Commonwealth Club Of California Podcast

Aging—not cancer or heart disease—is the world’s leading cause of death and suffering. In spite of this, we accept the aging process as inevitable. We come to terms with the fact that our bodies and minds will begin to deteriorate and our risk of disease will rise as we get older. Aging is so deeply ingrained in the human experience that we never stop to ask: is it necessary? Scientists, on the other hand, know that aging is not a biological inevitability. Dr. Andrew Steele's new book Ageless introduces us to the cutting-edge research that is paving the way for a revolution in medicine. It takes us inside the laboratories where scientists are studying every aspect of the body: DNA, mitochondria, stem cells, the immune system, even ‘aging genes’ that have helped animals enjoy a tenfold increase in lifespan—and which could, in the not too distant future, lead to treatments that could forestall our own bodies’ decline. Steele will explain how understanding the scientific implications of aging could lead to the g

In Washington State, voters defeated initiatives to put a price on carbon ― twice. Governor Jay Inslee himself then lost his personal bid for the White House. Yet his bold ideas have proven staying power. The state legislature recently passed a carbon cap and invest bill that will reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions 95 percent by 2050.  “We’ve got to wake up every morning figuring out ‘how can I disrupt the status quo.’ Because the status quo is deadly, it’s fatal, it will destroy economies and the biology that we exist on,” Inlsee says.  Even big oil, which spent tens of missions to defeat the 2018 carbon pricing proposal, seems to be changing its tune, with BP now supporting a price on carbon.  How might Washington State be a bellwether for Washington DC? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The year 2020 brought with it a nation riddled with grief as the United States descended into a raging pandemic, steep economic downfall, and unsettling political instability. As half a million perished and millions were left jobless from coronavirus, what was really going on inside the White House? And who was influencing Donald Trump as he refused to concede power after an election he had clearly lost? Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker answer these questions for the American people in I Alone Can Fix It, a gripping exposé of an administration sabotaging its own country. Their sources were in the room as Trump and the key players around him—doctors, generals, senior advisors and family members—continued to prioritize the interests of the president over that of the country. These witnesses saw firsthand Trump’s desire to deploy military force against protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death. They saw his refusal to take coronavirus seriously, even to the point of allowing himself a

July 1 marks 50 years since the ratification of the 26th Amendment. The lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18 had lasting impacts on the political and cultural landscapes of the 1970s, but even now youth organizing and social activism have a massive influence on American elections, policies and progress. In honor of this historic anniversary, join our panel of youth organizers leading the fight against youth voter suppression and to learn how the 26th Amendment might help provide contemporary solutions.   SPEAKERS Thandiwe Abdullah Co-Founder, Black Lives Matter Youth Vanguard Alex Edgar Voting Rights Activist; University of California, Berkeley, Freshman Class of 2025 Divyansh Kaushik Ph.D. student, Carnegie Mellon University; President, Carnegie Mellon University Graduate Student Assembly; Advisory Board Member, Students Learn Students Vote Rainesford Stauffer Freelance Writer; Author, An Ordinary Age—Moderator In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via

School's out for the summer, but come fall, most students will be returning to in-person classrooms across the country. For some students, every day in school is another day of possible bullying by their peers.  Join us for a discussion with a young award-winning filmmaker and actor on the impacts of peer bullying through the lens of LGBTQIA+ high school students.  Kabir McNeely is an award-winning American actor who grew up in San Francisco. He has drawn international interest through his uniquely expressive and direct acting style. He began his acting career in 2015 when he played a supporting role in Ruth, a student short film. Since then, he has trained extensively with the American Conservatory Theater, where he also performed in their annual main stage production of A Christmas Carol in 2016 and in Urinetown: The Musical. In 2020, he wrote and directed the award-winning short film Blue Girl, in which he also appeared in. Throughout 2021, McNeely has had a steady stream of supporting roles in short films

The Constitution clearly states that Americans have the right to keep and bear arms, an argument often used to dispute proposed gun control legislation. However, historian Carol Anderson says that deeper analysis of the formation of the Second Amendment reveals ulterior, racialized motives to keep Black people powerless and oppressed. In her new book The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America, Anderson uncovers the history behind the Second Amendment and argues that it was designed to keep African Americans vulnerable and subdued. As a professor of African American Studies at Atlanta's Emory University, Anderson’s research primarily focuses on how racial inequality affects the processes and outcomes of policymaking. In early America, slaves were prohibited from owning, carrying or using a firearm. She says this sentiment remains today as measures to expand and curtail gun ownership are aimed to keep the Black community neutralized and punished. In an era when many are reexamining government policy

From clearing land for pasture to building dams, humans have long changed the face of the Earth. But Indian eco-feminist Vandana Shiva is highly critical of how we’ve changed our relationship with the land through industrial monocrop agriculture. She firmly opposes genetically modified crops, and has called seed patents “bio-piracy.” But it’s not just the technology she’s critical of.  “I’m critical of the world view of arrogance. The worldview that came with colonialism, the mechanistic mindset of the conquering man being the creator of the earth and creator of the wealth,” Shiva says.  Shiva argues for a renewed focus on biodiversity and regenerative agriculture to help solve the climate crisis. Guests: Vandana Shiva, director of the Foundation for Science, Technology & Ecology Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frankly, We Did Win This Election, authored by The Wall Street Journal’s senior White House reporter Michael Bender, reveals a deeply reported account of Donald J. Trump’s final year as president of the United States—from his first impeachment in January 2020 to his second almost exactly a year later. Bender chronicles Trump and his campaign team as they struggle through an epic convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ensuing economic collapse, and the civil rights upheaval that unraveled their reelection strategy. Bender’s refined sourcing brings readers within the walls of the White House for the inside story of how Trump lost, drawing a straight line from his presidency to his defeat and ultimately to the deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol building. Bender joined The Wall Street Journal in 2016 and has since published more than 1,100 stories about Trump. He has been recognized for his coverage, receiving both the Gerald R. Ford Foundation Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency in

The depths of the Jeffrey Epstein story may never have been known without the work of Florida investigative reporter Julie K. Brown. A reporter for the Miami Herald, Brown and her explosive reporting for the Herald helped bring Epstein to justice (before his death) while exposing the powerful people and broken system that protected him. For many years, billionaire Jeffrey Epstein's penchant for teenage girls was an open secret in the high society of Palm Beach, Florida and Manhattan. Charged in 2008 with soliciting prostitution from minors, Epstein was treated with what critics called unheard-of leniency at the time. The media virtually ignored the failures of the criminal justice system, and Epstein's friends and business partners brushed the allegations aside. But when in 2017 the U.S. attorney who approved Epstein's plea deal, Alexander Acosta, was chosen by President Trump as labor secretary, Brown was compelled to ask questions that other journalists weren't. Despite her editor's skepticism that she coul

Professor William Drummond has had an impressive career as an educator and award-winning journalist. This includes stints at The (Louisville) Courier-Journal, where he covered the civil rights movement, and the Los Angeles Times, where he was a local reporter, then bureau chief in New Delhi and Jerusalem and later a Washington correspondent. Drummond was appointed a White House Fellow in 1976 by President Gerald Ford, worked briefly for Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and eventually became associate press secretary to President Jimmy Carter. In 1977 he joined National Public Radio and became the founding editor of "Morning Edition." In 1983, he joined the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley, where in addition to teaching students, Drummond twice taught an introductory journalism course pro bono under auspices of the Prison University Project for dozens of inmates at San Quentin Prison. He and moderator Robert Rosenthal, who has visited inmates at San Quentin many times with a program called G

Why don’t we talk to strangers? What happens when we do? Joe Keohane argues that, if we do, it affects everything from our own health and well-being to the rise and fall of nations. In our cities, even before the pandemic, we stood on silent buses and subway cars, barely acknowledging one another, even as rates of loneliness skyrocketed. Online, we retreat into ideological silos reinforced by algorithms designed to serve us only familiar ideas. In our politics, we are increasingly consumed by the fear of people we’ve never met. But what if strangers—so often blamed for our most pressing political, social, and personal problems—are actually the solution? Keohane takes us on a journey to discover what happens when we bridge the distance between us and people we don’t know. And he finds that, while we are wired to sometimes fear, distrust and even hate strangers, people and societies that have learned to connect with strangers benefit immensely. Digging into a growing body of cutting-edge research on the surpris

Trauma-informed care understands and considers the pervasive nature of trauma and promotes environments of healing and recovery rather than practices and services that may inadvertently re-traumatize.  Dr. Darla Dixon is a licensed psychologist currently working as a trauma-informed care coordinator for the California Department of State Hospitals. She has also had the privilege of being socialized by the wraparound program early in her career where she learned and experienced the impact of being trauma-informed. MLF ORGANIZER Patrick O'Reilly NOTES MLF: Psychology SPEAKERS Dr. Darla Dixon Psychologist; Trauma-Informed Care Coordinator, California Department of State Hospitals Patrick O'Reilly Clinical Psychologist; Chair Commonwealth Club Psychology Member-Led Forum—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 June 16th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more abo

Composer Benjamin Britten, a central figure of 20th-century British music (Peter Grimes, The Turn of the Screw, Ceremony of Carols) and renowned tenor Peter Pears were together from 1939 until Britten’s death in 1976. During Britten’s lifetime, neither spoke publicly about their relationship or sexuality—homosexuality in England was illegal until its partial decriminalization in 1967. San Francisco-born and -based arts educator, performer, composer and conductor Cole Thomason-Redus presents an illuminating 21st century perspective on their musical partnership and private life. Cole is educational content curator in the Department of Diversity, Equity & Community at San Francisco Opera, where he is host of the weekly online series "Opera Aficionado." Cole has also been director of education for Chanticleer, curator of classical music at Apple, Inc., and classical music analyst for the Music Genome Project at Pandora Media, Inc. MLF ORGANIZER Dr. Anne W. Smith NOTES MLF: Arts SPEAKERS Cole Thomason-Redus Educat

The United States is famous for its car culture. But a hundred years ago, pedestrians didn’t want cars to take over the streets — and it took decades of pressure and lobbying by car companies to make them feel otherwise. Today, traffic jams, maintenance and pollution make cars more like the cigarette no one wants to quit. Urban areas have grown up and spread out along ever widening highways with parking spaces required for each new building, further entrenching the car into our lives and choking cities with smog. Public transit holds tremendous possibilities for reducing our transportation emissions while better moving people through cities. But there’s a lot to overcome when trying to change the mobility model in most American cities, starting with the lack of good public transit and the high costs of construction. How can we make good public transportation work in America? Guests: Peter Norton, associate professor of history at the University of Virginia; author of Fighting Traffic and Autonorama Eric Goldw

The pandemic has hurt many industries throughout the United States. For local news media, the COVID-19 public health emergency was nearly catastrophic. Already threatened with economic demise because of the rise of digital advertising and how consumers use free social media tools to consume news, the pandemic put further financial stresses on local news outlets by impacting advertising from shuttered restaurants, bars and small businesses. All of this came at a time, of course, when local news—with information on the immediate impact of the public health emergency, among other topics—was more important than ever.  However, despite the strong challenges for local news outlets, the future may not be so bleak for the industry. Why? A growing number of nonprofit news media ventures are seeking to fill the void for quality local news efforts. Across the country, citizens are increasingly getting local news from new digital ventures focused on a specific region or city. Perhaps most important, philanthropists and m

What happens when a young lesbian editor-in-chief explores her role, the pressures she feels from gender expectations in society, and the challenges one would face in the media world when you don't fit it? Find out in this timely program. Gabrielle Korn is a journalist, digital media expert, and the former editor-in-chief of Nylon Media, an international lifestyle publication focused on emerging culture. Under her editorial leadership, Nylon became a fully digital brand with an ever-growing audience and original, politically-driven, thought-provoking beauty, fashion, music, and entertainment content. She spent three years working on Nylon’s digital presence before her promotion to editor-in-chief, working across platforms and growing traffic. Prior to that, she was an editor at Refinery29, overseeing beauty content during a period of explosive traffic growth and working to expand the brand’s concept of what beauty means to the millennial reader. She graduated from NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study

After a year of so much hardship and isolation, how do we readjust to a “new normal”? Join Dr. Jessi Gold and Dr. Lucy Kalanithi, host of the new podcast "Gravity," for a deep dive into the varied emotions many of us are currently feeling as the country reopens post-pandemic. From Zoom fatigue to unprocessed mental health challenges—including grief and trauma—there are countless underlying effects of COVID-19 still left unspoken. This program will be an open and safe space to bring those conversations, questions, and fears to the surface. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Helene Wecker will discuss The Hidden Palace, her long-anticipated sequel to her fascinating, debut novel, The Golem and the Jinni , a magical yet historical tale about immigrant New York. The combination of Arabic and Jewish mythology made the novel particularly intriguing to many readers. The Golem and the Jinni was an Amazon Editor Top 20 Pick and received numerous awards, including the Amazon Spotlight Debut, Indie Next Pick, Entertainment Weekly, Audible books, Kirkus Reviews, and others. A Midwest native, Wecker holds a B.A. in English from Carleton College and an M.F.A. in fiction writing from Columbia University. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her husband and children. NOTES MLF: Middle East Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pathways for reducing carbon emissions include electrifying transportation and replacing fossil fuels with wind and solar power. But in this time of national reckoning on racial and economic disparities, there is growing support for a more holistic approach. This view holds that the climate crisis won’t be resolved until we first address the systemic imbalances that have fueled it – racism, capitalism, white supremacy and patriarchy. In their recent book, All We Can Save: Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, co-editors Katharine Wilkinson and Ayana Elizabeth Johnson bring together the voices of women artists, writers and change-makers who are at the forefront of climate action. “The work that we’re doing is instigating or nurturing a feminist climate renaissance,” says Johnson, “which is what we feel the climate movement so desperately needs right now.” Guests: Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, marine biologist Katharine Wilkinson, Vice President, Project Drawdown Co-editors, All We Can Save:Truth, Cou

Involved, caring fathers make a lasting impact on their children's lives. On his "Today Show" “Dads Got This!” series, Craig Melvin explores the inspiring stories of fathers across the nation who are dedicated to making a difference in their kids’ lives. He’s covered fathers who are frontline workers, raising their children alone, and working with children with learning and physical disabilities. Now, in his new book Pops, Craig Melvin investigates his own relationship with his father and how it influences the way he chooses to pursue fatherhood. Addiction, transformation and redemption are the honest truths at the core of Melvin’s story. Craig’s father, Lawrence, was distant and often absent due to work obligations and alcohol addiction, but a fiercely loving mother made sure their family stayed together. In his book, Melvin reveals what makes an inspiring, proactive father as seen through the people in his life—uncles, teachers, mentors—and how their examples set a standard for his own fatherhood journey. A