Ideas 2018
Dispatches from the Aspen Ideas Festival/Spotlight Health
How ‘LOL’ Changed the Way We Talk
The acronym has ushered in a new era of informal communication.
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Why Social Media Shouldn’t Censor Hate Speech
The former president of the ACLU believes censorship—including on Facebook and other platforms—is ineffective.
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‘I’m an Undocumented Citizen of This Country’
Jose Antonio Vargas explains why his lack of papers shouldn’t disqualify him from being regarded as an American.
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‘It’s Not About Sex; It’s About Power’
Oregon State Senator Sara Gelser reflects on the cost of workplace harassment.
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How Video Can Create a Just Society
Filming bystander footage can help protect human rights.
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Comey Is ‘Really Concerned’ About Trump’s Attacks on the FBI
James Comey reveals why the president’s criticism of the country’s legal institutions is corrosive.
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Brendan McDermid / Reuters Is #MeToo Too Big?
Tarana Burke, the movement’s founder, wants it to return to its original—and specific—purpose: to serve as a counter to sexual violence.
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Lucas Jackson What Classical Music Can Learn From Kanye West
Whether or not Ye was forward-thinking, the musicians behind the Yeethoven project want to bring two very different genres together.
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Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Coachella The Grandeur of Great Protest Music
Political art that outlasts its times needs more than just a powerful message.
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Denis Balibouse / Reuters Is Empathy the Essence of Soul Music?
The genre’s sound, sentiments, and politics all aim for the same connection.
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Clodagh Kilcoyne / Reuters James Comey Continues to Argue With Himself
In an interview with Katie Couric, the ousted FBI director excoriated Trump for undoing America’s norms—but let himself off the hook for slipping out of the FBI’s.
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Yusuf Ahmad / Reuters Could Quantum Computing Be the End of Free Will?
On the fear that too much processing power will make us cease to be human
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Francois Lenoir / Reuters Can Sacrificing Privacy Stomp Out Disinformation Online?
One way to ward off bad actors could be more information sharing between social-media platforms, researchers, and governments.
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Courtesy of Robhat Labs A Web Tool That Lets People Choose Their Own ‘Sources of Truth’
Two 21-year-olds believe they have a way to bring consumers of unreliable news closer to objectivity.
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Reuters The Self-Defeating Ways Americans Talk About Feminism
#MeToo is much more than women fighting among themselves.
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Horacio Villalobos / Corbis / Getty Reddit's Case for Anonymity on the Internet
The site’s head claims that the policy of not collecting personal information allows people to be “more true to themselves.”
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Disney Making Innovative Art Is a Form of Generosity
An experimental composer proposes a new way to think about tradition versus progress.
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Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP Should America’s Universities Stop Taking So Many International Students?
Critics say the country’s higher-education institutions should focus on ensuring more Americans get four-year degrees, but college presidents highlight the benefits of global diversity on campus.
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Sol de Zuasnabar Brebbia / Getty Why Women’s Friendships Are So Complicated
Women place a premium on knowing the details of their loved ones’ lives, which can make their relationships as fraught as they are gratifying.
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John Kerry’s Advice to Democrats
The former secretary of state wants less attention paid to President Trump and more focus on the 2018 midterms. How to win them? He was less specific about that.
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Denis Balibouse / Reuters Against Big Philanthropy
Philanthropy sounds nice, but it’s still a tax-sheltered way that plutocrats exercise power, says Stanford's Rob Reich.
