Aspen Public Radio to Broadcast Aspen Ideas Festival Live Sessions

Can you hear the static clearing on 91.5 FM?

That’s the question locals in the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond are asking as Aspen Public Radio prepares to pull back the curtain on the Aspen Ideas Festival, broadcasting select live sessions starting June 23. It’s not just another cultural checkbox for the region; it’s a direct line to the conversations happening in the high-altitude air, a chance to listen in on the thinkers who are shaping how we understand health, democracy, and the future of work, all without having to navigate the traffic on Highway 82 or pay the premium for a festival pass.

The guiding theme this year is “independence,” a nod to America’s 250th anniversary that feels less like a patriotic slogan and more like a practical inquiry into how we maintain our autonomy in an increasingly complex world. You can feel the weight of that theme in the lineup, which promises to explore everything from geopolitics and energy production to the integrity of our democracies and the personal pursuit of freedom through well-being and creativity. It’s a heavy lift for a radio signal, but the station is betting that the people tuning in from their kitchens in Glenwood Springs or their offices in Basalt want to know how these big ideas land in their daily lives.

The broadcast schedule is dense, offering a curated path through the festival’s chaos. On Tuesday, June 23, you can catch “On the Frontiers of Brain Health” at 10:20 a.m., featuring Wendy Short Bartie, Arianna Huffington, and Richard Isaacson, or tune in later that afternoon for “Navigating DIY Health Data” with Vin Gupta, Ami Bhatt, Andrea Downing, and Michael Howell. If you’re more interested in the intersection of technology and human connection, the Friday slot at 1 p.m. brings you “AI and the End of Loneliness” with Paul Bloom and Manoush Zomorodi, while the evening session at 8 p.m. dives into “How GLP-1s Are Transforming the Economy,” featuring Bertha Coombs, Ali Furman, Laura Steele, and Kosali Simon.

There’s a warmth to the way these sessions are structured, moving from the clinical to the philosophical. Wednesday, June 24, offers “Finding Joy, in Spite of It All” with Kate Bowler and Manoush Zomorodi at 9 a.m., followed by “The Chatbot Will See You Now” at 11:40 a.m., where John Torres, Steve Brown, Dhruv Khullar, and Amelia Burke-Garcia will dissect the rise of artificial intelligence. The evening brings “Longevity in Unexpected Places” with Céline Gounder, Jaime Wesolowski, and Dan Buettner, and later, “What the Dying Can Teach the Living” with Flora Lichtman, Darnell Lamont Walker, and Tig Notaro.

By the end of the week, the focus shifts to the structures that hold our society together. Monday, June 29, features “Do Workers Matter?” with Jennifer Wallace, Donna Morris, Greg Bulanow, Jenn White, and Martin Whittaker, followed by “News You Can Trust, Maybe” with Vivian Schiller, Sam Gregory, Nabiha Syed, and Laurie Richardson. The festival wraps up with sessions on “The American Wellness Paradox” and “Who Owns the Future of Hollywood?” with Jodie Foster and Michael Lynton, before closing with “Uncharted Waters: Navigating the Next Chapter of the Transatlantic Relationship” on Wednesday, July 1.

For the neighbors tuning in, this is more than background noise. It’s a way to stay connected to the intellectual pulse of the valley, to hear the voices of experts who might otherwise feel distant. The broadcast covers the full spectrum, from the scientific to the political, all accessible through the familiar crackle of the radio dial. You don’t need to be an insider to participate; you just need to turn the knob and listen.

The signal will carry on, bouncing off the mountains, reaching into homes where the coffee is still hot and the day is just beginning. It’s a reminder that even in a town known for its ski slopes and its summer festivals, the real conversation happens in the quiet moments of attention, when the static fades and the ideas take root.