Commonwealth Club Of California Podcast

Prior to the COVID–19 pandemic, many cities, particularly in the United States, were experiencing somewhat of a renaissance. Population was increasing, abandoned areas were being redeveloped into walkable neighborhoods, crime was dropping, and public spaces were engaging both a new generation of citizens and an older cohort who had moved to cities for the first time. In many ways, cities were fulfilling the vision of renowned urban economist Edward Glaeser as places that were the healthiest, greenest and richest (in both cultural and economic terms) places to live, and as areas that were rich in creativity and innovation. The 18 months since March 2020 have tremendously challenged this rosy view of cities, and today cities like San Francisco stand at an unexpected crossroads. During the global coronavirus crisis, cities grew silent as many office workers worked from home—if they could work at all. The normal forms of socializing ground to a halt. Theaters and restaurants were quiet, and cultural arts organiza

Transforming your life can be easier than you think. In his New York Times best selling book, Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything, a world-renowned expert on habit formation shares his groundbreaking methods for the first time in print. A behavior scientist at Stanford University, BJ Fogg combines his academic research with his massive real-world experience (he has personally coached more than 40,000 people) to create a book full of new insights about how he says behavior really works. With true stories and concise examples, Fogg shares his systematic approach to design for lasting change using his simple and effective methods, including his trademarked Tiny Habits Method. No willpower required. You might be pleasantly surprised to learn about a major theme in this book: People change best by feeling good, not by feeling bad. In this talk, Fogg will explain how to tap into the precise emotion that will build new habits and ultimately transform your life. A lively speaker and an award-winning

On August 27, 2010, three CIA officers met with then-CIA Director Leon Panetta. Their secret session revealed a courier with deep Al Qaeda ties who had been tracked to a three-story, heavily protected fortress at the end of a dead end street in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Without ever having to say the name bin Laden, there exists a mutual understanding that finally, after nearly a decade, they may have just found the world’s most wanted man. In Countdown bin Laden, celebrated journalist and anchor of "Fox News Sunday" Chris Wallace delivers a thrilling account of the final 8 months of intelligence gathering, national security strategizing, and meticulous military planning that leads to the climactic mission when SEAL Team Six closes in on its target. Wallace reveals new information collected from in-depth interviews with more than a dozen central figures—including Leon Panetta, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and the special operator who killed bin Laden. Personal accounts fr

The COVID-19 pandemic has killed millions, infected hundreds of millions, and laid bare the deep vulnerabilities and inequalities of our interconnected world. The ensuing economic collapse was the worst since the Great Depression, undoing more than two decades of progress in reducing extreme poverty. Tensions between the United States and China boiled over, and the worldwide contest between democracy and authoritarianism deepened. At a time when this global crisis required a truly collective response, international cooperation had almost entirely broken down, with key world leaders hardly on speaking terms. In Thomas Wright and Colin Kahl’s Aftershocks: Pandemic Politics and the End of the Old International Order, the two national security experts offer a definitive account of the global impact of COVID-19, the political shock waves it will have on the United States, and myriad ways in which the crisis exposed the limitations of the old world order. This comprehensive account of the year 2020 draws on intervi

In a revolutionary new vision of human biology and the scientific breakthroughs that will transform our lives. Professor Daniel M. Davis shows how radical new possibilities are becoming realities thanks to the visionary efforts of scientists who are revealing the invisible and secret universe within each of us. Focusing on six important frontiers, Davis describes what we are learning about cells, the development of the fetus, the body's immune system, the brain, the microbiome, and the genome — areas of human biology that are usually understood in isolation. Bringing them together, Davis offers a new vision of the human body as a biological wonder of dizzying complexity and possibility. SPEAKERS Daniel M. Davis Ph.D., Professor of Immunology, University of Manchester (UK); Author, The Secret Body. How the New Science of The Human Body Is Changing the Way We Live; The Beautiful Cure and The Compatibility Gene Robert Lee Kilpatrick Ph.D., Chair, Health & Medicine Member-Led Forum, Commonwealth Club of Californ

This September marks the 50th anniversary of the seminal work Diet for a Small Planet, in which Frances Moore Lappé argued that cattle constitute “a protein factory in reverse.” Lappé’s book inspired countless people to adopt vegetarian diets for environmental reasons.  But in the last 50 years the industrial food systems in America have only grown bigger and more concentrated, and – as the Lappés would argue – more powerful. Together with her daughter Anna Lappé, author of Diet for a Hot Planet, the two now focus on the intersections between democracy, environment, food, and justice.  “It's really important that we understand that in order to change our food environment, we need to really work to get money out of politics, and we really need to work on how to take on that kind of consolidated power in the industry,” Anna Lappé says.   Guests: Frances Moore Lappé, author, Diet for a Small Planet  Anna Lappé, author, Diet for a Hot Planet Analena Hope Hassberg, Associate Professor, Ethnic and Women's Studies D

COVID-19 has disrupted many of our lives, with impacts ranging from job loss to housing changes, physical health issues to mental health challenges. At the same time, drug use has increased since the pandemic first struck and has deeply affected many LGBTQ people.  Join us for an important discussion on the impact of drugs and the search for healthy ways of coping with the pandemic and life's other challenges. SPEAKERS Kristen Marshall Associate Director of San Francisco Programs, National Harm Reduction Coalition Wayne Rafus Manager of Contingency Management, 6th Street Harm Reduction Center Sister Roma Member, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence; Entertainer; Activist Juniper Yun Artist, Director of Cultural Affairs, The Transgender District in San Francisco Michelle Meow Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW TV and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors; Twitter @msmichellemeow—Host In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube

Unlike the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan had near-unanimous public support at the time. Their goals were straightforward: defeat Al-Qaeda and prevent a repeat of 9/11. But after the Taliban was ousted from power, U.S. officials lost sight of their original objectives as the military became mired in an unwinnable guerrilla conflict in a country it did not understand. Washington Post reporter Craig Whitlock brings us The Afghanistan Papers, which, similarly to the Pentagon Papers after Vietnam, contains startling revelations from people who played a direct role in the war, certain to change the public’s understanding of the conflict. From leaders in the White House and Pentagon to soldiers and aid workers on the front lines, many are candidly admitting that the U.S. government’s strategies were a mess, that the nation-building project was a colossal failure, and that drugs and corruption gained a stronghold over their allies in the Afghan government. Whitlock’s account is based on i

Americans today face a deeply divided nation beset with political dysfunction. It is here in the United States where identity is questioned, equality is fought for, and history is debated. How can we face the past and simultaneously envision a new future? In her new book Renewal, lawyer and foreign policy analyst Anne-Marie Slaughter encourages self-reflection and growth to change the way individuals and institutions lead and learn. Slaughter’s years of government service, particularly as the former director of policy planning for the U.S. Department of State, has prepared her for understanding how identity and values shape the crisis America now faces. Through personal reflections and insights on the latest research in the social sciences, Slaughter will explain how to understand how our country must accept its past, renew, and face the future. Renewal highlights a story of crisis and change that can help us find renewed honesty and purpose in our personal and political lives. Join us as Anne-Marie Slaughter

As the country reflects on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, join us for a special 90-minute conversation focused on the state of homeland security today and looking ahead. Homeland security is a term that has evolved over the past two decades since the deadly terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. At first, it was a subject primarily focused on protecting the country from international terrorism, including Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda, then ISIS, as well as affiliated terrorist organizations. Over the past several years and culminating on January 6 earlier this year, the phrase has also expanded to include domestic extremism and threats from within the United States. A high-level panel featuring former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napoliano, ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero and Hoover Institution Senior Fellow and cybersecurity expert Dr. Amy Zegart will discuss a range of issues related to homeland security, including civil liberties and technology. The progra

Travel and tourism make up one of California’s most important and powerful industries. Every day before the pandemic of 2020, travelers injected hundreds of millions of dollars into communities across the Golden State, infusing hundreds of billions of dollars into the state’s economy. In 2019, this spending generated $12.2 billion in local and state tax revenue and supported 1.2 million jobs for Californians. That all changed when the pandemic spread in March 2020, and the tourism industry largely shut down, hitting cities like San Francisco particularly hard. The industry recovery began to take shape earlier in 2021. However, just as the pandemic was receding and the tourism economy was starting to recover, the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus has again negatively impacted the tourism economy, slowing chances of a full recovery any time soon and raising questions about the future of the industry and, most important, the workers who rely on it for employment. These issues are particularly ch

Water is essential for life, and throughout history we have sought to control and make use of it. As Giulio Boccaletti explores in his new book, Water: A Biography, that relationship with water has underpinned human civilization, forming an integral part of society, government and land use systems. But despite its essential nature, access to water has never been equal or entirely fair.  Climate disruption will further destabilize the systems we’ve built to control water in our environment – even as it remains a public good without fair and equal public access. What can 10,000 years of history teach us about how we should handle water in our current and future climate? Guests: Giulio Boccaletti, Author, Water: A Biography Sara Aminzadeh, Vice President of Partnerships, U.S. Water Alliance Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Extraction: Art on the Edge of the Abyss is a special project of the Codex Foundation. Extraction is a multimedia, multi-venue, cross-border art intervention focused on the suicidal consumption of the planet’s natural resources, which the artists say is the most pressing environmental issue of our time, encompassing all others, including climate change. Extraction is an international "art ruckus" for 2021! Peter Koch's intervention includes a multimedia focus on dual aspects of Northern California and his native state of Montana and the impact of Extraction. The project is culminating in a constellation of nearly 50 overlapping exhibitions, performances, installations, site-specific work, land art, street art, publications, poetry readings and cross-media events throughout 2021 and beyond. NOTES MLF: Arts SPEAKERS Peter Koch Peter Koch Printers Sam Pelts Coordinator, Extraction Project Dr. Anne W. Smith Co-Chair, Arts Member-Led Forum, The Commonwealth Club of California—Moderator In response to the COVID-19

As with many aspects of American life, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted BIPOC communities. For Black businesses, this meant closing their doors and for Black workers, either being laid off or made to work in unsafe conditions. In a system where Black workers are proportionally overrepresented in low-wage work and sharply underrepresented in executive positions, this negative impact is exacerbated. However discouraging this reality is, it serves as a call to action to close the wide, possibly widening, racial gap. At INFORUM, a panel of experts on the economic state of Black America will provide insight on what a path to equal and just recovery looks like, expanding upon research by McKinsey & Company. Further, juxtaposing the current reality with the prosperity offered by a better future, they will drive home the need to make change, and do so quickly. SPEAKERS Shelley Stewart III Partner, McKinsey & Company; Co-author, "The economic state of Black America: What is and what cou

Join us as we discover and learn how these four dynamic returned women Peace Corps volunteers crafted their careers to become important leaders. We will also find out what hurdles they had to overcome and how they became influential and creative leaders. Their stories are valuable for all to hear, and we can all learn from their experiences. Lisa Curtis is the founder and CEO of Kuli Kuli, the leading brand pioneering the sustainably sourced superfood moringa. Kuli Kuli works with farmers in the developing world to access the nutritional power and economic opportunities of moringa. Curtis began working on Kuli Kuli while serving in the Peace Corps in Niger and has grown it into a multi-million dollar social enterprise. Previously, Lisa wrote political briefings for President Obama in the White House, served as a United Nations Environment Programme Youth Advisor, and worked at an impact investment firm in India. The moderator for today's program is Frank Price, the vice president of the Northern California Pe

U.C. Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky is one of the country's most respected constitutional scholars. In his new book Presumed Guilty, he says that the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the perpetuation of racist policing by presuming that suspects, especially people of color, are guilty before being charged. Dean Chemerinsky argues that the fact that police are nine times more likely to kill Black men than other Americans is no accident but rather the result of an elaborate body of doctrines. He says the pro-defendant Warren Court was a only brief historical aberration and that this more liberal era ended with Nixon’s presidency and the ascendance of conservative justices, whose rulings have permitted stops and frisks, limited suits to reform police departments, and even abetted the use of chokeholds. Come hear Dean Chemerinsky's thoughts on necessary steps to create a more robust court system that will enhance civil rights. SPEAKERS Erwin Chemerinsky Dean, University of California, Berkeley, Law School; Aut

“Everyone’s someone’s somebody.” That’s the tagline of Miracle Messages, a nonprofit organization tackling homelessness by rekindling relationships and reconstructing support systems. Inspired by his Uncle Mark, CEO Kevin Adler launched Miracle Messages in 2014. Growing up, Kevin watched his beloved and loyal uncle, who suffered from schizophrenia, battle homelessness on-and-off for 30 years. When Mark passed away at the age of 50, Kevin’s family ensured that Mark’s life would never be forgotten within their own family. However, Kevin realized that while his uncle was lucky to have a family to remember and support him, thousands of others living on the streets were not connected to their family members or friends. Kevin and Miracle Messages volunteers offer homeless individuals a chance to reconnect with their family members and friends. Through Miracle Message’s reunion service, they have helped reunite over 425 people experiencing homelessness with support systems from which they have been separated, someti

This is your Commonwealth Club week in review. Hear what you missed this week, and what we’ve got lined up for you next week. We’re always adding new programs - check out commonwealthclub.org/online for all of our upcoming events. If you haven’t already - please consider becoming a member of the Club. Enjoy exclusive discounts and access to special programs all while knowing your contributions directly support our many public programs and civic initiatives. Visit commonwealthclub.org/special, for special rates on memberships. Thanks for your support and as always - thanks for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hundreds of people have been arrested in Minnesota in ongoing protests against Line 3, a pipeline that will move Canadian tar sands oil, and which could be operational as soon as this month.  Pipeline advocates, like Mike Fernandez of Enbridge (Line 3’s builder), argue that as long as people are still using oil, we need a way to transport it — and pipelines are the safest, least carbon-intensive means of doing so. Opponents, like Sierra Club’s Kelly Sheehan Martin, argue that oil companies bolster markets for oil and gas as a way to justify continued profits from building pipelines and extracting oil. Sheehan Martin argues that to seriously address the climate crisis, we need to keep the oil in the ground, and listen to the voices of those worried about harm to waterways and tribal lands.  Why have oil pipelines become such a point of contention in the environmental movement? And what can all sides agree on to work toward the same less-carbon-reliant future? Guests: Mike Fernandez, Senior Vice President, Publ

"I Love New York." "Keep Portland Weird." "Virginia Is For Lovers." "Don’t Mess with Texas." We all know them. We all say them—but how do we sum up the Bay Area? The Bay offers the world culture, diversity, natural beauty, innovation and commitment to progress. Yet the Bay wrestles with persistent housing challenges and news stories about the “Bay Area exodus.” Layer on the COVID-19 pandemic, and it's no surprise that regional pride and confidence in the Bay Area is taking a hit. But this moment of unprecedented crisis can be a turning point for the Bay Area. Join a panel of Bay Area locals and legends who will discuss how The Bay shaped who they have become, why they call this region home, and different solutions to rebuilding and strengthening the Bay Area. This panel will wrestle with how we can not only recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, but create the vibrant, equitable region that we all aspire to live in. NOTES In partnership with Tipping Point Community. SPEAKERS Sam Cobbs CEO, Tipping Point Communit