Commonwealth Club Of California Podcast

This event is the latest in our member-led forums’ Art and Science of Well-Being series. While the conditions in Central America produce caravans and others seeking safety, the rights of asylum seekers are continuously under attack. Come learn about the roots of the problem—why people are fleeing, the mental health consequences and the difficult yet lifesaving process of seeking asylum. This presentation will highlight the role the U.S. government has played over the past decades in creating the so-called border crisis and will debunk the Trump administration’s attacks on asylum law. Founded in 1982 in response to civil wars and genocide in Central America, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant has been a leader in the sanctuary movement, providing yearly legal protection, advocacy, support and family reunification to thousands of refugees and undocumented immigrants. MLF Organizer: Patrick O'Reilly MLF: Psychology Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This event is the latest in our member-led forums’ Art and Science of Well-Being series. Lee Holden is a renowned instructor in Qi Gong, meditation and Tai Chi. He Has worked to bring the ancient Taoist teachings to the West. Lee offers simple techniques to enhance well-being. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Robert Kilpatrick NOTES MLF: Health & Medicine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This event is the latest in our member-led forums’ Art and Science of Well-Being series. Louise Aronson has received numerous awards for her medical work, teaching, educational research and writing. In Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life, Aronson urges a large-scale shift in society and medicine’s attitudes toward aging and offers a powerful roadmap for how we all approach old age. She shares anecdotes from her 25 years of caring for patients and her own experiences of getting older and watching her parents age. She also draws from history, science, literature and popular culture to offer hope about aging, medicine and humanity itself. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Denise Michaud NOTES MLF: Grownups Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s solutions for addressing climate change are doable, but daunting: decrease global meat consumption, improve family planning, shut down coal-fired power plants, or expand solar energy – where to start? How do we best allocate resources, prioritize policies, and design economic tradeoffs as we move forward? What are the most impactful steps we can take individually and collectively to reduce our impact on the planet? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When sex and technology cross paths, we see a combination of curiosity and censorship, sexism and empowerment, but most importantly, knowledge and pleasure. The intersection between sex and technology goes beyond sex toys—from smart vibrators to apps for your phone that allow you to track and learn from your own experiences—sex tech’s innovation plays a major factor in the future of women’s health and pleasure. Despite these groundbreaking improvements being made for user experience, however, the tech industry continues to reject sex tech and the women who are leading these advancements. In 2016, Myisha Battle launched Sex for Life, which boasts an array of sex coaching practices as well as the sex-positive podcast “Down for Whatever.” Liz Klinger is the CEO of Lioness, a company focusing on creating products to enable sexual self-discovery and well-being. Andrea Barrica is the founder and CEO of O.School, an online sex-ed platform that aims to revolutionize how we feel, talk and understand sex. Join these ex

From ancient conjurers to quick-handed con artists to Las Vegas illusionists, magicians throughout the ages have been expertly manipulating human attention and perception to dazzle and delight us. The phenomena of cognitive and sensory illusions are responsible for the “magic” of a magic trick, but how and why? Come meet neuroscientist Adam Gazzaley and magician Robert Strong as they team up to demonstrate how magicians use our brains as their accomplices in effecting the impossible—and explain what scientists can learn about the brain by studying the methods and techniques of magic. In association with Wonderfest Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

China’s rise as a technology innovator is challenging the world by working hard, innovating fast and going global. A new book by Rebecca A. Fannin, Tech Titans of China, delves into the Chinese technology sector and its influence and implications worldwide, in tech sectors and beyond. The book is the go-to guide for those seeking to understand China’s grand tech ambitions, who the players are and what their strategy is. Join us for a fireside chat with Fannin and Wei Jiang, venture capitalist, discussing the rise of China's tech giants, China's challenge to the United States for global technology leadership, and the impact of a U.S.–China tech and trade war on Silicon Valley. MLF Organizer: Lotus Fong MLF: Asia Pacific Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the night of the next Democratic presidential candidates debate, and we're all set to watch and comment on that and other political news. Doors will open at 5 p.m., and we will show the debate on the big screen in our auditorium. Then at 6:30, we'll switch over to our panelists, who will discuss the biggest, most controversial and sometimes the surprising political issues with expert commentary by panelists who are smart, are civil and have a good sense of humor. Our panelists will provide informative and engaging commentary on political and other major news, and we'll have audience discussion of the week’s events and our live news quiz! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do we cope with the inevitability of death? How can we make better decisions for ourselves and our families? B.J. Miller and journalist Shoshana Berger visit INFORUM to answer the questions about death we’re all afraid to ask with their new book: A Beginner’s Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death. Berger and Miller offer step-by-step instructions on managing the end of life, including how to navigate a complex system of hidden costs and intense emotions without shame and guilt often associated with this period of life. Miller is an assistant clinical professor of medicine at UCSF, where he practices and teaches palliative medicine. Berger is a journalist and editorial director at IDEO. Together they join INFORUM for a lesson on dying—and how to live fully until you do. **This program contains EXPLICIT language** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Keynoush is the author of the book Saudi Arabia and Iran: Friends or Foes? and the editor of a forthcoming book Iran's Interregional Dynamics in the Near East. She was recently a visiting scholar at Princeton University and a visiting fellow at the King Faisal Center in Saudi Arabia. She has translated at diplomatic meetings, and for United Nations secretary generals, U.S. congressional leaders, Nobel laureates and four Iranian presidents. Dr. Keynoush will discuss Iran's regional ties, including with Saudi Arabia, the consequences of the U.S withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and Iran’s decision to increase its nuclear capabilities. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Celia Menczel NOTES MLF: Middle East Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This event is the latest in our member-led forums’ Art and Science of Well-Being series. Bees, butterflies, bats, birds and other insects are important actors in maintaining a healthy environment. The health of the environment directly influences human well-being. The quality of the food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink profoundly affect how we feel. Research shows that having access to natural places has a significantly positive impact on our mental, physical and spiritual health. But in many parts of the world, pollinators are under siege, from climate change, human disruption of habitat, urbanization and industrial agriculture. Pollinators are the "canary in the coal mine," indicating the rise of present and future threats including food security, biological diversity and environmental degradation. There is hope, and Laurie Davies Adams, the founder and executive director of the Pollinator Partnership (P2) based in San Francisco, will explain the nature of the challenges that pollinators f

No one wants to overeat. And certainly no one wants to overeat for years, become overweight, and end up with a high risk of diabetes or heart disease—yet two thirds of Americans do precisely that. Why does our behavior betray our best intentions to eat healthy foods in moderation? The reason is that our appetites and food choices are led astray by ancient, instinctive brain circuits that play by the rules of a survival game that no longer exists. These circuits don’t care about how you look in a bathing suit next summer. Join Stephan J. Guyenet for an exploration of some of these circuits and how they conspire with our modern food environment to expand our waistlines. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Patty James NOTES MLF: Health & Medicine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's special guest: Carole Migden. Carole Migden is a former California state senator (and former state assemblymember, and former San Francisco supervisor and much more) who has worked her entire career to assist underrepresented demographics. Join us as Michelle Meow brings her long-running daily radio show to The Commonwealth Club one day each week. Meet fascinating—and often controversial—people discussing important issues of interest to the LGBTQ community, and have your questions ready. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the past several years, there has been a noticeable uptick in anti-Semitic rhetoric and incidents from college campuses in the United States to terrorist attacks against Jews throughout Europe and, in 2018 and 2019, the tragic hate crimes at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and Poway Synagogue outside San Diego. Marin County has also not been immune, with anti-Semitic symbols found in county schools this past school year. A hatred long thought to be laid to rest, anti-Semitism from both sides of the political spectrum has again become a visible part of American society. No one knows this issue better than Deborah Lipstadt, a professor of modern Jewish history and Holocaust studies at Emory University. Actress Rachel Weisz portrayed Lipstadt in Denial, a film based on her book History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier. Lipstadt's new book, Antisemitism: Here and Now, has been hailed as one of the most important works on the issue. Where is this hatred coming from? Is there any sign

With the Green New Deal, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's vision challenges her own party to go further and faster on climate action than ever before. Her co-sponsor, Sen. Ed Markey, has spent 40 years in Congress and has similar experience pushing for bold climate action. Meanwhile, Rep. Matt Gaetz vigorously supports President Trump – except when it comes to climate and extreme weather, which have battered his Florida district. Gaetz’s Green Real Deal is a market-based alternative to the Green New Deal’s regulatory approach. So what is the deal with climate action in Congress? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Cornel West says his passion is to keep alive the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.—a legacy of telling the truth and bearing witness to love and justice. In addition to his posts at Harvard and Princeton, West has taught at Union Theological Seminary, Yale and the University of Paris. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard in three years and obtained his master’s and doctorate in philosophy at Princeton. Sheryl Davis is the executive director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission (HRC), a city agency mandated to address the causes of and problems resulting from prejudice, intolerance, bigotry and discrimination in San Francisco. Davis previously served as commissioner from 2011 to 2016, including a tenure as vice chair of the commission. Prior to her work with the HRC, she was the executive director of Collective Impact, a community-based organization in the Western Addition neighborhood of San Francisco. In a polarized country, with issues of voter disenfranchisement, police shootings

Cyber warfare is at the intersection of innovation and danger. It can be comical, like the malware which blasted AC/DC’s song “Thunderstruck” at full blast in the middle of the night in Iranian nuclear facilities. It can also be catastrophic, like EternalBlue, the 2017 cyber battle that closed hospitals in Britain and froze shipping crates in Germany in midair. Richard Clarke, former U.S. national coordinator for security, infrastructure protection and counterterrorism, takes us behind the scenes with the scientists, executives and government officials who are on the forefront of cyber technologies. In the new book, The Fifth Domain: Defending Our Country, Our Companies, and Ourselves in the Age of Cyber Threats, Clarke explains that the threat of cyberattacks is manageable and provides concrete steps that can be taken toward cyber resilience, including building more resistant systems, raising the costs for cyber crime and avoiding the trap of overreacting to digital attacks. From the quantum-computing labs r

Where is America headed? Veteran political analyst David Gergen offers his insights to the polarized state of politics and what we can expect as we head into our next presidential election. Gergen has the unique perspective of serving as a White House adviser to four U.S. presidents from both parties: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Join us for an engaging conversation on the future of America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do we go about feeding a planet that’s hotter, drier, and more crowded than ever? From a remote-controlled organic farm in Shanghai to famine-stricken parts of Ethiopia, innovators are seeking to reinvent the global food system to be more productive and nutritious. Does this mean the end of animal meat? Can a clean, climate-resilient food system be built to distribute calories in a way that is efficient and equitable? Join us for a conversation on how innovation and agriculture, technology, and traditional knowledge are coming together to sustain a planet of eight billion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Jason Flatt, assistant professor at the UCSF School of Nursing's Institute for Health & Aging, will discuss some of the new research findings he presented at the July 2019 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Los Angeles. Past research has shown an increased likelihood of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease for individuals with self-reported memory problems, including up to three times greater risk for future cognitive decline. Dr. Flatt will highlight his recent research on Alzheimer’s risk in the LGBTQ community and touch on the needs for education of health-care professionals and LGBTQ seniors as well as ensuring cognitive and health screenings for LGBTQ community members at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Join us as Michelle Meow brings her long-running daily radio show to The Commonwealth Club one day each week. Meet fascinating—and often controversial—people discussing important issues of interest to the LGBTQ community, and have your questions ready. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit