For the first time in three years, the Aspen Ideas Festival returned to its home in Aspen, Colorado. The festival epitomises the essence of Institute, relentless curiosity, unearthing facts, respecting different points of view, non-partisan collaboration, and leading with solutions.

Two back to back festivals over 6 days

Held in two parts over 6 days, 300 plus speakers and 2500 attendees were treated to an invigorating celebration of some of the liveliest minds addressing issues in a world that is irreversibly changed by the pandemic, divided by sharpening political polarisation, reckoning with race, and craving connection after several isolating years. They looked to the past, present, and future to grapple with many of the most pressing - and simply fascinating - questions of our time.

Uplifting and memorable experience

After 20 years, the festival’s reputation is such that that tickets sell out within days of being released. From a newcomer’s perspective, it is a combination of factors that make for a uniquely uplifting and memorable experience, such as:

Broad range of themes, with a few surprises. (2022: Trust, Heat, Money, Beauty, Connection and Power)
Speakers from students, to business leaders, to heads of state.
Expert moderators and interviewers from the Institute, CNBC, universities, media and more.
Packed schedule from early to late, with too many choices at once!
Lightening quick additions to the schedule to reflect the latest news, like the Roe Vs. Wade critique.
Traversing the meadows at a pace so as not to be late.
Sitting in the cool, breezy tent, discovering something out of the ordinary.
Mingling with speakers and attendees over lunch or sitting next to new found friends.
Aha moment, how something previously thought complex can be so simple (Clean Energy talk).
Fun and laughter at the Salsa evening.
100s of volunteers and staff committed to making your day a good one.

Standout conversations

Here are a few of the standout conversations including a live interview with President Zelinsky, a conversation with Bill Browder, and a tribute to Secretary Albright by her daughter Katie, with Secretary Clinton.

Ukrainian Pres. Zelenskyy Interviewed By NBC News’ Richard Engel
Bill Browder: Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath
- Bill Browder, Founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management and author of the bestseller Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice, will discuss his new book, Freezing Order (April 2022) with Ray Suarez, host of World Affairs on KQED 88.5 FM. Browder’s new book chronicles his work exposing the vast Russian money laundering scheme that made him Putin’s number one enemy and prompted Russia’s intervention in the 2016 US presidential election.
A tribute to Madeleine Korbel Albright
- Secretary Madeleine K. Albright served as a trustee of the Aspen Institute from 2002 until her passing in March of this year. In 1997, she was appointed by President Bill Clinton as the first female secretary of state and became, at that time, the highest-ranking woman in the history of the US government. Throughout her career, Albright set a high bar as a tough negotiator deeply committed to principles of democracy at home and abroad. She argued that American foreign policy must “be shaped not only by what we are against, but also by what we are for.” Fierce yet funny, Secretary Albright was a force of nature. Her daughter, Katie Albright, leads the with two of her mother’s favourite interlocutors and friends to discuss the challenges and promises of global diplomacy: Hillary Rodham Clinton, secretary of state in the Obama administration, and Stephen Hadley, national security advisor under President George W. Bush.

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