The Philippines has traditionally been seen as a gateway to Southeast Asia and a strong ally of the United States in the Pacific. The country’s natural beauty and endowment have attracted many to its shores but have brought opportunities and challenges to the nation as well.
Learn about its continued march toward economic development and as an archipelagic nation in a sea of warring interests, as we engage Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Neil Ferrer in a discussion.
MLF ORGANIZER: Kalidip Choudhury
 
An Asia-Pacific Affairs Member-led Forum program. Forums and chapters at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums.
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Philippines–U.S. Relations: Evolving Opportunities and Challenges

The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's largest public affairs forum. The nonpartisan and nonprofit Club produces and distributes programs featuring diverse viewpoints from thought leaders on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast — the oldest in the U.S., since 1924 — is carried on hundreds of stations. Our website features audio and video of our programs. This podcast feed is usually updated multiple times each week.

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Globally, one-third of food produced every year is wasted. That’s enough to feed about 2 billion people — twice the number of people who are undernourished. The global food system also accounts for a whopping one-third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. These two problems — waste and emissions — are intricately linked: Climate disruption exacerbates food insecurity. And industrial food production contributes to the climate crisis. When food is wasted, it’s also a waste of land, water and energy.
In this episode, we talk with experts about how to fix the broken system and hear from some of the people on the ground recovering food before it goes to waste. How can we address both climate and food insecurity at the same time? 
Guests:
Dawn King, Senior Lecturer, Brown University
Lisa Moon, CEO, The Global FoodBanking Network
Norma Alonso, ABACO, Cooperation Manager 
James Leyson, Managing Director for Global Impact and Operations, Scholars of Sustenance
This episode also features a news story produced by Harvest Public Media contributor Peter Medlin, a reporter with WNIJ Northern Public Radio.
It's time for our annual spring appeal! At Climate One, we believe in the power of open conversations to drive positive change. Through our thought-provoking discussions and interviews, we strive not only to raise awareness of climate issues and solutions, but to also empower individuals — like each of our valued listeners — to take tangible steps toward a more sustainable future. 
You can show your support for Climate One by contributing to our spring fundraising campaign.
For show notes and related links, visit our website.
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CLIMATE ONE: You Gonna Finish That? Saving Good Food from Going Bad

Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki knows it’s the follow-up questions that can be the most difficult to handle. When she was asked “Why do wars start?” by one of her children, she carefully explained and then got a follow up: “Have you ever seen a unicorn?”
Not many White House press secretaries capture the nation’s interest the way Jen Psaki did. Refreshingly candid and clear, Psaki quickly became known for her ability to break through the noise and successfully deliver her message. Since leaving the White House, Psaki’s star has continued to rise. She launched a highly rated show on MSNBC and was so successful that in just six months she was given an additional primetime Monday slot, ahead of Rachel Maddow.
Psaki comes to Commonwealth Club World Affairs to discuss the issues raised in her new book Say More. In it, Psaki explains her straightforward approach to communication, walking people through difficult conversations as well as moments where humor saves the day—whether it is with preschoolers, partners or presidents. She addresses the best ways to give and receive feedback, how to connect with your audience, how to listen actively, and much more.
She’ll be in conversation with another veteran of the high-stakes world of White House communications, President Obama’s White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer.
Don’t miss this chance to hear the lessons learned behind the most famous podium in the world.


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Jen Psaki with Dan Pfeiffer: Lessons from the White House

“An important book that will transform how we think about being human. . . . that will inspire hope.”—Jane Goodall
Many people in today’s world seek to reclaim the soul-deepening wildness that grounds them and energizes them when so much of the modern world seems designed to tame them. In his thrilling memoir of a life spent exploring the most incredible places on Earth—from the Great African Seaforest to the crocodile lairs of the Okavango Delta—Craig Foster reveals how people can attend to the earthly beauty around them and deepen their love for all living things, whether they make their homes in the country, the city or anywhere in between.
Foster will draw on the work he put into his new book, Amphibious Soul: Finding the Wild in a Tame World. In it, he explores his struggles to remain present to life when a disconnection from nature and the demands of his professional life begin to deaden his senses. And his own reliance on nature’s rejuvenating spiritual power is put to the test when catastrophe strikes close to home
Foster is one of the world’s leading natural history filmmakers and won the 2021 Academy Award for Best Documentary for My Octopus Teacher.

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'My Octopus Teacher''s Craig Foster: Finding the Wild in a Tame World

When the revolution comes . . . what next?
As a Hillary voter, New York Times reporter, and frequenter of her local gay bars, Nellie Bowles fit right in with her San Francisco neighbors and friends—until she started questioning whether the progressive movement she knew and loved was actually helping people. When her colleagues suggested that asking such questions meant she was “on the wrong side of history,” Bowles did what any reporter worth her salt would do: she started investigating for herself. The answers she found were stranger—and funnier—than she expected.
In her new book Morning After the Revolution, Bowles gives readers a front-row seat to the absurd drama of a political movement gone mad. With irreverent accounts of attending a multi-day course on “The Toxic Trends of Whiteness,” following the social justice activists who run “Abolitionist Entertainment LLC,” and trying to please The New York Times’s “disinformation czar,” she deftly exposes the more comic excesses of a movement that went from a sideshow to the very center of American life.
Join us as Bowles shares her funny and painfully insightful look at “a moment of collective psychosis preserved in amber.”

This program contains EXPLICIT language.
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Nellie Bowles: Dispatches from the Wrong Side of History

While the climate benefits from booming electric vehicle sales, the nation’s transportation system faces an unfortunate predicament: less gasoline and diesel purchased means dwindling fuel tax revenue. Fuel tax revenue provides a core funding source for operating, maintaining, and improving transportation systems, so policymakers must find a replacement as soon as possible.
This event explores such options as mileage fees, higher annual vehicle fees, or abandoning the user-pay principle and relying on general fund revenue.
 
This program is supported by the Mineta Transportation Institute at San José State University.
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Philippines–U.S. Relations: Evolving Opportunities and Challenges

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