Commonwealth Club Of California Podcast

On November 22, 1963, the visual images of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, arguably the most significant crime in modern day history, were seared into the permanent memories of many who were then young adults, teens or children and have continued through the ages for those who have become obsessed with the president’s death. Sixty years later, the yearning for better answers to the questions why and how continues to produce many absurd new speculations and theories to explain his death. Any detailed review of the evidence in the Warren Commission Report raises so many valid questions that ever since it was issued it has been attacked and undermined, both rationally and irrationally. But in recent years, Mark Shaw says clear answers have emerged through the eyes of Dorothy Kilgallen, the most credible journalist to cover the assassination, in fact, the only one who interviewed Jack Ruby at his 1964 trial. Based on her investigation, and his research, bestselling author Mark Shaw (The Reporter W

Cancel culture—the term and the practice—has left its mark on American culture, business, academia and society at all levels over the past few years. Was it inevitable? Is it permanent? Or is it, as authors Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott argue, a dysfunctional part of how Americans battle for power, status and dominance? They say it is just a symptom of a much larger problem: the use of cheap rhetorical tactics to "win" arguments without actually winning arguments. Drawing on data and research on the phenomenon of cancel culture and how it works, along with many examples of how both the left and the right use it to silence their enemies, Lukianoff and Schlott have concrete steps to offer that they say can reclaim a free speech culture in every realm. Lukianoff and Schlott, authors of the bestselling Coddling of the American Mind, return with their new book The Canceling of the American Mind. Join us to hear their description of cancel culture and their prescription for curing it. NOTES All in-person attende

Climate affects everyone, but not equally. Those affected first and worst are often the same communities that suffer from housing and income inequality, and climate and societal injustice. Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr. has made striving for social, economic, and climate justice his lifelong pursuit. Rising to prominence in the Hip Hop community, Yearwood brought like-minded artists and creatives together to advocate for justice with the Hip Hop Caucus by harnessing the power of film, podcasts and comedy. We discuss the role of his faith, his partnership with billionaire Michael Bloomberg, and the underlying belief in our human ability to keep improving that drives his activism. Guests:  Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr., CEO, Hip Hop Caucus Jacqueline Patterson, Executive Director, Chisholm Legacy Project For show notes and related links, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Arts Member-led Forum and San Francisco Opera’s Department of Diversity, Equity and Community invite you to a powerful and thought-provoking panel discussion. As home to one of the largest Muslim populations in the United States, the Bay Area might have special interest in the 2023 Pulitzer Prize winner for music, Omar, by Grammy Award-winning artist Rhiannon Giddens and composer Michael Abels.The production runs November 5–21 at the War Memorial Opera House. A true story of an astonishing journey enshrined in a 200-year-old autobiography of enslaved Islamic scholar Omar Ibn Said in the Carolinas, who publicly records his story in Arabic—evidencing the act of writing as the preservation of identity. Omar is a sweeping canvas of text, Christian and Islamic faith, profoundly realized in Kaneza Schaal’s transcendent production embodying the horrors of the “Middle Passage,” prison life, plantation traumas and creative human spirit. MLF ORGANIZER: Anne W. Smith An Arts Member-led Forum program. Forums at the C

Take a walk on the warped side with this in-person program featuring stars in their respective fields. The new book The Warped Side of Our Universe is the result of the collaboration of Nobel Laureate Kip Thorne and award-winning artist Lia Halloran. It brings to vivid life the wonders and wildness of our universe’s “Warped Side”―objects and phenomena made from warped space and time, from colliding black holes and collapsing wormholes to twisting space vortices and down-cascading time. Through poetic verse and otherworldly paintings, the scientist and the artist explicate Thorne’s and his colleagues’ astrophysical discoveries and speculations, with an epic narrative that asks: How did the universe begin? Can anything travel backward in time? And what weird and marvelous phenomena inhabit the "warped side"? In their book, Thorne and Halloran take readers on an Odyssean voyage using epic verse and more than 100 pulsating paintings to shed light on time travel, black holes, gravitational waves and the birth of t

We constantly hear about cybercrime in the news, but do you have the knowledge to protect yourself from it?  In this talk, information security expert Dr. Carrie Gates will cover the clues that can alert you to something being a scam, along with some of the common types of attacks, such as phishing, smishing and vishing. Dr. Gates joined Bank of America in October 2018 as a senior vice president in global information security. She has established a research program, working in partnership with universities, to pursue longer-term, higher-risk research in the security space that has the potential to improve the bank’s security posture. Her current portfolio includes broad investigations into audio deep fakes, misinformation, smishing, and adversarial machine learning. Previously, Gates has worked at a start-up as a distinguished engineer for both Dell and CA Technologies, and with CERT at Carnegie Mellon University. Prior to starting her research career, she was the systems manager for the Faculty of Computer S

Join us in-person for a Halloween edition of our political discussion series. 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, and the trends affecting our political world. 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

The popular image of Edgar Allan Poe is that of a sickly, gloomy, dour fellow obsessed with all things eerie and terrifying. Tragically, both for his personal life and because it reinforced this literary myth, Poe died on October 7, 1849, at just forty, in a painful, utterly bizarre manner that would not have been out of place in one of his own tales of terror. The literary effect of his untimely death was also compounded by the mystery of what happened to him, during the three days he went missing, before he was found delirious on the streets of Baltimore, wearing ill-fitting clothes that were not his own. There has been a staggering amount of speculation about the cause of his death, from rabies and syphilis to suicide, alcoholism, and even murder. But many of these theories are based on the caricature we have come to associate with Poe: the gloomy-eyed grandfather of Goth, hunched over a writing desk with a raven perched on one shoulder, drunkenly scribbling his masterpieces. By debunking the myths of how

Writer, historian, and activist Rebecca Solnit has been examining hope and the unpredictability of change for over 20 years. In 2023 she co-edited an anthology called, “It’s Not Too Late,” which serves as a guidebook for changing the climate narrative from despair to possibility. How can we find hope on a warming planet? Guests:  Rebecca Solnit, Writer, Historian, Activist For show notes and related links, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The last five decades have seen the dramatic globalization of organized crime and corruption, now totaling trillions of dollars every year. Using the latest technology and the help of a “criminal services industry” — corrupt bankers, lawyers, accountants—criminal networks and the world’s most corrupt officials easily loot, launder, and hide stolen money for future use. This stolen, hidden money pours into the political process in the United States and countries around the world to advance agendas that do not serve voters, betraying the very premise of democracy.  To fight this, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project co-founders Drew Sullivan and Paul Radu built a global network of investigative journalists that work just like the criminals do—collaborating across borders and using innovative technology. Pulling from their two decades of follow-the-money investigative reporting, Sullivan and Radu will share how they’ve uncovered global dark money flows and how to institute effective solutions that tr

“Country music is the people’s music. It just speaks about real life and about truth and it tells things how they really are.” —Faith Hill Miko Marks and Tookta Topline are two women who have both embraced and recoiled from the major music scenes in Nashville and Thailand before finding their true voices in San Francisco. Join us for a night of musical performance and conversation about how race and sexuality challenge what we think about country music. Revel in their musical talent while exploring each of their journeys as immensely talented musicians who don’t fit the industry mold. This immersive experience will make use of The Commonwealth Club as an intimate, limited-capacity music venue for one night only! Delicious bites and drinks will be served as you mingle and engage directly with our artists. About the Artists Miko deftly blends country, blues, southern rock and even gospel to create a sound and experience that has literally brought every audience to its feet. Miko’s life as a Black woman in count

Will 2024 be America's last free and fair election?  That ominous warning comes from Stuart Stevens, a former chief Republican strategist whose clients included President George W. Bush; Senators Chuck Grassley, Dick Lugar and Dan Coats; and Governors Haley Barbour, John Kyl, Bill Weld and many others. He says the GOP is dragging our country toward autocracy, and the party is no longer a "normal" political party in the American tradition. Rather, he says it is an autocratic movement masquerading as a political party. As the Republican party changed, Stevens exited his role in one of the country's most influential political strategy firms and joined the Lincoln Project, where he is currently an advisor. Stevens wrote about his fear for the country in his provocative new book, The Conspiracy to End America. In it, he reviews the elements that are necessary for democracies to slide into autocracy, and he examines each of these forces on the modern American right and how they are working together. Are these the l

Think you know San Francisco and the rest of California? Think again. Two new books, Oldest San Francisco, and Secret California: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful and Obscure, will inspire you to seek out spots even locals will be surprised to learn about and inspired to visit. Oldest San Francisco, by Alec Scott, draws a picture of the sudden city that exploded in the Gold Rush. It tells the stories of the longtime institutions that have made the City by the Bay distinctive, visiting the oldest: bakery (Boudin), bike shop (American Cyclery). and brewery (Anchor, whose struggle to survive will be discussed). Scott speaks of civic fabrics―the oldest blue jeans and first rainbow flag―and even the oldest public affairs forum in the country (yes, The Commonwealth Club). Together the stories distill the ebullient, entrepreneurial spirit of San Francisco. Secret California: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful and Obscure, by Ruth Carlson, invites you to enter a live fairytale with aerial dancers, opera singers and a hug

Throughout his career, Rajiv J. Shah has tackled some of the world’s most intractable challenges head on. At the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Shah played an integral role in the colossal effort to vaccinate 900 million children. At the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under President Obama, he led the U.S. response to the Haiti earthquake and the West African Ebola pandemic, served on the National Security Council, and elevated the role of development as part of our nation’s foreign policy. Now, as president of the Rockefeller Foundation, Shah oversees the global institution in its mission to promote the well-being of humanity around the world. His approach to tackling some of the biggest humanitarian efforts of the 21st century? A "big bets" philosophy—the idea that seeking ambitious solutions rather than making incremental improvements can attract the unlikely partners with the power and know-how to achieve results. His debut book, Big Bets, offers a masterclass in approaching

Laughter can be good medicine, but when is it okay to laugh at something as deadly serious as the climate crisis? Jokes help us remember information that otherwise might not be retained. A snappy punchline can be a powerful way to get a message through to an audience. Comedy can also be a way for performers and audiences alike to cope with a shared societal problem, like climate or social justice. Humor has a way of slipping through our perceived biases and giving us a new way of looking at challenges. How can we all learn to use humor both as a coping tool and a tool for change?  Guests:  Rollie Williams, Comedian, Host, Climate Town Caty Borum, Provost Assoc. Professor, American University For show notes and related links, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a challenge to make the best decisions in a world that is unpredictable and full of contradictions. Help is now available in the form of advice from quantum physicist Jim Al-Khalili, who shares 8 lessons from the heart of science that he says can help people get the most out of life. As he writes in The Joy of Science, Al-Khalili invites people to engage with the world as scientists have been trained to do. The scientific method has served mankind well in its quest to see things as they really are. Underpinning the scientific method are core principles that can be deployed outside of the laboratory too, in our own lives. Knowing the nature of truth and uncertainty, the role of doubt, the pros and cons of simplification, the value of guarding against bias, the importance of evidence-based thinking and more—Al-Khalili says these are all deeply relevant to everyday lives. Jim Al-Khalili is distinguished professor of theoretical physics at the University of Surrey and is one of Britain’s best-known science c

As CNN’s anchor and chief Washington correspondent Jake Tapper is one of the most respected journalists in news today. He is also a best-selling author, and his heart-pounding new thriller All the Demons Are Here takes us back to the 1970s, with two unforgettable characters encountering many of the real-life figures and events that defined one of the wildest and most dangerous decades in American history. Hear more about his latest work and his take on the current political landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At 5:12 a.m. on April 18, 1906, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck San Francisco, catching most of the city asleep. For approximately one minute, shockwaves buckled streets, shattered water mains, collapsed buildings, crushed hundreds of residents to death and trapped many alive. For the next three days, fires ignited and nearly destroyed what was then the largest city in the American West. Join us in-person as Matthew Davenport describes the massive devastation and combines history and science to tell the dramatic true story of one of the greatest disasters in American history. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond NOTES 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. This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Disasters caused by burning fossil fuels are becoming more frequent, and in the aftermath of hurricanes, floods and wildfires, federal and state responses are often slow or insufficient. There is a growing body of research showing that neighborhood ties can be the difference between life and death: Socially connected neighbors are less likely to die from excessive heat or other extreme weather events. Community-based action, like mutual aid, can bring resources to people overlooked by overburdened governments. What tools can a community use to prepare for fossil fueled disasters?  Guests: Tanya Gulliver Garcia, Director of learning and partnerships, Center for Disaster Philanthropy Chenier “Klie” Kliebert, Executive Director, Imagine Water Works Amee Raval, Research and Policy Director, Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) Justin Hollander, Professor, Urban and Environmental Policy Planning, Tufts University Reverend Vernon K. Walker, Climate Justice Program Director, Clean Water Action For show notes

Join us for the 13th annual Lundberg Institute Lecture, featuring Bob Matthews of MediSync discussing the advances artificial intelligence is making in health care. AI’s advances into various health-care fields have recently burst into public consciousness—generating excitement, concern and confusion among lay and professional observers. AI has already been relied upon in genomic medicine and in the automated analysis of diagnostic studies, but ChatGPT and Bard have liberated imaginations to consider many more potential applications. The task at hand, though, is determining whether those liberated imaginations are being realistic or unrealistic. Medical news tends to focus on the newest and most technically glitzy innovations. even though they sometimes perform less well than advertised. Matthews will explore the immediate opportunities AI has for affecting the care of the most prevalent and important medical conditions, like chronic diseases, as that could quickly influence both the quality and the total cos