Commonwealth Club Of California Podcast

Come join award-winning journalist Priya David Clemens in conversation with Paul Rice, founder and former CEO of Fair Trade USA, to discuss his critical account of the past, present and future of conscious capitalism—the change it has wrought in the world and the potential it still has to confront our greatest challenges. We all have the power to change the world through the products we buy. This simple premise has driven the growth of the conscious consumer movement for decades. Indeed, what started with a handful of niche sustainability brands has exploded into the mainstream with labels like "organic," "non-GMO," and "fair trade certified" now adorning products in major retailers across the country. Yet the true promise of ethical sourcing and conscious consumerism has not been fully realized. Paul Rice has dedicated his career to helping consumers and businesses embrace the power they have to protect the environment and improve the lives of farmers and workers on the far side of our global supply chains

It’s so easy to spiral into a climate doom loop. But solutions to the crisis are out there! Even as federal action stalls, states, local organizers and innovators across the U.S. are charging ahead with climate progress. What responsibility does the media have in elevating the solutions that exist and are working? And how can artists help reframe the climate conversation and shift the narrative from foregone conclusion to a reimagining of what’s possible?  This episode features conversations recorded live during SF Climate Week — with Jonathan Foley, executive director of Project Drawdown, Nikhil Swaminathan, CEO of Grist, and author and artist Jenny Odell — all exploring how solutions-focused storytelling today can help shape the future we dare to imagine tomorrow. Guests: Jonathan Foley, Executive Director, Project Drawdown Nikhil Swaminathan, CEO, Grist Jenny Odell, Artist; Author, “Saving Time,” “How to Do Nothing” Mina Kim, Co-host of Forum, KQED Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribin

Join us for the late-April edition of our Week to Week political roundtable, as we check in on the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s first 100 days in his second term. We'll share some insight into the people, trends and topics driving the political news of the day. Politics is a joint project; come early for a pre-program social hour with wine and light bites, then enjoy and learn as our panel of political experts—including Tim Anaya, Melissa Caen and Dan Schnur—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

Rep. Jared Huffman has represented California’s 2nd District — from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border — for over a decade. During that time, he has championed climate issues and fought to protect California’s public lands, prevent offshore drilling, pushed for financial institutions to divest from fossil fuels, and introduced legislation to tackle plastic pollution. Now, turmoil in the federal government is putting all those protections at risk. Advocating for climate action is pretty challenging when terms like "climate change” are being erased from government websites. How can Rep. Huffman advance his climate agenda when those who hold the most power are going hard in another direction? This conversation was recorded live as part of SF Climate Week 2025. Guest: Rep. Jared Huffman, U.S. Representative (D-CA 2nd District) and Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to

In 2007, economist Jens Ludwig moved to the South Side of Chicago to research two big questions: Why does gun violence happen? And is there anything we can do about it? Almost two decades later, the answers aren’t what he expected. Unforgiving Places is Ludwig’s revelatory portrait of gun violence in America’s most famously maligned city. Ludwig says his research disproves the popular narrative that shootings are the calculated acts of malicious or desperate people; he says it shows most shootings actually grow out of a more fleeting source: interpersonal conflict, especially arguments. By examining why some arguments turn tragic while others don't, Ludwig says gun violence is more circumstantial—and more solvable—than our traditional approaches lead us to believe. Drawing on decades of research and Ludwig’s immersive fieldwork in Chicago, including “countless hours spent in schools, parks, playgrounds, housing developments, courtrooms, jails, police stations, police cars, and lots and lots of McDonald'ses,

The inaugural California Youth Agenda Conference is a convening designed by and for young people about climate change, mental health education, and reproductive rights. These issues were identified as being of top concern by 200 students throughout California who responded to our Youth Issues Survey in the fall of 2024. Led by our Youth Advisory Committee, this half-day conference will feature inspirational keynote speakers, interactive sessions with expert panelists, and opportunities for students to network and collaborate. We will also be hosting an Action Lounge that will feature organizations and groups focused on youth empowerment, climate change, reproductive rights, and mental health education. Students will have the opportunity to learn more about the important work these groups are doing and how they can get involved during lunch and break times! Keynote speakers:Brianna Mullen, Founder of Education Justice AcademyChris Badillo, Program Director of Education Justice Academy Break-out roomsPowerin

As cities strive for safer streets and greener mobility, they face mounting challenges to navigating an increasingly complex global landscape. Political shifts are reshaping climate policies, market access, and the very definition of autonomy, as industry and government become more entwined. What does this mean for the future of urban transportation? The 2025 Autonomous Vehicles & the City Symposium brings together top innovators, policymakers, and urban planners to unpack these pressing issues. This year’s symposium will focus on vision zero and data – going beyond the technical aspects of AVs—to examine how they intersect with climate goals and public transit to create greener, more connected communities.  Opening Keynote by Kristin White, Google Transportation Industry Executive, ex-USDOT FHWA Administrator Hosted by the University of San Francisco School of Management. In partnership with The Commonwealth Club of California. For full program, please visit: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/

Join us, as we remember the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war, to hear the novelist and poet Quế Mai in conversation with Craig McNamara, whose father was Robert McNamara, the secretary of defense under both JFK and LBJ during the Vietnam war. Quế Mai will discuss her poetry, the long-lasting impact of war on the Vietnamese, and how Vietnam has continued to change politically after the war. She will also focus on Vietnamese literary culture, its poetry and proverbs, and the various Vietnamese “ways of life” that have survived the violent chaos of several decades of war. Having experienced the hardships of rural life first-hand in the 1970s and 1980s, Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai has used her literary skills to travel the world with her stories. The Color of Peace, her new book of poetry, can be read as a travelogue of the route one can take to forgiveness, appreciation and extending one’s love for one’s own people and homelands to all of humanity. Vietnam, with its more than 4,000 years of history and

Bestselling author, popular commentator, and former litigator Elie Mystal has long been critical of the U.S. Constitution. Now he focuses his ire on 10 laws that he says are causing way too much misery to millions. In Bad Law, Mystal brings his trademark legal acumen and passionate snark to a takedown of 10 of what he considers the most egregiously awful laws on the books today. These are pieces of legislation that are making life worse rather than better for Americans and should be repealed completely. On topics ranging from abortion and immigration to voting rights and religious freedom, he says Americans have chosen rules to live by that do not reflect the will of most of the people. With respect to the decision to make a law that effectively grants immunity to gun manufacturers, for example, Mystal writes, “We live in the most violent, wealthy country on earth not in spite of the law; we live in a first-person-shooter video game because of the law.” But, as the man Samantha Bee calls “irrepressible and

Summer is coming soon, and for many that means vacation. While traveling far and wide can be an amazing experience, the carbon cost of traveling is significant. But what if we could rekindle a sense of awe in our own neighborhoods?  After years of extreme expeditions all over the world, adventurer Alastair Humphreys spent a year exploring the detailed local map around his home. His new book “Local” is an ode to slowing down, as well as a rallying cry to protect the wild places on our doorstep. Guest:  Alastair Humphreys, Author; Adventurer This episode also features field reporting from producers Austin Colón and Megan Biscieglia. 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.prod

Can a new class-based approach to college admissions produce economic and racial diversity alike—and greater fairness? For decades America’s colleges and universities have been working to increase racial diversity. But Richard Kahlenberg argues that they have been using the wrong approach. He makes the case that class disadvantage, rather than race, should be the determining factor for how a broader array of people “get in.” While elite universities claim to be on the side of social justice, the dirty secret of higher education is that the perennial focus on racial diversity has provided cover for an admissions system that mostly benefits the wealthy and shuts out talented working-class students. Kahlenberg says that by fixing the class bias in college admissions we can begin to rectify America’s skyrocketing economic inequality and class antagonism, giving more people a better place at the table as they move through life and more opportunity to “swim in the river of power.” Kahlenberg, author of the new b

Secretary of State Shirley Weber had been a lifelong educator. For 40 years she had been a professor at San Diego State University, having been named a professor emerita of Africana studies and served as the president of the National Council for Black Studies. And then, in the fall of 2011, Weber decided to run for office. Secretary Weber served first in the California State Assembly for nearly a decade, before Governor Gavin Newsom appointed her to the position of secretary of state of California. So, why did a career educator decide to run for office? Secretary Weber, in conversation with Creating Citizens’ Griffith Swidler, talks to an audience of Sacramento high school students about her path into politics. Weber details her upbringing, the people who influenced her, and how young people can lead us toward a less polarized America. This program is part of  Commonwealth Club World Affairs’ civics education initiative, Creating Citizens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the essential role of educators in sustaining our society and economy. As families navigated the challenges of work and caregiving, teachers emerged as critical support systems, ensuring students continued learning amid unprecedented disruptions. From maintaining safe classrooms to addressing academic and emotional needs, educators have been at the forefront of our collective recovery. Join us for an engaging panel discussion at Commonwealth Club World Affairs, featuring education and policy experts who will examine the urgent need for universal access to quality education and its broader economic and democratic implications. The conversation will explore key lessons from the pandemic and outline a path toward a more equitable and resilient education system. About the Panelists Jenny Lam: Former San Francisco Board of Education commissioner and director of policy, communications, and strategic partnerships at the San Francisco Department of Early Childhood. Lam has led cit

In researching her new book World Eaters, Catherine Bracy interviewed founders, fund managers, contract and temp workers in the gig economy, and limited partners across the landscape. She says she learned that the current VC model is not a good fit for the majority of start-ups—and yet, there are too few options for early stage funding outside of VC dollars. While there are some alternative paths for sustainable, responsible growth, without the help of regulators, there is not much motivation to drive investors from the roulette table that is venture capital. Join us as Bracy takes our stage and offers her urgent and illuminating perspective into how the most pernicious aspects of the venture capital ethos reaches all areas of our lives, into everything from health care to food to entertainment to the labor market, and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Certain to be controversial, Bracy’s tale is an eye-opening account of the ways that the values of contemporary venture capital hurt founders, cons

Since its creation under President Richard Nixon in 1970, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has worked to reduce pollution and toxic exposures to ensure that Americans have clean air, clean water and clean soil. The EPA has also sought to reduce emissions to address climate change. Now that the Trump administration is in power, the EPA is being threatened with a 65% reduction in their budget.  In addition to EPA cuts, the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, is making cuts left and right in an effort to trim $1 trillion from the federal budget. The combination of DOGE and Trump’s executive orders — plus the threatened cuts to the EPA and the federal spending freezes — have put thousands of jobs, and clean energy and climate related projects, in limbo. This could have a devastating impact on the national public health and safety standards we now take for granted, and will undermine our ability to address the climate crisis. How far do these cuts go? What is real and what is bluste

Songkran is a festival from Southeast Asia marking the new year and celebrating making a fresh start. This special program includes a program discussion hosted by Michelle Meow featuring conversations on cultural heritage, community impact, and empowerment initiatives; cultural performances, including traditional dances, live music, and storytelling sessions; a traditional water blessing ceremony; and delicious authentic Southeast Asian cuisine prepared by local chefs. About the Speakers Kesinee Angkustsiri Yip has been helping companies, organizations, and executives manage their reputations for more than two decades. An award-winning communications strategist recognized by the International Association of Business Communications, she co- founded Creative Catalyst (www.creativecatalystworks.com) to address culture and connection challenges—the things AI does not—by bringing improv into the workplace. While improv can be funny, it’s not just for the theater. Improv techniques can help entrepreneurs and lead

Join us to celebrate National Poetry Month with Red Hen Press’s poetic publisher, Kate Gale, and Red Hen Press poets Kim Dower, Francisco Aragón and Kim Addonizio, who will each be reading their poems that have electrified the literary world. Francisco Aragón, the director of Letras Latinas, is a gay Latino poet, the author of After Ruben. Kim Dower’s new book What She Wants explores obsession and desire. And Library Journal has written that “if Kim Addonizio were an opera, the audience would never stop throwing flowers at her feet.” Michelle Meow will delve into this “living poets society” to demonstrate the talent that makes independent publisher Red Hen Press and its poets so successful. 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. See more Michelle Meow Show programs at Commonwealth Club World Affairs of

While opening day fever is still in the air, join us at noon to hear the inside story of pitching in the big leagues from Jeremy Affeldt, who pitched seven of his 14 major league seasons for the San Francisco Giants (2009–2015). How do major league pitchers prepare for their jobs? How do all the pieces (physical, mental, strategic, managerial, team chemistry, coaching and more) fit together? Affeldt will be in conversation with Leland Faust and will explore the realities and dispel the myths of the sport. Organizer: George Hammond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NBC News anchor and correspondent Vicky Nguyen has a story to tell of her family’s daring escape from communist Vietnam and her unlikely journey from refugee to reporter—a story told with laughter and fierce love. Starting in 1975, Vietnam’s “boat people”—desperate families seeking freedom—fled the Communist government and violence in their country any way they could, usually by boat across the South China Sea. Vicky Nguyen and her family were among them. Attacked at sea by pirates before reaching a refugee camp in Malaysia, the Nguyen family survived on rations and waited months until they were sponsored to go to America. But deciding to leave and start a new life in a new country is half the story; figuring out how to be American is the other. Join us as Nguyen recounts the story from her memoir Boat Baby of growing up in America with unconventional Vietnamese parents who didn’t always know how to bridge the cultural gaps. It’s a childhood filled with misadventures and misunderstandings, from almost stabbi

Despite spending billions of dollars to combat homelessness, California has the largest and fastest-growing homeless population in the United States. To explain this result, some have blamed wasteful collusion between government and nonprofits to enrich themselves without ever intending to end homelessness. However, Carrie Sager says this over-simplistic conspiracy not only ignores the very real problems in the government and nonprofit sectors, but actively sabotages efforts to resolve them. Carrie Sager is the chief operating officer of Homeward Bound of Marin, the primary provider of emergency shelter and one of the largest providers of permanent supportive housing in Marin County. In her previous role as senior homelessness program coordinator for Marin County Health and Human Services, she worked with local nonprofits and city and county governments to create a coordinated system of care to house the most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness in Marin. She is one of the chief architects of Marin's