Scenes from Aspen Ideas: Climate in Chicago, where local policy makers, government officials, scientists, business and NGO leaders, energy experts, artists, young leaders, members of the public, and others met for dialogues aimed at educating, inspiring, and provoking action to combat climate change and adapt to a changing planet.
Reflecting on Aspen Ideas: Climate 2025 in Chicago
Last month, the Aspen Institute hosted a dynamic gathering of global and local leaders at Aspen Ideas: Climate in Chicago. Over three engaging days, policymakers, scientists, business innovators, artists, young leaders, and community members came together to address the most pressing climate challenges and explore transformative solutions.
Set against Chicago’s historic landmarks, Aspen Ideas: Climate featured main-stage presentations, interactive outdoor sessions, and intimate breakout discussions.. From fashion and food to art and music, the event, hosted in partnership with the Chicago Climate Corps (C3), brought together thought leaders from various industries to discuss climate resilience, environmental justice, the role of business in driving progress, and more.
📺 Watch key highlights including:
Breakthroughs in geothermal energy, energy storage, next-gen nuclear reactors, and innovations on the horizon.
At Aspen Institute, we elevate energy and climate solutions through practical, collective action that protects our planet and our future. By bringing together scientists, policymakers, businesses, and communities, we accelerate bold ideas, drive impactful collaborations, and create pathways for real-world implementation. From resilient cities to clean energy transitions, we focus on action that delivers lasting change for people and the planet. Read more about our energy and climate work on our new website.
In Focus: Igniting Leadership
The ingredients of successful leadership? Who better to ask than Corby Kummer, Executive Director of Food and Society at Aspen Institute and renowned author on food and food policy?
From fighting for sustainable practices to not giving up and staying committed to building trust through dialogue, in the latest In Session episode, Corby shares three powerful lessons from leading the Food Leaders Fellowship that apply to leaders across industries and disciplines.
Upcoming Events
Societal Trust Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America August 12, 2025
Aspen, CO & Virtual
In Attack from Within, Barbara McQuade professor of practice at the University of Michigan Law School and former U.S. Attorney, explores how we can identify the ways that disinformation is seeping into all areas of society and how we can defend against it. McQuade will discuss her book and its main themes as part of the McCloskey Speaker series.
Health Psychedelics and the Brain: Unlocking New Possibilities for Healing August 19, 2025
Aspen, CO & Virtual
Join Aspen Community Programs and Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, Ralph Metzner Distinguished Professor of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, as he sits down with Jon Hamilton, correspondent for NPR’s Science Desk, for a conversation about the mechanisms behind psychedelics. The conversation will explore how psychedelics alter brain function, promote neural plasticity, and may be helpful in treating conditions like depression, PTSD, and addiction.
Leadership Flash Seminar: Rooting Our Leadership in Humanity – August 2025 August 27, 2025
Aspen, CO
How do we embed our core values in our leadership vision and actions? How do our perspectives on human nature play a role in our professional decisions? Join the Aspen Leadership Seminars Department to explore these questions. Rooting Leadership in Humanity, a free flash seminar, provides participants with the opportunity to experience the Aspen method of text-based dialogue in a virtual setting.
Leadership Game Changers in Sports and Business October 13, 2025
Los Angeles, CA
As Los Angeles prepares for the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics, we're asking: how can sports unlock economic opportunity? On October 13, Aspen Institute Latinos and Society will convene 150 leaders in LA for a Sports and Business Summit focused on innovation, jobs, and growth. Knowledge Partner McKinsey & Company will debut new data on Latino participation in the sports economy.
The day will conclude with a 10th Anniversary Gala, in partnership withVariety, celebrating Latino culture and achievement.
Rising Generations How a Great Community College Builds Up Students and a Regional Economy
How can work-based learning and a commitment to soliciting feedback from regional employers drastically change job prospects for new college grads? The College Excellence Program recently sat down with Holly Clendenen,
Chief Student Services Officer at Southwestern Wisconsin Technical College and Aspen Rising Presidents Fellow, to find out.
Energy & Climate The Escalation of Extreme Weather
As part of the Hurst Lecture Series, Porter Fox, climate journalist and Columbia University teacher, Jeff Goodell, award-winning environmental writer,and Carolyne Heldman, producer and host of Behind the Lens, a weekly podcast for the non-profit news organization The Lens in New Orleans met to explore what escalating climate events mean for our planet, our communities, and the urgent need for action.
Tech What We Learned About AI, Power, and Possibility
AI isn’t shaping the future. We are. That was one major takeaway from Shared Futures: The AI Forum, co-hosted by Aspen Digital the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, where leaders from across sectors pushed past hype and fear to ask harder, more human questions like who is this technology for? What values are we coding into it? And how do we stay in charge of systems powerful enough to reshape our world?
Read more.
