Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

On January 20, 2025, and within hours of returning to power, the Trump administration issued an executive order that the U.S. government would recognize only two genders, male and female, defined at birth. In contrast, in 2014, the Supreme Court of India ruled that transgender people have the right to self-identify as male, female, or a “third gender.” The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2019 in India allows transgender people to have a self-declared gender identity and receive a certificate of identity. It is currently estimated that there are more than 3 million third-gender people living in India alone. Similar rulings and laws have been passed in neighboring Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. What are the implications and impacts on the transgender people of the rest of Asia and the United States? At a time when the current U.S. administration has issued an executive order recognizing only two genders, we will discuss this and other issues with Amrita Sarkar, one of the leading transgender activists of India, and Zia Jaffrey, author of The Invisibles: A Tale of Eunuchs of India. Amrita Sarkar is a leading activist who has been working for the transgender community and their wellbeing for more than two decades and has been involved in numerous capacity-building initiatives for the same communities at the national and international level. She is the one of the founding members and the Secretary of IRGT – A Global Network of Trans Women and HIV. She also has made two films on transgender issues. Amrita is a trained counsellor and had completed her post-graduation in social welfare. Zia Jaffrey is the author of The Invisibles: A Tale of the Eunuchs of India (Pantheon/Vintage). She has written cover stories, features, and book reviews for many publications, including Vogue, The Nation, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Elle, where she ran the front of the magazine, wrote literary pieces, and cultivated new voices. Her work has been anthologized in several tomes, most recently, in PEN America’s India at 75, and Toni Morrison: The Last Interview and Other Conversations. She has covered South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, AIDS, and the Israel/Palestine conflict, and is currently writing a book about Palestinian-Americans. Organizer: Kalidip Choudhury An Asia-Pacific Affairs Member-led Forum program. Forums and chapters at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, is suing Greenpeace for $300 million. The pipeline company accuses Greenpeace of criminal behavior — trespassing, vandalism, and assault of construction workers — and inciting riotous behavior by protesters at Standing Rock in 2016. Greenpeace considers this legal action to be a “SLAPP suit” — a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation — aimed at silencing not just Greenpeace, but civil protests everywhere. The trial is just getting underway in Morton County, North Dakota. In this episode we unpack not just this case, but the broader implications of such suits. Guests: Rolf Skar, National Campaigns Director, Greenpeace Montgomery Brown, Member, Standing Rock Grassroots Laura Prather, Chair of First Amendment Practice, Haynes Boone On March 24, Google’s Chief Sustainability Officer Kate Brandt and Irina Raicu, Director of the Internet Ethics Program at the Markkula Center, will speak with Climate One about the development of sustainably powered artificial intelligence. Tickets are on sale through our website. Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us in-person for a discussion with performance, as we delve into music and the technology revolution, hearing Black voices on how technology is impacting our music. African Americans have played an outsized and pivotal role in American and global music. At most of the shifts and transitions in music driven by technology and culture, Black Americans have been in the forefront. Join us for a discussion of the past, present and future of the mix of technology and music with a focus on African American innovation. In addition to the panel discussion, we will end with a short suite of performances by the presenters. About the Speakers Award winning recording artist Nicolas Bearde is a singer-songwriter, actor and educator whose career has spanned more than 35 years. Born and raised in Nashville, TN, the second of 7 children, he has toured the globe with many of today’s jazz legends, such as Bobby McFerrin, Nat Adderley, Jr., Bernard Purdie, Vincent Herring and more. His style is likened to Lou Rawls, Nat King Cole and Bill Withers and he is known for his “velvet voice,” wit and engaging rapport that has drawn audiences into his live performances around the world. As an educator, Nicolas has worked with the California Jazz Conservatory and Jazz Camp West teaching “Vocal Intensive” workshops, skills he honed on the road as a member of Bobby McFerrin’s wildly innovative a cappella ensemble, “Voicestra” for more than 10 years, and was the chair of “popular voice” for the Young Arts Foundation in Miami, Florida for 5 years. Phil Hawkins is a drummer and media producer living in San Francisco. He regularly performs with Ray Obiedo, Pete Escovedo and other local artists. Phil operates a media production business that offers audio recording, mixing, and mastering for videography, photography, and graphic design services. He has taught music production at the college level for more than 20 years. Glen Pearson is both a noted pianist as well as the current head of music studies at the College of Alameda. He began playing piano at age 6 and was playing professionally by age 15. He has appeared on stage, television and on recordings with such notables as Regina Belle, Jimmy Scott, Diane Reeves, Marlena Shaw, Bobby Hutcherson and Nicolas Bearde, and served for 11 years as the musical/band director for the world-renowned Boy’s Choir of Harlem. For the past 5 years he toured with The Count Basie Orchestra, who’s latest record, Basie Swings the Blues, netted “Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album” at the 2024 Grammy Awards. Organizer: Gerald Anthony Harris An Arts Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. Bearde photo by James Barry Knox Photography; Pearson photo by Timothy Bryan Burgess; additional photos courtesy the speakers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every day, 10,000 people in the United States turn 65—a statistic that underscores one of the most significant demographic shifts in history. But the story of longevity is not just about aging, it's about learning new ways of living, working, and thriving across all life stages. From doctor's offices to government policies to popular culture, far too many of us erroneously associate aging with decline. How can we redefine aging to prioritize quality of life? Research shows that individuals have far more control over how they age than anyone imagined. We are shifting from a paradigm of decline to one that more accurately embraces the full spectrum of human flourishing while acknowledging biological realities. In this timely discussion, Barbara Waxman, renowned gerontologist and creator of The Longevity Roadmap, joins award-winning broadcaster Michael Krasny to explore the fascinating journey that brought us to this critical juncture in human history. They'll examine our current challenges, unveil cutting-edge insights about longevity, and share practical strategies for building a more resilient, fulfilling life at any age. Join us to discover actionable tools to take control of your aging journey and thrive in an era of unprecedented possibilities as we unpack the history, challenges, and opportunities of this remarkable demographic gift unfolding before us. About the Speakers Barbara Waxman is a gerontologist, coach, and longevity advocate who has spent four decades transforming people's understanding of aging. As creator of The Longevity Roadmap, she translates cutting-edge research into practical frameworks. A graduate of Colgate University with Master's degrees in gerontology and public administration from USC, Waxman is an advisor to the Stanford Center on Longevity and Stanford Lifestyle Medicine. Her insights have been featured on "CBS This Morning," in The Wall Street Journal, and across national media. She is a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and author of The Middlescence Manifesto. Michael Krasny is a literary critic, scholar, and broadcast journalist. He is the author of many books, including Off Mike, Spiritual Envy, and Let There Be Laughter; the co-author of Sound Ideas; and the creator and presenter of the audio lecture series Masterpieces of Short Fiction. He is the host of "The Podcast Conversations With Krasny" and former host of "Forum" on KQED Radio. Organizer: Denise Michaud A Grownups Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a new perspective that could rewrite our understanding of where moral judgments come from, and may reveal how we can overcome the feelings of outrage that so often divide us. It’s easy to assume that liberals and conservatives have radically different moral foundations. Kurt Gray, author of Outraged, showcases the latest science to demonstrate that we all have the same moral mind—that everyone’s moral judgments stem from feeling threatened or vulnerable to harm. Although we almost all care about protecting ourselves and the vulnerable, conflict arises when we have different perceptions of harm. We get outraged when we disagree about who the “real” victim is, whether we’re talking about political issues, fights with our in-laws, or arguments on the playground. In laying out a new vision of our moral minds, Gray tackles three common myths that he says prevent people from understanding themselves and those around them. For a long time, it was commonly believed that our ancestors were apex predators. In reality, we were more hunted than hunter. This explains why our minds are hard-wired to perceive threats, and why we’re so preoccupied with danger. Gray also examines new research that finds that our moral judgments are based more on gut feelings of harm than on rational thought. We condemn acts that feel harmful. Finally, Gray refutes the idea that facts are the best way to bridge divides. In moral and political arguments, facts often fail to convince others of our point of view, since our moral judgments are based on our subjective beliefs not on our objective observations. Instead, sharing stories of personal suffering can help to create more common ground. Join us in-person as Gray takes us on an insightful tour of our moral minds, drawing on groundbreaking research and fascinating stories to provide a new explanation for our moral outrage, and unpacking how to best bridge divides. If you want to understand the morals of the “other side,” ask yourself a simple question—what harms do they see? This program is supported by the Civic Health Project. This program contains EXPLICIT language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How has consumer and business banking changed in 2025? What can we expect in the future? Tim Myers, president and chief executive officer at Bank of Marin, will take us through the challenges that financial institutions, businesses and consumers will face in 2025. Join us for this important discussion. Organizer: Frank Price An International Relations Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is hard to believe that February 12, 2025, marks the 21-year anniversary of when then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom sparked a ground-breaking civil rights movement by legalizing same-sex marriage. In doing so, he not only changed our nation’s views on life, love and marriage, but demonstrated the power of how a community can change discriminatory laws in its pursuit for equality. Join us for a timely anniversary celebration and special screening of the award-winning film "Pursuit of Equality." We will take a look back at the pivotal case as many members of the LGBTQ community enter 2025 questioning if their rights are protected under a new administration. Some are asking what it will take to continue the fight for equality. This program contains EXPLICIT language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From hurricanes on the East Coast to wildfires in LA, to floods in Vermont and storms in Texas, communities across the U.S. are facing a growing number of intense and devastating disasters. There are significant disparities in who has the means to evacuate during a disaster and who has the resources to rebuild once the storm has passed. Long after the immediate impact, the challenges continue, with many left to navigate a slow, complex, and often confusing recovery process. As the harsh reality of climate chaos sets in, how can we better integrate community mental health into the disaster recovery process to ensure that emotional and psychological needs are addressed alongside physical rebuilding? Guests: Adrienne Heinz, Clinical Research Psychologist, Stanford University School of Medicine Samantha Montano, Assistant Professor of Emergency Management, Massachusetts Maritime Academy; Author, “Disasterology: Dispatches from The Frontlines of the Climate Crisis” Ralph Hamlett, Alderman, Canton, North Carolina; Professor Emeritus of Political Communications, Brevard College Haley Geller, Photo stylist; Pasadena resident We’re excited to share two upcoming opportunities to see Climate One Live! On February 25, internationally recognized environmental and civil rights activist Catherine Coleman Flowers will join Climate One for a live conversation about the future of environmental justice. And on March 24, Google’s Chief Sustainability Officer Kate Brandt and Irina Raicu, Director of the Internet Ethics Program at the Markkula Center, will speak with Climate One about the development of sustainably powered artificial intelligence. Tickets to both shows are on sale through our website. Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today for just $5/month. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's our anniversary! In February 2012, Week to Week debuted, starting an ongoing community with civil discussions about sometimes heated topics. Join us in-person or online for the latest edition of our Week to Week political roundtable, and get set to talk about new leadership in San Francisco, DOGE and executive orders in Washington, and much more. Come early for a pre-program social hour with wine and light bites, then enjoy and learn as our panel of political experts explains what happened and what to expect, and answers your questions. See other upcoming Week to Week political roundtables, as well as audio and video of past Week to Week programs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Award-winning investigative journalist Charles Piller joins us in San Francisco for an in-depth look at what he says is a world of fraud, corruption, deceit, and greed that have set back important work on treating Alzheimer’s disease. Nearly seven million Americans live with Alzheimer’s, a tragedy that is projected to grow into a $1 trillion crisis by 2050. While families suffer and promises of pharmaceutical breakthroughs keep coming up short, investigative journalist Piller says that we’ve quite likely been walking the wrong path to finding a cure all along—led astray by a cabal of self-interested researchers, government accomplices, and corporate greed. Drawing on the work in his new book Doctored, Piller highlights a whistleblower—Vanderbilt professor Matthew Schrag—whose work exposed a massive scandal. Schrag alleged that a university lab led by a precocious young scientist and a Nobel Prize–rumored director delivered apparently falsified data at the heart of the leading hypothesis about the disease. From there, based on years of investigative reporting, Piller says he’s exposed a vast network of deceit and its players, all the way up to the FDA. He points to evidence that hundreds of important Alzheimer’s research papers are based on false data. In the process, he says even against a flood of money and influence, a determined cadre of scientific renegades have fought back to challenge the field’s institutional powers in service to science and the tens of thousands of patients who have been drawn into trials to test dubious drugs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all feel it—the distraction, the loss of focus, the addictive focus on the wrong things for too long. We bump into the zombies on their phones in the street, and sometimes they’re us. We stare in pity at the four people at the table in the restaurant, all on their phones, and then we feel the buzz in our pocket. Something has changed utterly: for most of human history, the boundary between public and private has been clear, at least in theory. Now, as MSNBC host and bestselling author Chris Hayes writes in The Siren’s Call, “With the help of a few tech firms, we basically tore it down in about a decade.” Hayes says “attention capitalism” has assaulted our minds and our hearts, and has reordered our politics and the very fabric of our society. He argues that we are in the midst of an epoch-defining transition whose only parallel is what happened to labor in the 19th century: attention has become a commodified resource extracted from us, and from which we are increasingly alienated. As Hayes writes, “Now our deepest neurological structures, human evolutionary inheritances, and social impulses are in a habitat designed to prey upon, to cultivate, distort, or destroy that which most fundamentally makes us human.” Join us in Silicon Valley to hear Chris Hayes discuss a single holistic framework that could wrest back control of our lives, our politics, and our future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The crisis of American Christianity has become a crisis for democracy, says award-winning journalist Jonathan Rauch. A lifelong atheist, he is warning that the waning of the church in this country is tied to the waning of our democracy. What happens to American democracy if Christianity is no longer able, or no longer willing, to perform the functions on which our constitutional order depends? In his provocative new book Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy, Rauch reckons candidly with both the shortcomings of secularism and the corrosion of Christianity. Rauch says the mainline church—which he calls “thin Christianity”—isn’t able to inspire and retain believers. Worse, he says a “Church of Fear” has distorted white evangelicalism in ways that violate the tenets of both Jesus and James Madison. What to do? For answers, Rauch looks to a new generation of religious thinkers, as well as to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has placed the Constitution at the heart of its spiritual teachings. Rauch addresses secular Americans who think Christianity can be abandoned, and Christian Americans who blame secular culture for their grievances. The two must work together, he argues, to confront our present crisis. He calls on Christians to recommit to the teachings of their faith that align with Madison, not MAGA, and to understand that liberal democracy, far from being oppressive, is uniquely protective of religious freedom. At the same time, he calls on secular liberals to understand that healthy religious institutions are crucial to the survival of the liberal state. Join us for a special online-only talk about mending the rift in American democracy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reject the default path, define your priorities, and achieve lasting happiness with this transformative guide to your dream life—that’s Sahil Bloom’s recipe for a life centered around five types of wealth. Bloom says that throughout your life, you’ve been slowly indoctrinated to believe that money is the only type of wealth; in reality, your wealthy life may involve money, but in the end, it will be defined by everything else. After three years of research, personal experimentation, and thousands of interviews across the globe, Bloom has created a groundbreaking blueprint to build your life around five types of wealth: time wealth, social wealth, mental wealth, physical wealth, and financial wealth. A life of true fulfillment engages all five types—working dynamically, in concert across the seasons of your journey. Through powerful storytelling, science-backed practices, and actionable insights, Bloom explores all of this in his book The 5 Types of Wealth. No matter where you are on your path—a recent graduate, new parent, midlife warrior, retiree, or anything in between—Bloom aims to help you act on your priorities to create an instant positive impact in your daily life, make better decisions, and design the life you’ve always dreamed of. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tension is high this time of year, personally and politically, and award-winning University of Michigan Professor Ethan Kross is in town for a special evening to help explore how emotions work and how we can manage them. An international speaker and bestselling author, his first book, Chatter, helped readers understand how to change the "voice" in our head. And now he returns with his new book, Shift, to help readers understand how emotions form, where they come from, and how we can regulate and master them. From our dinner tables at home to workplace conversations, emotional mastery can feel like a distant goal, but Kross says it's something we should all strive for. How can we learn to harness emotions as sources of powerful information? The term "emotional regulation" has now joined popular terminology, but what does it mean and how can we implement it at any age? Kross is joined by local celebrated psychology reporter Jenara Nerenberg, author of Divergent Mind and the forthcoming Trust Your Mind: Embracing Nuance in a World of Self-Silencing. About the SpeakersEthan Kross, Ph.D., is one of the world’s leading experts on emotion regulation. An award-­winning professor and international bestselling author in the University of Michigan’s top-­ranked Department of Psychology and its Ross School of Business, he is the director of the Emotion and Self-­Control Laboratory. Ethan has participated in policy discussion at the White House, spoken at Ted Talks and SXSW, and consulted with some of the world’s top executives and organizations. He has been interviewed about his research on "CBS Evening News," "Good Morning America," "Anderson Cooper Full Circle," and NPR’s "Morning Edition." His research has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The New England Journal of Medicine, and Science. His first book, Chatter, has been translated into more than 40 languages. Jenara Nerenberg is the bestselling author of Divergent Mind, hailed as "extraordinary, jaw-dropping" by Library Journal; she is an Aspen Ideas Brave New Idea speaker and the author of a second forthcoming book on the psychology of groupthink. A celebrated writer covering the intersection of psychology and society, Jenara's work has been featured in the UC Berkeley Science Center's Greater Good magazine, Fast Company magazine, CNN, NPR, BBC and elsewhere. Nerenberg speaks widely on social science topics, including at universities, libraries, companies and organizations around the world. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley and the Harvard School of Public Health; she grew up in San Francisco and, as a millennial, can now be found on Instagram. Organizer: Denise Michaud A Grownups Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Phoenicians were the most civilized people of the Near East and the greatest businessmen and conduits of culture of the ancient world (e.g., they gave us all the alphabet). Their expansion westward across the Mediterranean, driven by the trade in metal ore, is told in myth, archaeology, and the accounts of the people they impacted (including the Berbers, Etruscans, Greeks and Romans). The Phoenician settlement at Carthage (modern Tunisia) soon became the most powerful and cultured city of the western Mediterranean, their ships dominating trade routes. Conflict thus became inevitable with the Etruscans, Greeks and Romans, which culminated in the three Punic Wars. In the Second Punic War, Hannibal terrorized the Romans like no other enemy they had ever encountered, but in the end the Romans erased Carthage entirely. Yet Carthage remains eternal: in myth, painting, literature and grand opera. Hannibal, Rome’s Nightmare Patrick Hunt will describe how Hannibal, the great Carthaginian general, weaponized nature—making Roman armies cross icy streams, and face fog and dust storms, in his almost two decade war against Rome in Italy starting in 218 BC. Brilliantly defeating multiple Roman legions even when outnumbered, Hannibal’s flexible craftiness and ability to get in the minds of his enemy, by employing a staggering arsenal of tactics, are still admired and emulated in modern warfare. It is likely that Roman legions would never have conquered their empire had Hannibal not first schooled Rome in his methods of professional warfare. Even Machiavelli created his famous dictum “better to be feared than loved” based on Hannibal. So it is fatefully ironic that the general who won so many battles, but could not win the war, only wanted Rome to leave Carthage alone. Hannibal’s policies ultimately failed when the Romans totally obliterated Carthage in 146 BC. Legendary Carthage Douglas Kenning will illustrate how mythology expresses in narrative the varied ways a people understand themselves and their world. In the case of Carthage we began with the Rape of Europa, which led to the stories of Phoenix and Cadmus, which led to the stories of the Phoenician princess Elissa, which led to the story of Dido and Aeneas as told by Virgil. Few mythic cycles were as important as this one in ancient times, being fundamental to any understanding of Carthaginian values and behavior (e.g., Hannibal casting himself as Hercules) and how the Romans viewed their international role and their foreign policy. And for this reason, few mythic cycles are as important across subsequent Western arts, especially painting and music. Organizer: George Hammond The Commonwealth Club of California is a nonprofit public forum; we welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our programming. A Humanities Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. Commonwealth Club World Affairs is a public forum. Any views expressed in our programs are those of the speakers and not of Commonwealth Club World Affairs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At this moment, the cheapest way to create electricity is by pointing a solar panel at the sun. That’s good news for the climate. It’s also good news for communities who want to take control of their own electricity generation. In the heart of Brooklyn, UPROSE is helping to build a solar project that will be owned by the community, provide jobs, and help residents bring down their energy costs. In Puerto Rico, where hurricanes have devastated the power grid, community members are building solar microgrids to provide reliable electricity as the utility has proven they cannot. Meanwhile in conservative rural Virginia, Energy Right is helping farmers and rural communities adopt solar projects, touting a free market message about energy independence and security. Guests: Elizabeth Yeampierre, Attorney; Executive Director, UPROSE Skyler Zunk, CEO and Founder, Energy Right Arturo Massol-Deyá, Executive Director, Casa Pueblo de Adjuntas We’re excited to share two upcoming opportunities to see Climate One Live! On February 25, internationally recognized environmental and civil rights activist Catherine Coleman Flowers will join Climate One for a live conversation about the future of environmental justice. And on March 24, Google’s Chief Sustainability Officer Kate Brandt and Irina Raicu, Director of the Internet Ethics Program at the Markkula Center, will speak with Climate One about the development of sustainably powered artificial intelligence. Tickets to both shows are on sale through our website. Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today for just $5/month. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joan Baez returns to Commonwealth Club World Affairs nearly 45 years after she came here to discuss “Human Rights in the Eighties.” She's coming back not for a performance but for an in-depth talk about her personal thoughts and life experiences—the person behind the stardom. Baez has been writing poetry for decades, but she’s never before shared it publicly. Now in her book of poems When You See My Mother: Ask Her to Dance Baez shares poems about her contemporaries (such as Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, and Jimi Hendrix), reflections from her childhood, personal thoughts, and cherished memories of her family, including pieces about her younger sister, singer-songwriter Mimi Fariña. Speaking to the people, places, and moments that have had the greatest impact on her art, this collection is an inspiring personal diary in the form of poetry. Join us in-person to hear her discuss how, for the first time ever, she has shared revealing pivotal life experiences that shaped an icon, offering a never-before-seen look into the reminiscences and musings of a great artist. Note: This podcast contains explicit language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than a century of civil rights activism reached a mountaintop with the arrival of a Black man in the Oval Office. But hopes for a unified, post-racial America were deflated when Barack Obama’s presidency met with furious opposition. A white, right-wing backlash was brewing, and a volcanic new movement—a second civil rights movement—began to erupt. In the highly anticipated follow-up to his Eyes on the Prize, bestselling author Juan Williams turns his attention to the rise of a new 21st-century civil rights movement. In New Prize for These Eyes, Williams shines a light on this historic, new movement. Who are its heroes? Where is it headed? What fires, furies, and frustrations distinguish it from its predecessor? In the 20th century, Black activists and their white allies called for equal rights and an end to segregation. They appealed to the Declaration of Independence’s defiant assertion that “all men are created equal.” They prioritized legal battles in the courtroom and legislative victories in Congress. Today’s movement is dealing with new realities. Demographic changes have placed progressive whites in a new role among the largest, youngest population of Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians in the nation’s history. Williams says the new generation is social media savvy, and they have an agenda fueled by discontent with systemic racism and the persistent scourge of police brutality. Today’s activists are making history in a new economic and cultural landscape, and they are using a new set of tools and strategies to do so. Join us as Williams traces the arc of this new civil rights era, from Obama to Charlottesville to January 6th and a Confederate flag in the Capitol. It’s more than a recounting of history. Williams offers a forward-looking call to action, urging Americans to get in touch with the progress made and hurdles yet to be overcome. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The advent of artificial intelligence has spawned numerous nightmare scenarios of a runaway technology negatively affecting everything from jobs to national security to individual rights. Now Reid Hoffman shares his unique insider’s perspective on an AI-powered future, making the case for its potential to unlock a world of possibilities. Imagine AI tutors personalizing education for each child, researchers rapidly discovering cures for diseases like Alzheimer's and cancer, and AI advisors empowering people to navigate complex systems and achieve their goals. In his new book Superagency, Hoffman and co-author Greg Beato envision a world where these possibilities, and many more, become a reality. They offer a roadmap for using AI inclusively and adaptively to improve our lives and create positive change. While acknowledging challenges like disinformation and potential job changes, the book focuses on AI’s immense potential to increase individual agency and create better outcomes for society as a whole. Join us as Hoffman challenges conventional fears, inviting us to view the future through a lens of opportunity, rather than fear. It’s a call to action—to embrace AI with excitement and actively shape a world where human ingenuity and the power of AI combine to create something extraordinary. NOTE: This podcast contains explicit language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Ukraine is like porcelain, easy to break yet impossible to destroy.” —Slava Leontyev Join us for a Q&A with the co-director and the producer. Under roaring fighting jets as war ravages their homeland, three artists—Slava, Anya and Andrey—stay behind in their native Ukraine, defiantly finding beauty amid destruction. Armed with art, cameras and—for the first time in their lives—guns, they show that while it’s easy to frighten people, it’s harder to destroy their passion for living. Nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature, Porcelain War has already won the 2024 Sundance Grand Jury Prize. The film is a stunning tribute to the resilience of the human spirit, embodying the enduring hope and passion of ordinary people living through extraordinary circumstances. From the Academy Award-winning producer of The Cove and the Emmy Award-winning producer of Chasing Ice, and the team behind the Grammy Award-winning Quincy, Porcelain War is one of the most decorated documentary features of 2024. We will have a discussion with co-director Slava Leontyev and producer Paula DuPré Pesmen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us to learn about scientific achievements that might give you and your loved ones access to transformational treatment options today or in the near future. Maybe you've heard about CRISPR gene editing or stem cell therapy in the headlines—now you can find out what these and other technologies really mean for you. Can you imagine if your cells could be taken from a simple blood draw, reprogrammed in a lab dish, then infused back into your body to cure heart disease, treat Alzheimer’s, or shrink a cancer tumor? Or if a simple infusion could rewrite your genetic code to cure a DNA-driven disease? These scenarios may sound like science fiction, but such advances are happening now—forever changing our perspective of disease. No longer must we accept a dire health condition; we have the tools and technology to actually solve it for good. We encourage you to attend in-person so you can join us for a post-event wine and cheese reception, where you’ll have the chance to mingle with Dr. Deepak Srivastava and other world-recognized Gladstone scientists who are dedicated to overcoming disease. Organizer: Robert Lee Kilpatrick A Health & Medicine Member-led Forum program. Forums and Chapters at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When individuals want to take action on climate, it’s often in the form of electrifying a home, voting, or maybe even traditional activism. Those are very important, but we often overlook how individual skills and talents can also make a difference. This week we’re highlighting creative forms of climate action. Pattie Gonia is a drag queen, environmentalist and advocate for inclusivity and diversity in the outdoors who struts their message through national parks, in Pride events, and through the halls of Congress. Mike Roberts and Will Hammond Jr. wrote a sultry R&B song that will change the way you think about heat pumps… and an equally stimulating song about the power of geothermal energy. Together, they remind us that we don’t always have to take ourselves too seriously in order for our work to be meaningful and have impact. Guests: Pattie Gonia, Drag queen; Environmentalist Mike Roberts, Musician; Climate advocate Will Hammond Jr., Educator; Musician On February 25, internationally recognized environmental and civil rights activist Catherine Coleman Flowers will join Climate One for a live conversation about the future of environmental justice. Join us at noon in San Francisco for a can’t-miss show. Tickets are now available! Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today for just $5/month. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads Pattie Gonia image credit Mitchell Overton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Walter E. Hoadley Annual Economic Forecast, presented by Bank of America. Major changes are coming to tax, tariff, and regulatory policy in the wake of the November 2024 election. What impact will the new administration and Congress have on the economy in 2025? Will inflation be a big factor? How will our international trade fare? And will unemployment and consumer spending continue on their current paths? Our expert panel—including John H. Cochrane, the Rose-Marie and Jack Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution; Mary Daly, the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; Susan Hyde, Robson Professor in the Travers Department of Political Science and co-director of the Institute of International Studies at UC Berkeley; Baie Netzer, senior investment strategist for Bank of America Private Bank; Adam Lashinsky, editor-at-large for The San Francisco Standard and contributing columnist for The Washington Post (moderator)—will give you insight to help you better understand the trends, policies, dangers and opportunities that lie ahead for your business and your wallet in 2025. Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California is a nonprofit public forum; we welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our programming. This event is underwritten by Bank of America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a thought-provoking conversation about technology and humanity with Silicon Valley Read’s featured authors Charlee Dyroff (Loneliness & Company), Dr. Fei-Fei Li (The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI), and Ray Nayler (The Mountain in the Sea). Attendees are invited to come early to see two robot dogs and visit the Euphrat Museum of Art, for their special exhibit where artists will be showcased around the theme "Encoding Empathy." Hosted by Santa Clara County Library District, Santa Clara County Office of Education, San José Public Library, and DeAnza College. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The second Trump administration has hit the ground running. The president has signed a flurry of executive orders targeting everything from birthright citizenship to pulling out of the Paris Climate Accords. This is a far different moment from the first Trump term. The president is more focused, his team is more focused, and energy policy is at the top of their action list. However, the renewable energy market is also much more mature, and the transition away from fossil fuels has been accelerated by three major climate-related bills passed during the Biden years. In this new political and economic landscape, how do climate advocates need to think and act differently to sustain progress? Guests: Dana R. Fisher, Director of the Center for Environment, Community, and Equity & Professor, School of International Service, American University Nathaniel Stinnett, Founder and Executive Director, Environmental Voter Project Arnab Datta, Director of Infrastructure Policy, Institute for Progress On February 25, internationally recognized environmental and civil rights activist Catherine Coleman Flowers will join Climate One for a live conversation about the future of environmental justice. Join us at noon in San Francisco for a can’t-miss show. Tickets are on sale now through our website. Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today for just $5/month. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Chinese have a saying, or perhaps a curse: "May you live in interesting times." From Taiwan to Ukraine, the Middle East and now Greenland, Canada, the Panama Canal and the Gulf of Mexico—from existing conflicts and perhaps soon-to-be conflicts, these are interesting times we find ourselves living in. Who better to help us understand and navigate through the swirling news and events in the dawning of the new Trumpian Age than Professor Casimir Yost from the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and a senior fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. We hope you can join us on Thursday, January 23, at 5.30 p.m. at Commonwealth Club World Affairs in San Francisco as our chair Dr. Kalidip Choudhury engages with Professor Yost to shed light on the conflicts we can and cannot expect in the age of Trump. About the Speaker Casimir Yost is a senior fellow in the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy and teaches in the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. From 2009 to 2013. Yost served on the National Intelligence Council (NIC), where he directed the Strategic Futures Group and its predecessor, the Long Range Analysis Unit. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and on the Board of Directors of the American Ditchley Foundation. Organizer: Kalidip Choudhury The Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public forum; we welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our programming. An Asia-Pacific Affairs Member-led Forum program. Forums and chapters at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. Commonwealth Club World Affairs is a public forum. Any views expressed in our programs are those of the speakers and not of Commonwealth Club World Affairs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, from predictive analytics to advanced data systems, has emerged as a catalyst for innovation. Yet, the criminal justice system lags decades behind, as more than 3,000 counties in the United States continue to rely on outdated and manual case management systems, making the path to justice far from linear. This technological gap means that while other sectors move forward, many parts of the criminal justice system continue to struggle with inefficiencies and disparities that hinder true progress. Imagine a world where communities have access to the reliable data they need to create change and drive informed, fair decision-making; a world where AI bridges gaps and promotes transparency. But there’s a crucial question: How can we ensure this powerful tool closes the equity gap instead of widening it? The stakes are high, and ethical implementation is key. Despite the United States investing billions annually in policing, courts and corrections, outdated technologies and lack of access to high-quality data have often deepened existing disparities. If we—as a collective of public and private sectors, communities, and institutions—incorporate AI thoughtfully, we can catapult ourselves into a world where the criminal justice system is fully transparent, accessible and accountable to the people it serves. The technological gap in the criminal justice system is significant, impacting not just efficiency, but fairness and equity. Embracing new technologies—such as AI, public facing dashboards, and modern case management systems—can enhance transparency, and rebuild public trust. Addressing these challenges is crucial for creating more effective and equitable criminal justice systems nationwide. Join Amy Bach (Measures for Justice), Raffi Krikorian (Emerson Collective) and Tom Kalil (Renaissance Philanthropy) as we explore these opportunities and discuss the role of AI in reshaping a justice system that is fair, transparent, and accountable for all. Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California is a nonprofit public forum; we welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our programming. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The wildfires ravaging Los Angeles have caused incredible destruction — loss of life, thousands of homes and businesses gone or damaged and hundreds of thousands of people displaced. While the scale and speed of these fires may feel unprecedented, the dry, fire-prone foothills around LA burn often. Yet increasingly we see wildfires spurred by climate factors including warmer temperatures and weather whiplash — cycles of heavy precipitation followed by extreme drought. This week we hear what climate science says about current and future wildfire risk and about ways to support an equitable recovery from such destructive urban disasters. Guests: Moira Morel, Cinematographer; Altadena resident Hugh Safford, Research faculty, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, UC Davis Andrew Rumbach, Senior Fellow, Urban Institute Nick Mott, Multimedia journalist; Author of “This Is Wildfire” On February 25, internationally recognized environmental and civil rights activist Catherine Coleman Flowers will join Climate One for a live conversation about the future of environmental justice. Join us at noon in San Francisco for a can’t-miss show. Tickets are on sale now through our website. Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today for just $5/month. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did the billionaire businessman Jimmy Lai become one of Hong Kong’s leading activists for democracy—and China’s most famous political prisoner today? Jimmy Lai escaped mainland China when he was 12 years old, at the height of a famine that killed tens of millions. In Hong Kong, he hustled; no work was beneath him, and he often slept on a table in a clothing factory where he did odd jobs. At 21, he was running a factory. By his mid-twenties, he owned one and was supplying sweaters and shirts to some of the biggest brands in the United States, from Polo to The Limited. His ideas about retail led him to create Giordano in 1981, and with it “fast fashion.” A restless entrepreneur, as Giordano prepared to go public, he was thinking about a dining concept that would disrupt Hong Kong’s fast-food industry. But then came the Tiananmen Square democracy protest and the massacre of 1989. His reaction to the violence was to enter the media business to push China toward more freedoms. He started a magazine, Next, to advocate for democracy in Hong Kong. Then, just two years before the city was to return to Chinese control, he founded the Apple Daily newspaper. Its mix of bold graphics, gossip, local news, and opposition to the Chinese Communist Party was an immediate hit. For more than two decades, Lai used Apple and Next as part of a personal push for democracy—in weekly columns, at rallies and marches, and, memorably, sitting in front of a tent during the 2014 Occupy Central movement. Lai also took his activism abroad, traveling frequently to Washington, where he was well known in Congress and in political circles. China reacted with fury in 2019 when he met with Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. A draconian new security law came into effect in Hong Kong in mid-2020, effectively making free speech a crime and censorship a fact. Lai was its most important target. Apple Daily was raided on August 10, 2020. He was arrested and held without bail before being convicted of trumped-up charges ranging from lighting a candle (“incitement to riot”) to violating a clause in his company’s lease (“fraud”). At the end of 2023, a lengthy trial began alleging “collusion with foreign forces” and printing seditious materials. China’s most famous political prisoner has been in jail for more than 1,100 days and could spend the rest of his life there. Join us to hear from Mark Clifford, author of The Troublemaker, and learn all about the billionaire behind bars. This program is generously supported by the Ken and Jaclyn Broad Family Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California faces an urgent housing crisis: Median home prices are double the national average and while in 2016 it was projected that the state needed to build 3.5 million new homes by 2025 to meet demand, just one quarter of those have even been permitted. Is building new cities from scratch the solution—or is it just a Silicon Valley pipe dream? Join us for an eye-opening fireside chat with Gabe Metcalf, head of planning at California Forever, exploring why he sees greenfield development, rather than infill alone, as our best shot at addressing the housing crisis. Drawing upon years in his previous role as CEO of SPUR and now leading urban planning for California Forever’s controversial East Solano Plan—a proposed, VC-backed new city in Solano County—Metcalf will discuss why he believes that cities are humankind’s greatest invention and why building walkable, compact communities must become a normal form of development. Is it time to rethink our approach to building mass housing or will hurdles mean new cities never break ground? An essential discussion for residents, urban planners, environmental advocates and anyone invested in the Bay Area’s housing future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If we include personal cars, along with appliances like water heaters, stoves and furnaces, more than 40 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from individuals at the home level. The good news: no matter where you live, there are steps you can take to make your home cleaner, healthier and more comfortable. And thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, there’s now a raft of federal incentives to help homeowners electrify their lives. Electrification has even become a theme on long running home improvement programs like “This Old House.” But with all the new technology and the federal tax credits, where to start? Guests: Ross Trethewey, Home Technology Expert, “This Old House” Ari Matusiak, Co-founder, President and CEO, Rewiring America Edith Buhs, Electrification Coach, Rewiring America; Decarbonization Advisor, Abode Energy Management Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today for just $5/month. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do we live with fire? Join us for a talk about stewardship, resilience and hope. Fire is an essential part of California's ecology. Humans have been using it to shape the California landscape for thousands of years. But today many Californians' relationship to fire is one of fear. Obi Kaufmann, author of the best-selling California Field Atlas, now asks: How do we live with fire? What makes fire essential to a healthy and biodiverse Golden State, and how do we benefit from its teachings? With the same solution-minded ethic as his much-admired The State of Water: Understanding California's Most Precious Resource, Kaufmann presents fire as a force of regeneration rather than apocalypse. He considers the long history of ecological burns, the varied ways fire behaves across the state, and the lessons we can learn from California's largest fires of recent decades. Organizer Andrew Dudley A People & Nature Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How interdependent were the Northern industrial economy and Southern slave labor in pre-Civil War America? Historian and Brown University history professor Seth Rockman says the traditional way of thinking about the United States in the early 19th century—that of a nation with an industrializing North and agricultural South—overlooks the economic ties that held together the nation before the Civil War. He says it misses slavery’s long reach into small New England communities, and it fails to recognize the role of Northern manufacturing in shaping the terrain of human bondage in the South. Rockman, in his new book Plantation Goods, looks at the shirts, hats, hoes, shovels, shoes, axes, and whips made in the North for use in the South. By following the stories of material objects, such as shoes made by Massachusetts farm women that found their way to the feet of a Mississippi slave, Rockman says it was a national economy organized by slavery—a slavery that outsourced the production of its supplies to the North, and a North that outsourced its slavery to the South. Examining producers and consumers linked in economic and moral relationships across great geographic and political distances, Rockman explores how people in the 19th century thought about complicity with slavery while showing how slavery structured life nationwide and established a modern world of entrepreneurship and exploitation. Organizer: George Hammond A Humanities Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lessons learned from former community-oriented department heads, a civil rights attorney and a former controller who has ideas about making the city more flexible and responsive. About the Speakers Margaret Brodkin is one of the nation’s leading children’s advocates. She was the executive director of Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth for 26 years, leading systems change work in juvenile justice and social welfare, budget advocacy, and parent and youth organizing. In 2004, she was appointed by Mayor Newsom as the director of the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (DCYF), where she developed innovative models for coordination, partnerships, service delivery, policy and civic engagement. Sheryl Davis is a passionate advocate for equity, and educational opportunity. Davis is the creator of Everybody Reads, a summer learning, family literacy and reading development initiative centering BIPOC youth. Throughout her career and many roles, she has continued to design programs and curriculum centered around social justice, racial equity, student wellness and achievement. Davis is an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco and senior advisor at the Institute for Race, Power and Political Economy at The New School. Ed Harrington was controller for the City and County of San Francisco from 1991 to 2008 and the general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission from 2008 to 2012. During that time he was also chair of the Water Utility Climate Alliance, president of the Government Finance Officers Association and a member of the Financial Accounting Foundation Board. Since his retirement Harrington has worked extensively with governmental and nonprofit organizations. He is on the boards of SPUR and the Children’s Funding Project and is an adviser to California’s Funding the Next Generation. Saidah Leatutufu-Burch, Ed.D. (“Dr. Sai”) is a Black and Indigenous Samoan organizer, cultural orator, and a dedicated disruptor of anti-Black racism and systems rooted in white supremacist ideology. A daughter of San Francisco, Dr. Sai values racial equity, justice, and the power of the people. Most recently, Dr. Sai served as the director of the Dream Keeper Initiative at the San Francisco Human Rights Commission—a $60 million-annual effort aimed at advancing prosperity, equity and community well-being across San Francisco’s diverse Black communities. Passionate, outspoken and insightful, Areva Martin is an award-winning civil rights attorney, national bestselling author and one of the country's leading influencers shaping public discourse on issues of race, politics and the law. She is the founder and managing partner of Martin & Martin, LLP, one of Los Angeles’ premier Black, female-owned law firms. She is one of the nation’s leading attorneys on reparations and restorative justice. Areva is an on-air legal commentator and host of the daily news and opinion streaming and radio talk show "Areva Martin in Real Time" on KBLA. Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California is a nonprofit public forum; we welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our online programming. This program contains EXPLICIT language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every year we highlight the work of a scientist who excels in communicating their work to the world. Climate One is delighted to present the 2024 Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication to political scientist and energy expert Leah Stokes. Her rare ability to communicate complex information to both academic audiences and the general public has established her as one of the most influential voices in climate action and clean energy policy. “What I've started to think about is not how can I make my impact as small as possible, like a carbon footprint, trying to shrink, but actually how can I make my impact as big as possible by joining with others in campaigns to try to change policies and laws so that we're not just trying to make marginal, incremental improvements on a fossil fuel-based energy system, but actually change the system towards clean electricity,” she says. Guests: Leah Stokes, Anton Vonk Associate Professor at UC Santa Barbara; Senior Policy Advisor, Rewiring America; Co-host of the podcast “A Matter of Degrees” Rebecca Solnit, Author, journalist, and activist Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today for just $5/month. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When most people hear the phrase renewable energy, they imagine fields full of solar panels or giant spinning wind turbines. But another source may be heating up: geothermal. Twenty years ago, it was thought that geothermal could provide at most 10% of any given area’s electricity, and only in very limited regions. There were also environmental concerns about depleting groundwater. But new technological advances may have unlocked the potential for scalable geothermal energy just about anywhere. And in a bit of irony, those technological advances came from the oil and gas industry. This episode originally aired February 23, 2024, and features content from contributing producer David Condos. Guests: Amanda Kolker, Laboratory Program Manager for Geoscience and Geothermal Technologies, NREL Jamie Beard, Founder of Project InnerSpace Lauren McLean, Mayor of Boise Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today for just $5/month. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plastics are everywhere. And while we’ve known for a long time that plastics and our environment aren’t a good mix, it's becoming apparent that they’re massive climate polluters too. The production of plastics alone produces about 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. After what is often a single use, the resulting waste continues releasing the greenhouse gasses ethylene and methane as it breaks apart. Yet, as petrochemical companies pay lip service ending fuel production, they are pouring resources into plastics production. How do we wrap up our reliance on plastics? This episode originally aired on May 10, 2024, following the fourth negotiating session of the Global Plastics Treaty. This update includes a new interview with David Azoulay on the latest treaty negotiations. Guests: Diane Wilson, Founder and Director, San Antonio Bay Waterkeeper Jane Patton, U.S. Fossil Economy Campaign Manager, Center for International Environmental Law Susannah Scott, Professor of Chemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara David Azoulay, Director of Environmental Health, Center for International Environmental Law Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today! For show notes and related links, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The internet stands accused of dividing us, spying on us, making us stupid, and addicting our children. In response, the press and panicked politicians seek greater regulation and control, which some fear could ruin the web before we are finished building it. Jeff Jarvis is convinced we can have a saner conversation about the internet. Examining the web’s past, present and future, he says that many of the problems the media lays at the internet’s door are the result of our own failings. The internet did not make us hate; we brought our bias, bigotry and prejudice with us online. That’s why even well-intentioned regulation will fail to fix hate speech and misinformation and may instead imperil the freedom of speech the internet affords to all. Jarvis says that once we understand the internet for what it is—a human network—we can reclaim it from the nerds, pundits, and pols who are in charge now and turn our attention where it belongs: to fostering community, conversation,and creativity online. Join us as he comes to Commonwealth Club World Affairs and discusses these issues, raised in his new book The Web We Weave. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for our celebratory year-end Michelle Meow Show special. We'll start with a conversation with local photographer/artist Harry Williams, who photographs the people of San Francisco. We'll explore human connections and how community engagement can preserve our dignity and compassion for each other. We'll end our program with a special performance by SNOWW. Then stick around for a fun reception and holiday cheer. About the Speaker Harry Williams says his work "is rooted in capturing the resilience and humanity of marginalized communities, presenting them in a way that commands attention and challenges perceptions." He spent more than a year photographing on the corner of Jones and Ellis Streets in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, a neighborhood known for its abundance of single-occupancy residence (SOR) housing and its association with drugs and crime. "This body of work speaks to more than one community; it reflects a reality familiar to cities and small towns alike, where certain neighborhoods undergo shifts that can displace the people who have long called them home. As these areas change, often becoming less accessible to those who built their lives there, a profound cultural and personal loss occurs. . . . Through these images, I seek to preserve the spirit and stories of these communities, highlighting their strength and significance in ways that demand respect and remembrance. Ultimately, I hope that these monumental images confront viewers with both the beauty and strength of communities often sidelined, making space for empathy, connection, and reflection." SNOWW is a celebrated Chinese artist whose talents span electronic music production, DJing, singing, and songwriting. She is the founder of Fake Gentle and The Hormones bands, as well as the creative force behind the E-Motion label. With her distinctive musical style and a keen ear for melody, SNOWW has emerged as an influential figure in the contemporary electronic music scene. In SNOWW’s musical universe, the vast electronic soundscapes resonate like a storm of snow, seamlessly intertwining with her warm and evocative voice. Her work combines elements of Deep House, Chillwave, and classical music, crafting an immersive listening experience that feels both intimate and expansive. Her music takes listeners on a dreamlike journey, reflecting the harmony between the digital and natural worlds. As a devoted advocate for melody, SNOWW infuses her compositions with rich and intricate emotional layers. She brings a unique perspective to electronic and rock music, continually exploring diverse sound elements in her creations. In 2021 and 2022, SNOWW was invited to perform at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival for two consecutive years in its online showcases. The Commonwealth Club thanks Gilead Sciences, Inc. for its generous support of The Michelle Meow Show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us in-person or online for the holiday special edition of our Week to Week political roundtable. We'll do a year-end wrap-up of political news, just one month after one of the most epochal elections in recent history. It's an understatement to note that we have many things to discuss—a new mayor in San Francisco, a new administration and Congress in Washington, a new political environment all around. Be around other politically interested citizens and we'll all examine what has changed, what hasn't, and maybe what should. Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California is a nonprofit public forum; we welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our online programming. See other upcoming Week to Week political roundtables, as well as audio and video of past Week to Week programs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2024 set new records for extreme heat around the world in what is already the warmest decade on record. According to the World Meteorological Organization, sea-level rise and ocean heating are accelerating along with the loss of ice from glaciers. We continue to see extreme weather of all kinds wreak havoc on communities across the world. In spite of the growing disruption, countries continue to miss their self-imposed climate targets. And in November, the U.S. re-elected Donald Trump to the presidency, a move that will almost certainly slow the transition to cleaner forms of energy. And yet, the transition continues. As the year winds down, Climate One hosts Greg Dalton and Ariana Brocious look back upon recent climate progress and pitfalls and revisit some of our most illuminating interviews of 2024. Guests: Karen Hao, Contributing Writer, The Atlantic Shelley Welton, Presidential Distinguished Professor of Law and Energy Policy, University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law and the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy Justin J. Pearson, District 86 State Representative, Tennessee General Assembly Aja Barber, Author, “Consumed: The Need for Collective Change: Colonialism, Climate Change and Consumerism” Jamie Beard, founder of Project InnerSpace Mitzi Jonelle Tan, Climate Justice Activist Tzeporah Berman, Chair, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty John Morales, Hurricane Specialist, WTVJ NBC6 Miami Rob Bonta, Attorney General of California Emily Raboteau, Author, “Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against ‘the Apocalypse’” Jane Goodall, Ethologist, conservationist Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today for just $5/month. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his final book, the late Henry Kissinger joined forces with two leading technologists to mount “a profound exploration” (says Walter Isaacson) of the epochal challenges and opportunities presented by the revolution in artificial intelligence—a breakthrough that they believe dramatically empowers people in all walks of life while also raising urgent questions about the future of humanity. Kissinger and his coauthors, technologists Craig Mundie and Eric Schmidt, argue that as AI absorbs data, gains agency, and intermediates between humans and reality, it will help us to address enormous crises, from climate change to geopolitical conflicts to income inequality. It might well solve some of the greatest mysteries of our universe and elevate the human spirit to unimaginable heights. But it will also pose challenges on a scale and of an intensity that we have never seen—usurping our power of independent judgment and action, testing our relationship with the divine, and perhaps even spurring a new phase in human evolution. Join us in person or online for this in-depth talk between Mundie and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, about charting a course between blind faith and unjustified fear while navigating the age of AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recent headline news, actor Simu Liu called out a boba tea company for cultural appropriation saying “There’s an issue of taking something that’s very distinctly Asian in its identity and quote-unquote ‘making it better.’” The comment generated a lot of feedback from consumers who then chimed in to add their thoughts on what cultural appropriation, especially in food, actually means. Join us for a lively discussion with Bay Area brand founders on what their thoughts are on cultural appropriation. See more Michelle Meow Show programs at Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For over a century, coal fueled much of the country and served as the economic backbone for many rural communities. But with the rise of more affordable wind and solar energy, coal is in decline, leaving these towns increasingly vulnerable. As jobs disappear, coal-dependent communities are faced with the threat of economic collapse and depopulation. To adapt, many are working to diversify their economies, seeking new industries and opportunities for the future. Today, we’ll visit coal communities across the country, where locals and leaders are actively exploring ways to rebuild and ensure no one is left behind in the energy transition. This episode also features field reporting from Climate One and Caitlin Tan of Wyoming Public Media on the transition from coal to nuclear power in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Guests: Chris Levesque, CEO, TerraPower Brian Muir, Kemmerer City Administrator Tony Skrelunas, Executive Director of the Division of Economic Development, Navajo Nation Mike Eisenfeld, Energy and Climate Program Manager, San Juan Citizens Alliance Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today for just $5/month. For show notes and related links, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Humanities West and the Italian Cultural Institute celebrate the life and art of Giacomo Puccini (December 22, 1858 to November 29, 1924) on the 100th anniversary of his death. His operas La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Turandot are among the most beloved and most often-recorded operas of all time. His arias are famous for both their emotional resonance and their melodic beauty—even among millions who have never listened to a complete opera. Puccini was born into a centuries-old family of Italian composers, and he began his successful career just as Verdi was completing his, quickly inheriting Verdi’s renown as the greatest living composer of Italian opera. We have brought the internationally praised scholar and musicologist Gabriele Dotto from Italy to share the stage with San Francisco Opera’s favorite Kip Cranna to tell some of the stories behind the composition of Puccini’s heavenly arias. Giacomo Puccini and the Impact of Early 20th Century Media Gabriele Dotto will trace the rapid rise of sound recordings and film as competitors for opera theaters and the traditional business of music publishers. Puccini and his publisher, Casa Ricordi, demonstrated an extraordinary combination of artistic creation and commercial activity, using new and efficient strategies to market Casa Ricordi’s opera repertoire to a globally expanding audience and “branding” Puccini as the publishing house’s most iconic composer. Puccini Before Fame: The Composer in His Youth Clifford (Kip) Cranna will discuss Puccini’s boyhood experiences, his musical training and his operatic influences. Cranna will demonstrate that some of the music Puccini wrote as a student was eventually recycled in his later operas. He will also concentrate on Puccini’s first two operas, the rarely performed Le Villi and Edgar, which were composed before his first big hit Manon Lescaut—the beginning of his enduring fame and operatic stardom. OrganizerGeorge Hammond A Humanities Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. In association with Humanities West and the Italian Cultural Institute Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nathan Law was a leader of Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution when he was still only 21 years old. By the age of 23, he was the youngest lawmaker ever elected in the history of Hong Kong. By the age of 26, he was “Most Wanted” under the government’s National Security Law. Join us for a screening of Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law? followed by a Q&A with Nathan Law (participating remotely) and director Joe Piscatella, and learn more about the courage, resilience and youthful idealism of Nathan Law, a young man who mortgages his own future to try to save his home. As a college freshman, shy Nathan Law discovers an identity in activism. As one of the organizers of a student strike demanding that Hong Kong be allowed to elect its own leader (something promised to them back in 1998), Law leads five days of student boycotts with a message of peaceful civil disobedience. When the strike suddenly becomes the Umbrella Revolution, Law is unexpectedly thrust into a leadership role that shuts down Hong Kong for 79 days and captures the attention of the world. When the movement falters, the government charges Law for his role in the Umbrella Revolution, but his entire generation in Hong Kong has been awoken. Riding the enthusiasm of the student movement he helped spark, Law makes the impossible transition from protest leader to elected official, becoming the youngest lawmaker in Hong Kong’s history, where he continues his fight for democracy from inside the government. Fearful of his message gaining traction beyond students, the government disqualifies Law on a technicality and sends him to jail. As Hong Kong continues to see the erosion of its freedom, a new movement is launched. Whereas the Umbrella Revolution was driven by hope, this new movement is driven by desperation. Nathan’s message of civil disobedience is overshadowed by a new generation of protestors who no longer feel that peaceful demonstrations can save Hong Kong, As Hong Kong descends into the biggest political crisis in modern Chinese history, Nathan must decide his role and his future. Find out how it happened and what could happen next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meet this amazing group of people who help bring food to your and your neighbor’s tables. This interactive program will include delicious samples from Sway and Curtis Aikens plus a panel discussion. It will be a fun, informative event that might change how you view our Bay Area food system. Andy Naja-Riese, CEO of the Agricultural Institute of Marin County, will discuss how we can strengthen our local food system in a changing climate. Chef Curtis Aikens, a former host and founding chef of The Food Network, will explain the Marin City HEAL Collaborative CAT, its three food system priorities, and how that ties into farmers markets and food banks. Ms. Tanis Crosby will discuss the mission of the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank to end hunger with a commitment to equity, collaboration and community. And Sway, founder of Forest & Flour, will share their journey into the allergen-free world and discuss how food nourishes environmental health, playing a vital role in bridging tradition, modernity, resilience and social justice. Organizer: Patty James A Nutrition, Food & Wellness Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 14th annual Lundberg Institute Lecture features Robert Wachter of UCSF and his predictions about what advances artificial intelligence will make, and will not make, in health care. Why has health care not undergone the kind of digital transformation that has completely remade industries ranging from retail to entertainment to travel? Wachter will discuss health care’s bumpy road to digital nirvana, and why, to paraphrase Hemingway, generative AI may lead to medicine’s “gradually, then suddenly” moment. Join us for a preview of the ideas Dr. Wachter discusses in his latest book on AI and health care. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“American values over autocracy. Benevolence over bigotry.”—So begins the rousing finale of the first floor speech delivered by Congressman Hakeem Jeffries upon his historic elevation as House Democratic Leader, affirming the values of our great country one letter of the alphabet at a time. His words provide a reminder of what will keep the United States the greatest democracy in the history of the world. In his new illustrated book for all ages, Jeffries employs clever and memorable turns of phrase to paint an alphabetic road map for a brighter American future and warn of the perils of taking a different path. Jeffries (D-NY) has served as the House minority leader since 2023, when he succeeded San Francisco’s Rep. Nancy Pelosi as leader of House Democrats. He is the first Black party leader in either chamber of the U.S. Congress. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the surface, climate policy couldn’t face a worse future than under a second Trump administration. As a candidate, Trump said on his first day back in office: “I want to drill, drill, drill.” So, what are environmental organizations, including those aligned with the Republican party, doing to keep making progress on addressing climate change? And what do Trump’s cabinet picks say about the incoming administration’s attitude toward energy policy? Guests: Abigail Dillen, President, Earthjustice Heather Reams, President, Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions For show notes and related links, visit our website. A brief correction was made to this episode on 29 December 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices