Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin pioneered equality through their common virtues of faith and resilience. They changed the minds of many Americans through their ability to assess community knowledge and make it accessible to the masses. These men were not born with this innate ability to lead; they were shaped by their surroundings and upbringing to fight for social justice. Much has been written about Baldwin, Dr. King, and Malcolm X, but virtually nothing has been said about the extraordinary women who raised them to be the leaders they became. Join us in conversation with Anna Malaika Tubbs as she celebrates Black motherhood in her new book, The Three Mothers. Baldwin's mother Berdis, King's mother Alberta, and Malcolm X’s mother Louise raised their sons with the hope of helping them to survive in a society that would deny their humanity from the very beginning. Louise’s reminders of the family’s activist roots, Berdis’ encouragement of creative writing, and Alberta’s concentration on faith were integral to each of the men’s outlook on life. The Black mothers who raised America’s most pivotal heroes each represent a piece of history left untold and a celebration of Black motherhood long overdue. SPEAKERS Julia Gillard Former Prime Minister of Australia; Co-author, Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Former Finance Minister of Nigeria, Co-author, Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons In Conversation with Jennifer Palmieri Former White House Communications Director; Co-host, “The Circus” on Showtime; Author, She Proclaims: Our Declaration of Independence from a Man’s World In response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, this program was recorded via online livestream by the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco, CA, on February 2, 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To discourage the inclusion of Ida B. Wells in the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, the FBI wrote that she “has addressed meetings of colored people and endeavored to impress upon them that they are a downtrodden race and that now is the time for them to demand and secure their proper position in the world. She is a very effective speaker and her influence among the colored race is well recognized . . . she is considered . . . one of the most dangerous negro agitators.” Complimenting her own story of self-discovery and activism, Michelle Duster brings to life her great-grandmother’s lifelong dedication to the fight for racial justice. Wells' courageous and passionate organizing was appreciated by her allies Frederick Douglass, W.E.B Du Bois, and Harriet Tubman, who together presented a serious threat to the status quo. Duster’s extensive research on Well’s life and career reveals Ida’s journey from ferocious teen to pioneering journalist to anti-lynching crusader, relayed in the delicate and introspective voice of a family member. Duster connects the historical dots to show how Wells’ actions a century ago echo through the movements happening in the streets today. Indeed, people might not be able to fully comprehend the achievements of people like Rosa Parks and Colin Kaepernick without understanding the outstanding work of Ida B. Wells. SPEAKERS Michelle Duster Adjunct Professor, Creative Writing, Columbia College Chicago; Author, Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells In Conversation with LaDoris Cordell Judge (ret.); Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors MLF ORGANIZER: George Hammond MLF: Humanities Part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Our thanks to Marcus Bookstore in Oakland for fulfilling book orders In response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, this program was recorded via online livestream by the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco, CA, on February 2, 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Virtuoso Afro-Cuban-born brothers—American violinist Ilmar and Cuban pianist Aldo— live on opposite sides of a geopolitical chasm half a century wide. Los Hermanos/The Brothers tracks their parallel lives, poignant reunion, and electrifying first performances across the United States, in a nuanced, often startling view of estranged nations through the lens of music and family. In Cuba art is central to national identity. The island of 11 million people has outsized influence in dance and music worldwide. Artists are some of Cuba's most salient ambassadors, with a history of crossing divides that seem intractable to political leaders. The Gavilán brothers’ dynamic and visually compelling story gives a unique and personal perspective on the evolving relationship between the United States and Cuba. Featuring a genre-bending score composed by Cuban Aldo Lopez-Gavilan performed with his American brother, Ilmar, and with guest appearances by maestro Joshua Bell and the Grammy-winning Harlem Quartet. Join us for a screening of the new documentary Los Hermanos/The Brothers followed by a discussion about the unique elements of Cuban music, the Cuban musical diaspora, representation and equity in the arts (in particular classical music), and the power of the cultural and artistic connections between Cuba and the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a special agent in the FBI, Frank Figliuzzi spent his 25-year career working in populous areas such as San Francisco, Miami, Cleveland and Washington, D.C., investigating crime and protecting American rights. In 2011, Figliuzzi was appointed assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division by then-director Robert Mueller. His years of experience—both in agent and executive positions—can help shed light on the bureau’s training practices that unlock individual and organizational excellence. In his new book, The FBI Way, Figliuzzi reveals necessary values that make an effective member of the FBI, including performance, integrity and conduct. Stories by Figliuzzi demonstrate how the FBI maintains a rigorous implementation of its core values throughout the organization to ensure accountability and effectiveness. Figliuzzi has condensed the bureau’s process of protecting its core values into what he calls “The Seven C’s”: code, conservancy, clarity, consequences, compassion, credibility and consistency. With these values, he says the FBI is able to instill and preserve its values against all internal and external threats. Join us as Frank Figliuzzi shares the patterns of success he has observed throughout his career that can be broadly applied to business, management and personal development. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A decade ago, a nationwide survey showed that only around twelve percent of Americans were seriously concerned about climate change. Today, public perceptions have changed. “The alarmed are between a quarter and 30% of the public,” says Edward Maibach. “That makes them the largest single segment of Americans…as their name implies, they’re alarmed about climate change.” How does understanding the perceptions of a broadly concerned public enable our leaders to create lasting change? How do climate concerns break down across political, economic, and regional divides? A conversation with Anthony Leiserowitz and Edward Maibach, recipients of the tenth annual Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication. At a time when understanding climate perceptions has never been more important, Dr. Leiserowitz and Dr. Maibach have exemplified the ability to be both scientists and powerful communicators through their work on the public’s understanding of climate change, including the seminal Global Warming’s Six Americas project. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

COVID-19 upended the world at the beginning of 2020, and life as we know it was forever altered. As we adjust to the changes, many of us are valuing, more than ever, our relationships. Our connections with each other and with things that provide comfort help give us a sense of security in a world that sometimes feels out of control. This year, Silicon Valley Reads will be centered on the theme of “Connecting”—the universal human ability to build resilience by looking for people, places and things that provide comfort and joy during tough times. Dr. Sara Cody, Dr. James Doty and Usha Srinivasan will be part of the 2021 kickoff event and discuss their perspectives on ways in which each of us and our community can find comfort and connection through difficult times. NOTES This is a free, online-only program; pre-register to receive a link to the live-stream event. In Partnership with: Santa Clara County Office of Education, Santa Clara County Library District, San Jose Public Library. Special performance by the Cupertino High School Capella Choir and virtual “Sources of Solace” art show by the Euphrat Museum of Art Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After 28 years, renowned KQED radio host Michael Krasny, host of the popular "Forum" program, has announced that he will retire following his "Forum" broadcast on February 12, 2021, marking the exact anniversary of his first program in 1993. Krasny has interviewed some of the most prominent newsmakers and political and cultural figures of the past half century, including Maya Angelou, William F. Buckley, President Jimmy Carter, Cesar Chavez, Noam Chomsky, Francis Ford Coppola, Jerry Garcia, Allen Ginsberg, Werner Herzog, John McCain, Toni Morrison, President Barack Obama, Camille Paglia, Rosa Parks, Nancy Pelosi, Sean Penn, Salman Rushdie, Carl Sagan, Bernie Sanders, Patti Smith, Charlize Theron, Wayne Thiebaud, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, David Foster Wallace, Gene Wilder and George Will. Krasny’s storied broadcasting career began auspiciously in the late 1970s as host of a weekly program on KTIM FM, a small Marin County rock station. He later moved to ABC in 1983, where he worked in both radio (KGO AM) and on local television. He is professor of English at San Francisco State University and has also taught at Stanford University, the University of San Francisco and the University of California, San Francisco, as well as in the Fulbright International Institutes. Join us for a special salute to Michael Krasny, and don't miss your chance to turn the tables and ask your own questions of this highly regarded interviewer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The world watched in horror as members of the alt-right stormed Capitol Hill in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. What we also witnessed was a stark and irrefutable difference between the way law enforcement reacted to the siege in comparison to the violent force often used at Black Lives Matter marches and other peaceful protests involving marginalized communities. What is the relationship between the police, white supremacy and the American right to protest? How does our country define “terrorism,” both culturally and in the eyes of the law? And, importantly, what can we learn from the Capitol attacks to help BIPOC organizers continue their fight against injustice in 2021 and beyond? Join us at INFORUM with noted activist Alicia Garza and Representative for California's 13th congressional district Barbara Lee, where we will explore this historic moment and what this all means for communities of color in a post-Trump America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Best-selling authors Charles Yu and Jess Walter will talk about writing fiction that manages to be both poignant and funny at a time of great change. They will also share the inspiration behind their new stories, published exclusively by Scribd Originals. Yu’s The Only Living Girl on Earth is an unexpected and delightfully absurd vision of life on Earth a thousand years in the future. In this story, Yu expresses his unique brand of cosmic humanism and offers above all, hope. Walter’s Town & Country describes a son’s greatest act of tolerance and acceptance in a world that hasn’t always shown him the same. It’s a story, as only Walter could write, about all the ways we cannot help but love each other even when we do not, and maybe cannot, understand each other. In Partnership with Scribd Originals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

She's been called Vietnam's Lady Gaga—a talented, outspoken artist promoting freedom of expression. Join us for an online discussion with an artist who has crafted creative ways to promote freedom. Mai Khoi is a Vietnamese artist and activist. At the age of 12 she wrote her first song and joined her father's wedding band the same year. She rose to stardom in 2010 after winning the Vietnam Television song and album of the year awards. Several years later she became increasingly uncomfortable having to submit her work to government censors and started the avant-garde dissident trio Mai Khoi Chém Gió. Working at the interface of art and activism Mai Khoi has developed her most unique art form to date. Her new sound is an emotionally charged fusion of free jazz and ethnic Vietnamese music, with her most political, yet personal, song lyrics ever. Today she leads efforts to promote freedom of artistic expression in Vietnam, for which she was awarded the Vaclav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent. Her activism has, however, come at a high price. She has had her concerts raided, been evicted from her house, and been detained and interrogated by the police. Mai Khoi is artist in residence at SHIM NYC and an Artist Protection Fund fellow. NOTES In partnership with the Vietnamese American Roundtable Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gershom Gorenberg joins us live from Jerusalem to discuss the topic of his latest book, War of Shadows: Codebreakers, Spies, and the Secret Struggle to Drive the Nazis from the Middle East, with Robert Rosenthal, a former Middle East/Africa journalist and former editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer and managing editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. At the center of Gorenberg's exciting intrigue—which has lessons for today's intelligence and cybersecurity—are the code breakers at Bletchley Park, who helped solve the Enigma cipher and foiled Rommel's bid to to conquer the Middle East. Gorenberg, a columnist for The Washington Post, has written for The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, The New York Review of Books, Haaretz, and other media outlets. He teaches a workshop on writing history at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. MLF ORGANIZER Celia Menczel NOTES MLF: Middle East Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Tyler Stovall's White Freedom explores the intertwined histories of racism and freedom in France and the United States, the two leading nations that have claimed liberty as the heart of their national identities. Stovall examines how French and American thinkers defined freedom in racial terms and conceived of liberty as an aspect and privilege of whiteness. He also discusses how the Statue of Liberty―a gift from France to the United States and perhaps the most famous symbol of freedom on Earth―promised both freedom and whiteness to European immigrants. The era of the Enlightenment, which gave rise to our modern conceptions of freedom and democracy, was also the height of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. America, founded on the principle of liberty, was also built on African slavery, Native American genocide, and systematic racial discrimination. Stovall traces the complex relationship between freedom and race from the Age of Revolution to today, challenging the notion that racism is somehow a paradox or contradiction within the democratic tradition, and demonstrating how white identity is intrinsic to Western ideas about liberty. Throughout the history of modern Western liberal democracy, freedom has long been white freedom. Stovall provides an important perspective on the inherent racism behind our most cherished beliefs about freedom, liberty, and human rights. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond NOTES MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the Biden administration taking office, COVID rampant, vaccine disbursement beginning, and businesses and individual Americans reeling from financial burdens, what is the outlook for the economy in 2021? Join us for a lively and important discussion on where the U.S. and global economies are headed and what should be done to keep them on track. Michael J. Boskin is T. M. Friedman Professor of Economics and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He served as chairman of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) from 1989 to 1993. The independent Council for Excellence in Government rated Dr. Boskin’s CEA one of the five most respected agencies (out of 100) in the federal government. He chaired the highly influential blue-ribbon Commission on the Consumer Price Index, whose report has transformed the way government statistical agencies around the world measure inflation, GDP and productivity. Laura D’Andrea Tyson is an influential scholar of economics and public policy and an expert on trade and competitiveness who has also served as a presidential adviser. She is a distinguished professor of the Graduate School at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. She also chairs the Board of Trustees at UC Berkeley’s Blum Center for Developing Economies, which aims to develop solutions to global poverty. She is the former faculty director of the Berkeley Haas Institute for Business and Social Impact, which she launched in 2013. She served as interim dean of the Haas School from July to December 2018, and served previously as dean from 1998 to 2001. Dr. Tyson was a member of President Clinton’s cabinet between 1993 and 1996. She served as chair of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers from 1993 to 1995 and as director of the White House National Economic Council from 1995 to 1996. She was the first woman to serve in those positions. This event is underwritten by Bank of America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the surface, it would appear that the Cleveland Cavaliers' star forward Kevin Love has much success in his life. He is a five-time All-Star and won an NBA championship with the Cavaliers in 2016.He was a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. national team at the 2012 Summer Olympics. But Kevin Love has also suffered from depression and anxiety for years. He was one of the first NBA players to openly discuss mental health challenges. He first made headlines in March 2018, when he admitted that he had suffered a panic attack during a game that year. He subsequently said that he had always viewed talking about mental health as a “form of weakness that could derail my success in sports.” Yet he has gone on to talk about how he has changed his attitude toward mental health, believing that sharing helps others. In 2018, he established the Kevin Love Fund to provide tools and help for people to improve their physical and emotional well-being, with the goal of assisting more than a billion people over the next 5 years. Come for a candid and heartfelt conversation with Kevin Love about how depression impacts not only high performers but a wide range of people across age groups and professions, especially during the COVID-era, and what can be done to create more support for those in need. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just two weeks after the Capitol attack that resulted in five deaths, delayed the official counting of the Electoral College votes, and led to the second impeachment of a president of the United States for the first time in American history, a new president has been inaugurated in a Washington, D.C. that was on near lockdown due to the threat of domestic terrorism. Education leaders, civic advocates and public officials recognize that one of the most important ways the country can respond to this challenging moment is through an embrace of civics education, along with a significant boost in efforts that enable all U.S. citizens to understand the civic structures of the country, as well as the roles and responsibilities of its citizens and its elected officials. Just days after the Capitol attack, the Washington, D.C.-based The Hill published a powerful editorial about the urgent need for a renewed push for civics education. In it, Lauren Leader and Mark K. Updegrove noted, . . . Like the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that pulled the U.S. directly into World War II, the siege on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 by a violent mob will be remembered as a “day which will live in infamy.” Much will be written about the circumstances that led to the desecration of the Capitol….but as we move forward, it’s just as urgent to consider how we can build the foundations of a more unified nation with a deeper common understanding of what it really means to be American. . . . Part of the answer lies in civics education." Please join us for a special program as Leader and Updegrove are joined by the heads of iCivics, Louise Dube, and Generation Citizen, Elizabeth Clay Roy, to discuss why an urgent call to action for civics education is so important for the country. NOTES The program is part of The Commonwealth Club's "Creating Citizens" initiative, created with generous support from the Koret Foundation and others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a driver of global health, prosperity and planetary sustainability, science pervades all realms of human activity. The COVID pandemic of the past year and the prospect of its eventual resolution have put science (and scientists) at the forefront of an international cultural conversation. Yet communicating facts and credible research is a tricky task in a world awash in social media, anti-scientific agendas, political forces and biases of every kind. MLF ORGANIZER Robert Lee Kilpatrick NOTES MLF: Health & Medicine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told filmmaker Jennifer Callahan, "If I left the house without a bag, I’d go right back inside to get it." In "Making the Case," the late justice shares her thoughts—not on the law, but on daily objects from her own life, on some of her handbags. The film enables the viewer to get to know the great RBG in a most relatable way. Join us for an unexpected look into the thinking of a legal legend. Please note: This is not a screening of the short film "Making the Case." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill, Representative Eric Swalwell has been outspoken about the action he believes Congress should take to curb further assaults on our democracy, emphasizing the need for the president’s resignation or impeachment. The representative from California’s 15th district does not shy away from voicing his opinion on the important issues, and in this time of great uncertainty, Rep. Swalwell maintains his support for direct action against those who perpetrated the attack on himself and fellow members of Congress. As the House of Representative introduces articles of impeachment against President Trump, join Rep. Swalwell at INFORUM to hear about what it was like inside Capitol Hill on January 6, his hopes for the Biden administration, and what he expects for a post-Trump political landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist Annie Jacobsen is well known for her best sellers The Pentagon's Brain, Area 51 and Operation Paperclip. In her latest book, First Platoon, she investigates "warfare, good and evil in the age of biometrics, the technology that would allow the government to identify anyone, anywhere, at any time." Come for a discussion about the Pentagon's abilities to utilize iris scans, fingerprint scans, voice patterning, detection by odor, gait, and more to track human patterns, as well as the ethical questions raised by what Ms. Jacobsen calls "a burgeoning surveillance state." This is a story that starts off close and goes very big. The initial part of the story might sound familiar at first: It is about a platoon of mostly 19-year-old boys sent to Afghanistan, and an experience that ends abruptly in catastrophe. Their part of the story folds into the next: Inexorably linked to those soldiers and never comprehensively reported before is the U.S. Department of Defense’s quest to build the world’s most powerful biometrics database, with the power to identify, monitor, catalogue, and police people all over the world. Based on hundreds of formerly classified documents, FOIA requests, and exclusive interviews, First Platoon is an investigative exposé by a master chronicler of government secrets. Jacobsen reveals a post–9/11 Pentagon whose identification machines have grown more capable than the humans who must make sense of them. She says it's a Pentagon so powerful it can cover up its own internal mistakes in pursuit of endless wars; and people are at its mercy, in the last moments before a fundamental change so complete it might be impossible to take back. Annie Jacobsen is the author of the Pulitzer Prize–finalist in history The Pentagon’s Brain, the New York Times bestsellers Area 51 and Operation Paperclip, and other books. She was a contributing editor at the Los Angeles Times Magazine. A graduate of Princeton University, she lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do we find our way to a society focused on the common good instead of greed and selfishness? Does our “socially responsible” corporation structure allow us to have other values besides profit? Our panel—Joel Bakan, Jennifer Abbot, Elizabeth Davis and Kevin McGarry—will guide us to examine these issues. Joel Bakan’s book “the New Corporation” and Jennifer Abbot and Joel’s film by the same name, calls out what they call the corporate takeover of society. From gatherings of corporate elites in Davos, to climate change and spiraling inequality, the rise of authoritarian leaders to COVID and racial injustice, our panel of media activists and academics looks at corporations’ devastating power and the systemic changes required. Countering this is a groundswell of resistance worldwide as people take to the streets in pursuit of justice and the planet’s future. The members of our panel examine how a “just recovery” means addressing the three crises: climate, COVID and capitalism. The panel will look beyond the old corporate mentality and guide people toward a reimagining of democracy, collective action, structural equality and how people can get involved. MLF ORGANIZER Elizabeth Carney NOTES MLF: Business & Leadership Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hopes and expectations are high for President Biden’s first weeks in office. His recovery plans promise to take on COVID-19, a battered economy, and a rapid clean energy transition in a way that doesn’t leave communities behind. But Navajo Nation, which until recently was home to the largest coal-fired power plant in the U.S., has been left out of economic and energy plans for a long time. “The community that has been the provider is the one that has the most homes that don't have access to electricity,” notes Wahleah Johns, Co-Founder and Director of Native Renewables. Can the incoming administration improve energy access for all Americans while phasing out fossil fuels? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Discover the political history behind the Apollo program. Ever since July 1969, Neil Armstrong's first step on the Moon has represented the pinnacle of American space exploration and a grand scientific achievement. Yet Teasel Muir-Harmony argues its primary purpose wasn't advancing science. Rather, it was part of a political strategy to build a global coalition of "freedom" against "tyranny." Starting with JFK's 1961 decision to send astronauts to the Moon, Project Apollo was central to American foreign policy. From that perspective, the critical event did not just take place on the lunar surface; it took place in homes, public squares, palaces, and schools around the world, as Apollo captured global attention like never before. In the Moon landing's afterglow, the Apollo astronauts and President Richard Nixon traveled the world to amplify the sense of participation and global unity shared by the billions who had followed the flight. Drawing on a rich array of untapped archives and firsthand interviews with Apollo astronauts, Muir-Harmony paints a riveting picture of the intersection of spaceflight, geopolitics, propaganda, and diplomacy during the Cold War. NOTES MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the president of the Democratic political action committee EMILY’s List since 2010, Stephanie Schriock has led the charge to elect female Democratic candidates across America. In the 2018 midterm elections, under Schriock’s leadership, EMILY’s List ran female candidates who flipped enough seats to win a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives. In her new book with Christina Reynolds, Run to Win: Lessons in Leadership for Women Changing the World, Schriock provides guidance for women looking to break into male-dominated spaces, whether that be in politics or otherwise. Join Schriock at INFORUM to learn more about how women can become changemakers in their communities, whether it's at the local, state or federal level. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn about the making of a timely new documentary that reveals a side of the coronavirus pandemic often unseen by most people. Pandemic19 is a short documentary film that captures the story of three doctors in the United States fighting COVID-19 from pre-to-post surge, told through their own reflective, humanizing voices, while the chaos of the pandemic spreads outside the frame of their video confessions. Pandemic19 sidesteps the salacious news headlines by focusing on the personal video journals of three doctors as they prepare for the “calm before the storm” and share their direct experiences with COVID-19 patients. As the days unfold, the doctors check-in and record their changing impressions: fears, hopes, challenges, and triumphs—laying bare their unfiltered and subjective feelings. Join us for a conversation with Dr. Virginia Brady and Pandemic19 directors Yung Chang and Annie Katsure Rollins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Incoming President Biden faces an unimaginable set of challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, a gutted economy and a nation reeling from the recent capital attack. With all of that and more on his plate, what of Biden’s plans to fight climate change? “This President-elect has shown that he is absolutely committed to addressing the issue of climate,” says former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman. “Because it affects everything.” Advancing a bipartisan climate agenda will be a hard sell. But in his nearly four decades in the Senate, Biden has made friends and earned respect from his Republican peers. “That isn’t gonna fix everything, of course not,” admits former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. But if you start with that...there are enough Republicans in the Senate who will respond to that.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rep. Jackie Speier has survived violence twice. Once in 1978, when she was a young aide to Rep. Leo Ryan and was shot and left for dead on the tarmac of an airport in Guyana after her boss was murdered trying to help members of the People’s Temple cult escape. And again last week, when she was in the House chamber in the U.S. Capitol when it was attacked. Join Rep. Speier and retired Santa Clara County Judge LaDoris Cordell for a timely and frank behind-the-scenes look at the attack on the U.S. Capitol and its implications. What is the state of the country and of American democracy following the events of the past week? What will America look like after January 20? Can the divisions in the country be healed? Congresswoman Speier has served in Congress since 2008. California’s 14th Congressional District stretches from San Francisco through San Mateo County to East Palo Alto. Representative Speier serves on the House Armed Services Committee, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. She is also co-chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus, the Bipartisan Task Force to End Sexual Violence, and the Gunviolence Prevention Task Force. Don't miss this opportunity to ask questions of this long-time lawmaker at a crucial point in history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Questioning science, funding vocal climate denial groups, and encouraging the focus on personal carbon footprints are corporate America’s preferred tools for shifting the responsibility for action on climate from industry to the individual. “Companies that are very much pro-climate action, that are acting in their own operations, are mostly silent on public policy,” says Bill Weihl, former Sustainability Director at Facebook. But with more workers holding their employers accountable and the start of a departure from shareholder-first capitalism, is the role of the corporation shifting? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a virtual conversation about the art of conversation with Fred Dust. Conversations are one of our most fundamental means of communicating with each other. At their best, they are unconstrained, authentic and open—two or more people sharing thoughts and ideas in ways that bridge our individual experiences to achieve a common goal. At their worst, they foster misunderstanding and frustration, and obscure our real intentions. How often do you walk away from a conversation feeling really heard? That it moved the people in it forward in some important way? If not very often, you’re not alone. After years of trying to broker communications between colleagues and clients, Dust redesigned his art of conversation by using intention and purpose, but remaining artful and playful. In this discussion, he codifies what he learned and outlines the commitment, creative listening, clarity, and context required to be more deliberate and purposeful in making conversations work. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond NOTES MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a time of racial reckoning, a new film looks at a very personal attempt to address racial injustices in this country. Ashes to Ashes is an endearing portrait of Winfred Rembert, an avid Star Wars fan and master leather-work artist who survived an attempted lynching in 1967. This moving short documentary showcases the incredible friendship he has forged with Dr. Shirley Jackson Whitaker, as she creates and establishes an interactive art exhibit to memorialize the more than 4,000 African Americans who were lynched during the Jim Crow era. Join us for a discussion with Dr. Whitaker, Winifred Rembert, and the film's director, Taylor Rees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To many observers, QAnon is, for lack of a better word, dangerous. They say it is dangerous to our political life, because it spreads disinformation which makes it more difficult for citizens to make informed decisions about who to vote for and what policies to support; it is also dangerous to the mental health of people who buy into the conspiracy theories, because it creates a cult-like environment, one in which people stop thinking for themselves and instead hero-worship President Donald Trump; finally, it is dangerous to the physical welfare of non-QAnon followers, because members of QAnon have been linked to violence. Matthew Rozsa is a staff writer at Salon, where he has covered everything from politics and economics to science and culture. Prior to his career at Salon, Mr. Rozsa worked for a number of media outlets, including Mic, Quartz, The Daily Dot, The Good Men Project and MSNBC. He graduated from Bard College with a B.A. in history and from Rutgers University-Newark with an M.A. in history. He is currently studying for a Ph.D. in history at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. MLF ORGANIZER Patrick O'Reilly NOTES MLF: Psychology Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summers for the Tsegie-Samuelsson family were spent in Smögen, Sweden catching crayfish, lobsters and mackerel to serve with local and fresh ingredients at the dinner table. These meals were influenced by Ethiopian cuisine, creating an East African culinary experience with Swedish ingredients. These artistic and cultural influences continue to play a pivotal role in Marcus Samuelsson's cooking. Chef Marcus Samuelsson, author of the new book The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food, takes us into a deeper journey of food, culture, and origin to appreciate the complexity of Black culinary arts. The deliciousness of modern Black cooking is only enhanced by chefs’ reclamation of Black culinary traditions, a collective desire to fight implicit bias, and an ability to energize young, creative cooks. Black meals are often categorized under the monolithic label of “soul food,” but Samuelsson reminds us that soul food flavors have influences tracing back to the African continent, the Caribbean, all over the United States, and beyond. The Rise is more than a cookbook, and has been called a stunning work of breadth and beauty. It’s the celebration of a culinary movement. NOTES Part of our Food Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Co-presented by INFORUM. Our thanks to Marcus Bookstore in Oakland for fulfilling book orders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Trump presidency comes to an end, many questions have been raised about its impact and legacy on a range of policy issues and priorities for the country. The future of American history education, particularly for K–12 students, is one area where the impact could be felt for years. Responding to recent controversies such as The New York Times’s "1619 Project" and widespread calls to remove Confederate monuments, President Trump issued an executive order establishing a new “1776 Commission” to promote “patriotic education” in schools. Whether or not the Biden administration continues the commission, the focus on what should be taught about America’s founding and heritage, how constitutional issues and historical topics such as slavery should be conveyed to students, and how to teach the full and complex story of our constitutional democracy will remain a significant educational debate for years to come. This program will look at the state of this debate from a range of perspectives and discuss the future of American history education. The program will be held on January 6, the historic constitutional day when the U.S. Congress officially counts the electoral votes from the presidential election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for the first Week to Week political roundtable of 2021, as we gather online for a program on the same day that Georgia holds its runoff election for two crucial U.S. Senate seats. We'll discuss the Georgia race, plus the incoming administration, the outgoing administration, the latest from Sacramento and elsewhere with our usual mix of expert insight and a dose of good-natured humor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Jessica Zitter is a national advocate for transforming the way people die in America. She is Harvard- and UCSF-trained to practice the unusual combination of critical and palliative care medicine and works as an attending physician at a public hospital in Oakland. Join us for a special one-hour program featuring "Caregiver: A Love Story," Dr. Zitter's new short documentary about the family caregiver burden. More than one in five Americans care for a loved one in need, and are facing serious physical, financial, and emotional consequences. The COVID-19 pandemic has given us all a window into this rising public health crisis, as increasing numbers of people suddenly became caregivers and those who were already doing this work become increasingly isolated and overwhelmed. After the 24-minute film, we will be joined by Dr. Zitter, co-director and producer of the film, for a discussion and Q&A facilitated by Mark Zitter. We will learn more about the issue of family caregiver burden, and get taken "behind-the-scenes” to learn how this unlikely film was made. About the Film When Bambi Fass was dying from metastatic melanoma, she realized that being at home with her husband Rick was her biggest priority. Once hospice services came on board, Bambi's quality of life dramatically improved. But as the viewer watches the rising stresses placed on her husband Rick, another story emerged—the burden placed on the family caregiver. Filmed in Oakland, "Caregiver: A Love Story," follows the last 9 weeks of Bambi’s life at home, focusing on the challenges Rick faces as he leaves his job to become her primary caregiver, a role for which he has no experience and little support. He juggles the day-to-day demands of providing care for Bambi and his two-year-old granddaughter, suffers financial losses, and becomes fatigued, sick and lonely, all while losing the woman he loves. The film won best documentary short at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President-elect Joe Biden says he will infuse climate change into every corner of his agenda. That’s becoming evident looking at his emerging team. "You're already seeing signs from the nominees and the people they’re choosing that climate is going to be a part of every single agency," says Christy Goldfuss, Senior Vice President for Energy and Environment Policy at the Center for American Progress. But it will take more than staff buy-in to get the country to net-zero emissions. When he’s sworn in on January 20th, Biden will likely be facing a Republican-led Senate that opposes his climate goals. He’s announced an ambitious plan designed to achieve a one-hundred-percent clean economy and net-zero emissions by 2050, and is assembling a team of heavy hitters to get the job done. But he faces criticism from both sides. Republicans claim his plan is too expensive. Sunrise Movement and other progressives accuse him of not being ambitious enough. Join us for a discussion about the Biden climate agenda -- what he hopes to accomplish and what he can get done, with or without congressional support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mary Nichols is not a household name, but she arguably has done more than any other public official to reduce America's carbon pollution. As she puts it, “I took on the one topic that everybody agreed was really important, but they didn't know what to do about, and that was air pollution,” Nichols first served as chair of California's Air Resources Board, or the Air Board, from 1979 to 1983 in Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown's first term. When she returned to the job, almost 25 years later under a Republican governor, the board had evolved into a much more powerful and important player, in what had become an urgent struggle against climate change. The Board played a crucial role, for example, in exposing the Volkswagen “Dieselgate” scandal. “The Air Resources Board and our engineers are the ones who uncovered the fraud and figured out how it actually worked,” she recalls, “and we immediately brought in the Federal Environmental Protection Agency and in turn, the Department of Justice.” More recently, Nichols has been busy battling the Trump administration’s attempt to water down California’s fuel economy rules -- which often become national standards because of that state’s big car market. “It's about the merits, it’s about getting the results and the environmental benefits,” Nichols says, “but it's also about protecting California's right to set standards because that has been time and time again the one tool that we the people as a whole have had to really force progress on the part of the industry.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us virtually to discuss with Shin Ushijima, Japan’s best-selling legal thriller author and influential corporate counselor, the nuances of cultural shifts in Japan, the political ramifications of Japan’s response to COVID-19, the effects of China’s rising influence in Asia, the threat to Japan of North Korea’s military misadventurousness, and the institutional changes he would like to see in corporate governance in order to strengthen Japan’s international businesses. Ushijima will also share how he managed to write several novels, and non-fiction corporate advice books, while running one of Tokyo’s premier law firms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us virtually for the kind of philosophical conversation Shankara would have enjoyed, the kind captured in the best of the Upanishads, as we explore with Sadhguru the ideas that have intrigued the yogis of India for millennia, and which have seeped into Western culture in bits and pieces through the curiosity of authors such as Emerson, Thoreau, Maugham and Hesse, and from a stream of famous Indian teachers who traveled to the West to share these ideas. We will start our conversation with Mark Twain, because in Hannibal, MO, during Sadhguru’s recent motorcycle tour of America, he said that when he was growing up “Moby Dick and Huck Finn kind of lived in my head for some time. Nobody else really occupied my mind much.” So we will discuss the ancient two-way literary and intellectual highway between India and the West, and then see how much more transcendental the conversation gets after that. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond NOTES MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Here is the great paradox of Cosmic Comic Consciousness: The world is in serious condition, and yet there is definitely something funny going on.” Swami Beyondananda, whose favorite yoga pose is tongue-in-cheek (and occasionally foot-in-mouth) is bringing his comedy disguised as wisdom—or is it wisdom disguised as comedy—to The Commonwealth Club. If you’ve never been to The Commonwealth Club, this is your opportunity to not be there again—this is a virtual event! Seriously and humorously, in these way-too-serious times, this is the perfect opportunity to take humor more seriously and seriousness more humorously. Noted author Marianne Williamson has called the Swami “the Mark Twain of our times,” and as such Swami has a “one-twack mind”—that’s the laugh twack. And he has one “loco motive”—to keep you laughing till the sacred cows come home. Now the Swami is not one of those gurus who expects people to accept his teachings without questioning. If you have an answerable question for the Swami, the Swami will have a questionable answer for you. As the Swami tells us, there are two kinds of people in the world—the kind who divide people into two kinds and the kind who don’t. If you’re part of the former group, there are two other kinds of people in the world. The ones who love to laugh, and the ones who need to. If you fit either category, come laugh with (or at, he doesn’t care) the Swami. And invite your friends, because when it comes to laughter, the more the merrier. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond NOTES MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris assumes her new office in January, she will leave a safe Democratic U.S. Senate seat in one of the bluest states in the country. The parlor game has begun of trying to figure out who Governor Gavin Newsom will appoint to replace Harris in the Senate. Should he choose a woman? Man? Asian-American? African-American? Latinx? European-American? LGBTQ? Rich? Poor? The Coalition of Black Women, composed of hundreds of Black women and organizations, hopes to influence the governor to replace Harris with another female African-American. Join us for a conversation with coalition supporters and Black women leaders who are emphasizing the need for diversity in our nation's leaders, pointing to the deficit in the representation of women and African-Americans in the U.S. Senate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been in a challenging year, so we want to end the year on a high note (literally) with a very special virtual holiday party! We are thrilled to join with our friends at the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) to celebrate a Bay Area tradition: "A Christmas Carol." This year, for the first time in its 44-year history, the Bay Area’s favorite holiday theater performance comes to life as a fantastical immersive audio event—"A Christmas Carol: On Air." The Club’s annual holiday party will take you behind the scenes of the world premiere of this timeless story of optimism and humbugs, memories and redemptions, spooky presents and hopeful futures. During the party, we’ll hear from A.C.T.’s TONY Award-winning artistic director, Pam MacKinnon, "A Christmas Carol On Air" Director Peter J. Kuo, and A.C.T. Audio Engineer Jake Rodriguez about this year’s virtual effort and how they created this entirely new experience. We’ll even hear a special excerpt from this year’s all-audio performance. Please join us for this special event to kick off the holiday season . . . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This presentation will introduce what light medicine is, how it works, and review the medical literature as well as their extensive clinical experience in treating neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, traumatic brain injuries, strokes, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's disease, peripheral neuropathies, as well as nearly all painful conditions. Proponents say that the beauty of this safe and cost-effective technology is that it is available today and results are usually seen in just one or two 15- to 30-minute treatments. Len Saputo, M.D., is board certified in internal medicine and has pioneered the development of an integrative, holistic, person-centered, preventative health-care model called Health Medicine. He founded the Health Medicine Forum and has 20 years of experience working with light therapy and more than 50 years practicing medicine. Maurice Bales is an electrical engineer who holds the first U.S. patent and FDA clearance for a light machine. He was awarded five grants from NASA while working on the space shuttle, and has been employed by UC Berkeley to mentor Ph.D. students in fusion physics for two decades. MLF ORGANIZER Robert Lee Kilpatrick NOTES MLF: Health & Medicine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As our country faces the worst economic downturn in a century due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Americans are experiencing financial strain, leading to food insecurity and rising homelessness. Communities of color are disproportionately impacted by both the coronavirus and the resulting economic crisis, creating multiple barriers to health. The health-care industry has long recognized the awful truth that race and economic status are linked and both are social predictors of health. The difference in life expectancy between the richest 1 percent and poorest 1 percent of Americans is about 12 years, and between Black and white people there is a 4-year gap on average, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Additionally, research shows that underrepresented populations tend to receive lower quality of care and experience greater morbidity and mortality from various chronic diseases. The renewed focus on race amid the COVID-19 pandemic and protests over societal bias provide an opportunity for structural change. In the United States, we spend more on health care and less on the social services that support healthier communities than most industrialized nations. Today’s pandemic continues to highlight how this mismatch in spending is driving some of our poor health-care outcomes. The potential for a significant rise in homelessness, food insecurity and other social issues amid COVID-19 will have drastic effects on health. We already know, for example, that chronic homelessness can cut 27 years from a person’s life. We cannot keep people healthy if they cannot keep a roof over their head and food on the table. Our country’s health-care system is already facing a massive challenge as it cares for those infected with the coronavirus. How can we address the physical, psychological, economic and social impacts of inequity and systematic racism to foster more equitable and healthier communities? Join a panel of experts as we explore opportunities to drive health equity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amid dire news of increasing COVID-19 deaths and strict lockdowns this winter, we see vaccines being approved in record time. How and when will these vaccines be rolled out to hundreds of millions of Americans? Who will be offered them first, and when will the rest of us gain access? Will we take them when offered—and if not, will they be mandated? As these vaccines are dosed in unprecedented volumes here and around the world, how fast can they slow the spread of the coronavirus? Most of all, when can we get back to the activities we’ve been missing? Will vaccines ever allow life to return to normal? In the Club's final COVID program of the year, two experts will tell us what to expect, and when. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At times it seemed that 2020 would never end, but here comes December, right on schedule, and we're holding our annual "Michelle Meow Show" year-end special. We'll relive a bit of the past year, we'll have some celebrity video cameos, and our featured speaker for the night is Sarah McBride, whom Delaware voters elected in November as the nation's first transgender state senator. McBride's career is steeped in politics. She worked on campaigns, including Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden's 2010 campaign and Governor Jack Markell's 2008 race. In 2012, she interned at the White House, becoming the first transgender woman to work there in any role. In 2016, she became the first openly transgender person to speak at a national party convention when she addressed the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Join us for fun program of looking back and forward, as we celebrate the end of this momentous year and we consider what's in store in 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Years before Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Colonel Patsy Thompson was forced to expel Army hero Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer for being a lesbian. What no one knew was that Thompson was as well. The way Thompson handled the military trial, however, led to Cammermeyer’s re-instatement via federal court and eventual change in military policy. While Cammermeyer’s memoir was adapted as a 1995 television movie by Barbra Streisand, Thompson’s story remained a secret . . . until now. Join us for a screening of the new documentary Surviving the Silence followed by a discussion with the principals involved. In addition to revealing history, Surviving the Silence explores Thompson’s life with now-wife Barbara Brass. They candidly share how they wrestled with heartwrenching choices in public and in private, hiding their relationship, and struggling to protect their love while preserving Patsy's career—and, how they emerged to become vibrant activists later in life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a conversation with the director and the stars of the new indie drama Take Out Girl. Writer, director, actor, cinematographer and creator Hisonni Mustafa Johnson is a rising star in the film world, garnering accolades and nominations for his television pilots (Fight Night Legacy, Olympia and Grayson: Earth One). Hedy Wong is an actress and writer known for Laff Mobb's Laff Tracks, Chinatown Squad, and the new Take Out Girl. And Alex Pham—better known by his stage name $tupid Young—is a Cambodian-American rapper, lyricist, entrepreneur and actor, who portrays an LAPD officer in Take Out Girl. His YouTube channel has garnered 34 million views; he also runs his own label, Afficials, which he founded in 2017. Johnson, Wong and Young will join us to discuss Asian-American experiences, diaspora, race relations, violence, and poverty. They will be in conversation with "Michelle Meow Show" co-hosts Michelle Meow and John Zipperer. NOTES: This program contains EXPLICIT language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Kennedy is one of America’s preeminent historians, having been awarded both the Pulitzer and Bancroft Prizes, among others. His scholarship is notable for its integration of economic and cultural analysis with social and political history, and for its attention to the concept of the American national character. Professor Kennedy is the inaugural speaker in the Club’s new series, The Future of Democracy. This series will explore challenges and threats to democracy in the United States, drawing on historical evidence and relating it to the current political and social landscape. Come for an engaging discussion of America’s past and current leaders and what they may portend for the direction of the country. NOTES This program is part of The Commonwealth Club’s Future of Democracy Series, supported by Betsy and Roy Eisenhardt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our distinguished panel will discuss how beleaguered nonprofits are struggling to deal with the increased challenges for desperate refugees and aid workers in the Middle East and elsewhere during the COVID-19 crisis. Dr. Niveen Rizkalla will present findings from her timely research with an emphasis on Syrian refugees and aid workers in Lebanon. Amanda Lane will share the importance of small grass-roots organizations, like the Collateral Repair Project that she directs and which mostly works with Syrian, Iraqi and Kurdish refugees in Jordan. They will both discuss how dedicated NGOs, aid workers and volunteers are striving to nimbly solve basic human needs—physical and psycho-social—in the face of disease, violence, fear and other challenges. MLF ORGANIZER Celia Menczel NOTES MLF: Middle East Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Hurricane Katrina’s racial impacts to Jay Z’s hip hop politics, Michael Eric Dyson has uplifted race-related academia through his analysis on a diverse array of Black cultural topics. Dyson began his lengthy academic career at Knoxville College at 21 years-old after having worked in factories in Detroit, Michigan, to support his family. He later went on to receive his Ph.D. in religion from Princeton University and teach at distinguished college institutions such as Brown and Columbia before his current position as a professor of sociology at Georgetown University. In his new book Long Time Coming, Dyson examines how the death of George Floyd jump-started a social movement that has been brewing for more than 400 years. With each chapter dedicated to a Black martyr, Dyson builds upon the anti-Black cultural and social forces throughout history that have led to the subjugation of Black people in the current day. Ending with a poignant plea for hope, Dyson points the way to social redemption. Dyson provides a guide to help America finally reckon with race. Join Michael Eric Dyson in conversation with CNN’s Angela Rye as they both offer ways to finally address and grapple with systemic racism and racial tensions in the United States. NOTES Co-presented by INFORUM. Our thanks to Marcus Bookstore in Oakland for fulfilling book orders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices