Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Please join us for an exclusive and comprehensive docent art talk by Kathryn Zupsic on the exhibit "Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving," currently showing at the de Young Museum. We'll take a close look at some of Kahlo's personal items, photographs and paintings that reveal the many ways the artist constructed her identity. The talk will be followed by Q&A, so bring your questions as we decipher the world of Frida. MLF ORGANIZER Robert Melton NOTES MLF: Arts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harvest season is especially hard this year, as the pandemic strains farmers and food systems, highlighting a deeply divided and often unjust America. Black farmers are no strangers to the intersection of these challenges, as structural racism in the food system makes it increasingly challenging for non-white farmers to own and profit from land. Is small-scale, regenerative agriculture the solution to climate disruption? How have years of redlining and discriminatory real estate policies shaped land ownership in the US? How is climate gentrification shaping access to land? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a virtual conversation with Neal Gabler, award-winning author and film critic, to discuss volume one of his new biography of Ted Kennedy—an immersive journey through the life of a complicated man and a sweeping history of the fall of liberalism. Gabler pursues the Ted Kennedy seldom seen beneath the well-known images of the reckless hedonist who rode his father’s fortune and his brothers’ coattails to a Senate seat at the age of 30, and finds a man both racked by and driven by insecurity. Considered by his contemporaries as the least of the Kennedys, his childhood was filled with numerous humiliations, including self-inflicted ones, all the while being pressured to rise to his brothers’ level. Kennedy entered the Senate to low expectations—a show horse, not a workhorse. But he drew upon his “ninth-child’s talent” of deference to and comity with his Senate elders to become an influential legislator. Using his brothers’ moral authority, Kennedy became a moving force during the great “liberal hour” that saw the passage of the anti-poverty program and the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts. Then, after the deaths of John and Robert and the election of Richard Nixon, Kennedy became the leading voice of liberalism, challenging Nixon to keep the American promise to the marginalized, and provoking Nixonian terror of a Kennedy restoration. Gabler also chronicles how the fatal accident on Chappaquiddick Island in 1969 dealt a serious blow not just to Kennedy's political career but to liberalism itself. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Months and months in a sweet little bubble, with stresses and chaos on the outside, but warmth and safety on the inside . . . doesn't that sound great? But if this idyllic situation isn't yours right now, don't worry! Neuroscience and emotional resilience specialists Dr. Rick Hanson, psychologist and New York Times best-selling author, and Forrest Hanson, host of the "Being Well" podcast, will teach us some techniques to head off the isolation craziness. They've agreed to stay for a longer Q&A than usual, so if your relationship is turning into "for better or for worse, but not for lunch," or even if you're simply finding it difficult to keep your temper or your balance, be sure to join us. Just write your questions on the video's chat box during the talk, and we will forward them to Rick and Forrest anonymously for their answers. Our previous discussions about anxiety and depression used a similar format, and they were extremely successful. There were great questions that received excellent practical answers, so be sure to attend and ask those questions! Remember, thousands of people will download the podcast afterwards; the answer you get may lighten the day for hundreds of subsequent listeners. MLF ORGANIZER Eric Siegel NOTES MLF: Personal Growth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for this special program in The Commonwealth Club's series recognizing recipients of The Club's 2020 Distinguished Citizens Award. This program honors Rod Diridon, Sr., a staunch transportation and environmental advocate for most of his life. As The San Jose Mercury News observed, "Along the way to having a passenger station named in his honor that has become the catalyst for the next iteration of San Jose’s downtown, he chaired the first campaign in California for a sales tax for transit, helped create the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, and organized the joint powers boards for rail construction projects. He has chaired dozens of charitable nonprofit organizations dealing with issues in transportation, the environment, parks, local history and journalism." From 1993 to 2014, Mr. Diridon served as executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute, a transportation policy research center created in 1991 by Congress. He is known as the father of modern transit service in Silicon Valley and has chaired more than 100 international, national, state and local programs, most related to transit and the environment. He frequently provides legislative testimony on sustainability. Mr. Diridon was appointed in 2001 and 2005 by Governors Davis and Schwarzenegger, respectively, to the California High Speed Rail Authority Board, of which he is chair emeritus. He’s past chair of the American Public Transportation Association, was elected chair of the U.S. High Speed Rail Association’s Board, and served for 6 years as North American vice chair of the International Transit Association in Brussels. His political career began in 1971 as the youngest person ever elected to the Saratoga City Council. He retired in 1995 because of term limits after completing five terms on and six times chairing both the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and Transit Board. He’s the only person to chair the San Francisco Bay Area's (119 cities, 27 transit agencies, and 9 counties) three regional governments: The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Air Quality Management District, and the Association of Bay Area Governments. He chaired nine successful rail system development project boards. In 1995 the region’s main train station was renamed the “San Jose Diridon Station” upon his retirement. Mr. Diridon is now focused on combating climate change by convening the Rotary Climate Action Council. Conversing with Mr. Diridon will be Nuria Fernandez, a 35-year veteran of the transportation industry. In addition to her role with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, she serves as chair of the American Public Transportation Association. Come for a salute to one of the country's most highly regarded transportation leaders and an engaging conversation about the future of transit, especially in a time of pandemics, fires, hurricanes and floods. Bring your questions as well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us in conversation with Jacob Goldstein, co-host of the NPR show “Planet Money,” as he talks with Molly Wood from “Marketplace Tech” about the irreverent concept of money and its evolution over time. In his new book, Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing, Goldstein illustrates the use of money and how it has been an important factor in society for thousands of years. But what is money? Goldstein asserts that the concept of money only works because we as a globe have all collectively agreed to believe in it. He provides a detailed history of money from the rise of coins in ancient Greece to the emergence of shadow banking in the 21st century. The book follows the stories of the fringe leaders who first saw money as a viable system to exchange goods. The various thinkers presented in the book quickly learned that money is nothing more than a concept, only solidified by the choices we make. He says that these choices we decide on affect who gets more money and who gets less, who gets to take risks when times are good, and who gets screwed when things go bad. Join us to learn the story of the choices that gave us money as we know it today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2020 is a year unlike any other in modern history. Of the many sectors of human life turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic, the American workplace has been particularly affected. The lines between work and home are blurred more than ever before, and the uncertainty many industries face have overwhelmed employees and their plans for the future. What do these shifts in workplace culture mean for women and other underrepresented groups, especially those traditionally affected by wage gaps, stagnant career mobility and discrimination? The sixth annual “Women in the Workplace” report, composed by McKinsey & Co. in partnership with LeanIn.org, explores a completely new corporate environment that women must trek. The data set this year reflects contributions from 317 companies that participated in the study and more than 40,000 people surveyed on their workplace experiences. Join a panel of experts at INFORUM, where they will discuss the unique results of this year’s survey and how corporations can seek solutions for intractable problems like gender bias and the wage gap in the journey to innovate work-from-home culture. Though the pandemic presents new challenges, this conversation will offer a way forward for companies through a time that could fundamentally shift the way we work and live. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In late October, as the long presidential campaign wound down to its denouement, President Donald Trump's daughter Tiffany appeared at a Florida rally to proclaim her father as the most pro-LGBTQ president ever. But instead of helping the president with LGBTQI voters, the event caused many people to reflect on the president's policies that they say have targeted members of the community by removing legal protections. Join us this Thursday at noon, two days after Election Day. Our expert panel will discuss the political situation facing LGBTQI people after one of the most important elections of modern times. What will the president do in the next 4 years? Will the more-conservative U.S. Supreme Court expand religious exemptions at the expense of LGBTQI rights? How did LGBTQI candidates — and LGBTQI-ally candidates — do in this election? What should priorities be in 2021 and beyond? Don't miss this special edition of "The Michelle Meow Show" at The Commonwealth Club. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Michael V. Drake, M.D., was appointed as the 21st president of the University of California this past summer. He oversees UC’s world-renowned system of 10 campuses, five medical centers, three nationally affiliated labs, more than 280,000 students and 230,000 faculty and staff. Dr. Drake previously served as president of The Ohio State University from 2014 through June 2020. Prior to his six years at OSU, he served in several roles at the University of California, including nine years as chancellor of UC Irvine and five years as the systemwide vice president for health affairs. Dr. Drake received his A.B. from Stanford University, his M.D. and residency from UCSF, and his fellowship training in ophthalmology at UCSF and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He subsequently spent more than two decades on the faculty of the UCSF School of Medicine, ultimately as the Steven P. Shearing Professor of Ophthalmology. During his years as chancellor at UC Irvine, the campus rose to join the top 10 public universities in U.S. News & World Report’s annual list and was ranked by Times Higher Education as the No. 1 university in the U.S. under 50 years old. During his tenure at the campus, the four-year graduation rate increased by more than 18 percent, while undergraduate enrollment and diversity increased significantly. Dr. Drake is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has received the UCSF School of Medicine’s Clinical Teaching Award and the University of California Presidential Medal in recognition of exemplary service. Join this prominent academic leader the day after the election for a timely discussion of the challenges facing higher education during a global pandemic and societal unrest. NOTES This program is part of The Commonwealth Club's Series on Ethics and Accountability, underwritten by The Travers Family Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2020 campaign season has finally come to a close. And days after November 3rd has passed, the country is still reeling. About seventy percent of Americans - Democrats, Independents and Republicans - say the election caused a significant amount of anxiety and stress in their lives. That’s up from fifty percent four years ago. How should we process those difficult emotions surrounding the election? Climate psychologist Renée Lertzman recommends practicing self-awareness and self-care. “It’s very important for us each to know what our own thresholds are,” she says. “So knowing when it's time to sort of disengage and to take care of ourselves. To do what we need to do to restore our sense of being grounded, of being connected, of being in balance. So definitely, it’s a balancing act.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s natural to feel protective of our favorite movies—they can inform the way we see the world, introduce us to complex themes, or remind us of a simpler time (like before we knew what racism and sexism were). Writer Lindy West argues, however, that liking a movie doesn’t always mean that it’s actually good. In her new book Shit, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema, West uses her trademark wit to test the durability of 23 iconic movies and ask herself the important question: “How’d they hold up?” Join West as she returns to INFORUM to discuss the joys and challenges of re-watching your favorite pieces of cinema and to teach us how to be critical of the trash we love. Note: This program contains EXPLICIT language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SPEAKERS Malhar Shah Attorney, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund; Former Family Law Staff Attorney, National Center for lesbian Rights Janet Sinhbandith Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA); Behavior Specialist, Castro Valley Unified School District; CEO, Positive Support Services, LLC Kristy Woerz Retired Special Education Teacher, Program Specialist, and Trainer to District Staff, Castro Valley Unified School District Michelle Meow Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW TV and TuneIn; 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—Co-Host In response to the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, this program took place and was recorded live via video conference, for an online audience only, and was live-streamed by The Commonwealth Club of California from San Francisco on October 29th, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America’s Latinx population is diverse, complex and has plenty of untold stories to share. Paola Ramos, a correspondent for Vice and former deputy director of Hispanic media for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, has spent the past 2 years exploring the changing nature of Latinx identity. In her first book, Finding Latinx: In Search of the Voices Redefining Latino Identity, Paola presents a travelogue with stories from Latinx community members across America that will move, empower and enrage you. Join Paola at INFORUM, where she will talk about the intense field research that went into writing Finding Latinx and how her personal experiences informed her work. Be sure to tune in for what will be a fascinating discussion of the contemporary Latinx community. NOTES Part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a virtual conversation with award-winning historian David Reynolds to discuss his new biography of Abraham Lincoln, which also illuminates the riotous tumult of American life in the decades before the Civil War. It was a country growing up and being pulled apart at the same time, with a democratic popular culture that reflected the country's contradictions. From New England Puritan stock on his father's side and Virginia Cavalier gentry on his mother's, Lincoln was linked by blood to the central conflict of the age, and was aided by his genius for striking a balance between opposing forces. Lacking formal schooling but with an unquenchable thirst for self-improvement, Lincoln had a talent for wrestling and bawdy jokes that made him popular with his peers, but also had an appetite for poetry and prodigious gifts for memorization that set him apart throughout his childhood, and in his years as a lawyer and a politician. No one can transcend the limitations of his time, and Lincoln was no exception. But Lincoln did, at each stage of his life, arrive at a broader view of things than all but his most enlightened peers. As a politician, he moved too slowly for some and too swiftly for many, but he always pushed toward justice while keeping the whole nation in mind. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond NOTES MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a special post-election Week to Week political roundtable. Less than a day after polls closed, will we know the victor in the race for the White House? What about control of the U.S. Senate and House? Our panelists will discuss the results of the election, covering significant local, state and national results. Whatever the outcome, there will be many important impacts on our country, so we'll have a panel of informed political experts to dissect it all and help you make sense of one of the wildest years in recent American political life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the role of power in deciding the fate of a planet? 2020 has seen a reckoning with various forms of power embedded in racial, gender, and generational identities. As we think about a transfer of U.S. presidential power, what can we learn about how other types of power are shaping our climate and our future? “It is precisely for people when they vote to not just think of the vote as voting for health or voting for schools or libraries, but to start connecting the dots,” says Dorceta Taylor, an original leader of the environmental justice movement. “That's another dimension of power.” Guests: Dorceta Taylor, Professor, Professor of Environmental Justice, Yale School for the Environment Jamie Margolin, Co-Executive Director, Zero Hour; Author, Youth to Power: Your Voice and How to Use It This program was recorded via video on October 26, 2020 and September 15, 2020. Visit our website for full show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shellye Archambeau is a well-respected business leader, former tech CEO, and sought-after advisor. She is also a black woman who has taken risks throughout her career and blazed new trails in a predominantly white male-driven industry. Through her journey, Archambeau says she discovered that ambition alone is not enough and offers a blueprint with key takeaways and actions to increase the odds of achieving personal and professional success. Join us for this candid conversation as Archambeau shares her personal story and the best ways to create success on your own terms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicholas Christakis is a physician and sociologist at Yale University who explores the ancient origins and modern implications of human nature. Christakis’ research focuses on the social, mathematical and biological rules that form social networks as well as the implications of human connection that influences thoughts, feelings and behaviors. In his new book Apollo’s Arrow, Christakis explores the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in America and the implications that will follow in the coming years. Christakis uses a range of disciplines to unpack the effects of a modern pandemic, including historical epidemics, contemporary analyses and trailblazing scientific research. The coronavirus pandemic and the epidemics that have come before it, though mostly unknown territory to those alive today, is fundamental to the human biological experience. Join Christakis and former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy for a conversation about adaptation, survival and the rapid change we’ve undergone in 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo and The Wall Street Journal's James Freeman say that America needs an economic revival after the coronavirus shutdowns and argue that the playbook that resulted in "the greatest job market in history" can now put Americans back to work. Bartiromo and Freeman say that President Trump's cutting of red tape and slashing business tax rates spurred corporate investment that led to record numbers of U.S. job openings, and they say these policies will once again lead to prosperity. Maria Bartiromo is a two-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, who was the first person to report live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, in 1995, and in 2011 made history once again as the first female journalist to be inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame. James Freeman is a former investor advocate at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. On the eve of the presidential election, come for a spirited discussion of the U.S. economy, and bring your questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dessert is easy to enjoy but harder to make. Watching Claire Saffitz’s viral videos might not help ease the anxiety of new bakers. While a contributing food editor at Bon Appetit, Saffitz’s claim to fame was "Gourmet Makes"--a web series where the acclaimed chef reverse engineered sweet and savory snacks with an incredible amount of skill. While her expertise in baking might seem unattainable to those who love her show, her new cookbook, Dessert Person: Recipes and Guidance for Baking with Confidence, can convince anyone that they can be a “dessert person.” Saffitz has plenty of tips and tricks for the kitchen and beyond to share at INFORUM. Tune in to learn more about her new recipes and about her journey to becoming a baking expert for the masses. NOTES Part of our Food Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Gary Kamiya and artist Paul Madonna are two of the most critically acclaimed contemporary chroniclers of San Francisco. Now, they join forces for a new book, Spirits of San Francisco, marrying image and text in a way no book about the city has done before. Kamiya's captivating narratives accompany Madonna's masterful pen-and-ink drawings, breathing life into San Francisco sites both iconic and obscure. In this COVID era, when San Francisco faces unprecedented challenges, come hear from two of the city's wisest observers about what makes San Francisco special and what the future may hold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many people have the next great idea for a company, but what does it take to make a dream a reality? Kara Goldin decided to start the unsweetened flavored water brand Hint in 2005 after observing how sugary and artificial most drinks were. In her new book Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts and Doubters, Kara shares her advice for tackling the obstacles that are holding you back from achieving your dreams. Join Kara at INFORUM to learn more about entrepreneurship, female leadership and perseverance. With her award-winning experience in business, Kara has guidance aplenty for people looking to actualize the next big idea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a virtual conversation with Edmund Fawcett to discuss his sharp-eyed history of political conservatism, a tradition as much at war with itself as with its opponents, from its 19th century origins to today’s hard Right. For 200 years conservatism has defied its reputation as a backward-looking creed by confronting and adapting to liberal modernity. By doing so, the Right won long periods of power and became the dominant tradition in politics. Yet, despite their success, conservatives have continued to fight with each other about how far to compromise with liberalism and democracy—or about which values to defend and how. Fawcett provides a gripping account of this conflicted history, clarifies key ideas, and illuminates the policy quarrels within the Right today. Fawcett’s vivid narrative covers thinkers and politicians, including forerunners James Madison, Edmund Burke, and Joseph de Maistre; early friends and foes of capitalism; defenders of religion; and builders of modern parties, such as William McKinley and Lord Salisbury. Fawcett also chronicles the cultural critics and radical disruptors of the 1920s and 1930s, recounts how advocates of laissez-faire economics broke the post-1945 consensus, and describes how Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and their European counterparts are pushing conservatism toward a nation-first, hard Right. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond NOTES MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is 2020 a year of a tidal shift in loyalties for a key voting block? Vietnamese Americans have long voted for Republican candidates, but this year, many have been shifting their vote toward Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. What is causing the shift? Is it immigration policies that have targeted Vietnamese communities? The president's leadership style? Pandemic mismanagement? Join us for a discussion with three experts and leaders in the Vietnamese-American community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Much of the time we take it for granted that we have a safe water. This panel explores the creative ways in which these two organizations provide clean and safe water for those who do not have it. Jon Kaufman is the Director of H2OpenDoors, a project of Rotary International. Kaufman brings together the best-in-class providers of water purification, smart solar nanogrids and satellite internet technologies to create water and power hubs. The most impoverished villages throughout the world are mentored on creating enterprise through these unique approaches, fostering self reliance rather than continual dependence. Averill Strasser of Water Charity, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to helping people access clean drinking water and improved sanitation. In 14 years, Water Charity has done more than 6,000 water, sanitation and public health projects in 78 countries. Averil is an RPCV (returned Peace Corps volunteer) who served in Bolivia. In addition, Water Charity is a proud supporter and partner of the National Peace Corps Association. Frank Price, RPCV Côte d’Ivoire, a Northern California Peace Corps Association East Bay Board representative, will moderate this program. MLF ORGANIZER Frank Price NOTES MLF: International Relations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a lively discussion on Generation Z and its response to these times. The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award engages with more than 1.1 million young people aged 14–24 globally, helping them find their purpose, passion and place in the world. His Royal Highness The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex KG GCVO, chair to the global movement, will engage in a conversation with recent Princeton valedictorian and Award holder Nicholas Johnson on Gen Z. Through the lens of what is occurring globally, and here in the United States, the two will discuss current challenges facing Gen Z and their collective response. Nicholas Johnson, haling from Montreal, Canada, is pursuing Ph.D. studies in operations research at MIT. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering Science Degree in operations research and financial engineering, with minors in computer science, statistics and machine learning, and applied and computational mathematics from Princeton University. He is the valedictorian of Princeton’s class of 2020 and the first Black valedictorian in the university’s history. His undergraduate thesis focused on developing high-performance, efficient algorithms to solve a network-based optimization problem that models a community-based preventative health intervention designed to curb the prevalence of obesity in Canada. The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award is a flexible and proven youth development program for 14–24 year-olds that complements formal classroom learning and focuses on challenging real-world experiences that build character, resilience and self-confidence. Founded in 1956 by its namesake HRH The Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, the Award methodology has stood the test of time. Youth undertaking the Award put a holistic emphasis on community service, skill-building and physical activity. Boasting millions of alumni from more than 130 countries and territories, and more than 8,000 alumni in the United States, the Award opened its national office just 4 years ago. As it continues to resonate worldwide, the Award is the largest global youth achievement program. As today's young people face the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19 as well as calls to address racial injustice, the Award is dedicated to ensuring that young people will have what they need for the future . . . to benefit from great non-formal education and learning. This program from The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award USA is supported by: Salesforce (lead sponsor) Hellman & Friedman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twenty-three years after Britain's handover of Hong Kong to China, the government in Beijing has begun to deepen its control over the politics of the special administrative region. Despite mass protests and muted criticism from the West, Beijing's communist government has put into place rules constraining democracy and free speech. Joshua Wong was born just one year before the handover. He came onto the political scene in 2011 aged 14, when he founded Scholarism and successfully protested against the enforcement of Chinese National Education in Hong Kong. He has been arrested numerous times for his protesting and activism and has served more than 100 days in jail. He has been named by Time, Fortune, Prospect and Forbes as one of the world’s most influential leaders. In 2018 he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his leading role in Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement. He is the former secretary-general of Demosistō. He has been the subject of two documentaries, including the Netflix original, Joshua: Teenager vs Superpower. Wong joins us live from Hong Kong for a discussion of the students hoping to save democracy in Hong Kong and the Thai students who are looking to the Hong Kong activists for tactics in their own protests for reforming their political system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many of us are cooking at home more often than ever before, but we still struggle to find new, quick recipes. Ayesha Curry knows this better than most—she’s a veteran cookbook author and working mother with limited time to make meals. But she also knows that finding balance between work and family life starts with gathering around the table to enjoy a home-cooked meal. In her new book, The Full Plate: Flavor-Filled, Easy Recipes for Families with No Time and a Lot to Do, Ayesha shares 100 recipes that take less than an hour to complete. Whether you’re looking for delicious pork chops or the perfect spicy margarita, Ayesha has it covered. Join us for a fun program as Ayesha discusses how she developed the recipes, how parents can provide family-friendly meals in a time crunch, and how we can all become better home cooks. This conversation will be moderated by San Francisco Chronicle food writer Justin Phillips. NOTES Co-hosted by INFORUM Part of our Food Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a virtual conversation with Professor Eddie Cole, whose research has revealed how closely intertwined some of America’s most pressing civil rights issues―desegregation, equal educational and employment opportunities, housing discrimination, and free speech―have been with higher education institutions. Cole supplements the common knowledge about the roles that college students and other activists played in the fight for and against civil rights by covering the roles played by the nation’s college presidents. Based on archival research conducted at universities and colleges across the United States, Cole focuses on the period between 1948 and 1968, during which college presidents strategically, yet often silently, initiated and shaped racial policies inside and outside of the educational sphere. With courage and hope, as well as with malice and cruelty, college presidents positioned themselves―sometimes precariously―amid conflicting interests and demands. Black college presidents challenged racist policies as their students demonstrated in the streets against segregation, while presidents of major universities lobbied for urban renewal programs that displaced black communities near their campuses. Some presidents amended campus speech practices to accommodate white supremacist speakers, even as other academic leaders developed the nation’s first affirmative action programs in higher education. Cole illuminates how the legacy of these academic leaders continues to influence the unfinished struggle for black freedom and racial equity in education and in society. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hard as it is to remember, there was a time when Democrats and Republicans weren’t all that far apart on climate change. As recently as 2008, both presidential candidates Obama and McCain supported a cap and trade system, including mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and oil refineries. Now, pushing a climate plan forward requires reaching out to some disenfranchised, divided, and deeply distrustful Americans. Can real talk on climate and COVID-19 ever reach Trump’s America? With the rise of the youth climate movement demanding bolder action, will legacy Democratic leaders be able to maintain power and influence? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since leaving his role as White House press secretary in 2017, Sean Spicer has launched a successful talk show and written a best-selling book. Now, he’s focusing on the hardened state of politics in America. In his new book, Leading America, Spicer argues that too many look at the world as a zero sum game—either you're with them 100 percent, or you're the enemy. Whether you're in politics, media, academia, or entertainment, he says it's the same story. The former White House press secretary and communications director analyzes our current political moment through the lens of politics and culture and argues that everyone can and should take a stand to uphold their rights and values. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When COVID-19 besieged the United States, New York State emerged as the global “ground zero” for a deadly contagion that threatened the lives and livelihoods of millions. Quickly, Governor Andrew Cuomo provided the leadership to address the threat, becoming a standard-bearer of the organized response the country desperately needed. With infection rates spiking and more people dying every day, the systems and functions necessary to combat the pandemic in New York—and America—did not exist. So Cuomo undertook the impossible. He unified people to rise to the challenge and was relentless in his pursuit of scientific facts and data. He quelled fear while implementing an extraordinary plan for flattening the curve of infection. In his new book, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic, Gov. Cuomo tells the riveting story of how he took charge in the fight against COVID-19, offering hard-won lessons in leadership and his vision for the path forward as the country continues to face the deadly pandemic. Taking readers beyond his candid daily briefings, Gov. Cuomo’s new book provides a dramatic, day-by-day account of the catastrophe as it unfolded, providing an inside look at an unprecedented historical moment. In his own voice, Gov. Cuomo chronicles the ingenuity and sacrifice required of so many to fight the pandemic, sharing the decision-making that shaped his policy as well as his frank accounting and assessment of his interactions with the federal government, the White House, and other state and local political and health officials. Please join us for an intimate discussion on Gov. Cuomo’s view of what real leadership requires: clear communication, compassion for others, and a commitment to truth-telling—no matter how frightening the facts may be. It is a program you don’t want to miss as the country continues to face a challenging fight against COVID-19. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the past few decades, U.S. corporations have increased their economic and political power. Yet critics say Americans are only now awakening to the grave domestic threat this concentrated private sector power presents to our country. Open Market Institute Executive Director Barry Lynn says that monopolies today control almost every corner of the American economy with a concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the few. The result, says Lynn, is also a stripping away of our liberty and freedoms to work, live and communicate how people want, instead of how companies want. Nowhere is this more clear than in the rise of online monopolists such as Google, Facebook and Amazon―designed to gather our most intimate secrets and use them to manipulate our personal and group actions. Not only have these giant corporations captured the ability to manage how we share news and ideas with one another, Lynn says they increasingly enjoy the power to shape how we move and play, and speak and think. Please join us for an important discussion of monopoly power with two people at the cutting edge of fighting back against it. Barry Lynn, head of the Open Markets Institute and longtime critic of unbounded capitalism, is the author of the new book Liberty from All Masters: The New American Autocracy vs. the Will of the People, a treatise against America’s new monopolies. Roger McNamee has emerged as one of the most articulate critics of social media companies and how their design and business models pose serious dangers to people, our economy and our society. In 2019, McNamee spoke at the Club about these issues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vote by Design is an award-winning voter literacy project incubated at Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school) that reimagines civic education and voter literacy through the lens of design. Vote by Design’s free workshop is nonpartisan, issue-agnostic and designed to provide first-time voters with what one teacher called “the driver’s test of voting” and another said it offered "lifelong skills every student should learn.” To date, Vote by Design has been offered to more than 1,000 students across the United States, from the deep red state of Montana to the deep South of Georgia and across California. One student shared, “I thought it was hopeless, but now I feel like I have a way to productively engage.” Another said, “I used to think what my parents thought, and now I think for myself." Vote by Design partnered with Citizen Film, the celebrated Bay Area documentary studio, to capture the student experience as they develop their capacity to be deliberative, informed, lifelong participants in the democratic process. Join Lisa Kay Solomon of Vote by Design and Sam Ball of Citizen Film as they premiere film clips and share insights from young voters’ dialogues with one another about what they want for their shared future. You can’t help but leave inspired and hopeful from what you learn! MLF ORGANIZER Gerald Harris NOTES MLF: Technology & Society Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SPEAKERS Theodore Voorhees, Jr. Senior Counsel, Covington & Burling LLP; Author, The Silent Guns of Two Octobers: Kennedy and Khrushchev Play the Double Game In Conversation With George Hammond Author, Conversations With Socrates In response to the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, this program took place and was recorded live via video conference, for an online audience only, and was live-streamed by The Commonwealth Club of California from San Francisco on October 12th, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Latino population grows in every region of the United States, Latinos are increasingly playing an influential role not only in presidential politics, but throughout American culture. Yet the unique racial identity of Latinos is not a new story for the country. Latinos have long influenced everything from electoral politics to popular culture‚ yet many people instinctively regard them as recent immigrants rather than a longstanding racial group. Why is this, and what does it have to do with how Americans view and identify different racial groups in the country? In her new book, Inventing Latinos‚ Laura Gómez, a leading expert on race law‚ and society at UCLA‚ illuminates the making and re-making of Latino identity that has spanned centuries‚ leaving a permanent imprint on how race operates in the United States today. Throughout her career, Professor Gómez has explored how Latinos have become recognizable as a racial group in the United States. She traces the roots of Latino identity to Spanish colonization of the New World, as well as the legacy of American imperialism in Mexico, Central America and the Spanish Caribbean in the 19th and 20th centuries. This complicated history, combined with discrimination, has always positioned Latinos as “perpetual foreigners” in the United States. Latinos, however, are pushing back more than ever on this identification and having their voices heard on these and other issues. Please join us for an important discussion on race and history, just weeks before Latinos are expected to play an influential role in the presidential election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No one ever could have predicted the global impact of COVID-19. The pandemic is speeding up history, but how? CNN host Fareed Zakaria will help us understand what our post-pandemic world will look like. Beyond the immediate effects, we must be prepared for political, social, technological and economic consequences that might take years to unfold. Hear more as Zakaria offers his insights on how to make sense of our changing world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Going into a pivotal national election, voter suppression threatens to tilt election results in states across the country and drown out the rising influence of both minority and young voters in America. After the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013, voting restrictions, predominantly engineered by Republicans, have proliferated in size and scale. Using tactics such as voter ID laws, voting precinct consolidation, gerrymandering and voter purging, the people in charge of voting at the state and federal levels have made it harder for non-white, poor and young voters to cast their ballots. We’re excited to host a discussion with individuals who have dedicated their careers to making sure everyone who wants to vote in America has the right to do so. They’ll discuss the consequences of voter suppression, what everyone can do to advocate, and the fight ahead. Ari Berman is a senior reporter for Mother Jones, covering voting rights. In addition to voting rights, his writing covers American politics and the impact of money on our electoral system. His critically acclaimed book Give Us the Ballot covers the time since the dramatic passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, the turbulent forces it unleashed, and the continuing battles over race, representation and political power. As president and executive director of the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee), Kristen Clarke leads one of the country’s most important national civil rights organizations in the pursuit of equal justice for all. In addition to voting rights, the Lawyers’ Committee seeks to promote fair housing and community development, economic justice, equal educational opportunity, criminal justice, judicial diversity and more. Prior to the Lawyers’ Committee, Clarke led the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.’s work in the areas of voting rights and election law across the country. Alex Padilla has served as California’s secretary of state since 2015, and he’s prioritized increasing voter registration and participation and strengthening voting rights. While California has the highest number of registered voters in America at more than 15 million people, the state’s population of almost 40 million means it has the second-lowest percentage of registered voters when compared to population. With initiatives like the Motor Voter Act, Padilla and his office are working to raise that number. As president of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Michael Waldman leads the center’s initiatives on voting rights, money in politics, criminal justice reform and constitutional law. The Brennan Center is widely regarded as a leading organization on voter rights and election security, and Waldman and his team are on the forefront of the fight to vote. NOTES In partnership with the Brennan Center for Justice Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Growth in the economic prosperity of the average family in America has slowed to a crawl, especially since the deep economic pain of the COVID-19 pandemic. As corporations wake up to the urgent need for change—as evidenced by the Business Roundtable’s updated purpose of the corporation last year—business executives need tools for contributing positively to society rather than operating in a way that delivers value to some but not all. Join us as Roger Martin shares his thinking and his new book, When More is Not Better. He will discuss how America’s obsessive pursuit of economic efficiency is driving inequality, making our economy more fragile, both socially and environmentally, and damaging American’s faith in capitalism. He will discuss why we must stop viewing our economy as a machine that can be perfected with increasing levels of efficiency and instead understand it as a natural system—complex, adaptive and systemic. It is more like a rainforest than an oil refinery, he says, and it requires a fundamental balance of efficiency with resilience. Martin will explore specific actions business leaders can take to restore balance, changes to how they run their businesses, all of which have been tried and tested in other contexts. He will discuss how meaningful change actually happens in the world and provide concrete lessons and a practical model for businesses, policymakers, academics, civil society organizations and individuals who seek to transform our world for good. MLF ORGANIZER Elizabeth Carney Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Time and time again we have created artificial intelligence (AI) systems to help solve our problems, but what happens when the AI systems become the problem? Artificial Intelligence systems have been created to help humans work faster, respond more justly, manage more and make fewer mistakes, but now the solution has become the issue. As these systems progress and become more prevalent, ethical and existential risks have emerged. Brian Christian argues that it turns out there is only so much AI can do before it becomes painfully clear that humans need humans. We need empathy and connection when determining bail amounts. We need doctors who know our names in order to feel cared for, not just machines that have downloaded our health data. Not everything can be outsourced, but so much already is and it now becomes a dilemma how to rein it in. What happens when our machines outsmart us, or an enemy outsmarts our systems? How do we realign? Christian investigates these questions and more in his new book, The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values. Join us for our conversation about what must change culturally and in the world of tech to ensure that humanity remains our north star. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How are the leaders of some of the nation's biggest environmental organizations responding to a year of race and health crises? Groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), 350.org and Greenpeace helped move climate onto the presidential agenda last year, pushing Joe Biden and other Democrats’ stances on bold action. Now, organizers and advocates are backing recovery plans that bolster clean energy jobs, help strengthen communities and dismantle systems that exploit people and the planet. How enthusiastic are they about Joe Biden’s $2 trillion climate plan? Can activism finally bring America’s political ambitions in line with climate science? Join us for a conversation on the state of our climate with Annie Leonard, executive director of Greenpeace, Gina McCarthy, CEO of the NRDC, and Tamara Toles O'Laughlin, North America director of 350.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the aftermath the 2007–08 financial collapse, the increasing inequality seen in countries around the world, and the fallout from the global pandemic, there has been an increase in global citizen interest in exploring alternative economic systems.. In the United States, whether it is the presidential candidacy of Bernie Sanders, the popularity on the Left of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or protesters flooding the streets in unprecedented numbers seeking racial and economic equality, you can find something in common among many of those disillusioned with the way things are—and an interest in socialism. How did this happen? Why now? In his new book, longtime political journalist John Judis—himself a veteran of socialist movements—explores how an ideology thought to be long dead has taken hold as a broad movement among younger people dissatisfied with mainstream politics both on the Right and the Left, in America and around the world. From Karl Marx to Eduard Bernstein, Eugene Debs to Victor Berger, Bernie Sanders to Jeremy Corbyn, The Socialist Awakening chronicles the rebirth of an idea driven by a rising anti-capitalist resentment among those looking to assert public power over the direction of private enterprise. Please join us for an important conversation just weeks before the presidential election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're going through a transition (and who isn’t?)—whether it's an empty nest; a career shift; dealing with ageism, divorce, the loss of a spouse or parents; not to mention hot flashes in the conference room—this event will support you with many survival tips and tricks as well as the power that comes from information. Barbara Mark, Ph.D. has a deeply held passion for working with women in midlife and has enjoyed a decades-long career as an elite leadership, career and life strategies coach and advisor. She has been brought into the confidence of hundreds of professional women seeking to maintain inner balance while facing diverse external demands, personal ambition, and the desire to feel satisfied and fulfilled personally and professionally. As a recognized expert on the stages of adult development and how these stages impact career development and leadership in women, Dr. Mark is a sought-after coach by women who are looking to make appropriate and actionable personal and professional decisions at critical stages of their lives and careers. She is a recipient of the 2010 History Maker—Most Powerful Women of the Bay Award, the 2011 National Association of Women Business Owners Business Woman of the Year Award, The President’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Advancement of Coaching in 2017 (which has only been given to two recipients in the history of the organization), and the 2019 Bay Area Powerful Women Award. She is a frequent keynote speaker. MLF ORGANIZER Denise Michaud NOTES This program contains EXPLICIT language MLF: Grownups Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twenty years ago, eminent Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam wrote the nonfiction book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. In it, he lamented the decline of in-person social discourse, which Americans used to enrich the fabric of our lives. He further went on to say that this decline undermined the civic engagement required in a strong democracy. Professor Putnam's new book, The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again, coauthored by social entrepreneur Shaylyn Romney Garrett, comes at a time of deep and accelerating inequality, unprecedented political polarization, vitriolic public discourse and a fraying social fabric. In a sweeping overview of more than a century of history, drawing on a combination of statistical analysis and storytelling, Putnam and Garrett analyze a remarkable confluence of trends that brought us from an “I” society to a “we” society and then back again. They draw inspiring lessons for our time from an earlier era, when a dedicated group of reformers righted the ship, putting us on a path to becoming a society once again based on community. Come for an important conversation that provides optimism in these challenging times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Award-winning NPR journalist and author Aarti Shahani and America's First Chief Data Scientist DJ Patil point out that the immigrant has become an object of distrust, scorn and even hatred. Yet they also say that for many immigrants, including both of them, this identity is a source of profound pride. They further say that immigrants are proud to have crossed borders and built homes (even in places that didn’t want them). Join these prominent first-generation Americans as they celebrate and interrogate the migrant journey. Both have a strong sense of humor, and the evening will also include a few surprise cameos. NOTES Part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump began his campaign for president by making immigration restrictions a centerpiece of his platform. He is ending his (first?) term with his administration dealing with the biggest public health crisis in decades. But there are a lot of connections between public health and our country's immigration policies and practices. Join us for a conversation with New Orleans-based Giuli Alvarenga, an award-winning writer and law student. Alvarenga will share personal accounts as a volunteer at the border, witnessing unsafe conditions, and the conviction that immigration is actually a public health concern. NOTE: This program contains EXPLICIT language Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pathways for reducing carbon emissions include electrifying transportation, replacing fossil fuels with wind and solar power. But in this time of national reckoning on racial and economic disparities there is growing support for a more holistic approach. This view holds that the climate crisis won’t be resolved until we first address the systemic imbalances that have fueled it - racism, capitalism, white supremacy and patriarchy. In their new book, All We Can Save:Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, co-editors Katharine Wilkinson and Ayana Elizabeth Johnson bring together the voices of women artists, writers and changemakers who are at the forefront of climate action. “The work that we’re doing is instigating or nurturing a feminist climate renaissance,” says Johnson, “which is what we feel the climate movement so desperately needs right now.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ibram X. Kendi is one of America’s foremost authorities on anti-racism, authoring books such as the National Book Award winner Stamped from the Beginning and the number-one New York Times bestseller How to Be an Antiracist. Kendi’s new book, Be Antiracist: A Journal for Awareness, Reflection, and Action, gives the reader a space to reflect on their personal journey in becoming an anti-racist. At INFORUM, Kendi will discuss how changing one’s outlook on race in America is not easy—becoming a true anti-racist requires careful introspection. While progress toward anti-racism does not look the same for everyone, it is a goal that everyone can and should take on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Technology has helped the world survive, thrive and stay connected through the COVID-19 lockdown. As countries look toward re-opening in a post-pandemic world, does tech hold the same promise in the fight to solve climate change? From mapping weather patterns with pinpoint accuracy using artificial intelligence, to engineering algae that gobbles up carbon dioxide, climate tech is ripe with breakthroughs. “The technology is there,” says inventor and entrepreneur Saul Griffith, ”it’s now down to the politics and the financing.” Guests: Saul Griffith, Founder & Chief Scientist, Otherlab Valerie Shen, Chief Operating Officer, G2VP Michael Wilshire, Head of Strategy, Bloomberg NEF This program was recorded on August 18, 2020. For full show notes, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Curious minds seeking more information on the untold secrets (literally) surrounding them should look no further than "99% Invisible," the podcast hosted by Roman Mars that reports on how our lives are impacted by the architecture, transportation and infrastructure of our cities. "99% Invisible" episodes address a wide variety of issues, from the effects of American car culture on policing to the confusions of print and virtual mapmaking. In their new book The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design, Mars and "99% Invisible" digital director and producer Kurt Kohlstedt share stories from the podcast that will both enlighten readers and encourage them to think more critically about their living environments. Join them both at INFORUM, where they will discuss the small marvels that make up our big world and the role that people played in building them. This conversation will be moderated by The Atlantic’s Alexis Madrigal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices