Cultural Events Calendar

Historian Sean Wilentz joins the Aspen Institute for a keynote lecture exploring the enduring debates that have shaped American democracy. A professor of history at Princeton University and one of the country’s leading scholars of American political history, Wilentz reflects on the political movements, constitutional traditions, and historical forces that continue to influence American public life today.

Presented in collaboration with the Aspen Economic Strategy Group as part of the McCloskey Speaker Series.

Aspen Economic Strategy Group Panel. This conversation explores the opportunities and challenges shaping the next chapter of the American economy. A bipartisan network of leading economists, policymakers, and business leaders, AESG works to advance evidence-based solutions to the nation’s most pressing economic issues. Join us for a timely discussion on the forces transforming economic growth, prosperity, and opportunity in the United States. Speakers to be announced.Paepcke Auditorium, doors at 1:00 pm

RegistrationThis event is free and open to the public, but registration is required, and capacity is established on a first-come, first-served basis. Once an event is at capacity, we will have an in-person waitlist at the door.

Public registration is now open for summer 2026. Please click here to register.

Book signing will immediately follow the event. To learn more about his book or to order a copy, please click here.

Presented in collaboration with the Aspen Economic Strategy GroupThe US economy is entering a new era. Rapid advances in artificial intelligence are expected to bring large-scale disruption to households, businesses, and public finances. Ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, Europe, and China have strained supply chains and driven inflation to its highest levels since the COVID-19 pandemic. Erik Brynjolfsson, professor at Stanford University, and Peter Orszag, CEO of Lazard, join the Aspen Institute for a conversation moderated by Melissa S. Kearney, director of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group and professor of economics at the University of Notre Dame. Together, they will explore how policymakers and business leaders can promote broad-based domestic growth and strengthen America’s global economic competitiveness in this new era.

In this talk, I will introduce you to the marvelous universe of quantum materials, where quantum physics plays an essential role. I will focus mostly on one phenomenon – superconductivity, a phase of matter where many electrons perform an intricate collective motion, conducting electricity without any energy loss. I will describe the history of this phenomenon, its mind-bending characteristics, and the ongoing hunt for superconductivity that operates at room temperature – a discovery that could transform our world, from lossless power grids to levitating trains, and one whose pursuit has produced both Nobel Prizes and spectacular scandals. Finally, I will try to give a sense of what the life of a researcher in the field is like – thinking and dreaming about quantum materials all day, every day.

Presented as part of the McCloskey Speaker Series.

Peter Hotez, M.D., Ph.D., professor and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, joins the Aspen Institute for a keynote lecture on the intersection of science, medicine, and public trust. A leading authority on vaccines and neglected tropical diseases, Hotez reflects on the challenges facing public health today, the growing politicization of science, and what it will take to rebuild trust in scientific institutions in the years ahead.Paepcke Auditorium, doors at 5:00 pm

RegistrationThis event is free and open to the public, but registration is required, and capacity is established on a first-come, first-served basis. Once an event is at capacity, we will have an in-person waitlist at the door.

Public registration is now open for summer 2026. Please click here to register.

ParkingParking is very limited. Please carpool, walk, bike, or ride RFTA.

Book signing will immediately follow the event. To learn more about his book or to order a copy, please click here.

Peter Hotez, M.D., Ph.D., professor and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, joins the Aspen Institute for a keynote lecture on the intersection of science, medicine, and public trust. A leading authority on vaccines and neglected tropical diseases, Hotez reflects on the challenges facing public health today, the growing politicization of science, and what it will take to rebuild trust in scientific institutions in the years ahead.

Presented as part of the Murdock Mind, Body, Spirit Series.

Linguist and best-selling author Deborah Tannen joins the Aspen Institute for a keynote about the power of language in shaping our relationships, workplaces, and public life. A distinguished university professor in the linguistics department at Georgetown University and author of You Just Don’t Understand, Tannen explores how subtle differences in conversational style can lead to misunderstanding or conflict—and how awareness of these differences can strengthen relationships and help us communicate more effectively across divides.Paepcke Auditorium, doors at 5:00 pm

RegistrationThis event is free and open to the public, but registration is required, and capacity is established on a first-come, first-served basis. Once an event is at capacity, we will have an in-person waitlist at the door.

Public registration is now open for summer 2026. Please click here to register.

Linguist and best-selling author Deborah Tannen joins the Aspen Institute for a keynote about the power of language in shaping our relationships, workplaces, and public life. A distinguished university professor in the linguistics department at Georgetown University and author of You Just Don’t Understand, Tannen explores how subtle differences in conversational style can lead to misunderstanding or conflict—and how awareness of these differences can strengthen relationships and help us communicate more effectively across divides.

Presented as part of the Murdock Mind, Body, Spirit Series.

Behavioral scientist Cassie Holmes joins Carolyne Heldman, host of the “Behind the Lens” podcast, to explore one of life’s most pressing questions: how can we spend our time to experience greater happiness and meaning in our days and to look back on our years without regret? A professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, Holmes draws on her academic research, as well as insights from her best-selling book Happier Hour, to examine the relationship between time, attention, and well-being, and to offer practical ideas for how we can reshape our daily lives to feel less rushed and more connected to what matters most.Paepcke Auditorium, doors at 5:00 pm

RegistrationThis event is free and open to the public, but registration is required, and capacity is established on a first-come, first-served basis. Once an event is at capacity, we will have an in-person waitlist at the door.

Public registration is now open for summer 2026. Please click here to register.

ParkingParking is very limited. Please carpool, walk, bike, or ride RFTA.

Book signing will immediately follow the event. To learn more about her book or to order a copy, please click here.

If you shrunk to the size of a single cell, the world would be unrecognizable. You might be in water, but swimming would get you nowhere. There might be food around, but reaching would push it further away. And you would not have a brain — after all, brains are billions of cells, but you would be just one cell. And yet, single cells have devised ingenious ways of discovering, interacting with, and thriving within their world. In this lecture, I will describe new ways of moving, eating, and thinking that are unfamiliar to us but work just fine at the scale of a cell. I will discuss how basic physics constrains these ways of living, and how cells can get around these constraints by joining together into multicellular groups. Cell-scale physics reveals the ingenuity of evolution and offers a new perspective on survival, disease, and the transition to multicellular life.