("Thrall"), and LA Times Book Prize winner Ruth Ozeki ("A Tale for the Time Being"). They spoke at Winter Words, a series hosted by Aspen Words, a literary organization and program of the Aspen Institute. aspenideas.org

Vice President Joe Biden spoke at the Aspen Institute Summit on Inequality and Opportunity. Biden discussed root causes of poverty and inequality in America. He separately addressed topics related to terrorism, ISIS, and Syrian refugees. aspenideas.org

Most people think that happiness has four sources: the sensory pleasures, material wealth, romantic relationships, and children. But recent research suggests that much of what people think about happiness is wrong. Daniel Gilbert, author of "Stumbling on Happiness," hosts this symposium in which experts discuss what science has discovered about each of these sources. The featured speakers are Paul Bloom, author of "How Pleasure Works"; Tim Kasser, author of "The High Price of Materialism"; Eli Finkel, author of "The All-Or-Nothing Marriage"; and Jennifer Senior, author of "All Joy and No Fun." aspenideas.org

Continuing our celebration of the 100th anniversary of the General Theory of Relativity, this talk features theoretical physicist Brian Greene. Arguably one of the best and most entertaining explainers of all things cosmic, Greene gives a refresher on what the theory is, and why we should care. He also sheds light on the exciting advances science has made in understanding black holes. (This is a companion episode to last week’s podcast about Einstein’s creativity.) aspenideas.org

Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the General Theory of Relativity, this talk takes a look at Albert Einstein's creativity. Where did it come from, how was it reflected in his life, and what can we learn from it? Biographer Walter Isaacson brings the physicist’s creativity to life through historical details and insights Isaacson uncovered in his book ‘Einstein: His Life and Universe.’ aspenideas.org

In 'Being Nixon,' Evan Thomas peels away the layers of the complex, confounding figure who became America's 37th president. Drawing on a wide range of historical accounts, Thomas reveals the contradictions of a leader whose vision and foresight led him to achieve detente with the Soviet Union and reestablish relations with communist China, but whose underhanded political tactics tainted his reputation long before the Watergate scandal. One of the principal architects of the modern Republican Party and its "silent majority" of disaffected whites and conservative ex-Dixiecrats, Nixon was also deemed a liberal in some quarters for his efforts to desegregate Southern schools, create the Environmental Protection Agency, and end the draft. Thomas is the author of nine books. He was a writer, correspondent, and editor for over three decades at TIME and Newsweek. aspenideas.org

Boris Johnson, Mayor, London, Michael Bloomberg, Founder, Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, 108th Mayor of the City of New York, and With Walter Isaacson, CEO and President, The Aspen Institute discuss how cities are the hubs of tech innovation. Recorded at CityLab 2015 in London. aspenideas.org

Conversation is facing a crisis in our culture. We regularly put people on "pause" in conversation to check our phones. We treat machines as if they are almost human. We want technology to step up, as we ask humans to step back. And having nothing to forget about how we used to relate to one another, children embrace these new rules for talking to machines. In this talk, Sherry Turkle, MIT professor of the social studies of science and technology and author of "Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age," explains how we have arrived at this "robotic moment." She explores what she calls the "four fantasies of the robotic relationship" and the impact our dwindling face-to-face conversations have on empathy. aspenideas.org

We've all had great teachers who opened our minds — and maybe even changed our lives. But how can we make every teacher a star teacher? Elizabeth Green's New York Times best-selling book 'Building a Better Teacher: How Teaching Works (and How to Teach It to Everyone)' presents teaching as a complex skill — one that requires infrastructure for support and training. She gives examples of the methods America's best educators are using in the classroom, as well as how Japan's education system has adopted policies that have changed teachers across the country. Green discusses her book with Stanford University's renowned mathematics education professor Jo Boaler. Boaler is co-founder of YouCubed, and online resource for educators and families. aspenideas.org

Our brains are getting older, but there's still much to be optimistic about. Neuroscientists Susan Greenfield and Gary Small discuss the aging brain with journalist Sam Kean. aspenideas.org

David Brooks writes about character. Aaron Sorkin writes about characters. The opinionator and consummate storyteller join in a conversation about how Sorkin's connection to and love of character distinguishes his writing and his craft. They discuss Sorkin's new movie Steve Jobs. Aaron Sorkin is a screenwriter, playwright, and film and television producer. His screenplays include the 2012 film adaption of Moneyball, The Social Network, A Few Good Men, Malice, The American President, and Charlie Wilson's War. David Brooks is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times. He also writes frequently about culture and social sciences. Brooks is the bestselling author of four books, most recently The Road to Character. aspenideas.org

Anne-Marie Slaughter provides a sneak peek of her new book, 'Unfinished Business: Women Men Work Family'. Inspired by her 2012 article "Why Women Still Can't Have it All," one of the most-read pieces in the history of 'The Atlantic' magazine, Slaughter has refined her vision for what true equality between men and women really means and how we can get there. Anne-Marie Slaughter is president and CEO of New America and Bert G. Kerstetter '66 University Professor Emerita of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University. Hanna Rosin is a senior editor at 'The Atlantic'; founder of DoubleX, the women's section of 'Slate'; and the author of the books 'The End of Men' and 'God's Harvard: A Christian College on a Mission to Save America'. aspenideas.org

How can our medical and social systems support or hinder dying? Do we have the right to bend the arc of our own death, or that of a loved one? How can we approach the final passage with grace? Dan Diaz (the husband of Brittany Maynard, who died in November 2014 from a brain tumor) discusses the matter with BJ Miller (executive director of Zen Hospice Project and an assistant clinical professor of medicine at UC San Francisco), Samuel Kargbo (director of policy and planning at the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone) and journalist and author Courtney E. Martin. aspenideas.org