Aspen Ideas to Go

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Battling the Increasing Threat of Ransomware Jun 16, 2021

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Ransomware attacks on Colonial Pipeline and top meat producer, JBS, have catapulted malware into the mainstream. Ransomware isn't a new threat but it's getting significantly worse, say cybersecurity experts. In recent years, thousands of schools, government agencies, healthcare providers, and small businesses have fallen prey to it. The malicious software that's designed to block access to computer systems represents a direct threat to national security, physical and digital infrastructure, and individual wellbeing. Chris Krebs, former director of the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Sean Joyce, former deputy director at the FBI, Kemba Walden, assistant general counsel in Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit, and Raj Samani, chief scientist at McAfee, speak with Nicole Perlroth, cybersecurity reporter at The New York Times about how to combat ransomware attacks.

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Building Brain Health at Any Age Jun 08, 2021

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People often talk about maintaining their physical health but brain health is an afterthought. It turns out brain fitness at any age heightens and protects brain function and can even prevent brain disease. Sanjay Gupta, author of Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age, Maria Shriver, founder of the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement, and Natalie Morales, West Coast anchor of NBC’s Today Show, all have personal stories about dementia. In this episode, they talk about why it's important to link lifestyle with brain health in order to live a longer, happier life.

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An Outsider's Search for Belonging in America Jun 02, 2021

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Award-winning author and playwright Ayad Akhtar grapples with identity and belonging just like the protagonist in his book Homeland Elegies. "In some ways being an outsider has given me a freedom to be able to withstand and bear some of the forced outsiderness. It gives me a perspective," he says. His fictional book, named one of the 10 Best Books of the Year by the New York Times, draws from Akhtar's personal experiences and the political climate in the United States. Through the story of an immigrant father and his son, the book responds to issues of our time like the rise of Donald Trump and the spread of Xenophobia. Akhtar talks with Washington Post book critic Ron Charles about the novel.

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Unequal from the Start: Racism’s Deep Roots in American Medicine May 25, 2021

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Throughout American history, racism has been embedded in health and health care. To justify slavery, scientists promulgated falsehoods about African Americans and health. More recently, social policies rooted in racism have led to less access to care, higher disease rates, and lower life expectancies for communities of color. Science writer Harriet Washington says structural racism is a well-oiled, perpetual motion machine. "Once the structure of racism has been installed — the mythologies, beliefs, and practices — then nothing else needs to be done to continue it's onslaught on people of color," she says. How can this system of inequality be dismantled? Harriet Washington speaks with Marcella Nunez-Smith, chair of the US Department of Health and Human Services’ COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, and David R. Williams, professor of public health at Harvard. Trymaine Lee, correspondent for MSNBC, moderates the discussion.

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Why Good People get Caught Up In High Conflict May 18, 2021

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The type of conflict that's permeating America today is the intractable kind where normal rules of engagement don't apply. High conflict is the opposite of useful friction or healthy conflict. It's when discord distills into a good-versus-evil kind of feud — an us and a them. Sound familiar? In this time when everything is political, including aspects of the pandemic, everyday Americans are at each other's throats. How can we break free? In her book, High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out, Amanda Ripley examines how cases of high conflict across the globe share similar characteristics. She tells Garrett Graff, director for cyber initiatives for the Aspen Digital program at the Aspen Institute, about a mind-opening new way to think about conflict.

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Christine Lagarde: The European Economy Is "on Crutches" May 11, 2021

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The world's largest economy is rebounding from the pandemic more slowly than other global powerhouses. The European Union's economy is "on crutches," and isn't yet ready to stand on its own, says Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, which serves the 19 EU countries that use the Euro. Now that Europeans are getting vaccinated and the pandemic's peak has likely passed, she predicts a robust economic rebound in the second half of 2021. She speaks with Carlyle Group co-founder and co-chair David Rubenstein about a range of issues including the pandemic, predictions for the eurozone, Brexit's impact on Europe, and sexism in the finance industry.

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Women Changing the Game in Pro Sports May 04, 2021

Show notes

The professional sports industry in the United States has historically been a man's game. Men have held leadership roles, designed competition formats, chosen which sports stories get elevated, and dictated how athletes are treated. What if pro sports were owned, designed, and run by women? It's already happening, in part, because fans are demanding it. But in the midst of this change, pro sports faces financial challenges from the pandemic and waning interest from younger generations. Angela Ruggiero, co-founder of the Sports Innovation Lab, Aleshia Ocasio, professional softball player, and Julie Foudy, co-owner of Angel City FC, talk with the Aspen Institute's Jon Solomon about how women are changing the game.

Future of Sports videos from the Aspen Institute: https://www.aspeninstitute.org/programs/sports-society/future-of-sports/
The Fan Project from the Sports Innovation Lab: https://thefanproject.co/

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Introducing: SOLVERS Apr 27, 2021

Show notes

Rodney Foxworth says the racial “wealth gap” is a misnomer because it implies something that’s achievable to close. “Wealth chasm” is more on the nose since we’re talking about disparities created by centuries of oppression. Growing up in Baltimore, Rodney witnessed firsthand what many Black and brown communities face in America—systemic racism, over policing, economic dislocation. Now, as CEO of Common Future, he draws on that lived experience to create a network of organizations across the country that builds relationships and economic power in historically exploited communities. Foxworth is featured in the first episode of Solvers, a new podcast from the Skoll Foundation in partnership with Aspen Ideas. Hosts Courtney E. Martin and Nguhi Mwaura introduce listeners to social entrepreneurs who are tackling some of the world's messiest problems. Look for Solvers on your favorite podcast player and enjoy the entirety of the first episode on Aspen Ideas to Go.

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Can We Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change by Putting a Price on Carbon? Apr 20, 2021

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There's no denying the world is already paying for climate change. The price is stronger hurricanes, bigger wildfires, and unpredictable heat waves. So, how can people living on a changing globe literally pay to mitigate the effects of climate change? One solution is to utilize the social cost of carbon, says economist Michael Greenstone. He co-led the development of the US government’s social cost of carbon as chief economist for President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers. President Biden has raised carbon's value back to Obama-era levels after the Trump Administration lowered it. Greenstone, who leads the Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, speaks with Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post journalist Juliet Eilperin about how we're just beginning to experience what the climate has in store.

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America's Unspoken Caste System Apr 13, 2021

Show notes

America has been shaped by a hidden phenomenon that touches all of our lives. A rigid hierarchy of human rankings, or caste system, influences our culture, politics, and even our health. Race is the metric by which one’s position in the caste system is determined. In her book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, Isabel Wilkerson describes how these inherited rankings have been passed down through generations from the country's very founding. She says this system is the underlying architecture of division in America. She speaks with Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

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