Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Watch the video referenced in the first half of this podcast at: https://vimeo.com/263167752/c555110813 For the 60 years, from 1882–1943, long before Muslim travel bans and family separations at the U.S.–Mexico border, the Chinese Exclusion Act prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the United States and denied persons of Chinese descent a path to U.S. citizenship. The act grew out of political pressure from labor unions and U.S. cities to which large numbers of immigrants had moved in the decades following the California Gold Rush. The act’s effects on the Chinese immigrant communities across the United States were lasting and dramatic. Join us for a screening of a 49-minute version of The Chinese Exclusion Act, a feature-length documentary made by award-winning documentary filmmakers Ric Burns and Li-Shin Yu and co-produced by the Center for Asian American Media in association with the New-York Historical Society and shown on the acclaimed PBS series “American Experience.” Bay Area entrepreneur and cultural advocate David Lei, who provided much of the inspiration for the documentary, will be present to discuss his perspective and answer questions about the Exclusion Act’s relevance to the immigration debate today. MLF Organizer: Virginia Cheung MLF: Asia Pacific Affairs In association with the Center for Asian American Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since the first test-tube baby was born over 40 years ago, in vitro fertilization and other assisted reproductive technologies have advanced in extraordinary ways, producing millions of babies. An estimated 20 percent of American couples use infertility services to help them conceive, and that number is growing. Prospective parents routinely choose the sex of their future child, whether or not to have twins, or whether or not to pass on certain genes to the next generation, including those for chronic diseases, and probably soon, height and eye color. These rapidly developing technologies will require parents, doctors and policy makers to face critical questions about their use and possible misuse. MLF Organizer: Robert Kilpatrick MLF: Health & Medicine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Veterans Health Administration is the nation’s largest integrated health care system, yet almost 2 million veterans and 3.8 million of their family members are without health insurance today. David Shulkin was brought in by President Obama to clean up the Veterans Affairs’ (VA) troubled hospital network after a major scandal. His success led President Trump to name him VA secretary, making him the highest ranking official to serve both presidents and the only Trump cabinet secretary to earn unanimous Senate approval. Born on an Army base, Shulkin was the first nonveteran to hold the position. Shulkin introduced substantial changes to the VA system, with bold moves that dramatically reduced wait times, increased transparency, enhanced accountability and tackled veteran suicide rates. His efforts earned early praise from Republicans and Democrats alike. But Shulkin says he ran headlong into Trump associates intent on privatizing the VA and eventually was ousted. In his new book, Shulkin opens up about his time as VA secretary and the ruthless political appointees he says he encountered. Since leaving government in early 2018, Shulkin has continued to shed light on VA privatization and his concerns on how it will impact our ability to ensure health care for those who have fought to protect the nation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Monday Night Philosophy initiates the new decade by analyzing the worlds of Wall Street and investing, international relations, sports, and chess, and focuses on the power and the necessity of critical thinking skills in those worlds. Leland Faust and Richard Conn have been influential in those worlds and share an admiration for the ability of critical thinking to affect complex decision-making on the world stage. But they also share a lament about how rarely rational thinking dominates and how wishful thinking is so prevalent. Hear about Boris Yeltsin's transformation of the Soviet Union, Garry Kasparov's continuing influence on world chess, Wall Street's tricks on and treats for the world economy. Plus acquire a clear idea of why the 2020s don't have to repeat the 1920s, although they might be. MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Foresee the near future with panelists Shekar Ayyar, Joxel García, Paul Gupta and Mike Weber. The number of Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices is expected to increase from 20 billion to 55 billion over the next five years. What will that mean, in terms of new opportunities and new risks, in our businesses and our personal lives? Communications service providers are starting to roll out integrated platforms for 5G and IoT uses. Our panel will discuss the technological, social and legal implications, including selected case studies in communications, health care, automotive, smart cities and infrastructure. MLF Organizer: George Hammond MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Frémont was born out of wedlock in 1813 in Charleston, South Carolina and went to work at 13 to help support his family. But, by the time he was 30, he had become a famous wilderness explorer, best-selling writer, gallant army officer and latter-day conquistador, who, in 1846, began the United States’ takeover of California from Mexico. He was a celebrity who personified the country’s westward expansion—mountains, towns, ships and streets were named after him. A vital factor in his success was his wife, Jessie Benton Frémont, the daughter of a U.S. senator. Not allowed to compete directly in a male world, Jessie Frémont threw her skill and passion into promoting her husband. When John Frémont returned from mapping the Oregon Trail for the Army, Jessie Frémont helped him dramatize his adventures in newspapers and books. And in 1856, John Frémont was chosen, in spite of his southern origins, to be the first-ever presidential nominee of the newly established Republican Party, founded in opposition to slavery. Inskeep tells the surprisingly modern story of a couple whose joint ambitions and talents intertwined with those of the nascent United States, linking the Frémonts with not one but three great social movements of the time—westward settlement, women’s rights and the opposition to slavery. MLF Organizer: George Hammond 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

Secretary Mike Pompeo was sworn in on April 26, 2018. He previously served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency from January 2017 to April 2018. Mr. Pompeo graduated first in his class at the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1986 and served as a cavalry officer patrolling the Iron Curtain before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He also served with the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry in the U.S. Army’s Fourth Infantry Division. After leaving active duty, Secretary Pompeo graduated from Harvard Law School, having been an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Here's a rare chance to hear from Secretary Pompeo about current foreign policy challenges and issues of economic security. In association with Silicon Valley Leadership Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyday choices – like deciding which shirt to buy or on which platform to binge-watch shows on – may impact the planet more than you think. Tatiana's Schlossberg's new book Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don’t Know You Have, looks at how seemingly small choices can have a big impact on the climate. We sit down with experts in the fashion and energy sectors, two industries with a big carbon footprint, to see how far individual actions can take us – and when it's up to companies and producers to take the lead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How does one react, watching our current political crisis form fissures in our underlying culture, which, according to poet Peter Dale Scott, is undermining even our most valuable cultural strengths? These strengths include living with diversity, tolerating and listening to other viewpoints, and reaching a shared consensus. Unfortunately, at the same time, these cultural strengths are ebbing; righteousness on all sides combined with contempt for others are increasingly destructive forces. This is happening at an inopportune time. Climate change and potentially unsustainable migrations will likely require radical political changes, which are certain to be unpopular yet may only be achievable by restoring our traditional culture of consensus-building. Scott has spent a lifetime commenting on the Vietnam War, JFK's assassination and the deep state. If it is too much to ask us to love our enemies, he wonders whether it is possible to listen to them. Without this civilizing skill, American culture will not be strengthened by this political crisis, as it has by past crises, but wounded by it instead. MLF Organizer: George Hammond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Cook Islands is a 15-island nation in the South Pacific, with political links to New Zealand. The islands were first settled around A.D. 1000 by Polynesian people who are thought to have migrated from Tahiti. Prime Minister Henry Puna assumed office in 2010 and previously served as secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Transport. Prime Minister Puna has led the establishment of the world's largest multipurpose marine reserve, Marae Moana, hailed as a major step forward for marine conservation. Additionally, on January 1, the Cook Islands will become the first South Pacific island nation to officially achieve developed nation status. It was under Prime Minister Puna's premiership that the Cook Islands became, in November 2011, a founding member of the Polynesian Leaders Group, a regional grouping intended to cooperate on a variety of issues, including culture and language, education, responses to climate change, and trade and investment. Come for a rare behind-the-scenes look at this island nation. * In association with World Affairs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you ever sense that authentic connections have gone missing in your life? Do you feel sometimes as though your unique identity has been swept away by the tides of work and family? Do you hear the call to effect positive change in the world but can’t find a place to start? You are not alone. Just shy of her 50th birthday, former advertising agency CEO Anne Devereux-Mills lost her health to cancer, her last child to college and her job to the recession. Stripped of everything that had comprised her self worth, she set out on a path to rediscover her identity and recreate her life. Realizing that she was missing relationships that were based on what she cared about as a person rather than what she did for a living, Devereux-Mills started a series of salons in 2012 that would gather together diverse groups of women based on topics they all cared about. She called the series Parlay House, and as the gatherings grew and expanded in cities across the world, she saw that they triggered a series of micro-actions among the participants. The result was a cascading wave of connection, support and strength that flowed out from the gatherings and into the wider world. She dubbed that cascade “the Parlay effect.” In her forthcoming book, The Parlay Effect: How Female Connection Can Change the World, Devereux-Mills tells the story of Parlay House and uses her insights as its founder to show how small actions can result in a meaningful boost in self-awareness, confidence and vision. Woven through the book are the findings of research that Devereux-Mills conducted in collaboration with Dr. Serena Chen, a tenured professor of social psychology at UC Berkeley who investigated the social science behind the Parlay effect. The result is a book that offers a vision and a method for anyone who is going through a life transition and who wants to find and create communities that have positive and multiplying effects. Please join Anne Devereux-Mills and The Commonwealth Club at the start of a new year to learn about and experience the Parlay effect for yourself. Devereux-Mills will be joined in conversation by comedian and storyteller Dhaya Lakshminarayanan. ** This Podcast Contains Explicit Language ** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whether we are actively working toward change or we just want to chat with our family and friends, we all need tools to stay centered and calm during these stressful times. How can we be effective, compassionate changemakers—and even find joy and meaning—as we deal with our stress and the negativity in our environment? Our speaker, James Baraz, is a co-founder of Spirit Rock Meditation Center, has taught Bill Gates, and was himself taught by Joseph Goldstein and Ram Dass. For decades, he's been showing people how to lead change through the "joyful responsibility" of commitment, love and effective action. He is coming to the Club to teach us how to reawaken our joy and avoid becoming overwhelmed and rendered ineffective by outrage, anxiety or despair. "Action absorbs anxiety," so come to the Club to learn how to lead change effectively, from the heart. MLF Organizer: Shiva Berman MLF: Personal Growth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Often described as the father of environmental justice, Dr. Robert Bullard has written several seminal books on the subject and is known for his work highlighting pollution on minority communities and speaking up against environmental racism in the 1970-1980s. Climate One is pleased to honor Robert Bullard with the ninth annual Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The renewing energy of art helps to manage the stress of negative events. There is overwhelming research that contemplation, observing and taking in beauty stimulate the brain and create a sense of well-being. In these turbulent times, art can be a vehicle not only for fulfillment but to encourage and expand consciousness through conversation and connection. The panel participants represent a spectrum of viewpoints of nonprofit, artistic and psychotherapeutic perspectives. Each of the panel members will share unique views during the discussion of artistic creativity and consciousness. MLF Organizer: Robert Melton MLF: Arts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the Trump Administration’s rollback of the country’s strongest environmental regulations, California’s frenzied response to wildfires and subsequent blackouts, and the emergence of climate as a top-tier presidential campaign issue, climate broke headlines in new ways in 2019. Vox energy writer David Roberts and New York Times climate reporter Coral Davenport take us through the biggest climate news stories of 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2018 Camp Fire was one of the most destructive in California’s history, resulting in over eighty deaths and destroying the town of Paradise. Dry weather and hot winds fanned the flames - but the spark that started it came from a faulty transmission line. That and other wildfires have been found to be the result of negligence on the part of California’s biggest utility, PG&E. Their solution? Pulling the plug on millions of customers. But who pays the bill? And with PG&E facing bankruptcy, how will California power its future? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's our second annual year-end program and party, celebrating the completion of another year of Michelle Meow and LGBTQ programming at the Club. We'll have food and drink, a short program, and lots of good cheer. Joining us as our special guest is Robyn Crawford. In her New York Times bestselling book, A Song for You, Crawford opens up for the first time about her close friendship with superstar Whitney Houston. Whitney Houston was a super-big superstar since she burst on the music scene in the mid-1980s. For two decades she topped the charts and drew millions of fans, and one person was there by her side through it all—her best friend, assistant, and confidante, Robyn Crawford. Join us for an in-depth discussion about that friendship, an exploration of Robyn's own life and family, and the legacy of Whitney Houston. ** This Podcast Contains Explicit Language ** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig is a celebrated academic and activist for constitutional theory and reform. A longtime advocate for campaign finance reform, Lessig founded political funding tracker MapLight, Creative Commons and the anti-corruption nonprofit Rootstrikers. With partisan gridlock in Congress, the Supreme Court has emerged in recent times as a new power center in Washington, D.C. But what are the consequences of this change? In his newest book, Fidelity & Constraint: How the Supreme Court Has Read the American Constitution, Lessig explains how our understanding of the U.S. Constitution has changed with each era of judicial interpretation. Lessig argues that with each era of Constitutional translation, the role of our judges has evolved. Join us for an enlightening conversation with Lessig as he teaches us about an often missed but critically important issue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is often said that "reentry begins on the first day of incarceration," but how can we ensure that people leave prison prepared to succeed in the free world? This conversation between Marc Morjé Howard and Stephanie McGencey will highlight recommendations from the Reentry Ready Project, which focuses on the tremendous benefits of education and positive programming for incarcerated people so that they can develop self-worth and critical reasoning skills; the program also focuses on making carceral facilities safer for both residents and staff. Howard will share examples from the innovative and groundbreaking Georgetown programs in Washington, D.C. McGencey will describe efforts planned to improve reentry outcomes nationwide. MLF Organizer: George Hammond MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our distinguished panelists will discuss Afghanistan and the longest war in U.S. history. They will present their personal views about prewar Afghanistan, the present tragedy and what policies and reforms might be pursued to find peace and prevent further tragedy. Sandra Miller Ross traveled to Afghanistan in 1970 and will show stunning images of that visit. Atta Arghandiwal is a humanitarian and cultural adviser who was born in Afghanistan to a military family. Lt. Col. Anthony Alfidi of the U.S. Reserve has served throughout the Middle East and Afghanistan. MLF ORGANIZER Celia Menczel NOTES MLF: Middle East Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than seven decades after the founding of Israel, the momentum to establish a Jewish state has led to remarkable achievements: stable structures in government, the military and the economy. At the same time, as the country faces a range of issues in how it deals with coexistence, it also faces significant challenges to its democratic processes. Particularly, Israel lacks a constitution to bind its democracy and a bill of rights to safeguard the freedoms of its citizens. No one knows these issues better than Arye Carmon, the founder of the Israel Democracy Institute. In his new book, Building Democracy on Sand: Israel without a Constitution, Carmon diagnoses the critical vulnerabilities at the heart of Israeli democracy and the obstacles to forming a sustainable national consciousness. In the book, the author merges touching narratives about his own life in Israel with insightful ruminations on the Jewish diaspora and the arc of Israel’s history, illuminating the conflicts between Jewish identities, democratic values and the collective body of Jewish religious laws. This struggle between a secular and a religious Jewish identity is especially critical now amid voices promoting ethnocentric nationalism, threatening to sever the ties that strengthen the country's democracy. Carmon’s book and his important views on the state of the country's democracy come at a critical time as Israel emerges from its second national election within a year and the two major parties negotiate how to govern the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Eric Dyson is known for his many talents. He is an outspoken academic and sociologist, social critic, best-selling author, a popular figure in political news media, an ordained Baptist minister and, in his own words, one of the country’s leading “hip-hop intellectuals.” Often in Dyson’s work, these concepts all intersect to reflect a well-rounded picture of black life in America. Now Dyson has set his analytical sights on someone who, he argues, is one of the greatest American poets of all time: Jay-Z. Join INFORUM and Dyson for an evening of all things Hova—from Jay-Z’s humble beginnings as a hustler in 1980s New York City to his meteoric rise to fame and his eventual recognition as one of the greatest rappers of all time. Dyson will explore how Jay-Z’s 30-year career has changed not just hip-hop but also the music industry, business, politics and social justice. Join us for an exploration of the life of a great literary figure and learn how he provided the blueprint. This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation ** This Podcast Contains Explicit Language ** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to leading venture capitalist Ben Horowitz, the crucial question for every organization is: How do you create and sustain the culture you want? To Horowitz, culture is how a company makes decisions. It’s not the values listed on the wall or what’s said in a company-wide meeting. It is who you are and what you do to get you through both good and bad times. Horowitz reflects on some of his own experiences and highlights four models of leadership and purposeful culture building. ** This Podcast Contains Explicit Language ** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's our annual year-end Week to Week, keeping you up to date with the most recent political events and news. And from 5:30-6:30, we'll have our annual members holiday party (open to all attendees). Come join us for lively conversation and good cheer! 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 and our live news quiz! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the coming release (December 20) of the ninth installment of the Star Wars movie franchise, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, perhaps the most significant element of the series, the lives and legacy of the Skywalker family come to an end. The end of the Skywalker saga brings closure on a 40+ year cinematic saga that has transformed moviemaking, retailing, mythmaking and global popular culture. It is also brings to an end a storyline that has its very roots in Marin County. Lucasfilm, the company founded by Star Wars creator George Lucas in the early 70s, was originally located in San Rafael, and the original Star Wars film was written in San Rafael and San Anselmo. Skywalker Ranch, of course, is located in western Marin. What better way, then, to bring the nine-film mega odyssey to a close than a lively conversation between two Star Wars experts in the very county where it all began? Please join us as Mashable's Chris Taylor, author of How Star Wars Conquered the Universe, sits down with Starwars.com contributor, Bryan Young, as they discuss everything Star Wars: What has the film franchise meant to American culture? What can we expect with episode 9 and beyond? Why did the film franchise have such an impact? And what do the films say about our current political system, religion and technology? Symbolically, the program will be held on the grounds of the Marin County Civic Center, a facility that not only has been featured in a George Lucas film (THX 1138) but has also inspired some of the architecture seen on the planet Naboo in Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace. (The event will be held in the Marin Center's Showcase Theater.) Please join us as Marin Conversations at The Commonwealth Club salutes Star Wars and says goodbye to the Skywalker Saga in the place where it all began. In short, the Force will be strong with this program. Chris Taylor is a journalist from the UK who moved to the Bay Area as soon as he could by becoming Time magazine's San Francisco bureau chief. He introduced Time magazine’s readers to Google, Netflix and the iPod. Currently, Taylor is senior editor at the website Mashable. He has been reporting on Star Wars since 1999 and is the author of How Star Wars Conquered the Universe, the first complete history of Star Wars as an independent franchise. Published in 2014, it has become an international best seller, now available 11 languages. Bryan Young is an award-winning author, filmmaker, journalist and comics writer. He is a frequent contributor to Starwars.com, Star Wars Insider magazine, Syfy, Slashfilm and many more. He is one of the hosts for “Full of Sith,” one of the highest-rated podcasts covering the world of Star Wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Americans are generally familiar with the role courts play in protecting the public’s rights and resolving disputes with integrity. In recent years, state judges have been confronted by recalls and other challenges at the ballot box as well as political attacks that some observers believe could create a chilling effect on justice. What is the impact of elections on judicial independence? Do elections threaten justice, or are they a means by which to preserve it? How responsive to the electorate should judges be? What is the impact of judicial elections and retention elections on judicial independence? What is the proper relationship of politics and the judiciary? Join us in an important discussion with high-level panelists who have studied—and experienced—these issues. NOTES In partnership with the California Judges Association, Judicial Fairness Coalition, the Litigation Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco, Bench Bar Committee and the San Francisco Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith leads a team of more than 1,400 business, legal and corporate affairs professionals working in 56 countries. He plays a key role in spearheading the company’s work on critical issues involving the intersection of technology and society, including cybersecurity, privacy, artificial intelligence, human rights, immigration, philanthropy and environmental sustainability. The Australian Financial Review has described Smith as “one of the technology industry’s most respected figures,” and The New York Times has called him “a de facto ambassador for the technology industry at large.” Smith operates by a simple core belief: When your technology changes the world, you bear a responsibility to help address the world you have helped create. This might seem uncontroversial, but it flies in the face of a tech sector long obsessed with rapid growth and sometimes on disruption as an end in itself. While sweeping digital transformation holds great promise, Smith says we have reached an inflection point, and the world has turned information technology into both a powerful tool and a formidable weapon. Come hear his view that new approaches are needed to manage an era defined by even more powerful inventions like artificial intelligence. Companies that create technology must accept greater responsibility for the future, he says, and governments will need to regulate technology by moving faster and catching up with the pace of innovation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Monday Night Philosophy warms you up for the holidays with Michel de Montaigne's essay "On Friendship," one of the most influential and insightful meditations on the topic ever written. Montaigne shows us how our attitudes toward friendship are deeply constitutive of both our emotional life and our moral being. Together we will discuss the themes raised by Montaigne and their implications for thinking about communal life, both during Montaigne's age and in the present moment. MLF Organizer: George Hammond MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2019 has been a year of climate rising. Youth activists skipped school and took to the streets, the Green New Deal thrust climate equity into the spotlight, and Democratic presidential candidates were forced to respond. Even a few Republicans dared to suggest climate is a concern that needs to be addressed. Join us for a look back on the big ideas that shaped some of our favorite episodes from 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Much has been written about the groundbreaking number of women who were elected into Congress in the last election. What many people may not know, however, is that women in San Francisco and the Bay Area play a pivotal role in creating a narrative at the national level—influencing who runs, where money should go, and, ultimately, who gets elected. Meet the Bay Area’s ultimate power players: the Queenmakers. Notes: In association with San Francisco magazine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Such a pretty girl.” It was a refrain Nadina LaSpina heard frequently in her native Sicily. What was sometimes added, and what was always implied, was that it’s a shame she was disabled. Having contracted polio as a baby, LaSpina was the frequent target of pity by those who dismissed her life as hopeless. She came to the United States at 13 and spent most of her adolescence in hospitals in a fruitless and painful quest for a cure. Against the political tumult of the 1960s, LaSpina rebelled both personally and politically. She refused to accept both the limitations placed on her by others and the dominant narrative surrounding disability. LaSpina also took to the streets with the then fledgling disability rights movement that has changed both law and perception in the United States. As an activist, LaSpina has been arrested numerous times. She was an important figure in some key struggles, including those that led to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. LaSpina discusses why pity has been one of the most hurtful things she’s had to contend with in her life, that the problem was not her disability but the way she was treated because of it, and that the assumption that to be disabled is to be miserable is itself the most miserable part about being disabled. MLF Organizer: George Hammond MLF: Humanities ** This Podcast Contains Explicit Language ** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mac McQuown is known as one of the architects of the modern investing system. In the early 1970s, he departed from prevailing Wall Street practices by assembling a team of six future Nobel Laureates to create a new type of investment: the index fund. Join McQuown as he presents an insider’s view of the events that led to the creation of the index fund. Learn what he and his team have created since those early days, other advances that have occurred since and what might be coming next. MLF ORGANIZER Denise Michaud NOTES MLF: Grownups Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Toni Morrison, who passed away in August, was one of the most celebrated writers of our time. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Pulitzer, National Book Critics Circle Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and more. Earlier this year, a new documentary film about Morrison, The Pieces I Am, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The film covers the life and impact of Morrison, and it includes interviews with Morrison, Angela Davis, Fran Lebowitz, Peter Sellars, Oprah Winfrey and others. Join us for an engaging conversation with the director of The Pieces I Am, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders. A Grammy Award-winning filmmaker, Greenfield-Sanders has achieved critical acclaim photographing world leaders and major cultural figures, including presidents, writers, artists, actors, and musicians. He has produced and directed 13 documentary films, including Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart (which was recognized with a Grammy), The Black List (which earned him an NAACP Image Award), The Latino List, and The Trans List. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Studies show that we are starting to see real results in the number of women represented in the c-suite, with nearly 45 percent of companies having three or more women in senior roles. While the bright spots are clear, women are still getting stuck, and it is happening even earlier in their careers, at the very first rung along the corporate ladder. The glass ceiling is cracking, but what else needs to be done to move progress forward for a majority of working women? “Women in the Workplace” is an annual report conducted by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org, and with 329 companies, representing 13 million people surveyed, it is the largest data set of its kind for women in corporate America. Now in its fifth year, join Alexis Krivkovich, co-author and senior partner at McKinsey & Company, and other corporate leaders and experts as they discuss the 2019 findings. They’ll offer their insights, share key lessons learned along their journey and discuss what needs to be done to fix the broken rung and accelerate progress for all working women. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This program will present the biological and health effects of both natural electromagnetic waves innate to the body and man-made electromagnetic waves from wireless technologies, including discussion about 4G/5G antenna densification. It will also address the mental health and relational impacts of tech overuse and addiction. Importantly, new scientific understanding will be shared by a former telecom industry director of research and development about what is driving the biological effects, that relates to our body being mostly comprised of water. We will learn how wireless radiation instantly changes biology, with system-wide effects. Join us for a provocative program about technology risks to humanity. MLF ORGANIZER Bill Grant NOTES MLF: Health & Medicine, Technology & Society Co-organized by ElectromagneticHealth.org; American Academy of Environmental Medicine; Moms Across America; Ecological Options Network; SafeG; the California Brain Tumor Association; UCOT (Unintended Consequences of Technology); Electromagnetic Safety Alliance; EMF Safety Network; My Street, My Choice!; California Health Coalition Advocacy; Electrosensitive Society; Manhattan Neighbors for Safer Telecommunications; International EMF Alliance Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As 2019 draws to the close, the media tributes, commemorations, remembrances and explorations related to the 50th anniversary of the 1960s comes to an end. This special program will focus on the 50th anniversary of the Altamont Speedway Free Festival, the traumatic and deadly Rolling Stones concert in the East Bay of San Francisco that is often presented as the symbolic end of the 1960s counterculture. But was it? What is the legacy of Altamont? At the notorious December 6, 1969 concert—held several months after Woodstock took place across the country—one fan was knifed to death, three died in accidents, and many more were beaten and abused before a crowd of well over 300,000. Legendary Bay Area music writer Joel Selvin has written the definitive history of that day. His book Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock's Darkest Day explores in-depth that dark day, what led to the mayhem and what that concert means half a century later. Nearly 50 years to the exact day of the Altamont concert, Selvin will sit down with photographer and music journalist Tabitha Soren for a discussion of Altamont and the final event of the 1960s that continues to divide and fascinate the public. Did the counterculture, formed in the Bay Area, end in the chaos of the Altamont concert? Is the mayhem associated with the concert the proper way to remember the 1960s ending? Why was the concert such a disaster and what responsibility did the Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead and others have? Why are we still talking about it? Please join us for a fascinating and timely discussion on a topic and time period that continues to shape the Bay Area's consciousness. ** This Podcast Contains Explicit Language ** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In their new documentary, Stonewall: Outloud, filmmakers Fenton Baily and Randy Barbato weave together personal accounts and archival material from the night of the Stonewall riots. Narrated by RuPaul and currently streaming on YouTube, the film is a powerful look back at one of the most significant moments in the history of gay rights in the United States. Join us for a discussion with these two filmmakers about sharing new insight into a pivotal LGBTQ event. Come for a free midday program, as Michelle Meow brings her long-running radio show to The Commonwealth Club one day each week. Meet fascinating—and often controversial—people discussing important issues of interest to the LGBTQ community, and have your questions ready. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nancy Pelosi (D–CA) is one of the most successful leaders to ever wield the gavel as speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Under her leadership, Democrats passed the Affordable Care Act and are now championing a for the people agenda. People have spent a lifetime studying how Pelosi uses power and negotiation, but no one understands her better than her own daughter Christine Pelosi. In her new book, The Nancy Pelosi Way: Advice on Success, Leadership, and Politics from America’s Most Powerful Woman, Christine Pelosi teaches us the wisdom and advice she learned firsthand from the most powerful woman in American history. She examines how her mother rose through the ranks of government and extracts key lessons in leadership for us to apply to our own lives. Join us for an enlightening conversation with Christine Pelosi as she teaches us important lessons gleaned from an American icon and the woman she knows best. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Those of us in Northern California have inhaled a lot of wildfire smoke over the past few years. Fueled by a rapidly warming climate, these catastrophic wildfires are burning down our communities, are hard on our physical and mental health, and can play havoc with our water supply. What are communities doing to protect their homes and their water supply? What are drinking water utilities and the state of California doing to address these terrible problems? During our program, we will discuss the actions a large Bay Area water utility is taking to protect the green and build infrastructure that delivers our water. We will hear from the state's forest health lead on the focus of their work. Finally, we will present examples of steps other communities around the West are taking. MLF: Environment & Natural Resources Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Murder, love, and the human experience are the stuff of great stories, as podcasts like Serial and RadioLab have shown us. But climate change? Not so much. The story is overwhelming and the ending is predictable and depressing, say radio producers. Coverage in national newspapers has increased since President Trump took office. It’s also expanded from science and environmental beats to culture, health and finance. And as the conversation shifts further toward companies’ role confronting climate impacts, the story of business and climate is gaining prominence and ramping up pressure on corporations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Adams has drawn nearly 9,000 cartoons since starting "Dilbert" 30 years ago. His cynical take on white-collar office workspaces propelled him to widespread success and acclaim, while his ongoing commentary on politics and President Trump have kept him in national news. In his newest book, Loserthink: How Untrained Brains Are Ruining America, Adams explores the epidemic of mental shortcuts that make us prone to believing in bad ideas. Adams explores how loserthink makes people stereotype all Trump supporters as racists, believe that gun control is equal to full confiscation and avoid personal reflection during a relationship’s end. Through Loserthink, Adams provides the tools for spotting, avoiding and fighting against loserthink. In doing so, Adams argues that logic and rationality, not emotion, is the most important part of any argument, political or not. Join us for a conversation with Scott Adams as he urges us to think deeper and more critically, breaking free from loserthink. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NPR has called Susannah Cahalan “one of America’s most courageous young journalists.” Known for her memoir Brain on Fire, which details her experience with a rare autoimmune disease, Cahalan’s work has since been made into a feature film on Netflix. In her newest book, The Great Pretender: The Undercover Mission That Changed Our Understanding of Madness, Cahalan explores the centuries-old struggle to define, diagnose and treat mental illness. The Great Pretender details a 1970 experiment, led by Stanford psychologist David Rosenhan, in which he and seven other people went undercover into the asylums of America. Cahalan describes how Rosenhan and the others were forced to remain inside until they could prove they were sane, and as a result, all of those partaking in the experiment emerged with stories of mistreatment and newfound mental health issues. Following the dramatic study, institutions and mental health diagnoses were changed from then on. Cahalan’s research asks us to delve deeper into the Rosenhan experiment and ask important questions relating to what really happened. She argues that this episode’s implications on mental illness and treatment are worth discussing, as the effects of the study are still felt today. Join us for a unique and important conversation with Cahalan as she asks us to delve deeper into our own understanding of mental health, diagnosis and treatment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Malcolm Nance is one of the world’s renowned intelligence experts and a popular guest on NBC News and MSNBC. With over 33 years combating radical extremist terrorism, Nance is known for championing human rights, ethical responsibility and cultural awareness in intelligence practices. In his newest book, The Plot to Betray America: How Team Trump Embraced Our Enemies, Compromised Our Security, and How We Can Fix It, Nance argues that President Trump and his team have conspired to commit the greatest act of treason in the history of the United States: betrayal of the oath of office for personal gain. The Plot to Betray America contains in-depth interviews with insiders, analysis from intelligence experts, and substantial evidence of Trump’s deep financial ties to Russia. It also provides solutions on how to protect America’s compromised security. Join us for an essential conversation with intelligence and counterterrorism expert Malcolm Nance as he explains how we can still save America’s democracy, security and future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the age of #MeToo, where women are empowered to tell their truth rather than worry about the consequences of speaking out, there is hardly a better role model than best-selling author Lindy West. West first came to prominence as a young blogger with a no-holds-barred approach to topics such as feminism, racism, sexism and fat shaming. Her memoir (which includes her very public fight with her then boss Dan Savage for his fat-phobic articles) is the subject of the Hulu series “Shrill” starring Aidy Bryant. In her newest book, The Witches Are Coming, she flips the language of #MeToo critics on its head. West calls for a witch hunt to examine the chasm between who we are and who we think we are. She pulls no punches calling out the misogyny prevalent in the media and the exclusionary nature of American politics for women and minorities. By extolling the world-changing magic of truth, she shows us the only way out is through: through the uncomfortable reality of today’s polarized politics and through the pressure to stay silent on issues that matter. Join West at INFORUM as she pushes us to mold our culture for ourselves, rather than be molded by it. Note: This program contains explicit language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a free live taping of a special edition of "The C-Dubb Show" podcast at The Commonwealth Club with "The Michelle Meow Show." In recent months, a big conversation in the tech community has been about claims that black voices are being censored on social media when speaking on issues of race. Facebook has been a particular focus in this conversation, as black users from across the world have complained about being censored and blocked regularly. One of those users was Carolyn Wysinger, who was featured in a USA Today article about those who have been "Zucked." Note: This program contains some explicit language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fifty years ago this November, a group of Native Americans that came to be known as Indians of All Tribes began a 19-month occupation of Alcatraz Island. The takeover and occupation attracted a groundswell of interest from across the United States and the globe. The initial focus of the occupation was a protest against the U.S. government's policies that took aboriginal land away from Native Americans. The Alcatraz occupation is recognized today as one of the most important events in contemporary Native American history and one of the most important public displays of the Red Power movement, a social movement that demanded self-determination for Native Americans in the United States. The occupation helped bring Native American activism to the forefront of the consciousness of the American people. The 50th anniversary of this important event is being recognized throughout the Bay Area in an effort led by the San Francisco Arts Commission. The takeover and occupation was led, in part, by Richard Oakes, a charismatic student from San Francisco State. The first biography of Oakes, A Journey to Freedom, was published late last year. Its author, Kent Blansett, will make a special visit to Marin County to discuss Oakes, the role the occupation played in the Red Power movement of the 1960s and the ongoing legacy of Native activism that was spurred by the 1969 takeover. Kent Blansett is a Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Shawnee and Potawatomi descendant. Blansett will also discuss the role that Marin County residents played in the start of the Alcatraz occupation, including the role of the Sausalito-Indian Navy, which helped Oakes launch the occupation late in the evening of November 20, 1969. Join us for this special event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is the customer always right when it comes to corporate climate action? At Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, employees are the ones demanding bold change. Thousands of tech workers have gone on strike and signed public letters demanding CEO action on climate. Meanwhile, millennials — who are projected to make up three-quarters of the workplace in six years — have said they would take a pay cut to work at an environmentally-responsible company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recent years, LGBT candidates have made major strides in being elected to office across the country. At the same time, protections have been weakened against discrimination in health care coverage, employment, military service, and access to public and private services. Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker—the first openly LGBT mayor of a major American city—will review the results of the recent November 2019 election and look ahead to the 2020 presidential election to highlight the issues of importance to LGBTQI Americans. LGBTQ Victory Fund and Victory Institute President and CEO Annise Parker is the first former elected official to lead the organizations, having served six years as a Houston City Council member, six years as city controller and six years as mayor of the city. She is one of only two women to have been elected mayor and is the only person in Houston history to have held the offices of council member, controller and mayor. In addition to her duties as mayor, Parker was a member of President Obama’s Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, chaired the U.S. Conference of Mayors Criminal and Social Justice Committee, and served on the boards of the Texas Environmental Research Consortium and Houston Galveston Area Council. She is a past Fellow of the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She also co-owned Inklings, a lesbian/feminist bookstore for 10 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our panel members will explore the depth of talent, expertise, learning, knowledge and experiences at City College in making important improvements to combat global environmental issues and problems. Environmental flexibility and plans for the college's adjacent 17 acres that were graciously leased to City College by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission for many decades will help students, college and communities learn, address and implement important knowledge and advancements to enhance solar, wind, charging stations and sustainable learning opportunities now and in the future. Join us to discuss City College and the future of our environment. MLF Organizer: Ann Clark MLF: Environment & Natural Resources Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To promote women in the workplace, we need to understand how to advance and support working women of all kinds: women of all races; women with disabilities; immigrant women; women of various religions; women of all ages and generations; working moms, queer/trans women; and women who are first, only or different in any way. You are invited to join a vibrant panel discussion featuring experts and intersectional feminists from various angles of the diversity and inclusion world. There will be plenty of time for audience questions. You should attend if you want to get a sense of the first critical things about being a supporter to several key areas of diversity so you can be a better ally to groups that you're not in and so that you can strengthen your feminism and your women/workplace efforts with an understanding of all women. MLF Organizer: Emily Meghan Morrow Howe MLF: Executive Womxn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices