Aspen Ideas to Go

It’s tough to prepare for a future that’s impossible to see, but also critical. How are today’s younger generations balancing the need to save money while responding to current economic uncertainty? What does financial security and preparedness look like for older Americans approaching the end of their careers? Penny Pennington, the head of the financial services company Edward Jones joins Vivian Tu, the CEO of social media financial advice brand Your Rich BFF, for a conversation about finding your own definition of fulfillment while achieving financial goals. Kelly Corrigan, the host of the podcast “Kelly Corrigan Wonders,” moderates the discussion at the 2025 Aspen Ideas Festival. 

As humans, we have a deep desire to know we’re needed and that our community values who we are and our contributions. Jennifer Wallace is the author of the forthcoming book Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose. “Mattering is like gravity,” she says, “When we feel it, we feel anchored. We show up to the world in positive ways, we want to connect, we want to engage and contribute.” But, she says, mattering is eroding, leading to loneliness, anxiety, and burnout. She speaks with podcast host and author Kelly Corrigan and Northeastern University psychology professor David DeSteno about how we can build cultures of mattering in our homes, workplaces, and communities.

Gül Dölen is a pioneering neuroscientist in the emerging field of psychedelics. She’s studied how psychedelics may assist in treating trauma, addiction, depression, and even Parkinson’s. A key piece of her research has involved critical periods–when the brain is capable of rapid and deep learning. Psychedelics may be a master key for unlocking these critical periods and curing diseases of the brain. Dölen speaks with Krista Tippett, host of the “On Being” podcast, about what she’s learning about the brain and its capacity to heal. Dölen is a professor at UC Berkeley where she teaches both psychology and neuroscience.

The jobs artificial intelligence could replace and the blunders it makes tend to steal all the headlines. But are there also ways we could use AI to actually make us better people? And how would we even define or assess that? At the 2025 Aspen Ideas Festival, three experts on the human side of this technology discuss what AI is capable of, how it’s limited and how it could be harnessed for self-improvement. UCLA marketing and psychology professor Hal Hershfield joins MIT researcher Pat Pataranutaporn and co-host of the “Hard Fork” podcast, Kevin Roose, for a lively exploration of AI-assisted human potential. Journalist and host of “Radio Atlantic,” Hanna Rosin, moderates the conversation.

Theoretical physicist Brian Greene says science gives him a sense of meaning and purpose because it uncovers how reality is shaped. “When you use physics to understand reality’s deepest workings,” he says, “you feel a kind of cosmic communion by virtue of seeing beneath the surface.” As co-founder of the World Science Festival and a prolific author, Greene has made a career of bringing accessible stories of science to the masses. People will engage with science when it’s visceral and relevant, he says. He visits with Kelly Corrigan, NPR podcast host and New York Times best-selling author, about how we fit into a larger cosmological story.Icarus at the Edge of Time, World Science FestivalIcarus at the Edge of Time, Brian GreeneThe Denial of Death, Ernest BeckerWorld Science Festival

Investing in women’s sports is an increasingly appealing and sound business decision, but the sector still has a lot of room for growth. When someone like WNBA star Caitlin Clark comes along, audiences boom and the league benefits. But what happens when she leaves? What will help solidify the business of women’s sports in the long term? In this panel discussion, industry insiders talk about what works and what’s still needed. Carol Stiff, the president of the Women’s Sports Network, joins sports investor and Gotham women’s soccer team governor Carolyn Tisch Blodgett and sports journalist Christine Brennan for a frank discussion about the ongoing cultural and business transformations spurred by female athletes and leagues. Tom Farrey, the executive director of the Sports and Society Program at the Aspen Institute, moderates the conversation. 

Conversations about wellness and our bodies usually don’t focus on what makes all movement possible – our muscles. But these parts of us are more complex than we give them credit for and tied to our overall health in nuanced ways. How we think about strength and muscle also differs based on our gender, upbringing and experience of society. In her latest book, “On Muscle: The Stuff That Moves Us and Why It Matters,” journalist Bonnie Tsui explores how muscles really work, and what doctors and scientists are learning about the importance of strength training and muscle health. In this program from Aspen Ideas Health, Tsui explains to CNN medical journalist Elizabeth Cohen how her curiosity about muscles led her into deep research, anatomy lab visits and reflection on culture, herself and her family. 

Writer Pico Iyer stumbled into a lifelong practice of periodic retreat and reflection after he lost nearly everything in a 1990 wildfire that burned his family’s house down. A friend suggested that he recuperate at a Benedictine monastery near Big Sur, California, and the calm he found there was life-altering. He began returning to the oceanside hermitage regularly, and slowing down became a fundamental part of his life and productive career. In this talk from the 2025 Aspen Ideas Festival, Iyer shares what those times of silence have given him, and how he’s learned to navigate tumult while always coming back to peace. Iyer’s latest book is “Aflame: Learning from Silence,” and he’s also the author of “The Half Known Life” and “The Art of Stillness,” among several other books and many essays.

Aspen Ideas to Go teamed up with our friends at the podcast “Life in Seven Songs” for this special episode recorded live at the Aspen Ideas Festival. Host Sophie Bearman interviews NPR host and reporter Mary Louise Kelly about seven songs that tell a story of her life spanning war zones, motherhood, hearing loss, and late-in-life love.

Hope seems like a simple concept, but the feeling can be difficult to hold onto. And when times are difficult and chaos swirls around us, it’s more important than ever. How do we find and practice hope when it’s elusive? Spiritual and religious leaders rely on centuries of experience and wisdom to continually guide people back to hope, and this episode’s discussion from the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival draws from these experts. Lutheran pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber founded the House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, and doesn’t shy away from unorthodox methods of ministry. Rabbi Sharon Brous is the founder and leader of IKAR, a nondenominational Jewish congregation in Los Angeles. Humanist chaplain Greg Epstein works with the populations at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Union Theological Seminary professor and the former director of the Religion and Society Program at the Aspen Institute, Simran Jeet Singh, introduces and moderates the conversation.

Weight loss and diabetes drugs in the class called GLP-1s have exploded onto the market, starting to put a real dent in the obesity epidemic. And as doctors are gathering more data, it looks like the medications may also provide real benefits for cardiac health, liver disease, kidney function and possibly even addiction and sleep disorders. In this episode, a panel of experts explains how the drugs work, why they’ve been so effective, and how hopeful we might be about other uses. Cedars Sinai cardiologist Martha Gulati joins Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and Diana Thiara, an obesity expert at UCSF, for a forward-looking conversation about this potentially game-changing medical advancement. Time Magazine health reporter Alice Park moderates the conversation.

Aspen Ideas to Go teamed up with our friends at the podcast “Life in Seven Songs” for this special episode recorded live at the Aspen Ideas Festival. Host Sophie Bearman interviews biographer and historian Walter Isaacson about seven songs that tell a story of his life and upbringing in New Orleans. Isaacson was the president and CEO of the Aspen Institute from 2003 to 2018, and is the author of “Leonardo da Vinci,” “Einstein: His Life and Universe,” and “Elon Musk,” among others. His latest book, “The Greatest Sentence Ever Written,” is out on November 17. “Life in Seven Songs” is a production of The San Francisco Standard.

What does it look like to hope in the face of tough times and undeniable challenges? The speakers in today’s talk might describe true hope as more than a passive platitude, but something closer to a muscle that needs exercise. Krista Tippett, the creator and host of the public radio show “On Being,” reunites with young adult author and MacArthur grantee Jason Reynolds to continue their multi-year conversation about how to find resilience in a world full of obstacles. They explore the relationship between fear and hope, and share experiences of finding light and connection in unexpected places.

Arts institutions carry a responsibility for responding to and driving culture. What does it take to lead these organizations and support diverse groups of artists, audiences, and benefactors? Actress, playwright and professor Anna Deavere Smith leads a frank and deep discussion about the role of museums, foundations, and cultural centers in today’s creative environment. Lonnie G. Bunch III, the head of the Smithsonian Institution, joins Mariko Silver, the CEO of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, and Yana Peel, the president of Arts, Culture and Heritage at Chanel.

Leaders who truly inspire and get the best out of people are few and far between. How do they learn to gain trust and rally a group to action? Steve Kerr has been coaching the Golden State Warriors NBA team for 11 years, four of which have been champion seasons. He joins Maryland Governor Wes Moore, who became the first Black person to hold that office after combat in the Army and a career fighting poverty, for a discussion about leading with respect and purpose. CBS co-anchor John Dickerson moderates the conversation.

Following economic news too closely can give you feelings of whiplash and confusion, and may not speak to your personal experience. What economic information should you actually pay attention to, and how should you interpret what you hear? Former economics professor and head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Austan Goolsbee, and the CEO of polling and analytics company Gallup, Jon Clifton, break down the economic indicators we come across all the time. They tease apart what’s based on data and reality, what’s missing, and what’s hype and fluff. And how consumers react to economic news, they explain, adds yet another layer of feedback to the equation. Social media influencer and financial advisor Vivian Tu, the founder of advice brand Your Rich BFF, moderates the conversation.

Who would have thought play would be a transformative tool to de-stress and build resilience? Turns out the act, which is different for everyone, is biologically hardwired in our brains. “Everyone has a sense of joyfulness,” says Dr. Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play. He began studying play science after discovering the perpetrator of a 1960s mass shooting lacked play from the time he was born. Play deprivation can have grave consequences, he found, but joyful engagement fuels happiness and intelligence. He joins a panel of play experts including Cj Hendry, an artist whose large-scale installations often lead people to play, and Heidi Erwin, senior game designer at the New York Times. Sam Sanders, former NPR reporter and producer and host of the podcast, “The Sam Sanders Show,” moderates the conversation.

As artificial intelligence becomes more powerful and pervasive, how will it affect our work, our lives, and our ability to connect? Brené Brown, research professor and best-selling author says she hears a lot of experts trying to soothe people’s anxiety about the pace of technological change by offering platitudes like, What makes us human will ensure our relevance. This is dangerous because, as she explains, we’re not especially good at what makes us human. We’re not hardwired for the current level of uncertainty, and many of us feel as if the constant need to self-protect is driving the humanity right out of us.Brown joins Kate Crawford, AI scholar and University of Southern California professor, who points out that so much of what’s driving our feelings of emptiness and disconnection around AI is rooted in the fact that artificial intelligence is fundamentally a technology of extraction – it depends on the intensive exploitation of raw materials, human labor, and personal data. Together, Drs. Brown and Crawford encourage us to advocate for authentic connection over algorithmic convenience.

Many technology companies infamously measure their success based on how long someone spends in their app. That amount of screen time may or may not be good for a person’s wellbeing, but executives don’t see that as their problem. Not all CEOs have fallen into that trap, though. Bill Ready, the head of Pinterest, and Justin McLeod, who runs the dating app Hinge, have different priorities. When the writing on the wall was becoming more apparent and more disturbing, they led resets at their companies and looked for ways to put their users’ health first. Success for them means getting people out into the real world for healthy activities and in-person social engagement. And it turns out, that’s actually good for business, too. The editor-in-chief of Allure and Self magazines, Jessica Cruel, interviews the two CEOs about how they pulled off these positive pivots.

Colossal Biosciences has grand ambitions to bring back extinct species like the woolly mammoth and the dodo. But while it’s still working on those, Colossal surprised the world by announcing in April that it had created three white animals it says are dire wolves — a canine that lived in the Americas and is thought to have been slightly larger than a gray wolf. Colossal’s CEO Ben Lamm explains what it all means and how they brought the wolves into being. CNN journalist Fareed Zakaria interviews Lamm about the buzz Colossal created with its wolves and what’s coming next.