Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

From Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Vivian Kleiman (Color Adjustment) comes an in-depth look at the evolution of queer comics, starting in the 1970s when LGBTQ+ stories were not a part of the popular culture. Through the careers of five scrappy and pioneering cartoonists who depicted everything from the AIDS crisis to “coming out” to same-sex marriage, Kleiman's new film No Straight Lines captures the beginnings of queer comics, from its origins as an underground art form to its progression into a social movement, culminating with its long-awaited mainstream acceptance into comic books, newspaper strips, and graphic novels. No Straight Lines premieres on the PBS documentary series "Independent Lens" January 23, 2023, at 10 p.m. EST (check local listings). The film will also be available to stream on the PBS Video app. Join us for a conversation with filmmaker Vivian Kleiman and cartoonists Jennifer Camper and Justin Hall. Note: This is a discussion of the film; it is not a screening. SPEAKERS Jennifer Camper Cartoonist, Rude Girls and Dangerous Women, SubGURLZ; Editor, Juicy Mother anthologies; Founding Director, Queers & Comics Conference Justin Hall Creator, True Travel Tales, Hard to Swallow, Theater of Terror: Revenge of the Queers, and No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics; Producer, No Straight Lines; Chair, MFA in Comics Program, California College of the Arts Vivian Kleiman Director and Producer, No Straight Lines Michelle Meow Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW TV and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors—Co-host John Zipperer Producer and Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable; Vice President of Media & Editorial, The Commonwealth Club of California—Co-host In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on January 18th, 2023 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you took the economic might of Amazon, and added the penetration of Facebook, the ubiquity of Google, and the cultural significance of YouTube, you might have something starting to resemble Alibaba. Commonly mischaracterized as a kind of Chinese eBay for businesses, Alibaba and its interlinked network of products and services have exploded into global markets, disrupting conventional businesses, and creating previously unimaginable opportunities for millions of small businesses worldwide. Brian Wong, a long-time executive and former special assistant to Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma, details the company’s unique culture and “tai chi” management principles that has propelled its global success. Hear more about the “secret sauce” behind the company’s distinctive business philosophy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for our first Week to Week political roundtable for the new year, as we look at the impact of the November 2022 election, the relationship between the Biden administration and Congress, plus local and state political news. As always, our panelists will share their expertise with civility and good humor. And come early to enjoy our pre-program members social (open to all attendees) with some wine and snacks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pandemic put into stark relief the undue burden faced by working poor women in America. Many were laid off or had to quit for COVID-related reasons, such as school closures. Often, they struggled in low-paid jobs as essential workers, while facing greater demands at home. But even in the best of times, women in low-wage industries must cope with daunting challenges. In their new book Getting Me Cheap, sociologists Lisa Dodson and Amanda Freeman argue that the conveniences many Americans enjoy—things such as grocery delivery and nanny care—are made possible by the sacrifices of these women. The book reveals how discrimination, unpredictable work schedules, and lack of affordable childcare trap women in poverty and make “work-life balance” impossible. Join us as we hear from Dodson and Freeman about their research and possible solutions. SPEAKERS Lisa Dodson Research Professor Emerita, Boston College; Co-author, Getting Me Cheap: How Low Wage Work Traps Women and Girls in Poverty Amanda Freeman Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Hartford; Writer and Researcher of Motherhood and Work; Co-author, Getting Me Cheap: How Low Wage Work Traps Women and Girls in Poverty Saru Jayaraman President, One Fair Wage; Director, Food Labor Research Center, University of California, Berkeley Bernice Yeung Managing Editor, The Investigative Reporting Program, University of California, Berkeley This program contains EXPLICIT language In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on January 19th, 2023 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does stress really age us? Everyone experiences different levels of stress from family, friends, work, or just uncertainty in the world. And while we can’t avoid living with stress, we can learn how to embrace it and transform it. Stress scientist Dr. Elissa Epel and Nobel Prize winner Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn will discuss the latest science on how we age and the role of stress and well-being. They will also address what we can do to improve mental health and slow aging. Hear more on how to develop a more robust mindset and “stress better.” SPEAKERS Elissa Epel Ph.D., Director of the Aging, Metabolism, and Emotion Center, University of California San Francisco; Co-author, The Telomere Effect; Author, The Stress Prescription: Seven Days to More Joy and Ease In Conversation with Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn Nobel Laureate, Morris Herzstein Professor of Biology and Physiology, University of California San Francisco; Co-author, The Telomere Effect In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on January 17th, 2023 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Art can inspire community and conversation, provide fresh insights into understanding history, and cultivate connection. It can challenge your worldview and shift perspectives. This week we discuss how art and activism can work together to elevate some of the vast inequities that exist between those who benefit from fossil fuel energy and resource extraction and those who suffer its impacts. Guests: Ladonna Williams, Program Director, All Positives Possible Doug Harris, documentary filmmaker Christine Abadilla Fogarty, Associate Director, Global Museum at San Francisco State University Sofía Córdova, multimedia artist and musician For show notes and related links, visit https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff Korzenik will be in conversation with Ken Oliver, the executive director of San Francisco-based Checkr Foundation. Oliver leads one of the country’s most important initiatives for encouraging second chance/fair chance hiring within technology and other industries. With perspective gained from his own experience incarcerated in the California prison system, Oliver will question Korzenik on the origins on the business perspective on people involved in the justice system, the barriers to employment faced by returning citizens, and why he believes business is a critical partner to a more just world. The conversation will rely heavily on real-world examples or success and the necessary investments employers must make for fair chance hiring to succeed in business terms. Jeffrey Korzenik is the author of Untapped Talent: How Second Chance Hiring Works for Your Business and the Community (HarperCollins Leadership, April 2021). The chief investment strategist for one of the country’s largest commercial banks, Korzenik is an unlikely advocate for those with a criminal record. From speaking engagements to his regular appearances on CNBC, Bloomberg and Fox Business News, and in his articles in Harvard Business Review, the Stanford Social Innovation Review and numerous regional outlets, Korzenik argues that offering career opportunities to those overlooked because of a mistake in the past are our single best solution to our labor shortage. Such second chance/fair chance hiring, in his view, not only strengthens the economy, but offers a critical path to safer and healthier communities. In 2020, Korzenik was elected to membership in the Council on Criminal Justice in recognition of his work on the intersection of the labor force and the justice system. Korzenik is a graduate of Princeton University and has served on numerous nonprofit boards. MLF ORGANIZER Patrick O'Reilly SPEAKERS Jeffrey Korzenik Author, Untapped Talent: How Second Chance Hiring Works for Your Business and the Community Ken Oliver Executive Director, Checkr Foundation In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on December 14th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Democracy is under siege—in the United States and around the globe. Efforts to undermine democracy erode human rights, destabilize governments, and exacerbate global health crises. Join Nancy Lindborg, president and CEO of The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander for a conversation about the evolving threats to democracy—and a new framework for action to mitigate the risks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Music and social movements have historically gone hand in hand. Folk music played a unifying role for the labor movements in the United States. Music was central to the protests against the Vietnam War and in favor of Civil Rights. As more people become aware of the climate crisis, music is starting to reflect that. But there is still no one song or artist inspiring climate action the way music catalyzed other movements. Why aren’t more musical artists raising the alarm over the growing climate catastrophe? And for the artists who are, how do they express the anxiety and grief that they and their listeners are experiencing? Guests: Tamara Lindeman, Musician, The Weather Station Jayson Greene, Contributing Editor, Pitchfork For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny last reported in November that he had been placed in permanent solitary confinement in the Russian penal colony where he is serving an 11-year sentence. This is just the latest attempt to silence the longtime anti-corruption activist and foe of Vladimir Putin. Navalny was famously hospitalized in 2020 after being poisoned by a Russian-developed nerve agent. The gripping 2022 documentary Navalny chronicles his efforts to investigate his own poisoning . . . with shocking results. One of Navalny’s allies has called the film “life insurance” for the jailed opposition leader, since it is keeping him and his cause in the public consciousness. Join us for a screening and discussion with the director of Navalny, which made the shortlist for the 2023 Academy Award for Best Documentary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a 20-year career as a tech reporter for CNET, the New York Times, and the public radio program Marketplace, Molly Wood has come to see the climate crisis as an engineering problem requiring an acceleration of investment. And so, after producing the acclaimed climate podcast “How We Survive” for Marketplace, she left that program to begin a new career in venture capital. What are the limits of media in changing human behavior? And what is the role of capital in addressing the climate crisis, even while considering that capitalism itself may be incompatible with survival? Guests: Molly Wood, Climate Solutions Investor, Podcaster Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For years, fossil fuel companies have claimed to support climate science and policy. Many have recently pledged to hit net zero emissions by midcentury. Yet behind the scenes, they fight those very same policies through industry associations, shadow groups, and lobbying – all while spending vast sums on advertising and PR campaigns touting their climate commitments. This week we focus on the PR and consultancy firms helping fossil fuel companies delay the transition to clean energy while claiming they are on the side of climate protection. Guests: Michael Forsythe, Reporter, New York Times Dr. Benjamin Franta, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Climate Litigation Lab, Oxford Sustainable Law Programme. Jamie Henn, Founder and Director, Fossil Free Media Christine Arena, former Executive Vice President, Edelman; Founder, Generous Films For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In what we hope is the late phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, we'll take a look at other long-running issues relating to health care, healthy living, and access to care for the LGBTQ+ community. Our expert panelists for this discussion are leaders in the efforts to reach LGBTQ+ people, informing them and connecting them to appropriate health care services. About the Speakers Dr. Monica Ghandi, M.D., M.P.H., was a recipient of The Commonwealth Club's Distinguished Citizens Award in 2021. She is an infectious diseases doctor, professor of medicine and associate chief in the Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She is also the director of the UCSF Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and the medical director of the HIV Clinic ("Ward 86") at San Francisco General Hospital. Craig Rouskey is the co-founder and CEO of Renegade.bio. Rouskey was also a co-founder and CSO at Pando Nutrition, an animal nutrition company. At Avant Immunotherapeutics, he worked on vaccine projects against avian influenza (H5N1) and anthrax. He co-founded the Gonorrhea Eradication Team (GET) and served as principal scientist for the Immunity Project, creating an open source vaccine against HIV. Rouskey has also served as a scientist in the Antibody Therapy Group at Novartis and in product development with the Next Generation Sequencing group at Thermofisher. Antwan Matthews, BS, serves as director of youth programs at Code Tenderloin and is a consultant. A leader in the community, he previously served as a LINCS Navigator with the San Francisco Department of Public Health. He has been an advocate on many issues connected to the National AIDS Memorial, having served on its board of directors and being a recipient of the Pedro Zamora Youth Scholarship. His work includes being a sexual and reproductive health advocate who cares deeply about the physical, emotional, and psychological health of individuals globally, especially the Black community. His career includes working at Glide and Peer HEALTH Educators. His work today continues around supporting, educating, advising, teaching, and healing people receiving health care impacted by the history of medical abuse inflicted on communities of color. Antwan uses his voice to raise issues about health and social justice. You can read some of his work here. Dr. Alexis Petra, M.D. is the founder and CEO of TransClinique. Petra was a practicing emergency medicine physician for more than 10 years prior to founding TransClinique. In 2019, she was named one of Phoenix magazine’s Top Doctors in the Valley. Dr. Petra is board-certified in emergency medicine and licensed in more than 30 states. She is a member in good standing with WPATH. Petra has been personally and professionally involved in the transgender and non-binary community for more than 20 years. She founded TransClinique in April 2020 to give back to and create a safe space for members of the community to receive care. She provides hormone replacement therapy (HRT), letters of referral, and trans life coaching across the country through telemedicine. As a trans woman herself, Alexis understands the unique needs that members of this community have and knows firsthand both the hardships and rewards of the journey. Learn more at her website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine sent shockwaves through global energy markets, destabilized international food security, and continues to keep the world wondering whether the war will accelerate the transition to clean energy or lead to renewed dependence on fossil fuels. Climate One hosts Greg Dalton and Ariana Brocious review the top climate stories of the year, from the war’s global impacts, to the passage and signing of the Inflation Reduction Act, to the recent international climate summit in Egypt. This special episode features excerpts from some of Climate One’s most profound interviews of 2022, including conversations with such luminaries as Jamie Raskin, Wanjira Mathai, and Anand Giridharadas. Guests: Roman Zinchenko, Co-founder, Greencubator Amy Myers Jaffe, Director of NYU’s Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab Gina McCarthy, Former White House Climate Advisor, Former EPA Administrator Jamie Raskin, U.S. Representative, Maryland’s 8th Congressional District Anand Giridharadas, Author, The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy Chloe Maxmin, Maine State Senator Wanjira Mathai, Vice President and Regional Director for Africa, World Resources Institute David Munene, Programs Manager, Catholic Youth Network for Environmental Sustainability in Africa Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson, Reporter, The Guardian; Host of An Impossible Choice podcast David Wallace-Wells, Columnist, New York Times Magazine; Author of The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming Gavin McCormick, Co-founder, Climate TRACE For show notes and related links, visit https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An undeniable giant in the legal world, U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas’s enduring legacy was his advocacy for the environment. He emerged as a true citizen justice through his speeches and articles warning against environmental dangers like logging, highway construction, and pollution. Justice Douglas’ actions were admired by conservation groups but often raised ethical dilemmas among his colleagues at the Supreme Court. Judge M. Margaret McKeown offers an insightful look at the lasting contributions that Justice Douglas made to both the physical environment and environmental law and how his work lives on today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and San José Mayor Sam Liccardo took office in 2015, they knew they would be grappling with issues such as homelessness, a widening income gap, and concerns over gun violence and police reform. They couldn’t have predicted they’d also be dealing with the deadliest pandemic in U.S. history. As Mayors Schaaf and Liccardo both prepare to leave office, we’ll talk with them about their legacies, the future of Bay Area cities, and how leaders can prepare for the unexpected. (EXPLICIT) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for an end-of-year discussion with youth activists about mental health. We'll discuss how youth mental heath experiences can lead to mental health advocacy, specifically state-level advocacy and philanthropic funding. Only 2 percent of philanthropic dollars currently goes toward mental health funding, and many youth advocates are calling for more equitable use of philanthropic contributions in mental health initiatives. We'll also discuss how many youth have personal experiences with mental health that fuels their current passions. So reserve your free tickets now for this important program. Following the discussion, we'll have a reception on our beautiful rooftop deck with food and art. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every year, Climate One grants an award in memory of pioneering climate scientist Steve Schneider, who fiercely took on the denial machine from the 1970s until his death in 2010. This year's recipient is German physicist and ocean expert Dr. Stefan Rahmstorf. Dr. Rahmstorf says we’re running toward a cliff in a fog. What can science tell us where that cliff is – and how to avoid it? In a time of oceanic changes happening at an unprecedented pace, Dr. Rahmstorf exemplifies the rare combination of superb scientist and powerful communicator. He works to convey the impact of climate disruption on ocean currents, sea level rise, and increasing extreme weather events fueled by warmer oceans. We also talk with past Schneider Award winner Ayana Elizabeth Johnson about the need for broader inclusion among climate leaders. What can the study of past ice ages tell us about our climate future? And what should be the role of scientists in the public sphere? Guests: Stefan Rahmstorf, Co-Head of Research, Department on Earth System Analysis of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK); Professor of Physics of the Oceans, University of Potsdam Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, marine biologist, writer For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As American society ages, there is growing concern and interest about the causes of mental decline and how to slow it. However, serious mental decline is not an inevitable part of the aging process, according to popular scientist Dr. Marc Millstein. According to him, people can boost short- and long-term brain health and significantly lower the risk of dementia if the right steps are taken now. In his new book, The Age-Proof Brain, Dr. Milstein reveals his secrets to improving brain function, which he says lie in the brain’s surprising connection with the rest of the body. Debunking common misinformation, the book offers science-driven strategies focused on improving memory and productivity, increasing energy and boosting your mood, reducing the risk of anxiety and depression, and preventing nongenetic Alzheimer’s and dementia. Dr. Millstein believes that small changes can make a big difference right away. Please join us for an important program that can provide tools people need to ensure a happy and healthier future. MLF ORGANIZER Robbie Kilpatrick SPEAKERS Mark Millstein Scientist; Researcher; Author, The Age-Proof Brain: New Strategies to Improve Memory, Protect Immunity, and Fight Off Dementia Robert Lee Kilpatrick Ph.D., Chief Strategic Development Officer, Phenome Health; Chair, Health and Medicine Member-Led Forum—Moderator In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on December 12th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Although there are many effective treatments for depression, rates of depression are not going down. The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine have recommended that we implement currently known effective preventive interventions for depression to reduce the number of new cases. This talk will present a personal 50-year path committed to preventing mental disorders and influencing major health-science institutions to implement practices to prevent depression; examples of the types of prevention interventions currently available, with illustrations of the methods that have been found most useful (so that lay persons in a broad audience can envision what can be done to prevent clinical depression); a focus on preventing depression during pregnancy and postpartum, the benefit to the mother and to the baby, and how the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended that pregnant persons at risk for depression be provided with preventive interventions that have been shown to be effective—and how doing this can have lifetime impact on the health of the babies; how digital tools can be harnessed to reach as many people as possible with these interventions, making it possible to “think globally, act locally and share globally.” Given that we can now prevent half the cases of clinical depression, what needs to be done to prevent the other half? Bottom Line: The health sciences have made major progress in terms of learning how to prevent depression. We now need to act by putting these methods into practice and reduce much of the suffering due to depression. About the Speaker Ricardo F. Muñoz, Ph.D., emigrated from Perú at age 10. He obtained his B.A. from Stanford in 1972 and his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Oregon in 1977. He was named distinguished professor of clinical psychology at Palo Alto University in 2012, where he is the founding director of i4Health, the Institute for International Internet Interventions for Health (i4health.paloaltou.edu). He is professor of psychology, emeritus, at the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Francisco, based at San Francisco General Hospital, where he taught and did clinical work and research for 35 years, and adjunct clinical professor at Stanford University. Muñoz has served on three U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Consensus Committees on prevention of mental disorders. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science “for distinguished contributions towards the prevention of major depression and the development of Internet interventions to improve mental health worldwide.” SPEAKERS Ricardo F. Muñoz Ph.D., Founding Director, i4Health; Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco Patrick O'Reilly Ph.D., Chair, Psychology Member-led Forum, The Commonwealth Club of California—Moderator In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on December 8th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a conversation with Elaine Forbes, the Port of San Francisco's executive director. Forbes will shed light on Port strategy and managing the 7.5. miles of San Francisco's waterfront, and its impact on the economic vitality of the Bay Area and beyond. About the Speaker Elaine Forbes is the executive director of the Port of San Francisco. She is a passionate champion and advocate for the San Francisco waterfront. An innovative and compassionate leader, she has provided a steady hand at the helm during a period of great change and a global pandemic. Mayor Edwin M. Lee appointed Director Forbes in 2016. Forbes is leading the Port and public through a waterfront renaissance. Central to her work is ensuring that all new developments on the waterfront align with key Port objectives of economic recovery, equity, and resilience. Due to her leadership, neighborhood communities at Pier 70, Mission Rock, and 88 Broadway provide more open space, new affordable homes, and robust climate change measures to ensure the new developments will serve future generations. She secured a $425 million bond from San Francisco voters, and additional resources from agencies, to create a safer and more resilient Embarcadero. As the guardian of the public’s historic resources and open space, she is addressing the capital deferred maintenance of the historic Embarcadero piers. Deeply committed to an open and accessible waterfront, Forbes has expanded open space and bay access for the public. She has overseen the addition of several acres of open space, creating more public access to nature and the bay. One of the signature park openings is Crane Cove Park, a seven-acre southern bayfront park that contributes to and expands the Port’s necklace of public open spaces along San Francisco’s iconic waterfront. MLF ORGANIZER Linda Calhoun SPEAKERS Elaine Forbes Executive Director, Port of San Francisco Linda Calhoun Chair, International Relations Member-led Forum—Moderator In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 15th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who is Vladimir Putin? In the West’s collective imagination, Putin is a deceitful cartoon villain, constantly plotting to destroy his enemies not only in Ukraine but around the world. But how did a mid-level KGB officer become one of the most powerful leaders in Russian history? In a unique graphic novel format, Russian expert Andrew Weiss chronicles Putin's political rise and reveals the truth behind the persona that Putin has spent his career cultivating. Weiss offers a compelling look at the myths surrounding Putin as a take-no-prisoners political mastermind and exposes who is really behind the façade. Andrew Weiss is the James Family Chair and vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he oversees research in Washington and Moscow on Russia and Eurasia. He previously served as director for Russian, Ukrainian and Eurasian Affairs on the National Security Council staff and was a member of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff during the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s become common for homeowners to install solar panels to provide themselves with emission-free electricity. But increasingly more attention is being paid to decarbonizing things inside the home – the machines that heat and cool water and air, dry our clothes and cook our food. The Inflation Reduction Act includes many ways for homeowners and renters to start to electrify their lives. And in some places, builders are developing highly efficient, all electric homes from the get-go. What more is needed to make our buildings greener and get away from fossil fuels? Guests: Mark Chambers, Sr. Director Building Emissions & Community Resilience, White House Council on Environmental Quality Bruce Nilles, Executive Director, Climate Imperative Contributing Producer: Cody Short, WBHM For show notes and related links, visit https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What Do We Know About the Moon? July 20, 2019 is the 50th anniversary of humanity’s first steps on the surface of the moon. In that time, the Apollo missions, a fleet of robotic probes and observations from Earth have taught us a lot about Earth’s surprising satellite. In this nontechnical talk, Andrew Fraknoi, who is sometimes called the Bay Area’s public astronomer, will look at the past, present and future of the moon, including its violent origins, the mystery of the frozen water we have found at its poles and its long-term future as it moves farther and farther away from us. Illustrated with beautiful images taken from orbit and on the surface, his talk will make the moon come alive as an eerie world next door, as a changing object in our skies, and as a possible future destination for humanity and its ambitions. Come find out how the achievements of the Apollo program fit into the bigger picture of our involvement with our only natural satellite. Fraknoi recently retired as the chair of the astronomy department at Foothill College and now teaches noncredit astronomy courses for seniors at the Fromm Institute at the University of San Francisco and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at San Francisco State. He also served as the executive director of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for 14 years and was named the California professor of the year in 2007. Fraknoi appears regularly on local and national radio, explaining astronomical developments in everyday language. The International Astronomical Union has named Asteroid 4859 after Fraknoi in honor of his contributions to the public understanding of science. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julia Morgan was a lifelong trailblazer. She was the first woman admitted to study architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and the first licensed to practice architecture in California. Born in San Francisco and trained in Paris, she developed a distinctive aesthetic that now defines certain regions of California. But only in the last 20 years has her contribution to architecture been fully recognized and celebrated. In 2014, the American Institute of Architects posthumously awarded her its Gold Medal; she is the first female recipient. Victoria Kastner has spent years compiling photographs, interviews, letters, drawings, and diaries—including material never published before—to create a comprehensive portrait of this amazing woman. Of Julia Morgan’s remarkable 700 creations, from hotels to churches to private homes, the most iconic is Hearst Castle. She spent 30 years constructing this opulent estate on the California coast for the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, forging a lifelong friendship and creative partnership with him. Together they built a spectacular and perhaps unequalled residence that once hosted the biggest stars of Hollywood's golden age, and that now welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the United States was founded in 1776, its citizens didn’t think of themselves as “Americans.” They were New Yorkers or Virginians or Pennsylvanians. It was decades later that the seeds of American nationalism—identifying with one’s own nation and supporting its broader interests—began to take root. But what kind of nationalism should Americans embrace? The state-focused and racist nationalism of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson? Or the belief that the U.S. Constitution made all Americans one nation, indivisible, which Daniel Webster and others espoused? Paul tells the fascinating story of how Webster, a young Dartmouth graduate and New Hampshire attorney, rose to political prominence by capturing the national imagination through his powerful oratory and unwavering belief in the United States. In his speeches—on the floors of the House and the Senate, in court, and as secretary of state—Webster argued that the Constitution was not a compact made by states but an expression of the will of all Americans. As the greatest orator of his age, Webster saw his speeches and writings published widely, and his stirring rhetoric convinced Americans to see themselves differently, as a nation bound together by a government of laws, not parochial interests. As these ideas took root, they influenced future leaders, among them Abraham Lincoln, who drew on them to hold the nation together during the Civil War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Mehrdad Ayati has identified eight critical challenges that currently face the aging population. Join Us at the Club for a discussion on healthy aging and Dr. Ayati’s proposed solutions to these critical challenges. Topics will include global aging trends and demographics, over medications, inappropriate use of vitamins and supplements to stay young, promoting healthy aging rather than just a diagnostic system, and lack of training in health care. Plus, what are the lessons that we have learned from the pandemic? How will it affect the future of our aging population? Dr Ayati is well-known nationally and internationally in the field of geriatric medicine, as a physician, speaker, author, and an educator. As the medical advisor to the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, he raises awareness and provides advice on aging and challenges faced by the aging population in the United States. Dr. Ayati is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of General Medicine, Open Access, and co-author of Paths to Healthy Aging. He is currently a member of the Ethnogeriatric and Quality & Policy Performance Committees of the American Geriatrics Society. He also serves as a community health advisor for Alzheimer's Association, Northern California, and Nevada Chapter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Was 2019 the last great year for the world economy? For generations, everything has been getting faster, better and cheaper. Complex, innovative industries were created to satisfy consumers, but are we at the brink of not being able to sustain ongoing demand? Geopolitical strategist Peter Zeihan asserts it is only a matter of time before major changes will start to unfold that will affect how we manufacture goods, grow food and produce energy. Additionally, the list of countries able to sustain this model is much smaller than you might think. Zeihan issues an urgent call to avoid what he sees as a catastrophic ending and maps out what the “next” world will look like. NOTES This program is supported by the Ken & Jaclyn Broad Family Fund. This program contains EXPLICIT language. SPEAKERS Peter Zeihan Author, The End of the World Is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization; Twitter @PeterZeihan Quentin Hardy Head of Editorial, Google Cloud In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on December 2nd, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five centuries after his death, Leonardo Da Vinci is attracting more attention for his art, his science and his mechanical inventiveness than ever. Humanities West celebrates his continuing cultural contributions with an encore presentation of "Leonardo’s Legacy," our February 2019 program, again featuring Martin Kemp, a world-renowned Leonardo scholar, who will treat us this time to his latest research on Leonardo’s study of the science of optics and how that study influenced his artistic creations. And Deborah Loft will reprise her popular lecture, "Leonardo's Artistic Legacy: Homage and Irony," which looks at the visual elements that make his work distinctive, and follows his significance through time to our contemporary culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the last two decades, a fringe plan to call a convention under the Constitution's amendment mechanism—the nation's first ever—has inched through statehouses. Delegates, like those in Philadelphia two centuries ago, would exercise nearly unlimited authority to draft changes to our fundamental law, potentially altering anything from voting and free speech to regulatory and foreign policy powers. Such a watershed moment would present great danger, and for some, great power. Russ Feingold and Peter Prindiville examine the nature of such constitutional changes in modern life and ask the urgent question about what American democracy is—and should be. SPEAKERS Russ Feingold Former U.S. Senator (D-Wisconsin); President, American Constitution Society; Co-author, The Constitution in Jeopardy: An Unprecedented Effort to Rewrite Our Fundamental Law and What We Can Do About It; Twitter @russfeindgold Peter Prindiville Non-resident Fellow, Stanford Constitutional Law Center; Co-Author, The Constitution in Jeopardy: An Unprecedented Effort to Rewrite Our Fundamental Law and What We Can Do About It; Twitter @prindivillean Melissa Caen Attorney; Political Analyst—Moderator In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 30th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Best-selling author Mark Shaw, who has become a magnet for crowdsourced information about Marilyn Monroe, JFK and prominent journalist Dorothy Kilgallen ever since his lectures went viral on YouTube, returns to The Commonwealth Club to share new research about the cover-ups that followed those three celebrities’ deaths. Revealed for the first time in his latest book, Fighting for Justice, is evidence from a still-living legislative aide to a Warren Commission member never identified before that the inner workings of the commission involved “internal corruption,” and that commission members felt pressure from President Johnson, Chief Justice Earl Warren, and J. Edgar Hoover to support the “Oswald Alone” theory. Shaw also argues that that commission member was likely the one who surreptitiously passed Jack Ruby’s testimony to journalist Dorothy Kilgallen prior to its release date—triggering an FBI inquiry. Join us to hear Shaw describe what a “rat’s nest” Marilyn fell into when she fell in love with Frank Sinatra, and to hear how important the almost unknown 18-month investigation into JFK’s assassination by Kilgallen would have been had all her research papers not disappeared when she mysteriously died. Continuing his quest for the truth about the deaths of Dorothy and Marilyn, Shaw adds new evidence to the pile, using first-hand accounts that he says make it clearer than ever that the official explanations for those deaths are not credible. MLF ORGANIZER Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2015, Misty Copeland made history and changed the dance world forever when she became the first African-American female principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre. But as she will tell you, achievements like this never happen in a void. Behind her and supporting her rise was her mentor, Raven Wilkinson. A trailblazer in the world of ballet, Wilkinson fought to be taken seriously as a Black ballerina in the 1950s and '60s. During this time Wilkinson faced overt and casual racism, hostile crowds, and death threats for having the audacity to dance ballet. Copeland honors the unheralded contributions made by women like Wilkinson who helped pave the way so she could pursue her dream career. She will also share more about her own journey, struggles with racism and exclusion, and intergenerational friendship and mentorship with Wilkinson. NOTES This program is generously supported by the Applied Materials Foundation. SPEAKERS Misty Copeland Principal Dancer, American Ballet Theatre; Author, The Wind at My Back: Resilience, Grace, and Other Gifts from My Mentor, Raven Wilkinson; Twitter @mistyonpointe In conversation with Mina Kim Host, “Forum” on KQED; Twitter @mkimreporter In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 16th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2012, Regina Martínez, a prominent journalist reporting on political corruption and abuse in Mexico, was found brutally murdered in her bathroom. This tragic act of violence sent a clear message: No journalist in Mexico was safe. Troubled by this news, Katherine Corcoran, then leading the Associated Press coverage of Mexico, traveled to Veracruz to uncover the truth about Martínez’s death. Now Corcoran reveals what she learned during her investigation and recounts her own experiences battling cover-ups, narco-officials, red tape and even threats. Hear more about this harrowing story as well as the ongoing dangers that journalists encounter everyday around the world. NOTES This program is part of The Commonwealth Club's Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. SPEAKERS Katherine Corcoran Former Associated Press Bureau Chief for Mexico and Central America; Author, In the Mouth of the Wolf: A Murder, a Cover-Up, and the True Cost of Silencing the Press Janine Zacharia Carlos Kelly McClatchy Lecturer, Department of Communication, Stanford University In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 14th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over a 20-year period, methane is 80 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Yet those responsible for releasing methane into the atmosphere often don’t even know how much they themselves are emitting. And methane is only one of many harmful air pollutants that result from our dependence on burning fossil fuels. Now, research coalitions, citizen scientists and activists are using a slate of new tools to detect and report emissions. They’re also using many of the same tools to shine a light on exactly how and where other deadly fossil fuel pollutants, like nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter, are affecting community health. Such data could become a critical tool for regulation, leading to greater emissions reductions. Guests: Davida Herzl, Co-founder and CEO, Aclima Kendra Pinto, Four Corners Indigenous Community Field Advocate, Earthworks Gavin McCormick, Co-founder, Climate TRACE For show notes and related links, visit https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sara Holtz, a former Fortune 500 vice president, is the author of Advice to My Younger Me: Career Lessons from 100 Successful Women and the host of the highly rated podcast "Advice to My Younger Me." She has interviewed hundreds of successful women about what they wish they had known earlier in their careers, has coached thousands, and has received the American Bar Association’s prestigious Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award in recognition of the impact that her work has had on helping women succeed. We'll start the program with an overview of the main lessons Holtz has learned from her interviews about the critical steps to career success. Too many women (and men) expect that all they need to do is work hard on assigned tasks and they will be rewarded for their good work with raises and promotions. But that's a bit unrealistic; Holtz says that succeeding at your career requires taking responsibility for how it unfolds, understanding the unwritten rules in your workplace, nurturing and leveraging your career relationships, and taking smart risks. After a brief presentation by Holtz, the in-person participants will break into small groups to discuss some common career challenges before regrouping for further discussion. There will also be a post-event reception with wine and cheese for more discussion and networking, along with a book signing. Although this program will be available on live stream, come to the Club for the full experience that includes small groups, meet Sara and your peers, and maybe even have dinner afterward at a nearby restaurant! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does mass incarceration make our communities safer? How can we better protect victim rights? What happens inside of prisons? Those are important questions that Lenore Anderson and Bill Keller address in their new books In Their Names and What's Prison For? Anderson argues that the powerful myth that mass incarceration benefits victims obscures recognition of what most victims actually need to address their trauma. Based on her national reform advocacy work and time as the former chief of policy at the San Francisco District Attorney’s office and former director of public safety for the Oakland mayor, she offers her solutions on how we can close the gap between our public safety systems and crime survivors. Keller looks at our broken criminal justice system and shares what happens inside prisons and jails, where nearly 2 million Americans are held. He takes us inside to meet men and woman who are making efforts to return back to society and talks about his own experience helping educate inmates at Sing Sing as well as other programs around the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the beginning of the nation to today, Black women have transformed their pain into progress and have been at the frontlines of many of the nation’s political, social and economic struggles. In her new book Black Women Will Save the World, April Ryan celebrates the tenacity, power and impact that Black women have had across America. She highlights trailblazing “sheroes” ranging from political leaders like Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Maxine Waters, activists like Brittany Packnett Cunningham, and artists like Regina King who fight for fairness and justice. Ryan also chronicles her own journey from working-class Baltimore to the elite echelons of journalism and speaks candidly about the hurdles she faced in becoming one of the most well-connected members of the Washington press corps. Ryan notes we are at a moment unlike any other in our nation’s history where we need to acknowledge the presence and unrivaled contributions of Black women. Hear more about how they continue to lead and drive change in our country. NOTES This program is part of The Commonwealth Club's Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. SPEAKERS April Ryan White House Correspondent, The Grio; Political Analyst, CNN; Author, Black Women Will Save the World: An Anthem; Twitter @AprilDRyan In Conversation with Sheryl Davis Executive Director, San Francisco Human Rights Commission In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 14th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After 25 years of service, U.S. Marine Mac McKinney returned home to Indiana filled with an all-consuming rage and hatred toward the people he had been fighting against overseas. Still fueled by his desire to fight for his country, McKinney makes a violent plan to bomb the local mosque. But when he comes face to face with the community of Afghan refugees and others of Muslim faith, his plan and life take an unexpected turn. This documentary film explores the dynamics of patriotism, humanity and redemption. Following the film screening will be a panel discussion with Director Joshua Seftel, Bibi Bahrami and Mac McKinney. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Overwhelmed by racial injustice? Outraged by the news? Shocked by ugly events in American history? If you find yourself asking “what can I do?”—W. Kamau Bell and Kate Schatz have an answer: Do the Work! Bell and Schatz confront urgent issues on race and identity in America with sharp humor and interactive activities. They challenge us to have hard conversations, think critically, and act effectively about white privilege and Black disenfranchisement. Hear more as Bell and Schatz offer a unique, hands-on understanding of systemic racism and, more important, how people can dismantle it. *This podcast contains explicit language Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When federal employees start working for the U.S. Government, each person takes an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic.” During the Trump administration, some employees surprisingly found themselves fighting their own commander-in-chief, creating a resistance movement within the government that created tensions throughout the executive branch and various federal agencies. Political affairs analyst David Rothkopf chronicles the unprecedented role many in the government felt they were forced to play during this tumultuous time and the consequences they faced for their actions. Rothkopf focuses on the experiences of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and his brother Yevgeny, Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, Fiona Hill, and others who felt they needed to speak out publicly to protect our country. These once-obscure federal bureaucrats rose to national prominence by choosing to fight for what they believed, and Rothkopf believes their stories of resistance need to be told to truly understand what was really at stake for our country. SPEAKERS David Rothkopf Podcast Host; Visiting Professor, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University; Author, American Resistance: The Inside Story of How the Deep State Saved the Nation; Twitter @djrothkopf Michael Krasny Host, "Grey Matter with Michael Krasny"; Former Host, "KQED Forum"—Moderator In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 10th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did an Ivy League activist become a global fugitive? Journalist Bradley Hope chronicles the heart-pounding tale of Adrian Hong, a self-taught operative who tried to bring down the North Korean regime. In addition to helping asylum-seeking North Koreans escape across the border, Hong and his secret organization Cheollima Civil Defense (later named Free Joseon), began tracking the North Korean government’s activities and its volatile third-generation ruler, Kim Jong-un. Hear more about the high-stakes events that led Hong to become one of the world’s most unlikely fugitives. SPEAKERS Bradley Hope Co-founder, Project Brazen; Author, The Rebel and the Kingdom: The True Story of the Secret Mission to Overthrow the North Korean Regime Quentin Hardy Head of Editorial, Google Cloud—Moderator In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 8th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are living through a transformative time in mental health research. There is overwhelming demand for new and safe ways of addressing various states of depression. Dr. Nolan Williams and Stanford University are leaders in cutting-edge research that is generating worldwide attention. Attend this fascinating program to learn what is currently being done in research settings as well as the breakthrough technology that is in the process of being developed so it can be in every medical setting and available to people who need treatment and support. At Stanford, Dr. William’s Brain Stimulation Lab developed a now-FDA-cleared, personalized, accelerated neuromodulation treatment known as Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy (SAINT). The innovative SAINT approach is having a very positive impact on the treatment of severe depression. In a double-blind, randomized controlled trial, high doses of magnetic brain stimulation, given on an accelerated timeline and individually targeted, brought rapid remission to 79 percent of trial participants with severe depression compared to people in the sham treatment arm, where 13 percent of the people entered remission. The SAINT approach provides a novel form of rapid-acting, non-invasive, individually targeted neuromodulation that uses electromagnetic pulses to relieve symptoms of treatment-resistant depression. For the first time, advanced tools for processing MRI-based images of the brain are used to steer a specialized, high-dose pattern of magnetic pulses to induce neurons to fire. The stimulation modifies activity in brain networks related to depression, changing the brain’s circuitry to more effectively treat major depression. SAINT has additionally been studied in open-label studies. Overall, the therapy has been shown to be effective in the treatment of major depressive disorder, with approximately 80–90 percent of patients achieving remission of depression symptoms following the five-day treatment protocol. Dr. Williams has been interviewed extensively by the media and has appeared on programs such as "CBS News Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley," "The Today show" on NBC, and on NPR, discussing the benefits of SAINT for relieving symptoms of treatment-resistant depression. SPEAKERS Dr. Nolan Williams Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; Director of the Stanford Brain Stimulation Lab, Stanford University Adrea Brier CNHP, CLC, Integrative Cancer Consultant and Advocate—Moderator In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 8th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, against a backdrop of massive cultural shifts, violence and political upheaval, Natasha Lance Rogoff took on the challenge of creating a program that had never existed before, Ulitsa Sezam, a Russian version of Sesame Street. This new children’s television program, produced by a Russian-American team, was designed to introduce children into the world of learning in a very joyful way. What started as an attempt to entertain and educate millions of children across the former U.S.S.R., encouraging tolerance and inclusion, spiraled into the astonishing true story of culture clashes shaping all aspects of production. On the set, the production team navigated conflicts about topics like diversity, class, and even the notion of encouraging children’s optimism about the future. Meanwhile, off the set, there were car bombings, assassinations of the show’s top broadcast partners, and hostile takeovers of the production studios. Muppets in Moscow is as much about the work that went into the show and how rewarding it was to bring such a popular American program to the former U.S.S.R., as it is about navigating the Russian television landscape in the 1990s and stretching the limits of freedom of expression in a society unaccustomed to such freedoms. While Ulitsa Sezam ended in 2007 along with many other independently produced programs shut down by Putin’s government, a generation of Russian children grew up watching it. The show’s history offers a valuable perspective of Russia and its people that remains relevant today. Join us as Natasha Lance Rogoff sheds light on the core values and beliefs that shaped Russia during this tumultuous period and the clashes that continue to play out today between Putin’s Russia and the West. SPEAKERS Natasha Lance Rogoff Journalist; Television Producer; Filmmaker; Author, Muppets in Moscow Leslie Dixon Screenwriter; Film Producer—Moderator In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 17th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard made headlines recently when he announced that he and his family had transferred their $3 billion stake in the storied outdoor gear company to a special purpose trust and nonprofit that would give away $100 million a year, specifically to environmental causes. Patagonia has a long history of donating at least one percent of its profits – and 100% of profits made on Black Friday – to grassroots environmental non-profits. Yet even with this massive gift, and Laurene Powell Jobs’ own recent $3.5 billion pledge, climate philanthropy still only accounts for a small fraction of all charitable giving. This Thanksgiving weekend, we look back to our 2016 interview with Yvon Chouinard and bring the story up to date with Inside Philanthropy’s Michael Kavate. Guests: Yvon Chouinard, Founder, Patagonia Michael Kavate, Staff Writer, Inside Philanthropy For show notes and related links, visit https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all need sleep to survive. It is essential to our physical and mental wellbeing and just as important as food, water and oxygen. So why do so many of us struggle to get a good night’s rest? Dr. Aric Prather runs one of the world’s most successful sleep clinics and shares effective techniques that he uses to help his own patients achieve healing and restorative sleep. Hear more about this powerful plan to improve your quality of sleep in just seven days. NOTES The Commonwealth Club is a nonprofit public forum; we welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our online programming. SPEAKERS Aric A. Prather Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco; Author, The Sleep Prescription: Seven Days to Unlocking Your Best Rest Mark Zitter Founder, Zetema Project; Member, Commonwealth Club of California Board of Governors—Moderator In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 7th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ramses the Great ruled Egypt more than 3,200 years ago, but he made sure we would still be talking about him today. He ruled for 67 years, probably starting on May 31st (III Season of the Harvest, day 27 to ancient Egyptians) in 1279 BC. He soon set about creating a new capital city in the Nile delta, where he had chariot, weapon and shield factories built. Not long thereafter he defeated the Sherden pirates who were seriously harassing sea traders in the Mediterranean, and “won” the Battle of Kadesh against the Hittites in the largest chariot battle ever fought. He also had enormous temples, obelisks and statues erected all over the New Kingdom, and ordered lots of gold objects. Dozens of those objects are on display until February 12 at the de Young Museum in a state-of-the-art exhibit featuring the greatest collection of Ramses objects and Egyptian jewelry ever to travel to the United States. Along with colossal royal sculpture, the exhibit highlights recently discovered animal mummies and treasures from the royal tombs of Dahshur and Tanis. Visitors can also immerse themselves in multimedia productions that re-create moments from Ramses’s life or take a virtual tour of Abu Simbel and Nefertari’s tomb. The de Young’s ancient art curator, Renée Dreyfus, will share with us the stories of some of these art objects and how the de Young organized this outstanding and rare exhibit. Egyptologist Rita Lucarelli will explain the evolution of the funerary beliefs of ancient Egyptian society from their origins in prehistory to the time of Ramses. She will draw on her scholarly work on the Book of the Dead to discuss the magical texts found in royal and elite tombs and how they compare to the "personal piety" or "popular religion" of the Ramesside period, about which there are many sources to draw upon from that well-documented society. Among those documents is the earliest known peace treaty in world history—between Ramses II and Hattušili III, the Hittite king. It was recorded in two versions―one in Egyptian hieroglyphs and the other in Hittite using a cuneiform script. The two versions are nearly identical, but in the Hittite version the Egyptians are the ones who sue for peace, while in the Egyptian version the Hittites are the ones who sue for peace. Some things never change. SPEAKERS Renée Dreyfus George and Judy Marcus Distinguished Curator, Curator in Charge, Ancient Art, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, de Young / Legion of Honor Rita Lucarelli Associate Professor of Egyptology, Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures, University of California, Berkeley; Faculty Curator of Egyptology, Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley; Fellow, Digital Humanities in Berkeley George Hammond Author, Conversations With Socrates—Moderator In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 4th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, China’s ascension to power was promised to be peaceful, with the nation’s leaders adopting a restrained approach to foreign policy and reassuring the outside world of their non-combative intentions. What changed? Susan L. Shirk provides a sobering, behind-the-scenes account of China’s transformation from fragile superpower to global heavyweight—threatening Taiwan, tightening its grip on Hong Kong, and openly challenging the United States for economic and military dominance. Hear more about China’s future and what that could mean for the United States and the rest of the world. SPEAKERS Susan L. Shirk Research Professor and Chair of the 21st Century China Center, The School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California, San Diego; Author, Overreach: How China Derailed Its Peaceful Rise Jane Perlez Foreign Correspondent and Former Beijing Bureau Chief, The New York Times—Moderator In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 3rd, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse reveals how special interest groups are using “dark money” to influence and control our courts. In 2020, Sen. Whitehouse raised these alarming concerns during the Amy Coney Barrett hearing. He asserts that a group consisting of billionaires and corporations are using their wealth and power to back appointees and nominees that will advance a right-wing agenda and policies. Hear more about these growing implications and what this ultimately means for the future of our country. SPEAKERS Sheldon Whitehouse U.S. Senator (D-RI); Author, The Scheme: How the Right Wing Used Dark Money to Capture the Supreme Court; Twitter @SenWhitehouse In Conversation with Melissa Caen Political Analyst; Attorney In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 7th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Climate One has been at this year's UN climate summit, COP27, where one of the issues at the forefront of the conversation has been “loss and damage” – the idea that rich countries who have historically emitted the vast majority of climate-disrupting pollution should have to pay for the resulting suffering borne by those least responsible for the problem. At the same time, the whole world needs to drastically reduce its emissions and transition to clean energy – and that costs money, too. When even wealthy countries struggle to meet self imposed goals to cut down on carbon pollution, how can developing countries, who are already suffering the effects of the climate crisis, fund their own moves to clean energy? Guests: Bogolo Joy Kenewendo, UN Climate Change High-Level Champions’ Special Advisor, Africa Director Arunabha Ghosh, CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water Alastair Marsh, Reporter, Bloomberg Johnson Cerda, DGM Global Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As America faces another election as a deeply divided country, Steve Phillips has strong views on what the United States needs to do to strengthen its multiracial democracy. For Phillips, understanding why the country is so divided requires recognizing that many of our divisions are historic in nature, resulting in a contest between democracy and white supremacy that is still left unresolved after the Civil War. In his new book, How We Win the Civil War, Phillips pulls no punches on what he thinks the country must do to bridge its divides, particularly around issues related to race. Phillips advocates for increasing voter participation, ending what he says are racist immigration policies, and reviving the Great Society programs of the 1960s—all of them geared toward strengthening a new multiracial democracy and ridding our politics of white supremacy. Join us for a powerful conversation on race, history, politics and finally overcoming our divisions. SPEAKERS Steve Phillips Podcast Host, Founder, "Democracy in Color"; Author, How We Win the Civil War: Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending White Supremacy for Good; Twitter @StevePtweets In Conversation with Angela Glover Blackwell Founder in Residence, PolicyLink In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 3rd, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices