On Saturday, September 13, join an amazing collection of world-renowned speakers for Frontiers of Knowledge, a day-long symposium conceived by Candice Olson and co-produced by Aspen Public Radio, Center for MINDS, California Institute for Integral Studies and the Mays Family Foundation at the historic Wheeler Opera House in the heart of Aspen, Colorado.
Spend a day with the big questions and new answers that can shift the way we see our world —and our way forward.
For over three hundred years, our institutions, our businesses, our religions —our very motivations and psyches— have been built around an understanding of the world that has brought us material progress at the cost of a growing sense of spiritual isolation in a vast universe.
Over the last century a new universe story has emerged, of the origin of life, of how our minds relate to the world around us and within us, indeed a new story of the very nature of reality —all restoring our sense of wonder and wholeness.
Symposium Passes are available now at aspenshowtix.com. Complimentary copies of Journey of the Universe by Brian Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker will be available for all ticket holders, while supplies last.
- Symposium: $100 per person for the full, day-long event; attendees under 40 years of age can use the code “UNDER40” to receive 25% off.
- Symposium + Patron’s Dinner: $350 per person for the full, day-long event, followed by a speaker’s dinner at Sant Ambroeus in Aspen, where patrons will dine with symposium speakers and enjoy intimate conversation over a multi-course meal; guests will be able to select which speaker to dine with based on date of purchase. Limited seats available; a full table can be purchased for $2,400 here.
Join us for a fast-moving, mind-blowing, and game-changing day, engaging with internationally-acclaimed scientists and scholars sharing and debating the implications of discoveries in cosmology, the origin of life, neuroscience, quantum physics, altered states of consciousness —and how these implications change everything.
Produced by Aspen’s Candice Olson, Emmy-winning executive producer, media and community entrepreneur and CEO; Olson is currently pursuing a doctorate in Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness, and has created an agenda which will include:
9:00am: Welcome and Introductory Remarks
9:15am: “The Journey of the Universe” with Brian Swimme, Mary Evelyn Tucker, and Jude Currivan
Description: As one reviewer of Journey of the Universe wrote, “the co-authors managed to fit 14 billion years of grandeur along with humanity’s most fundamental questions into small spaces…” Go on the ride of a lifetime, from the beginning of this universe to the present, with each chapter—atoms, stars, galaxies, plants, animals, and humans all making their dramatic appearance, each expressing the unfolding intelligence of the cosmic process. Learn how quantum physics unveils a more deeply interconnected universe in which mind and matter cannot be understood as separate, and in which humanity is called to step into a wider and deeper perspective and sense of care.
11:00am: “The Origin of Life” with Bruce Damer and Matthew David Segall
Description: Dr. Bruce Damer, an origin of life scientist, has helped develop a leading hypothesis on life's emergence—a model that moves beyond simplistic "lightning strikes primordial soup" scenarios toward processes involving community dynamics and emergent complexity. His collaborator, process philosopher Matt Segall, places this empirical research in a cosmological context that allows us to understand how consciousness and agency evolved. Together, they exemplify a paradigm shift across scientific disciplines that transcends traditional boundaries between physics, chemistry, and biology while addressing both the "how" and "why" of life's origins—a collaboration where empirical investigation and metaphysical inquiry integrate to form a more complete understanding of our cosmic story.
1:30pm: “Mind, Brain and the Unfinished Journey of the Western Mind” with Iain McGilchrist and Richard Tarnas
Description: Richard Tarnas, author of the acclaimed and highly entertaining work on Western intellectual and cultural history, reveals the profound richness of our heritage even as our civilization seems to be falling off-course. Tarnas draws from both traditional and contemporary sources that can help us rediscover a sense of wonder and belonging in a fragmented world. Psychiatrist and philosopher Iain McGilchrist extends Tarnas' narrative by exploring the hemispheres of our brain and how they evolved to afford us different ways of being in the world. McGilchrist demonstrates how these complementary ways of engaging with reality, when properly balanced, foster both our sense of wholeness and our remarkable problem-solving abilities.
3:15pm: “Consciousness and the New Worldview” with Jeff Kripal, Jake Sherman, and David Abram
Description: Pioneering scholars Jeff Kripal, Jake Sherman, and David Abram invite us into a profound exploration of consciousness that challenges brain-bound theories. As the field of consciousness studies experiences unprecedented expansion—with over 100 theories now in academic circulation—these visionaries examine how our conception of consciousness is undergoing radical transformation. More theorists are taking seriously the possibility that consciousness is a pervasive feature of existence—not confined to human minds, but extending throughout the non-human world. The speakers articulate how this emerging paradigm suggests consciousness is participatory in nature, weaving humans into an intimate relationship with our earthly companions and the broader cosmic community.
4:30pm: Closing Remarks
5:00pm: Patron’s Dinner at Sant Ambroeus
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2025 Speakers include:
Brian Swimme - co-author of Journey of the Universe, and host and co-creator of the Emmy-award winning documentary by the same name, his doctoral work was in gravitational dynamics, and Swimme's Cosmogenesis: An Unveiling of the Expanding Universe helped create the new genre combining contemporary science and cosmological phenomenology. His newest book/YouTube is The Journey of the Noosphere.
Mary Evelyn Tucker - co-director of the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, she ran a ten-part conference at Harvard on World Religions and Ecology with John Grim and worked with Thomas Berry for thirty years. Tucker co-authored the book and Emmy-award winning film, The Journey of the Universe.
Jude Currivan - renowned scholar in quantum physics and cosmology (Oxford) and ancient cosmologies, and author of The Cosmic Hologram, Currivan is an award-winning author, filmmaker, and life-long researcher into the nature of reality, integrating leading edge science, research into consciousness, and universal wisdom teachings.
Bruce Damer - leading scholar on origin of life, and President and Co-founder of MINDS, which advocates for research into psychedelics as creative catalysts for major scientific breakthroughs. Damer is Chief Scientist at the BIOTA Institute and Research Associate at UC Santa Cruz Department of Biomolecular Engineering.
Matthew David Segall - professor of Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness at the California Institute of Integral Studies, Segall works at the intersection of natural and social sciences, with a focus on human consciousness, and speaks at a wide array of conferences on human consciousness, approaches to science, and contemporary philosophy; he has a popular blog, footnotes2plato.com.
Iain McGilchrist - psychiatrist, neuroscience researcher, philosopher and literary scholar, author of best-selling The Matter with Things; The Master and His Emissary; and The Divided Brain in the Making of the Western World. McGilchrist is an Oxford Fellow, Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and former Clinical Director at the Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospital, London.
Richard Tarnas - leading scholar in the history of ideas and the evolution of consciousness, and author of The Passion of the Western Mind, a narrative history of the Western worldview, widely used in universities. His second book, Cosmos and Psyche, received the Book of the Year Prize from The Scientific and Medical Network.
Jeff Kripal - J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, was Associate Dean of the School of Humanities (2019-2023) and author/co-author of thirteen books, including The Flip. Kripal co-directs The Center for Theory and Research at Esalen Institute.
Jake Sherman - Department Chair, Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness, California Institute for Integral Studies; editor, with Jorge Ferrer, of The Participatory Turn: Spirituality, Mysticism, Religious Studies. Sherman publishes and speaks on philosophy, contemplative traditions, poetics, and theology.
David Abram - award-winning author of The Spell of the Sensuous, and Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology, described as “daring” and “truly original” by the journal Science, Abram explores the encounter between the human animal and the animate earth.
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About Aspen Public Radio: Aspen Public Radio is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that is overseen by Roaring Fork Public Radio, Inc. with the mission to support, nourish, and enrich our community by providing informative, entertaining, and educational radio and digital programming in a reliable and professional manner. You can listen to Aspen Public Radio at 91.5FM and 88.9FM, along with other repeater signals depending on location throughout the Roaring Fork Valley, or by streaming the station at aspenpublicradio.org from anywhere in the world.
About the Wheeler Opera House: Since 1889, the Wheeler Opera House has been Aspen’s favorite year-round performance venue and has become the Roaring Fork Valley’s premiere site for concerts, films, festivals, lectures, community events, and more. The Wheeler takes great pride in being a part of Aspen's history as a gathering place and space for artistic expression in our community.
About the California Institute for Integral Studies, Department of Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness: California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) is a private, non-profit university in San Francisco that offers a unique approach to higher education. Founded in 1968, throughout its history, the Institute has fostered cutting-edge thought. The institute offers over 30 graduate and undergraduate programs spanning psychology, philosophy, spirituality, and social sciences while transcending traditional disciplinary boundaries. CIIS is committed to integrating all aspects of the person, cognitive, emotional, somatic, social, cultural, and spiritual, in its educational approach. The university combines Eastern and Western spiritual and intellectual traditions, fostering a holistic view of human potential in service of individuals, communities, and Earth. Learn more at: ciis.edu
About Center for MINDS: Advancing the science of breakthrough insights & innovation for humanity’s greatest challenges, MINDS envisions a future where humanity unlocks its full creative potential to drive breakthroughs across science, technology, design, and leadership, fostering not just technological progress but the wisdom and insight needed for transformative solutions. MINDS explores how psychedelics can enhance creativity, problem-solving, and innovation, drawing on historical and modern evidence. Learn more at: centerforminds.org
We would like to thank the Mays Family Foundation for their very generous support.