Commonwealth Club Of California Podcast

Join us for a preview of Saving the City, an upcoming documentary series that highlights successful and unsuccessful examples of urban development throughout the United States and Canada in an effort to create better places. The opening two episodes, which look at how we have gone about remaking cities from the City Beautiful movement at the turn of the 19th century until today to provide context for the rest of the series, are expected to be released this Fall. The focus is on downtowns and nearby neighborhoods, the most visible and visited parts of our cities. After watching Saving the City, you will never look at cities the same way again. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond SPEAKERS Ron Blatman Executive Producer, Saving the City In Conversation with George Hammond Author, Conversations With Socrates In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on April 25th, 2023 by the Commonwealth Club of Cali

From the Boston Tea Party to the Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter, activists have long sought to bring pressing issues into the public consciousness. Climate activism is no different. This past Earth Day spawned a new ripple of climate activism. Activists protested at the headquarters of BlackRock in New York City, smeared paint on the casing around an Edgar Degas statue and even tried to block the entrance of the White House Correspondents dinner in DC. But that’s not the only style of activism that’s happening. Some are working from within big institutions to effect change. So what actions really move the needle? Guests:  Dana Fisher, Professor of Sociology, University of Maryland  Rose Abramoff, Earth Scientist and Climate Activist   Ilana Cohen, Lead Organizer, Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At Week to Week, we're dedicated to the lively and informed discussion of politics—with a good sense of humor—as a platform for healthy involvement in the issues that drive our society. The Commonwealth Club's Week to Week Political Roundtable and social hour, now in its 12th year, will take a look at the politics of the day—the issues, the people, the trends affecting our political world. SPEAKERS Joe Garofoli Senior Political Writer, San Francisco Chronicle; Host, “It’s All Political on Fifth and Mission” Podcast; Twitter: @joegarofoli Marisa Lagos Politics Correspondent, KQED News John Zipperer Producer and Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable; Vice President of Media & Editorial, The Commonwealth Club of California—Host In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on May 24th, 2023 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the formal COVID-19 emergency comes to an end nationally and locally, a growing number of reports and investigative bodies are beginning to explore what went wrong and right with the country’s response to the COVID crisis. One of the most important is the COVID Crisis Group (CCG), a team of 34 experts and scholars that has tried to lay the groundwork for a National Commission on the Covid Pandemic. It is led by Phillip Zelikow, who was the executive director of the 9/11 Commission. With no national commission in sight, in late April, the CCG will release its first major investigative report, "Lessons from the Covid War," a nonpartisan and plainspoken look at the key choices made during the pandemic, what worked, what didn’t and what we could do better next time. The comprehensive investigative report tells the story of how America’s scientific knowledge has far outpaced the country’s ability to apply it in a crisis. The report shows how Americans can come together, learn hard truths, build on what worked,

Climate change is set to transform global agriculture, causing problems like flooding and new pests in some areas, while extending growing seasons in others. And the wine industry is no exception. Look no further than Napa and Sonoma, where vineyards are grappling with drought and wildfires. Meanwhile, bubbly makers in southern England are looking to benefit from the rising temperatures.  Join us as Brian Freedman, author of the new book Crushed, looks at what global warming could mean for your favorite bottle of wine. He’ll be joined in conversation by winemakers from Larkmead, Iron Horse, and Kutch wineries, who will share firsthand experiences of how they are adapting to climate change. Join us for the conversation on the future of wine, and for a special wine tasting curated by our speakers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hollywood has been slow to include climate in its stories. Executives fear it won’t sell – that it’s too overwhelming or depressing. Apple TV+ has just released the series Extrapolations, which revolves entirely around the climate crisis. But it’s an outlier. We ask writer, producer and director Scott Z. Burns – who also worked on the films Contagion and Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth – and Anna Jane Joyner of the climate story consultancy Good Energy about why climate doesn’t play a more prominent role in scripted entertainment.  Guests: Scott Z. Burns, Writer, Director, Producer Anna Jane Joyner, Founder and CEO, Good Energy For show notes and related links, visit https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Passing the Torch” will unite two current California leaders with two students who are positioned to be future leaders, for a thought-provoking conversation about identity, age and citizenship in an ever-changing California. This event will feature the vice chair of the California Democratic Party, Betty Yee, and interim executive director of Emerge California, Libby Schaaf, plus two incredible UC Berkeley student activists, Issabella Romo, a Latina organizer fighting back against attempts to silence minority communities in Florida, and Owen Knapper Jr., an African American activist working to make higher education more accessible to BIPOC and nontraditional students. The speakers will dive into how their backgrounds shaped them into the leaders they are today and their thoughts on the future of California, and the discussion will provide space for advice to flow both ways from this intergenerational panel. This event is part of the Creating Citizens Speaker Series at UC Berkeley, a partnership between The C

Thousands of renewable energy projects are ready to be built and start producing fossil-free power, but they’re stuck in a long limbo for one essential piece of the puzzle: getting connected to the grid. A slow and inefficient federal permitting process and insufficient transmission capability are prohibiting renewable energy projects from going online. To make matters even more difficult, the U.S. lacks a centralized grid. That means adding layers of complexity to an already slow process. The Biden administration is focused on streamlining the permitting process, boosting funding and helping navigate this new energy future. What will it take to modernize our multiple grids? Guests: Pat Wood III, CEO, Hunt Energy Network Jennifer Gardner, Vice Chair, Western Energy Imbalance Market José Zayas, Executive Vice President of Policy and Programs, American Council on Renewable Energy L. Michelle Moore, CEO, Groundswell For show notes and related links, visit https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts L

A sample of Californians was asked to react to transformative policy reforms for the future. Hear what they had to say and what it could mean for you and our state.  California 100, in partnership with Stanford University's Deliberative Democracy Lab (DDL), housed at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, and the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy, embarked on an effort to ask Californians directly to react to big, bold policy proposals that could dramatically transform the state’s trajectory in the years and decades ahead.  Using previous Deliberative Polls® conducted by Stanford DDL as inspiration, “California Considers: Policy Deliberations for Our Long Term Success” was designed to center the experiences and perspectives of real Californians from every walk of life to test how significant changes in policy might improve the quality of life for all residents. Participants were given a pre-survey, participated in deliberations with one another, then asked for their final opinions

Anxiety disorders are among the most common forms of mental illness in the world, and anxiety can have debilitating effects in our work and in our lives. Podcast host and self-proclaimed "anxious achiever" Morra Aarons-Mele has made it her mission to normalize anxiety and leadership. She argues that anxiety is built into the very nature of leadership and should be harnessed into a force for good.  Hear more on figuring out your own anxiety profile and how to turn stress and worries into a source of strength for yourself and those around you. This program contains EXPLICIT language SPEAKERS Morra Aarons-Mele Host, "The Anxious Achiever" Podcast; Author, The Anxious Achiever: Turn Your Biggest Fears into Your Leadership Superpower; Twitter @morraam In Conversation with Jose Antonio Vargas Founder, Define American; Twitter @joseiswriting In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on April 12th,

Known worldwide as a legendary financier, philanthropist, medical research innovator and public health advocate, Michael Milken will detail his inspiring crusade to accelerate cures and treatments so more people around the world can live longer, healthier and more meaningful lives. Milken believes a multitude of health advancements are within reach, including slowing the aging process, cleaning early-stage cancers, eliminating many birth defects through gene editing, and multiple virus protection by a single vaccine. Hear more as Milken shares what he believes the future of health will look like. NOTES This program is generously supported by the Jackson Square Partners Foundation. SPEAKERS Michael Milken Co Founder, The Milken Family Foundation; Chairman, The Milken Institute; Author, Faster Cures: Accelerating the Future of Health In Conversation with Lanhee Chen David and Diane Steffy Fellow in American Public Policy Studies, Hoover Institution; Twitter @lanheechen In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we

Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haass discusses his new book The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens, in which he argues that the very idea of citizenship must be revised and expanded. Haass introduces 10 obligations that are essential for healing our divisions and safeguarding the country’s future. Through an expert blend of civics, history and political analysis, this book illuminates how Americans can rediscover and recover the attitudes and behaviors that have contributed so much to this country’s success over the centuries. A Discussion with Michael Krasny Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Studies estimate that global bitcoin mining uses more electricity than most countries, and that bitcoin mining may be responsible for about 65 megatons of carbon dioxide a year, comparable with the emissions of Greece. Some bitcoin operations are bringing old coal plants back on line, even as lobbyists for the bitcoin mining industry argue that mining operations can have a positive impact on the climate by creating more demand for carbon-free power. But even if all of the power were derived from green sources, is bitcoin mining really the best use of renewable electricity?  This episode features a report by multimedia journalist Lily Jamali of the public radio program Marketplace, who takes us inside a crypto mining facility in upstate New York. Guests: Rolf Skar, Senior Advisor, Greenpeace USA Brittany Kaiser, Chair of the Board, Gryphon Digital Mining Thomas Cmar, Senior Attorney, Earthjustice  Freelance news feature by Lily Jamali of Marketplace For show notes and related links, visit https://www.climat

The pandemic changed the workplace, possibly forever. And, in a time when the war for talent is critical, the stakes are even higher. Now in its eighth year, the latest benchmark annual report on "Women in the Workplace" by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org finds that we are in the middle of “The Great Breakup.” Women managers are leaving their corporate jobs at the highest rate in years—and at a much higher rate than men. Women executives say they are seeking more flexibility, better opportunities for advancement, and a commitment to diversity and inclusion. Join us to hear from women leaders about what they are seeing firsthand, and why corporations need to prioritize employee well-being to better retain female talent. If companies don’t take action, they won’t just lose their women leaders; they could risk losing the next generation of women leaders, too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The crisis of faith inspired by Nebuchadnezzar having dragged most of the Jewish political and religious leaders to Babylon six centuries before Jesus had a major impact on the West, as it reshaped ideas about God, life after death, and the end of the world that have been culturally influential ever since. Kohanski delves in detail into how the chaotic political era from Alexander the Great to the Maccabees and the Romans, and how ideas derived from Plato, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the apocalyptic Book of Daniel, ended up focusing half of humanity on monotheistic attempts to answer our fundamental questions about life. But not without paying a high price for our efforts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CNN Senior Supreme Court Analyst Joan Biskupic takes us inside one of the most devastating and consequential periods in modern Supreme Court history. She details how the court’s seismic shift to the right has resulted in controversial decisions, including its reversal of Roe v. Wade and examines other recent cases where rights are being stripped away for some and expanded for others. Biskupic has covered the Supreme Court for 25 years and has built a reputation as one of the country’s most astute legal observers. She assesses what the ensuing impact and repercussions will be from these decisions for generations to come. SPEAKERS Joan Biskupic Senior Supreme Court Analyst, CNN; Author, Nine Black Robes: Inside the Supreme Court’s Drive to the Right and Its Historic Consequences; Twitter @JoanBiskupic In Conversation with Melissa Caen Host, "Get Out the Bet" Podcast; Political Analyst; Attorney In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. Th

Despite economic headwinds and job cuts, companies backed by venture capital—including many in the Bay Area—drive the U.S. economy, accounting for hundreds of billions of dollars in sales and profits. However, most of this wealth winds up enriching entrenched investors and favored private interests, further widening economic inequality. Two well-known technology investors and entrepreneurs, Mitch Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein, have committed their lives to doing things differently and finding ways to close these equity gaps. As they explain in their new book, Closing the Equity Gap: Creating Wealth and Fostering Justice in Startup Investing, Kapor and Kapor Klein build on their work at the Oakland-based Kapor Center and Kapor Capital, two institutions that invest in seed-stage tech startups focused on closing gaps of access, opportunity and outcome for low-income communities and communities of color. They share their core beliefs that all companies must make a positive impact. They share stories behind some of

Every March 31, Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) is celebrated around the world. It is an annual occasion in which the achievements and contributions of the transgender community to society and the world at large are honored. For this year's TDOV, we're celebrating by spotlighting perspectives, experiences, and thought leadership of Global South transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary immigrants and asylum refugees with a panel discussion plus a network power hour at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco! This event is presented by The Center for Immigrant Protection-ParivarBayArea, The LGBT Asylum Project and The Alwan Foundation in partnership with El/La Para Trans Latinas and The Office of Transgender Initiatives. With the onslaught of legislative attacks across the country against the transgender community, how do we reconcile the urgent need to protect and safeguard transgender immigrants and refugees during a period of heightened anti-trans hate? How can the United States

Taking us to the cutting edge of the new frontier of medicine, a visionary biotechnologist and a pathbreaking researcher show how we can optimize our health in ways that were previously unimaginable. They say we are on the cusp of a major transformation in health care—yet few people know it. At top hospitals and a few innovative health-tech startups, scientists are working closely with patients to dramatically extend their "healthspan"—the number of healthy years before disease sets in.  Using information gleaned from our blood and genes and tapping into the data revolution made possible by AI, doctors can catch the onset of disease years before symptoms arise, revolutionizing prevention. Current applications have shown startling results: diabetes reversed, cancers eliminated, Alzheimer's avoided, autoimmune conditions kept at bay. This is not a future fantasy: it is already happening, but only for a few patients and at high cost. Proponents say it is time to make this gold standard of care more widely availa

It’s easy to write off people outside our own ideological bubbles, even when we may have many goals in common. But as the effects of the climate crisis become more apparent, we need leaders from all political and industrial perspectives to work together. In the U.S., climate is a polarizing issue where it’s too easy to assume that one side is working to reduce emissions and the other side is defending the status quo. But that’s only a caricature of reality. There are people from many ideological backgrounds trying to address the climate crisis. So how can common ground be found between environmentalists on the left and Republicans on the right? And what does an EV-driving member of the ConocoPhillips board have to say about reducing emissions?   Guests:  John Curtis, U.S. Representative (R-UT) Arjun Murti, Partner, Veriten; Director, ConocoPhillips board For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices