--- description: The fragmenting Taliban, fighting cybercrime, approving drugs made from our own cells, the diminishing returns on incarceration and more. title: These Are Today's Best Ideas image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Innovation](/tag/innovation/) ## Innovation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Five Best Ideas of the Day: February 17 by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 17, 2015 5:01 PM CUT by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 17, 2015 5:01 PM CUT **1\.** [**Is the Taliban’s fracturing a sign of its demise or a possible turn to a more lethal strategy?**](http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia%5Fpacific/as-the-us-mission-winds-down-afghan-insurgency-grows-more-complex/2015/02/12/99eab761-d5f0-4046-86ee-7e757b65dd01%5Fstory.html "undefined") By Sundarsan Raghavan in the Washington Post **2\.** [**To fight cybercrime, President Obama needs Silicon Valley.**](http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-02-13/obama-needs-silicon-valley-on-his-team "undefined") By Katie Benner in Bloomberg View **3\.** [**The FDA needs updated systems to review drugs — made from our own cells — that target cancer and more.**](http://city-journal.org/2015/25%5F1%5Fcell-therapies.html "undefined") By Peter W. Huber in City Journal **4\.** [**Our high incarceration rate no longer reduces crime.**](http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/02/13/incarceration-jail-crime-decline-study-column/23308913/ "undefined") By Lauren-Brooke Eisen in USA Today **5\.** [**Better than an action movie: Catch a college lecture on your next commercial flight.**](http://time.com/money/3695974/college-on-planes/ "undefined") By Kim Clark in Money  [_The Aspen Institute_](http://www.aspeninstitute.org/ "undefined") _is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3712026/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-february-17/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3712026/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-february-17/"},"headline":"Five Best Ideas of the Day: February 17","datePublished":"2015-02-17T17:01:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:36.096Z","description":"The fragmenting Taliban, fighting cybercrime, approving drugs made from our own cells, the diminishing returns on incarceration and more.","url":"https://time.com/3712026/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-february-17/","keywords":["Innovation","Pakistan","Crime","Afghanistan","Airlines","Education","Travel","Stem Cells","FDA","Research","Taliban","Law Enforcement","President Obama","Silicon Valley","Prison","justice","Cybercrime","Cyber Attacks","incarceration"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Aspen Institute","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/the-aspen-institute/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/innovation/","name":"Innovation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3712026/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-february-17/","name":"Five Best Ideas of the Day: February 17"}}]}] ```