Commonwealth Club Of California Podcast

Was 2019 the last great year for the world economy? For generations, everything has been getting faster, better and cheaper. Complex, innovative industries were created to satisfy consumers, but are we at the brink of not being able to sustain ongoing demand? Geopolitical strategist Peter Zeihan asserts it is only a matter of time before major changes will start to unfold that will affect how we manufacture goods, grow food and produce energy. Additionally, the list of countries able to sustain this model is much smaller than you might think. Zeihan issues an urgent call to avoid what he sees as a catastrophic ending and maps out what the “next” world will look like. NOTES This program is supported by the Ken & Jaclyn Broad Family Fund.  This program contains EXPLICIT language. SPEAKERS Peter Zeihan Author, The End of the World Is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization; Twitter @PeterZeihan Quentin Hardy Head of Editorial, Google Cloud In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently

Five centuries after his death, Leonardo Da Vinci is attracting more attention for his art, his science and his mechanical inventiveness than ever. Humanities West celebrates his continuing cultural contributions with an encore presentation of "Leonardo’s Legacy," our February 2019 program, again featuring Martin Kemp, a world-renowned Leonardo scholar, who will treat us this time to his latest research on Leonardo’s study of the science of optics and how that study influenced his artistic creations. And Deborah Loft will reprise her popular lecture, "Leonardo's Artistic Legacy: Homage and Irony," which looks at the visual elements that make his work distinctive, and follows his significance through time to our contemporary culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the last two decades, a fringe plan to call a convention under the Constitution's amendment mechanism—the nation's first ever—has inched through statehouses. Delegates, like those in Philadelphia two centuries ago, would exercise nearly unlimited authority to draft changes to our fundamental law, potentially altering anything from voting and free speech to regulatory and foreign policy powers. Such a watershed moment would present great danger, and for some, great power. Russ Feingold and Peter Prindiville examine the nature of such constitutional changes in modern life and ask the urgent question about what American democracy is—and should be. SPEAKERS Russ Feingold Former U.S. Senator (D-Wisconsin); President, American Constitution Society; Co-author, The Constitution in Jeopardy: An Unprecedented Effort to Rewrite Our Fundamental Law and What We Can Do About It; Twitter @russfeindgold Peter Prindiville Non-resident Fellow, Stanford Constitutional Law Center; Co-Author, The Constitution in Jeopardy: An

Best-selling author Mark Shaw, who has become a magnet for crowdsourced information about Marilyn Monroe, JFK and prominent journalist Dorothy Kilgallen ever since his lectures went viral on YouTube, returns to The Commonwealth Club to share new research about the cover-ups that followed those three celebrities’ deaths. Revealed for the first time in his latest book, Fighting for Justice, is evidence from a still-living legislative aide to a Warren Commission member never identified before that the inner workings of the commission involved “internal corruption,” and that commission members felt pressure from President Johnson, Chief Justice Earl Warren, and J. Edgar Hoover to support the “Oswald Alone” theory. Shaw also argues that that commission member was likely the one who surreptitiously passed Jack Ruby’s testimony to journalist Dorothy Kilgallen prior to its release date—triggering an FBI inquiry. Join us to hear Shaw describe what a “rat’s nest” Marilyn fell into when she fell in love with Frank Sinat

In 2015, Misty Copeland made history and changed the dance world forever when she became the first African-American female principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre. But as she will tell you, achievements like this never happen in a void. Behind her and supporting her rise was her mentor, Raven Wilkinson. A trailblazer in the world of ballet, Wilkinson fought to be taken seriously as a Black ballerina in the 1950s and '60s. During this time Wilkinson faced overt and casual racism, hostile crowds, and death threats for having the audacity to dance ballet. Copeland honors the unheralded contributions made by women like Wilkinson who helped pave the way so she could pursue her dream career. She will also share more about her own journey, struggles with racism and exclusion, and intergenerational friendship and mentorship with Wilkinson. NOTES This program is generously supported by the Applied Materials Foundation.   SPEAKERS Misty Copeland Principal Dancer, American Ballet Theatre; Author, The Wind at My

In 2012, Regina Martínez, a prominent journalist reporting on political corruption and abuse in Mexico, was found brutally murdered in her bathroom. This tragic act of violence sent a clear message: No journalist in Mexico was safe. Troubled by this news, Katherine Corcoran, then leading the Associated Press coverage of Mexico, traveled to Veracruz to uncover the truth about Martínez’s death. Now Corcoran reveals what she learned during her investigation and recounts her own experiences battling cover-ups, narco-officials, red tape and even threats. Hear more about this harrowing story as well as the ongoing dangers that journalists encounter everyday around the world. NOTES This program is part of The Commonwealth Club's Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. SPEAKERS Katherine Corcoran Former Associated Press Bureau Chief for Mexico and Central America; Author, In the Mouth of the Wolf: A Murder, a Cover-Up, and the True Cost of Silencing the Press  Janine Zacharia Carlos Kelly McCl

Over a 20-year period, methane is 80 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Yet those responsible for releasing methane into the atmosphere often don’t even know how much they themselves are emitting. And methane is only one of many harmful air pollutants that result from our dependence on burning fossil fuels.  Now, research coalitions, citizen scientists and activists are using a slate of new tools to detect and report emissions. They’re also using many of the same tools to shine a light on exactly how and where other deadly fossil fuel pollutants, like nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter, are affecting community health. Such data could become a critical tool for regulation, leading to greater emissions reductions.   Guests: Davida Herzl, Co-founder and CEO, Aclima Kendra Pinto, Four Corners Indigenous Community Field Advocate, Earthworks  Gavin McCormick, Co-founder, Climate TRACE For show notes and related links, visit https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts Learn more

Sara Holtz, a former Fortune 500 vice president, is the author of Advice to My Younger Me: Career Lessons from 100 Successful Women and the host of the highly rated podcast "Advice to My Younger Me." She has interviewed hundreds of successful women about what they wish they had known earlier in their careers, has coached thousands, and has received the American Bar Association’s prestigious Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award in recognition of the impact that her work has had on helping women succeed. We'll start the program with an overview of the main lessons Holtz has learned from her interviews about the critical steps to career success. Too many women (and men) expect that all they need to do is work hard on assigned tasks and they will be rewarded for their good work with raises and promotions. But that's a bit unrealistic; Holtz says that succeeding at your career requires taking responsibility for how it unfolds, understanding the unwritten rules in your workplace, nurturing and leveragi

Does mass incarceration make our communities safer? How can we better protect victim rights? What happens inside of prisons? Those are important questions that Lenore Anderson and Bill Keller address in their new books In Their Names and What's Prison For? Anderson argues that the powerful myth that mass incarceration benefits victims obscures recognition of what most victims actually need to address their trauma. Based on her national reform advocacy work and time as the former chief of policy at the San Francisco District Attorney’s office and former director of public safety for the Oakland mayor, she offers her solutions on how we can close the gap between our public safety systems and crime survivors. Keller looks at our broken criminal justice system and shares what happens inside prisons and jails, where nearly 2 million Americans are held. He takes us inside to meet men and woman who are making efforts to return back to society and talks about his own experience helping educate inmates at Sing Sing as

From the beginning of the nation to today, Black women have transformed their pain into progress and have been at the frontlines of many of the nation’s political, social and economic struggles. In her new book Black Women Will Save the World, April Ryan celebrates the tenacity, power and impact that Black women have had across America. She highlights trailblazing “sheroes” ranging from political leaders like Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Maxine Waters, activists like Brittany Packnett Cunningham, and artists like Regina King who fight for fairness and justice. Ryan also chronicles her own journey from working-class Baltimore to the elite echelons of journalism and speaks candidly about the hurdles she faced in becoming one of the most well-connected members of the Washington press corps. Ryan notes we are at a moment unlike any other in our nation’s history where we need to acknowledge the presence and unrivaled contributions of Black women. Hear more about how they continue to lead and drive change

After 25 years of service, U.S. Marine Mac McKinney returned home to Indiana filled with an all-consuming rage and hatred toward the people he had been fighting against overseas. Still fueled by his desire to fight for his country, McKinney makes a violent plan to bomb the local mosque. But when he comes face to face with the community of Afghan refugees and others of Muslim faith, his plan and life take an unexpected turn. This documentary film explores the dynamics of patriotism, humanity and redemption. Following the film screening will be a panel discussion with Director Joshua Seftel, Bibi Bahrami and Mac McKinney.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Overwhelmed by racial injustice? Outraged by the news? Shocked by ugly events in American history? If you find yourself asking “what can I do?”—W. Kamau Bell and Kate Schatz have an answer: Do the Work! Bell and Schatz confront urgent issues on race and identity in America with sharp humor and interactive activities. They challenge us to have hard conversations, think critically, and act effectively about white privilege and Black disenfranchisement. Hear more as Bell and Schatz offer a unique, hands-on understanding of systemic racism and, more important, how people can dismantle it. *This podcast contains explicit language Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When federal employees start working for the U.S. Government, each person takes an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic.” During the Trump administration, some employees surprisingly found themselves fighting their own commander-in-chief, creating a resistance movement within the government that created tensions throughout the executive branch and various federal agencies. Political affairs analyst David Rothkopf chronicles the unprecedented role many in the government felt they were forced to play during this tumultuous time and the consequences they faced for their actions. Rothkopf focuses on the experiences of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and his brother Yevgeny, Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, Fiona Hill, and others who felt they needed to speak out publicly to protect our country. These once-obscure federal bureaucrats rose to national prominence by choosing to fight for what they believed, and Rothkopf believes their stories of resistanc

How did an Ivy League activist become a global fugitive? Journalist Bradley Hope chronicles the heart-pounding tale of Adrian Hong, a self-taught operative who tried to bring down the North Korean regime. In addition to helping asylum-seeking North Koreans escape across the border, Hong and his secret organization Cheollima Civil Defense (later named Free Joseon), began tracking the North Korean government’s activities and its volatile third-generation ruler, Kim Jong-un. Hear more about the high-stakes events that led Hong to become one of the world’s most unlikely fugitives. SPEAKERS Bradley Hope Co-founder, Project Brazen; Author, The Rebel and the Kingdom: The True Story of the Secret Mission to Overthrow the North Korean Regime Quentin Hardy Head of Editorial, Google Cloud—Moderator In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 8th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

We are living through a transformative time in mental health research. There is overwhelming demand for new and safe ways of addressing various states of depression. Dr. Nolan Williams and Stanford University are leaders in cutting-edge research that is generating worldwide attention. Attend this fascinating program to learn what is currently being done in research settings as well as the breakthrough technology that is in the process of being developed so it can be in every medical setting and available to people who need treatment and support. At Stanford, Dr. William’s Brain Stimulation Lab developed a now-FDA-cleared, personalized, accelerated neuromodulation treatment known as Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy (SAINT). The innovative SAINT approach is having a very positive impact on the treatment of severe depression. In a double-blind, randomized controlled trial, high doses of magnetic brain stimulation, given on an accelerated timeline and individually targeted, brought rapid r

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, against a backdrop of massive cultural shifts, violence and political upheaval, Natasha Lance Rogoff took on the challenge of creating a program that had never existed before, Ulitsa Sezam, a Russian version of Sesame Street.  This new children’s television program, produced by a Russian-American team, was designed to introduce children into the world of learning in a very joyful way.  What started as an attempt to entertain and educate millions of children across the former U.S.S.R., encouraging tolerance and inclusion, spiraled into the astonishing true story of culture clashes shaping all aspects of production. On the set, the production team navigated conflicts about topics like diversity, class, and even the notion of encouraging children’s optimism about the future. Meanwhile, off the set, there were car bombings, assassinations of the show’s top broadcast partners, and hostile takeovers of the production studios.  Muppets in Moscow is as much about the work that

Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard made headlines recently when he announced that he and his family had transferred their $3 billion stake in the storied outdoor gear company to a special purpose trust and nonprofit that would give away $100 million a year, specifically to environmental causes. Patagonia has a long history of donating at least one percent of its profits – and 100% of profits made on Black Friday – to grassroots environmental non-profits. Yet even with this massive gift, and Laurene Powell Jobs’ own recent $3.5 billion pledge, climate philanthropy still only accounts for a small fraction of all charitable giving. This Thanksgiving weekend, we look back to our 2016 interview with Yvon Chouinard and bring the story up to date with Inside Philanthropy’s Michael Kavate. Guests: Yvon Chouinard, Founder, Patagonia Michael Kavate, Staff Writer, Inside Philanthropy For show notes and related links, visit https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap

We all need sleep to survive. It is essential to our physical and mental wellbeing and just as important as food, water and oxygen. So why do so many of us struggle to get a good night’s rest? Dr. Aric Prather runs one of the world’s most successful sleep clinics and shares effective techniques that he uses to help his own patients achieve healing and restorative sleep. Hear more about this powerful plan to improve your quality of sleep in just seven days. NOTES The Commonwealth Club is a nonprofit public forum; we welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our online programming. SPEAKERS Aric A. Prather Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco; Author, The Sleep Prescription: Seven Days to Unlocking Your Best Rest Mark Zitter Founder, Zetema Project; Member, Commonwealth Club of California Board of Governors—Moderator In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream.

Ramses the Great ruled Egypt more than 3,200 years ago, but he made sure we would still be talking about him today. He ruled for 67 years, probably starting on May 31st (III Season of the Harvest, day 27 to ancient Egyptians) in 1279 BC. He soon set about creating a new capital city in the Nile delta, where he had chariot, weapon and shield factories built. Not long thereafter he defeated the Sherden pirates who were seriously harassing sea traders in the Mediterranean, and “won” the Battle of Kadesh against the Hittites in the largest chariot battle ever fought. He also had enormous temples, obelisks and statues erected all over the New Kingdom, and ordered lots of gold objects. Dozens of those objects are on display until February 12 at the de Young Museum in a state-of-the-art exhibit featuring the greatest collection of Ramses objects and Egyptian jewelry ever to travel to the United States. Along with colossal royal sculpture, the exhibit highlights recently discovered animal mummies and treasures from t

For decades, China’s ascension to power was promised to be peaceful, with the nation’s leaders adopting a restrained approach to foreign policy and reassuring the outside world of their non-combative intentions. What changed? Susan L. Shirk provides a sobering, behind-the-scenes account of China’s transformation from fragile superpower to global heavyweight—threatening Taiwan, tightening its grip on Hong Kong, and openly challenging the United States for economic and military dominance. Hear more about China’s future and what that could mean for the United States and the rest of the world. SPEAKERS Susan L. Shirk Research Professor and Chair of the 21st Century China Center, The School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California, San Diego; Author, Overreach: How China Derailed Its Peaceful Rise Jane Perlez Foreign Correspondent and Former Beijing Bureau Chief, The New York Times—Moderator In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live s