Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

What do we say to a grieving friend? So often we either freeze and do nothing or blurt a common condolence and come away wondering if we’ve been of any real help. Join Dana Lacy Amarisa, author of the engaging and insightful book, Condolences Pocket Guide: What to Say and Not to Say to Grievers, in her unique presentation that reveals the source of the gap between what we say and what sad folks need—and the steps for bridging that gap. Drawing from her personal journey of loss and two decades of studying condolences, Amarisa will guide us through her unique and refreshing three-step approach to offering true help to those who are grieving. Through anecdotes and practical tips, learn the four types of condolences to avoid, discover those in your life who might be experiencing misunderstood losses, and come away with the skills and confidence to offer genuine consolation to a grieving friend. Dr. Nate Hinerman's unique approaches to research and treatment intermingle both the philosophical and psychological in human suffering, dying, loss, grief, depression, and anxiety. It is just this compassionate, therapeutic rapport and involvement with individuals and community-based education that he brings to the engaging discussion segment of this presentation. MLF ORGANIZER Denise Michaud A Grownups Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of Commonwealth Club World Affairs, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Humanities West completes its 2023–24 season by searching for the real Marcel Proust―featuring Adam Gopnik, who will give our first Vance E. Carney Memorial Lecture. Gopnik has been writing for The New Yorker for more than three decades and has often riffed poetic on Proust. From the September 17, 1990 issue: “. . . watching our building go co-op has been . . . a lot like the experience of reading Proust. You begin hopefully, you dream of new vistas of pleasure opening up before you, you think that your friends will think better of you for having done it . . . and then you get bogged down and the whole thing seems to go on forever.” From the June 14, 1999 issue: “As late as the nineteen-fifties, when most Americans already took it for granted that he was among the greatest of modern writers, a lot of people in France saw Proust as a slightly secondary figure―the way we might have seen a long-winded Scott Fitzgerald, or a Truman Capote who actually got his book written. In the past twenty-five years, though, all that has changed, and Proust has taken his deserved place among the French as at once the most magnanimous and the most exquisite of their novelists . . .” From the March 30, 2015 issue: “Everybody tries to climb Mt. Proust, though many a stiff body is found on the lower slopes, with the other readers stepping over it gingerly.” And from the May 3, 2021 issue: “If Proust, for Updike in the God-haunted nineteen-fifties, was the last Christian poet, we may see him now in more secular terms, as a writer who, perversely, sought serenity not in detachment and self-removal but in attachment and reattachment—a monk within a metropolitan monastery. 'Be here now' is the mystic’s insistence. 'Don’t be here now' is Proust’s material motto: be there then, again. Enjoy, emote, repeat, remember: there are worse designs for living.” Joshua Landy has also been writing and thinking about and teaching Proust for decades. He will explore several Proustian questions: How can we feel at home in the world? How can we find genuine connection with other human beings? How can we find enchantment in a world without God? Does an artist’s life shed light on her work? What can we know about reality, other people, and ourselves? When is not knowing better than knowing? Who are we really, deep down? And why does it matter to read about all this in a novel? Dora Zhang will focus on the famous Proust observation that "the only true voyage . . . would not be to visit new lands but to possess other eyes, to see the world with the eyes of another." In Proust’s novel the camera provides a crucial means for the narrator to step outside his habitual gaze and to possess other eyes, to look anew on familiar scenes and to see hidden truths therein. Zhang will explore this theme of estranging our vision by highlighting the role of photography in In Search of Lost Time. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond A Humanities Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. In association with Humanities West, the Stanford Humanities Center, and the Townsend Center for the Humanities at UC Berkeley. This program contains EXPLICIT content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a conversation about reducing violence in Oakland and how we can all work together to keep each other safe. Pastor Billy Dixon leads At Thy Word Ministries and is co-chair of the Board of Directors of Faith in Action East Bay. He is an Oakland native and the son of a pastor. Dixon joined the U.S. Navy before becoming a correctional officer for 28 years. Later he attended seminary at Southwest Bible College, and in 2010 he took over the church his father had founded, At Thy Word Ministries. Dr. Holly Joshi is the City of Oakland's chief of violence prevention. She has vast leadership experience and a track record of successfully implementing evidence-based, violence prevention and intervention strategies. Prior to taking on leadership of the Department of Violence Prevention (DVP), Dr. Joshi served as senior director at GLIDE, a nationally recognized center for social justice, dedicated to fighting systemic injustices, creating pathways out of poverty and crisis, and transforming lives. At GLIDE she led the Center for Social Justice, a department focused on improving housing access, community health and safety, and gender and racial equity. Taking on the leadership of the DVP is a homecoming for Dr. Joshi who worked for the city from 2001–2015, holding diverse investigative and leadership roles within the Oakland Police Department, including child exploitation unit supervisor, Internal Affairs Division investigator, crime reduction team investigator, public information officer, and chief of staff. In this work she was widely recognized for her expertise in gender-based violence, commitment to progressive policing, and collaborative relationships across the city. Captain Frederick Shavies is the acting captain of Ceasefire. He is an 18-year veteran with the Oakland Police Department and a graduate of the 283rd FBI National Academy. Captain Shavies is an Oakland native who is passionate about reducing violence in his community. See more Michelle Meow Show programs at The Commonwealth Club of California. Produced in partnership with Fluid 510. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even before Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” brought climate change to the mainstream, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Elizabeth Kolbert was on the beat. Her reporting in the early 2000s culminated in her book “Field Notes from a Catastrophe,” which sounded the alarm on the causes and effects of global warming. Nearly 20 years later, Kolbert is still bringing the climate story to the public with her new book “H Is for Hope: Climate Change from A to Z.” The book is told in bite size vignettes that paint a picture of our climate present, what the future may hold and where there may be space for hope. Guests: Elizabeth Kolbert, Journalist and Author Molly Wood, Climate Solutions Investor and Podcaster Sister True Dedication, Zen Buddhist Nun Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr., CEO, Hip Hop Caucus Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Join today for just $5/month. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Elizabeth Kolbert headshot copyright Elizabeth Kolbert Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Please join us as Dr. Adele Hayutin takes us on a world tour of population change and its dramatic consequences. Her talk will offer many surprises and insights, such as China’s dramatic demographic plunge Africa’s population explosion Where declining birth rates lead to shrinking workforces Where aging populations strain economic wellbeing Why immigration is key to ensuring continued economic growth How increasing women’s participation in the workforce will be critical globally Drawing on her recent book, New Landscapes of Population Change: A Demographic World Tour, Dr. Hayutin will explore the divergent changes ahead for the world, its subregions, and individual countries, and she will demonstrate the urgent need for strategies that address these momentous shifts. She will examine global population dynamics and illuminate how these forces will combine over the next few decades in ways that threaten economic security and political stability, offering us a window on the future. About the Speaker Adele Hayutin, an Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, is a business economist specializing in comparative international demographics. Building on her experience in business and academia, Dr. Hayutin has developed an innovative comparative perspective that highlights surprising demographic differences across countries and illustrates the unprecedented speed and impacts of critical changes. Her recent book, New Landscapes of Population Change: A Demographic World Tour, illuminates the divergent changes ahead for the world. Dr. Hayutin was previously director of demographic analysis at the Stanford University Center on Longevity and chief economist at the Fremont Group. Hayutin received a BA from Wellesley College and holds an MPP and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California,Berkeley. MLF ORGANIZER: Frank Price An International Relations Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why slow down as you get older? Caroline Paul has always filled her life with adventure: From mountain biking in the Bolivian Andes to pitching a tent, mid-blizzard, on Denali, she has never been a stranger to the exhilaration the outdoors can hold. Yet through it all, she has long wondered, Why aren’t women, like men, encouraged to keep adventuring into old age? Now she is sharing her quest to understand not just how to live a dynamic life in a changing body, but why she says we must. She dives deep into the current research on aging and highlights the results with the stories of women like 93-year-old hiker Dot Fisher-Smith, 80-year-old scuba diver Louise Wholey, 52-year-old BASE jumper Shawn Brokemond, 64-year-old birdwatcher Virginia Rose, and the many septuagenarian Wave Chasers who boogie board together in the San Diego surf. These women aren’t experts. But their experiences and the scientific studies that back them up offer important insight into our own physical and emotional health as we age, showing that growing older is no reason for women to sell themselves short. She’s chronicled it all in her new book Tough Broad, a high-spirited call for women to embrace the outdoors, not back away from it, in their 50s, 60s, 70s, and beyond. Bring your taste for adventure and hear this New York Times-bestselling author share her funny, inspiring, deeply researched exploration into the science and psychology of the outdoors and our place in it as we age. MLF ORGANIZER: Denise Michaud A Grownups Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of Commonwealth Club World Affairs, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is it time for a vision of a better internet with a playbook to build the future? The internet of today is a far cry from its early promise of a decentralized, democratic network of innovation, connection and freedom. In the past decade, it has fallen almost entirely under the control of a very small group of companies like Apple, Google and Facebook. In Read Write Own, tech visionary Chris Dixon argues that the dream of an open network for fostering creativity and entrepreneurship doesn’t have to die and can, in fact, be saved with blockchain networks. He separates this movement, which aims to provide a solid foundation for everything from social networks to artificial intelligence to virtual worlds, from cryptocurrency speculation—a distinction he calls “the computer vs. the casino.” With lucid and compelling prose—drawing from a 25-year career in the software industry—Dixon shows how the internet has undergone three distinct eras, bringing us to the critical moment we’re in today. The first was the “read” era, in which early networks democratized information. In the “read-write” era, corporate networks democratized publishing. We are now in the midst of the “read-write-own” era, sometimes called web3, in which blockchain networks are granting power and economic benefits to communities of users, not just corporations. Join us to hear Dixon share his message for internet users, business leaders, creators, entrepreneurs—anyone who wants to understand where we’ve been and where we’re going. Dixon founded and leads a16z crypto, a division of the firm that he has grown from $300 million in 2018 to more than $7 billion of committed capital dedicated to investing in crypto and web3 technologies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Climate change means extreme weather, shifting landscapes, and generally more instability. More and more, you can feel the impacts of climate disruption in your wallets. Drought is pushing up the cost of candy and leading to shipping delays in the Panama Canal. Globally, researchers say climate could add one percent to inflation every year until 2035. The costs of car insurance, health insurance and property insurance are rising. And whether it’s tea in the morning or wine in the evening, disrupted climate patterns and extreme weather are making certain foods more expensive. This week, we unpack how climate change drives inflation. Guests: Nicholas Stern, IG Patel Chair of Economics and Government, London School of Economics Jeremy Porter, Head of Climate Implications Research, First Street Foundation Avery Ellfeldt, Reporter, E&E News Lea Borkenhagen, Senior Vice President, EDF+Business Support Climate One by going ad-free! By joining Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and even periodic engagements with Climate One staff. Join today for just $5/month. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Jonna Hiestand Mendez first joined the CIA, she still needed her husband’s permission to open a bank account or shut off the gas to their apartment. Hired as a convenience to her CIA officer husband’s career, she began by performing secretarial duties for the agency. But she didn’t stay in the secretarial pool. Mendez's talent for espionage was clear, and she soon took on bigger and more significant roles at the CIA. She lived under cover and served tours of duty all over the globe, as well as at CIA headquarters. She confronted dangerous situations that called on her spy training: coming face to face with a rogue jihadi who had brought down an American plane, and helping steal a top-secret encryption machine from a Soviet embassy, among other high stakes situations. She became an international spy and ultimately the chief of disguise at the CIA’s Office of Technical Service—a kind of female American version of James Bond's famous "Q." Now, the bestselling co-author of The Moscow Rules and Argo tells her riveting, courageous story of being a female spy at the CIA and battling against the prevailing culture of sexism at the time, all while undertaking dangerous missions for America’s safety during the height of the Cold War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prepare to be inspired and empowered by the one and only Guy Kawasaki! Former chief evangelist for Apple, rejuvenator of the Macintosh cult, and executive fellow of the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, Guy is truly revered for his wisdom—and he's also one of the friendliest people in Silicon Valley. Based on hundreds of interviews, Guy's new book, Think Remarkable: 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference, is a practical how-to-do-it guide about constructing a life that matters and that reflects our best selves. As Guy explains, it's not just about building a foundation of knowledge and relationships, then finding a worthwhile goal. It's also about how to "move beyond Eureka!" to sell ideas, lead a team, and inspire others. Don't miss this opportunity to learn all of these crucial skills! MLF ORGANIZER: Eric Siegel This program contains EXPLICIT language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fraught relations between neighbors are not unique. But with the stakes elevated on the international stage, and separated by just 90 miles, the United States and Cuba showcase one of the most strained and enduring neighborhood disputes. In the region where the Cold War almost turned nuclear-hot, is there any way to contend with a complicated history and still make nice? Join Commonwealth Club World Affairs for an unprecedented evening as we welcome the Cuban ambassador to the United States on her first visit to the West Coast. In our exclusive public program, Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera, will shed light on one of our closest yet most controversial and closed-off neighbors: the Republic of Cuba. Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera will share a perspective from Havana: What is the story behind record-breaking recent Cuban migration to the United States? Is there any hope for moving beyond the U.S. embargo of Cuba—now in its seventh decade and controversially expanded in the 1990s to sanction worldwide companies trading with the island? More than 30 years on since the fall of the Soviet Union—but in an era of rising geopolitical tensions—what can a relationship between the leader of the free world and our closest Communist neighbor look like? As ambassador to the United States, and a key negotiator in the bilateral discussions on bolstering U.S. engagement with Cuba during the Obama administration, Ambassador Torres Rivera will share insight into the process of renewing relations, the backsliding that followed and where we stand now. Hear how the U.S.-Cuba relationship could evolve as we look ahead to this pivotal election year in the United States and explore if California-Cuba collaborations could ignite. Come prepared with your questions for this very rare opportunity to speak directly with Cuba’s highest official in the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“That evening, I was given a glimpse inside a hidden world. . . . An entirely new kind of surveillance program—one designed to track everyone.” Hear a tale of strange bedfellows—the U.S. government, data brokers, tech companies and advertisers—involved in shaping the surveillance state and privacy. For the past five years—ever since a chance encounter at a dinner party—journalist Byron Tau has been piecing together a secret story: how the whole of the internet and every digital device in the world became a mechanism of intelligence, surveillance, and monitoring. Most people are somewhat aware that our modern world is awash in surveillance. But Tau says the true potential of our phones, computers, homes, credit cards, and even the tires underneath our cars to reveal our habits and behavior would astonish most citizens. All of this surveillance has produced an extraordinary amount of valuable data about every one of us. That data is for sale—and the biggest customer is the U.S. government. In the years after 9/11, the U.S. government, working with scores of anonymous companies, many scattered across bland Northern Virginia suburbs, built a foreign and domestic surveillance apparatus of breathtaking scope—one that can peer into the lives of nearly everyone on the planet. This cottage industry of data brokers and government bureaucrats has one directive—“get everything you can”—and the result is a world in which defense contractors have marketing subsidiaries and marketing companies have defense contractor subsidiaries. And the public knows virtually nothing about it. Reporter Byron Tau joins us for a special online-only talk to tell you—and probably the government—what he has learned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Neuroscience professor Tali Sharot and Harvard law professor (and presidential advisor) Cass R. Sunstein have investigated why people stop noticing both the great and not-so-great things around them and how to “dishabituate” at the office, in the bedroom, at the store, on social media, and in the voting booth. Have you ever noticed that what is thrilling on Monday tends to become boring on Friday? Even exciting relationships, stimulating jobs, and breathtaking works of art can lose their sparkle after a while. Sharot and Sunstein say that many people stop noticing what is most wonderful in their own lives. They also stop noticing what is terrible. They get used to dirty air. They stay in abusive relationships. People grow to accept authoritarianism and take foolish risks. They become unconcerned by their own misconduct, blind to inequality, and are more liable to believe misinformation than ever before. But what if we could find a way to see everything anew? What if you could regain sensitivity, not only to the great things in your life, but also to the terrible things you stopped noticing and so don’t try to change? For fans of Thinking Fast and Slow and The Power of Habit, Sharot and Sunstein offer a new study of how disrupting our well-worn routines, both good and bad, can rejuvenate our days and reset our brains to allow us to live happier and more fulfilling lives. Join us for a talk with Sharot and Sunstein about their work, based on decades of research in the psychological and biological sciences, and how they say it illuminates how people can reignite the sparks of joy, innovate, and recognize where improvements urgently need to be made. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new global competition is taking place, and CNN Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto draws on his reporting from the front lines of political hotspots and warzones across the globe to explain history unfolding in front of us. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was the beginning of the beginning. Three decades later, Jim Sciutto said on CNN’s air as the Ukraine war began, that we are living in a “1939 moment.” The global order as we have long known it is now gone. Great powers are reinvigorated and determined to assert dominance on the world stage. As it escalates, this new order will affect everyone across the globe. Peace has been shattered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but in reality, this affects every corner of our world—from Helsinki to Beijing, from Australia to the North Pole. This is a battle with many fronts: on the Arctic floor, in the oceans and across the skies, and in cyberspace. Sciutto argues that we are witnessing the return of great power conflict, “a definitive break between the post–Cold War era and an entirely new and uncertain one.” The world order that marked the last 30 years is shifting, and Sciutto will explain the realities of this new post–post–Cold War era, the increasingly aligned Russian and Chinese governments, and the flashpoint of a new, global nuclear arms race. He poses a question: that as we consider uncertain outcomes, we ask whether the West and Russia and China can prevent a new world war. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The places that most people call home are coming under increasing threat from climate change. From rising seas and more frequent floods to stronger hurricanes and cyclones, to more devastating droughts and wildfires, the most habitable parts of our world are becoming far less so. Over time, our cities will be forced to transform — and hundreds of millions will have to move. People who have the means are already starting to relocate to places that market themselves as climate-proof. But not everyone will be able to leave. And many won’t want to. How do we handle the next great waves of migration? Guests: Abrahm Lustgarten, author, “On the Move: The Overheating Earth and the Uprooting of America” Sonia Shah, author, “The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move This episode also features reported pieces by MPR reporter Dan Kraker on “Climate Proof Duluth” and KUOW Public Radio in Seattle reporter ​​John Ryan on “How a Northwest tribe is escaping a rising ocean.” Support Climate One by going ad-free! By joining Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and even periodic engagements with Climate One staff. Join today for just $5/month. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Neuroscientist, writer and stage director Indre Viskontas will be joined by world-renowned photographer Jo-Anne McArthur and co-founder of the BigPicture photography competition and exhibit curator Rhonda Rubinstein for a conversation about the power of images to change how we see the world, raise awareness about the most urgent environmental issues, and spark action. This event will also feature the work of McArthur and other photographers in Seeing It All: Women Photographers Expose Our Planet, the latest publication from BigPicture and the California Academy of Sciences. Written by Rubinstein, Seeing It All features more than 125 photos by female BigPicture award recipients and jurors, whose incredible images illustrate the extraordinary complexity of the natural world and expose how we—humans, animals, nature—are living together now. Featuring a foreword by renowned oceanographer Sylvia Earle and essays by Indre Viskontas and Rebecca Solnit, this important book presents new perspectives of rarely seen animals, places, and conservation around the world. MLF ORGANIZER: Anne W. Smith Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Throughout history, many Americans have been disenfranchised or faced needless barriers to voting. Part of the blame falls on the Constitution, which does not contain an affirmative right to vote. The U.S. Supreme Court failed to protect voting rights and limited Congress’s ability to do so. That’s why some are saying that the time has come for voters to take action and push for an amendment to the Constitution that would guarantee this right for all. Drawing on troubling stories of state attempts to disenfranchise military voters, women, African Americans, students, former felons, Native Americans, and others, UCLA law professor Richard Hasen argues that American democracy can and should do better in assuring that all eligible voters can cast a meaningful vote that will be fairly counted. He says a constitutional right to vote can deescalate voting wars between political parties that lead to endless rounds of litigation and undermine voter confidence in elections, and can safeguard democracy against dangerous attempts at election subversion like the one we witnessed in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. The path to a constitutional amendment is undoubtedly hard, especially in these polarized times. Join us as Hasen explains what’s in it for conservatives who have resisted voting reform and reveals how the pursuit of an amendment can yield tangible dividends for democracy long before ratification. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have we finally discovered the holy grail of artificial intelligence (AI)—machines that match or exceed human intelligence? Advances in generative AI (GAI) have created a new class of computer systems that exhibit astonishing proficiency on a wide variety of tasks with superhuman performance, producing novel text, images, music, and software by analyzing enormous collections of digitized information. Soon, these systems will provide expert medical care; offer legal advice; draft documents; write computer programs; tutor our children; and generate music and art. These advances will accelerate progress in science, art, and human knowledge, but they will also bring new dangers. Which industries and professions will thrive—and which will wither? What risks and dangers will it pose? How can we ensure that these systems respect our ethical principles? Will the benefits be broadly distributed or accrue to a lucky few? How will GAI alter our political systems and international conflicts? And are we merely a stepping stone to a new form of nonbiological life, or are we just getting better at building useful gadgets? Join us for a provocative talk by Jerry Kaplan, author of Generative Artificial Intelligence: What Everyone Needs to Know, as he addresses these pressing questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As heat waves, storms, droughts and wildfires continue to worsen, talking can seem like a seriously insufficient climate solution. It’s fair to ask: Are we just engaged in blah, blah, blah? Too often, talking is one sided – more of a lecture aimed at conveying information or solely stating one's own point of view. And yet, when done right, real conversations and true listening can help us find common ground, which can then lead to collective action and change. So how do we make those conversations really count? In this week’s episode, we delve into some of our most insightful interviews, looking for the answer. Guests: Katharine Hayhoe, Chief Scientist, The Nature Conservancy Meera Subramanian, Journalist Faith Kearns, Scientist, California Institute for Water Resources; Author, “Getting to the Heart of Science Communications” Anand Giridharadas, Author, “The Persuaders” Chloe Maxmin, Co-Executive Director, Dirt Road Organizing John Cook, Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change For show notes and related links, visit our website. 📞 Have you moved within the United States for climate-related reasons? Tell us about it! For the chance to have your climate migration story shared on Climate One, give us a call at 650 382-3869. Please keep your voicemail under two minutes and include your name and contact information so we know how to reach you if we decide to feature your story. Support Climate One by going ad-free! By joining Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and even periodic engagements with Climate One staff. Join today for just $5/month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of the release of author and activist Raquel Willis's debut memoir, The Risk it Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation, join us for a live discussion of what collective liberation means with Bia Vieira, CEO of the Women's Foundation California. About the Speakers Raquel Willis is an award-winning author, activist, and media strategist dedicated to Black transgender liberation. She has held groundbreaking posts, including director of communications for Ms. Foundation for Women, executive editor of Out Magazine, and national organizer for the Transgender Law Center. She co-founded Transgender Week of Visibility and Action and currently serves as an executive producer for iHeartMedia's "Outspoken," president of the Solutions Not Punishments Collaborative’s executive board, and a WNBA Social Justice Council member. Her debut memoir, The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation, was released in late 2023 by St.Martin’s Press. Bia Vieira is CEO of Women’s Foundation California, where she leads the foundation’s work to advance gender, racial and economic justice. She has served the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors for more than 20 years, including senior-level positions at the Philadelphia Community Foundation and Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees. Originally from Brazil, she is a longtime activist in women’s, LGBTQI, Latine, immigrant, and arts and culture issues. Fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese, Bia holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and anthropology and a Master’s Degree in literature and linguistics, both from Temple University. She is a recognized expert on culture change and gender, racial, and economic justice issues and is a frequent commentator on the power of women’s philanthropy. Bia resides with her partner in Oakland, CA. See more Michelle Meow Show programs at The Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California. Presented by The Michelle Meow Show and Inforum at Commonwealth Club World Affairs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who are we? Good question. But difficult to answer definitively. Still, it is a question that is philosophically fruitful to ask, because the flip side of the question (who aren’t we?) has several clear answers that narrow the search for an answer to the main question. One example: It might be emotionally hard to accept, but it seems highly unlikely that we are the center of the universe, even though we all experience the totality of our lives through one perspective—our own—which has clearly made it very easy for almost all of us to fall for this illusion. That is one reason Monday Night Philosophy returns to the Commonwealth Club (this time on a Tuesday) to re-ask these age-old questions, to analyze the most popular of their age-old answers, and to present the logic that points to a different answer to the ancient question: Who are we? This rational perspective also makes it perfectly understandable why we experience the emotions we do, why we dream, why we’ve told ourselves these stories, how we try to egg ourselves on with them, why we have scared ourselves silly with them, and even how they explain away for us our otherwise embarrassing attraction to cruelty. MLF ORGANIZER: George Hammond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Local historian Richard Schwartz returns to Commonwealth Club World Affairs to captivate you once again with his characteristic blend of serious history, fascinating images, and “telling details” stories. Schwartz shares eyewitness accounts and unique views of Berkeley from more than 120 years ago, which show how profoundly the landscape, culture, economy and social values of modern Berkeley have been shaped by what came before. Berkeley 1900 is his definitive account of a pivotal time in the life of one of America's most beloved cities. Join us to see how much has changed, and how much hasn’t, over almost 125 years. MLF ORGANIZER: George Hammond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The epidemic of disinformation and misinformation sweeping through our society is like the weather: Everyone complains about it, but no one does anything about it. Now Barbara McQuade is changing that, offering solutions for countering disinformation and maintaining the rule of law. MSNBC's legal expert breaks down the ways disinformation has become a tool to drive voters to extremes, disempower our legal structures, and consolidate power in the hands of the few. Americans are strategically being pushed apart by disinformation—the deliberate spreading of lies disguised as truth—and it comes at us from all sides: opportunists on the far right, Russian misinformed social media influencers, and others. It's endangering our democracy and causing havoc in our electoral system, schools, hospitals, workplaces, and in our Capitol. Advances in technology including rapid developments in artificial intelligence threaten to make the problems even worse by amplifying false claims and manufacturing credibility. Legal scholar and analyst McQuade will join us to explain how to identify the ways disinformation is seeping into all facets of our society and how we can fight against it. She examines what she calls the "authoritarian playbook"—a history of disinformation from Mussolini and Hitler to Bolsonaro and Trump—and chronicles the ways in which authoritarians have used disinformation to seize and retain power. She reviews disinformation tactics, such as demonizing the other, seducing with nostalgia, silencing critics, muzzling the media, condemning the courts, and stoking violence, and she explains why they work. Is America particularly vulnerable to disinformation? Does it exploit our First Amendment Freedoms? What can be done to fight it and its effects? Don't miss this timely exploration of one of the most important forces in the world today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kumi Naidoo is a world renowned activist and climate leader. Before going on to lead Greenpeace International then Amnesty International, Naidoo was a 15 year old anti-apartheid activist in South Africa. The boycotts he organized led to him being a target of the Security Police. He fled South Africa and lived in exile in the UK. As a climate activist, Naidoo has been arrested for scaling oil rigs, has negotiated with heads of state, and rubbed shoulders with the most powerful people at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Now he’s a visiting scholar at Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, where he’s focusing on how activism can win bigger and faster. Guests: Kumi Naidoo, Human Rights and Environmental Justice Activist Alex Ajose Nixon, Spoken Word Poet Mystic, Hip Hop Artist and Educator Dana R. Fisher, Professor of Sociology, University of Maryland Tamara Toles O’Laughlin, President and CEO, Environmental Grantmakers Association 📞 Have you moved within the United States for climate-related reasons? Tell us about it! For the chance to have your climate migration story shared on Climate One, give us a call at 650 382-3869. Please keep your voicemail under two minutes and include your name and contact information so we know how to reach you if we decide to feature your story. Support Climate One by going ad-free! By joining Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and even periodic engagements with Climate One staff. Join today for just $5/month. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Joe Biden is being threatened with impeachment by the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives. His predecessor, Donald Trump, was twice impeached by a Democratic-led House. Three presidents earlier, Bill Clinton was impeached. No president has ever been removed from office as the result of an impeachment, but it continues to be a high-profile way to go after the president of the United States. But what exactly is impeachment? Why is it included in the U.S. Constitution? How does the process work? Constitutional scholar Michael Gerhardt offers a comprehensive, nonpartisan, and up-to-date explanation of the Constitution’s various mechanisms for holding presidents accountable for misdeeds real and imagined. He is the author of the new book The Law of Presidential Impeachment, which draws on a lifetime of scholarly research, as well as Gerhardt’s unique experience as a witness and consultant in the impeachment trials of Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. Join us as Gerhardt offers new perspectives on impeachment, arguing that it cannot be properly understood in a vacuum, but must instead be viewed in the context of its coordination with such other mechanisms as criminal prosecutions, censure, elections, congressional oversight, and the Fourteenth and Twenty-Fifth Amendments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Come inside a jury room as one juror leads a starkly divided room to consensus. Join a young CIA officer as he recruits a reluctant foreign agent. And sit with an accomplished surgeon as he tries, and fails, to convince yet another cancer patient to opt for the less risky course of treatment. In his new book Supercommunicators, Charles Duhigg blends deep research and storytelling skills to show how people can learn to identify and leverage the hidden layers that lurk beneath every conversation. Duhigg says communication is a superpower, and the best communicators understand that whenever we speak, we’re actually participating in one of three conversations: practical (What’s this really about?), emotional (How do we feel?), and social (Who are we?). If you don’t know what kind of conversation you’re having, you’re unlikely to connect. "Supercommunicators" know the importance of recognizing—and then matching—each kind of conversation, and how to hear the complex emotions, subtle negotiations, and deeply held beliefs that color so much of what we say and how we listen. He says that our experiences, our values, our emotional lives—and how we see ourselves and others—shape every discussion, from who will pick up the kids to how we want to be treated at work. Learn why some people are able to make themselves heard, and to hear others, so clearly. From the writers’ room of "The Big Bang Theory" to the couches of leading marriage counselors, Duhigg will show how to recognize these three conversations—and teach the tips and skills needed to navigate them more successfully. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco Mayor London Breed returns to The Commonwealth Club World Affairs for a state-of-the-city program, taking stock of the city’s present and looking forward to its future. What can the city do to spur downtown revival? How can it reduce the problems of fentanyl, homelessness, and crime? She’ll also share her thoughts on ballot measures facing voters in the March elections, including Proposition C (making it easier to convert office properties into housing), Proposition E (expanding the ability of police to pursue suspects), Proposition F (identifying and requiring treatment for drug abuse disorder among people receiving cash assistance). Breed, elected in 2018, is the city’s 45th mayor and its first Black woman mayor. She was born and raised in San Francisco. Before she became mayor, Breed served as a member and president of the city’s Board of Supervisors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The rural Taiwanese outer islands of Kinmen sit merely 2 miles off the coast of China. Kinmen attracts tourists for its remains from the 1949 Chinese Civil War. It also marks the frontline for Taiwan in its escalating tension with China. Filmmaker S. Leo Chiang weaves lyrical vignettes of tourist visits and local life with his own narrative as someone negotiating ambivalent personal bonds to Taiwan, China, and the United States. Island in Between explores the uneasy peace in these islands, and contemplates Taiwan's uncertain future. The film was recently nominated for an Academy Award in the documentary short category. See more Michelle Meow Show programs at The Commonwealth Club of California. This program contains EXPLICIT CONTENT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a new Commonwealth Club experience as we launch the first of our new series of Oakland Forums, taking place at Fluid 510 in downtown Oakland. In our inaugural program, we're featuring Oakland leaders discussing building community in this time of serious challenges facing Oakland and other big cities. About the Speakers Darin Balaban is a self-taught visual artist with a focus on painting, multimedia pieces, and large-scale murals. He is considered to be part of the new-wave "post-vandalism" movement, which blurs the line between street art tropes and contemporary abstraction. Balaban's art practice has led him to exhibit in multiple galleries and lead large-scale projects domestically. Shirley Gee is a managing partner at Angel Plus, LLC, a trusted validation firm of later stage, start-up corporations in anticipation of capitalization. Gee is an active Accredited Investor; chair of the Life Science Committee; a member of Technology Transfer Committee; and team lead for due diligence specializing in life science, medical devices, IOT, clean technology and renewal and alternative energy. Joe Hawkins is a noted Oakland-based community organizer, LGBTQ advocate, nonprofit executive, event producer, and social entrepreneur. Hawkins first came to national prominence as one of the first gay men to ever appear as a guest on the iconic Oprah Winfrey talk show during the early 90's, defending his right to parent his son as an out gay man. He is a co-founder and former co-chair of Oakland Pride and was voted Grand Marshall of both the San Francisco and Oakland Pride Parades. He worked as a founding program member and CEO of OpNet Community Ventures, one of America's first high-tech training programs, launched in 1995, for low income youth and youth of color in San Francisco. Hawkins was regional director for Innovative Housing, a shared housing nonprofit for low-income families and individuals in Marin County. He worked as the director of administration at AIDS Project of the East Bay (APEB), served on the Ryan White Planning Council and was a founding organizer of the East Bay AIDS Walk. In 2017, Joe co-founded and is the CEO of the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center. See more Michelle Meow Show programs at The Commonwealth Club of California. Produced in partnership with Fluid 510. THIS PROGRAM CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Club Travel and Cinnamongirl, Inc. to hear a fresh and vibrant conversation between three amazing young people—two scholars and their mentor—who traveled on the Club’s trip “On the Road to Freedom: Understanding the Civil Rights Movement” in October 2023. The group spent time in Jackson, Little Rock, Memphis, Birmingham, Selma, and Montgomery. Hear about key events and people involved in the movement, and what it means for these young women in terms of what is happening today, their vision for the future, and for themselves. In partnership with Cinnamongirl Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Strongly held values can stabilize a society. They can also splinter it. Paul Belonick explores the moral paradoxes of republican Rome and describes how aristocrats engaged in "performative politics," aggressively seeking self-advancement with a competitiveness that fueled the expansion of an empire. At the same time, Roman orators and authors emphasized the need for self-control, moderation and temperance. Scholars have long suggested that this moral obsession with self-control was merely a social marker of aristocratic status, but Belonick argues that the Roman focus on self-control was responsible for solidifying their peculiarly competitive, semi-formal government. As conflicts arose in Rome over how to apply these cultural values to novel circumstances, competitors saw each other as desecrating republican principles and therefore as targets to be eradicated. Belonick presents a fresh perspective on the republic’s collapse, by illustrating both sides of this Roman paradox: how values of self-control legitimized the Romans' competition and supported their fluid social structure and political institutions—but then tore the Republic apart. Join us, at a time when almost no one even mentions restraint, to rediscover how the values associated with restraint can both stabilize and de-stabilize political systems. MLF ORGANIZER: George Hammond A Humanities Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’re a climate-conscious person, you likely already know some of the main ways you can reduce your contribution to greenhouse gasses: buy less, eat less meat, ride your bike. But there are other, less obvious methods we don’t always think of: voting, having climate conversations, engaging with your local government, changing where your money is invested. And while our role as individuals does matter, we’re more powerful when we work together in collective action. Guests: Jon Foley, Executive Director, Project Drawdown Eliza Nemser, Executive Director, Climate Changemakers This episode also features excerpts from Cory Booker, Anna Lappé, Frances Moore Lappé, Saul Griffith, Monique Figueiredo, Jonathan Chapman, Jennifer Anderson, Tanya Gulliver Garcia, Vernon Walker, Abrar Anwar, Slater Jewell-Kemker, Kyle Gracey and Alec Loorz. 📞 Have you moved within the United States for climate-related reasons? Tell us about it! For the chance to have your climate migration story shared on Climate One, give us a call at 650 382-3869. Please keep your voicemail under two minutes and include your name and contact information so we know how to reach you if we decide to feature your story. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the 12th anniversary of the Week to Week political roundtable! Come celebrate with us. The courts are issuing rulings on presidential contenders and ballots; primaries and caucuses are underway, Congress just completed one of its least productive years in history, San Francisco is voting on mayors and propositions—how will we ever think of anything to talk about on this program? As usual with Week to Week, our panelists will discuss the latest political developments in an informed, civil (and fun) manner. Join us for a whole new year of lively political discussion at Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California. See other upcoming Week to Week political roundtables, as well as audio and video of past Week to Week programs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What did “the pursuit of happiness” mean to our nation’s founders and how did that famous phrase become the foundation of our democracy? The Declaration of Independence identifies “the pursuit of happiness” as one of our unalienable rights, along with life and liberty. In a new book, National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen profiles six of the most influential founders—Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton—to show what pursuing happiness meant in their lives. By reading the classical Greek and Roman moral philosophers who inspired the Founders, Rosen uncovers how they understood the pursuit of happiness as a quest for being good, not feeling good—the pursuit of lifelong virtue, not short-term pleasure. Among those virtues were the habits of industry, temperance, moderation and sincerity, which the Founders viewed as part of a daily struggle for self-improvement, character development and calm self-mastery. They believed that political self-government required personal self-government. For all six Founders, the pursuit of virtue was incompatible with the enslavement of African Americans—though the Virginians betrayed their own principles on that issue. Join us as Rosen not only elucidates the meaning of the Declaration’s famous phrase, but also takes us on a revelatory journey into the minds of the Founders, providing a deep, rich and fresh understanding of the foundation of our democracy. MLF ORGANIZER: George Hammond A Humanities Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Come join WE SF and Commonwealth Club World Affairs for a one-of-a-kind, high-energy town hall presentation plus discussion, the likes of which San Francisco hasn’t recently seen! ​Not only will we present a nonpartisan multimedia breakdown of each of the ballot measures and candidates on the March 2024 election ballot, but we will have many of the city’s top elected officials, leaders, and key stakeholders on both sides of the aisle on hand to present the “pros” and “cons” of each issue. The event schedule is as follows:.​The event combines WE San Francisco’s unique ability to inspire civic engagement and explain complex issues, with the “big ideas” thought leadership of Commonwealth Club World Affairs, the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum whose mission is to bring people together to connect, learn and act on issues that impact our community. Presenters include: Matt Dorsey, member, San Francisco Board of Supervisors (District 6) Joel Engardio, member, San Francisco Board of Supervisors (District 4) Ahsha Safai, member, San Francisco Board of Supervisors (District 11) And many more!. ​The result is a celebration of San Francisco’s future, but one that is grounded in the realities of the present and what we can individually and collectively do to enable a better tomorrow. Co-hosted with WE SF. This program is part of the Guggenhime Speakers Series, sponsored by the The Stanley S. Langendorf Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Abortion and adoption are twinned in the minds of many Americans who have endured the never-ending heated debates over abortion. Now, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, sociologist Dr. Gretchen Sisson releases the results of her decade-long study of adoption, revealing what she says is the grief of American mothers for whom the choice to parent was never real. Adoption has long been viewed as a beloved institution for building families, as well as mutually agreed common ground in the abortion debate. But little attention has been paid to the lives of mothers who relinquish infants for private adoption. For her book Relinquished, Sisson draws upon hundreds of interviews with mothers who placed their children for domestic adoption. She finds their voices to be powerful and heartrending, deserving to be heard. Join us for a timely and provocative look at the flip side of the fight over abortion, adoption, rights and the American family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When most people hear the phrase renewable energy, they imagine fields full of solar panels or giant spinning wind turbines. But another source may be heating up: geothermal. Twenty years ago it was thought that geothermal could provide at most 10% of any given area’s electricity, and only in very limited regions. There were also environmental concerns about depleting groundwater. But new technological advances may have unlocked the potential for scalable geothermal energy just about anywhere. And in a bit of irony, those technological advances came from the oil and gas industry. Guests: Amanda Kolker, Laboratory Program Manager for Geoscience and Geothermal Technologies, NREL Jamie Beard, founder of Project InnerSpace Lauren McLean, Mayor of Boise Contributing Producer: David Condos For show notes and related links, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Robert Lustig and Dr. Nicole Avena will have a conversation about sugar, based on many years of scientific and clinical experience. They will begin with a brief history of the evolution of sugar in our food environment and move on to where we are today regarding types of sugar and sweeteners, as well as the pervasiveness of these in our food supply. Questions explored will include: How do various types of sugar and sweeteners affect your brain and body systems? Is moderation possible when evidence suggests sugar may be "addictive"? What are the options if you want something sweet? You will have an opportunity to ask questions and will gain valuable insights to help you understand sugar and reduce your intake if need be. Dr. Nicole Avena is an associate professor of neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City and a visiting professor of health psychology at Princeton University. She is a research neuroscientist and expert in the fields of nutrition, diet and addiction, with a special focus on nutrition during early life and pregnancy, and women’s health. She has done groundbreaking work developing models to characterize food addiction and the dangers of excess sugar intake. Robert H. Lustig, M.D., M.S.L. is emeritus professor of pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, and member of the Institute for Health Policy Studies, at UCSF. Dr. Lustig is a neuroendocrinologist, with expertise in metabolism, obesity, and nutrition. He is one of the leaders of the current “anti-sugar” movement that is changing the food industry. He has dedicated his retirement from clinical medicine to helping fix the food supply any way he can, to reduce human suffering and to salvage the environment. MLF ORGANIZER: Patty James A Nutrition, Food & Wellness Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russia’s future lies outside of Russia. That’s the verdict offered by Paul Starobin, a veteran analyst of Russia. Since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, some 1 million Russians have fled the country and gone into exile. Motivated by opposition to the war, by guilt for their country’s deeds, by personal hatred for the czar-like Putin, and by a vision of a better Russia shorn of autocracy, the exiles have mounted an organized resistance to Putin’s rule. Starobin says that the resistance includes followers of the imprisoned Putin opponent Alexi Navalny, dissident Russian Orthodox priests, and journalists feeding Russians back home the kind of coverage that is censored by Kremlin-controlled media. Most aggressively, some exiles are actively aiding the Ukrainian fight against Russia’s armed forces in hopes of hastening Russia’s defeat and Putin’s demise. Starobin traveled to places like Armenia and Georgia to meet with exiles and had conversations with prominent figures throughout Europe and America, as he took measure of this rebellion—and its potential to fix a nation plagued by revanchist imperial dreams. He reported his findings in his new book Putin’s Exiles, and he’ll tell you what he found and what might be coming next for Russia. Join us for a special online-only program that goes beyond pro-Putin propaganda and the tightly controlled narrative inside the country, and looks outside its borders to the diaspora of Russian exiles, who are imagining and fighting for the future of their country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a special discussion with filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov. 20 Days in Mariupol, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film, presents a visceral, first-person view of the early days of Russia’s invasion of the city of Mariupol, Ukraine. An Associated Press team of Ukrainian journalists is trapped in the besieged city, where they struggle to continue their work documenting atrocities of the Russian invasion. As the only international reporters who remain in the city, they capture what later become defining images of the war: dying children, mass graves, the bombing of a maternity hospital, and more. This is the first feature film from Chernov, who spent nearly a decade covering international conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war, for The Associated Press. The film draws on Chernov’s daily news dispatches and personal footage of his own country at war. It offers a vivid, harrowing account of civilians caught in the siege, as well as a window into what it’s like to report from a conflict zone, and the impact of such journalism around the globe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As fossil fuels are phased out, shuttered coal plants, contaminated landfills, and abandoned mine lands across the U.S. are finding new life as renewable energy projects. More than 23 states have 100% clean energy goals, and in order to reach those goals, some states are starting to convert what was once considered “dirty” into “clean” energy generation. But what happens to the infrastructure, workers, and community after a coal plant shuts down? And as billions are dispersed through policies like the Inflation Reduction Act, what is being done to ensure that the same communities who have been historically left behind are included in the energy transition? Guests: Mary Anne Hitt, Senior Director, Climate Imperative Thomas Ramey, Commercial Home Evaluator, Solar Holler Nick Mullins, Energy Systems Technology Instructor, Tri-County Technical Center and Former Coal Miner Delmar Gillus, COO, Elevate This episode also features a reported piece by Jordan Gass-Pooré. Support Climate One by going ad-free! By joining Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and even periodic engagements with Climate One staff. Join today for just $5/month. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let’s face it: Recent years have been tough on optimists. Hopes that the Internet might bring people together have been crushed by the ills of social media. Is there a way back? Bestselling author, media pioneer and TED curator Chris Anderson returns to Commonwealth Club World Affairs to explore one of humankind’s defining but overlooked impulses, and how we can super-charge its potential to build a hopeful future. Anderson believes it’s within our grasp to turn outrage back into optimism. He says it all comes down to reimagining one of the most fundamental human virtues: generosity. What if generosity could become infectious generosity? Consider how a London barber began offering haircuts to people experiencing homelessness—and catalyzed a movement; how two anonymous donors gave $10,000 each to two hundred strangers and discovered that most recipients wanted to “pay it forward” with their own generous acts; and how TED itself transformed from a niche annual summit into a global source of ideas by giving away talks online. In telling these inspiring stories, Anderson offers a playbook for how to embark on our own generous acts—whether gifts of money, time, talent, connection, or kindness—and to prime them, thanks to the Internet, to have self-replicating, even world-changing, impact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

from 2024 Economic Forecast: Inflation, Election Bonanza, and the Global Economy held on February 8, 2024 The Walter E. Hoadley Annual Economic Forecast, presented by Bank of America. The United States heads into 2024 with an economy that is strong but is widely believed to be underperforming. With inflation tamped down to normal rates, unemployment at record lows, and continued strong job growth and corporate profits, why aren’t American consumers and business leaders more bullish about the state of the economy? Join us for the economic talk of the year: our annual economic forecast. Our expert panel—including Lanhee Chen of the Hoover Institution, Mauro F. Guillén of the Wharton School, Nancy Wallace of Berkeley Haas, Jared Woodard of Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research, and The Washington Post's Adam Lashinsky—will give you the insight you need to better understand the trends, policies, dangers and opportunities that lie ahead for your business and your wallet in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At 10 a.m. on January 25, 2024, a statue was unveiled at San Jose Mineta International Airport honoring Norm Mineta. Speakers at the event extolled Mineta's leadership and legacy; his pathbreaking role as the first Asian American mayor of a large U.S. city, influential member of Congress, first Asian American presidential cabinet member, and so much more. You can learn more about Mineta, his life and his accomplishments, in this article from NPR. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is “destructive friction”? Bestselling authors Robert I. Sutton and Huggy Rao say that every organization is plagued by destructive friction; yet some forms of friction are incredibly useful, and leaders who attempt to improve workplace efficiency often make things even worse. Join us as Sutton and Rao teach people how to become “friction fixers.” Sutton and Rao say skilled friction fixers think and act like trustees of others’ time. They provide friction forensics to help readers identify where to avert and repair bad organizational friction and where to maintain and inject good friction. Then their help pyramid shows how friction fixers do their work, from reframing friction troubles they can’t fix right now, so they feel less threatening, to designing and repairing organizations. Sutton and Rao dig into the causes and solutions for five of the most common and damaging friction troubles: oblivious leaders, addition sickness, broken connections, jargon monoxide, and fast and frenzied people and teams. Sound familiar? Sutton and Rao are here to help. Don’t miss their appearance at Commonwealth Club World Affairs, where they will give lessons for leading your own friction project; the power of civility, caring, and love for propelling designs and repairs; and embracing the mess that is an inevitable part of the process. This program contains EXPLICIT CONTENT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A settlement for the largest civil penalty resulting from the Clean Air Act has just been reached. The EPA, DOJ and the State of California have agreed to a $1.7 billion fine for engine maker Cummins Inc. The fine is the result of Cummins being caught using “defeat devices” to fool emissions testers into thinking the engines pollute less than they really do. Does that sound familiar? It’s exactly what Volkwsagen was caught doing nearly 10 years ago. VW and Cummins aren’t the only ones; it’s an industry wide problem. So how do we stop the deception? What have we learned since the infamous VW “Dieselgate” scandal? Guests: Rachel Muncrief, Acting Executive Director, ICCT Hector De La Torre, Member, California Air Resources Board Margo Oge, Former Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, U.S. EPA Alberto Ayala, Executive Director, Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District Support Climate One by going ad-free! By joining Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and even periodic engagements with Climate One staff. Join today for just $5/month. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Silicon Valley Reads celebrates its 21st year with Lily Brooks-Dalton, Favianna Rodriguez, Alexandria Villaseñor, and Heather White. Our featured authors and book contributors will focus on environmental sustainability and explore the challenges and opportunities of creating a more sustainable future, not only in Santa Clara County but worldwide. They will share more about their work and efforts to create awareness and meaningful change for the future. Hosted by Santa Clara County Library District, Santa Clara County Office of Education, San José Public Library, and DeAnza College. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Jen Gunter, called "the world's most famous and outspoken gynecologist” by The Guardian, returns to The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco to apply her myth-busting, no-nonsense approach to discussing menstruation. Why do people menstruate? The endometrium’s (the uterine lining’s) fascinating connection to the immune system. The impact of stress, vaccines, and health on the menstrual cycle. Menstrual migraines, PMS, and period diarrhea. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). Fibroids and other causes of heavy bleeding. Endometriosis and the latest treatments. Legitimate menstrual products, and the facts behind toxic shock syndrome. Despite its significance, most education about menstruation focuses either on increasing the chances of pregnancy or preventing it. And while both are important for many people, Gunter believes that people deserve to know more about their bodies than just what happens regarding reproduction. At a time when charlatans, politicians and social media are succeeding in propagating damaging misinformation with real and devastating consequences, Gunter presents a practical, empowering guide to what’s typical, what’s concerning and when to seek care—shared with her trademark expertise and frank, fearless wit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fifty years ago, on February 4, 1974, Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, and that story, covered thoroughly by a young journalist named Roger Rapoport, quickly became one of the most bizarre and polarizing crimes of an already unsettled time. Now Rapoport has written a novel to explore alternative theories of the crime and to delve into the complex psychology of many of the key actors in the drama. Using the techniques of fiction, Rapoport gives voice to much of the story that fell outside of the bounds of journalistic coverage. With a wry sensibility and insider knowledge, gained through access to the elite and secretive world of the Hearst family and many other behind-the-scenes players, Rapoport goes beyond the tabloid headlines to attempt to answer such questions as: Why did Patty participate in the kidnapping of a high school student just hours before six of the SLA kidnappers were killed in a firefight with the LAPD? Did celebrity coroner Thomas Noguchi mishandle the autopsies of six SLA victims? Why did Patty’s lawyers dump her fiancé Steve Weed as a key witness at her trial at the last minute? Join us to test the theory that fiction can offer insights into the truth that reporting can’t, and refresh your recollection of the story of Patty Hearst’s kidnapping and the totally unexpected twists and turns that story took which carved it into the American psyche. MLF ORGANIZER: George Hammond A Humanities Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join The Bulwark for an evening of politics and laughs among friends. Tim Miller, Sarah Longwell, and Jonathan V. Last, founders of The Bulwark and hosts of “The Next Level” podcast, bring their signature style of banter to the stage for an evening of sharp political insights, lots of laughs . . . and maybe even a few tears. With the U.S. electorate hurtling toward a rematch of Biden v. Trump, the gang will react to the Iowa caucuses and the state of the GOP race, Biden’s State of the Union, the latest polling and other pressing events of the day. At An Evening with The Bulwark you can expect a fun night with a community built on good faith where we tell you what we really think. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. Plan to stick around after the show to meet fellow attendees and the gang from The Bulwark. About the Speakers Tim Miller is The Bulwark’s writer-at-large, an MSNBC political analyst and the author of the New York Times best seller Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell. He was previously political director for Republican Voters Against Trump and communications director for Jeb Bush 2016. Sarah Longwell is the publisher of The Bulwark and host of “The Focus Group” podcast. She is president and CEO of Longwell Partners in Washington, D.C., and co-founder with Bill Kristol of the organizations Defending Democracy Together and the Republican Accountability Project. A long-time Republican strategist and former national board chair of the Log Cabin Republicans, her recent DDT projects are Republican Voters Against Trump and Republicans for the Rule of Law. Jonathan V. Last is the editor of The Bulwark, where he writes the daily “Triad” newsletters. He hosts “The Secret Podcast” with Sarah and “The Next Level” podcast. He is the author of What to Expect When No One Is Expecting and the editor of The Dadly Virtues: Adventures from the Worst Job You'll Ever Love. This program contains explicit content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices