America: One Nation, Divisible

Is the spirit of citizenship still alive in America? Past generations had the draft and epic fights for civil rights. Before that, Tocqueville described how barn raisings and self-government were part of the same civic impulse. But what is citizenship in America today? What should it mean beyond a bundle of rights and benefits? What are the responsibilities, individual and collective, of a modern citizen? Whether we are newly naturalized or longstanding Americans, what do we owe our country? From electoral reform to national service, from local non governmental innovation to a program of Americanization and immigrant integration, it's time for a new citizenship agenda one that defies traditional left-right divides. In this session, Eric Liu leads a conversation with some of America's leading thinkers from the Right and the Left to explore how we can all renew and reinforce a culture of strong citizenship in our nation. Speakers: Eric Liu, Heather Smith, Cristina Jiménez, E. J. Dionne, Jr., Mark Meckler

The digital revolution and changing economic models have altered journalistic institutions to their core. What does the future hold for enterprise journalism and the way Americans get information necessary to function in their daily lives? Speakers: Kurt Andersen, Ezra Klein, Alexis Madrigal, Alexis Ohanian

The institution of family is changing dramatically across the United States regardless of race, religion, and origin. What new arrangements are replacing the traditional, nuclear family? What implications do these transformations in society’s behavior around family have on society in general? Can the decline in traditional families be reversed? Is it redefining our sense of the American dream? Speakers: Paul Tough, Hanna Rosin, Anand Giridharadas, Evan Wolfson

How do we engage America’s religious pluralism as a force for the common good? David Gergen will report the findings of a new report, “Principled Pluralism: Report of the Inclusive America Project,” prepared by a distinguished panel convened by the Institute’s Justice and Society Program. Gergen will describe how America’s religious diversity is a source of civic engagement and how we can bridge religious differences to build a stronger social fabric. The sad legacy of religious diversity around the globe has been conflict. Yet, in the United States, we have largely escaped this fate. After the Boston Marathon bombing, will our luck still hold? The report provides good news and a roadmap for the way forward. Speakers: David Gergen, Meryl Chertoff, E. J. Dionne, Jr.

Two and a half years ago, Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly had their lives changed forever by a madman with an arsenal of deadly weapons. Today, the former congresswoman and the former astronaut discuss what it’s like to take on one of the most complicated issues in America—and one of the most difficult political challenges of our time. Giffords and Kelly will discuss how the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School drove them to commit themselves, personally and professionally, to reducing gun violence in America—by working toward common sense solutions that respect our Second Amendment rights and traditions of gun ownership. They will share what the first few months of their new organization, Americans for Responsible Solutions, have yielded, what it feels like to be public figures again, and what the future holds, in terms of keeping our communities safer and building a political movement that reflects the diversity of our great country. Underwritten by PepsiCo. Gabrielle Giffords Mark Kelly Andrea Mitchell

Tony Fadell is perhaps best known for his work at Apple, where he created iPod and iPhone hardware. Today, he is building NEST, a remarkable thermostat. Controlled from anywhere (including an iPhone), it allows you to manage daily energy consumption, save real money, and importantly, diminish greenhouse gas emissions. Fadell discusses how a simple idea can change the world...again. Featuring Tony Fadell and Jerry Murdock Speakers: Tony Fadell, Jerry Murdock

Learn how current cultural messages about time—“30 is the new 20!” and “YOLO! You only live once!”—are interpreted by the twentysomething brain and how these messages trivialize what is actually the most transformative period of our adult lives. Find out how work, relationships, personality, identity, and the brain change more during this decade than at any other time in adulthood. Hear what 21st Century twentysomethings are doing to turn what is portrayed as a developmental downtime into a developmental sweet spot. Meg Jay Madeline Levine

Abraham Lincoln’s vision of an upwardly mobile society that rewards and supports individual striving was wondrously realized. Now, it is under threat. To meet these challenges, conservative columnist Rich Lowry draws us back to the lessons of Lincoln. It is imperative, he argues, to preserve a fluid economy that makes it possible for individuals to thrive and live the American dream. Speakers: Rich Lowry Ramesh Ponnuru

A discussion with David M. Rubenstein

In today's uncertain world, presidential decision making is more critical than ever. By examining foreign policy decisions of the presidents who presided over the most critical phases of America's rise to world primacy in the 20th century, author, academic, and intelligence expert Joseph Nye draws important lessons for today’s world. Speakers: Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

We all know the horrors. But what on earth do we do about it? Asa Hutchinson, director of the NRA-funded National School Shield Taskforce, and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten discuss. Underwritten by Booz Allen Hamilton Randi Weingarten Asa Hutchinson Jeffrey Goldberg

In the midst of contentious national debates on gun control, immigration, budget deficits, and more, this book moves the conversations beyond current media and political warfare to bring together a divided country. Author Jim Wallis, a public theologian and frequent commentator on the nexus between faith and public life, explores his views regarding how Christianity can serve the common good, what it takes to sustain a lifelong commitment to social justice, and how studying the Bible together with culture can shape our lives for genuine transformation. Jim Wallis

A discussion on how race and racism affect the posture and policies of America's first black president and how the president, in turn, affects those same forces. Ta-Nehisi Coates James Bennet

While our models of civic engagement may be thousands of years old, the tools available for citizen engagement and citizen action are new. Join for a conversation about the collaboration and connection of new models as we imagine the ways we could design the future of citizenship in the 21st century. Mitch Landrieu Heather Smith David Gergen Fred Dust Sandy Speicher

Delivered by Martin Luther King on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial 50 years ago this summer, his call for an end to racism in the United States marks a defining moment in the nation's move towards civil rights. The speech, offered to 250,000 people then, has reached countless millions since, and is hailed as a masterpiece of rhetoric. David Rubenstein illuminates the talk's historic significance. Speakers: David M. Rubenstein

Recent elections in the states of Washington and Colorado have legalized marijuana, catalyzing the national debate regarding drug policy and reform. Will other states follow? How will the federal government respond? And what are the risks and benefits of moving in this direction? Underwritten by Booz Allen Hamilton Speakers: Asa Hutchinson, James Bennet, Ethan Nadelmann

As co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs in Perry v. Brown, David Boies won judgments establishing the constitutional right to marry for gay and lesbian citizens in California in the federal district and appellate courts. Boies returns to Belly Up to discuss life after the SCOTUS ruling with NPR’s Steve Inskeep. Speakers: David Boies, Steve Inskeep

This panel will bring together politically diverse individuals with a unique and extensive understanding of national and political party politics. Through a bipartisan examination of the changing demographics of our nation and our voting populace, panelists will explore the impacts of the ongoing immigration reform debate on their own political parties and the future of national politics. Speakers: Jason Grumet, Al Cardenas, Henry Cisneros, Thad Allen

A discussion on privacy vs. safety. Speakers: Jeffrey Rosen, Tim Wu, Jim Halpert

What does it mean to be a journalist now that whistleblowers can post directly on the Web? Should journalists make an independent evaluation of national security threats? What are the ethical responsibilities for journalists, sources, and government? What should be published and withheld? Speakers: Howard Fineman, Noah Feldman, Gary Rosen, Jeffrey Rosen, Ruth Marcus, Heidi Moore

David Boies and Jeffrey Rosen discuss the Gay Marriage Supreme Court decision. Underwritten by Ernst & Young Speakers: David Boies, Jeffrey Rosen

This survey is designed to leverage and expand on the learning gathered in the American Values Survey released at last year's Aspen Ideas Festival. In addition to tracking some of the key outputs of the 2012 American Values Survey's questions, this year's survey will explore the question of whether Americans are so divided along issue and value lines that they have come to question whether the United States can or should continue as one country. In other words, we will discover if, in 2013, America has more pluribus than unum in our attitudes. Speakers: Mark Penn, Don Baer, Elliot Gerson, James Bennet

Two of the country's most agile prognosticators discuss the science behind their art, with insights to the changing nature of American society. Underwritten by Shell. Speakers: Nate Silver, Mark Penn, Ronald Brownstein

From Oscar- and Emmy-nominated director Kirby Dick and producer Amy Ziering, The Invisible War is a groundbreaking investigation into the cover-up of rape in the US military. Profoundly moving, the film follows the stories of several patriotic young servicewomen who were raped and then betrayed by their own officers when they courageously came forward to report. Both a rallying cry for the hundreds of thousands of men and women who've been assaulted and a hopeful road map for change, The Invisible War is one of those rare films so powerful it has already helped change military policy. Speakers: Katie Couric, Amy Ziering, Kirby Dick

A panel discussion about American security. Speakers: Jane Harman, Elliot Gerson, James Fallows, Mike McConnell

In this presentation, Harvard Business School historian Nancy Koehn explores two examples of effective leadership in moments of great turbulence: Abraham Lincoln's presidency during the Civil War and Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton's leadership when his ship, the Endurance, became stuck in the ice in 1915 to 1916. From these powerful stories, Koehn draws together several key lessons about individual leadership and its impact. She concludes by applying these insights to our own volatile, high-stakes moment today. Speakers: Nancy F. Koehn

How can Congress act against 90 percent of the American public and get away with it? Why does the gun lobby win? We’ll explore this uncomfortable divide in an interview with the president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Speakers: Dan Gross, Jeffrey Goldberg

Robert Barnett is a prominent Washington lawyer whose enviable client list includes politicians, business leaders, actors, and writers: Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Sarah Palin, David Patraeus, Tony Blair, Barbra Streisand, James Patterson. But how does he sum it up? We'll find out: his wife, CBS correspondent Rita Braver, is asking the questions. Speakers: Robert Barnett, Rita Braver

Where are the opportunities for bipartisan consensus and policy solutions? What's required to make that happen? Speakers: Melody Barnes, George J. Mitchell, Thomas J. Wilson, Tim Pawlenty, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Rita Braver

The president's ambitious agenda is laden with complexity, from stagnant job growth to challenges in the Middle East to energy, climate, and education. Top journalists in the know examine the possibilities. Underwritten by Southern Company. Speakers: Andrew Revkin, E. J. Dionne, Jr., Ronald Brownstein, Rita Braver, Chrystia Freeland

Who gets to claim the title "citizen"? In this acclaimed and affecting one-man performance, Eric Liu weaves storytelling, conversation, music, and theatricality into an imaginative exploration of the content and contradictions of American citizenship. This piece, a sensation in its Los Angeles and Phoenix premieres, leaves audiences seeing each other and their country with new eyes. Liu is founder of Citizen University and author of The Gardens of Democracy and The Accidental Asian.

America’s religious diversity: are we pulling together or pulling apart? Three distinguished authorities on American religion discuss how the country can move from diversity to pluralism, acknowledging our differences yet bridging them to build a more robust civic conversation. Will religious diversity inevitably pull us apart, as it has done from Belfast to Baghdad and the Balkans, or can it be harnessed to make us more inclusive and more resilient in the face of ongoing challenges and periodic crises? Speakers: David Gergen, Ingrid Mattson, Meryl Chertoff, Jim Wallis, Madeleine K. Albright

For decades, liberal democracy has been extolled as the best system of governance to have emerged out of the long experience of history. Today, such a confident assertion is far from self-evident. Democracy, in crisis across the West, must prove itself. Nicolas Berggruen, investor and leader of a non partisan think tank focused on good governance, shares his views regarding what we need to think about in the 21st century with The Atlantic’s national correspondent, James Fallows. Speakers: Nicolas Berggruen James Fallows

Is the spirit of citizenship still alive in America? Past generations had the draft and epic fights for civil rights. Before that, Tocqueville described how barn raisings and self-government were part of the same civic impulse. But what is citizenship in America today? What should it mean beyond a bundle of rights and benefits? What are the responsibilities, individual and collective, of a modern citizen? Whether we are newly naturalized or longstanding Americans, what do we owe our country? From electoral reform to national service, from local non governmental innovation to a program of Americanization and immigrant integration, it's time for a new citizenship agenda one that defies traditional left-right divides. In this session, Eric Liu leads a conversation with some of America's leading thinkers from the Right and the Left to explore how we can all renew and reinforce a culture of strong citizenship in our nation. Speakers: E. J. Dionne, Jr. Cristina Jiménez Heather Smith Mark Meckler Eric Liu

The Republican Party has seen its share of fractures, factions, and disruption of late: some in the party openly suggest that rifts within are caused by “right-wing religious nuts” and other extremists; others, especially the young in the party, complain that conservative platforms have become closed minded, racist, inflexible, and old-fashioned. How will the GOP build internal consensus on what it stands for? And who is poised to lead the charge? Speakers: Elaine L. Chao Karl Rove Vin Weber Michael Gerson

An insightful look at the dynamics of American politics with Atlantic editor James Bennet and political strategist and commentator Karl Rove. Karl Rove James Bennet

Two of the nation's most influential commentators discuss the state of American society and culture. Underwritten by Mount Sinai. Arianna Huffington and David Brooks

Columnist, statistician, and prognosticator Nate Silver, whose website FiveThirtyEight.com is the only one to have correctly predicted the outcomes of the 2012 and 2008 elections, shares his perspectives with award-winning journalist Katie Couric. (He also really knows baseball!) Underwritten by Thomson Reuters.

In this political climate, one might presume lack of consensus on an always “hot” political issue: defense spending. In fact, a striking bipartisan consensus exists today across the think-tank community on the need for Pentagon and congressional leaders to address the growing imbalances within the defense budget that threaten the health and long-term viability of America's volunteer military. Speakers: Michèle Fluornoy, Joan Dempsey

Plenary session featuring David Brooks.

At the 2012 Aspen Ideas Festival, General Stanley McChrystal spoke compellingly about how our notion of "service" had become dangerously narrow, with less than one percent of Americans serving in our military, and challenged us to explore new pathways and opportunities for service to country. Inspired by this call to action, the Aspen Institute launched the Franklin Project to envision and create a civic rite of passage for young Americans through a year or more of national service. This session will reflect on some of the big ideas and takeaways from the Franklin Project’s 21st Century National Service Summit.

North America's grasslands, once teeming with wildlife, awed and inspired Lewis and Clark, artists George Caitlin and Karl Bodmer, and other early American travelers. Today an extraordinary Montana-based project is described by National Geographic as “one of the most ambitious conservation efforts in American history.” With a goal of reestablishing a wildlife phenomenon of almost unimaginable size, American Prairie Reserve is assembling a wildlife complex the size of Connecticut that is open to the public and is a gift of immeasurable value for the global community and future generations. Speakers: Sean Gerrity