Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Since Darwin, evolutionary biology has been “all about the boys,” with the males of the species being the drivers of change and females simply passively devoted to them, zoologist Lucy Cooke argues. Rather than conforming with this male-dominated view of a male-dominated field, Cooke instead seeks to humorously reinvent the narrative—and show just how fierce, dangerous and hilarious the queens of the animal kingdom can be. Lucy Cooke is a British zoologist and an author, director and television producer. She is a graduate of the University of Oxford, where she was tutored by Richard Dawkins. A trailblazer in the field of evolutionary biology, Cooke’s works have included multiple BBC films and documentaries and has published numerous books on various members of the animal kingdom. In her latest book, Bitch: On the Female of the Species, Cooke gives a new look at the females of the species—from same-sex albatross couples raising chicks, to murderous mother meerkats and the titanic battle of the sexes waged by ducks. In her words, “This isn’t your grandfather’s evolutionary biology,” dispelling myths and showing just how ravishing the kingdom’s queens can be. Join us live in San Francisco as Cooke breaks down the gender stereotypes of zoology, and provides striking accounts that prove females can be just as dynamic as any male. SPEAKERS Lucy Cooke Zoologist; Author, Bitch: On the Female of the Species; Twitter @mslucycooke 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 June 21st, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In February 2022, Chantale Wong was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in an overwhelming and bipartisan vote to serve as U.S. director of the Asian Development Bank, making her the first openly lesbian Senate-confirmed ambassador in U.S. history. The Asian Development Bank was founded in the mid-1960s as a financial institution focused on fostering economic growth and cooperation in one of the poorest regions of the world. Based in Manila, The Philippines, ADB commits tens of billions of dollars to projects throughout the region. Join us for an online discussion with Ambassador Wong, who will be joining us from Manila to discuss the role of ADB as well as the impact of U.S. economic policies on gender equity, LGBTQIA rights and the environment. SPEAKERS Chantale Wong United States Director, Asian Development Bank; Twitter @chantalew 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 June 22nd, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Africa is responsible for only less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet its people are already suffering some of the world’s most devastating climate impacts. For Wanjira Mathai, Regional Director for Africa and Vice President at the World Resources Institute, and the daughter of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai, this raises a central moral question: When those most affected are those least responsible, how can those most responsible address that injustice? Guest: Wanjira Mathai, Vice President and Regional Director for Africa, World Resources Institute Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision on abortion rights (in Dobbs v. Mississippi) that overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that has provided federal protections and defined a woman’s right to abortion since 1973. After decades of whittling away at Roe's protections, a majority of the court's justices have upended it, letting individual states decide their own approaches to reproductive rights. With this decision, some 22 states are expected to quickly make abortion all but illegal, while California will likely remain one of the few where full abortion rights are guaranteed. Women in other states across the country might lose access to reproductive care overnight or find services even more severely restricted. In California, women’s health-care providers and women’s rights organizations are gearing up for a massive influx of people seeking care and assistance, while some are already exploring how the state can become a sanctuary for women in search of reproductive health care. California's approach to protecting abortion rights will be one of the most watched in the country. To mark this critical moment in the history of women’s rights and to explore the role that California could play in a post-Roe environment, The Commonwealth Club of California is joining with Women's March San Francisco for a special gathering including conversation, networking and learning The gathering, produced in partnership with Women’s March San Francisco and with support from The California Wellness Foundation, SPEAKERS Sylvia Ghazarian Executive Director, Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project (participating via Zoom) Gilda Gonzales CEO, Planned Parenthood Northern California Buffy Wicks California State Assemblymember (District 15) Imani Rupert-Gordon Executive Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights—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 June 28th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A career in television journalism can be fraught with burnout, impostor syndrome and publicly aired stumbles. Especially in one of the craziest news eras America has ever seen, it is almost impossible to remain calm among the fury of stories to follow and the demanding and roles and responsibilities of the news industry. MSNBC anchor and New York Times bestselling author Katy Tur knows precisely what difficulties come from a life chasing news stories. Though she gained popularity covering then-candidate Donald Trump in 2015 and 2016, her newest release Rough Draft details the early years of her life as the daughter of two groundbreaking helicopter journalists in Los Angeles leading up to her own breakout career as a reporter. She explores the gift and curse of family legacy and for the first time, opens up about her complicated relationship with her parents. She also takes readers behind the desk to reveal what it is like to report during a time of massive chaos, disinformation and extremism, and she shares how she navigated the unprecedented and embraced the moment. Join INFORUM live in San Francisco for an intimate conversation with MSNBC's Katy Tur as she brings us inside her riveting life in TV news. NOTES This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. SPEAKERS Katy Tur Anchor, MSNBC Live; Author, Rough Draft: A Memoir; Twitter @KatyTurNBC In Conversation with Marisa Lagos Correspondent for California Politics and Government, KQED; Twitter @mlagos 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 June 17th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anne W. Smith, the Commonwealth Club's Arts Member-led Forum chair, will moderate a discussion relative to restorative performing arts ideas and values, lingering pandemic issues and new implications for artist and audiences. Sean Fenton, the “new kid on the block”, is executive director for the arts community service organization Theatre Bay Area. He will spotlight new approaches and thinking ideologies of large and small companies, including why passion is central to leveraging pathways through equity, diversity and inclusion as theatre’s strongest future. Phillippa Cole, senior director of artistic planning at San Francisco Symphony, will share the emerging impact of Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen’s sparks of innovation underneath his galvanizing leadership model of collaborating artist partners. Is this how the symphony will—as Partner Julia Bullock so aptly wrote—“unpick the institutional tangle?" Why will Davies Hall’s collaborative space message prevail? And Carma Zisman, executive director of ODC/Dance, which was founded 50 years ago by Artistic Director Brenda Way, will talk about how ODC committed to 52-week full-time contracts for their dancers. It’s a very radical move in the contemporary dance world that grounds ODC's 50th anniversary the impact of EDI issues, and the professional dance world's positioning right now. Join us for an enlightening conversation. We must try! About the Speakers Phillippa Cole is the senior director of artistic planning at San Francisco Symphony. She was previously the associate director of artistic planning for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, producing at London’s Almeida Theatre, casting administrator of the English National Opera, and agent with Askonas Holt artist management company focusing on conductors, singers, and stage directors, including Michael Tilson Thomas , Magdalena Kozena and Sir Simon Rattle. She served as the Center’s Performance panel chair at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Sean Fenton has been active in the professional Bay Area theatre community for more than two decades. He has worked as an actor, musician, director and administrator. He as performed at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, San Francisco Playhouse, Crowded Fire Theater, 42nd Street Moon, and Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company, among others. Backstage, he’s been a leader at Bay Area Children’s Theatre and Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre, and he has developed audience research services at Wolf Brown’s Intrinsic Impact program. Before taking the helm at ODC/Dance five years ago, Carma Zisman served as director of institutional advancement at The Walt Disney Family Museum. Previously she was the vice president of development at the World Affairs Council of Northern California, and development director of the College of Liberal & Creative Arts at San Francisco State University. SPEAKERS Phillippa Cole Senior Director of Artistic Planning, San Francisco Symphony Sean Fenton Executive Director, Theatre Bay Area Carma Zisman Executive Director, ODC/Dance Dr. Anne W. Smith Co-chair, Commonwealth Club Arts Member-led Forum 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 June 21st, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Ronald Reagan Institute Shultz Lecture Series was originally conceived to honor Secretary Shultz on the anniversary of his 100th birthday; to celebrate and introduce more people to his incredible achievements and leadership in service to the United States and the world. This inaugural Shultz Lecture brings together three leading scholars to discuss the legacy of Secretary George P. Shultz: the man, the statesman, and a cherished friend and mentor to many. The George P. Shultz Lecture Series is a collaboration spearheaded by Taube Philanthropies in partnership with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute. Two lectures will be held in 2022, with the West Coast lecture taking place at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco in June, and the East Coast lecture being held at the Ronald Reagan Institute in Washington, D.C. , later this year. NOTES The George P. Shultz Lecture Series is generously underwritten by Taube Philanthropies. Presented by The Commonwealth Club in partnership with the Ronald Reagan Institute SPEAKERS Welcome by Dr. Gloria Duffy President and CEO, The Commonwealth Club of California Dr. Condoleezza Rice 66th U.S. Secretary of State; The Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution (Participating via video) Frances Tilney Burke George P. Shultz Fellow, The Ronald Reagan Institute Kiron K. Skinner Incoming Taube Professor for International Relations and Politics, Pepperdine University School of Public Policy Philip Taubman Lecturer, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University; Former New York Times Washington and Moscow Bureau Chief Roger Zakheim Director, The Ronald Reagan Institute—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 June 15th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Penetrating the fog of the coverup surrounding the murder of Stanford University's cofounder, historian Richard White deftly sifts through the evidence and reconstructs the full story. In 1885 Jane Stanford and her husband, Leland Stanford, co-founded Stanford University in memory of their deceased son. After Leland's death in 1893, Jane steered the university and its policies into eccentricity and controversy for more than a decade. When she died in 1905, her vast fortune was still the university’s lifeline. To foreclose challenges to her bequests, Stanford's president and his allies insisted it was death by natural causes. But it was a murder, by strychnine poisoning, and the culprit walked. Against a backdrop of San Francisco’s machine politics, corrupt policing, tong wars, and heated newspaper rivalries, White’s search for the murderer will draw you into Stanford’s imperious household and the tumultuous politics at the university. And he reveals that, although several suspects had both motive and opportunity, only one had the means. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond NOTES 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. SPEAKERS Richard White Margaret Byrne Professor Emeritus, Stanford University; Author, Who Killed Jane Stanford?: A Gilded Age Tale of Murder, Deceit, Spirits, and the Birth of a University In Conversation With George Hammond Author, Conversations With Socrates 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 June 16th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we mark World Refugee Day, an international day to honor refugees, we invite you to celebrate the strength and courage of all those forced to flee their homes in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February . Multiple organizations and individuals are lending their support to the estimated 6.8 million refugees from Ukraine who have fled to Poland, Romania and throughout the European Union. In addition, there are an estimated 8 million people displaced within the country, all of whom are seeking shelter and safety. After more than three months of war, this refugee crisis continues unabated, and even if a peace agreement were signed tomorrow, this conflict-driven mass migration will continue to impact millions, not only in Europe but also around the globe. How can we plan to support the Ukrainian community throughout the crisis and after the war ends as they return, resettle and rebuild? Join this conversation with leaders from two of the many organizations working with displaced Ukrainian families and learn firsthand about the situation today facing refugees from the war in Ukraine. Ostap Korkuna is co-chairman of Nova Ukraine, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine and raising awareness about Ukraine in the United States as well as in the rest of the world. Joy Sisisky is CEO of the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund here in the Bay Area. She recently spent time traveling to the border between Ukraine and Poland to stand witness at this monumental time in history, provide relief, and welcome Ukrainian Jewish families at the start of their very long journeys. What is being done to assist the mostly women and children forced to flee their homes, and what can you do to help? SPEAKERS Ostap Korkuna Co-Chairman, Nova Ukraine Joy Sisisky CEO and Chief Philanthropy Officer, Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund Steven Saum Editor, WorldView Magazine—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 live on June 21st, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

83% of people in the United States live in urban areas. And these days that’s where important climate progress is happening. Cities all over the country and globe are experimenting with climate resilience projects specific to their local environments and challenges. In many cases, these projects also look to address historic injustices and provide more equitable models for transportation, housing, green space, and more. This week, we feature stories from a few different cities around the country working to address climate challenges. Guests: Tamika L. Butler, Founder + Principal, Tamika L. Butler Consulting, LLC Donnel Baird, Founder, BlocPower J. Morgan Grove, Research Scientist and Team Leader, US Forest Service Contributing Producer: Aubrey Calaway Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Linda Yvette Chávez is a self-proclaimed “wholesome chola next door making chilaquiles out of chaos” and moreover, a Xicana woman making history. In the world of entertainment, she is an unrivaled powerhouse who is the co-creator, co-showrunner and executive producer of Netflix’s hit series "Gentefied" (now in its second season). Through her creative ventures, Chávez has made it her mission to tell authentic Latinx stories and increase representation, not just in actors but through narratives and settings. The bold success of these efforts has won her critical acclaim and praise from audiences and writer’s rooms alike. Named by Glamour magazine as “one of the top Latinas changing the game of representation in television,” Chávez will share her personal journey about breaking the bias and how she is inspiring future generations. SPEAKERS Linda Yvette Chávez Co-Creator, Co-Showrunner, and Executive Producer, Netflix’s "Gentefied"; Twitter @lindayvette In Conversation with Michelle Meow Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show" on KBCW TV and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors This program is generously supported by the Applied Materials Foundation’s Generation Girl® initiative, inspiring girls to pursue their dreams. 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 June 16th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This program will give background on how technology research, innovation and transformation occurs from discoveries and research supported by the National Science Foundation. The National Science Foundations supports deep, early and foundational research across a wide range of fields and is funded by the American taxpayer. However, bringing those discoveries and technologies into use in the marketplace demands connections with universities, venture investors, entrepreneurs and start-ups. Join us for a program that will explain this process and how people can connect with the various programs the NSF provides. MLF ORGANIZER Gerald Harris SPEAKERS Dr. Ben Schrag Program Director and Policy Liaison, NSF Translation, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Gerald Harris President, Quantum Planning Group; Chair, Technology & Society 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 June 14th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Pod Save America" co-host Dan Pfeiffer argues that democracy relies on a shared understanding of reality—and with misinformation and fake news saturating the American political right, this shared understanding is in peril. Hobbling America’s ability to rationally deal with threats like the COVID pandemic and climate change, Pfeiffer argues that something must be done about right wing media—and fast. Dan Pfeiffer is an author, political commentator and former senior advisor to President Obama. An outspoken critic of the American political right and a longtime Obama aide, Pfeiffer is a regular contributor to CNN and co-hosts "Pod Save America" with Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett and Tommy Vietor. In his latest book, Battling the Big Lie, Pfeiffer unpacks the history of how disinformation became the bread and butter of right-wing political media, and how lies like QAnon and the “stolen election” thrived off of polarization and became supported by millions of Americans and even members of Congress. Laying down guides to spot fake news, fact check dubious stories and address the conspiracy theory believers in one’s own life, Pfeiffer offers essential help in navigating what he says is a political movement waging war on the very idea of objective truth. Join us in San Francisco as Pfeiffer navigates a labyrinth of deception and political desperation, and lays out steps for how we can all battle the rise of misinformation in America. SPEAKERS Dan Pfeiffer Co-host, "Pod Save America"; Author, Battling the Big Lie: How Fox, Facebook, and the MAGA Media Are Destroying America In Conversation with Clara Jeffery Editor in Chief, Mother Jones In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded Live on June 14th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, the specter of homosexuality haunted Washington. The mere suggestion that a person might be gay destroyed reputations, ended careers and ruined lives. At the height of the Cold War, fear of homosexuality became intertwined with the growing threat of international communism, leading to a purge of gay men and lesbians from the federal government. In the fevered atmosphere of political Washington, the secret “too loathsome to mention” held enormous, terrifying power. Utilizing thousands of pages of declassified documents, interviews with more than 100 people, and material unearthed from presidential libraries and archives around the country, James Kirchick's Secret City is a chronicle of American politics like no other. Beginning with the tragic story of Sumner Welles, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s brilliant diplomatic advisor and the man at the center of “the greatest national scandal since the existence of the United States,” Kirchick illuminates how homosexuality shaped each successive presidential administration through the end of the 20th century. Cultural and political anxiety over gay people sparked a decades-long witch hunt, impacting everything from the rivalry between the CIA and the FBI to the ascent of Joseph McCarthy, the struggle for Black civil rights, and the rise of the conservative movement. Among other revelations, Kirchick tells of the World War II–era gay spymaster who pioneered seduction as a tool of American espionage, the devoted aide whom Lyndon Johnson treated as a son yet abandoned once his homosexuality was discovered, and how allegations of a “homosexual ring” controlling Ronald Reagan nearly derailed his 1980 election victory. Join us for a talk with author James Kirchick and the story that could transform our understanding of American history. About the Speaker James Kirchick has written about human rights, politics and culture from around the world. A columnist for Tablet magazine, a contributing writer to Air Mail, and a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, he is the author of The End of Europe: Dictators, Demagogues, and the Coming Dark Age. Kirchick’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The New York Review of Books, and the Times Literary Supplement. A graduate of Yale with degrees in history and political science, he resides in Washington, D.C. NOTES See more Michelle Meow Show programs at The Commonwealth Club of California. SPEAKERS James Kirchick Journalist; Author, Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington; Twitter @jkirchick 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 June 13th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Climate change science isn’t taught accurately — or equally — across the country. Investigative reporter Katie Worth dug into textbooks and talked with dozens of children and teachers to find out why. In her book, Miseducation: How Climate is Taught in America, Worth unpacks the influence of the fossil fuel industry, state legislatures and school boards on school curricula in their effort to spread confusion and misinformation about the climate crisis. Some organizations skip the textbook battle entirely and try to reach children directly through assemblies and social media. How do teachers navigate these dynamics in the classroom? How can we ensure our children are learning to be engaged, educated and climate-aware citizens? For transcripts and other information, visit: https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts Guests: Katie Worth, investigative journalist, author, Miseducation: How Climate is Taught in America Lea Dotson, Campaigner, Action for the Climate Emergency Ann Reid, Executive Director, National Center for Science Education Ben Graves, former science teacher in Delta County, CO Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The past couple years has brought to the forefront discrimination and violence against America's Black and Asian communities. The George Floyd killing ignited a social and political upheaval that is still working through the country; and the COVID-19 pandemic spawned numerous violent attacks on Asian Americans. How can these two communities support themselves and each other? How can they deal with issues of mistrust or prejudice among their own members? And what can they accomplish when they join forces to create a better society for all? Join us in-person for a special program exploring the need for and examples of coalition and cooperation between the Asian and Black communities in neighborhoods where there might have been conflicts in the past. Following the program enjoy some live entertainment and refreshments at our reception on the Club's rooftop terrace. Our panel includes Renard Monroe, founder and executive director of Youth 1st, a year-round after-school and summer program located in San Francisco's District 11, and president and a founding member of Invest Black, a community collaboration of Black-led organizations and supporters; Jon Osaki, who since 1996 has served as executive director of the Japanese Community Youth Council, one of San Francisco's most successful youth organizations, annually serving more than 6,000 children and youth from all ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds; Shakirah Simley, a writer, seasoned organizer and community development and policy strategist with more than 15 years experience in social justice, gender and racial equity efforts who is the executive director of the Booker T. Washington Community Service Center, on of San Francisco's oldest Black-led and -serving community organizations; and Sarah Wan, executive director of the Community Youth Center and a member of Mayor London Breed's Commission on the Environment and the co-chair for API Council. Our co-moderators will be Derick Brown, senior director for the Leo T. McCarthy Center at the University of San Francisco, where he works to continue and enhance the tradition of inspiring USF students to serve others and pursue successful careers in public service; and Michelle Meow, the longtime producer and host of "The Michelle Meow Show" and a member of The Commonwealth Club's Board of Governors. SPEAKERS Renard Monroe Founder and Executive Director, Youth 1st; President and a Founding Member, Invest Black Jon Osaki Executive Director, Japanese Community Youth Council Shakirah Simley Writer; Community Development and Policy Strategist; Executive Director, Booker T. Washington Community Service Center Sarah Wan Executive Director, Community Youth Center; Member, Mayor's Commission on the Environment; Co-chair, API Council Derick Brown Senior Director, The Leo T. McCarthy Center, University of San Francisco—Co-moderator Michelle Meow Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW TV and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors—Co-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 June 7th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The accelerating transition to electric vehicles brings new urgency to discussions about how to replace fuel taxes with other broad-based, reliable sources of transportation revenue. From Wyoming to Delaware to California, more and more state legislatures are considering mileage fees, regions like the San Francisco Bay Area are considering expanded tolling, and New York City is within reach of adopting a congestion pricing proposal. Overlaying these discussions is a persistent call to consider the equity of any new charges on drivers. How will the charges impact low-income drivers? Does payment require access to banking tools that are not universally available? This event will explore proposals, including fee rates that vary by driver income, vehicle characteristics, or time and place, and equity-centered policies for responding to nonpayment of tolls or other fees. NOTES This program is supported by the Mineta Transportation Institute at San José State University. SPEAKERS Featured Speaker: U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio Member, U.S. House of Representatives (D-MA); Chair, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for the 117th Congress Fireside Chat with Karen Philbrick Ph.D., Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute Keynote Speaker: Polly Trottenberg Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation Q&A Moderator: Jeff Morales Managing Principal, InfraStrategies, LLC Asha Weinstein Agrawal Ph.D., Director, MTI National Transportation Finance Center James Corless Executive Director, Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) Reema Griffith Executive Director, Washington State Transportation Commission Hasan Ikhrata Executive Director, San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) Stephanie Wiggins Chief Executive Officer, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro)—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 June 3rd, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the events that took place over the course of 2020, America remains more divided than ever. When faced with a global health crisis and widespread cries for racial justice, leadership crumbled and the Republican Party suffered defeat in the 2020 election. According to Keith Boykin, Republican leaders have responded with inciting white Americans in a last-ditch race against time to stop the rise of a new majority. Keith Boykin, CNN political commentator and New York Times best-selling author, has been at the center of this broader conversation of race and politics for three decades. He has seen America fail time and time again from its negligence in making a long-overdue reckoning with a shameful history of racialized violence. His new book Race Against Time: The Politics of a Darkening America discusses what he says is the dwindling white majority's resentment toward the emerging multiracial tide; this animosity toward change and social progress has created a political stalemate initiated by the GOP. He argues that now is the time to make substantial steps toward justice not just by making Black lives matter but by making Black lives equal. Join Keith Boykin in a conversation about race, politics and the fight for equality. SPEAKERS Keith Boykin Political Commentator, CNN; Author, Race Against Time: The Politics of a Darkening America; Twitter @keithboykin In Conversation with Brian Watt News Anchor, KQED 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 June 7th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a celebration of the winners of the 91st annual California Book Awards! Since 1931, the California Book Awards have honored the exceptional literary merit of California writers and publishers. Each year a select jury considers hundreds of books from around the state in search of the very best in literary achievement. Over its 90 years, the California Book Awards have honored the writers who have come to define California to the world. Among them are John Steinbeck, Wallace Stegner, MFK Fisher, Thom Gunn, Richard Rodriquez, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Joan Didion, Ishmael Reed, and Amy Tan. Recent award winners include Hector Tobar, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Susan Orlean, Rachel Kushner, Rachel Khong, Tommy Orange, Morgan Parker and Steph Cha. This year’s winners include: GOLD MEDALS FICTION The Archer, Shruti Swamy, Algonquin Books, an imprint of Workman Publishing, Hachette Book Group FIRST FICTION Skinship, Yoon Choi, Alfred A. Knopf NONFICTION­ Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire, Lizzie Johnson, Crown JUVENILE Wishes, Mượn Thị Văn and Victo Ngai, Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc YOUNG ADULT Home Is Not a Country, Safia Elhillo, Make Me a World POETRY Refractive Africa, Will Alexander, New Directions CALIFORNIANA Everything Now: Lessons from the City-State of Los Angeles, Rosecrans Baldwin, MCD, an imprint of Farrer, Straus & Giroux CONTRIBUTION TO PUBLISHING A Rebel’s Outcry, Naomi Hirahara, Little Tokyo Historical Society SILVER MEDALS FICTION The Committed, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Grove Atlantic FIRST FICTION City of a Thousand Gates, Rebecca Sacks, Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers NONFICTION Light on Fire: The Art and Life of Sam Francis, Gabrielle Selz, University of California Press SPEAKERS Peter Fish California Book Awards Jury Chair Sarah Rosenthal California Book Awards Juror Rosalind Chang California Book Awards Juror 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 June 6th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The CIA beginning in the early 1980s made a series of stunning arrests—three high-profile Russian spies, Aldrich Ames, Edward Lee Howard, and Robert Hanssen, were uncovered as some of the most damaging leaks the agency had ever seen. Yet, as told by former CIA officer Robert Baer, the investigation for a “fourth man” ensued shortly after, and now relates the never-before-told story about the hunt for what may very well be the greatest traitor in American history. Robert Baer is a New York Times bestselling author and former CIA case officer with 21 years of service. He is the intelligence columnist for Time, intelligence and security analyst for CNN, and his works have appeared in The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. Baer’s book See No Evil was the basis for the acclaimed film Syriana, and he was the co-host for the History Channel series Hunting Hitler. In his latest book, The Fourth Man, Baer recounts a thrilling tale of hunting a so-called “super mole” who was believed to have more destructive power than their three predecessors combined. Three women, leading experts in counterintelligence, led the team as they poured through their own ranks, finding loose threads, smoking guns and rumors that the traitor was nothing more than a Russian trick to break the CIA apart. And, at the height of their intellectual duel and legendary game of cat-and-mouse, the shocking conclusion to their investigation would shake American Intelligence to its core. Join us, as Baer retells the thrilling hunt for a KGB spy at the top ranks of the CIA, with all its twists and turns—and its implications for the future of America, Russia and the rise of Vladimir Putin. SPEAKERS Robert Baer Former CIA Operative; Intelligence Analyst, CNN; Author, The Fourth Man: The Hunt for a KGB Spy at the Top of the CIA and the Rise of Putin's Russia In Conversation with Adam Lashinsky Contributor, Business Insider; Twitter @adamlashinsky 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 June 1st, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roughly every five years, the U.S. designs and implements a new farm bill, which sets federal policy on agriculture across a huge swath of programs, including subsidies, food assistance, land practices and more. As the discussion around what to include in the 2023 farm bill intensifies, many are pushing for climate mitigation and adaptation measures to be a primary focus of the legislation. Then there’s equity. Since the 1930s, the Federal Government has supported farmers with subsidies, credit, and crop insurance. Yet historically, Black, Indigenous, and other farmers of color have been excluded from these benefits. Can we make progress on equity and climate today that we couldn’t in the past? Guests: Chuck Conner, President and CEO, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives Scott Faber, Senior VP, Government Affairs, EWG Jonathan Coppess, Assistant Professor, University of Illinois John W. Boyd, Jr., President, National Black Farmers Association Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Angela Garbes, the acclaimed author of Like a Mother, reflects on the state of caregiving in America. In her new book Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change, Garbes explores assumptions about care, work and deservedness, offering a deeply personal and rigorously reported look at what mothering is and can be. She places mothering in a global context to critically examine her perspectives of the complicated relationship to care work as a first-generation Filipino-American. Despite the mentally and physically demanding work mothers must endure in the absence of a social safety net to support them, she reframes caregiving as an opportunity to find meaning, to nurture a more profound sense of self, pleasure and belonging. Join Angela Garbes and Jenny Odell for a powerful conversation on mothering as social change and how the act of caregiving offers the potential to create a more equitable society. NOTES This program is part of The Commonwealth Club's Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. SPEAKERS Angela Garbes Author, Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change; Twitter Show editorially warning @agarbes In Conversation with Jenny Odell Multi Disciplinary Artist; Writer; Twitter @the_jennitaur 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 June 1st, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An APA Heritage Month special: Join us for an online panel discussion with two AAPI women touching on the lived experiences of being an AAPI woman today. They'll cover a wide range of issues, including the mental health impact of issues such as racism, gender violence, and oppression. Show editorially warning About the SpeakersOakland City Council President Pro Tem Sheng Thao grew up in poverty, the 7th of 10 kids. Her parents met in a refugee camp in Thailand after each fled their home country of Laos and the genocide against the Hmong people. Thao’s parents immigrated to America, settling in Stockton, where they would make a living farming vegetables. It was here Thao was born. She left home at the age of 17. When her son Ben was 10 months old, Thao got a job at Merritt College and also started taking classes. And, with the help of welfare and a Head Start program for Ben, she put herself through school. She became class valedictorian, then transferred to UC Berkeley, where she co-founded a food access program for low-income students and graduated with a degree in legal studies. She eventually ran for Oakland's City Council District 4 and won, becoming the first Hmong-American woman Councilmember in California history. She’s currently Council president pro tem and chairs the Rules and Legislation Committee. Thao received the 2021 Powerful Women of the Bay Award for her work on behalf of Oakland’s diverse neighborhoods, and has been honored by the Alameda Labor Council for her record of delivering for working families. Thao is also president of the League of California Cities API Caucus, and has served on boards for the Redwood Heights Association and Oakland Asian Cultural Center. She is an Oakland mayoral candidate. Connie Wun, Ph.D., is the executive director and co-founder AAPI Women Lead. As a part of her work in ending racial and gender-based violence, she leads national research projects on race, gender, and violence. Wun is a 2020 Soros Justice Fellow, a former National Science Foundation fellow, and a recipient of numerous awards, including the 2021 California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus Excellence in Civil Rights award and 2021 Gold House A100 award. Her research has been published in academic journals, anthologies, and online platforms. She is also a former high school teacher, college educator, sex worker, and sexual assault counselor. SPEAKERS Sheng Thao Oakland City Council President Pro Tem Connie Wun Ph.D., Executive Director and Co-founder, AAPI Women Lead Michelle Meow Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW TV and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors—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 May 19th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America faces a mental health crisis. Problems with mental health care preceded the pandemic, but over the past two years we've seen these problems grow into a crisis as young people were more likely to die from deaths of despair than from COVID-19. This presentation describes the path to solve this mental health crisis. Dr. Tom Insel says part of the solution involves fixing the care system—moving from a crisis-driven sick-care system to a comprehensive, continuous health-care system. Innovative technology will be part of this fix. So will innovative policy. But mental health is about more than mental health care. Insel says the path to mental health requires a focus on recovery defined by the 3 P's: people, place and purpose. Join us as Insel urges that we reframe our approach to mental illness, recognizing that the problem is medical but the solutions are social, environmental and political. Show editorially warning About the SpeakerTom lnsel, M.D., a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, has been a national leader in mental health research, policy and technology. From 2002–2015, Dr. Insel served as director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). More recently, he led the Mental Health Team at Verily (2015–2017); co-founded Mindstrong Health (2017–2019), a start-up building tools for people with serious mental illness; and served as a special advisor to California Governor Gavin Newsom (2019), helping on behavioral health issues. In 2020, he co-founded Humanest Care, a therapeutic online community for recovery. He currently serves on the boards of Foundation for NIH, Fountain House, Schaeffer Center for Health Policy, and the Steinberg Institute (chairing it from 2019–2022), as well as being an advisor to several mental health start-ups (including Alto Neuroscience, Cerebral, Compass Pathways, Owl Insights, Koa Health, Valera Health). He is the author of Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health (Penguin Random House, 2022). With journalist co-founders, he recently launched Show editorially warning MindSite News, a nonprofit digital publication focused on mental health issues. Dr. Insel is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and has received numerous national and international awards including honorary degrees in the U.S. and Europe. More info at Show editorially warning his website.MLF ORGANIZER Patrick O'Reilly SPEAKERS Show editorially warning Tom lnsel M.D., Psychiatrist; Neuroscientist; Author, Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health Show editorially warning Patrick O'Reilly Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist; Assistant Clinical Professor, UC San Francisco; Chair, Member-Led Psychology 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 May 31st, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other economic pressures disrupt global energy markets, even insiders are scrambling to make sense of this moment. Ahead of the midterm elections, the Biden administration has signaled it wants more oil and gas now to ease the pain of surging fuel prices while maintaining support for cutting carbon emissions. Oil and gas aren’t the only commodities affected by market chaos. The supply chain, including for clean energy technology, has also been disrupted. How are surging fossil fuel prices, changes in policy, and supply chain turmoil affecting US climate goals? Guests: Kate Larsen, Partner, Rhodium Group David M. Turk, Deputy Secretary, US Department of Energy Justin Guay, Director, Global Climate Strategy, Sunrise Project Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kwame Onwuachi holds countless, monumental accolades. From being the James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef of the year to being dubbed “the most important chef in America” by the San Francisco Chronicle, Onwuachi is an expert restaurateur and chef. Moreover he joyously seeks to flaunt the diversity of American food by bringing to life the dishes of his own America. In his forthcoming book My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef, Kwame brings the nation and world together, both in his stories and on the plate. More than 125 recipes accompany Onwuachi’s personal tales and connections to the dishes, creating an intimate cookbook that celebrates the people and flavors of the African Diaspora. The globe-spanning recipes include sumptuous fares such as Trinidadian callaloo and shrimp étouffé. Considering My America opens with a “Spice Blends” section, we readily forecast many flavorsome, powerhouse meals to come. At Inforum, Kwame Onwuachi will elucidate and familiarize us with the flavors that comprise his America. Alongside these, we’ll get first-hand accounts of the stories that brought these dishes to his table. You will leave hungry for more and know just where to find it. NOTES This program is part of The Commonwealth Club's Food Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. SPEAKERS Kwame Onwuachi Chef; Author, My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef In Conversation with Michelle Meow Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW/KPIX TV and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors 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 May 19th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rural voters. For the past several years, the voting behaviors, interests, cultures and beliefs of those who live far outside cities have been an obsession for many in the media as well as politicians and political strategists in both parties. Rural voters clearly played a role in the election of former President Trump in 2016, and they are expected to play an outsized role in the 2022 and 2024 elections as American continues to divide into "red" and "blue" areas. The general belief is that Democrats have lost rural voters to Republicans for the foreseeable future. For Maine State Senator Chloe Maxmin, a progressive politician, nothing could be farther from the truth. As the youngest person ever elected to the Maine senate, Maxmin won successful elections in rural red districts that few thought could be won by a Democrat. She and her campaign manager, Canyon Woodward, saw how, in their view, the Democratic Party has focused for too long on the interests of elite leaders and big donors, forcing the party to abandon the concerns of rural America—jeopardizing, they say, progress on climate justice, racial equity, economic justice and more. In their new book, Dirt Road Revival, Maxmin and Woodward look at how rural American has been left behind and lay out a long-term vision for Democrats to rebuild trust and win campaigns in rural America. Their book shows how progressive values can be translated into a rural context, moving beyond the failed strategies of establishment consultants and utilizing grassroots-movement organizing strategies to effectively engage rural voters. Maxmin and Woodward will discuss how they believe Democrats can change their current course and win in districts in every area of the country. Please join us for this unique conversation. SPEAKERS Chloe Maxmin Maine State Senator (District 13); Co-Author, Dirt Road Revival: How to Rebuild Rural Politics and Why Our Future Depends On It Canyon Woodward Political Strategist; Co-Author, Dirt Road Revival: How to Rebuild Rural Politics and Why Our Future Depends On It Vikrum Aiyer Member, Inforum Advisory Board; Former Obama White House Senior Advisor—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 May 18th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When President Joe Biden took office, the problems the new president faced were similar to the challenges faced by another U.S. president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt: decreasing opportunity for the average American, disproportionate power of the mega-wealthy, and a starkly divided political system. To help address these issues nearly a century ago, FDR launched The New Deal, forever changing American society. To longtime political analyst Robert Kuttner, the similarities between 2022 and 1932 means President Biden has a similar opportunity to transform the country through major public investments. In his latest book, Going Big, Kuttner draws on the striking similarities between the circumstances of FDR and Biden, including the major crossroads of American politics that marked both their terms. With democratic backsliding, deep partisan divides and the ever-growing power of corporate interests, Kuttner says President Biden’s vision for the future will have critical implications for the future of the country—and, just like the New Deal, an army of opposition determined to maintain the status quo. Join us, as Kuttner explains what is at stake for America in 2022 and the opportunity President Biden has at this unprecedented time in the nation’s history. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond SPEAKERS Robert Kuttner Co-Founder and Co-Editor, The American Prospect; Ida and Meyer Kirstein Chair, Brandeis University; Author, Going Big: FDR's Legacy, Biden's New Deal, and the Struggle to Save Democracy In Conversation with Arlie Hochschild Professor Emerita of Sociology, University of California Berkeley 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 May 31st, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As San Francisco decides whether or not to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin on June 7, join us for a nonpartisan forum to hear from both sides on this important choice. Boudin was elected in 2019 on a progressive platform of decarceration and criminal justice reform. While many applaud these efforts, doubts about the effectiveness of Boudin’s policies, coupled with highly-publicized crimes, have dogged Boudin’s office (and city leadership at-large). Increasing fears of disorder in the city and questions about the district attorney’s job performance have led to San Francisco’s second recall election this year. To break down the Boudin recall, The Commonwealth Club has invited two leading voices with opposing views on this important election. Lara Bazelon is a professor of law and the director of the Criminal Juvenile Justice and Racial Justice Clinical Programs at the University of San Francisco School of Law. Her writings on the justice system and its shortcomings have appeared in The Atlantic and The New York Times, and she’s been a vocal supporter of the district attorney. Brooke Jenkins served as assistant district attorney under Boudin until October 2021. She agrees with Boudin’s central tenet that the criminal justice system is racist and needs reform, but she left the office due to what she saw as a prioritization of politics over outcomes and the needs of crime victims and their families. She supports his recall. SPEAKERS Lara Bazelon Professor of Law and Director of Criminal Juvenile Justice and Racial Justice Clinical Programs, University of San Francisco Brooke Jenkins Former Assistant District Attorney of San Francisco 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 May 17th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can democracy, as we know it, ever work again? This is the question that New York Times political journalists Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns asks after examining the 2020 election and the first year of Joe Biden’s presidency, and going behind the scenes of this 18-month crisis in American democracy. In their latest book, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future, Martin and Burns give the account of the events that led to and from the 2020 presidential election in stunning detail. Walking through the coronavirus pandemic, the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol and the political brinkmanship of Biden’s first year in office, Martin and Burns provide in-the-room descriptions of Trump’s assault on the election, the behind the scenes story of how Kamala Harris became Biden’s vice presidential pick, and how the two-party electoral system was strained to its limit. Join us, as Martin and Burns provide never-before-seen descriptions of the events behind one of American democracy’s most infamous hours. SPEAKERS Alexander Burns National Political Correspondent, The New York Times; Political Analyst, CNN; Co-Author, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future; Twitter @alexburnsNYT Jonathan Martin National Political Correspondent, The New York Times; Political Analyst, CNN; Co-Author, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future; Twitter @jmartNYT In Conversation with Willie Brown Former Mayor of San Francisco 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 May 17th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We must solve our housing crisis if we are going to build a Bay Area where people of all races and backgrounds can thrive in safe, affordable, and vibrant communities. From homelessness to innovative regional approaches and new zoning flexibilities, the Bay Area has a new set of housing tools that can help us accelerate our efforts. The current inequalities and issues are rooted in policies and practices that we collectively have the power to change. Join The Commonwealth Club of California and the San Francisco Foundation to learn from a powerful panel of leaders. What makes them optimistic about the future and what will it take to build a better Bay Area? Speakers include: Fred Blackwell, San Francisco Foundation CEO; Tomiquia Moss, All Home CEO and founder; Cindy Chavez, Santa Clara County supervisor, and Dan Sawislak, executive director of Resources for Community Development. NOTES This program is supported by the San Francisco Foundation's Bay Area Leads Fund donors. SPEAKERS Cindy Chavez Santa Clara County Supervisor Tomiquia Moss All Home, CEO & Founder Dan Sawislak Executive Director of Resources for Community Development Fred Blackwell CEO, San Francisco Foundation—Moderator Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Though the COVID-19 pandemic isn't over, it is heading into a new phase, particularly in Western countries such as the United States and throughout Europe. Increasingly, citizens want a return to normal, with fewer restrictions, and are showing willingness to find ways to live with and manage the virus. As government leaders around the world strive to transition their countries to this new normal, they are also starting to talk about what happens next and how we can prevent another pandemic from once again killing millions of people and devastating the global economy. But given the controversies around fighting COVID-19, is this even possible? Bill Gates believes the answer is yes. In his new book, How to Prevent the Next Pandemic, Gates lays out what he believes the world can learn from COVID-19 and what can be done to ward off another disaster like it. Relying on the knowledge of the world's foremost experts and his own experience combating fatal diseases with the Gates Foundation, his new book shows us how the nations of the world, working in conjunction with one another and with the private sector, can stop future outbreaks and ultimately save lives. Join us for an in-depth discussion on what the world can and must do to prevent the next pandemic. SPEAKERS Bill Gates Co-chair, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Author, How to Prevent the Next Pandemic; Twitter @BillGates In Conversation with DJ Patil Former U.S. Chief Data Scientist; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors; Twitter @dpatil 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 May 16th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to the World Bank, land managed by Indigenous peoples is associated with lower rates of deforestation, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and better biodiversity protection. But in many places, Indigenous people have been displaced from their ancestral lands through outright theft, land grabs, violence and war — sacrificing both indigenous livelihoods and the traditional knowledge that has protected their lands for centuries. Still, across the U.S. we can find examples of land access, stewardship and ownership being restored to Indigenous people – and more efforts being made to involve tribal nations in conservation and climate resilience. “Climate change isn't just about protecting the natural world; it’s also about protecting our culture and who we are because we've resisted against so many colonial forces for so long,” says Julia Fay Bernal, director of the Pueblo Action Alliance. Guests: Jessica Hernandez, author, Fresh Banana Leaves Priscilla Hunter, Board Chairwoman, Intertribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council Sam Hodder, President and CEO, Save the Redwoods League Julia Fay Bernal, Director, Pueblo Action Alliance Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ending poverty in the Bay Area will require innovation, partnership, and pro-active, anti-racist strategies. Join us as we come together to outline how we can build a future where everyone has a stable home that enables us to pursue our dreams, raise our families, and build the lives we want to live. In this virtual “fireside chat,” we’ll hear from a variety of voices across the movement to end poverty in the Bay Area, including former Stockton mayor and founder of End Poverty in California (EPIC) Michael Tubbs and All Home CEO Tomiquia Moss, as we explore the ways that housing instability is interconnected with racial inequality, poverty and homelessness. This virtual event in honor of Affordable Housing Month in May will begin with a chat with former mayor of Stockton Michael Tubbs, moderated by Tomiquia Moss, outlining his five-point platform for ending poverty in California. Then a panel discussion with representatives from broad cross-sector partners will take the conversation from principles and concepts to action items and concrete next steps. NOTES This program is convened by the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California (NPH) and co-hosted in partnership with Silicon Valley @ Home, East Bay Housing Organizations, Housing Leadership Council, Generation Housing, the Council of Community Housing Organizations, United Way Bay Area, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI). SPEAKERS Cathy Eberhardt Vice Chair, Oakland Mayor’s Commission on Persons with Disabilities Melissa Jones Executive Director, Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative Michael Tubbs Founder, End Poverty in California Courtney Welch Emeryville City Councilmember Tomiquia Moss Founder and CEO, All Home 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 May 23rd, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recent years, an influx of racially motivated attacks against people of color in local communities has made national headlines: and the cases of George Floyd, Breanna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery have sparked international conversations. In today’s age, exposure to racial injustice is more accessible than ever with the rise of video recording and the intimacy of technology. The power to spread information globally, all with the touch of a button, is reshaping the civil rights movement and pushing social justice forward. Marc Lamont Hill and Todd Brewster are both award-winning journalists and bestselling authors who reveal the common thread between these harrowing incidents. They recognize that technology has irrevocably changed our conversations about race and, in many instances, tipped the levers of power in favor of the historically disadvantaged. In their newest book, Seen and Unseen: Technology, Social Media, and the Fight for Racial Justice, Hill and Brewster draw on the increasing role of media in the racial justice movement to discover why it took the horrifying footage of the murder of George Floyd—despite a wealth of video evidence of previous police brutality—to trigger outrage. The book is a riveting exploration of how the power of visual media has shifted the narrative on race over the last few years and reignited the fight toward justice. Join us as co-authors Marc Lamont Hill and Todd Brewster explore the powerful role technology plays as a driver of history, identity, and racial consciousness. SPEAKERS Marc Lamont Hill Host, "BET News" and "Black News Tonight"; Steve Charles Chair in Media, Cities, and Solutions, Temple University; Co-Author, Seen and Unseen: Technology, Social Media, and the Fight for Racial Justice; Twitter @marclamonthill Todd Brewster Journalist; Historian; Co-Author, Seen and Unseen: Technology, Social Media, and the Fight for Racial Justice; Twitter @ToddBrewster In Conversation with LaDoris Cordell Judge (Ret); Author, Her Honor: My Life on the Bench . . . What Works, What's Broken, and How to Change It 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 May 11th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When noted political scientist Francis Fukuyama predicted the "end of history," it seemed that the Western form of traditional classical liberalism and democracy—rule of law, equal treatment, individualism, and political freedom—was on the march in countries around the world, and that a new political order would be established around the globe. However, as the Russian attack on Ukraine shows, the battle between autocracy and classic liberalism will continue to shape global relations in the present and the future, and as history it will tell the story of this complicated period in world history. In his latest book Liberalism and Its Discontents, Fukuyama explains the troubled history of the American realization of classical liberalism here in the United States, and the challenges from both sides of the political spectrum arising in recent decades. With the right demanding economic freedom above all else, and the left making its core ideal the elevation of identity above the universality of humanity, Fukuyama argues that both approaches miss the mark in grasping classical liberalism, and the consequences can be disastrous both at home and around the world. At this critical time, Fukuyama proposes a bold new defense of classical liberalism, and explains that failing to do so will continue to fragment America’s civil society, and will influence global pushback on democracy itself. Join us as Fukuyama engages in a critical and timely discussion on classical liberalism, why it remains one of the most influential political ideologies of the past millennium, and why battles around it will determine the path of the 21st century for the United States and the world. NOTES This program is presented in collaboration with the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future SPEAKERS Francis Fukuyama Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow, Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; Author, Liberalism and Its Discontents; Twitter @FukuyamaFrancis Tim Miller Founder, Light Fuse Communications; Contributor, The Bulwark; Communications Director, Jeb Bush 2016; Author, Why We Did It (Forthcoming); Twitter @timodc—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 May 16th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a 2-year hiatus, The Commonwealth Club and the University of San Francisco's School of Management are pleased to reinstate the Innovate for Good annual conference, an event where the intersection of business and social good takes center stage. Join us this year as we address the climate crisis. In an increasingly digital and global economy, our cities and organizations are at a unique inflection point, where the most pressing issue of our time is how we sustain our planet. As was seen during proceedings in Glasgow at COP 26, public and private entities need to urgently accelerate innovations in energy, clean tech, fintech, and technology in order to address climate change in a way that is both economically viable and socially just. How are businesses finding new ways to innovate for good in this reality? How are companies and governments partnering to innovate and deliver more sustainable solutions that balance human and environmental values? The Innovate for Good conference is an annual symposium that brings together founders, CEOs, investors, academics, and nonprofit and government leaders who are taking action to shape a more sustainable and just world. SPEAKERS Yasmin Eichmann, Former COO of Nest Renew / Director of Energy Product Planning & Operations at Google Allie Detrio, Chief Strategist of Reimagine Power Rob Grant, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Social Impact at Cruise Peter Light, CEO of Lumen Energy Kate Reimer, Vice President Technology at Redaptive Vipul Vyas, Cleantech Founder and USF Faculty member Ravi Mikkelsen, CEO of Atmos Financial Cathryn Peirce, Co-Founder and CEO at Carbon Zero James Richards, CEO of Evergrow Zach Stein, Cofounder of Carbon Collective Alex Wright-Gladstein, Founder and CEO of Sphere 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 April 29th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In celebration of APA Heritage Month, join us for this special roundtable gathering, in which former Facebook vice president and Ancestry CEO Deb Liu, U.S. Representative Marilyn Strickland, and New York Times best-selling author and filmmaker Abigail Hing Wen will share their remarkable journeys to the top of their respective fields in Silicon Valley, Washington, D.C., and Hollywood. Learn what the journeys of these three Asian American women to leadership roles in business, politics and pop culture can teach us about diversity and leadership in today’s America. Drawing on their diverse experiences, the trio will explore what it means to be leading change from the inside during this critical time in our nation’s history. Hear their stories of perseverance and of how these powerful women now view their roles and responsibilities as leaders for the next generation. SPEAKERS Deb Liu President and CEO, Ancestry; Author, Take Back Your Power: Ten New Rules for Women at Work (forthcoming); Twitter @debliu_ Marilyn Strickland U.S. Representative (D-WA, District 10); Twitter @RepStricklandWA Abigail Hing Wen Filmmaker; Author, Loveboat, Taipei and Loveboat Reunion; Tech Executive; Twitter @abigailhingwen Michelle Meow Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW TV, KPIX TV, and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors; Twitter @msmichellemeow—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 May 13th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following Japanʻs attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States removed 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry from their homes on the West Coast and incarcerated them in remote camps. In Hawai`i, fewer than 2,000 people among the 160,000 were incarcerated. The question is, why not en masse? If people of Japanese ancestry were actually a security threat, as alleged, their large and concentrated numbers and proximity to strategic installations were a reason for removal from Hawai`i. Thus far, historians have only generalized that they made up over one-third of the population and were vital to the economy. In his new book, Inclusion, How Hawai’i Protected Japanese Americans from Mass Internment, Transformed Itself, and Changed America, author Tom Coffman has written a meticulously researched history of the remarkable individuals from across ethnic groups and civilian, police, FBI and military institutions who came together to spare Hawai`iʻs Japanese community from mass removal and enable their sons to serve America heroically in World War II, inspired by American ideals of democracy and equality. The community, working from the ground up, won the battle for “inclusion” against the exclusionary policies of President Franklin Roosevelt, the U.S. Navy, various generals and the anti-Japanese elements of the press. With a post-war epilogue, it provides a window into the inclusive, multi-ethnic culture of todayʻs Hawai`i. SPEAKERS Tom Coffman Author, Inclusion In conversation with Robert Handa Reporter, NBC Bay Area News Welcome by Dr. Mary G.F. Bitterman President, The Bernard Osher Foundation; Member of the Board of Governors, Commonwealth Club of California 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 May 11th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, great attention has been focused on a part of the world at the nexus of national and ethnic concern. On April 3, Rabbi Daniel Stein and Margalit Ir visited Krakow, Poland, to help Ukrainian refugees. In this special Commonwealth Club program, they will discuss their experience. Ir, who is the child of Holocaust survivors, emigrated from Israel, which like many other countries has welcomed Ukrainian refugees. Celia Menczel, who sits on the elected council of the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County, will talk about her family and about Vladimir Putin's autobiography First Person: An Astonishingly Frank Self-Portrait by Russia's President, which was recently mentioned in The Economist. MLF ORGANIZER Celia Menczel SPEAKERS Margalit Ir Chair, Repair the World Committee, Congregation B'nai Shalom Celia Menczel Chair, Middle East Member-led Forum, The Commonwealth Club of California Rabbi Daniel Stein Rabbi, Congregation B'nai Shalom—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 May 10th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tech gadgets surround us each day, and to entrepreneur and innovator Tony Fadell, each of them has a fascinating story, full of determination and ingenuity, of how they came to be. Having led the teams that developed the iPod, iPhone and Nest Learning Thermostat and drawing from 30 years of experience in the field, Fadell believes that anyone can learn how to be a better business leader by examining the hidden stories behind the devices that make up our lives. Tony Fadell is an engineer, inventor and author who was responsible for co-designing three of Time magazine’s “50 most influential gadgets of all time.” Having decades of experience at Silicon Valley giants such as Apple and Google, Fadell has authored more than 300 patents and invested in or advised at several hundred start-up companies. In his latest book, Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making, Fadell retells chapters of his journey from a designer to an executive, using them as case studies to illustrate effective leadership and problem solving in a competitive environment. Fadell provides a captivating, fast-paced encyclopedia of business strategy. Join us live as Fadell retells the surprising stories behind many of our most familiar products, and the wisdom they have to share. SPEAKERS Tony Fadell Co-inventor, the iPod and iPhone; Founder of Nest Labs; Principal at Future Shape LLC; Author, Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Work; Twitter @tfadell In Conversation with John Markoff Former Technology Reporter, The New York Times, Writer-in-Residence, Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence; Author, Whole Earth: The Many Lives of Stewart Brand; Twitter @markoff Note: This program contains some 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 May 11th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The loss of a loved one can be overwhelming. Grief can impact us tremendously, both mentally and physically. How do we endure grief? Can we simply forget, or "get over it?" In her new book, Marin County clinical psychologist Dr. Mary Lamia explains the science behind bereavement, from emotion to the persistence of memory, and shows people how to understand and adapt to death as a part of life. The book aims to expand our understanding of bereavement, placing it in alignment with how emotions work. Using numerous case examples and personal vignettes, Dr. Lamia's latest work helps people recognize the ways in which emotions are connected to memories and influence our experiences of loss. Dr. Lamia demonstrates how negative emotional responses experienced in grief often follow experiences with positive emotional memories. Please join us for a powerful conversation on understanding and overcoming grief. MLF ORGANIZER Patrick O'Reilly SPEAKERS Dr. Mary Lamia Clinical Psychologist; Professor, Wright Institute; Author, Grief Isn't Something to Get Over: Finding a Home for Memories and Emotions After Losing a Loved One Michael Krasny Former Host, "Forum," KQED 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 May 101th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us at The Commonwealth Club for a conversation with CNN's John Avlon about Abraham Lincoln’s plan to secure a just and lasting peace after the Civil War. The implementation of Lincoln's vision was cut short by his assassin, but Lincoln's hopes still inspired future American presidents—and Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. General Lucius Clay, the architect of the post-WWII German occupation, explained that his decisions were guided by thinking what “kind of occupation would the South have had if Abraham Lincoln had lived.” As the tide of the Civil War finally turned in the spring of 1865, Abraham Lincoln visited the troops on the front lines, seeing combat up close, meeting liberated slaves, and comforting wounded soldiers, both Union and Confederate. The power of Lincoln’s personal example was enhanced by his use of humor, logic and scripture to depolarize bitter debates. Balancing moral courage with moderation, Lincoln believed that decency could be the most practical form of politics, but he also understood that people are more inclined to listen to reason when it is presented from a position of strength. Ulysses S. Grant’s famously generous terms of surrender to General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox that April were a direct expression of Lincoln's belief that a soft peace should follow a hard war. Avlon shows how Lincoln’s character informed his commitment to unconditional surrender followed by a magnanimous peace. Even during the Civil War, when he was surrounded by reactionaries and radicals, Lincoln refused to back down from his belief that there is more that unites us than divides us. But he also understood that peace needs to be waged with as much intensity as war—an understanding that Avlon says remains relevant today, for both our domestic and our foreign policies. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond SPEAKERS John Avlon Senior Political Analyst and Anchor, CNN; Author, Lincoln and the Fight for Peace In Conversation with John Boland President Emeritus, KQED; Vice Chair, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors 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 May 5th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As COVID-19 spread around the world, so did government censorship. The Infodemic lays bare not just the use of old-fashioned censorship, but also how “censorship through noise” enhances the traditional means of state control (such as jailing critics and restricting the flow of information) by using a flood of misinformation to overwhelm the public with lies and half-truths. Joel Simon and Robert Mahoney, who have been defending press freedom and journalists’ rights worldwide for many years as the directors of the Committee to Protect Journalists, chart the onslaught of COVID censorship—beginning in China, but spreading through Iran, Russia, India, Egypt, Brazil, and even the White House. Increased surveillance in the name of public health, the collapse of public trust in institutions, and the demise of local news reporting all contributed to make it easier for governments to hijack the flow of information. Using vivid characters and behind-the-scenes accounts, Simon and Mahoney show how, under the cover of a global pandemic, governments have undermined freedom and taken ever more authoritarian control—a new political order that may be one of the legacies of this disease. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond SPEAKERS Robert Mahoney Deputy Executive Director, the Committee to Protect Journalists; Co-Author, The Infodemic: How Censorship and Lies Made the World Sicker and Less Free Joel Simon Fellow, the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, Columbia Journalism School; Co-Author, The Infodemic: How Censorship and Lies Made the World Sicker and Less Free In Conversation with George Hammond Author, Conversations With Socrates 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 May 5th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paul Holes takes us through his memories of a storied career as a cold case investigator and provides an insider account of some of the most notorious cases in contemporary American history, including the hunt for the Golden State Killer, Laci Peterson’s murder, and Jaycee Dugard’s kidnapping. This is also a revelatory profile of a complex man and what makes him tick: the drive to find closure for victims and their loved ones, the inability to walk away from a challenge—even at the expense of his own happiness. Holes opens up the most intimate scenes of his life: his moments of self-doubt and the impact that detective work has had on his marriage. This is a story about the gritty truth of crime-solving when there are no flashbulbs and “case closed” headlines. It is the story of a man and his commitment to cases and people who might otherwise have been forgotten. Come meet Paul Holes and go behind the scenes of an expert cold case investigator. NOTES This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. SPEAKERS Paul Holes Retired Cold Case Investigator; Author, Unmasked: My Life Solving America’s Cold Cases; Twitter @PaulHoles In Conversation with George Hammond Author, Conversations With Socrates 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 May 5th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russ Feingold became a household name co-authoring the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, more commonly known as McCain-Feingold. It’s the only major piece of campaign finance reform legislation passed into law in decades. Today he is using his experience navigating the levers of power to tackle alarming biodiversity loss and the worsening climate crisis. Feingold believes, “The threats posed to people from the destruction of nature are just as serious as those posed by climate change.” Guests: Russ Feingold, President of the American Constitution Society, former Senator from Wisconsin Jean Su, Energy Justice Director and Senior Attorney, Center for Biological Diversity Dan Farber, Professor of Law, Faculty Director, Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment, University of California, Berkeley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the attack on Ukraine well underway, political thinker Yascha Mounk recently admitted in The Atlantic that, “We stand at the beginning of a new era of naked power politics.” The Russian invasion is not simply an assault on a neighboring country motivated by strained ethnic relations or security concerns, but it is an assault on the democratic values and political system espoused by Ukraine. It is the latest setback in a “democratic recession” now entering its 16th consecutive year, according to Freedom House. “In 2021, the number of countries moving away from democracy once again exceeded the number of countries moving toward it by a big margin.” Why is this happening and what can be done to reverse this global trend? Yascha Mounk argues that democracy has long struggled to embody both equality and diversity, and despite the challenges past and present facing democratic institutions, he believes that with ambition and vision, there is still reason to be hopeful. Yascha Mounk is a German-American political scientist, author, and associate professor of practice at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. His works have appeared in The New York Times, Politico and the Journal of Democracy. His works have included assessments of American democracy, the dangers of nationalism and ethnic relations in democratic settings. In The Great Experiment, Mounk argues that the struggle of free countries to be both diverse and equal in their political systems is the greatest experiment of our time and essential to the continuation of democracy. While this feat is unprecedented, he contends, understanding the past and underlying conditions that have led to division and social injustices is critical to avoiding them in the future, and he writes that we should have genuine hope in humanity’s ability to accomplish it. Join us as Mounk explores the long and complicated history between democracy, equality and diversity, and explains that with a bold vision as our guiding light, we can harmoniously celebrate our differences without letting them divide us. SPEAKERS Yascha Mounk Founder, Persuasion; Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Johns Hopkins University; Contributing Editor, The Atlantic; Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations; Author, The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure; Twitter @Yascha_Mounk In Conversation with Steven Saum Editor, WorldView Magazine 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 May 3rd, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist Anya Zoledziowski joins us for an inside look at the struggle of LGBTQ people in Ukraine as that country struggles with the Russian invasion. She has reported on a group of Gen Z students who are working around the clock to smuggle HIV and gender-affirming medications to people who desperately need it and are stuck in Ukraine. Russian forces have targeted civilian health care infrastructure as part of their invasion, but so far these students have managed to coordinate five deliveries into Ukraine with dozens of boxes of HIV medication and hormones for trans people. Don't miss this online talk about helping the struggling population of Ukraine. About the Speaker Anya Zoledziowski is an award-winning staff reporter at Vice World News. Her reporting focuses on a wide range of social justice issues, including Indigenous affairs, race, politics, sex worker rights, and the disproportionate harm experienced by racialized communities in the climate crisis. She graduated from the University of British Columbia Master of Journalism program in 2018, and has since won multiple awards for her investigative reporting delving into hate crimes targeting Indigenous women at the hands of transient workers who move into “man camps,” temporary housing units near resource extraction sites. She also won the CAJ Reconciliation Award in 2021 for her Indigenous affairs reporting. Prior to working at Vice, she was with CBC, the now-defunct StarMetro Calgary, and many freelance assignments. SPEAKERS Anya Zoledziowski Staff Reporter, Vice World News; Twitter @anyazoledz 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 May 5th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the early days of the political and medical panic of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Deborah Birx was at the center of the storm. Appointed as the White House coronavirus response coordinator despite heavy distrust from the inner circles of the Trump administration, Dr. Birx, a seasoned diplomat, physician and political administrator, found herself facing the greatest public health crisis in a generation, with a mercurial and unpredictable president who made implementing an coordinated and consistent government response a daily challenge. She also amassed critics outside the White House as the pandemic grew. In her new book Silent Invasion, Dr. Birx recounts how she balanced skepticism from the West Wing, bitter partisanship and media speculation with delivering the fastest vaccine ever created, reform of the public health system and the power of public health interventions in slowing the spread of the coronavirus. Giving a candid look at how the pandemic developed and her role in convincing President Trump to see the danger COVID posed to the country, Dr. Birx gives a sobering and comprehensive view of the ongoing pandemic, and provides advice on how to prevent another pandemic from tearing apart American society. Join us as Dr. Birx retells her frantic battle to reform a broken federal response to the pandemic into one that could protect American lives, and gives a look to the future of the ongoing battle against COVID-19. SPEAKERS Dr. Deborah Birx Former White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator and Coronavirus Task Force Member; Senior Fellow, The Bush Institute; Author, Silent Invasion: The Untold Story of the Trump Administration, Covid-19, and Preventing the Next Pandemic Before It's Too Late Mark Zitter Chair, The Zetema Project; Member, Commonwealth Club 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 May 3rd, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices