Commonwealth Club Of California Podcast

Join us for a virtual conversation with Edward Larson to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his Pulitzer Prize-winning history Summer for the Gods, the definitive account of the pivotal battle between creationism and evolution. In his new epilogue, Larson assesses the lasting resonance of the Scopes Trial as clashes continue between science and religion, and about free speech and academic freedom. Larson takes us back to the 1920s, when Protestant fundamentalists started a national campaign against the teaching of Darwinism in American schools. Tennessee was the first state to honor the movement by banning Darwinism from its curriculum. But the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenged the ban and requested that teacher John Scopes reject it outright in his classroom, resulting in a 1925 trial of mythic proportions with a dramatic legal matchup that ignited massive media attention. Represented by Clarence Darrow and the ACLU, John Scopes was pitted against William Jennings Bryan and the anti-Darwinist

The COVID-19 pandemic threatens every aspect of transportation funding in California. State revenues from federal, state, regional and local taxes and fees are all at risk. Since California’s shelter-in-place order went into effect in March, the state has already faced plummeting revenues from gasoline taxes, tolls, transit fares and sales taxes. These revenue sources will most likely continue to be severely threatened in the coming months and possibly even years. Panelists will discuss the opportunities for every level of government to help recover transportation revenues in our uncertain future. Can we rely on our traditional mix of revenue sources? Will the COVID-19 crisis stimulate innovation in transportation finance? These and other revenue options will be discussed at the 11th Annual Norman Y. Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit. NOTES This program is supported by the Mineta Transportation Institute at San José State University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"BoJack Horseman" creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s trademark is engaging writing that is equal parts dark comedy and gut wrenching tragedy. His work forces you to examine your place in humanity, while reminding you that none of this actually matters. It’s this mix of absurd hilarity and existential dread that makes Bob-Waksberg one of the most celebrated storytellers working today. Join Bob-Waksberg at INFORUM in honor of his new collection of short stories, Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory. You’ll hear a few (possibly strange) tales about love—something he argues is both “the best and worst thing in the universe.” This conversation will be moderated by entertainment writer Ariane Lange. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a discussion with Rick Welts and Hannah Gordon, two leaders who have made an indelible impact in sports for LGBTQ rights through their courage and resiliency. Ricke Welts became a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018. For the past 8 years, he has been president and chief operating officer of the Golden State Warriors, overseeing all business-related operations for the team, including the new Chase Center and Thrive City in San Francisco. In 2011, he publicly announced that he was gay—in a front-page New York Times story. For his work on diversity and inclusion in sports, he has been honored with the United States Tennis Association 2011 ICON Award, the GLSEN Respect Award, the GLAAD Davison/Valentini Award, the Anti-Defamation League's Torch of Liberty Award, and he was the celebrity grand marshall of the San Francisco Pride parade in 2015. Hannah Gordon is the chief administrative officer and general counsel for the San Francisco 49ers. She oversees legal, public affairs and strategic co

Since narrowly losing Georgia’s closest gubernatorial race in more than 50 years, Stacey Abrams has been on a crusade to ensure voting access to everyone in America. A recognized expert on fair voting and civic engagement, Abrams provides a chilling account of how the right to vote and the principle of democracy have been and continue to be under attack. In her new book, Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America, Abrams offers her blueprint to end voter suppression, empower citizens and ensure the most popular candidates win. The book also makes a compelling argument for the importance of robust voter protections, an elevation of identity politics, engagement in the census and a return to moral international leadership. Join us for a discussion with one of the Democratic Party’s most popular leaders as she discusses the path ahead and the work she believes needs to be done to ensure a better America for all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eric Swalwell has served a lengthy political career in the Bay Area, working as the Alameda County deputy district attorney, as a Dublin city council member and currently as the U.S. representative for California’s 15th congressional district. As a congressional freshman, Rep. Swalwell served on several House committees and was able to get more bills passed in the House and signed into law than any other freshman. Throughout his congressional career, he has taken vocal positions in support of gun control reform, increased funds for education and national tax reform. With this impressive background, Rep. Swalwell gives us an insider look at the events following the foreign interference in the 2016 election and the subsequent impeachment process in his new book, Endgame: Inside the Impeachment of Donald J. Trump. He draws from his time on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Judiciary Committee to fill the gaps in the impeachment timeline—from the executive communications with Ukra

Today’s most urgent problems, from food security to global warming, are fundamentally global. They require nothing less than concerted, planet-wide action if we are to secure a long-term future. But humanity’s story has always been on a global scale. In his new book The Ages of Globalization, Jeffrey D. Sachs, renowned economist and expert on sustainable development, turns to world history to shed light on how we can meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. Sachs will take us through a series of seven distinct waves of technological and institutional change, from the original settling of the planet by early modern humans to today’s globalization. The dynamics of these past waves offer a fresh perspective on the ongoing processes taking place in our own time. Sachs emphasizes the need for new methods of international governance and cooperation to prevent conflicts and to achieve economic, social and environmental objectives aligned with sustainable development. Learn more about your ad choice

Which country has the best health care? The United States spends more than any other nation—an astonishing $4 trillion a year. Yet for all that expense, the United States lags behind other countries. From Taiwan to Switzerland, Dr. Emanuel profiles 11 of the top health-care systems in the world. He showcases how the most inventive health-care providers are tackling global challenges in pursuit of the best health care in the world. Dr. Emanuel is a preeminent doctor and bioethicist. He is the former chief health policy officer to the Obama administration and architect of the Affordable Care Act. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is higher education’s role in a healthy society, and how are we improving it? And what about questions of costs, benefits, access and opportunity? These and related topics will be the focus of this program with three leading educators at UC Berkeley. The wholesale switch to remote learning triggered by the coronavirus is realigning several education fundamentals, paving the way for future higher education disruption. Learn how higher education is challenging convention in the sea-change, and what the implications for society are likely to be. MLF ORGANIZER Robert Lee Kilpatrick NOTES MLF: Health & Medicine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The importance of workplace mental health in the United States has steadily gained traction in the last few years. And for good reason. Up to 80 percent of Americans will struggle with a mental health issue during their lifetime. The coronavirus pandemic and the protests following the murder of George Floyd have made addressing mental health at work even more imperative. How are leading companies addressing employee mental health? What programs and initiatives did they have in place before these difficult times and how are they adapting them now? What does supporting mental health at work look like in the context of COVID-19, the national conversation about racism, and the shifting between working from home and returning to physical offices? Will this unprecedented year reduce the stigma at work and normalize what it looks like to struggle with mental health? Learn how to support mental health at work right now and be inspired by the personal stories that have shaped some of our panelists. NOTES This program

Since the end of the Cold War, the global perception of the United States has progressively morphed from dominant international leader to disorganized entity. Robert Gates, defense secretary under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, asserts that this transformation is the result of the failure of political leaders to understand the complexity of American power, its expansiveness, and its limitations. Sec. Gates makes a clear case that the successful exercise of power is not limited to military action, but should encompass other facets, including diplomacy, economics, strategic communications, intelligence, technology, ideology and cyber. It should also require learning—and abiding by—the lessons of the past, and avoiding the misuse of power. Join Sec. Gates and former Secretary of Defense James Mattis as they discuss the future of U.S. national security. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After an illustrious career and with no formal training, Dominique Crenn was awarded three Michelin Stars in 2018 for her successful restaurant Atelier Crenn. She is the first female chef in the United States to receive this honor, and she credits her unconventional life to her success. At only 20 years old, Dominique Crenn left her home in France for the United States with only one goal—to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a chef. She knew that she was too different for the male-dominated culinary scene she left behind, so she set her sights on San Francisco and chose the legendary Jeremiah Tower as her first mentor. She spent the next 30 years not only disrupting food norms, but also vocally challenging sexism, climate change and systemic injustice. Join Crenn at INFORUM, where she will discuss her new and highly anticipated memoir, Rebel Chef: In Search of What Matters, and hear firsthand about her journey in becoming one of the most important chefs of a generation. NOTES This program is part of our F

During his 16 years at Fox, veteran journalist Chris Wallace has covered almost every key political event and interviewed numerous U.S. and world leaders. Now, he explores the crucial 116 days and events leading up August 6, 1945—the infamous date that President Harry Truman gave the order to unleash the world’s first atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima, Japan. Hear more of how we got to that pivotal moment as Wallace gives a rare behind-the-scenes account of the secret meetings and iconic figures who changed the course of history forever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the global population approaches 8 billion, humans continue to test the number of bodies that can fit onto a planet of finite resources. Empowering women through access to education and family planning may be at the core of establishing a healthy population balance, not just for the planet’s sake, but for ours. So why aren’t we talking about it more? How big a role can gender equity play in reducing our global carbon footprint — and who gets to decide? Join us with Ertharin Cousin, former executive director of the World Food Programme, Musimbi Kanyoro, former president and CEO of the Global Fund for Women, and Corrine Sanchez, executive director of Tewa Women United for a conversation about the power of gender equity for getting to sustainable growth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Monday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling supporting workplace protections for LGBT employees surprised many people—the 6–3 opinion was written by conservative appointee Neal Gorsuch, who was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts as well as the liberal members of the court. Join us for a timely discussion with some real legal eagles. Once again, LGBTQ rights are up for judgment by the U.S. Supreme Court. The SCOTUS is issuing rulings on anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people in employment. The cases involved are Bostock v. Clayton County, Ga., Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Meet our expert panel: Felicia Medina is a queer, latina attorney and founding partner of Medina Orthwein LLP. Her practice focuses on individual and class action employment discrimination and harassment cases relating to race, gender, gender identity and expression, and sexual orientation, as well as wage and hour collective actions. She has been honor

In 2020, exploring the harsh complexities of racism and systemic injustice is still a painful task for most adults, but how do our children process these concepts? How should we have these difficult conversations with our children, and how can we make sure that they feel empowered to change society as they grow? Dr. Ibram X. Kendi and Dr. Allison Briscoe-Smith join INFORUM to teach us how. Kendi is a New York Times best-selling author, an acclaimed academic and a leading voice on racial justice in America. His newest work is a children’s book titled Antiracist Baby, and in it he uses playful images and straightforward language to introduce complicated topics like power, racial disparity and antiracism for readers of all ages. Briscoe-Smith is a child psychologist and the director of diversity, equity and inclusion with the Wright Institute Clinical Program. Much of her work focuses on trauma and how children understand race. This conversation will be moderated by Julie Lythcott-Haims, the author behind the cr

The exploitation of their Aunt Huguette by her professional advisors and caregivers horrified the Clark family. By the time she passed away in 2011 at age 104, Huguette’s attorney, accountant and medical caretakers had manipulated her out of nearly $40 million. The 2013 book, Empty Mansions, told some of the story. Determined to bring good from a terrible situation, the Clark family resolved to protect vulnerable elders across the country. In 2018, multiple generations of the Clark family—descendants of Huguette’s father, Senator William A. Clark—established the Huguette Clark Foundation to protect vulnerable seniors and hold accountable those who abuse them. Ian Clark Devine is a long-time leader in nonprofit and foundation management. He is a great-grand-nephew of the late Huguette Clark, whose financial exploitation sparked his interest in the protection of elders. Elder abuse affects millions of people across all socioeconomic levels. Isolation, mental illness and dementia exacerbate the problem by making

For decades, beloved Bay Area sportswriter Joan Ryan has written about winning (and losing) sports teams. In her groundbreaking new book, Intangibles, Ryan explores the importance of team chemistry and the mystery of why some teams "click," foster trust and respect, and push players to exceed their own potential. In sports, team chemistry is often overlooked, in part because it is assumed that it can’t be scientifically measured. But after interviewing more than 100 players, coaches, managers and statisticians in addition to reviewing the thousands of games she has covered as a journalist, Ryan shows that the social and emotional state of a team does affect performance and should not be underestimated. Hear Ryan discuss the importance of team chemistry, and how some of our favorite teams have the intangible “it” factor and some, too often, don’t. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Veteran journalist Jonathan Karl has known and covered Donald Trump longer than any other White House reporter. And during this time he has been praised, has fought, and been branded an enemy of the people by President Trump himself. Karl says we have never seen a president like this—norm-breaking, rule-busting, dangerously reckless to some and an overdue force for change to others. He goes on to argue that we are witnessing the reshaping of the presidency. Get an extraordinary look at the president, the person and those closest to him. Karl will discuss the key moments defining the Trump presidency and offers his personal insights to what it is like being front row at the "Trump Show." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the midst of one of modern history’s most uncertain moments, how can we all work to keep mindful of ourselves and those who matter most to us? Krista Tippett’s podcast, "On Being," aims to shine a light on people whose insights illuminate the best aspects of the human spirit. Every week, Tippett talks to writers, scientists, poets, activists and theologians from an array of faiths who have all opened themselves up to her compassionate yet searching conversations. In times like these, it’s easy to lose track of what keeps us grounded in the human experience. Join us for an enlightening conversation with one of America’s luminaries as she discusses her fiercely hopeful vision for humanity in these uncertain times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices