Commonwealth Club Of California Podcast

Mass produced. Industrially farmed. Corporate owned. Ordinary. To Food & Wine editor Ray Isle, those words describe much of today's wine. He says the way that a wine is made, and who made it, can make a huge difference when you drink it—and that information matters much more than knowing it scored 90 points in some competition. Or that it tastes like blueberries. Or it has "hints of violets and black pepper." Isle aims to help readers choose more delicious, interesting and environmentally friendly wines without breaking the bank. He examined several hundred independently owned wineries around the world, from France to Oregon to southern Chile, and says that a glass of wine can express the place it comes from and capture the essence of the person who made it. He focuses on wines people can afford, rather than $500 rarities, and he'll help you learn where and how to find the most interesting bottles available today. In this special December program, join us for a discussion with Isle followed by a delicious—and

Ben Santer has spent decades researching and identifying the human fingerprints on the climate system changes we’re now all seeing. He was lead author on the historic 1995 conclusion of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which proclaimed that “the balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on global climate.” That was the first time the IPCC authoritatively stated humans are causing climate change. At the time, Stephen Schneider told Ben Santer that the sentence he wrote would change the world. Santer’s foundational work also laid the groundwork for the expanding field of attribution science, which enables activists and lawyers to ascribe proportionate blame to specific polluters in lawsuits demanding damages for climate-disrupting emissions. Climate One is delighted to present the 2023 Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication to atmospheric scientist Ben Santer. Guests: Ben Santer, Fowler Distinguished Scholar in Residence, Woods Hole; Visiting Res

In 1964, Ronald Reagan told Americans it was “a time for choosing.” Sixty years later, Republicans have their own choice to make: Are they tired of winning? Perhaps no one has changed the Republican Party in the modern era as much as Ronald Reagan and one of his successors in office, Donald Trump. But Trump's post-presidency has been as filled with controversy and chaos as his time in the White House.  Journalist Jonathan Karl has known Trump since his days as a New York Post reporter in the 1990s, and he covered every day of Trump's administration as ABC News's chief White House correspondent. Now he follows up his bestselling book Betrayal with Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party. Karl tracks Trump's improbable journey from defeated former president to the dominant force, yet again, in the Republican Party.  Karl says that from his exile in Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump has become more extreme, vengeful and divorced from reality than he was on January 6, 2021. His meddling damaged t

Sam Lebovic demonstrates how The Espionage Act, passed in 1917 to punish the critics of American participation in World War I, gave rise over time to a vast American security state designed to keep its citizens in the dark. When Americans began to balk at the act’s restrictions on political dissidents and the press, the government turned its focus toward keeping its own secrets under wraps. The resulting system for classifying information is shrouded in secrecy, absurdly cautious, and staggeringly costly, preventing ordinary Americans from learning what their country is doing in their name, both at home and abroad.   Shedding new light on the bloated governmental security apparatus that’s weighing our democracy down, Lebovic sets out in detail the history of America’s ever-increasing drift toward secrecy—and the staggering human and political costs that has had on our society.  Join us online for an in-depth look at this far-reaching law. MLF ORGANIZER: George Hammond A Humanities Member-led Forum program. Fo

It's that time of year again when we gather together to remember the year that was, share expectations for the year ahead, and celebrate. We'll start our evening with Michelle Meow interviewing the two Jeffs—Jeff Yang, author of the new book The Golden Screen: The Movies That Made Asian America (which features a foreword by Michelle Yeoh and an afterword by Jon M. Chu), and Jeff Chang, author and editor of numerous books, including the forthcoming Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America. After that, we'll head to our beautiful second-floor lounge for some food, drink, music and togetherness.  Reserve your ticket early and join us in-person for our once-a-year tradition at The Commonwealth Club's bayfront home! See more  Michelle Meow Show programs at Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been a year of weather extremes — again. But there’s also been cause for  renewed hope about our climate future. On the heels of this year’s international climate conference held in the oil-rich Middle East, Climate One hosts Greg Dalton and Ariana Brocious review major climate stories of the year, both lows and highs. This special episode features excerpts from some of Climate One’s most surprising, moving and compelling interviews of 2023, including conversations with luminaries Rev. Lennox Yearwood and Rebecca Solnit, White House Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi, climate activist Nalleli Cobo and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker. A previous version of this episode incorrectly stated that the COP28 agreement includes a transition from fossil fuels this decade. While the deal calls for the transition to happen in “a just, orderly and equitable manner,” it does not include a timeframe. We regret the error. Guests:  Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr., CEO, Hip Hop Caucus  Kathy Baughman-McLeod, Director, Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller

The new government of Thailand's prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, has pledged to be a leader on LGBTQ rights. What are their plans? To find out, "Michelle Meow Show" producer and host Michelle Meow met with Prime Minister Thavisin when he was in San Francisco for meetings this fall of APEC. See more  Michelle Meow Show programs at Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To many of us, it might seem like recent developments in artificial intelligence emerged out of nowhere to pose unprecedented threats to humanity. But to Dr. Joy Buolamwini, a trailblazer in AI research, this moment has been a long time in the making. Dr. Buolamwini has spent decades pondering the many implications of an AI-powered world—all the potential benefits, detriments, and injustices.  But Dr. Buolamwini hasn’t simply explored the potential for harm by AI; she has researched and identified real-world AI harm that has already been done by some of the world’s largest tech companies. In graduate school, she led groundbreaking research at MIT’s Future Factory that exposed widespread racial and gender bias in AI services from tech giants like Microsoft, IBM, and Apple. In her upcoming book, Unmasking AI, Dr. Buolamwini takes readers through the remarkable journey of how she uncovered what she calls “the coded gaze”—the evidence of encoded discrimination and exclusion in tech products—and how she galvanized

During the height of the Cold War, a group of small-town young men would lead their underdog hockey team from the little country of Czechoslovakia against the mighty Soviet Union, the juggernaut in their sport and the superpower in their neighborhood. As they battled on the ice, the young players would keep their people’s quest for freedom alive, and forge a way to fight back against the authoritarian forces that sought to crush them. Join us as University of California, Davis, political science professor Ethan Scheiner, whose research focused on the intersection of politics and sports, discusses what he found out while researching and writing his new book Freedom to Win: A Cold War Story of the Courageous Hockey Team That Fought the Soviets for the Soul of Its People—and Olympic Gold.  From the sudden invasion of Czechoslovakia by an armada of tanks and 500,000 Warsaw Pact soldiers, to a hockey victory over the Soviets that inspired half a million furious citizens to take to the streets in an attempt to dest

One of the most controversial topics today is the issue of gender and the related matters of identity, language and law. Schuyler Bailar's story of becoming the first openly transgender athlete to compete on an NCAA Division 1 team in any sport appeared everywhere from "60 Minutes" to "The Ellen Show" to The Washington Post. In an effort to explain the issues surrounding gender identity and how it's discussed, Bailar has written He/She/They. His approach is to use storytelling and the art of conversation to give us the fundamental language and context of gender so that we can meet people where they are and pave the way to understanding, acceptance, and inclusion.  Join us for an in-depth talk about the issues driving laws  in dozens of states and being discussed across the country.  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

Milton Friedman and John Maynard Keynes were the most influential economists of the 20th century in capitalist countries. But it was Friedman’s work that was instrumental in the definitive turn toward free markets that defined the 1980s, as his defenses of freedom and capitalism resonated with audiences around the world. So it’s no wonder that the final decades of the last century have sometimes been called “the Age of Friedman”—or that some analysts have sought to hold him responsible for both the rising prosperity and the social ills of recent decades. Jennifer Burns, in Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative, the first full biography to employ archival sources, tells Friedman’s extraordinary story with the nuance it deserves. She provides lucid and lively context for his groundbreaking work on everything from why dentists earn less than doctors, to the vital importance of the money supply, to inflation and the limits of government planning and stimulus. She traces Friedman’s longstanding collaborations wit

This week, we’re reporting from Dubai, where the 28th UN climate change conference (COP28) is now underway. Ever since the Paris Agreement was signed at COP21, the central issue has remained the same: How do the nations of the world keep global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels?  This year marks the first “global stocktake,” where the data on how well we’re collectively doing on meeting the Paris targets are front and center. Across the board, countries are failing. How much will this harsh dose of reality affect the negotiations? Perhaps more importantly, how does what happens at these international summits affect the people most at risk for flooding and extreme heat? Guests: Claire Stockwell, Senior Climate Policy Analyst, Climate Analytics Nisreen Elsaim, Sudanese Climate Activist; Former Chair, UN Secretary General’s Youth Advisory Group Abigael Kima, Host and Producer, Hali Hewa Podcast Chautuileo Tranamil, Co-Founder, Indigenous Liberation and Aralez Myrna Cunningham, Cha

Where did AI come from? Who created it, why, and where can it lead? Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly developing into a world-changer, affecting every industry and being used by hundreds of millions of people—even when they're unaware they're interacting with an artificial intelligence. And we're only at the early stages of AI's growth. Join us for an in-depth talk with Dr. Fei-Fei Li, whom Wired called "one of a tiny group of scientists―a group perhaps small enough to fit around a kitchen table―who are responsible for AI’s recent remarkable advances.” Dr. Li came to America as an immigrant, enduring a shift from Chinese middle class to American poverty. But a tough upbringing did not stop her from becoming a leading mind in the next big technological development. Fei-Fei’s adolescent knack for physics endured and positioned her to make a crucial contribution to the breakthrough we now call AI, placing her at the center of a global transformation. Over the last decades, her work has brought her face-to-

As cities across the country grapple with a persistent homelessness crisis, a leading advocate offers a compassionate look at the problem, the people, and the possible solutions—including what you can do to help.  Kevin Adler returns to The Commonwealth Club to provide an urgent look at homelessness in America, showing us what we lose—in ourselves and as a society—when we choose to walk past and ignore our neighbors in shelters, insecure housing, or on the streets.  Adler is the co-author of When We Walk By, which argues that we have sacrificed our humanity by ignoring, downplaying, and refusing to address the homelessness problem. The authors offer an evidence-based people-first approach and community-driven solutions, and they lay out some practical steps that individuals can take to address homelessness. Kevin Adler is an award-winning social entrepreneur, nonprofit leader, and author. Since 2014, he has served as the founder and CEO of Miracle Messages, a nonprofit organization that helps people experienc

From one of the world’s most innovative designers comes a fiercely passionate manifesto on why so many places have become miserable and boring and how we can make them better for everyone. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear directly from the author, Thomas Heatherwick, in conversation with Enrique Landa, developer of Power Station. Together, they will explore how to bring more beauty and humanity to our built environment. Drawing on 30 years’ experience in making memorable objects and buildings, Heatherwick offers both an informed critique of the inhumanity in most of today’s contemporary building design, and a rousing call for action. Humanize visits landmarks and cityscapes around the world to articulate how places can either sap the life out of us or nourish our senses and our psyche. Design is not superficial: it has an impact on economics, climate change, our mental and physical wellbeing—even the peace and cohesion of our societies. This event is presented by Heatherwick Studio in association wit

From classical philosophers like Epictetus, to great 20th century thinkers like Martin Luther King Jr., to her own experience working in the federal government during a particularly politically fraught era, Alexandra Hudson examines how civility―a respect for the personhood and dignity of others―transcends political disagreements. Respecting someone means valuing them enough to tell them when you think they are wrong. It’s easy to look at the divided state of the world and blame our leaders, the media, or our education system. Hudson says that instead, we should focus on what we can control: ourselves. She argues that includes living tolerantly with others despite deep differences, but still rigorously protesting wrongs and debating issues rather than silencing disagreements. Since a robust public discourse is essential to a truly civil society, and since respecting others means telling hard truths, if enough of us decide to change ourselves, we might be able to change the world we live in too. And that is th

Extreme weather in the wake of climate change, causing wildfires, drought and flooding, threatens to turn the American West into a region hostile to human habitation—a “Great American Desert” as early U.S. explorers once mislabeled it. Bruce Cain suggests that the unique complex of politics, technology and logistics that once won the West must be rethought and reconfigured to win it anew in the face of these accelerating threats. These challenges are complicated by the region’s history, the deliberate fractiousness of the American political system, and the idiosyncrasies of human behavior. Cain analyzes how, in spite of coastal flooding and spreading wildfires, people continue to move into, and even rebuild in, risky areas, how local communities are slow to take protective measures, and how individual beliefs, past adaptation practices and infrastructure, and complex governing arrangements across jurisdictions combine to flout real progress. Driving this analysis is Cain’s conviction that understanding the ha

The 28th annual Conference of the Parties, COP28, opens this week in Dubai. For the 28th time, the nations of the world have gathered to see what progress they can make on addressing the increasingly global climate crisis. It’s fair to wonder why, after three decades, we still haven’t taken the collective action necessary. And it’s equally fair to wonder why diplomats continue to bother with what Greta Thunberg famously called “blah, blah, blah.” This year’s COP marks the first “Global Stocktake,” an assessment of how the nations of the world are doing compared to the emissions-cutting commitments they made in Paris. The answer? Not well. And with COP28 being hosted by a major oil and gas producing nation and led by an industry executive, what hope is there for progress? Guests: Daniel Esty, Professor of Environmental Law & Policy, Yale Law School Ben Stockton, Investigative Reporter Aisha Khan, Chief Executive, Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change  This episode features a segment from Contributing Rep

The whole goal of physics is to explain what we observe. For centuries, physicists believed that observations yielded faithful representations of what is out there. But when they began to study the subatomic realm, they found that observation often interferes with what is being observed―that the act of seeing changes what we see. The same may also be true about cosmology: our view of the universe may be inevitably distorted by observation bias. And so whether they’re studying subatomic particles or galaxies, physicists might need to first explain consciousness. Searching to answer that question, George Musser turned to neuroscientists and philosophers of the mind. Neuroscientists have built up ever-better understandings of the structure of the brain. Musser asks whether that could help physicists better understand the levels of self-organization they observe in other systems. At the same time, physicists are trying to explain how particles organize themselves into the objects we perceive around us. So Musser

For more than five decades, Ms. magazine has been a beacon of feminist ideas, sparking conversations and setting the stage for transformative discussions on women's rights, equality and empowerment. As the first magazine to feature prominent American women demanding the repeal of laws that criminalized abortion, explain and advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment, rate presidential candidates on women’s issues, feature domestic violence and sexual harassment on its cover, and commission and publish a national study on date rape, the voice of Ms. has shaped modern day feminism and many contemporary issues.  Join us in a celebration of Ms. at The Commonwealth Club as our featured speakers Katherine Spillar (Ms. executive editor), Dr. Sophia Yen (CEO and co-founder of Pandia Health), Hon. Betty Yee (former California state controller), and Aimee Allison (founder and president of She the People) explore the voices that have shaped feminism and continue to shape our world. About the Speakers Aimee Allison is the f