Commonwealth Club Of California Podcast

Best-selling author Mark Shaw returns to The Commonwealth Club to discuss his latest book, Collateral Damage, in his ongoing investigative research into the connections between the mysterious deaths of motion picture screen siren Marilyn Monroe, President John F. Kennedy, and "What’s My Line?" TV star and crack investigative reporter Dorothy Kilgallen. Shaw argues that if Robert Kennedy had been prosecuted for what Shaw calls his complicity in the death of Marilyn Monroe in 1962, his campaign against Mafia leaders as attorney general would have been sidetracked, and so there would have been no reason for Bobby’s Mafia enemies to assassinate his brother JFK in 1963. There would also have been no reason for them to kill media icon Dorothy Kilgallen, since it was her explosive investigation into JFK’s death that led to the famous reporter’s death in 1965. Hear the details of Shaw's latest research, and send in your questions during the live-stream discussion. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond NOTES MLF: Humanities SP

In response to high risks of suicide, substance abuse, depression and victimization among LGBTQ adolescents, new emphasis is being placed upon the role that family support plays in reducing LGBTQ children's risks and strengthening their families. in May, the Family Acceptance Project (FAP) at San Francisco State University released a series of eight new Asian-language posters to share critical information from FAP’s peer-reviewed studies and family support work to help prevent suicide and other serious health risks and to promote well-being for AAPI LGBTQ children and youth. Join us for a conversation with FAP's director and two parents of AAPI LGBTQI children. About the Speakers Marsha Aizumi is an author, speaker, educator and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. She serves on the PFLAG National Board and is co-founder and former president of PFLAG San Gabriel Valley Asian Pacific Islander. She and her son, Aiden, have spoken to more than 250 organizations, corporations and universities around the United Stat

President Abraham Lincoln announced the end of slavery in 1862, but it wasn’t until two and a half years later on June 19, 1865, that the news finally reached enslaved people in Texas. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Texas native Annette Gordon-Reed chronicles the country’s long road to Juneteenth, recounting both its origins in Texas and the enormous hardships that African Americans have endured from Reconstruction through Jim Crow and beyond. Her new book On Juneteenth provides the context and reminder that the fight for equality is still ongoing in our country. SPEAKERS Annette Gordon-Reed Carl M. Loeb University Professor, Harvard University; Author, On Juneteenth; Twitter @agordonreed In conversation with Judge LaDoris Cordell (Ret); Twitter @judgecordell 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 9th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad ch

The way people conceptualize mental illness, and how they talk about it, differs around the world. A new book—Nobody's Normal, by George Washington University Professor of Anthropology Roy Richard Grinker—examines the ways in which culture and historical contexts have shaped our beliefs, stigma and social norms around mental health. In conversation with journalist and Divergent Mind author Jenara Nerenberg, Grinker will share what families, doctors, and everyday people can do to create a more welcoming and accepting society. Through his research in Africa, Asia and the United States, and with stories from hunter gatherers to family physicians, there are lessons to be learned that challenge the very notion of "normal" to begin with. Grinker is also the editor-in-chief of Anthropological Quarterly and the author of Unstrange Minds. MLF ORGANIZER Robert Lee Kilpatrick NOTES MLF: Health & Medicine SPEAKERS Roy Richard Grinker Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology, George Washington University; Editor-in-Chief, Anthrop

The global COVID-19 pandemic has revealed more clearly the huge health and health-care disparities between groups that are closely linked with social, economic and/or environmental disadvantage. Disparities occur across many dimensions, including race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, location, gender, disability status, and sexual orientation—what are termed social determinants of health. Many disparities in health are rooted in inequities in the opportunities and resources needed to be as healthy as possible. The term health equity is used widely by professionals to talk about how to eliminate such disparities, but there is no common understanding of what it means. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, “Health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. This requires removing obstacles to health such as poverty, discrimination and their consequences, including powerlessness and lack of access to good jobs with fair pay, quality education and housin

Understanding the tragic issue of slavery and its ongoing historical impact on the country has been a critical part of America's recent reckoning on race. The Atlantic's Clint Smith has been one of the country's leading writers on this essential but complex topic for the past several years. In one of the most anticipated books of the year, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America, Smith explores how slavery has been central in shaping our nation's collective history and ourselves. In Smith's first work of nonfiction, the author takes readers through a national tour of monuments and landmarks—those that are honest about the past and those that are not. In this unique way, Smith explores the legacy of slavery and its vivid imprint on centuries of American history. He describes Confederate Army cemeteries, former plantations, modern-day prisons, and other historical sites, showing how our past continually connects with the present, and helping us understand how slavery is re

The Colorado River supplies water to more than 40 million people across seven states. Lake Mead has fallen to its lowest level since it was filled in the 1930s, which could trigger the first stage of real water cutbacks. For years, “much of the discussion in the Colorado River Basin has been who gets the next drop,” says journalist Luke Runyon. “The conversation very recently has shifted to who has to use less.” In the midst of long-term drought, warming temperatures and decreasing runoff, water managers are gearing up for the next round of negotiations to divvy up the Colorado River’s supply in the future. Tribal water users are hoping to have a bigger say in those basin-wide negotiations, and to finally correct an historic injustice by ensuring universal access to clean water for tribes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Jen Gunter, the outspoken and digitally savvy Bay Area doctor who has been called "the world's most famous gynecologist" returns to The Commonwealth Club for what should be a fun discussion on her new book, The Menopause Manifesto, with television comedian Samantha Bee. Dr. Gunter, who has made waves with her fierce advocacy of women's health, saw great success with her previous book, The Vagina Bible. The Menopause Manifesto takes on stubborn myths and misunderstandings about menopause in Dr. Gunter's traditional fashion: hard facts, real science, fascinating historical perspective, expert advice, and strong doses of humor. As the book notes, the only thing predictable about menopause is its unpredictability. Factor in widespread misinformation, misogyny, a lack of research, and the culture of shame around women's bodies, and it's no wonder women are unsure what to expect during the menopause transition and beyond. Dr. Gunter believes women (and men) should be educated on what's to come with menopause ye

One of President Biden’s first acts in office was to extend the New START Treaty with Russia. Concluded in 2010, the treaty cut the strategic nuclear arsenals of the United States and Russia in half. It was set to expire on February 5, 2021, and is now in force for another five years. That treaty—which is holding back a new nuclear arms race between the United States and Russia—was negotiated by Rose Gottemoeller, former U.S. under secretary of state and former deputy secretary general of NATO. But now, what comes next—in arms control and in dealing with Russia? Fueled by petro-rubles, a stronger economy has enabled the Russians to fund a decade of investments in high-tech nuclear and conventional weapons, including cybermeasures targeting the internal information systems of the United States and other countries. How should the United States respond to those threats, and to possible new opportunities for cooperation with Russia? What dangers, and opportunities, are presented by flash-points like the recent Ru

The Nobel laureate Otto Warburg was widely regarded in his day as one of the most important biochemists of the 20th century. As a Jewish homosexual living openly with his male partner, Warburg represented all that the Third Reich abhorred. Yet Hitler and his top advisors dreaded cancer, and protected Warburg in the hope that he could cure it. Apple demonstrates how Warburg's midcentury work may well hold the secret to why cancer became so common in the modern world and how we can reverse the trend. A tale of scientific discovery, personal peril, and the race to end a disastrous disease, Ravenous would be the stuff of the most inventive fiction were it not, in fact, true. MLF ORGANIZER Patty James NOTES MLF: Health & Medicine SPEAKERS Sam Apple Faculty Member, Johns Hopkins University; Writer; Author, Ravenous: Otto Warburg, The Nazis, and the Search for the Cancer-Diet Connection Patty James M.S., N.C. Nutritionist; Chef; Author—Moderator In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of o

Over the last few decades, San Francisco has experienced radical changes with the influence of Silicon Valley, tech companies and more. Countless articles, blogs and even movies have tried to capture the complex nature of what San Francisco has become, a place millions of people have loved to call home, and yet are compelled to consider leaving. In the new book The End of the Golden Gate, 25 acclaimed writers take on the eternal question: "Should I stay or should I go?" Subjects include: the tech-industry invasion and the evolution, gentrification, and radical cost of living that has transformed San Francisco's most beloved neighborhoods; the lasting imprint of the 1960s counterculture movement; and the fight to preserve the art, music and other creative movements that make San Francisco forever the city of love. Come hear the compelling thoughts of three of the book's contributors: journalist and historian Gary Kamiya; poet, essayist and cultural critic Kimberly Reyes; and writer and musician Daniel Handler,

Join us for a virtual discussion, live-streamed direct from Berlin, Germany, with Heino Falcke, the German astrophysicist, about his research into the nature of black holes. His new book A Light in the Darkness is the story of how the first photographic evidence of black holes was achieved by Falcke in April 2019, and what its significance for humanity might be. Falcke wrestles with the ways in which black holes force us to confront the boundary where human life ends and the celestial begins. He also ponders why black holes are so difficult for most of us to understand, comparing that to our inability to envisage our own inevitable death. Black holes develop when a massive star dies, and its matter is condensed. That extreme amount of mass contained in a small space generates a gigantic amount of gravitational force, allowing the black hole to suck up everything that comes near, including light. These astronomical wonders are the subject of intense scientific and philosophical theorizing—the journey to a blac

In 1968, San Francisco made history when, as a result of the student strike at San Francisco State University, the country’s first ethnic studies department was born. Over the years, community advocates have continued to find inadequacies in educational programs for students, citing a lack of inclusion of instructional materials for the teaching of history and culture regarding diverse population demographics. They also believe the learning and understanding of diverse cultures will help foster understanding and mutual respect between and among people from different ethnic backgrounds.  Join us for an in-depth discussion with panelists who will discuss their personal stories about the origins of ethnic studies and their individual advocacy within the movement. Learn how and why they have devoted their efforts to advocate for the programs and hear their visions about how ethnic studies can shape our society’s future. This is one of an occasional series sharing perspectives on the subject of ethnic studies.  NO

Disasters are inherently inevitable in life. We cannot predict the next earthquake, wildfire, financial crisis, war or pandemic, but we can predict how to handle each situation better. Unexpected calamities have happened all throughout human history, yet even in the 21st century we are ill-prepared to recover from them. In the new book Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe, popular historian Niall Ferguson explores the reasoning behind this phenomena and offers solutions on how to handle unforeseen circumstances of mass misfortune. Ferguson has spent his academic career lecturing on the international, financial, and economic history of British and American imperialism. In his new book, Ferguson uses centuries of knowledge to understand the complex pathologies at work that make societies fail in the face of disaster. He offers the lesson he says the West urgently needs to learn if we want to handle the next crisis better and avoid the ultimate doom of irreversible decline. Join us as Niall Ferguson offers an expla

Ever have a difficult conversation about climate? Pretty much everyone has. Knowing all the facts and figures only goes so far when talking to someone who just doesn’t agree. So how do we break through the barriers? Scientists trained to present information in a one-way lecture format face a particular challenge: they first need to unlearn old habits. “Everybody's trying to figure out ‘how do we move past this idea that just arming people with facts will lead to a better world,’ right, because we’ve just seen that that’s absolutely not true,” says Faith Kearns, author of Getting to the Heart of Science Communication.  Kearns argues that we all need to move from an “information deficit” model of communication – where it’s assumed that the audience simply needs more information – to a relational model, where the science communicator does as much listening as talking in order to first find empathy and common ground. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As attacks on Asian Americans repeatedly make the news, there is also a bigger story to tell: What the challenges of the future are, and how Asian Americans will help America be more competitive in this brave new world. Join this insightful discussion with prominent Asian American leaders not only about the history of Asian Americans in the United States, but about what Asian Americans are contributing today, and what all Americans should think about doing as we fight together against modern stereotypes and broken systems, and face current and future challenges. In association with The Committee of 100, Northern California. SPEAKERS Daniel Chao Ph.D., Board Chair, 1990 Institute; Member, Committee of 100; Former Senior Vice President, TerraPower, LLC; Former Chairman, Bechtel, China Dennis Wu Chair, Asia Pacific Islander American Public Affairs, San Francisco; Managing Partner, WuHoover & Co., CPA Advisory Firm; Retired Partner, Deloitte; Past Chair, Commonwealth Club's Board of Governors In Conversation with

In 2021, as we begin to emerge from the global COVID-19 pandemic, the country continues to grapple with well-publicized incidents of police violence against Black Americans, a wave of anti-API discrimination and violence, and spreading political and other attacks on the transgender, gender nonconforming and intersex communities. In response to these harrowing realities, The Commonwealth Club and The Transgender District of San Francisco bring together a roundtable of thought leaders from across the nation to speak openly about their unique experiences regarding race and gender identity, in hopes that this summit can provide context, connection and solidarity between three communities that are far too often pitted against each other. Note: This program contains EXPLICIT language SPEAKERS Andy Marra Korean American Trans Woman Activist; Executive Director, Transgender Legal Defense Fund Oluchi Omeoga Transmasculine Advocate and Co-Director of BLMP (Black LGBT Migrants Project) Diamond Stylz Transgender Activist

Bloomberg's Brad Stone is one of the country's leading experts on the global commerce company Amazon. His bestselling book from a decade ago, The Everything Store, gave one of the most detailed pictures of Amazon’s unprecedented growth and its billionaire founder, Jeff Bezos. His coverage in Bloomberg Businessweek has helped shaped our understanding of the internet giant. Since Stone's first book on Amazon was published, the company has expanded to become the most valuable internet company and one of the globe's largest retailers. Its workforce has quintupled in size and its valuation has soared to well over $1 trillion dollars. The company's holdings also include Whole Foods, Prime Video, and Amazon’s cloud computing unit, AWS, which powers many of the country's largest websites. Throughout the pandemic, Amazon became a lifeline for many people and small businesses around the world for home supplies, cleaning products and PPE. Bezos also has a personal ownership of The Washington Post, expanding the Amazon o

Former congresswoman Jane Harman says America has used the same tactics to solve defense and intelligence issues since the end of the Cold War. She says many of these strategies haven't worked and that the United States has become too self-satisfied as the lone superpower of global politics. Harman further says that many nations no longer defer to America as they once did. In her new book Insanity Defense, Harman chronicles how the United States has failed to confront some of the toughest national security policy issues and discusses what that bodes for our national security. Harman has gained the expertise to discuss security and public policy issues. During her nine terms in Congress, she served on all major security committees, including six years on Armed Services and eight years on Intelligence. She is currently a distinguished fellow and president emerita of the Wilson Center, the nation’s key nonpartisan policy forum for independent research to tackle global issues. Through her work, Harman says she wi

The COVID-19 global pandemic has shined a bright light on our medical system unlike perhaps any other time in this country's history. For more than a year now, we have seen how the daily work of making important, even life-and-death decisions is frequently made harder by factors and variables outside the control of an individual doctor and patient. Meanwhile, even before the pandemic, hospitals and medical offices faced tremendous budget problems, and big pharmaceutical and insurance companies continued to shape the delivery of medical care in all corners of the country; the pandemic only exacerbated these trends. In a new book, Uncaring, Dr. Robert Pearl—former CEO of The Permanente Medical Group and a Stanford professor—shows how all these stresses have led to a toxic culture in medicine, particularly for physicians. He says doctors resist change, leading to important clerical mistakes. They don't offer equal treatment to all patients. Their competitive work ethic leads to burnout and bad decisions. All the