Best Aspen Institute Podcasts (2025)

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Privacy and Governmental Surveillance (at the Technology Policy Institute’s Aspen Forum 2025) 50:25

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23d ago50:25

50:25

As governments around the world expand their surveillance capabilities, strong encryption remains a cornerstone for protecting personal privacy, securing business data, and preserving digital rights. For consumers, it guards against identity theft and intrusive monitoring; for businesses, it protects intellectual property and builds trust across gl…

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Jason Lippert, President & CEO of Lippert Components 36:30

12h ago36:30

36:30

This week, we are celebrating the release of the new revised and expanded edition of Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family, Barry-Wehmiller Chairman Bob Chapman and Raj Sisodia’s book on Bob and Barry-Wehmiller’s journey to Truly Human Leadership. On today’s podcast, we want to share a story of Bob and the…

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Leadership that Lifts Us 41:14

20h ago41:14

41:14

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 of…

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The Front Door to Your Digital Ecosystem: The Email Inbox (with Cy Khormaee and Ryan Luo) 32:42

7d ago32:42

32:42

Email was created over 50 years ago—so why isn’t it secure? Sixty-eight percent of IT teams report a data breach in their organization caused by phishing in the last year. Even experts trained to spot the telltale signs can be fooled: Nearly 66 percent of IT leaders admit to clicking malicious links, and more than half of employees have done the sa…

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Troy LeMaile-Stovall, CEO of TEDCO, Maryland’s Technology Development Corporation 41:06

7d ago41:06

41:06

Host Anne Khademian is joined by Troy A. LeMaile-Stovall, CEO of TEDCO—Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies—LeMaile-Stovall leads the organization’s mission to support economic empowerment through the cultivation of a diverse and inclusive entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem.

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Cutting Through the Noise to Find Today’s Economic Signals 54:25

8d ago54:25

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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 po…

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BIOFAIR to Solve Key Challenges 41:20

8d ago41:20

41:20

For this episode, we were joined by members of the Biodiversity Collections Network, who discussed the NSF-funded BIOFAIR project, the subject of a recent Special Report in BioScience entitled, "Integrating biological and environmental data to solve key scientific and societal challenges." Learn more.…

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The Transformative Power of Play 46:16

15d ago46:16

46:16

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 perpe…

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Bob Chapman and Kyle Chapman, a Legacy of Leadership 46:53

15d ago46:53

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This past week signaled a major milestone in the history of our company. We announced that Kyle Chapman is now CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, in addition to his existing role as President. His father, Bob Chapman, who has served as CEO since 1975, will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board. Barry-Wehmiller has been led by a Chapman since 1957, when W…

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Brené Brown and Kate Crawford on Artificial Intelligence and the Human Spirit 52:17

23d ago52:17

52:17

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 ens…

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Love as a Business and Change Strategy with Mohammad Anwar of Softway 49:00

28d ago49:00

49:00

We told you in the last episode about the new revised and expanded edition of our CEO, Bob Chapman’s book, Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family, which will be out Oct 21. Learn more about it at everybodymattersbook.com. If you read the original version, you know it’s a story of transformation. It’s about …

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From Scroll to Soul: Building Tech That Matters IRL 56:01

30d ago56:01

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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 dati…

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The Digital Markets Act Is Undermining the App Economy by Weakening Security and Opening Data Doors (with Graham Dufault) 35:37

1M ago35:37

35:37

The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) is changing the app economy—and not for the better. This law aims to promote competition for European companies by restricting large online platforms’ dominance, which are mostly American. But how is this working in practice? What are the main DMA-related challenges app developers should be aware of? A…

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The Dire Wolf and the Science of Reversing Extinction 24:33

1M ago24:33

24:33

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…

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Bob Chapman & Raj Sisodia Discuss the 10th Anniversary Revised and Expanded Edition of Everybody Matters 46:08

1M ago46:08

46:08

If you’re a regular listener of this podcast, you’ve probably heard of Bob Chapman and Raj Sisodia’s book, Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Treating Your People Like Family. Well, I’m pleased to be able to finally tell this audience that a revised and expanded version of this seminal book will be released Oct. 21. It has 75 extra pages…

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The Great Rewiring of Childhood — And How We Reverse It 56:35

1M ago56:35

56:35

Raising our kids with access to touchscreens and technology at almost all hours of the day is an untested experiment with unknown results. But by many measures, it isn’t going well. For several years, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has been collecting and analyzing the data on young people, social media and smartphones. He’s found some deeply t…

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On Location at the Aspen Institute Part 2: Redesigning Leadership 41:49

2M ago41:49

41:49

We’re back with part 2 of our peek behind the curtain of the 2025 Aspen Business & Society Summit. And this time we are asking the big question. In a period of global turmoil, does leadership need a redesign? It’s clear that today’s leaders- whether of a business, a government or a family- require an unprecedented level of courage, vision and integ…

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Dr. Thomas W. Taylor - Superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland 34:45

2M ago34:45

34:45

Dr. Thomas W. Taylor is superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools, where he oversees 211 schools with more than 160,000 students and 25,000 staff, in the 15th largest school system in the nation. He began his tenure on July 1, 2024. Dr. Taylor has more than 25 years of experience as an educator, with more than 12 years in district level le…

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Socioeconomics, Biodiversity, and Birdsong Beats, with Diego Ellis Soto 42:23

2M ago42:23

42:23

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Diego Ellis Soto, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, and a research scientist at the California Academy of Science. He's an ecologist working at the intersection of technology, conservation, policy, and environmental justice. And there's even some music in the m…

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Unleash Your Team w/ Chapman & Co. Leadership Institute 29:51

2M ago29:51

29:51

BW CEO Bob Chapman often tells a story about meeting Steve Jones, who was formerly a high school football coach at Kimberly High School in Kimberly, WI. Steve led his teams to five consecutive state titles from 2013-2017 with an incredible run of 70 consecutive victories, a Wisconsin state record. With those impressive credentials, Bob asked Steve …

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How Could School Choice Change Education? 1:01:13

2M ago1:01:13

1:01:13

A push to expand publicly-funded school choice programs across the country is gaining steam. In only three decades, the practice has grown dramatically and President Trump is supportive of the idea. But what effect do school choice policies have on the K-12 education system as a whole? And where do charter schools fit in this debate? In this discus…

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DNS Abuse and the Economics of Cybercrime (with Karen Rose) 38:52

2M ago38:52

38:52

The Domain Name System (DNS)—the system that turns numerical IP addresses into easy-to-read website names—has become highly competitive at the registrar level, with potentially harmful consequences when it comes to leasing domain names for criminal activities. Today, the DNS infrastructure is increasingly exploited for cybercrimes, such as phishing…

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Signals, Shocks, Shifts and the State of the Economy 45:09

2M ago45:09

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Major forces shaping the U.S. economy are already causing ripple effects across the globe. To say it’s a time of economic uncertainty and transformation may be an understatement. America could see the biggest tariff shock in nearly a century and immigration policy is affecting the labor market. In addition, the Tax Act, or One Big Beautiful Bill, c…

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The Changing Landscape of Leadership w/ Jane Adshead-Grant 26:02

2M ago26:02

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Our friend Jane Adshead-Grant says this is key in furthering our hope to build a better world: "As we begin to share the message of what it means to be a Truly Human Leader, to take the responsibility of leadership and be this great steward of people who have been entrusted to us… What I see, time and time again is that there are few role models th…

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How America Recovers 52:43

2M ago52:43

52:43

Regardless of one’s politics, most would agree that America is going through a difficult time. Our rifts seem overwhelmingly deep, and it’s not clear how to repair them. New York Times columnist and writer David Brooks has had his idea of what America is supposed to be and stand for upended in recent years. But he also isn’t giving up. In his 20th …

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On Location at the Aspen Institute Part 1: Diving Into Disruption 35:40

2M ago35:40

35:40

Every summer, the Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Program’s annual summit gathers 200+ leaders from the worlds of business, science, government, design, and the arts at the Institute's Colorado campus. They convene for three days of panels, spontaneous conversations and knowledge sharing- all driven by a shared belief that business can shape…

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Interoperability, Data Access, and User Freedom (with Matt Boulos) 45:19

2M ago45:19

45:19

As AI systems become central to our digital lives, questions about openness, competition, and user agency are moving to the forefront, and discussions surrounding AI agents have placed system interoperability in the spotlight. Ensuring AI system interoperability isn’t simply a technical challenge; it will determine how innovation unfolds in the AI …

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Assessing the New World Order 56:45

2M ago56:45

56:45

The United States is in a pivotal foreign policy moment. What can a zoomed-out view of the current world order tell us about where things are going? Several foreign policy experts come together on stage at the Aspen Ideas Festival for a discussion on the state of the world order. David Petraeus is a former CIA director and Army general, Susan Rice …

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Looking at the Future Leader w/ Jacob Morgan 44:36

3M ago44:36

44:36

There is a hunger for a new kind of leadership. Throughout business and organizations, people continue to be taught to be managers, not leaders. They make sure everyone is in their seat on time, they take headcount for the day, they check off the boxes of daily tasks. But this is changing. As the evidence of the success of caring organizations beco…

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Justice Under Pressure 53:41

3M ago53:41

53:41

The mission of the U.S. Department of Justice has been tested over the past few months, as the Trump administration has thrust the agency into the center of several politicized debates. In the current atmosphere, can the DOJ fulfill its job of keeping our country safe and upholding civil rights? Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who served …

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iNaturalist and Biodiversity Research, with Brittany Mason and Corey Callaghan 21:46

3M ago21:46

21:46

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by two guests, Brittany Mason, a Data Management Analyst at the University of Florida, and Corey Callaghan, Assistant Professor at the University of Florida in the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. They were here to discuss their recent BioScience article, iNaturalist Accelerates Bio…

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Special Episode: Ellen McGirt Opens the Curiosity Playbook on Say More with Tulaine Montgomery 41:03

3M ago41:03

41:03

Instead of our usual episode, we're excited to share a podcast we think you'll love: Say More with Tulaine Montgomery. In her podcast, Tulaine speaks with people who are deeply committed to making the world a better place, while also taking care of themselves and supporting their communities. In this episode, she puts DB|BD host Ellen McGirt on the…

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Inside the World of Domains (with Ram Mohan) 41:41

3M ago41:41

41:41

As the domain name system expands, how can the industry ensure that this growth supports a multilingual and inclusive internet? What responsibilities come with managing such a critical layer of the internet’s infrastructure in an era of rapid digital transformation? Shane Tews is joined by Ram Mohan, Chief Strategy Officer of Identity Digital, on t…

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Possibility and Peril in the Middle East: A Prime Minister’s View 49:15

3M ago49:15

49:15

The Middle East is being remade at this very moment. With missiles flying between Iran and Israel with US engagement, and Gaza in rubbles, what will the future hold? Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says he hopes for peace. In a wide-ranging conversation with CBS Evening News Co-Anchor John Dickerson, Olmert speaks passionately about the s…

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Reclaiming the Airwaves (with Harold Furchtgott-Roth) 34:26

3M ago34:26

34:26

Spectrum is a vital asset to America’s digital infrastructure, but who decides how this resource is distributed? As wireless demand accelerates, what is causing the United States to lag in spectrum policy and oversight? With the recent change in the Big Beautiful Bill to renew auction authority, how can we ensure that spectrum doesn’t become a road…

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Your Leadership is Contagious w/ Anese Cavanaugh 40:01

3M ago40:01

40:01

One thing we have consistently believed at Barry-Wehmiller is that everyone can be a leader. Anese Cavanaugh‘s book, Contagious You advances the notion—for good or for bad—that leaders have tremendous power to influence those who follow their example. As Anese says, “The quality of our leadership is based upon our intentions, energy, and presence. …

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The Price of Discovery: Can U.S. Science Survive the Squeeze 49:32

3M ago49:32

49:32

U.S. Government funding for scientific research has led to innovations and breakthroughs for decades. But, with funding freezes, slashed budgets, and the cancellation of grants, the health of America’s scientific enterprise is in jeopardy. What’s at stake – for research, innovation, and the economy? How did we get here, and what will it take to cha…