Episode Details

In 1949, Walter and Elizabeth Paepkes invited 2,000 artists, thinkers and business leaders to the abandoned mining town of Aspen, Colorado, for the first iteration of an Aspen Institute gathering. Eight decades later, artists, thinkers and business leaders still convene in Aspen every summer to discuss the challenges and advances shaping our world. 

And while their modes of transportation have changed (that first group mostly arrived via horseback), they share a key belief with their predecessors: that a deep investment in literature, philosophy and the arts is the key to nurturing our human spirits.

Today’s guest is a sort of guardian of that legacy. Todd Breyfogle is the Aspen Institute’s Senior Advisor for Humanistic Studies and Practices.  He chronicles the story of Aspen’s dedication to the humanities. And keeps it alive. In this episode of DB|BD, Todd talks with host Ellen McGirt about why Aspen’s radical, artistic roots are a key that unlocks a better way of thinking about what they do now and how we can all do more meaningful work, together.

On this season of DB|BD, we are thinking about radical collaboration. Host Ellen McGirt sat down with visionary designers, leaders and thinkers at the 2026 Aspen Business & Society Summit to ask them about the radical act of collaborating with others in a time when it often feels impossible to find common ground.

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