Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

New technology is constantly being developed for home care. What solutions work best, and how can technology successfully enhance the very personal side of home care? We will explore how to find the right balance between using and not using technology with home care. This technology may allow your aging parents and loved ones to remain safely at home. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Denise Michaud NOTES MLF: Grownups Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone is looking down—but especially kids. There is something unnatural about a 15-month-old using an iPad to soothe him or herself. Many assume this is just the natural progression of our high-tech society. But what if this is causing us harm? And what if children are more vulnerable than adults? Numerous politicians are calling for reining in of the Internet. Is this necessary? Robert Lustig will answer five key questions: Is there such a thing as tech addiction? Is it similar to or different than drug addiction? Does technology lead to depression and suicide? Have our minds been hacked? Are children at more risk? The answers to these questions will provide us with a blueprint to harnessing technology for good. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Patrick O'Reilly NOTES MLF: Psychology Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us as Michelle Meow brings her long-running daily 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. Today's in-studio guest: Rimi Born in Hyderabad, India, blossomed in Toronto and living in Oakland, Rimi has been on the gender journey proudly with confidence and realness. She has performed at various South Asian queer events through dance forms and poetry, depicting the anguish and eventual liberation of her gender journey, transcending the paths of survival, rejection, isolation and stress. Rimi lives in Oakland, is working in a leadership role at Walmart.com, and leads PRIDE Associate Resource Group as well, driving inclusion for TGNC lives at workplace inclusion. While staying visible and present for TGNC, Rimi finds herself vulnerable and targeted at times. Rimi seeks to have the world to accept transgender identities as equals and as capable individuals for holding jobs, earning degrees, and having relationships and a dignified life. **This program contains explicit language.** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Norman Eisen moved into the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Prague and returned to the land his mother had fled after the Holocaust, he was startled to discover swastikas hidden beneath the furniture in his new home. These symbols of Nazi Germany were remnants of the residence’s forgotten history, and evidence that we never live far from the past. Looking into the building’s history, Eisen discovered a remarkable story stretching back over 100 years. In his new book, The Last Palace, Eisen tells a captivating tale of the upheavals that transformed Europe over the past century and of four remarkable people who have called the ambassador’s residence home. Otto Petschek, an optimistic Jewish financial baron who built the palace, and Shirley Temple Black, famed child star and U.S. ambassador, both lived there. Eisen dives into the personal and political history that shaped both a country and a continent. Join us for a conversation about history, diplomacy and the triumph of liberal democracy in the face of tragedy and dictatorship. 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

Steven Campbell's talk is an eye-opening presentation on cognitive psychology, which began in the 1960s. He explores how our brains conform to the messages we give them. When we optimize those messages, our brains literally rewire themselves to create new, positive self-images of who we want to be and how we want to learn and grow even more. However, Campbell's presentation does not stop there. Since we are not thinking people who feel but feeling people who think, we also explore where those feelings are coming from. It turns out that our feelings do not primarily come from how we were raised or what has happened to us. Instead, they come from our beliefs about how we were raised and our beliefs about what has happened to us. By first learning that when we change our beliefs, our feelings follow, we learn how to change those beliefs. It's not magic … it’s science! MLF Organizer Name: Denise Michaud Notes: MLF: Grownups Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Authors Julio Moreno and Thomas O’Keefe debate the current state of U.S. hegemony in Latin America and the Caribbean, a region where the United States first made its appearance as a world power in the late 19th century. In his new book, Bush II, Obama, and the Decline of U.S. Hegemony in the Western Hemisphere, O’Keefe assets that U.S. economic dominance and leadership in the Americas has been in noticeable decline since the start of the 21st century. In his recent co-authored book, Beyond the Eagle’s Shadow, Moreno posits that even at its height during the Cold War, U.S. power and influence in the Western Hemisphere was often contested and never complete. MLF Organizer Name: Linda Calhoun Notes: MLF, International Relations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've just completed seven years of Week to Week, and you're invited to join us for the celebration as we kick off our eighth year! As usual, 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! Come early before the program to meet other smart and engaged individuals and discuss the news over snacks and wine at our members social (open to all attendees). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The news media is facing unprecedented crises: plummeting public trust and unrelenting attacks from the president of the United States. How do the “merchants of truth” navigate this new world? Jill Abramson worked as executive editor for The New York Times and offers an unparalleled view into the story of the news business, fighting for survival through a series of crises—first the digital revolution and then the president’s unprecedented war on the press. Abramson’s new book, Merchants of Truth, profiles four powerful news organizations as they grapple with upheaval: Buzzfeed and Vice, upstarts that captivated young audiences, and The New York Times and The Washington Post, two legacy papers that were slow to adapt to digital changes. Each struggled with crises in business, technology, resources and credibility. Abramson’s book focuses on the digital revolution and disruption of the news business, but the last sections of the book focus on fight for facts during a presidency whose war against journalists as “enemies of the people” has fueled public distrust of news sources. While the industry changes, the vital question remains: Can an informed press stand its ground? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Chris Wilson offers a fresh perspective on our criminal justice system, on crucial issues of mass incarceration and on the importance of second chances. Growing up in Washington, D.C., Wilson was surrounded by violence and despair. He feared for his life as his family was shattered by trauma, his neighborhood was beset by drugs and his friends died one by one. One night when he was 17, Wilson was cornered by two men. He shot one of them, killing him. A year later, at 18, he was sentenced to life in prison with no hope of parole. Wilson writes, “I just got on this planet. I don’t even have a mustache yet. And my life is over.” But his life wasn’t over. Behind bars, Wilson began reading, working out and learning languages. He even started a business. He wrote a list of things he intended to accomplish. He called it his master plan. He revised it regularly and followed it religiously. And, in his 30s, Wilson did the impossible: He convinced a judge to reduce his sentence. Six years later, he came out of jail determined to teach others about the selflessness, work ethic and professional skills that led to his second chance. MLF ORGANIZER NAME George Hammond NOTES MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How many of us go crazy trying to do it all, and do it all perfectly? How many obsess over tiny errors and avoid taking on big opportunities or challenges for fear of failing or embarrassing ourselves? Why is failure, big or small, not seen as a viable option for so many of us? Girls Who Code CEO Reshma Saujani’s popular TED Talk called for the need to teach bravery, not perfection, especially for women constantly finding themselves under enormous amounts of pressure to perform. In her new book, Brave, Not Perfect, Saujani asks us to rethink what our goals are supposed to look like and instead live life boldly, assuring us that it is more powerful to find something unexpected in the mistakes than it is to play it safe. Join us as Saujani offers stories from other brave women, shares best practices for making bravery the new standard for women across the country and details her own journey in getting there. *This program contains explicit language* Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone has a family history — some of it they know, and some of it they have yet to discover. The surging popularity of genealogy research is encouraging more and more people to find out about their ancestors and how their actions and decisions affected who they are today. Bill Griffeth and Paula Williams Madison will share their own personal stories and the shocking discoveries they made as they learned more about their family histories. Notes: In association with Santa Clara County Library District, Santa Clara County Office of Education, the San Jose Public Library and DeAnza College Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United States was once the hope of the world, a beacon of freedom and the defender of liberal democracy. Nations and peoples on all continents looked to America to stand up for the values that created the western world and to oppose autocracy and repression. Even when America did not live up to its ideals, it still recognized their importance at home and abroad. But as Bernard-Henri Lévy lays bare in his powerful and disturbing analysis of the world today, America is retreating from its traditional leadership role, and in its place have come five ambitious powers, former empires eager to assert their primacy and influence. Lévy shows how these five powers―Russia, China, Turkey, Iran and Sunni radical Islamism―are taking steps to undermine the liberal values that have been a hallmark of western civilization. Please join us for a special talk with Bernard-Henri Lévy, one of the world's leading intellectuals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Parag Khanna says there is no more important region of the world for us to better understand than Asia, and thus, we cannot afford to keep getting Asia so wrong. He says Asia’s complexity has led to common misdiagnoses, namely that western thinking on Asia conflates the entire region with China, predicts imminent World War III around every corner and regularly forecasts debt-driven collapse for the region’s major economies. Khanna says that, in reality, the region is experiencing a confident new wave of growth led by younger societies from India to the Philippines, that nationalist leaders have put aside territorial disputes in favor of integration, and today’s infrastructure investments are the platform for the next generation of digital innovation. Khanna asserts that in the 19th century, the world was Europeanized; in the 20th century, it was Americanized; and now, in the 21st century, the world is being Asianized. He says far greater than just China, the new Asian system taking shape is a multi-civilizational order spanning from Saudi Arabia to Japan, Russia to Australia, Turkey to Indonesia—linking five billion people through trade, finance, infrastructure and diplomatic networks that together represent 40 percent of global GDP. Khanna says Asia is rapidly returning to the centuries-old patterns of commerce, conflict and cultural exchange that thrived long before European colonialism and American dominance. He will detail his view that as Asia determines its own future, it will determine ours as well. Born in India, Khanna is the international best-selling author of six books, has traveled to most of the countries of the world, and holds a doctorate from the London School of Economics and master’s degrees from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He is a contributor to CNN, a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and has also been an adviser to the U.S. National Intelligence Council. NOTES In association with the Asia Society of Northern California, the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, the McKinsey Global Institute and TiE Silicon Valley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us as Michelle Meow brings her long-running daily 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. This week, we'll have a lively discussion with our in-studio guest, Breanna Sinclaire, who will also perform a song live. Breanna Sinclaire is a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and a graduate of CalArts. She received her Masters from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and she was the first transwoman of the opera program, under the pedagogy of Ms. Ruby Pleasure. Operatic performances include Carmen, La Calisto, The Old Maid and The Thief, The Magic Flute, L'enfant et les sortilèges, Platée, and West Side Story, as well as Meredith Monk’s Songs of Ascension at REDCAT, and Zachary Sharrin’s Time Bodies at MOCA. Outside of opera, Sinclaire has enjoyed a variety of performance opportunities with LGBT and other nonprofit organizations throughout the nation — most recently the Gay Men’s Choruses of Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. She made her debut at the Walt Disney Concert Hall with the Los Angeles Gay Men’s Chorus. Other performances include Americans for the Arts, Washington, D.C. and Toronto Pride Festivals, SF Trans March, Fresh Meat Trans and Queer Arts Festivals, Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, LinkedIn’s LGBTQ Employee Resource Group speaker series panel discussion (alongside civil rights leader Cecilia Chung), Janet Mock’s Redefining Realness book tour, and the Transgender Law Center’s SPARK! anniversary celebration. She also made her debut as a guest artist for the Gay Men's Chorus of DC in Durufle's Requiemperforming "Pie Jesu" at Church of the Epiphany. She was among Out magazine’s 2015 "OUT100" list of LGBT heroes. She was the first transwoman to perform the National Anthem at a professional sporting event for the Oakland A's, SF Giants, and San Francisco Deltas. She made her debut with SF Symphony on December 31st, 2018 as the first trans singer to perform with the orchestra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the average income earner, obtaining a comfortable place to live seems out of reach. Some people travel great distances to get to their jobs. Others live in a crowded household in order to afford the rent or mortgage. Building more housing seems to be the logical goal, but where and what type? Join the conversation with Kristy Wang from the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) and Laura Foote from YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard), with Shelly Sutherland, a realtor at Compass, who will moderate the discussion. MLF ORGANIZER NAME John Milford NOTES MLF: Grownups Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fighting climate change isn’t cheap. Where’s the money coming from? Major philanthropic organizations like Hewlett and Bloomberg are at the forefront of addressing climate change, but could smaller funders be more in touch with grassroots needs? Are big donors out of touch – or just stretched too far? Where is the money coming from, where is it going, what are the biggest wins and what missteps are being made along the way? Greg Dalton is joined by donors big and small for a discussion on harnessing the power of the purse in the fight against climate change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Salvator Mundi, one of under 20 paintings created by Leonardo da Vinci, was purchased for $10,000 in 2005 at an auction in New Orleans. The painting's unclear provenance and heavy overpainting hid its true value. After restoration, it sold for $75 million in 2013, and for $450 million at Christie's in 2017. As the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci's death approaches, join us to hear da Vinci expert Martin Kemp delve into the enduring fascination aroused by da Vinci's artistic achievements and personality. Kemp, whose recent book, Living with Leonardo, recounts his lifelong passion for the genius who has helped define our culture, will focus this lecture around Salvator Mundi (which he is currently co-writing a book about). Kemp will tell of its discovery, elucidate the issues surrounding its attribution, look at the scientific analyses that support experts’ interpretations and examine the role of connoisseurship. MLF Organizer Name: George Hammond Notes, MLF: Humanities In association with the Leonardo Da Vinci Society and Humanities West Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Middle East member-led forum presents a distinguished panel, including: Hassan El-Masri, a Palestinian who volunteers to help refugee artists throughout the world; Karaman Mamand, a Kurdish Iraqi educator and human rights activist; Karen Ferguson, executive director of the northern California branch of the International Rescue Committee, which provides comprehensive services for refugees whose lives are shattered by conflict and disaster; and Aisha Wahab, who was recently elected to the Hayward City Council and is one of the first Afghan-American officials elected in the United States. The panel will discuss how we can help refugees and welcome the stranger in the face of war, strife, indifference and travel bans. MLF Organizer Name: Celia Menczel Notes, MLF: Middle East Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are the implications of a few massive firms controlling global industry? Tim Wu endeavors to answer this question by linking together big business, inequality and political extremism in his latest book, The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age. Wu argues the failure to curb excessive corporate power has led to greater tolerance of inequality and may even engender extreme populism, nationalism and fascism. Wu’s argument concludes that excessive corporate power poses a great threat to the health of American democracy, just as giant trusts did during the Gilded Age. Wu asserts that we must thus learn from the progressive policies of the past to overcome the consequences of extreme inequality today. Join us and learn from Wu as he discusses the problem of modern massive firms and what America can learn from its past. Notes: This program was generously supported by Jackson Square Partners Foundation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. From the start of his career, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has always been an unconventional businessman. With health insurance and free college tuition for part-time baristas to controversial initiatives about race and refugees, Schultz and his team challenge old notions about the role of business in society. In his new book, From the Ground Up, Schultz tackles some of America’s most important and divisive issues. Schultz introduces a cross-section of Americans transforming common struggles into shared successes. He discusses inspirational stories about lost youth finding first jobs, post-9/11 warriors replacing lost limbs with indomitable spirit, former coal miners and opioid addicts paving fresh paths, entrepreneurs jump-starting dreams, and better angels emerging from all corners of the country. Come hear an inspiring conversation with one of America’s most successful businessmen. Bring your questions. ** This Podcast Contains Explicit Content ** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Featuring the lively art and wit of the ever popular activist Gary Snyder and Peter Goin, this program is a conversation, reading and slideshow. It will be followed by a book signing of Dooby Lane: Also Known as Guru Road, A Testament inscribed in Stone Tablets by DeWayne Williams. This their latest collaboration. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Anne W. Smith NOTES MLF: Arts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just ten years ago, an entire state running on 100% renewable electricity seemed fanciful. But this dreamy vision became reality when, with the backing of big utilities, California committed to 100% use of zero-carbon electricity by 2045. A statewide pledge to go carbon-neutral by 2045 raised the stakes even higher. So what will it take for California to achieve such a feat? Will Governor Gavin Newsom embrace climate initiatives started by former Governor Jerry Brown? Join us for a discussion of California’s surprise gambit to take the world’s fifth largest economy to net zero. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This event is the latest in the San Francisco Foundation’s series on People, Place and Power. Every night, more than 130,000 people go to sleep homeless in California. An estimated 25,000 of them are in the San Francisco Bay Area: sleeping on couches, in cars or sometimes in tents on the sidewalk. At this point, people from coast to coast know that the Bay Area is in the midst of a housing crisis. But what is the city doing to address the affordable housing and homelessness crisis? Come hear from some of the Bay Area’s leading experts on issues surrounding homelessness. From working on the service and legal sides to fighting for policy changes to having experienced homelessness themselves, our speakers will discuss the state of the crisis, how we got here and where we’re headed next. This program is generously supported by the San Francisco Foundation's Bay Area Leads Fund. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join INFORUM for our annual Valentine’s Day event and party, with a multifaceted conversation about love. Guests include Daniel Jones, editor of The New York Times’ famous “Modern Love” column; Dr. Jess Carbino, sociologist for Bumble, the dating, friendship and networking app; and Myisha Battle, a certified sex and dating coach and host of the sex-positive podcast "Down for Whatever." Expect a discussion of love, sex, culture, the complex subjects we navigate in relationships and more. Come early and stay afterwards for drinks, snacks, activities and a chance to keep the conversation flowing. Thanks to Fort Point Beer and Rudd Wines for their support. Notes: In collaboration with The New York Times ** This Podcast Contains Explicit Content ** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us as Michelle Meow brings her long-running daily 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. Our in-studio guest this week: Jane Kim Jane Kim was a former supervisor for San Francisco's District 6, representing South of Market, Mission Bay, the Tenderloin, Civic Center, Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island. She is the first Korean-American elected official in San Francisco and the first Asian-American candidate to win a non-historically Asian district in the city. See more upcoming Michelle Meow Shows at The Commonwealth Club here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don't let shyness prevent you from meeting your Valentine! In today's world of apps and texting, the delightful, seductive art of flirtation has been lost—so much the better for those who know its secrets. And who better to teach us than Rich Gosse? Gosse is the chairperson of the world's largest nonprofit singles organization, author of nine books on dating, guest on hundreds of TV shows (including “Oprah,” CNN, and “The Today Show”), and organizer of thousands of singles parties. Gosse will share three techniques for meeting anyone at any time and at any place. Equally important, we'll learn how to feel attractive without resorting to liquid courage, and how to handle rejection without feeling discouraged. There will also be a flirting contest with prizes, where Gosse will crown Mr. and Ms. San Francisco Flirt. Compete for the title or just sit back and enjoy the fun. (The winner of Gosse’s first San Francisco flirting contest so impressed Oprah that she flew Ms. San Francisco Flirt to Chicago to be on her talk show.) So stop hugging the wall, a drink or the person you don't want. Come get advice from Gosse, and become the man or woman everyone wants to meet. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Eric Siegel NOTES MLF: Personal Growth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you had told Bay Area technology investor Roger McNamee even three years ago that he would soon be devoting himself to stopping Facebook from destroying our democracy, he would have howled with laughter. He had mentored many tech leaders in his illustrious career, but few things had made him prouder, or had been better for his own bottom line, than helping Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of the world's largest social network. Still a large shareholder in Zuckerberg's creation, McNamee had every good reason to stay on the sidelines as the dark side of Facebook came to light. But he couldn't stay quiet. McNamee's new book, Zucked, is about the outspoken investor's efforts to come to terms with the serious damage Facebook was doing to our society. McNamee set out to try to change the massive social network and other tech companies that use design tools to addict and manipulate its users. With the election of Donald Trump, and the emergence of one horrific piece of news after another about the malign ends to which the Facebook platform has been put, McNamee has dedicated his energies to have people understand the threat of Facebook and other social networks. He will discuss what we can do to hold the companies responsible and to protect our public health and political order. Please join us for this important and timely discussion with one of Silicon Valley's most important and outspoken leaders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Suarez is the director of the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. A renowned historian, author and worldwide leader of rare book scholarship interests, he co-edited The Oxford Companion to the Book. Suarez will provide us with a compelling, richly illustrated description about how a group of printers were instrumental in making the antislavery movement happen in England. Their broadside engraving with an image diagramming human cargo on the Brookes, a slave ship, became a force for political change in the worldwide abolitionist movement. MLF Organizer: Anne W. Smith Notes: MLF: Arts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many of us find it daunting to talk with our neighbors, colleagues and family members about climate change. But climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe says that having those difficult conversations is the first step towards solving the problem. Hayhoe is known as a “rock star” in the climate world for her ability to talk to just about anyone about global warming. She is joined by Stanford atmospheric scientist Noah Diffenbaugh for a conversation about communicating climate change in transparent, engaging, and accessible ways. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happiness has become a multimillion dollar industry, catering to our deep desire to live joyfully, with the expectation that we as human beings deserve to be happy. Gopi Kallayil believes in reversing that equation, focusing on the need to be human first. He will explore the qualities that make us human and what happiness means in both his personal life and his professional career. Speaking with candor and humor, his deep compassion, and his love of the absurd, Kallayil will share his story—from his first job as a software programmer in South China to his current role at Google in Silicon Valley. Kallayil will explain why the key to happiness lies in being 100 percent who we are and reveling in our authentic selves, even if that means falling on our face. By embracing not only our own selves but also the entire human experience, Kallayil inspires us to expect miracles daily, to use every fall as a chance to bounce back, to go for what we want on every front and to live our lives fully. Kallayil is the chief evangelist of brand marketing at Google and a self-proclaimed “happy human." In association with the Wharton Club. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us as Michelle Meow brings her long-running daily 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. This week's in-studio guest: Tina D'Elia Tina D’Elia is a Bay Area award-winning solo performer, SAG-AFTRA actor, casting director, performance coach, co-screenwriter and consultant. Tina’s West Coast premiere of her solo show Overlooked Latinas (premiering in February 2019) has had previews at The Marsh SF, Solo Sunday’s (Stage Werx), and Best of LezWrites (2016, 2018). Tina received the Diversity Casting Award and Best Actress Award from the Equality International Film Festival in 2017. In 2015, Tina’s popular solo show directed by Mary Guzman, The Rita Hayworth of This Generation, won Best of Fringe and won Best of Sold Out Shows at the San Francisco Fringe Festival. Tina is honored to be part of CURVE Magazine’s CURVE Power list of 2017. She is the recipient of the Executive Producer Award and the Trail Blazer Award for diverse casting and her diverse creative solo performance work with the Equality International Film Festival. Tina’s acting credits include The Pursuit of Happyness, Knife Fight, Guitar Man, Miles to Go, Trauma(NBC), Rellik (Pilot), Sense8 (Netflix), Possession (World Equality Television), and Dyke Central(Amazon). Tina and director Maria Breaux won the Audience Award for co-writing the short film Lucha in 2009. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us as we 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! Come early before the program for our members social hour (open to all attendees). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As President Trump enters his third year in office, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie remains one of his closest political allies. The first major elected official to endorse then-candidate Trump, Christie had a ringside seat throughout the hectic 2016 campaign. Christie was even close to becoming Trump’s running mate. Days after Trump’s surprise victory, Trump fired Christie as head of his transition team. Recently, Christie almost became Trump’s White House chief of staff but pulled out, saying now is not the right time for him to join the White House. Now Christie is out to set the record straight about his career and his relationship with the president. In his new book, Let Me Finish, the brash former Republican prosecutor discusses running a Democratic state, his 15-year relationship with Trump, what he saw during the 2016 campaign and how his removal from the transition all but guaranteed chaos at the beginning of the Trump presidency. Christie’s book takes readers into conflicts with Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, Jeff Sessions, Paul Manafort and other critical Trump insiders. Christie also addresses hot-button issues from his own years in power in New Jersey, including what really went down during Bridgegate. And, for the first time, Christie tells the full story of his own Kushner saga: how, as a federal prosecutor, he put Jared Kushner's powerful father behind bars for tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign contributions. Join us for this important conversation with one of the president’s closest allies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republicans in California are at a crossroads. In a historic midterm election, Republicans lost half of their U.S. House delegation while Democrats cemented their supermajorities in both state legislative chambers and swept statewide offices for the third straight election. With the Golden State seemingly slipping from the GOP, what steps should the party take to regain its foothold and expand its appeal? Is a comeback possible in this new era of hyperpolarization? Three prominent Republicans will offer their take on where the party can go from here. Catharine Baker served as assemblywoman for the East Bay’s 16th District from 2014–2018. As the only elected Republican in statewide office from the Bay Area, Baker had to tow a fine line between her party and her constituents. Kevin Faulconer currently serves as the 36th mayor of San Diego, where he uses his platform to advocate for a moderate California Republican Party that supports action on climate change and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Kristin Olsen is the former minority leader of the California State Assembly, where she spearheaded Republican policies during her term. Matt Shupe is a Bay Area political consultant and chairman of the Contra Costa Republican Party. During the 2018 election, Shupe worked as communications director for John Cox’s gubernatorial campaign. Join us for this important conversation about a changing state and the Republican party’s fight for survival. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices