-
Bring Back Mammoths
Remember Dolly the sheep? How in 1996 she made international news as the first cloned mammal? Now, imagine using those techniques to bring back extinct animals, such as the mammoth or the passenger pigeon. While the concept may no longer be science fiction, the costs and consequences of this research are still unknown. MacArthur Award…
-
Providing Hope
“Gang violence is about a lethal absence of hope. Nobody has ever met a hopeful kid who joined a gang.” St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, exhorted Jesuits to strive to find God in all things while actively engaging the world, and to focus on cultivating the whole person. Put another…
-
Women Waging Peace are Stronger Together!
Do you think women might have something to say about peace? Watch this and you’ll see why the answer is most assuredly yes! Celebrate the launch of the Women Waging Peace Network at the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego. Emcee Swanee Hunt, the former US Ambassador to Austria,…
-
George Packer: Politics and American Identity
Two new programs with New Yorker staff writer George Packer explore the association between American politics and identity. “Americans, aided by cable news and social media, have sorted themselves geographically and mentally into mutually hostile and incomprehensible worlds,” says Packer. This tribalism makes it very difficult for people to communicate or to truly listen to…
-
Rising Inequality: Trends, Explanations and Solutions
Income inequality refers to the unequal distribution of income among a population. In the United States, income inequality, or the gap between the rich and everyone else, has been growing for the last several decades. Economist Valerie Ramey of UC San Diego gives an insightful talk charting the rise, fall and rise again of income…
-
What Working Class Voters are Thinking
This is one of those rare political discussions where two people with different points of view actually listen and learn from each other as each describes their interpretation of why the majority of working-class voters sided with Donald Trump in the last election. Sociologist Arlie Hochschild and political scientist Steven Hayward discuss the causes for…
-
NASA and International Cooperation
The 12th NASA Administrator, Charles F. Bolden Jr., shares how NASA’s programs and missions function as an instrument of international cooperation, demonstrating the steady guidance of the United States as the world’s leader. Watch NASA International Cooperation – An Instrument of US Soft Power with Charles Bolden – 2017 Nierenberg Prize Lecture
-
Innovation and Culture at the Border
Tijuana – San Diego, Ciudad Juarez – El Paso; these regions share economic and cultural linkages in dynamic cross-border regions. The Institute of the Americas and the Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program hosted a fascinating event that highlighted success stories and dynamism in the innovative and creative environment of border regions. Speakers include Regina…
-
Universities and Cities Working Together to Build Strong Communities
As the former president of the University of Pennsylvania, Judith Rodin understands first-hand the power of universities to impact surrounding neighborhoods and communities. In this Helen Edison presentation, Rodin explores their transformative potential. “Over the last few decades, a host of anchor institutions have breathed new life into communities and they have forged new pathways…