Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Why does an invisible, life-threatening virus prompt a nationwide emergency, but invisible, life-threatening gases don’t? Experts have been emphasizing the dangers of unchecked climate change for years, underscoring the need for rapid, bold action early-on to avoid the worst impacts. Now health experts are pushing the same level of global mobilization to quell the spread of the novel coronavirus. Why are humans wired to respond to some fears and emergencies more than others? Can the reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic teach us anything about how humans respond to other invisible, global threats? Guests: Peter Atwater, Adjunct Professor of Economics, College of William & Mary Susan Clayton, Whitmore-Williams Professor of Psychology, College of Wooster Robert H. Frank, Henrietta Johnson Louis Professor of Management, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business Additional interviews: Shannon Osaka, Climate Reporter, Grist This program was recorded at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on March 24, 2020. For full show notes, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2005, Andy Warner went to Beirut, Lebanon, for a semester studying literature. Just 21 years old and having recently broken up with his girlfriend, Warner immersed himself in the vibrant and diverse city, quickly befriending a group of LGBT students. Amid their friendships, studying and partying, they also witnessed political assassinations and bombings once again erupting in Beirut. As the city descended into violence, Warner felt his grasp on reality slowly beginning to slip as he dealt with past traumas and anxiety over his future. He recounts his experiences in the new graphic memoir Spring Rain, his third book. He is also author of the New York Times best seller Brief Histories of Everyday Objects and is co-creator of This Land Is My Land. His comics have been published by Slate, Fusion, American Public Media, KQED, UNICEF, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Buzzfeed and other media outlets. He was the recipient of the 2018 Berkeley Civic Arts Grant and the 2019 Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park artist in residency. He lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife and two children. Join us for a conversation with Warner about his experiences in Beirut and his creative life since. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) presents a discussion on the most pressing challenges to humanitarian assistance in the 21st century. Globally, 70.8 million people are considered forcibly displaced by armed conflict, and over 160 million people need emergency humanitarian assistance. Conflict has replaced natural disasters as the driver of humanitarian need—aid organizations are faced with navigating complicated security and political environments while meeting growing demand on the ground. In addition, new actors and increasingly urbanized conflict have strained the global acceptance and adherence to international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions. The Humanitarian Agenda is an initiative that leverages the expertise of CSIS programs to explore complex humanitarian challenges. Jacob Kurtzer’s primary focus is the Task Force on Humanitarian Access, which will look at challenges in access to aid in complex man-made emergencies. Prior to joining CSIS, Kurtzer spent seven years with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), most recently as head of communications for the ICRC Delegation in Israel and the occupied territories. Previously, he served as head of public and congressional affairs for the Washington delegation of the ICRC, representing the ICRC to a broad spectrum of audiences in the United States and Canada. In addition, he has conducted field missions in South Sudan and Rakhine State, Myanmar and spent nearly three years as a consultant with the ICRC delegation in Pretoria, South Africa. From 2007–2009, he served as the congressional advocate at Refugees International (RI), a humanitarian advocacy organization based in Washington D.C. Kurtzer began his career as a legislative assistant to Representative Robert Wexler (D–FL), covering domestic and foreign policy issues, including managing the Congressional Indonesia Caucus. Kurtzer earned a master’s in peace and conflict studies from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, where he studied as a Rotary Foundation World Peace Fellow. He also holds a bachelor’s in philosophy from the University of Maryland, College Park, with a citation in religious studies, and is an alumnus of the College Park Scholars Public Leadership program. MLF Organizer: Linda J. Calhoun MLF: International Relations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Monday Night Philosophy understands that we have explained life to ourselves in ways that have scared us silly for so long that it has become an engrained habit. Ironically, it's a habit we rather enjoy because fear often keeps us more alert than we'd otherwise be. But there are other ways to remain intellectually alert to the nuances of life that are not so debilitating. So tonight, join us via live stream, and we'll sort through those fears with the goal of understanding how unlikely it is that these fears are justified, eliminating those that are highly irrational and minimizing those that are merely ridiculous. MLF Organizer: George Hammond MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us virtually for a conversation about the pervasive impact Enlightenment ideas had on early American culture and how that changed the ways Americans pursued happiness in their New World. Caroline Winterer specializes in early American reactions to scientific ideas and Enlightenment attitudes, which raised new questions about plants, animals and rocks but also about politics and religion. It is hard to overestimate the influence of Americans' newly conceived relationship between the present and the past as it spurred far-flung conversations about a better future for all of humanity. MLF Organizer: George Hammond MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

American health care has seen dramatic changes over the past decade. Obamacare reduced the number of uninsured citizens, but rising prices and deductibles have made care unaffordable for many. Medicaid has become the nation’s largest payer and now pays for half of all long-term care. Now the coronavirus pandemic is challenging the health care system in unprecedented ways. All this is happening within the context of a presidential election within a highly polarized country. How will the health care system—and American voters—respond? Kaiser Family Foundation Senior Vice President Dr. Jennifer Kates will be joined by Dr. Josh Michaud, KFF’s associate director of global health policy. A former infectious disease epidemiologist with both the U.S. Department of Defense and the Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Michaud is an expert on the types of models being used to forecast the arc of COVID-19 cases.They will discuss the current and probable future states of the pandemic and the responses by the government, health-care system and public. Note: Kaiser Family Foundation CEO Drew Altman is unable to participate in this evening’s session due to health reasons (which, fortunately, are unrelated to the coronavirus; he has temporarily lost his voice). We’ll have Drew Altman back on Monday, May 4, at noon, by which time the pandemic may have crested. We’ll discuss how the health-care system has fared, how the public has responded, and what the impact on the 2020 election is likely to be. This program is generously supported by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and a collaborative of local funders and donors. We are grateful for their support and hope others will follow their example to support the Club during these uncertain times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a special edition of our Week to Week political roundtable as we talk with Debra J. Saunders, the White House correspondent for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and a syndicated columnist. For the past several years, Saunders has been reporting from the center of the political world, covering some of the biggest news stories and controversies in politics. Before that, of course, she was a long-time conservative columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle—and one of the first panelists to appear on the Week to Week political roundtable. Don't miss this in-depth talk with Saunders about her career, the current political scene and being a White House correspondent who comes down with symptoms of coronavirus. Because this is a virtual program, we won't have our usual member social hour beforehand, so feel free to pour yourself a glass of wine, put your feet up and enjoy watching the program—unless you're at the office, in which case that might be frowned upon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Addressing the climate challenge requires incremental and transformational change on both personal and systemic levels. That means altering our personal habits as citizens, consumers, employees and parents. At the same time, society needs to fundamentally modernize the food, transportation, building and energy systems. That mind-blowing amount of change is so daunting, it’s no wonder people want to skip away into the happy land of denial. How should we think about change — and how do our words shape our behavior? Where does change really begin? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a special online Week to Week political roundtable, in which we'll discuss the political impact of the coronavirus on local, state, and national communities. We'll also tackle other big political news of the moment, including the latest in the heated presidential primaries. How will it work? This program is presented via a video livestream. You will be able to submit questions for our panelists and watch the entire program, all from the comfort of your home or office. Before the program, we will email you a link to the program online. The program will begin at 6:30 p.m. Week to Week is now in its ninth year, and we're continuing our mission of discussing the biggest, most controversial and sometimes the surprising political issues with expert commentary by panelists who are smart, are civil and have a good sense of humor. Notes Because this is a virtual program, we won't have our usual member social hour beforehand, so feel free to pour yourself a glass of wine, put your feet up, and enjoy watching the program—unless you're at the office, in which case that might be frowned upon. In response to the Coronavirus Covid-19 outbreak, this program was recorded in an empty auditorium, for an online audience only, broadcasted from The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco on March 19th, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Disselhorst's life has been consumed with the quest to create a family. As a Catholic boy raised in the Midwest, he grew up thinking he was straight and would marry a woman and have children. When he was confronted with his attraction to men and the eventual realization that he was gay, he gave up that dream of having a family. But the dream wouldn't die. Eventually he resumed his quest for a family and started the arduous journey toward partenthood. Steve Disselhorst is an expert in personal and professional leadership development and consulting for diversity, equity and inclusion. Come hear his story about his determination to become a father. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Combatting the coronavirus pandemic has quickly become a global health priority. Communities across the United States, including here in the Bay Area, are using a range of strategies to mitigate the spread of coronavirus. In its first program on the coronavirus crisis, The Commonwealth Club will feature two experts who will discuss why significant community interventions are so important and what must be done now. The program will feature the lead author of the well-publicized Journal of the American Medical Association article on how Taiwan has been so effective at reducing the spread of the coronavirus, and what communities in the United States can learn from this experience. This was a free program. Please consider supporting the Club during these uncertain times by making a donation on the Club website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a virtual conversation with Adam Hochschild, the award-winning author who has spent his literary life delving into the details of crises inflicted on ourselves by man's inhumanity to man, and our rising above such crises through passionate involvement to bring better ideas to bear upon our culture. We will discuss Hochschild's research into colonialism in the Belgian Congo, the unfounded hopes that World War I would end all wars, the painful outcome of the Spanish Civil War, the horrors of Stalin's follies, the unlikely triumph over legalized slavery, and another triumph over apartheid, plus the unlikely story of Rose Pastor Stokes, a Rebel Cinderella devoted to social justice. MLF Organizer: George Hammond MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Director Abby Ginzberg is a Bay Area original; her films highlight struggles of race and social justice. Her new film Waging Change is having its San Francisco premiere at the Castro Theatre on March 22. It features Saru Jayaraman (Chronicle Visionary of the Year), Lily Tomlin, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, and Jane Fonda, who have been working tirelessly for One Fair Wage, a campaign to end the sub-minimum wage for tip workers (which is currently just $2.13 per hour). A Peabody award winner, Ginzberg's recent work includes And Then They Came for Us, about the connection between the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WW II and the current Muslim travel ban; and Agents of Change, which examines the untold story of racial conditions on college campuses that led to a successful struggle for black studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For years, scientists and politicians have been saying that the climate battle will be won or lost in the next decade. That narrative was boosted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which contends global emissions must be halved by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 to avoid climate catastrophe. Politicians moved quickly to incorporate the 2030 deadline into their speeches and advocates started using it in their fundraising pleas. After a tepid global response to a decades-long climate saga, urgent action is imperative—but does a 10-year deadline oversimplify the science and overall situation? What is the best way to communicate climate urgency in a way that mobilizes people at home and in the workplace? Join us for a conversation with Chris Field, faculty director at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, David Fenton, founder of Fenton Communications, and Renee Lertzman, climate engagement strategist and author. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crises pose a challenge to leaders as no other tests they confront can. Veteran journalist Kenneth Walsh offers a probing look at how presidents from FDR to Trump have dealt with the crises they faced. Delving into both domestic conflicts and international conflagrations, Walsh goes in search of lessons we can learn. His findings focus on the presidential attributes and skills that matter most in trying times. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond NOTES MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does solving climate change mean re-thinking old top-down approaches and embracing big change at high speed? A half-century after the first Earth Day, some environmental advocates argue it’s time to challenge some of our basic assumptions about climate action. In the new book A Better Planet: 40 Big Ideas for a Sustainable Future, editor and Yale law professor Dan Esty showcases innovative ideas designed to push the boundaries of possible climate solutions from leaders in industry, government, business, and land management. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At a time of anxiety about the effectiveness of our national government, Rahm Emanuel believes local government offers a clear vision, for both progressives and centrists, of how to get things done in America today. In his new book, The Nation City, Emanuel, the former two-term mayor of Chicago and President Obama’s first White House chief of staff, offers a firsthand account of how cities, rather than the federal government, stand at the center of innovation and effective governance. Drawing on his own experiences in Chicago, and on his relationships with other mayors around America, Emanuel shows how cities are improving education, infrastructure, job conditions and environmental policy at a local level. Emanuel argues that cities are the most ancient political institutions, dating back thousands of years, and have reemerged as the nation-states of our time. Emanuel argues that mayors are accountable to their voters to a greater degree than any other elected officials and that progressives and centrists alike can best accomplish their goals by focusing their energies on local politics. Join us as Rahm Emanuel maps out a new, energizing and hopeful way forward. ** This Podcast Contains Explicit Language ** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We spend one third of our lives at work, whether it’s at a job we love or one we can’t wait to leave. As the job market shifts with the increase of automation and artificial intelligence, a flexible mindset is more important than ever. Stanford professor Bill Burnett (co-author of the No. 1 New York Times best seller Designing Your Life) believes we can transform our work experience by building and utilizing a designer mindset. He argues that much of our unhappiness and difficulty is caused by “dysfunctional beliefs” that limit our potential. In the forthcoming Designing Your Work Life, Burnett offer strategies on everything work related—from how to quit to how to get the job we want—and everything in between. Join INFORUM as Bill Burnett teaches us how design thinking can transform our experience of work and our outlook on life, without necessarily changing the job we have. NOTES Burnett photo by Michael Lionstar Note: This program contains explicit language Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spacious and affordable homes used to be the hallmark of American prosperity. Today, however, punishing rents and the increasingly prohibitive cost of ownership have turned housing into the foremost symbol of inequality and an economy gone wrong. In the San Francisco Bay Area, fleets of private buses ferry software engineers past the tarp-and-plywood shanties where the homeless make their homes; according to New York Times journalist Conor Dougherty, this is ground zero for this crisis. The adage that California is a glimpse of the nation's future has become a cautionary tale. With propulsive storytelling and ground-level reporting, Dougherty chronicles America's housing crisis from its West Coast epicenter, peeling back the decades of history and economic forces that brought us here and taking readers inside the activist uprisings that have risen in tandem with housing costs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recent feminist movements such as #MeToo and #TimesUp have called out sexism. They have empowered women to become more aware and also raise more questions: How do we find common ground in the new world we are building? How do we keep the momentum going with individual power, structural power and the power of movements? How do we handle a real situation at work, which could affect our livelihoods? Join psychotherapist and professor Joanne Bagshaw, author of The Feminist Handbook, and Professor Kellie McElhaney, founder and executive director of the Center for Equity, Gender and Leadership, in a lively, engaging dialogue meant to educate, prompt inner reflection and inspire. Walk away with a plan to help change society for yourself, your community and future generations. MLF Organizer: Elizabeth Carney MLF: Business & Leadership Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his sophomore year of college, Mark Zuckerberg created a simple website to serve as a campus social network. The site caught on like wildfire, and soon students nationwide were on it. Today, the social network that Zuckerberg created in 2004 has grown far beyond its original iteration, larger and more powerful than anyone could have imagined. Facebook has grown into a tech giant, the largest social media platform and one of the most gargantuan companies in the world, with a valuation of more than $576 billion and almost 3 billion users across the globe. There is no denying the power and omnipresence of Facebook in American daily life. And in light of recent controversies surrounding election-influencing "fake news" accounts, the handling of its users' personal data and growing discontent with the actions of its founder and CEO, never has the company been more central to the national conversation regarding the direction of the county's politics, economy and how individuals communicate with each other. There is no one better to describe how Facebook has evolved and where it might be headed than renowned tech writer Steven Levy. In his new book, Facebook: The Inside Story, Levy provides the definitive history of one of America's most powerful and controversial companies. Based on years of exclusive reporting and interviews with Facebook's key executives and employees, including Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, Levy's sweeping narrative, already named as one of the most anticipated books of the year, digs deep into the whole story of the company that has changed the world and reaped the consequences. With the company in the news daily and just days before Californians get an early opportunity to have their say in the 2020 election, an election in which Facebook undoubtedly will play a critical role, Levy's appearance is not be missed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joseph S. Nye Jr. provides a concise, penetrating analysis of the role of ethics in U.S. foreign policy after World War II. Nye works through each presidency from FDR to Trump and scores their foreign policy on three ethical dimensions: their intentions, the means they used and the consequences of their decisions. He also evaluates their leadership qualities, elaborating on which approaches worked and which did not. Nye shows that each president was not fully constrained by the structure of the system and actually had choices. He further notes the important ethical consequences of nonactions, such as Truman's willingness to accept stalemate in Korea rather than use nuclear weapons. Most importantly, he points out that presidents need to factor in both the political context and the availability of resources when deciding how to implement an ethical policy and will need to do so even more in a future international system that presents not only great power competition from China and Russia but a host of transnational threats: the illegal drug trade, infectious diseases, terrorism, cybercrime and climate change. MLF Organizer: George Hammond MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter is renowned for strategy, innovation and leadership for change. Her insights guide leaders worldwide through teaching, writing and direct consultation to major corporations, governments and startup ventures. She is either the author or co-author of 20 books. Her breakthrough work with hundreds of successful professionals and executives, as well as aspiring young entrepreneurs, identifies the leadership paradigm of the future: the ability to “think outside the building” to overcome establishment paralysis and produce significant innovation for a better world. Kanter is convinced that positive change is possible, and she’ll discuss how that philosophy can have real impact on some of today’s biggest problems—from climate change to gun safety to inequality to racial issues. Come hear Kanter's advice on finding an innovative approach to improving both your life and the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On June 21, 1964, more than 20 Klansmen murdered three civil rights workers. The killings, in what would become known as the Mississippi Burning case, were among the most brazen acts of violence during the civil rights movement. And even though the killers’ identities, including the sheriff’s deputy, were an open secret, no one was charged with murder in the months and years that followed. It took 41 years before the mastermind was brought to trial and finally convicted for the three innocent lives he took. If there is one man who helped pave the way for justice, it is investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell. In his new book, Race Against Time, Mitchell takes readers on the twisting, pulse-racing road that led to the reopening of four of the most infamous killings from the days of the civil rights movement, decades after the fact. His work played a central role in bringing killers to justice for the assassination of Medgar Evers, the firebombing of Vernon Dahmer, the 16th Street Church bombing in Birmingham and the Mississippi Burning case (the murders of Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner). Mitchell reveals how he unearthed secret documents, found long-lost suspects and witnesses, building up evidence strong enough to take on the Klan. Mitchell's new book is important reading for all Americans who seek to right the wrongs of the past. Please join us for this important event. This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is there an answer to the widespread—and increasingly public—rise of racial extremism? Come learn about the white nationalist movement from someone who was a leader in it until he renounced racism and devoted his life to helping others leave it behind. Christian Picciolini went from leading neo-Nazi bands with names such as Final Solution and White American Youth to running a record store that only sold "white power" music. But he left that and led organizations to counter extremism domestically and abroad, and has become an award-winning television producer, speaker, author and peace advocate. Come learn the truth about "white power" movements and the inspiring story about how to leave them behind. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a young officer in World War I, George Marshall's sterling reputation started forming when he planned and executed a nighttime movement of more than a half million troops from one battlefield to another, leading to the armistice. Between the world wars, he helped modernize combat training, restaffed the U.S. Army's officer corps with future leaders such as Dwight Eisenhower, Omar Bradley and George Patton, and served as army chief of staff in the run up to Work War II, when his commitment to duty came face-to-face with the realities of Washington politics. Roll sets his biography of Marshall against the backdrop of five major conflicts—the two world wars, Palestine, Korea and the Cold War—and focuses on the nuances and ambiguities of Marshall's education in the use of military, diplomatic and political power while watching America emerge as a global superpower. Roll's conclusion could hardly be clearer: Principled leadership matters. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond NOTES MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Revelations about misconduct at the biggest startups and tech companies seem to saturate today’s news cycle—but it wasn’t always this way. In 2017, when penning her now famous 2,900-word blog post about the pervasive culture of sexual harassment at Uber, soon-to-be whistleblower Susan Fowler was stepping into uncharted territory. Her decision to share a blog post about her “very, very strange year at Uber” with the public would open the floodgates for women to share similar experiences of systematic sexual harassment in Silicon Valley and beyond. Fowler’s open letter not only led to the CEO’s ouster but it also caused a complete disruption of the status quo of workplaces, culminating in mass movements for women’s empowerment launched worldwide. In her new memoir, Whistleblower: My Journey to Silicon Valley and Fight for Justice at Uber, Fowler details how this courageous act was entirely consistent with her life so far—a life characterized by extraordinary determination, a refusal to accept things as they are, and the desire to do what is good and right. Since taking her leave from Uber, Fowler, along with other “silence breakers,” was named Time’s 2017 Person of the Year and in 2018 was brought on as an opinion editor at The New York Times. Come with your questions and join Susan Fowler as she visits INFORUM to share her riveting story about breaking the silence and speaking truth to power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tobacco companies, opioid suppliers, gun manufacturers and the fossil fuel industry -- all have been brought under fire, and into the courts, for knowingly causing public harm, and even death, with their products. Should corporations be held liable for harmful outcomes like mass shootings, the opioid crisis, and climate change? We all benefit from the energy fossil fuels provide, from the lights we turn on to around-the-world airline flights. How much responsibility falls on the product, and how much on the user? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After more than a decade of inquiry, the artist David Maisel was granted access to photograph the terrain and testing facilities of Dugway Proving Ground, a classified military site covering nearly 800,000 acres in a remote region of Utah’s Great Salt Lake Desert. This is a site where chemical and biological weaponry and defense programs were developed, tested and implemented by the U.S. government. Maisel began by photographing at ground level before moving to an overhead and aerial perspective. The result is a remarkable series of photographs that addresses questions of power, secrecy and land use, all collected in a single volume and freighted with an abiding skepticism toward technology and human endeavor. Please join The Commonwealth Club and Maisel in conversation to discuss his work, the site and the larger issues of power and surveillance that his book, Proving Ground, brings to the fore at a very acute time in American democracy. David Maisel was named a Guggenheim Fellow in 2018 for the work he did on Proving Ground. His photographs are included in more than 40 public collections, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Maisel is represented by Haines Gallery (San Francisco) and Houk Gallery (New York). He lives in Mill Valley, California. ** This Podcast May Contain Explicit Language ** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Renowned Washington Post columnist and author E.J. Dionne Jr. says the 2020 election will be a test for progressives and moderates. Will they feud or unite to defeat President Trump? Dionne postulates that if progressives and moderates are unable―and unwilling―to overcome their differences, they could not only enable Donald Trump to prevail again but also squander an occasion for launching a new era of reform. Dionne will discuss what he calls the politics of remedy: one that solves problems, resolve disputes and moves forward; that sits at the heart of the demands for justice by both long-marginalized and recently displaced groups; and that posits a positive future for Americans with more covered by health insurance, more with decent wages, more with good schools, more security from gun violence, more action to roll back climate change. Join the conversation with one of America’s most respected political analysts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Until recently, it was widely believed that the brain was hardwired from childhood and resistant to any remodeling in adults. Breakthrough research and clinical practice has recently shown that our brains are remarkably plastic across the human life span. Neuroplasticity accounts for functional self-improvement at any age, often remarkable recoveries from brain injury or stroke, demonstrated impacts of brain exercise for sustaining our brain health, and for successful supportive therapies in patients facing age-related dementia. Strategies for employing neuroplasticity science for human benefit are rapidly emerging. One of the pioneers in this field is neuroscientist Michael Merzenich, a professor emeritus at UC San Francisco. MLF ORGANIZER Bill Grant, Tamara Gurin NOTES MLF: Health & Medicine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

World-renowned physicist Brian Greene offers a captivating exploration of the cosmos and our ongoing quest to understand it. Greene takes us on a journey across time—from our most refined understanding of the universe’s beginning to the closest science can take us to the very end. He also explains the distinct but interwoven layers of reality—from quantum mechanics to consciousness to black holes. Greene is known for his groundbreaking discoveries in superstring theory. He provides a clearer sense of how we came to be, where we are now and where we are ultimately headed. In association with Wonderfest Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dying is an unavoidable part of life, yet we all seem to find ways to dodge questions about death and how we’d like to die. Katy Butler, author of the new book The Art of Dying Well, wants to inspire us to meet this fear. Butler offers a practical guide for all aspects of life before dying, including: living with a chronic medical condition, choosing the right doctor, and even when not to call 911. Butler’s guide to living and dying is both reassuring and thoroughly researched. It offers both guides and testimonials to help us all cope and succeed in our last act. Katy Butler is one of the leading advocates for medical reform. Her first book, Knocking on Heaven’s Door: The Path to a Better Way of Death, was a heartfelt and personal memoir of her own parents’ experience with dying. Butler believes that whether you have two weeks or two decades, it is never the wrong time to discuss how to forge a better path to the end of life. Join us as Katy Butler visits INFORUM and answers all of your questions about dying. NOTES In association with End Well Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As California prepares to vote in a presidential primary with huge implications for the 2020 general election, we're assembling a panel of LGBTQI leaders who will share their picks for the Democratic Party's presidential nominee. Some of their choices might surprise you! Join us for a timely, lively and fun evening talking presidential politics and LGBTQI concerns in one of the most momentous elections in modern times. Note: This program contains some Explicit Language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This event is the second in The Commonwealth Club's Thought Leadership series on the future of health, featuring in-depth conversations on the challenges driving physical, mental and social health. Gun violence is one of the most critical health issues of our time. Every day in the United States, health professionals confront the effects of firearm injury in the clinical arena. In emergency rooms, trauma centers, ambulatory offices, and acute care and rehabilitation facilities, health professionals, and the health systems they work within, attempt to heal the wounds that firearms inflict on individuals, their families and their communities. This critical public health issue requires us to move past the politics around gun ownership and develop nonpolitical solutions to this crisis. What can we do right now to prevent gun violence? Join a diverse panel of experts and advocates as they discuss public–private partnership solutions to this growing public health crisis. Together we will explore new ways to build healthy communities safe from firearm-related injuries and death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California has been at the forefront of America’s climate fight since Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the country’s first major climate law in 2006. The state’s suite of policies for decarbonizing the economy survived industry-funded attacks in court and at the ballot box, and remained largely consistent under Democratic and Republican governors. But a recent report by Next 10, an independent think tank, indicates the state will meet its 2030 goals 30 years late. Is California really the climate leader it’s purported to be? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Barbara Rose Brooker, 83-year-old author, teacher and performer, will talk about her personal experiences with ageism in the Hollywood industry, our anti-age culture and how to promote a generation where age doesn’t count. She will sign copies of her new novel, Love, Sometimes. Join us for this fabulous evening. Brooker, a native San Francisco author of 13 books, is the founder of the first Age March in history. Her new best-selling novel, Love, Sometimes, is about risk, ageism in Hollywood and controversial love and is being made into a TV series, which will air in 2021. Brooker has been on “The Today Show,” Andy Cohen, Sharon Osbourne, and many other local and national shows. She teaches writing to adults over 50 and up at San Francisco State's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI). She is at work on a new book about aging and love and staying on the path of your dreams at any age. MLF Organizer: Denise Michaud MLF: Grownups Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's our birthday—come celebrate with us! Join us to celebrate the Club’s 117th birthday and attend our 8th anniversary Week to Week political roundtable program. To kick the night off, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. we will have sweet treats to sample, popcorn and hot chocolate, and we'll finish with a champagne toast to the Club and to our wonderful members. Following the Club birthday party, we will have our Week to Week program for all to attend. During the program, we will discuss the biggest, most controversial and sometimes the surprising political issues with expert commentary by panelists who are smart, are civil and have a good sense of humor. Our panelists will provide informative and engaging commentary on political and other major news, and we'll have audience discussion of the week’s events, culminating in our live news quiz. It's an evening to celebrate, for members and nonmembers alike to enjoy. ** This Podcast Contains Explicit Language ** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do we build communities that are more resilient than the ones we were raised in? As severe weather hammers cities and spurs more migration, who will pay to shore up infrastructure and secure the border? Experts at the highest levels of U.S. government are now working to uncover the ways that climate could threaten critical infrastructure and reshape the way communities respond to risk. Meanwhile, as damages increase, so do insurance claims, making homeownership nearly impossible in areas with the greatest risk of fires, floods and hurricanes. Pricing that risk and spreading the costs across society will test American democracy and could further exacerbate the growing wealth gap. Join us for a conversation with Alice Hill, senior fellow for climate change policy at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of Building a Resilient Tomorrow: How to Prepare for the Coming Climate Disruption, and Janet Ruiz, strategic communication director at the Insurance Information Institute. Joining remotely is Sherri Goodman, senior fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center and former U.S. deputy under secretary of defense for environmental security. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With a presidential election looming in 2020, what are the progressives in Congress doing to build political power and move their agenda forward? As the elected co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus—representing nearly 40 percent of the House Democratic majority, Representative Pramila Jayapal is on the forefront of the national progressive movement. In February 2019, Jayapal introduced the most comprehensive and progressive Medicare-for-all bill in history and has since secured four hearings on the bill—the first four hearings on Medicare for all in the history of Congress—and the support of more than half of the House Democratic Caucus. Prior to her election to Congress, Jayapal worked for two decades as an advocate for immigrant rights and racial justice and served in the Washington State Senate from 2015–2017. Jayapal serves on the House Judiciary, Budget, and Education and Labor committees and has been an outspoken leader on expanding access to college, fighting for climate justice, taking on corporate greed and holding the administration accountable for its immigration policies. Join us for a conversation with one of the Democratic Party’s rising stars as she discusses the path ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ussama Makdisi, who was born in Washington, D.C., spent his early years in Lebanon and earned his Ph.D. at Princeton University. He will discuss his latest book, Age of Coexistence: The Ecumenical Frame and the Making of the Modern Arab World, which has been described as an easily accessible, provocative engagement with existing literature about sectarian, secular, colonialism and Arab nationalists. And, although headlines paint the Middle East as a collection of war-torn countries and extremist groups consumed by sectarian rage, Makdisi shows how people of different faiths have tried to build modern societies that transcend religious and sectarian differences. MLF ORGANIZER Celia Menczel NOTES MLF: Middle East Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most recently, Felicia Marcus was chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, responsible for drinking water, water quality and water rights. Importantly, she led the state board through California's worst drought in modern history. As regional administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 9, she was responsible for environmental issues under the EPA's jurisdiction. In the the nonprofit world, Marcus was the western director for the Natural Resources Defense Council and the executive vice president and chief operating officer for the Trust for Public Land. In her prior work, she was a private and nonprofit sector attorney and organizer in Los Angeles. She has a law degree from New York University and an AB in East Asian studies from Harvard University. Marcus is also known as a devoted whale watcher. Join us to discuss her important environmental work and her outstanding commitment and dedication for the planet, the environment, the present and the future. MLF ORGANIZER Ann Clark NOTES MLF: Environment & Natural Resources Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco’s newest top prosecutor Chesa Boudin first experienced the criminal justice system as a toddler, when his parents were convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. This transformative experience left an indelible mark on Boudin, who has dedicated much of his life to criminal justice reform. After graduating from Yale, becoming a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and earning his J.D. from Yale Law School, Boudin began work at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. While he handled over 300 felony cases, Boudin never prosecuted a single case, instead favoring to work directly with victims of crimes and families of prisoners. After a tightly contested race in 2019, Boudin emerged as DA-elect of San Francisco, where he hopes to make significant changes to a broken criminal justice system. With a focus on reducing mass incarceration and recidivism and increasing opportunities for restorative justice, Boudin is part of a larger trend of progressives appointed to top prosecutorial positions in cities that hope to end policies such as cash bail, the war on drugs and racial disparities in sentencing. Bring your questions as newly confirmed DA Chesa Boudin forges a different path for crime, punishment and justice in the city. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the broader #MeToo movement, the political slogan “believe women” has become a rallying cry for the era. First used as a call to end false accusations of deception against women, agenda-setting feminist editors Jessica Valenti and Jaclyn Friedman go beyond the slogan with their new anthology to ask and answer the crucial question: What would happen if we didn't just believe women but acted as though they matter? Building on the success of the #MeToo movement’s demand for accountability—not just discouraging actions generally but naming names—Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World is part exposé on misogyny in our culture and part outline for how trusting women creates the foundation for future progress. With essays spanning a call to action by Representative Ayanna Pressley (D–MA) and an interview with #TimesUp activist and Emmy award winner Tatiana Maslany, Valenti and Friedman bring together a powerful group of women whose diverse experiences and thoughtful solutions give us a vision of what a better future could look like. Join Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti at INFORUM this February for an honest discussion on how we might make tomorrow a brighter day in the fight for women’s empowerment. ** This Podcast Contains Explicit Language ** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the effects of aggressive policing and mass incarceration harm historically marginalized communities and tear families apart, how do we define safety? Community leader and lawyer Zach Norris believes in a radical way to shift the conversation about public safety away from fear and punishment and toward growth and support systems for our families and communities. In order to truly be safe, Norris says we have to dismantle the mentality of us versus them and bridge our divides. Norris’s new book, We Keep Us Safe, is a blueprint of how to hold people accountable while still holding them in community. The result reinstates full humanity and agency for everyone who has been dehumanized and traumatized so they can participate fully in life, in society and in the fabric of our democracy. He makes the case that directing resources to stability and well-being, such as health care and housing, education and living-wage jobs, result in real safety. Join us for a powerful conversation with Bay Area leaders Zach Norris and Fred Blackwell NOTES Norris photo by Eurydice Thomas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alzheimer’s disease is a global health problem with more than 5.8 million people living with the disease in the United States alone. The only way to solve that problem is through research, and this talk will focus on the scientific advancements and progress in the field. Tremendous gains have been made in the understanding of the science and basic biology underlying Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, and these advances are leading to great strides in prevention, detection, diagnostics and therapeutic interventions. MLF Organizer: Patrick O'Reilly MLF: Psychology Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Border walls and immigration were hot-button issues in the 2016 federal election, and the Trump administration’s evolving policies and practices have been the subject of numerous media stories and segments. Join Julie Small of KQED and Clara Long of Human Rights Watch in a discussion of conditions for asylum seekers on the southern border and what you need to know. MLF ORGANIZER Ian McCuaig NOTES MLF: International Relations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Monday Night Philosophy welcomes back Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward Larson to discuss his joint biography of our two most influential Founding Fathers. Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, though divided by a 26-year age gap and vastly different life experiences, underwent a similarly dramatic transformation from loyal British colonists to American nationalists, and Larson makes a persuasive case that neither one could have succeeded without the other's help. Washington's military skills required Franklin's diplomatic skills to win the Revolutionary War. Their partnership was also key to the success of the Constitutional Convention. In an enlightening and dramatic account of these two men’s intertwined lives, Larson covers from the French and Indian War through the Revolution and Constitutional Convention, and he concludes with Franklin's last political maneuver: forcing the issue of slavery before the new republic’s first Congress. MLF Organizer: George Hammond MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Personal data is as important to modern digital businesses as finance and human capital. It is used to record customers’ behavior, predict it and even to manipulate it. But as awareness of these practices grows, is increasing concern among consumers influencing data regulation and regulators on both sides of the Atlantic? U.K. Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham gives her perspective on the global trends in data protection and privacy. Denham will discuss the big data cases her office has looked at—including Facebook, WhatsApp and Cambridge Analytica—and reflect on their international influence from her perspective as chair of her global regulatory community. Denham chairs the Global Privacy Assembly, which brings together digital data protection and privacy commissioners from around the world to share knowledge and build stronger cooperation. Denham will reflect on the recently implemented California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the impact of growing regulation around data protection and privacy, particularly in Silicon Valley. And crucially, she will talk about her office’s newly launched "children’s code," which sets out standards that digital services should meet to protect children’s privacy. Denham became the U.K.’s information commissioner in 2016. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the U.K.’s regulator for data protection and information rights. It enforces the law, both civil and criminal, against organizations that have violated data protection rules. Denham brings an international dimension to her U.K. role from her previous work as information and privacy commissioner for British Columbia and Canada and assistant privacy commissioner of Canada. She is recognized as one of the most influential people in her field, most recently in Politico’s list of 28 people shaping, shaking and stirring Europe. She also chairs the International Conference of Information Commissioners, which works globally to improve access to information rights. In association with the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology/UC Berkeley School of Law Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After witnessing the biggest protests in its history during the middle months of 2019, Hong Kong remains a subject of intense global interest and global concern. In this talk, Jeffrey Wasserstrom, a professor of modern Chinese history at UC Irvine and longtime scholar of social unrest, will use forays into history and comparison to help audience members make sense of Hong Kong's complex present and uncertain future. Wasserstrom’s new book, Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink, has been described by one reviewer as “. . . essential reading for understanding China’s foreign policies, the legacies of empire and above all the extraordinary politics, society and culture of contemporary Hong Kong.” In addition to his academic writings, Wasserstrom has authored numerous books and articles for the general public. His writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, HuffPost, Financial Times, The Atlantic online edition, The New York Times and other print and online publications. MLF ORGANIZER Lillian Nakagawa NOTES MLF: Asia-Pacific Affairs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices