Volatile political and economic conditions make projections about building future wealth difficult in today’s world. This discussion with economic and investment experts spans from the bird’s eye view to the kitchen table, shedding some light on the blend of factors that move our money. David Rubenstein, the co-founder of the Carlyle Group joins consultant and NYU economics professor emeritus Nouriel Roubini and Arjun Sethi, the co-CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, on stage at the 2025 Aspen Ideas Festival. The executive editorial director of Fortune, Diane Brady, moderates the conversation.

Public exhaustion with top-down decisions about our built environment spurred American progressivists to work successfully over the past several decades to democratize development processes. Community voices can now be heard, but has the pendulum swung too far in the other direction? With many cities facing housing crises and urban infrastructure decay, solutions can be slow-going. In this talk, architect Vishaan Chakrabarti, found of PAU (Practice of Architecture and Urbanism) joins Brown University public affairs fellow Marc Dunkelman for a discussion about removing unnecessary roadblocks and speeding up progress. CNN journalist Fareed Zakaria, who is the 2025 and 2026 guest curator of the Aspen Ideas Festival, moderates the conversation.

Young people today report feeling sad, anxious, hopeless, and lonely. The youth mental health crisis in the United States has grown in recent years but the adults in kids’ lives can help–with the right tools. Lisa Damour is a best-selling author and psychologist who specializes in the development of teenagers. She joins Sema Sgaier, co-founder and CEO of Surgo Health, and Christopher Pepper, co-author of Talk to Your Boys: 16 Conversations to Help Tweens and Teens Grow into Confident, Caring Young Men, about how to support the emotional lives of children. Jacqueline Howard, health reporter for CNN, moderates their conversation.